Life's a Beach

OutRun is one of the most successful arcade games of all time, and Coconut Beach is one of the most-played levels on this list. The game gives players the simple goal of driving across the country, and the landscapes range from wheat fields to mountains. Coconut Beach serves as the game’s starting point, and this means that everyone who played the game had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the track. The level is aptly-named, and the beach is lined with hundreds of palm trees. You won’t have a lot of time to admire the scenery, however, since you’ll be traveling in excess of 180 miles-per-hour. You’ll only be in Coconut Beach for about a minute before the scenery changes, but you’ll revisit the track every time you play the game. You never have the chance to run through the sand or dip your toes into the ocean, but it’s hard to complain when you’re sitting in a supercar with a hot blonde by your side. For those wanting to get a closer look at Coconut Beach, it’s featured as a court in Sega Superstars Tennis.

For anyone who didn’t grow up in the ’90s, Cool Spot was an advertising mascot based on the red circle from the 7up logo. The little guy was the center of a successful ad campaign, and he was apparently popular enough to land a starring role in a video game. Against all odds, Cool Spot turned out to be a pretty decent game, and the opening level was especially memorable. “Shell Shock” begins with Spot surfing on an empty 7up bottle before finding himself on a beach that’s patrolled by myriads of hermit crabs. Spot’s diminutive size makes the harmless animals seem gigantic in comparison, and dragon flies may as well be pterodactyls. Relative to Spot, Walkmen are as large as cargo vans and beach chairs could be likened to high-rise buildings. There’s not a lot to see in the level and you can race through it in under a minute, but I like the game’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids vibe. It’s interesting to look at the world through a different lens, and the game makes a few yards of beach look like an expansive desert.

Kanzuki Beach is a DLC stage from Street Fighter V set on the beautiful shores of Malaysia. The private beach is owned by Karin Kanzuki’s family, and it’s one of the most stunning stages in the series. What’s not to love about white sand and palm trees? It’s a lot of fun to splash around in the ankle-deep water, but this feature actually caused the stage to be banned in tournament play. (Incidentally, the water makes it difficult to gauge spacing, and the waves that roll in from the right side of the screen can obscure certain attacks.) I like sunshine and the ocean breeze as much as the next guy, but everyone knows that the best thing about the beach is the beach babes. Capcom obviously knows this too. The stage was released alongside a premium swimsuit for Karin, and Several bikini-clad girls can be seen in the background – including Tiffany Lords and Hinata Wakaba from the Rival Schools series. I really can’t express just how amazing Karin looks in a bikini.

Link’s Awakening takes place on the mysterious Koholint Island, but the landscape has all the typical locations that you’d expect to see in a Zelda game. (You have mountains, forests, deserts, rivers, swamps, villages and so forth.) The beach is pretty much the only area in the game that makes you feel like you’re on an island. Toronbo Shores represents less than 5% of the game’s total area, but a lot of memorable things happen there. Link has to explore the beach to find his sword after he’s shipwrecked at the beginning of the adventure, but it’s one of the game’s least dangerous areas. By and large, the shores are filled with things that you would fined on a real-world beach. You’ll hunt for seashells, encounter monkeys who throw coconuts from trees, and meet an alligator who collects cans of dog food. Link also spends some quality time with a chick named Marin who contemplates what the world is like beyond the horizon. Marin shows more personality in this one scene than Zelda did in the previous three games.

Opassa Beach is a scenic stretch of land on the southwest corner of El Nido island. It’s in a remote location and it seems like a relaxing place to hang out, but this isn’t to say that nothing exciting ever happens there. The events of Chrono Cross take place across a sprawling archipelago, and Opassa Beach is the center of it all. Prior to the events of the game, a young boy named Serge drowned at the beach. Ten years later, a well-meaning girl traveled through time and rescued him. This decision changed the course of fate and effectively created a separate time line in the process. As a residual effect, a connection was retained between the two dimensions at Opassa Beach. This effectively allows people from one time line to venture into the other one. The game describes the dimensional distortion in greater detail, but the gist of it is that you’ll be visiting Opassa Beach quite often during your adventure. I’d probably want to visit the beach even if it wasn’t at the center of a temporal shift. I love the sounds of the crashing waves, and the place is more colorful than a box of crayons.

