History ThatOneLevel / SuperMarioBros

* World Star-Castle. Sounds easy? Trying watching your asset from the Koopalings, who can turn you into stone like Medusa. Only the brown background walls will protect you from turning into stone. And after all that... ''Dry Bowser...''

* 9-7, even by [[BrutalBonusLevel World 9]] standards, is flatly unbelievable. To explain, the entire level past the start point is basically made out of ice blocks. Ice blocks melt when hit by fireballs. There are Fire Piranha Plants popping out of every pipe, ''in clusters'', throwing fire that will burn away your platforms. Oh, and if the platforms aren't positioned over bottomless pits, they're covering invincible chomping plants. Cue Unwinnable situations happening if you mess up.

* The Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, which forces you to cross very thin platforms, dodge Bob-Ombs, and ride moving platforms while rolling on a ball and crossing the void. Go too fast? You are [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to your death]]. Get blown up by a Bob-Omb and sent flying into the air? You are falling to your death. Get pushed by a moving platform? DisneyVillainDeath Fall. Make no mistake -- you ''will'' die -- over and over --

* The Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, which forces you to cross very thin platforms, dodge Bob-Ombs, and ride moving platforms while rolling on a ball and crossing the void. Go too fast? You are [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to your death]]. Get blown up by a Bob-Omb and sent flying into the air? You are falling to your death. Get pushed by a moving platform? DisneyVillainDeath Fall. Make no mistake -- you ''will'' die…over and over…

* The Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, which forces you to cross very thin platforms, dodge Bob-Ombs, and ride moving platforms while rolling on a ball and crossing the void. Go too fast? You are [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to your death]]. Get blown up by a Bob-Omb and sent flying into the air? You are [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to your death]]. Get pushed by a moving platform? [[DisneyVillainDeath Fall]]. Make no mistake - you ''will'' die…over and over…

* "The Impossible Maze" gets a special mention here, as [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin it lives up to its name all too well.]]

* The cloud stage in 8-3. You have to make big jumps and dodge [[EliteMooks Hammer Bros.]] ''Running'' Hammer Bros. In addition, there are [[InvisibleBlock Invisible Blocks]] designed to trip you up, one of which contains a PoisonMushroom.

* The cloud stage in 8-3. You have to make big jumps and dodge hammer bros. In addition, there are invisible blocks designed to trip you up, one of which contains a poison mushroom.

* World 8-1. The whole level isn't that bad. But there's one leap that you have to make by perfectly timing when you let go of the run button while still moving and jumping at the right time to land on a platform that's only as wide as Mario is between 2 of the biggest gaps found in the entire game that are meant to be clear-able. This is also the longest level in the entire game and you only have 300 seconds to complete it.

** More difficult than that level for some gamers is World 2-3 (and, by extension, its "re-vamp" as World 7-3). At first it seems like you can just run across the bridge and outrun the Cheep Cheeps, but then you get to just before the end, where there are three small platforms. If you don't slow down, you will miss all of them and lose a life. However, if you slow down too soon, you will get snagged by a leaping Cheep Cheep.

* The (thankfully optional) level "Tubular", which forces you to play as a balloon version of Mario, having to float in between enemies throwing footballs at you, three waves of Koopas, and lava-spewing plants. Oh, and there's no solid ground, [[CheckPointStarvation no halfway checkpoint]], and the balloon won't last for the whole level-you must periodically get a new balloon powerup in increasingly hard to reach areas. Fortunately, it's possible to use a Blue Yoshi and a Cape in order to get through the level without having to use the balloon power-up once. It's tricky to pull off, but compared to going through the normal level it's cake.
* Harder than Tubular if you think platforming is harder than balloon flight is [[MeaningfulName Outrageous]], which is not only full of enemies but seems specifically designed to combat the easy option of flying over it.

* The 5th bonus level "Kamek's Revenge". To obtain all those red coins, you first had to perform two whole screens of skiing and hit all the obnoxiously difficult placed items with perfectly -precise jumps, THEN, you had to hunt down a bunch of them on a huge, nonlinear helicopter course (which happens to be timed--run out of time and you fall to your doom). Miss just one coin, and your only option is to die and try the whole thing over again. And while we're at it, the first section of that stage--where you have to make your way across a whole bunch of tiny floating logs without getting knocked off by Kamek or the pitchers--ain't no picnic either.
* World 2's "extra" level "Hit the Switch!!" is an utter nightmare. If you're aiming for 100% completion, it feels like the level designers confused "making a 'complex' level" with "making a level that makes you remember and do ''way'' too much shit." ''If'' you manage to reach the end... it pulls you into a nearly {{Unwinnable}} situation-- simple as that.

