Super Mario 64: Every Level Ranked From Worst To Best
3. Tick Tock Clock
The penultimate world is seriously difficult, a step up from everything that precedes it. There are simply so many chances to die in Tick Tock Clock. The enemies are few, but almost everything you do will involve navigating moving platforms with a bottomless pit awaiting your mistakes below.
Unlike Rainbow Road, though, this world rarely becomes frustrating. There are patterns to learn, techniques to master, and once you’ve got your route worked out, the feeling of traversing the perilous clock is brilliant.
The interactivity is ingenious, too: depending on the time at which you enter the clock, the platforms will move faster, slower, or stop altogether. Your tactics will need to vary depending on the star you’re after - there’s a depth of thought here missing from other worlds.
It’s also just a cool looking level, full of obstacles but drained of colour to indicate to the player that it’s time to get serious. It’s a major challenge, coming so late in the game, but it’s one of the most rewarding levels to become good at navigating.