Chocolate Contest 2021 Reviews
Enjl
(from here you can enter presentation mode, navigate using the left sidebar, scroll wheel or arrow keys, or use CTRL + F to look up levels by name)
Airship of dreams
Quite a nice, low-intensity stroll. It presents a couple of ideas, with the Fences, Fires and Rocky Wrenches, but focuses primarily on developing the first of the three, by first moving them on a path, and later increasing their speed. The other two stage elements serve mostly as unintrusive obstacles of breather sections between moments of precarious fence climbing, which is nice.
Visually, it looks alright. The setting is calm and beautiful, but kept simple, and everything is easy to read, with the exception of the point at which the fences turn around. I think the level would have been improved if the paths of the fences were outlined, to make it easier for the player to anticipate the end of their ride. On my first playthrough, I died to suddenly changing fence paths a lot. On future playthroughs I never died to them again, so the disparity is quite large.
All in all, I think the level is good for what it is, but I think it could've been a lot more. It plays things a little too safe for my liking. The end feels a little unloved, with the star just unceremoniously placed in a dead end.
Other: Luigi is better than Mario? Pah, at least Mario didn't trip over a pig dude in a lavatory.
55/100 Overall - 16/30 Pacing - 13/25 Fun - 9/20 Presentation - 7/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Anticide Rebirth
The sequel we never knew we needed. I love the different takes you have on random generation in both this and the prequel. The multiple-choice item rooms are a joy to find and take advantage of, to the point where I wish there was more level here to use these powers in. The level that is there is fun to explore regardless, with a cool chase to cap off this chapter in the Anticide Saga. Though in terms of its length and the... slightly abrupt nature of the secret exit, it feels like a lot more was planned that ultimately had to be cut out. If that's the case, however, I'm certainly looking forward to Part 3 in whatever contest is next :p
Other: The evil spirits of the Ant Tiki certainly didn't appreciate it when I made my way back to the hut in complete darkness. They had enough of my ant-ics and just locked me up in the white chamber forever. Killjoys, the whole bunch of them!
90/100 Overall - 26/30 Pacing - 20/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Blastwood Facility
Pretty good barrel level! I like the idea of putting them on rails and making them bounce. The level uses these ideas well to implement subtle skips, which aids replayability and removes waiting. It doesn't manage to unshackle itself from the downsides of barrels entirely, however, as the amount of player agency while inside the barrel is still rather small, and there is a lot of waiting here that cannot be skipped. That aside, my only real complaints are with regard to the Rising Poison Section being rather finnicky to enter, and being disappointingly short. Other than that, great job!
Other: Mario still hasn't learned that he can just go around the facility rather than exploiting the OSHA non-compliant pipe system to "forge his own path" (read: inflict property damage). But that's why we love him.
80/100 Overall - 24/30 Pacing - 15/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 12/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
bounce bounce
I'm not sure if this level is a cruel joke, or a tech demo. It has a lot of features that seem to be there to outright prank the player (spinjump glitches, forced death/restart, a pre-boss checkpoint which breaks the hp system...) next to some genuine platforming across some Large Round Thing. To the level's dismay, I didn't find the jokes it pulls at the player's expense to be amusing. I don't have any tips to impart other than "please don't make this".
Other: The music sounds like it belongs to a Balan Wonderworld dance sequence.
12/100 Overall - 6/30 Pacing - 1/25 Fun - 3/20 Presentation - 0/15 Concept - 2/10 Functionality
Bright Future
Out of all the things to see in a Mario level, the last thing I expected was Mario purchasing a pet jellyfish and carrying it home through the Kanto suburbs. It's... quite adorable, while simultaneously being one of those levels I bet the creator made to have a hearty laugh at the player. I'm inclined to join the laughing, as there is a certain rhythm to making sure this liittle buddy stays alive, which can be figured out. It's a little slow for my liking, and I can see people getting quickly frustrated at the player's speed cap before a jump essentially being a quarter of what it would otherwise be, but I appreciate it as a puzzle level.
Throughout the level, the answer to every setup is "go slow, you maniac!", which makes the level a little one-sided towards the level attempting to lock that solution away from you while forcing you to jump. As these ideas blend in a lot, part of me thinks the idea of the level would be better applied as a mod on top of an otherwise standard level, framing the jellyfish mechanic as a different way of playing a normal level. But I digress. Overall, it's a fun, difficult puzzle level with a side of casual pet murder.
Other:I believe it's safe to assume that Luigi gifted this jellyfish to Mario after he stole it from somewhere else. No Bright Future for that criminal, we can be assured.
65/100 Overall - 15/30 Pacing - 15/25 Fun - 18/20 Presentation - 7/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Cavern Dive
Pretty neat level! I like the ideas it puts forth, with the buoyant platforms that need to be released, the shifting water level and especially the water boxes attached to marine life. The Mario-looking creechers who live here and speak colourfully in tell-don't-show imbue the place with a sense of alien strangeness, though I would have loved to see a bit of their culture as well. I doubt they'd spend all their time just standing out in the open in what amounts to an underwater version of a hiking trail.
