Breather Level: Difference between revisions

{{examples}}

* Very common in games in the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series, which were/are typically easier than their [[Nintendo Hard]] cousins to begin with.

*** Labyrinth Zone was pushed back from being the second level of the game as it was deemed too hard. Sky Chase, like the Hidden Palace example below, is a partial set up for the start of the Wing Fortress Zone.

** Huge Crisis during Blaze's game in ''Sonic Rush'', sandwiched between Altitude Limit (and its) boss and the first act of Dead Line. Huge Crisis isn't hard, throws lives at you, and has an easy ([[Goddamned Boss|if annoying]]) boss to trounce. Similarly, Act 2 of Dead Line is somewhat overstocked for rings, considering its placement as the final playable act in the game, making it almost impossible not to rack up a few lives in preparation for the [[Final Boss|final bosses]].

** ''[[Sonic CD]]'' has Stardust Speedway Zone, which is the penultimate level of the game, but tosses few enemies at you, the Acts are relatively short, and it is basically a level to let Sonic "roll around at the speed of sound". Then it caps it all off with the one of the most memorable sequences in ''Sonic'' history, {{spoiler|the race to Amy between Sonic and his metal doppelganger.}}

*** Quartz Quadrant, the fourth level, is mostly straightforward and short. It comes between the [[Underwater Ruins]] and the level where the floor bounces you high into the air while you try to jump on platforms.

*** The Ipod version is also simple as it's just a pinball machine in which you need to get points to complete the level with no actual way to die.

* ''[[Silent Hill 2]]'' finishes with the Lakeview Hotel as its final area. Though it ends with two moderately difficult boss encounters, the Hotel itself is bright and sparsely-populated with monsters. The areas immediately preceding it, the Prison and Catacombs, are full of monsters, difficult puzzles, violations of space-time, and are definitely the most frightening and depressing locations in the game.

* The final area of ''[[Metroid]] Zero Mission'' is the Space Pirate Frigate. You start off without your Power Suit and must avoid enemies, as you cannot kill them. It is the most intense, difficult part of the entire game, until, halfway through, you reacquire your Power Suit with its full upgrades, after which you are practically unstoppable. The second half of the Space Pirate Frigate is a breather level for the first half.

*** In Dark Conflict, the battle is still easy, but without the dialog.

** ''[[Battalion Wars]]'' has Black Gold, which has pitiful defenses because the enemy units that are scattered all over the place, which [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntm6SlgGuoE&fmt=18 this] takes advantage of.

** The World's boss, Iggy Koopa, is also noticeably easier than the one before or after. Wendy O. Koopa of World 3 is [[That One Boss]], with deadly candy rings that continue to bounce around the screen instead of vanishing. Roy Koopa of World 5 is [[The Big Guy]] and can make the whole screen shake when he jumps (stunning Mario). Iggy's gimmick? He fires his wand twice. That's it.

** Not to mention it's the only star you get without even fighting a boss for it. In fact, the most tense moment is when you get scolded by Mallow for eavesdropping on people's - that is to say, his - wishes (which are scattered around the dungeon in the form of little stars).

* Episode 6 from ''Sly 2: Band of Thieves'': The three previous episodes took place in the Indian jungle, which was a complete maze to navigate, and [[That One Level|Prague]], which featured a [[The Alcatraz|confusing prison compound]] followed by The Contessa's ancestral home; the whole city is so dark and grimy that you can hardly tell the [[Super Drowning Skills|instant-death water]] from the dry land. Episode 6 sends the action to [[Canada, Eh?|Canada]], in which the map is not only much smaller and more straightforward, but also takes place in virtually broad daylight.

* The sixth stage in ''[[God Hand]]'' comes after the nigh-impossible fifth stage, which ends with one of the game's toughest bosses, Demon Elvis. While it's not easy, it is a definite breather compared to its bookending stages, and has perhaps the game's easiest boss at its conclusion (Demon Shannon).

* The level after the castle (The caves) in ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'' is this, even ''with'' a Chainsaw Ganado, ''and'' two El Gigante to fight. (But fortunately, not at the same time.)