* "Endless World of Yoshis/Crazy Maze Days". The first part isn't so bad, although it does have fast auto scrolling. However the maze part is worse. Not only is there a long shaft filled with instant death spikes you have to dodge with split second timing (entirely blind I may add), but to get 100% completion you need to beat this section THREE TIMES. There's just one midway ring after it, meaning that if you mess up before the cave (and given the confusing layout of the place, you probably will), you'll have to do a significant amount of the level over. After that there's a cave with some rather mean tricks as well as a replica of the intro with Kamek attacking Yoshi throughout. It's also a MarathonLevel. And the last flower is literally right before the goal, so if you forget about it/run out, you're playing the whole thing over.

** The very end of the level autoscrolls especially fast and has a series of pillars that you need to GroundPound to collect the last red coins. If you miss, you only have a fraction of a second to get yourself pinched between the pillars and the autoscrolling sides - otherwise, instead of dying and going back to the last checkpoint, you must complete the level and start it ''again''.

* Rainbow Ride (a really difficult area as it is) has a notably hard 100-coin star. There are plenty of coins in the area, but they're spread amongst several divergent pathways, and to get all the coins you need, you must go down each pathway and then backtrack so you can go down another. The layout of the course - a series of platforms in the sky with large distances between them and only flying carpets for navigation - does not make this easy, to say the least, and to boot, there is (as always) a switch that activates blue coins worth 5 each for a short time. In this level, the blue coin run is very easy to flub, resulting in an [[UnwinnableByDesign Unwinnable]] situation.

** Finally there's "Yoshi's Island Easter Eggs", a MarathonLevel of [[PlatformHell Kaizo type evil puzzles]] (aka, lots of spikes of instant death and perfectly timed jumps needed). You know you're in trouble when there's a middle ring after ''[[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity every goddamned room]]''.
* Bowser's Castle (of course) gives you five different ways to go through it, depending on who you have on your back. [[SadisticChoice Every one of them]] is NintendoHard, though [[spoiler: Mario's route]] is the easiest... if your SonicTheHedgehog instincts kick in.

* World 5-1, "Rompin' Stompin' Chomps" features three different versions of the Chomp enemy, and they're ''all'' nasty. In the first section, you have to dodge huge, fast-moving Chomps which jump up and down in place while trying to collect red coins by throwing eggs really high into the air. Doesn't sound so bad? Did I mention that the screen is AUTO-SCROLLING while you're trying to do this? Yeah, good luck with that. In the second section, you have to hover over gaps while even bigger Chomps are raining down on you from above. And if you can manage to get past that, there's the final section, where one of the "eats everything in its path" Chomps from the first game chases you, and he's much faster than the ones in the original game. If you're going for 100%, be sure not to miss the very inconveniently placed coins and flowers while you're scrambling for your life!

* There's a Daredevil Comet challenge where you have to go through Melty Molten Galaxy, which is covered in lava, without being hit once, leading to furniture being punched in frustration after missing a jump after going through the entire level for the fortieth time. Not to mention the controller-breaking madness of having to climb the huge rock spire at the end ''while it sinks into the frickin' lava.

* Luigi's Purple Coins [[strike:makes that level look easy]] is just as hard as that one. In this level, there is no lava, only a green slime that is instant death (by contrast, you bounce off lava and lose a bit of health) and all platforms either disappear or start rotating once you step on them. Needless to say, planning your route is required, as any mistakes are immediately fatal. Also, there's a time limit, but since you're much more likely die by being forced to fall into the green slime by the disappearing/rotating platforms, it may as well not even be there at all.

* The Battlerock and Dreadnought purple coin missions are very similar- in both missions, you have to travel on a moving platform and collect coins while dodging cannonballs and other obstacles, and in both cases, if you miss a coin, there's no way to go back and get it. It's a toss-up as to which of the two is more difficult. In Battlerock, you have to do insane jumps over super-huge electric fences as well as having to constantly switch between two sides of a moving platform (which, thanks to the weird physics, makes it much, ''much'' harder than it sounds). In Dreadnought, the platform you're on goes upwards, sideways, and then completely upside down as you're struggling to collect coins and dodge the cannonballs, which come at you even more relentlessly than the ones in Battlerock. To add to this, since this is 3D, you can easily miss the coins by forgetting that the platform also has depth.