With regards to the level's structure, I think it ends just as it starts getting really interesting by presenting longer platforming chains based around attach-to-layer water boxes that, in the end, lift up a buoyant platform. The combination of all stage elements is tantalizingly brief here, and I bet there's a lot of hidden potential. Overall, pretty good level with some awesome ideas!
Other: "You fell from the surface. Don't worry, we don't get many visitors", they say, as if my first concern after falling into the abyss were weird looks from tourists.
76/100 Overall - 16/30 Pacing - 18/25 Fun - 17/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Chomp Chomp Mountain
Man, what a way to make your level instantly fun just by the music choice alone. The high-energy tune is only rivalled by the Unchained Chomps bouncing about, which themselves are well-telegraphed with safety coins (most of the time). Moving alongside them is great fun, and I enjoyed the level a lot. I think the only thing it's really missing is an elaborate ending setup, perhaps one where you ride a horde of chomps over a relatively low-danger, high-adrenaline canyon.
Other: You know a level designer is serious when they bring out the big guns: the SMB3 Recoloured SMW Chargin' Chuck sprites.
92/100 Overall - 24/30 Pacing - 23/25 Fun - 20/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Circles of Hell
Right off the bat - big fan of the level's concept. Altered Repetition-type levels have been around a lot in terms of a single-screen affair, yet I rarely see longer stretches of looping land. The flavourful touch of this being hell holds that concept together well. The level appears to depict a state of purgatory, with our favourite criminal plumber Mortimer "Mario" Mushroomsworth re-experiencing the same moment in time indefinitely. With that expectation sitting tight in my mind I was a bit surprised to see the level attempt to go for a sense of finality with its introduction of the keyhole exit. If I interpreted the theme correctly, I would have thought it more fitting for the level to begin at a random point in his thousands of iterations, and likewise end at a point similarly bleak, escalating mostly aesthetically by means of our misguided hero sinking further into his sins.
What we got is not that, but it's a good take on altered repetition nontheless. Each loop does a god job at setting up the changes upcoming in the next iteration via gradually intensified enemy placement. I wouldn't have minded this looping to go on for a little longer than it already does, perhaps introducing the removal of certain stage elements to illustrate the plumber's ever-fading memory, but at the same time that might have made the final obstacle - shoutouts to the only Phanto in the contest - far more challenging than it already is. This cheeky creature has probably taken more lives than any other enemy ever has, and presents a significant uptick in difficulty even on repeat playthroughs due to its difficult-to-predict flight patterns and the occasional narrow path you have to traverse. Is she the final boss of hell? She certainly could be. Tuning down her effectiveness at murder would, I think, be a welcome change to aid the level's flow, since as it stands I always spend four times as long on the final loop than the rest combined.
Overall, despite my ramblings about how more eldritch the concept could have been, I think the execution presented here is still brimming with an ominous charm and interesting obstacles. My only real complaint is on Phanto "Beelzebub" McGee for his ridiculous KDA. Overall it is a very fun level that I think is also fun to theorize about, as you may have been able to tell.
Other: Canonically I would have expected Luigi to be the first plumber to enter hell, but maybe they lost his trace after he changed his name to Lucky.
85/100 Overall - 20/30 Pacing - 21/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Clouddrop Paradise
I'd love to love this level, purely based on the quantity of :3 creechers, but there are a couple of questionable decisions that soured my time a little. While the basic setup, progression and ideas are great, it seems to insist on artificially inflating its difficulty. The powerups in this level are rare, and additionally difficult to find for the first two segments, making every setup more stressful than it needs to be. Then comes the trouble of tight squeezes past Lava Drops in particular, whose hitbox I found very difficult to parse overall. And finally, there is a lot of visual clutter that does an almost criminally good job at hiding the Asterons. It's easy to make tiny missteps in this level and be punished, which can sometimes feel like it's none of the player's fault.
This makes the Checkpoint That Kills You before the autoscroller seem a little mean-spirited - I'm already struggling to survive, why do I die whenever I respawn now, too? And while easily avoidable, dying in the Tower will set you back to the same checkpoint before the autoscroller yet again, which makes me wonder why there was no additional checkpoint at the tower to prevent such setbacks.
I do like the general presentation, though! The pan in the beginning should be skippable, but sets up the tower nicely as your goal. I did struggle quite a bit with understanding the lore of the place, though, due to the writing's shaky wording. I'd be lying if I said I understood what the player's journey was ultimately about. King Clouddrop just seemed to be saying nothing with many words. Exactly like a true monarch would, I suppose.
Overall, it's a nice level, but I have a hard time really liking it due to its rough edges.
Other: It still seems weird to me to see Subzero Heroes dissected for individual assets. I doubt that's gonna be a thing I'll ever be able to come to terms with. But that's fine, I suppose.