** The raid in the Militia Camp is this as well, as it comes after the climatic and timed battle with Krauser, and you have Mike's helicopter do most of the dirty work, leaving you free to loot ammunition and medicine without fighting many enemies.

** Though occuring at the mid-later stages of the game, the Du Claire mansion is almost entirely deserted, bar a few soldiers near the end of the level. Even the music is too peaceful to cause a [[Nothing Is Scarier]] effect.

** The Hong Kong level is somewhat less devoid of action, but plays this role in another way. After all the sneaking and shooting during your narrow escape {{spoiler|from Majestic 12 clutches}}, you find yourself on a lively Hong Kong street, a step away from freedom. The change in the background music cements the effect.

** Likewise, Chapter 10 could be considered one, it's pretty short, and only {{spoiler|the fight with Cid Raimes midway through}} is likely to give you trouble. It comes between the [[Disk One Final Boss]] and [[Quicksand Box|Gran]] [[Beef Gate|Pulse]].

* ''[[Galaga]]'': The "[[Bonus Stage|Challenging Stages]]" of the arcade classic feature non-firing aliens. Also, the sixth and certain other regular stages are just like the first level, with the enemy swarms simply flying into formation at the beginning of the stage (without extras trying to crash into the ship) and not firing upon the player until after all the formations are set.

* Block 5 of ''[[Super Castlevania IV]]'' certainly qualifies. It's only two parts, short, and there's not even a boss. It's quite welcome after Block 4 which involves facing a series of rotating-blocks that send Simon to his death if he doesn't quickly jump across them and confronting the [[Sub Boss]] [[Sdrawkcab Name|Puwexil]]. Followed by a rotating room with spikes and [[Goddamn Bats|Medusa heads]]. The third part of the stage involves outmaneuvering a falling floor. The last part consists of avoiding blocks that try to crush him against [[Descending Ceiling|more spikes]], and finally facing the [[Boss Battle|stage boss]] [[Meaningful Name|Koranot]].

*** And once you've developed a sudden need to sleep with every light in the house on after the hell that is the Shadow Temple, there's the blessedly simple and uplifting Spirit Temple. Easy monsters (well, except for the Iron Knuckles, but with the [[BFS|Biggoron Sword]] they're not too bad), convienently placed fairy fountain, no block puzzles, pretty music, no [[Nightmare Fuel|CREEPY DEAD THINGS EVERYWHERE]], couple tricks with a mirror to take out the witches, and bam, you're done. It's even got a nifty little shortcut that you get pretty early in the temple! Too bad it's the last thing you do before you take on Ganondorf...

** Turtle Rock in ''[[A Link to The Past]]''; a fairly straightforward romp with few difficult enemies that is more an exercise in puzzle-solving than ardent combat (And is also one of the few dungeons in the game with a mid-level break and an opportunity to complete a [[Heart Container]] midway), topped off with a boss that's [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience]] with regards to its initial weaknesses. The preceding dungeon? The aptly-named Misery Mire. The following dungeon? The last one.

*** Blind's Dungeon (Thieves' Town) qualifies as well, even if activating the boss is somewhat of a (Simple) puzzle. Before, you have Skull Woods with a complicated layout, [[Wall Master|Wallmasters]], [[Demonic Spiders|Pikits]], and [[That One Boss|Mothula]]. After, [[Frictionless Ice|The Ice Palace]] with one of the most difficult puzzles of the game, which ''itself'' is wrapped in even more enigmas.

* An older example is ''[[Pac-Man]]'' and its spinoffs. The amount of time where monsters stay blue and edible generally goes down after [[Cutscene|cutscenes]], but there are specific levels where the amount is suddenly high again, making the game easier for that particular level.

** Even before that, you have the "nanomachine" puzzles. You're given a few hexagon-made shapes and have to fit them all into a certain area. You get this twice. Even before that, you have the "master the Healing Touch" level.

