Still not sure why so many people are voting for Tightropes .. I've beaten the gold time on this level after one or two attempts. These levels aren't significantly difficult if you have decent maneuvering skills. I also feel some of the MBP level selections are biased simply because the most popular "difficult" levels are just the ones with 100 gems and take 10 minutes to complete. Just because a level is long doesn't make it difficult - eg, Battlecube Finale was the first Expert Level I was able to get the ultimate time on because it was .. well, rolling around flat surfaces and handling various frictions and the occasional gravity modifier. Nothing difficult there.
These are my opinions, feel free to discuss them, but I'm selecting the below levels based on their difficulty in my eyes as I've watched hundreds of players of all kinds of skill levels try to complete them over the many years I've demo'd Marble Blast to various friends and colleagues. See the description for each of my level choices.
[hr]Marble Blast Gold Hardest to Complete
1. Pathways - Another tightrope level, but this time with moving obstacles ON the tighropes, combined with two different gravity faces and obnoxious tiny elevators makes this the hands down most difficult MBG level to complete. Of the several hundred folks I've watched play through the game, not a single one of them has even dared to attempt this level more than once after seeing its absolute evil design. King of the Mountain AND Darwin's Dilemma are still both much easier than this level, and this arguably should've been the final challenge of MBG.
2. Eye of the Storm - I think this level is underrated in novice MBG difficulty. On my first play through of MBG, it took me several weeks just to pass this level. I've seen many others fail to get out of the tornado in the center, as is clearly evidence from the top scores on the Multiplayer version of this level. Once you've mastered the ways of the tornado, it's a piece of cake. However, in terms of a learning curve, I definitely rank this as one of the most difficult MBG levels.
3. Will o Wisp - Whoever thought curved tightropes was a good idea for an "advanced" level was on something. This was a major roadblock for many players, and should've been placed later on in the level sequence.
4. Scaffold - Another grave speedbump in the MBG Advanced Level Series, this level was the bane of many many players, myself included. This little devil took several weeks to pass for me, simply because having to constantly jump and move forward while accounting for a semi-random force imposed by the trap doors took a delicate art to master, making Scaffold one of the most difficult MBG levels.
5. Airwalk - Here's a grand idea; Let's place 64 fans on one level and see how many players we can deafen. The horrendous noise combined with the incredibly low frame rate made this one of the most annoying levels to complete when MBG originally came out. You practically needed a super computer to run it smoothly; that is, if you haven't thrown your speakers out the window from the deafening "FFRMWMWMWMWM".
Marble Blast Platinum Hardest to Complete
1. Morph - Okay, let's be real. This is truly the most difficult MBP level ever conceived. It's excellent and original design also make it one of the most memorable, but the sheer difficulty of the challenges and the lengthy duration of the level in the Advanced series make it one of the toughest challenges to beat to date.
2. Arch Acropolis - Short, sweet, and an absolute nightmare if you suck at skill shots and gyrocopters. Combined with the short par time, Arch Acropolis is easily one of the most challenging Expert levels in the series.
3. Catwalks - Remember those tightrope levels from MBG? Let's make one twice as long and four times as difficult to complete. Enter Catwalks, the most inconveniently placed Expert Level to date. Players just finished Slowropes, and are thinking "Good, got past the stupid tightrope level", and they would be absolutely wrong. Catwalks, to me, was the ultimate middle finger as I was progressing through the MBP levels.
4. Diagonal Training (Pre-Nerf) - Honestly, I personally had difficulties even completing this level sometimes. I've watched so many beginner players get to the section with the last gem and just not be able to time the jumping and the diagonal properly and fail every time consistently. This arguably was an Advanced Difficulty level stuck towards the end of the Beginner Levels mainly due to that one "skillshot" required at the end of the level.
5. Spin Practice - I'm actually surprised this wasn't mentioned yet. I personally did not have a lot of difficulty with this level initially, but upon watching several intermediate-skilled players try to pass it, I realized some of the wall-hit and diagonal techniques required to just pass the level made it all the more difficult. I would've liked to see this level enter later in the Intermediate section, but it's introduction early on in the sequence make it one of the more difficult levels.
Marble Blast Gold Hardest Gold Times
1. Pathways - Is this honestly a surprise? The most difficult MBG level of course has the most difficult gold time. It wasn't until watching the first MBG World Record Rampage that I actually learned the Gold Time was even possible for this level. Up until then, I just figured someone made a typo in the original .mis file to screw with players. This is the only Gold Time I have never achieved in Marble Blast Gold.
2. Darwin's Dilemma - The level itself isn't that bad; It's when you start trying to grab all of the Time Travels is when things get difficult. This level took me a good few weeks in my youth to finally claim a Gold Time score, and it's certainly not easy by any means.
3. Natural Selection - Don't fall behind! Or, in this case, Fall behind, but manage to somehow stay on the fast-moving platform if you even want to dream of holding that delicious Gold Time in your mouth. (Just so we're clear, don't eat Gold Times, it's not good for you.) Advanced maneuvering abilities and memorization of the level is key.
4. Half Pipe Elite - This level could be more annoying if there were more gems floating mid-air between the half pipes, but at least you only have to play the first 3 seconds before you know whether or not you have to restart the level. Seriously, that first gem is a colossal pain in the arse. Even if you manage to snag it, you'll still need to perform some crazy double-skillshots on the remaining gems if you even want to consider attaining the Gold Time.
5. Will o Wisp - That's right, I beat the Gold Time on this level once, and I exclaimed "Never Again!" Unless there's a super secret pathway that none of us have found to date, this level is definitely one of the tightest Gold Times to attain. You probably won't find this level's Gold Time too difficult if you're a fan of blazing through Tightrope levels - I prefer to be a bit more cautious, and it really costs me time. I know I'm not the only one intimidated by tiny, curved platforms.
Marble Blast Platinum Hardest Ultimate Times
1. Cardcaddy's Diamond Collection - It's 20% skill, 20% memorization, 50% luck, and 10% concentrated power of will. If you're one of the less than 15 players to ever achieve the Ultimate Time on this level, you're truly one of Marble Blast's best players. I personally have not even beat the Platinum Time on this level, and I have no desire to ever play this level again because of its sheer size and design. To those who dare attempt the Ultimate Time; good luck.
2. The Tale of the Tall Skyscraper - An extremely long and quite difficult level, combined with not-a-lot of wiggle room for error, this level was probably one of the most frustrating Ultimate Times to attain. To date, less than 35 people have ever achieved the ultimate time in the world (and I am not one of them). Let that sink in for a moment.
3. Nuke Field - Yes, it's been mentioned hundreds of times already as having one of the most ridiculous Ultimate Time paths in history. Hit the nuke just right or you'll have to restart the entire level. I still have yet to obtain this Ultimate Time.
4. Speed Attack - More skillshots required here, combined with a length five-minute level makes this one of the more difficult Ultimate Times to attain (unless, of course, you're Xelna). I have yet to get under 4 minutes on this level, which is not even close to the Ultimate Time of 3 minutes 15 seconds. You'll go crazy hearing "SPEED BOOSTAIR" in your sleep before you manage to snag this one.
5. Helicopter Monster Course - Lastly, this behemoth level was just begging to be included on this list. You practically need a pilot's license to pass the dang level, and honestly you'll probably be a semi-decent Huey pilot if you manage to pass the Ultimate Time. (Don't try to fly helicopters based off your Marble Blast expertise, please.) Fast movement and sharp maneuvering skills are key to crowning yourself an Ultimate Helicopter player.
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~Aayrl
Community's Hardest Levels (Vote!)