83/100 Overall - 23/30 Pacing - 18/25 Fun - 17/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Cosmic Station
Zappy is cool and I like that she now has her own level. There's a lot of playfulness in utilizing and modifying the projectile's properties, which makes for some unique gameplay due to the overall rarity of purely vertical projectiles. That said, I wish this level was more courageous with the handling of its elements. Throughout the level, you don't encounter much more than Zappy, Grinder and Platform. In one instance, Zappy is placed on a line guide, but the level never takes the extra step to put Zappy's Zap on a lineguide to redirect its path and build electric currents out of that. I feel like there's a lot of untouched potential here.
When it comes to the elements the level does use, I think the panels are a cool idea but a little too dangerous to navigate. The varying bullet speeds can be difficult to predict, especially while jumping through a gap between two moving towards you, and I think the idea of the blue panels could've been just as easily realized by means of introducing a more potent second Zappy with slightly different physique. The elevator section was a nice break of pace, but I think it fails with regards to the 50/50 on "coins for safety" vs. "coins for danger".
Not much more to say here, I'm afraid. I do like what you were going for, and I hope you can develop your level ideas further in the future.
Other: Visually this level always seemed to me like more of a motherboard location rather than a mothership station. Then again, where is the difference between the two in science fiction?
56/100 Overall - 8/30 Pacing - 16/25 Fun - 11/20 Presentation - 11/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Cursed Block Forest
For a level aiming to be difficult, this was fairly easy to complete deathless. I do have to agree on the readme's use of the term unfair, though. The level loses some of its relaxing design through its concealing canopy and high-speed snake block ride. Those elements are able to unfairly ambush the player, which feels bad more than it feels unique. The titular Cursed Blocks themselves play but a minor role, and I would have liked to see them incorporated more into the level's structure.
Other: That said, I'm looking forward to Blursed Block Forest.
37/100 Overall - 10/30 Pacing - 7/25 Fun - 5/20 Presentation - 5/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Delay Temple
This concept sucks, but I appreciate that THIS is the level which is going down in history as our way to say "hey, this was already done, and better" to future villains (rather than something brutal and nigh-unbeatable). I had a good time with this! It's a joke entirely at the expense of the player, but its approachable difficulty and turn-off-the-gimmick switch make it easy to laugh with the level, rather than cry about it. Indeed, never have I been more afraid of that chump Steven the Goomba over here. Great work; but now, everyone, please never do this again.
Other: Out of all levels ever made, this is the one where I think seeing meatboy-style shadows of your former attempts would be the most amusing.
63/100 Overall - 20/30 Pacing - 20/25 Fun - 13/20 Presentation - 0/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Detonation Hazard
Some really cool chain reactions here! I think the level is at its best when it pulls out its multi-layered TNT-Trickery. It takes a bit to get going, but when it does, it really does. The level caps off with a high-octane escape sequence which flips the situation from having to wait for the TNT to be ready to struggling to catch up with the intense chain of constant detonations. It's awesome, and I like it a lot.
By using this specific tileset, the level does falter in the visual department a little. It suffers from the common Unclear-What's-Solid-Itis, particularly on the unexpectedly solid pipes which look more like BGOs than they have any right to. That aside, nice foreshadowing of the treachery going on at the end by means of hinting towards the "unfriendly staff."
Overall, cool level! Though the autoscroller is so hectic that I think it's better on repeat playthroughs, because you know what to expect.
Other: I used to think "Wow, a radioactive facility? What a terrible place for a level! Mario's body would be ruined forever!" But then I remembered that Mario frequently visits volcanoes, the bottom of the ocean, outer space and the internet. Nowadays all of these evoke an equal "ah, Danger Place" reaction from me.
92/100 Overall - 27/30 Pacing - 23/25 Fun - 17/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Empire Ants
Man, you know when a level just really resonates with you? This level is definitely my comfort level of the contest; just enjoyable to take a stroll through. I adore the foreboding, dark atmosphere carried by the music, the slightly off-angle autoscroll, the focus on dodging (and in my mind, being sneaky), and the little secrets hidden about. It's just plain well-done, and the ending is hilarious as well.
I suppose my only complaints would be some slight hints of repitition that might've been nice to migitate with an additional enemy type... as well as the lack of a sound effect when bouncing on the ants. All around though, I like this a lot.
Other: I wonder why the Ants and Sparkies have a statue of Bowser in their hideout. Maybe that's the real Bowser sneaking about, standing perfectly still as to avoid the unexpected Mario.
96/100 Overall - 27/30 Pacing - 25/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
The Flooded Laboratory of Lake Floria (alpha build)
Gosh, this is so unfortunate! I love everything about the idea here. Enemies tied to music are a beacon of creative ideas, and the way the smokestacks help indicate the beat is insanely clever. The water and mist help carry the ominous ambience, which I am frankly dying to see more than two screens of. Not much here to criticize, but also not much here to praise, aside from the ideas. Please do finish this one sometime, and ping me when it's done.
Other: I was gonna remark about the ease of softlocking yourself by falling in the water, but every situation is salvagable by swimming under the level and back to safety. My one snide remark has been ExFoiled.
