I think a bit part of the reason why the bosses are such push overs is that the game used to be played with tank controls and no mouse aim. That's how my father and I played it back in the day anyway. Take away your strafe and mouse aim, and the game instantly becomes far more difficult. Bosses especially!

This video has been keeping me alive during the last few days of tedious work. Thank you for this.

Other two games on Build-engine also are worth of videos: Blood and Redneck Rampage

Dark side Hotel hell Critical mass The abyss The best maps from each episode

You were right when you said that you were missing something in E4M11 AREA 51. The launch codes to exit the level are on the screen in the "hidden assault commander" room beside the teleporter, and one on either arm of the chair in the adjoining room. So easy to miss though, believe me. It took until I was an adult to notice it. Playing as a kid I was stuck as all hell. I ended up warping out to the next level because I couldn't figure it out back then.

You have both Babe Land and Pigsty ranked as #32. Also you later moved Movie Set from 14 to 33.

Wish you would have done this actually going from best to worst, instead of going through the levels chronologically. Makes it more fun to watch IMO

In Area 52 level, the end codes are actually shown on a machine earlier in the level.

In Duke Burger level, before you shrink yourself and go into the room full of enemies, there is a way to kill those enemies from a vent above the room, without having to go through shrinking. However, if you go that way you will not be able to do anything else yet as rest of things in that room get triggered by your actions.

Totally agree with top1-2. E1M2 felt very different from E1M1 in some ways for me, especially the soundtrack and rubbed me the wrong way tho

Hey, make a rank of the enemies. :)

You see the Protozoids as a mild annoyance; I see them as anxiety-inducing terrors that make me scream when they latch on to me. I also didn't realise how polarising they are to players of DN3D until recently. Some of us want to patch them out or replace their sprites, while others call us pussies for that reason alone. Duke may be not be afraid of pixelated mouths on green slimers trying to bite his face off and brain out. But I am.

Mist Ache may be the greatest track that Andrew Hushult COMPLETELY butchered, in 2013.

Episode 4 secret "Area 51" didn't even need to solve the launch code. If y'pressed the "action" button where the exit symbol is hidden, Duke punched it thru the wall and the level would end. Don't believe me? Give it a try 😎

2:11 Well, actually we just followed the street. We did not know we could jump. We didn't know about RPG. It's a secret place after all. We were killing monster to the right, then to the left (through the window). We were lurking around this window, unable to get inside. Certainly there was something going in inside, but doors are shut. Unable to solve this mystery, we had to proceed down the street, so kill another monster, then finally discover alternative entry to the cinema. You play as very experienced player and missed all that struggle. We were eventually discovering security cameras, and those cameras were showing quite mysterious view from some apartment. Street to the outside of apartment looked familiar, raising some questions. And then we went to check our suspicions. And we discovered this SECRET PLACE. What a rewarding experience. But you run straight inside, knowing it's there. It's not how it's been for first time players. By the way, do you know what are steroids for? By using steroids you can jump into window to the opposite side of street and finish level in record time. There is an achievement in Anniversary Edition

I feel like i remember playing total meltdown on ps1 and faces of death level. There's a wall you can go through to exit. Its been many years since ive played

Always hated the sound of Protozoid Slimers crawling around the level. Made me want to hunt them all down so I wouldn't have to listen to it.

56:29 You're not supposed to guess it at all. It's literally on computer screens. The video isn't bad, but you really needed to take some more time and do a little more research before going to the trouble of grading these in such a comprehensive manner. There are a few issues like that throughout the video. It's a great video overall, and your insights are quite interesting, but those few flaws will have the nasty habit of sticking out to long time Duke veterans.

Sorry I couldn't resist... Top Ten According to video: 1. E1L1 Hollywood Hollocaust 2. E2L8 Dark Side 3. E1L2 Red Light District 4. E2L7 Lunar Reactor 5. E3L8 Hotel Hell 6. E4L9 Critical Mass 7. E4L1 It's Impossible 8. E3L1 Raw Meat 9. E1L3 Death Row 10. E2L1. Spaceport

Thanks for the video!

Great video! I've immensely enjoyed your analysis of the various aspects of level design - map layout, verticality, build engine effects, explosions, puzzles, enemy variety, lighting, music, real life-like locations, secrets and easter eggs - that make this game so much fun! Love your level choices, including not hating on E2. Personally, however, I did enjoy Spin Cycle quite a bit because of the chaos the moving conveyor belt creates! I feel most of the secret levels were meant to be creative diversions anyway.

The worst level by far is The Queen.