* The ''[[Fire Emblem]] 9'' chapter "Training" takes places before the most annoying chapter in the game, the desert chapter, where you have to try and kill as few enemies as possible, while your own units have shit for movement. It is a fairly easy chapter with plenty of XP.

** 10 has 4-5, perhaps the most XP rich chapter in the entire series, right before the "endgame" levels.

** Chapter 29x/31x in ''Fire Emblem 7'' came directly after a huge castle defense map... and was basically a shopping trip for which you were given 30,000 gold. Granted, it was optional and had a five-turn time limit.

** Also main Cistern area and {{spoiler|where you meet Agrippa in the Nave, which works as a breather room}}

* In ''[[Bliss Stage]]'', after flying a mission, the player characters are granted Interlude Actions, giving the players a chance to heal and roleplay. This is the main mechanism by which the characters [[Level Up At Intimacy 5]].

* ''[[I Wanna Be the Guy]]'', of all games, has one: [[The Very Definitely Final Dungeon|The Castle of The Guy]] is, if not easy, at least fair (by IWTBTG standards). Then comes '''The Guy'''.

* ''[[Tetris the Grand Master]]'' has your drop speed decrease once you clear level 200, but from that point onwards, your speed will increase all the way to what ''Tetris'' fans call 20G--that is, blocks will fall 20 lines per 1/60th of a second--that is, they hit the bottom of the stack ''instantly''.

* ''[[Parasite Eve]]'' has one. In day 2, you spend most of the day in Central Park, which is a huge "dungeon" with save points pretty spread apart. In the start of day 3, you're in Soho where you get to stock up on guns, armor, ammo, tools for tune ups, stat boosting items, curing items, and recovery items (although some of the really good stuff [[Pixel Hunt|are practically invisible]]). You then go the museum to advance the plot. Why such a generous break? The NYPD precint is under attack by Eve's minions after you come back to from the museum. The monsters have beefed up considerably (and you'll be dealing with monsters that can either lower your defense or cut your HP in half per hit) compared to the monsters you fought in day 2 at Central Park, due to being in a small building.

* In the second Subspace Bomb Factory stage in ''[[Super Smash Bros]]. Brawl'', you'll eventually find yourself in a small room that consists of nothing but three Heart Containers and a long drop of an exit. This says nothing about the fact that the area is sandwiched between an autoscrolling area filled with hazards and enemies, and a boss fight with a timer. Of course, when you first play through this level, the Heart Containers would be redundant, since the area will be immediately followed by a movie introducing the boss, and you will have to choose a new lineup of characters, and when that happens, your health completely refills anyway.

** In the second portion of The Swamp, after [[That One Boss|beating Giant Diddy Kong]] is somewhat of a breather. Even [[Crowning Music of Awesome|the music from Yoshi's Island]] that is played in that level seems to suggest it.

{{quote| '''Prof. Frankly''': No fearsome monsters or dangerous dungeons, either! It's just a tourist attraction!}}

** Of course, there's still a pitstop at a dungeon and the obligatory boss fight, but compared to [[That One Level|the last chapter]] it's less annoying. Just be careful of the [[Demonic Spiders|Spiked Parabuzzies]].

* [[No More Heroes|Letz Shake]]. The level is the world's longest hallway, with about six dual-lightsaber wielding Darth Vader ripoffs scattered far inbetween, a health pack or battery recharge at almost every enemy, all the trading cards are in plain sight, and the boss [[Already Done for You|gets killed]] [[Kill Steal|right before the battle starts]]. The only actual challenge is that the enemies are a little spammy.

** And in the sequel, both rank 3 and rank 10. Rank 3 consisting only of a motorcycle drive with no enemies and no obstacles, while rank 10 is hyped up as a battle royal of assassins but instead consists only of a single battle. {{spoiler|With Letz Shake, no less.}}

* ''[[Fallout]] 3'' has one quest that is incredibly simple. You just have to follow {{spoiler|Dad's}} orders, which mainly consist of "go here and press button". Just before this was {{spoiler|Vault 112}} which was simple but annoying to complete. And straight after this quest {{spoiler|the Enclave attack.}}

* These are frequently featured in campaigns of [[Battle for Wesnoth]] to allow the player to build up gold and experience for their units in between scenarios with loads of casualties.

* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' - First game has Dantooine, second game has Citadel Station. In the first case, you spent a lot of the timeat the Enclave first. When leave the Enclave, you've leveled up enough to take on most of the local wildlife without much trouble. In the second game, Citadel has VERY minimal combat until you cross the Exchange.

** Furthermore, Dantooine is a beautiful environment; all grasslands and rivers, set to a permanent sunset. Compare with Taris, which was all dilapidated Durasteel from the Upper City down, and generally a festering pit of corruption and hatred. Bastilla even invokes this trope, calling Dantooine a place of "physical and spiritual healing".

* The Ultimate Skatepark Skate Station Alpha in ''[[Backyard Sports|Backyard Skateboarding]]'', the final level, is a Breather Level because there are no Pro Challenges and the level is small compared to the preceding one (the Medieval Castle).

* ''[[Jet Force Gemini]]'' has the Water Ruin area, which has no enemies in sight; the only intelligent life on it are [[Gotta Catch Them All|Tribals that you need to collect]] and a bear who has you go on a [[Fetch Quest]]. Gem Quarry is also free of enemies, but there is a gem-scooping [[Mini Game]] to do there.

* ''[[Silent Hill 3]]'' starts off with a [[Nightmare Fuel]] dream and then gives you a rest when your character visits the bathroom to escape from the local detective. The rest of the game? Not so much as a cigarette break.

* ''[[Ikaruga]]'' Chapter 5, which is substantially easier than the previous two chapters and has extremely simple chaining. Even the [[Boss in Mook Clothing|Bosses In Mook Clothing]] that show up at the end of the pre-boss section that fire massive bullet storms only fire in one color, allowing you to absorb these bullets easily to charge up your homing attack.

** Unfortunately, you then fight [[That One Boss|Tageri.]]

* Chiyo's level in ''[[Calling]]'' is brightly lit and almost serene. Ghost won't attack you unless you ignore the black cat's warnings, and there's none of the oppressive, [[Paranoia Fuel|paranoia-inducing]] atmosphere of the previous levels.

* In ''Dilbert's Desktop Games'', one of the mini-games required you to climb up to the top of the corporate headquarters skyscraper. To complete a level, you had to collect donuts, while avoiding the boss and other obstacles. The various levels were named after departments such as "Marketing", "R&D", "Software Engineering", etc. When you got to the level named "Employee Benefits" ... it was totally empty, except for a single donut that you had to collect, and the sound of wind echoing through the deserted halls.

* The Glutton's kitchen cavern from ''[[Pikmin]] 2'' may also count as it's one of the few caverns during that point of the game to not have any dangerous hazards like Bomb Rocks, explosions and falling boulders.

* Lampshaded in ''[[Hydorah]]''. The level description for the third level is "Upgrade your weapons."

* ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generation]]'' has a [[Disc One Final Dungeon|climactic battle]] in which both Maier and Julia are fought for the final time and {{spoiler|Sanger}} is also fought, and like most such levels, the following cutscene has a major [[The Reveal|reveal]]. Then the following level is...a rush of enemies that most of your units can probably one-shot.

*** However, in Gold and Silver (arguably not their remakes, though), the entirety of Kanto could be considered a [[Breather Level]]. Most of the Gym Leaders aren't ''much'' higher-leveled than the Elite 4 (except for Blue), Janine is noticeably easier than the rest of the Gym Leaders even in the remakes, and much of the extra dungeons and buildings have been closed off, leaving Kanto fairly simple.

* In ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'', [[Nintendo Hard]] is the phrase of the day throughout most of the game, but the level where you first get [[Powerup Mount|Rambi]] is not only a cakewalk, it's an empowering one; Rambi [[Took a Level In Badass]] since his last calling, and is now more or less an unstoppable horn-tank of pain, including being able to ''destroy spikes by touching them''. Unfortunately, after having a breezy level with Rambi, it's back to the fiery pit of borderline [[Platform Hell]].