47/100 Overall - 1/30 Pacing - 1/25 Fun - 20/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Fall
Oh, what a cute level! It has a bit of that Kirby's Dream Land 3 flavour, with the alternate completion methods. Those are always a joy to see made a focus, especially when they determine the outcome of the level. This here being an optional confrontation with Wart's cousin, Benjamin. I'm also a fan of the waterfalls, and I bet there are plenty more things that they could be used for, which the level chooses to leave out. Waterfalls that only affect enemies come to mind, as a counterpart to the existing variant.
Aesthetically, while being hardly ambitious,the level manages to strike a beautiful and calming tone, which made me wanna stay in its environment longer than even my initial three back to back playthroughs. In terms of structure, I like the inclusion of ledges for skipping what would otherwise be wait time, though I think more could have been done with it to introduce more variety in the different runs, such as underpasses, or turtle shells you can use to dispose of oncoming traffic efficiently.
Overall though, this is an adorable break from a lot of the surrounding chaos, and I had a good time.
Other: Finally Wario is on the bottom of the ocean, where he belongs.
81/100 Overall - 22/30 Pacing - 19/25 Fun - 16/20 Presentation - 14/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Fantastical Incursion
I'm certainly no expert in the bullet hell genre, but I do enjoy dabbling in it. I've played some games in it, and my current belief is that 'bullet hell games aim to challenge the player by presenting them with interesting bullet patterns which they can avoid via careful maneuvering and mastery'. When it comes to platformer-bullet hell games, there are a few factors that come into play that don't have to be accounted for in the shmup genre. The most notable is gravity: The player doesn't usually have full control over one of the two axes the game operates on, making careful maneuvering on the y-axis difficult. Another difference that's often overlooked is that of camera movement: The camera in most shmups is static, making it easier to focus on the bullet patterns.
So how do the games referenced in the readme migitate this issue? Shared across all three of them, you will find that there are barely any projectiles outside of boss battles, the patterns of bosses largely rely on horizontal dodging (less control on the vertical axis means there needs to be more leeway, leading to asymmetric bullet patterns favoring horizontal precision), and players are given tools to counteract the onslaught of bullets: In Touhou Luna Nights you can slow/stop time and in Koumajou Densetsu you can periodically disable gravity entirely. Rabi-Ribi just gives you healing from what I can tell, but I cannot subject my eyes to it any longer so I might be wrong.
In Fantastical Incursion, on the other hand, the platforming segments are loaded with symmetrical bullet patterns (they require equal horizontal and vertical precision), and the tools that help the player (weapons and dodge) encourage a playstyle of rushing past every obstacle before the enemies have a chance of dousing the screen in difficult-to-dodge projectiles. The dodge move, furthermore, is a suboptimal maneuver as it briefly robs the player of movement control on both axes, leading quite often to undodgeable damage after exiting the dodge invulnerability period.
The winning strategy here is to run away like a baby with the ice-weapon equipped for the first half, the shotgun for the second half, and going as fast as possible while freeze-killing any troublesome foes (including the miniboss which can be one-shot this way), before standing directly in front of B. (Bernard) Wart and firing as many shotgun blasts in his face as possible to kill him before he takes to the skies. It is a strategy that works because the projectiles, while looking like they have a pretty large hitbox, in practice never deal damage to you. It feels random and unpredictable and was probably done because the symmetrical bullet patterns were too difficult to dodge beforehand - an issue which seems to stem from choosing to use such bullet patterns in the first place, where they almost never are in the reference material.
Ultimately, I don't think the idea of "bullet hell in a platformer" is worth explicitly focusing on at all. You can make a great boss in SMBX which would fit in a bullet hell game like Touhou Luna Nights without even considering the term Bullet Hell in its creation. Sophia from MAFAB2 serves as a great example. Similarly, projectile-focused stretches of gameplay have also been successful in the past as well as this contest, without trying to fit the expectations of top-down bullet hell games. Adapting a 2D gameplay style to 1.5D without making any alterations to the gameplay doesn't strike me as a very thought-through idea, and I hope I made myself clear as to why.
To close out this novella I would like to talk a little about presentation and pacing. I think the tutorial was very well executed. It taught me how to use the character in a concise manner, and allowed me to get back into the action quickly on repeat playthroughs. The visual progression from exterior to fort to rooftop is a classic pattern of environmental escalation that is also well executed in this scenario. I did have to mark down the presentation a little bit due to the seemingly unrelated lore at the start and end, as well as the ambiguous projectile hitboxes mentioned earlier, but environmentally I like what you were going for.
Other: Would've been a straight 10/10 if 'Cream' was Cream the Rabbit. She would use a plasma beam.
33/100 Overall - 10/30 Pacing - 0/25 Fun - 11/20 Presentation - 2/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Fire of Unknown Origin
Cool level! It makes great use of Toad's ability to just murder things while holding an item over his head, which is always a fun power move to explore. The distinction of spinjumpable items, while mean for people with Achromatopsia due to being by colour, helps a lot given the historically ambigous spinjumpability of hot gases. The platforming's nice, though it does get a little cramped at times, particularly whenever a boo carousel is around. On top of the waiting-for-a-carousel at the start, some pits are made much more precarious by how you travel on a constant-speed projectile past a boo circle twice on the flight. This leads to to difficulty spikes because powerup hitstun will also get you killed if the travel's start was timed wrong. A bit more leniency would have been nice here to keep the flow going.