New Zack Island is a tropical paradise that acts as the backdrop for the Dead or Alive Xtreme games. Incidentally, the private island is the perfect location for summer activities like beach volleyball and pole dancing. It should be stressed that this is a list of best beach levels rather than a list of best beach games, so it wouldn’t be fair to mention the Xtreme series. New Zack Island is also featured in Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, however, and the “Fireworks” version of the stage is particularly noteworthy. Beach stages are usually associated with sunshine, so it’s easy to forget how beautiful beaches can be after the sun goes down. Fireworks and Tiki torches will light up the sky over New Zack Island, and the stage is filled with unique hazards. You’ll be able to slam your opponents against wooden ships, bounce them off of volleyball nets, and set off waves of pyrotechnics by throwing them against the cabana stage. You’ll also be able to splash around in the water and knock coconuts out of trees. It should also be noted that the “Fireworks” stage was bundled with the “Hot Summer Costume Set.” This means that all of the gals had something appropriate to wear! New Zack Island looks amazing at twilight, and the Dead or Alive babes look even better.

The second world in Donkey Kong Country Returns (known simply as “Beach”) encompasses several stages that take place on the shores of Donkey Kong Isle. This beach is inhabited by hungry sharks, hostile crabs, and torpedo squids, and the weather can fluctuate drastically from one area to the next. Unlike its predecessors, the game doesn’t feature any swimming sections. It’s not easy to keep your head above water, however, and you’ll have to use shipping cranes and the floating remnants of broken ships as makeshift platforms. At various points, the Kongs will have to outrun pirates, evade cannon fire, and take cover behind stone walls to shield themselves from tidal waves. Some critics expressed disappointment over the lack of underwater levels, but there’s more than enough to keep you busy above the surface. One moment, you’ll be battling a giant octopus. The next, you’ll be surfing on the back of a friendly whale. There’s no telling what you’ll see next.

Treasure Trove Cove is the second world in Banjo-Kazooie and one of the most iconic areas in the entire game. It has literally everything you’d want from a beach level. You’ll salvage gold from a pirate ship, take a trip to a lighthouse, explore the inside of a sandcastle, and encounter a relentless shark. You’ll also be able to fight a giant hermit crab and then enter its abandoned shell. The beach is lined with sentient treasure chests and killer clams, but the palm trees are nice and the ocean view is spectacular. Banjo and Kazooie are encouraged to explore the level again after they complete the game, and I had a lot of fun running, swimming, and flying around the cove. No discussion of Treasure Trove Cove would be complete without mentioning its incredible background music. It makes you feel like you’re in a cabana, and I can almost hear the sounds of steel drums as I type this. With all due respect to Koopa Beach from Super Mario Kart, Treasure Trove Cove treats us to the best beach music in gaming history.

Super Mario Sunshine has a summer theme, and most of the levels take place in or around water. There aren’t as many beaches in the game as you might imagine, however. A few of the levels have beach areas, but Gelato Beach is the obvious choice for this list. It’s the largest beach in the game by far, and the sun-kissed shores offer visitors a slice of paradise. The area is adorned with small huts, beautiful palm trees, and large mirrors that help redistribute the sunlight. During your visit to the resort, you’ll look for coins in a coral reef, run through a massive sand castle, push a large watermelon to a fruit cabana, and help the locals by beating up a giant caterpillar. (Gelato Beach is also home to the legendary Sand Bird, but he’s kind of an asshole and I’d rather not talk about him.) Whether you’re swimming with the fishes or taking a seat on a water-powered swing, there’s always something interesting to see. No level in the game does a better job of capturing the spirit of summer.

Sega took their time in releasing a 3D Sonic game, but they got off on the right foot when they finally pulled the trigger. Emerald Coast was the first stage in Sonic Adventure and it’s still one of the best levels in the entire series. The design is straightforward, the action is focused, and the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. The level of detail was astonishing for the era, and I was especially impressed by the way Sonic and his friends would leave footprints in the sand. The picturesque scenery was somewhat marred by Eggman’s destructive robots, but it’s always fun to bounce off springboards and run around loop-de-loops. The stage is mostly comprised of beaches and palm trees, but the most memorable moment sees Sonic running on a wooden pier while a killer whale pursues him. This impromptu chase scene was enough to sell me on the game, and it was a great way for Sega to show off the newly-minted Dreamcast. Emerald Coast is everything I wanted from a 3D Sonic game.