* The Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, which forces you to cross very thin platforms, dodge Bob-Ombs and ride moving platforms while rolling on a ball and crossing the void. Go too fast? You are [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to your death]]. Get blown up by a Bob-Omb and sent flying into the air? You are [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to your death]]. Get pushed by a moving platform? [[DisneyVillainDeath Fall]]. Make no mistake - you ''will'' die…over and over…
* The Bubble Blast Galaxy. Why? [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin You probably know]]. This is another level with that '''''FREAKING''''' bubble. And there are electric fences, everywhere. The first objective is to collect five Star Chips within five different areas, all featuring you riding that bubble. And then after you collect them all, you'll be launched to an area were it's pretty much a race against Bullet Bills that ''home on to you''. You've also got does guns that shoot electric balls to worry about, too. Woe is you.

*** If you're willing to wait a while, though, it's possible to goad one of the Fire Traps into melting the ice above the second Star Coin by waiting above the pipe to its left. As an added bonus, until you make the run for the Coin you won't get close enough to the hanging Fire Traps for them to start firing at you.

* Ludwig's Fortress too, in single player. It's clearly a stage designed with groups of people in mind, since it is hell trying to juggle tons and tons of Bob-ombs raining down on you by yourself while you slowly rise left and rise.

* Either as a coincidence or a FourIsDeath kind of thing, 8-4 is also pretty unbelievable. BlackOutBasement....''underwater''.

* If you didn't hate the Cosmic Clones enough already, "Cosmic Clones in the Chompworks" will make you curse them to your very soul. In that level, you have to race around a course holding down platforms to try to guide a Golden Chomp to the end of the course where it will release the Star. Not only is it hard to stand and wait on the platforms the right amount of time while the clones are chasing you, but the layout of the level makes you retrace your steps quite a bit- which of course means, running smack through where all the clones are running around. Once you eventually succeed, the sight of all the clones instantly disintegrating and turning into Star Bits is extremely cathartic.

** The Boss Blitz Galaxy Comet wouldn't be so frustrating if it weren't for [[spoiler:Bouldergeist]]. Anyone who has played the first one knows that [[ThatOneBoss he is a tough boss to beat]], and as shown in the sequel, he's even worse under a time limit. [[spoiler:While the first half is easy enough, he then grows hands and the frustration starts. Most of the time, he's either punching, pounding the ground, throwing rocks and Bomb Boos or creating stalagmites on the ground. Even when you get a Bomb Boo, good luck trying to hit him. The three other attacks almost always create obstructions that cost you precious seconds on the timer if the Bomb Boo you're currently holding hits these obstructions. If you do actually beat him, more often than not, most of the time you only have ''a few seconds left'' to beat the subsequent boss. Which just so happens to be Fiery Dino Piranha. It's enought to give the most hardened gamer a mental breakdown.]] What were the level designers thinking?

* "Luigi's Purple Coin Chaos" takes a contender for the hardest mission in the original game and manages to make it even more annoying. On top of the purple coins to collect, the vanishing green platforms[[note]] The rotating platforms are gone, but that's only a consolation[[/note]], and Cosmic Clones which begin spawning the instant you get the first coin, you have to do it all in '''TWO MINUTES'''. If you plan to do this level, bring a friend; Co-Star Luma can keep the vanishing platforms there for you.
* The Grandmaster Galaxy by itself is merely tough. Its comet star, however, transforms it into a ''platform hell incarnate nightmare''. To elaborate: There are multiple sections to this galaxy, and you must pass all of them with only ''[[OneHitPointWonder a single hit point]]''. The first section involves riding Yoshi to swing across a field littered with mines, hovering spiked mole-things and a few homing Bullet Bill launchers, which forces you to rethink a mechanic that you've been using since the start of the game in order to get through. The next portion has you activating a grid of tiles by walking on them while sadistic robots each fire a long range laser at you when you get close to them. After this, you must move across an electric-fence field by creating cloud platforms that are forced to sidescroll to the right. Then comes hopping across a road made entirely of either green tiles that begin to disappear if you land on them or red-blue tiles that flip whenever you spin; meanwhile, there are spike-topped giant-laser-halo emitters and octopi that shoot fireballs scattered across the road. Then you navigate through cruelly-placed moving electric lines with pull-stars while avoiding the flying Goombas. And finally comes platforms littered with a merciless gauntlet of Hammer Bros. plus a trio of Boomerang Bros. at the end that you must get rid of. So to conclude: Insane course, one hitpoint, and [[CheckPointStarvation no checkpoints at all]], thus meaning that one hit ''will send you all the way back to the start''. [[PlatformHell Abandon all hope, ye who enter here]]. [[note]]It pays to learn how far Yoshi can grab in section 1, as quite a few flowers can be skipped. Finishing section 1 with a well-timed flutter jump will let you keep Yoshi, which is useful for getting section 2 done a little quicker and moving on. In section 3 you need to leave Yoshi but you can preserve two or even all three clouds at the end, which can be used at any point. But, the very next section has platforms that encourage you to spin, which uses the clouds. In section 5 the toughest part can be bypassed with a skillful long-jump + pull combination (which seems to be a deliberate alternative). Section 6, good luck.[[/note]]