Overall, this was a pretty good time though! Some polshing around the edges, streamlining of progression and additional leniency would go a great way in elevating this from "good" to "awesome", I think. Good job!
Other: It's always Toad exploring these kinds of ruins. Happens three times in this contest alone. I'm glad the community agrees that our Bulbous Boy would be the most likely graverobber.
77/100 Overall - 19/30 Pacing - 19/25 Fun - 16/20 Presentation - 13/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Garden Canyon
What a delightful level! It takes the simple idea of scaling a mountain and just does what you'd expect. Unfortunately, while we don't ascend even further beyond and end up on the moon, the level makes up for it with a brief horizontal break, and just a bouncy flow throughout. It gets quite challenging near the top, to the point where I bet Mario would wish for the view from above to a little less barren to have more of a reward for his efforts. Overall though, this level is just a well-constructed good time and a half. Well done!
Other: The signs at the top appear to be well-maintained. I wonder why Mario didn't just take the hiking trail off to the side.
90/100 Overall - 26/30 Pacing - 20/25 Fun - 20/20 Presentation - 14/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Getting the star back
How... strange. This level fells like it was submitted mid-development. Quite unfortunate! I'd love to have something to comment on that goes beyond the obvious "where is the fearsome monster?", "the right path is a trap?" and "dang, so you have to go all the way back through the first section which definitely wasn't designed around you having to do that?"
As it stands though, those thoughts overpower the level quite brutally. I hope you manage to finish it sometime.
Other: It stands to reason that the Toad warning of a fearsome monster is one of the grunts working the deck, who is in no way associated with the horrifying rebel Toads entering the pipe to the Star Room. They swiftly put up the gate and began standing there to warn their colleagues of immediate danger.
27/100 Overall - 5/30 Pacing - 3/25 Fun - 10/20 Presentation - 5/15 Concept - 4/10 Functionality
Green Green Heights
I must admit, I find it difficult to enjoy the idea of this level. It seems like a standard SMB2 level, with length and enemy count quadrupled. Wart's goons are working overtime to ensure the player's demise, with piranhas in near-every vase, an average of 1.1 hoopsters per vine (HpV) and every ledge occupied by at least one walking enemy. This level's geometry feels like blocks were placed first and the environment was later filled with enemies. If you play as any of the 5 default characters, that's how it feels like to play the level as well.
I find it unfortunate that any sense of progression this level may have had was undercut by it feeling like it should've been over by the time you reach the second checkpoint. this is because by then you have already reached the top of the hill - the objective I assumed to be the goal when starting my first playthrough. Frankly the "Albatoss Shooting Gallery" which you can effortlessly run past, the "Top 10 Largest Pokeys The World Has Ever Seen" which can drop Pansers on you at random, the "Tight Squeeze Corridor of Bullet Hell" with its trolly carrot platforms, and "the pitiful combat against Biddy "Birdo" Barch, the Gardener" could each make for their own levels.
That said, there is one redeeming quality, which I am unfortunately not able to factor into scoring, but which did intrigue me: Since the intended player character is not specified, I tried the level with a variety of SMBX2 characters and found out that the ideal and most fun way to play this level is when playing as Samus. Samus is the only character with enough range to dispose of the underpaid actors safely, and the periodic enemy health drops aid her in her survival in spite of her HP capping at 2. Additionally, her morph ball erases the tedium of digging for vegetables and other goodies as it can uproot up to three patches at a time. I think this is a good Samus level. However, this is more of a coincidence given that SMBX2 characters were not allowed for the level to be based around.
Overall, I wonder if this level was ever tested without cheats, or by anyone other than the designer. A casual playthrough with a lot of level knowledge and plenty of deaths still takes me well over 10 minutes, with lots of time spent waiting for enemies to line up favourably (not fun). The against-the-anonymity-rule self insert at the end reveals this to be the same author as MAGLX3's Tightfisted Temple, a level which I still consider to be accidentally incredible, but which even then was panned hard for enemy spam. If you, the designer, take one thing away from this review, I would recommend the same thing you were told back then: Less enemies, please.
Other: Imagine Mario's surprise when he made it to the end after 30 minutes on my first playthrough and the first thing he sees is himself.
21/100 Overall - 5/30 Pacing - 0/25 Fun - 5/20 Presentation - 1/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Herbal Space Program
Probably the first ever SMBX level that begs to be played in portrait mode, as it's a vertical puzzle stage, and a good one at that! The double-edged sword of camera offsets both it easier for the player to see what they're constructing, while making it easier to fall into spikes and lava two blocks beneath the player as well. Thankfully, powerups and checkpoints are generously placed to always allow the player to focus on the current puzzle at hand.