Spin Circle is funny if you try to get all monsters to spawn (including the end-room) Battle Sentries before starting to fight them or just watch how they all blow each other up

I’m a progressive feminist who hangs out in circles with other lefties. We absolutely love the Duke, even the women and gender non-conforming folk. A lot of people would probably think that he represents toxic masculinity or something, but no. Duke is big dumb fun and a self-aware parody. It’s on par with WWE but with more self-awareness. Sometimes you just need good helping of dumb mixed in testosterone, and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.

I love the Forest Compound, but even though I'm a professional at stealth in RtCW, I still get spotted sometimes for weird reasons.

Amateur talking about how playable Duke Nukem levels were, while ignoring the fact that they had mirrors and movable doors and room over room and sloped floors and independently lit surfaces and floating walkways and interactive objects and scripted events and inventory items and open source AI and unsolicited tastless quips etcetera etcetara It's sad when you see how far Duke has fallen, but Duke Nukem 3d really was more than the sum of its parts.

Stadium can be beaten even faster, just use the jetpack to go above the stadium, then blast the emperor with the rocket launcher.

Where would you rank the prequel missions of the XBox port?

14:24 Faces of Death is also a secret map in the otherwise all new episode on the PS1 port of the game. (what a let down for a secret, huh?)

Since it is in your name, maybe you could rank the levels of the recently released ROTT Ludicrous Edition.

I didn't even realize who had uploaded this until I looked at your channel! Super excited to see you creating more videos, your stuff is great. I hope you keep going!!

Really cool re-listening to some of these tracks that I had long forgotten, sweet trip down memory lane. Sick mix!

The music really be popping off

Re-uploaded with fixed song titles :)

The drones can die in a ditch - I always despised them for what a pain to deal with they are. Only good thing about them is exploiting their stupidity by having them explode as you hide behind a closed door. Not a very Duke-like tactic but you gotta ease the pain where you can.

The Chateau is my personal favorite level, and the one I continually go back to the most. The level design is beautiful, and the music combined with the intensity of the combat makes it feel more 'climactic' than the actual return to Castle Wolfenstein.

I noclipped the abyss so many times as a dumb child.

In E1M2, the sewer does actually loop into a different area in the map, being the bathroom of the club.

That "live news broadcast" on the TV in E1L2 was the famous OJ Simpson White Ford Bronco chase.

You should do Doom next.

I played Total Meltdown so I had a different Episode 4 experience. Duke 3D is still great in any version tho!

On the Hotel Hell secret level: The manhole visible near the exit encourages blowing up that tree. Being able to blow up manholes popped up a few times in earlier episodes. As for the waterfall, stuff hidden behind waterfalls is a game cliche, and its an alcove (unique).

This was a great video! I used to play this game all the time back in the day but never really got very far. It must have taken you quite a while to get all the screen shots and make this so thank you! Would you ever consider doing a similar video for Doom 2?

Fun fact, the shrink ray didn't work on Battlelords before the atomic edition. Battlelords were avatars of hitscan terror.

Sentry drones are defeated by closing the door on them. Open door, activate drones, close door, hug/touch door, hear sentry drones explode on the other side of door. Profit.

I feel sad for E2M9 from the original Doom. I remember it terrified me as a child, but got able to understand the narrative hints after a while (years) that it was about making the monsters fight each other. Two rooms that tell a story and introduce an unusual combat strategy at the time. Light years better than a circular room that causes motion sickness. (Okay, the three-key room paranauê at the end was unnecessary, Sandy Petersen) Anyway. Great video! I think my list would have been similar, because I also really like Lunar Apocalypse. It gives Duke Nukem a The Thing-like atmosphere (and soundtrack. God, the soundtrack). It's kind of claustrophobic and depressing, while at the same time the atmosphere doesn't lose its comical side. If Duke Nukem Forever had done something in that nonsense style, that actually carries a weight, instead of giving the protagonist more anabolics, I think the franchise could have been much more interesting.

4:55 the car chase is actually O.J Simpsons chase

Something Lunar Reactor really suffers from is that its high miniboss quantity and limited supplies, especially pickups for weapons themselves (instead of just ammo). This might not matter in episode play, but it makes it very much a slog in single level runs. Edit: Doing more pistol only runs of your higher ranked levels, I think the shrink ray may be like the jetpack: It only trivializes levels it isn't found it. Those with it aren't based on fighting lots of otherwise tough enemies vulnerable to it (or are only found after them, like Rabid Transit), while those with it (at least in the open) lack such enemies in quantity.

Gotta do Doom & Doom II !

4:35 - If my memory serves me right, one of the walls at the end of the corridor is movable, and connects to the strip club's toilets.