* If you don't just hop on GameFAQs, Chapter 2-3 is the ultimate in Scrappy levels. To wit - you have to play out extremely long, unbearably boring minigames to run up 1,000,000 Rubees to pay for a vase. Even though you really only need about 10,000 (the rest can be found once you've got that), it takes forever and a year just to get that much and if a player does not talk to people much then it is theoretically possible to go for the full million. Thankfully, every bit of that minigame work can be skipped over if you just hop on the Internet and figure out how to get the hidden stash of them without worrying about paying [=NPCs=] to tell you.

* [[spoiler: S8-3]]. It's a rehash of [[spoiler: 5-Castle]]. [[spoiler: 5-Castle]] wasn't so bad, huh? Well, [[ScrappyLevel 8-3]] is. You start out with only 30 seconds on the clock, and you can't stop or turn around because a [[IGotBigger Giant]] Cosmic Mario is chasing you. Not to mention the star coins (and time bonuses, to a lesser extent) are VERY inconveniently placed, more enemies are added, and all item blocks are no more. [[RageQuit You're gonna cry.]]
* [[spoiler: S7-5]]. Especially the first coin. All you have to do to get it is hit a block, jump onto it, and get it. In theory it's pretty much nothing, but in practice it's pretty much impossible. It's a scrolling level, so you get maybe half the time you need to do it. If you actually got it, you might as well be killed by the coin itself, because there's no way you're getting to the next platform before the screen kills you. It would probably be easier in any other game, but in this game, Mario's jumping skills were effectively nerfed out of existence.
* [[spoiler: S7-1]]. It's basically [[spoiler: 3-4]]. Wasn't so bad, right? Well, this level may not have any previous obstacles or enemies, but they are replaced with Boomerang Bros. throwing boomerangs at you when you are on a tightrope with little space to dodge, and with only 30 SECONDS. Oh, and you'll have to kill enemies to get time, and waste some getting Star Medals, since they are NOT on your path. And those Roulette Blocks over there? You're probably gonna get a mushroom. Admit it, you want to cry now.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYDC4iAVi7o Getting a high score in 4-3 is the most infuriating thing about the first Mario vs Donkey Kong.]] ''Nothing'' comes close to the level of bullshit that is this level and whoever designed it is a sadist. Given the way the first half of the stage functions, you have to have almost perfect timing at certain sections, especially in the second half, if you want to just ''barely'' beat the default high score by just one or, if you're lucky/good enough, two hundred points (Every second left on the clock is multiplied by one hundred and added to your score). Experience has shown that it ''is'' still possible to get the Star (which is needed to help unlock the Expert levels) by ''matching'' the default high score. Just don't expect the game to acknowledge it by highlighting your score, because you didn't actually beat the old score.

* [[spoiler: Just try to 100% complete S-1 in plus mode. I dare you. Almost the ''entire level'' is made of girders.]]