Said puzzles cleverly make use of the generator momentum glitch by combining it with low gravity to have the player become The Mario Maker and arrange stage elements in a rube-goldberg fashion to advance via various momentum tricks. Their progressive increase in challenge however simultaneously also unveils a steady increase in jank, peaking once at a Rainbow Shell setup, where failed attempts can nigh-softlock you by re-activating an earlier switch, and once more at the Carrot-Key-RedSpring-GreenShell crossroads, where the ideal shell toss trajectory is difficult to infer and one might quickly find themselves zipping through a wall. On my first playthrough I found it easier to just clip through the wall of switches there by building an awfully jank construction, than to properly take the setup at face value.The penultimate setup is also easily skipped by use of a single red spring, which, if intentional, is a very funny gag.
Jank aside, I had a fun time solving these! The ending is also a hilarious conclusion to Mario's struggles throughout his climb. I'd love to see more done with this idea! Puzzle levels are difficult to do well in SMBX, I think, so this level achieved its goal quite well.
Other: I'm no astronaut, but I think Mario might have forgotten his space suit. Safe travels!
71/100 Overall - 16/30 Pacing - 23/25 Fun - 7/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Holoaquarium
Pretty cool puzzle level! It makes good use of different methods of waking Rip van Fish, as well as the outcomes thereof. I was particularly impressed by the Shell-Kicker contraption involving clear pipes, and the way keys are pushed down for you during the chase. It's simple stuff, but creative nontheless!
Visually I must admit it IS a little barren-looking, and the way the level caps off in what essentially amounts to a Mother Brain fight with a side of ketchup isn't exactly the most exciting kind of walk-back-and-forth simulator, but overall there's a lot of good stuff to be found here! I wouldn't have minded if the puzzling continued on for a bit longer.
Other: I'm pleased and amused by the fact that levels in this contest which involve water or an aquatic theming all barely require the player to interact with actual water physics. Taking all the best parts of the aesthetic while abandoning the worst!
79/100 Overall - 23/30 Pacing - 19/25 Fun - 13/20 Presentation - 14/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Recto Cymol
This is absolutely jaw-dropping, and the amount of effort into making it all work is just incredible. On top of making a level you made this entire 2.5D framework in the 6-week timeframe, which is just... it feels kind of unfair for me to nitpick that. So let me preface this with saying that the amount of work put into this is more than I could have expected anyone to put into their submission. That said, let's get onto the gameplay.
Structurally this level is borderline flawless. The fakeout opening, escalating difficulty and enemy patterns, and ultimate face-off against big F.D. Roosevelt himself is brilliantly executed and flows smoothly as well. The level also has the courtesy to end juuuust as the regular enemy setups start feeling a little repetitive, which is timed very well. Visually and in terms of sound design, everything is easy to read and radical, though I would have wished there to be a little bit more of an ambient progression as the level goes on, like a gradient from daytime to the evening, to emphasize progression during the main portion of the level. It might have aided the "starting to feel repetitive" feeling as well if the game let you know you're getting closer via colors in the sky or the like. For my second nitpick, I feel like the player hitbox could have been a tiny bit more lenient, though it's hardly a big deal due to the generous amount of HP you get.
I don't think I really have anything more to say. This is about as close to a perfect execution as one can imagine, so... splendid work!
Other: So, next year Mario is gonna be chasing down the Gunwyrm in a Space Lamborghini, if I'm interpreting SMBX spectacle creep correctly? If so, I'm here for it.
97/100 Overall - 29/30 Pacing - 25/25 Fun - 18/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Marbleless Temple
Toad is exactly the kind of character who would run around shamelessly robbing graves, so great job on that! The level itself is solid, though I feel it turns the jank factor up to 11 a little bit too frequently. There are cases where The Iron Menace makes a grand return as a rogue wrong-way saw, cases where you can zip through walls or hit enemies during the teleporters, or other such hilarities. Though I will say that the mad scramble to get all panels to yellow in high-danger environments like the Double-Clockwise Coaster, the Grey Platform Pavillion, the Pachinko Panic and the Starman Scramble - even if the last one has a couple too many saws for my liking - is immensely entertaining.
Structurally the level is sound, though the escalation in gimmick complexity is rather subtle and low-key, I find. Before the final setups I found it difficult to gauge how far into the level I was, as checkpoints don't serve as markers for significant shifts in obstacle design (or at least they are subtle enough for me to only barely notice). That said, the way the level eases you in is nice, and the final jumps are a great way to cap off the level. Props for giving the star its own room; it's what she deserves. At the same time, this does make me think how the level would flow if you robbed the star after two thirds of the level and the temple started collapsing.
All in all, I greatly enjoy the variety at play here, and while I would have wished for it to be a little more polished, the package as a whole is a lot of fun overall.
Other: This level is somewhat difficult.
78/100 Overall - 20/30 Pacing - 17/25 Fun - 17/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 9/10 Functionality
Mario and The Dimenson of The Carrots of Doom
A cool level, though I wish it went on for longer and had more structure to it! The idea of branching paths in such a high-stakes environment is really neat and I had fun exploring all the options. Their order and difficulty seems a little random; the short hop room's star coin is much more difficult than anything else in the level. I think with some reordering, polishing and expanding this could be a really cool challenge.