* In ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics a 2]],'' you have 'The Dig', the very next storyline mission after the one where you faced off against {{spoiler|Illua.}} There are only about six mostly-average monsters to contend with, and none of them pose any significant threat.

* ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'': In the final required story mode, Shade Impulse, chapter three is, for a normally-leveled character equipped with the best available (which isn't much, beating Shade Impulse unlocks the courses where you can get trade goods for the passable-to-good stuff), absolutely ''brutal''. Then once the player scrapes through that, the short final chapter four is a breeze, with straightforward board/level designs and very easy-to-dispatch enemies. ...Of course, the [[Final Boss]] at the end of chapter four is a textbook [[SNK Boss]], but you can't win them all.

** The mission "The Devil's Playground" is a joke even on Brutal difficulty; you can collect the required 8000 minerals and simply build troops to defend your base from light Zerg offenses, or you can go and trump the enemy's buildings, only to find adversity within the last base, which contains a Brood Lord and an Infestor as well as standard defenses. In fact, at that point you can collect the minerals and keep your units near the last base so you can fend off the attacks easily.

** The mission "Breakout". You only control one unit, and do relatively little micro-ing, even on Brutal difficulty. Only sheer recklessness is the way to fail the mission, as with Tosh you can consume an infantry unit to regain energy and stand next to Medics constantly to heal yourself.

* The arcade version of ''[[Gradius]] III'' is famous for being brutally [[Nintendo Hard]], but Stages 6 (Bio) and 8 (Plant) are considerably easier than the rest.

** The plant stage was originally planned to be Stage 3, which might explain its situation somewhat.

* The ''[[Twisted Metal]] 2'' battlefield difficulty curve: easy -> moderate -> very easy -> moderate -> very easy -> hard -> INSANE -> moderate.

* In ''[[Drakensang]]'' after some pretty hard times of stealth and hard fights in the castle ruins in the Blood Mountains and the siege of Grimtooth castle, Tallon feels pretty much like this. {{spoiler|Except fot the hidden Linnworm [[Bonus Boss]] and the [[Climax Boss|Dragon Jafgur]] near the end.}}

* ''In [[Super Mario Galaxy]]'', this is the case with most of the beach themed levels. Beach Bowl Galaxy has no boss fights or tricky platforming and some ludicrously easy missions like passing the swim test, and Sea Slide Galaxy has mainly racing and item collecting missions with no real platforming or combat. Especially a breather considering the former comes before Ghostly Galaxy and [[That One Boss|Bouldergeist]] and the latter after the tricky Toy Time Galaxy. In [[Super Mario Galaxy 2]], you could probably count Starshine Beach as this as well, since minus an annoying green star it's again a rather sedate level with few tough enemies or jumps and a collectathon focus to it.

** In ''[[Super Mario 64]]'', possibly Snowman's Land due to it having an easy boss and much less of a focus on platforming than the others at that point in the game.

* ''[[Doom|DOOM II]]'' MAP19, "The Citadel" can be considered disappointingly easy since the level's difficulty contrasts its epic style (the level is a ''friggin' castle'', for pete's sake) and music ("Shawn's Got the Shotgun", the same BGM used in [[That One Level|MAP07]]). The enemies are generally limited to light sprinklings of lower-level [[Mook|Mooks]], and when hordes of them are thrown at you, it's always in areas where you have an environmental advantage. It does help the player absorb the overall atmosphere, though, and is a nice preparation for the downright [[Nintendo Hard]] MAP20.

* ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'' has the Geth Fighter Base, where Shepard is sent into the [[Cyberspace|Geth Consensus]] to destroy the Reaper code controlling a squad of geth. There's no real combat, and it mostly serves to give some insight into the events of the Morning War.

* The [[Disgaea]] games usually have periodic maps where the [[Geo Effects]] are all beneficial (particularly in regards to XP boosts), and the enemies are arranged in such a way as to be all killable with a single wide area attack. Basically these are designated spots to make [[Level Grinding]] more quick and painless (which, [[Absurdly High Level Cap|in this series]], is a godsend).