** The first level is basically a level full of P-Switches that you have to press in order to continue. The P-Switch turns the nearby coins into platforms for you to run onto the next switch so you have to press the switch quick and then go to the next switch before time runs out. And not only that, if you intend to go as Gold Mario to create some shortcuts to collect more coins, be careful of not destroying the only platforms that you can run on. If you intend to collect the Star Coins, hope that you have good reflexes!
** The second level is basically a volcano level full of Paratroopas and Podoboos. The main way to traverse across the level is to jump on the Paratroopas to go to the next part. The thing is, the Podoboos may be in your way and that once you jump on the Paratroopa, it's basically finished so you can only jump on each Paratroopa once. Make one wrong move and you'll be jumping straight into the lava. Oh, and there is a time limit of 100 seconds. So you better make a move quickly or else you're done for good.
** The last level is a Dash Mario level where the entire level consists of jumping on Bullet Bills. It's a very good way to get coins if you're Gold Mario and if you thought the level was a bit too easy and short, go to the left of the first cannon and you'll find a secret route to another Dash Mario cannon. This is the harder version of the normal Dash Mario level and it's the only way to get all 3 Star Coins.

* 5-6, which is the home of the World 5 boss, Petey Piranha. It seems to be easy at first, but then when you get to the bridge, Petey Piranha appears and ''eats'' Kersti. Without Kersti, you can't paperize (so attaching the secret door of this level to it's rightful place can't be done until Kersti is rescued). Then you cross half the level and it's easy until you reach the Chain Chomp you have to battle. It can't take damage no matter WHAT item you use. You have to use a Baahammer to put it to sleep and then run off. Then you have to battle it again. You have to use useless items before it wakes up. Once it does, it goes ramming across the screen (you HAVE to have more then 10 HP here, since the Chain Chomp runs in to you with no stopping, and you lose 10 HP for that). Then finally, you reach the boss, Petey Piranha. He has 300 HP. It's pretty much hard. But what makes it worse is that you can't use the Battle Spinner, because you need Kersti to operate that, and Kersti is in Petey's body. And with the royal sticker on his head, your stickers do little damage to him. Your only bet on beating him is to use Infinijumps stickers. At least you get Kersti back at the end of this level...
* 2-5, the home of the World 2 boss, Tower Power Pokey. First off, you need the three tablet pieces to make a huge building appear. But what's worse is that the doors on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floor is locked and you have to put the right stickers in the right place to open it. You can veer left and right of the door to see Toad pictures arms that hold an item. Whichever hand and whichever item is shown, that's the item you need and that's where it goes. In the 1st floor door, you have to put a Jump sticker on the left, and a Hammer sticker on the right. In the 3rd floor door, you have to put a Hammer sticker on the left, a Jump sticker on the right, and a Spike Helmet in the middle. Then on the 5th floor door, you have to put an Ice Flower on the left, and a POW Block on the right. Then you've got the World 2 boss... 'nuff said.

* Superstar Road-3/[[NintendoHard Swim For Your Life!]]. Arguably the most evil level in franchise history. Granted it shouldn't come as completely unexpected considering all of the SSR bonus levels crank the difficulty level up, but this one is insane. You're chased the entire level by a giant fish trying to suck you up (instant death). Along the way, you have [[BulletHell lots and lots and LOTS]] of spike enemies floating around in the water, fish swimming by, and pipes shooting jets of water in every direction that you have to weave your way through without touching anything. In water? Yes, you're swimming, significantly slower and more clumsily, of course, than all the killer aquatic creatures that populate this underwater hellhole. There are places in which, without a fire flower powerup, you actually have to stop and lure the giant fish chasing you close enough to where you can '''JUST''' barely dodge it's lunge, which will carry it into enemy obstacles in your path that you would otherwise be unable to pass. Oh, and good luck trying to collect those three star coins while you're at it.

* The Coin Collection challenge, Don't. Touch. Anything. As the name implies, you can't touch anything, but the ground itself. No stomping on enemies, no hitting ? Blocks, not even touching any coins. And here's the [[SarcasmMode fun part]], most jumps are made deliberately so Small Mario/Luigi/etc. can get through, you have to hold that jump button ''just'' right to avoid getting those coins. Oh, and good luck with the Lakitu who chases you halfway through the level. And God help you if you're going for gold.

* 1-5 is a fairly moderate level, but trying to get past the Lakitu throwing Spinies everywhere can be frustrating for some gamers because you're more than likely to end up touching one; and you can't jump on them, since they have spikes. Hope you've saved non-jumping stickers up for these moments.

* If you don't just hop on GameFAQs, chapter 2-3 is the ultimate in Scrappy levels. To wit - you have to play out extremely long, unbearably boring minigames to run up 1,000,000 Rubees to pay for a vase. Even though you really only need about 10,000 (the rest can be found once you've got that), it takes forever and a year just to get that much and if a player does not talk to people much then it is theoretically possible to go for the full million. Thankfully, every bit of that minigame work can be skipped over if you just hop on the Internet and figure out how to get the hidden stash of them without worrying about paying [=NPCs=] to tell you.