Other: Upon first starting up the level my initial reaction was "woah, someone made 1f8 in SMBX", but ultimately it was more of a 1f3.
64/100 Overall - 6/30 Pacing - 21/25 Fun - 15/20 Presentation - 12/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Mausoleum
Man, so many isaac references in this contest, and all the levels using them are really good. What's up with that?! There's some serious bone-flinging action here, with the line-guided bones and water zones. Lots of good stuff here, ending in a nice ending sequence where you escape the Bone Vaccuum. Though I must say, I wish it had a bit of a more varied arsenal of ideas. There's only so much you can do with bone jumps, and the level exhausts all those options rather swiftly. Not to mention, the colour distinction between the jump-safe and unsafe bones is quite subtle, especailly if you're colorblind. Overall though, really good stuff.
Other: Every morning I wake up in my room, audibly exclaim "Oh, weird place", and walk straight off the balcony if I don't give my body further inputs. #relatable
86/100 Overall - 25/30 Pacing - 19/25 Fun - 18/20 Presentation - 14/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Memento
Truth be told, I'm not quite sure what to make of this. It feels a little like a Collection Of Scrapped Ideas™ in that four completely unrelated scenarios are set up, which are briefly merged near the end. Capped off with a statement by the level author which is bound to become real awkward in a couple months time.
Indeed, this seems to be a recollection of old level ideas, and viewing it as that, it certainly feels like snippits of older levels (which I haven't played)! As a result, the structure is rather unusual. The ideas put forth, while interesting in their own right and surely well-applied in their original stages, don't mesh too well with one another here and are hardly explored beyond their basic capabilities, let alone combined with anything noteworthy other than static spikes or Thwomps. Speaking of Thwomps; while I adore the effect and expression of Screamy Mc. Scrumble, in practice his job is that of a difficult-to-ascertain gravity field, which I found to be difficult to predict.
Overall, I'm afraid I would have preferred a single of these four ideas fleshed out further, than this dimension-hopping odyssey, I'm afraid.
Other: Like flicking through channels on a TV; you only ever view a sixth of a movie, then switch to a new channel. Sometimes there's a surprise ad break so you turn the TV off and decide to do something else.
30/100 Overall - 5/30 Pacing - 5/25 Fun - 5/20 Presentation - 5/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
My Eyes Shine Bright With The City Lights
These are borderline criminal amounts of flavour you're putting into your level. I frankly don't know how squash n stretch hasn't caught on in a more widespread manner before, considering that it's a fact that it makes everything better instantaneously. The whole presentation here is nigh on point, and I love the little details like the occasional creature being caught up in the explosion of an unfortunate vehicle.
When it comes to the level's design, I find its pacing to be rather relaxing. I know my goal, I hope Mario knows the streets, so I'm just headin' straight home - whereever that is. There's one major twist placed near the middle with the introduction of the Future Car, but overall the level manages to have a satisfying sense of progression in spite of its room-based structure, which is rather easy to abuse for making a level too long for its own good. Great job avoiding that trap! The level's difficulty rises smoothly and satisfyingly, with only one exception in the second half, where some tall jumps have to be performed on moving cars, which are easy to miss. I also appreciate the inclusion of some skippable routes for the daring.
In a way, the cars are simultaneously the best and worst stage element, as despite its cuteness, the squash can deceptively trick one into believing that bouncing off the hood is performed automatically. Furthermore, situations may arise in which the player stands on the corner and can bear witness to an overture of violent honking and shaking. It's a minor blot on the polished product, but rather noticable.
Overall though, this was just straight-up pleasant. I could lament the lack of courage in setup complexity, as I so often do, but in this case I feel the simplicity works in the level's favour. At the same time, I would love to see a B-Side to this someday, in some other context. Great work!
Other: The bench is where Luigi sleeps, the bin is where he keeps his belongings. It's what he deserves.
95/100 Overall - 28/30 Pacing - 23/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Neon Showdown
The fanfic is overwhelming. I'll try to refrain from addressing it, but it certainly tinted my experience with the level in a rather negative light, so keep that in mind.
Visually, this level starts out stunning! The eerie atmosphere of the outdoors, signposts and NPCs aside, is the level's greatest strength, and made me look forward to where this level was going. Unfortunately, those things happened to be a SMB3 vanilla housing complex and a blindingly bright HQ, which don't hold up to the same standard of visual fidelity.
In terms of gameplay, the level is consistently inoffensive but also unremarkable. Even as the aesthetics shift, the gameplay never evolves past basic enemies and platform lifts, though the HQ substitutes bottomless pits for lasers, as employees need floor to walk on. Gameplay is frequently hampered by readability issues regarding what's solid and not, as well as the Telefragging Lasers. Those I'm most surprised by, because the tileset used comes with a here-unused deactivated laser emitter for preventing telefragging. The level caps off with a Mother Brain boss like they did 'em in 1924, which I can only commend for its courtesy of reducing the ol' brain's HP.
I'd love to have more positive points to make beyond the early aesthetics, but it feels like this level tried to be carried by its story which... doesn't work for me at all. Sorry!
