-Warning: This is quite long...-

Now that my spring break is in progress, I decided to spend quite a bit of time making things to interest you guys. I felt that I could start off the week by listing down some of the moments in video games that I've played and found long-winded.

Don't get me wrong, I've been a very enthusiastic gamer for years now. But even I come across a section from time to time that's a bit drawn out and makes me want to finish it right away. I have played every game on this list and these moments are all my opinion. With that... Let's get started.

10. Tick Tock Clock from Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)
This level doesn't seem very large to me nowadays but when I first played this game about twelve years ago, I found this stage to be one of the hardest. Especially the star when you have to climb way to the top of the level and find a group of Thwomps. From that point, one wrong jump and you're done for. Combine that with the fact your entrance into the level affects the speed of everything and I feel that this level can at least make the list.

9. Toy Factory Levels from Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots (Wii)
Some might remember that I played this game only about a year ago and as I said in my review, I found the toy factory levels to be "obnoxiously long". There were a bunch of checkpoints that you could continue from later but I hardly found myself able to channel the energy to go through the entire level again. However, I practically forced myself to do so so that I could complete everything.

8. Water Temple from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)
The Water Temple stands out for many people who played Ocarina of Time. Who could forget having to consistently change the water levels, change between the Kokiri and Iron Boots, and face against Dark Link halfway through the temple to win the Longshot? The music is also rather eerie and fits the temple quite well. It's not as long as it seemed to me years back but the qualities I mentioned make it worthy of a spot on the list.

7. Crystal Caves from Donkey Kong 64 (Nintendo 64)
Not only was this level large, it was quite confusing. Everything was dark and the stalagcites would periodically fall from the ceiling. The intense music was startling opposed to the ordinarily serene main theme of the level. Combine that with the fact that you have to search for 25 Golden Bananas and 500 Bananas and this level is a good way to occupy a few hours.

6. Grunty Industries from Banjo-Tooie (Nintendo 64)
Another large and confusing level, aren't those great? You had multiple floors with multiple entrances that you could only access with certain powers or that you could get into only once you were changed into a washer. 10 Jiggies and 100 Notes were some of the things to be found spread across the five floors and basement each with its own challenges. It definitely stands out with some of my favorite game music as well.

5. Great Bay Temple from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64)
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Majora's Mask, right to the point where I consider it my favorite Zelda game. The third part of the game was the most lengthy in my opinion because you had to explore the Pirate's Fortress, find all the Zora eggs, and head through this beast of a level. The temple is a maze of flowing water, pipes, and the consistent twisting of switches. You had to change between Link and Zora Link quite often to make it through. On top of that, you can't waste time in the temple because you have only three game days (which is like forty or so real life minutes without the Inverted Song of Time) and you have a temple that you may have to come back to a number of times. And you also have to find 15 Stray Fairies. Good enough for you?

4. Chapter 4-1 from Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
I just adore this game but the start of the fourth chapter is a bit drawn out, I must say. It is still awesome that you get to blast through hordes of monsters with a shotgun but I feel that it can be a bit too much in one long sitting, however. There are bonus points for the fact that you get to fight a creature that looks a lot like something out of Alien. It's intense and a nice break from the hordes of monks and flying bug-things that you had to plow through.

3. Clanker's Cavern from Banjo-Kazooie (Nintendo 64)
Oh, how I hate underwater levels. This one is perhaps the hardest that I've played. You have 100 Notes, 10 Jiggies, and a new move to find but most of your time is spent underwater. If you drown, you have to collect all 100 Notes for them to count if you missed any and the game wasn't as responsive as usual when it comes to underwater. You have to swim to get things and go back to the surface for air all the time. It's good enough reason for this spot.

2. Sanctuary Fortress from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GameCube)
Confession time: I only recently finished this game in January. I spent a good portion of the Martin Luther King weekend playing Echoes on Metroid Prime Trilogy and about five hours were spent on this place. The environment is large and in Metroid fashion, you'd have to retread this area quite a number of times. You have to get the Spider Ball from an annoying guardian, face the titanic Quadraxis, and return to get the Sky Temple Keys. In the hours that I spent marathoning this level, it gave me reason to start this list.

1. The Three-Hour Prologue from Kingdom Hearts II (PlayStation 2)
Kingdom Hearts II was a great game and I really enjoyed it. My first playthrough took me about twenty-five hours and three of those were spent on the prologue. The game brings everything that happened between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II into the picture with numerous mini-games and event battles taking place. After fighting your way through Twilight Town on the last day, you get into the mansion, and after a bit more action, you finally see the game's logo. I played this part wondering when I could get into the stuff that I liked from the first game.

Well, there you have it. I may have left out some moments and perhaps you feel that there are moments I could have added. At any case, these moments stand out for me and I still find myself compelled to play through them for the heck of it.