* 8-3 easily takes the title of nastiest level in the game. It looks simple enough, but there are [[DemonicSpiders Hammer Brothers]] ''all over'' the level, many of them on flat ground. You can't wait for them to get on a higher platform and knock them off; you can only run under them, jump over them, kick a Koopa Troopa shell into them if any are available, or have a Fire Flower (and good luck keeping one at that point in the game). Oh, and since it's a World 8 level, [[CheckPointStarvation there's no midway point]], which means that if you get unlucky and the Hammer Brother jumps at just the wrong time, you'll probably be starting the entire level over from the beginning again as Small Mario.

** The second level is basically a volcano level full of Paratroopas and Podoboos. The main way to traverse across the level is tor jump on the Paratroopas to go to the next part. The thing is, the Podoboos may be in your way and that once you jump on the Paratroopa, it's basically finished so you can only jump on each Paratroopa once. Make one wrong move and you'll be jumping straight into the lava. Oh, and there is a time limit of 100 seconds. So you better make a move quickly or else you're done for good.
** The last level is a Dash Mario level where the entire level consists of jumping on Bullet Bills. It's a very good way to get coins if you're Gold Mario and if you thought the level was a bit too easy and short, go to the left of the first cannon and you'll find a secret route to another Dash Mario cannon. This is the harder version of the normal Dash Mario level and it's the only way to get all 3 Star Coins.

* The Coin Collection challenge, Don't. Touch. Anything. As the name implies, you can't touch anything, but the ground itself. No stomping on enemies, no hitting ? Blocks, not even touching any coins. And here's the [[SarcasmMode fun part]], most jumps are made deliberately so Small Mario/Luigi/etc. can get through, you go have to hold that jump button ''just'' right to avoid getting those coins. Oh, and good luck with the Lakitu who chases you halfway through the level. And God bless you if you're going for gold.

* 4-G (Frosted Glacier-Ghost House/Swaying Ghost House), just for the sheer GuideDangIt factor. The door to proceed is hidden behind a false wall—with no indication that said wall is anything but a wall, especially considering it feels perfectly solid if you don't have a P-Switch activated—in not one but two rooms, although the second at least gives you a hint...hidden behind another wall. The secret exit is even worse: [[spoiler:the room it's in requires being fairly fast just to get to the regular door, and getting to the secret door allows you only a very small margin of error...even if you figure out that this time, the door is hidden behind the ''ceiling''.]]
* 5-F (Soda Jungle-Tower/Snake Block Tower). "Snake block" levels are nothing new, but this time, you have ''two'' sets of blocks to keep track of, one normal-sized and one giant, and they move around lots and lots of Amps and Ball 'n' Chains, some of them in configurations that are nearly impossible to dodge. And the Star Coins? Easy enough to find, but good luck getting them all without taking a hit.
* 8-C1 (Peach's Castle-Castle 1/Red-Hot Elevator Ride). The entire level takes place on a rising platform that can be controlled by tilting the GamePad or Wii Remote, but this one stops moving if more than one thing is on it. Goombas, Bob-ombs, even ''coins'' can bring it to a halt until they are disposed of if they land on it. This wouldn't be so bad, but you must also contend with constantly rising lava below, meaning that if the platform stops rising for too long, Mario will instantly die from the lava. And like Snake Block Tower, the Star Coins are in plain sight but very difficult to get and remain unscathed. The level [[CheckPointStarvation has no midway point]] either, so if you die from the lava, a bolt of electricity, a wayward Bob-omb, etc., enjoy starting the level over from the beginning and losing any Star Coins you happened to collect.
* 9-3 (Superstar Road-3/[[NintendoHard Swim For Your Life!]]). Arguably the most evil level in franchise history. Granted it shouldn't come as completely unexpected considering all of the SSR bonus levels crank the difficulty level up, but this one is insane. You're chased the entire level by a giant fish trying to suck you up (instant death). Along the way, you have [[BulletHell lots and lots and LOTS]] of spike enemies floating around in the water, fish swimming by, and pipes shooting jets of water in every direction that you have to weave your way through without touching anything. In water? Yes, you're swimming, significantly slower and more clumsily, of course, than all the killer aquatic creatures that populate this underwater hellhole. There are places in which, without a fire flower powerup, you actually have to stop and lure the giant fish chasing you close enough to where you can '''JUST''' barely dodge it's lunge, which will carry it into enemy obstacles in your path that you would otherwise be unable to pass. Oh, and good luck trying to collect those three star coins while you're at it.
** 9-2 (Superstar Road-2/Run for It) might also qualify. It's a P-switch run with a total of seven switches throughout. The first few sections, even including Star Coins, aren't so bad once you've been through them a couple times...and then you get to the sixth switch. You have VERY little time to waste getting to the next one, and slowing Mario's fall by spinning in mid-air is all but required because unlike the rest of the level, you're standing on platforms that rapidly move back and forth and you can't afford to wait for them to be in a better position.
** And 9-8 (Superstar Road-8/Pendulum Castle), which is possibly intended to be the hardest level in the game, even for the [[BrutalBonusLevel Superstar Road]]. The level is absolutely full to the brim with Donut Lifts and swinging Ball 'n' Chains that are only avoidable in precise locations, usually in tandem. And just like the other Superstar Road levels, [[CheckPointStarvation there's no midway point]]. At least this one seems somewhat more of a [[NintendoHard fair challenge]] than most of the levels listed here.

