A painting associated with the Pit of Peril level.
Pit of Peril is a supposed level that can be found in earlier builds of Super Mario 64, as well as several personalized copies. It is described as a large, cavernous area made of black rock with several lava pits. It has been compared to Hazy Maze Cave and Deep, Deep Void, an anomalous cavern level. However, it supposedly has several defining features, such as unique spider enemies referred to as Creepy Crawlies, lava that can be manipulated using objects resembling the water crystals seen in Wet-Dry World, and a special sub-area known as the Cold Cavern. The level has been reportedly accessed through several methods, mainly being related to the basement of Princess Peach's Castle, likely due to the level's similarities to Hazy Maze Cave.
Description[]
Pit of Peril is a long, winding cavern with several pathways, small ponds of lava, bottomless pits and a central tube-like area resembling Tick Tock Clock, being illuminated by several lanterns similar to those seen in Hazy Maze Cave. Several rocky platforms are dotted along the walls of the center area, allowing for access to other parts of the level. At the bottom of this area, a large lava lake can be present, with several platforms similar to those in Lethal Lava Land allowing for traversal of this area.
The central lava lake has been said to be raised and lowered using objects resembling the crystals used to control the water level of Wet-Dry World, potentially being the original version of these crystals before being repurposed for Wet-Dry World. Raising the lava's main purpose is usually to allow for access to specific parts of the level that can only be reached using the platforms on the central lava lake.
Once the lava is drained, two areas can consistently be accessed at the bottom of the central area. The first one is an area filled with spiderwebs and the unique Creepy Crawly enemies, which usually act like faster Goombas, until reaching the end of this area where the level's boss can reside. The other area is the Cold Cavern, a maze-like area covered in ice, resembling the igloo in Snowman's Land. At the end of the Cold Cavern is usually a star.
This level has been reported to have several enemies other than the Creepy Crawlies, with the most common being Goombas, Scuttlebugs, Whomps, Blarggs, and Motos. The Cold Cavern region reportedly contains Mr. Blizzards and Spindrifts, likely due to the area's ice theme.
Missions[]
Several stars have been reported, such as an 8 red coins star, a 5 secrets star, and some unique stars, such as defeating a Motos at the central lava lake, or finding a way to drain the lava lake, unlocking the other areas in the next missions. Another supposed mission is defeating a Creepy Crawly Queen, a larger version of the Creepy Crawly enemies, presumably being the mother of the Creepy Crawlies in the area. The boss can supposedly be defeated through several methods, such as throwing boxes at them, or ground pounding either their head or back.