Marble Madness

Marble Madness

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MarbleMad

Rate: 1 out of 5
Difficulty: 5 out of 5
Played: 10/26

Opinion: I hate Marble Madness. It's a very, very frustrating game. Even the practice level sucks so much that it's not going to prepare you for the next five levels of hell. The main issue is how poor the controls are. No matter how hard you try to manuever the marble, it's going to fall right off...every...single...time.

The A button isn't even helpful as it's designed to mess you up. *sighs* You still have to use it to achieve a specific finish time per level, so it can be carried over; otherwise, you won't do well in Level 5 or 6. Meanwhile, I'm not sure why a marble will get dizzy or break since it's not an organism that happens to be indestructible.

I consider this game beaten if you can survive six levels separately which means you can save the game in between. More power to you if you can go through all levels consecutively without running out of time. Either way, good luck...trust me. And I have no idea when or how to get the magic wand to appear in each level.

Technical Notes

Basic Moves
♦The directional pad is move.
♦A is accelerate.

Level 1

What To Do
This level is so easy that it won't prepare you for what's to come next. Whatever time you get is moot since it's not carried over. The controls are the best they've ever been. What the hell?

Level 2

What To Do
Start out using the A button, but slow down by the time you make past the black marble. Then, control your speed going down before picking it up again. You want to make to the drawbridge without being delayed. Go through the first chute to save time. Control your marble a bit down there and then go through the chute again. Don't use the A button when first going down the funnel, but start using it after reaching the bottom.

Overall, I recommend completing this level with at least 40 seconds. It's going to take a lot of practice to achieve what I am talking about.

Level 3

What To Do
Believe it or not, the hardest part is starting off. So, I recommend pressing the directional pad in SOUTHEAST and then just let it go a bit. Once down in the maze, don't use the A button until midway, and when you do, you might get a wand, adding 10 seconds to the timer. Let go the A button afterwards, and control your descent. When at the downhill ramp, let go all of the buttons until the marble safely makes it down there.

Now, keep going without using the A button. For the first acid puddle, make sure it stays to the right, so you can go around it on the left. Once you see the second set of acid puddles, be exactly right in the middle and start using the A button; they go crazy if you do it earlier.

Then, control your marble prior to the chute, or it'll jump right off. Don't use the A button down there. Start going on the green wave machine (YES!) to save time. When you try to get on the normal platform, you have to press hard LEFT to decrease the momentum of the marble. Finally, a hard RIGHT by the time you are ready to enter the finish line.

Overall, I recommend completing this level with at least 50 seconds, and that's with time carried over from the last level. It's going to take a lot of practice to achieve what I am talking about. This shit ain't easy, believe me.

Level 4

What To Do
Don't press any button at the start; let the marble roll by itself. Then, a hard RIGHT when it's about to go off at the bottom. Control the descent until you're one more level below, and then start using the A button to go past all suck machines. When you've made it, let go of the A button and press hard RIGHT at the top to go down before controlling the marble until it's securely in the catapult.

Now, press hard RIGHT when the marble lands on the other side. Control it while going down. When there's a downhill ramp, press hard RIGHT to prevent the marble from falling over. Control the marble during the descent; it's okay to use the A button until you've made past the long straightaway. Then, let it go and start controlling the marble until you meet the HOLY SHIT.

This is a really, really difficult part. I honestly don't have an easy answer and this requires plenty of study, but here's what I did: when the hammers are in the back, I go while staying to the right side. Once safely past the gauntlet, that's your return point before the finish line.

Overall, I recommend completing this level with at least 50 seconds, and that's with time carried over from the last level. It's going to take a lot of practice to achieve what I am talking about. This is a fucking hard game...

Level 5

What To Do
"EVERYTHING I KNOW IS WRONG"? That's not true, but who the fuck cares?

When you start off, just press UP...LEFT...UP...slowly until you make out of the tricky part. Then, go right up the ramp and then a hard LEFT, creating momentum to stay with until the top.

When you see the small monsters, press A and roll over them for a bunch of +3 second bonuses; honestly, it's debatable whether or they're worth the effort, but when I did it, I was starting out with 73 seconds and finished with 10 seconds more. Now, slowly get on the ramp en route to the chute.

Once at the top, control the marble without using the A button. Just follow the path. When you make to the beginning of the ramp, use the A button to propel the marble to the top. Then, go to the right before a hard LEFT. The purple birds will kill you, so stay away from them. Use the A button to get to the top afterwards. Then, control the marble slowly. Once you make to the platform leading to the finish line, use UP...RIGHT...UP...RIGHT...as slow as you can.

Overall, I recommend completing this level with at least 35 seconds, and that's with time carried over from the last level. It's going to take a lot of practice to achieve what I am talking about. Finally, one more circle of hell to go.

Level 6

What To Do
Now, you see why I recommended a specific completion time in each level before this; now, it pays off because you're allocated only 20 pathetic seconds. All right...you can't beat this level right off without tons of practice because of the five specific points as follows:

Point One: The marble must go down slowly to the left side where it will get up on the ramp and straightaway to the chute. In order to do that, go to the edge of the leftmost middle, and start rolling before pressing the A button. Once up there, roll the marble slowly until after three-quarters of the way to start pressing the A button until it jumps into the chute. Afterwards, control the marble until you reach the platform of disappearing parts. Everything that happens prior to this point isn't hard to deal with and doesn't require A button, and don't worry about falling over several times.

Point Two: When you make past the black marble, hold it until you see the first disappearing part show up in front of you, and then start rolling.

Point Three: Trust me, I've died here like 200 to 300 times. This is going to take lots, lots, and lots of practice. Every centimeter of ground you gain is a victory because it's about progress. There's nothing magical about it but rather skilled manuevering. You will get it in time, but this will take a long while. You know you're ready if you can pull it off successfully three times in a row. Anyway, what you have to do first is to stop the marble at the edge and start moving as soon as you see the disappearing part show up again.

Point Four: Once you make to the landing on the bottom right corner, it gets easier from now on, believe me. After the ramp appears, start moving (using the A button here is fine) until you make to the other side, and immediately move to the left because that's stable, no matter what.

Point Five: Now, move the marble a bit up to the right. Once the first part appears, start moving but slowly until you make it to the end, and be patient while at that.

Congratulations. All right...I'll never play this godforsaken game again for the rest of my life.