* Superstar Road-3 ([[NintendoHard Swim For Your Life!]]) Arguably the most evil level in franchise history. Granted it shouldn't come as completely unexpected considering all of the SSR bonus levels crank the difficulty level up, but this one is insane. You're chased the entire level by a giant fish trying to suck you up (instant death). Along the way, you have [[BulletHell lots and lots and LOTS]] of spike enemies floating around in the water, fish swimming by, and pipes shooting jets of water in every direction that you have to weave your way through without touching anything. In water? Yes, you're swimming, significantly slower and more clumsily, of course, than all the killer aquatic creatures that populate this underwater hellhole. There are places in which, without a fire flower powerup, you actually have to stop and lure the giant fish chasing you close enough to where you can '''JUST''' barely dodge it's lunge, which will carry it into enemy obstacles in your path that you would otherwise be unable to pass. Oh, and good luck trying to collect those three star coins while you're at it.

* 2-4, also known as the level with the [[SymbolSwearing #$&@%#!!]] sandstorm. A good chunk of the level will be spent pinned down against a wall, waiting for the wind to stop blowing. Just getting ''through'' the level is a pain, but getting all the Star Coins ''and'' the secret exit as well is...[[Understatement an exercise in patience]], considering how easy it is to slip up and die, ruin your chances of getting them, or both.

* 2-4, also known as the level with the (''annoying'') sandstorm. A good chunk of the level will be spent pinned down against a wall, waiting for the wind to stop blowing.

* 2-5, the home of the World 2 boss, Tower Power Pokey. First off, you need the three tablet pieces to make a huge building appear. But what's worse is that the doors on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floor is locked and you have to put the right stickers in the right place to open it. You can veer left and right of the door to see Toad pictures arms that hold an item. Whichever hand and whichever item is shown, that's the item you need and that's where it goes. In the 1st floor door, you have to put a Jump sticker on the left, and a Hammer sticker on the right. In the 3rd floor door, you have to put a Hammer sticker on the left, a Jump sticker on the right, and a Spike Helmet in the middle. Then on the 5th floor door, you have to put an Ice Flower on the left, and a POW Block on the right. Then you've got the World 2 boss... nuff' said.

* 5-6, which is the home of the World 5 boss, Petey Piranha. It seems to be easy at first, but then when you get to the bridge, Petey Piranha appears and ''eats'' Kersti. Without Kersti, you can't paperize (so attaching the secret door of this level to it's rightful place can't be done until Kersti is rescued). Then you cross half the level and it's easy until you reach the Chain Chomp you have to battle. It can't take damage no matter WHAT item you use. You have to use a Baahammer to put it to sleep and then run off. Then you have to battle it again. You have to use useless items before it wakes up. Once it does, it goes ramming across the screen (you HAVE to have more then 10 HP here, since the Chain Chomp runs in to you with no stopping, and you lose 10 HP for that). Then finally, you reach the boss, Petey Piranha. He has 300 HP. It's pretty much hard. But what makes it worse is that you can't use the Battle Spinner, because you need Kersti to operate that, and Kersti is Petey's body. And with the royal sticker on his head, your stickers do little damage to him. Your only bet on beating him is to use Infinijumps stickers. At least you get Kersti back at the end of this level...