Other: I hope the Toads who are employed to trick visitors into thinking that regular doors are numbered elevators are paid a proper wage.
43/100 Overall - 12/30 Pacing - 7/25 Fun - 8/20 Presentation - 6/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Oops, I put my Toad in the Wash!
Good stuff! I love how this level makes use of SMBX's enormous screen to facilitate jumping across big gaps and launching the player a far distance. It's also one of the most considerate levels when it comes to player progression, with its return-oriented clear pipes and checkpoint selection room (how have I never seen this before...?). Props for that!
The gameplay flows rather nicely, and I like the ways in which the challenge escalates. The bubbles are used well both as a tool and an obstacle, and other elements like Big Bubbly, Cloud Drop and Fuzzy help shake things up wonderfully. There are but a couple odd spots, like with the introduction of the Red Arrow Bubbles which always manages to make me take damage since I learned Bubble = Good before, but now mistakenly learned Red Arrow = Bad, Avoid (rather than Red Arrow = Single-Use). Some Fuzzies along the Lineguided Ascend are also a little tough to dodge at the frequency they come spewing out, which felt a little clunky in that area. My last nitpick is that, while the ending is really funny, I would've liked a little of a conclusive gameplay segment leading up to it (beyond just rising up bubbles), but that's just my inclination towards the dramatic. Great stuff overall!
Other: The fact that even in this holiest of clean realms the Fuzzies are still black and filth-covered shows that some sins cannot be purged.
94/100 Overall - 27/30 Pacing - 23/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
paradigm shift
Man, such a cool idea and then it's severely underdeveloped. In its current state, I think the level needs more checkpoints, more leniency on the teleport mechanic, more safety nets and leniency in general, more generators for the flowers in case of misclicks, and more ways for the player to learn about nuances of the mechanic before getting killed by a slight miscalculation. Quite frankly, it feels like a test map for an alpha build of the teleport mechanic. Though even if it was elaborated upon I'm not entirely sure how it would flow, due to the fixed teleportation distance. The player is extremely vulnerable while in midair, and if you accidentally clip the wall ever so slightly, you are likely dead.
The challenges the player has to overcome seem randomly strewn about, with little to no cohesion between the setups, nor any particular order aside from the consecutive rock setups. At least it looks kinda nice.
Other: I think it would've been really funny if the enemies were also granted this ability. Pure chaos, yes, but amusing nontheless.
26/100 Overall - 1/30 Pacing - 0/25 Fun - 10/20 Presentation - 8/15 Concept - 7/10 Functionality
Queen of Rinkas
This is what a mother brain boss looks like in 2021, I suppose. She resorts to her favourite murdering tools (boredom and rinkas) once more to take down the 'pesky plumber' in this multi-phase battle!
I'm afraid there's not much to report here. This boss' strengths and weaknesses align pretty well with those of plenty of old, 'climactic' vanilla bosses. I do like the inclusion of a flamethrower block to increase player agency, but it seems this gift was not meant to last. After some block-chucking through a sea of Cyber-Rinkas, the boss is defeated as unceremoniously as it appeared.
Other: Sorry, Ultimate Rinka, but establishing a monarchy isn't gonna be enough to escape the fate that is 'having had no relevance for 4 years'.
31/100 Overall - 4/30 Pacing - 6/25 Fun - 8/20 Presentation - 3/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Roses & Telephones
Boy, what a behemoth of a stage. Slice it into three and you have an entire world for an episode covered. Without a clear goal to guide the player, it feels a little meandering. Shoving in a map for half the level, to me, helps perpetuate that level of aimlessness.
When it comes to the level's content, I think there's a lot of good stuff to be found. All of its elemental components are well-chosen and combine in clever ways, with the mid-teleportation popup coin triggers and such in particular. The inclusion of teleporter cooldowns as a mechanic is one that strikes me as strange, as I have a hard time believing anyone who doesn't read the readme beforehand would have an easy time figuring out what to do in those situations. Furthermore, the setups where they are used are near-identical every time. Infact, with its massive structure, the level falls victim to repeating its ideas more than once, which in a level of this size can easily feel like padding. I think in that regard it would have been nice if the level's length was halved, keeping the top 50% of cool setups and discarding the rest or delegating some of it to bonus challenges a la Celeste.
Visually, I can't say I'm too fond of the Roses aesthetic. It may be because of their high-detail sprites, but my mind just kind of glosses over them. There are also some issues with conveyance, I think, with regards to the functionality of the third-segment's mechanic: The Alt-Run Activated Cellphone. I would have wished a progress bar on its cooldown recharge, a range indicator to help visualize how far my powers reach, and a unique sound effect notifying me of its readiness after the cooldown has elapsed. Without these, I found myself mashing the button quite frequently in anticipation of it coming off cooldown, which felt kind of bad. On the topic of telephone sound effects, my auditory nitpick of the day is that I don't find the chosen teleporter sounds to be at all satisfying to hear on repeat. Something more snappy would've been more fun, I think.
I think the foundation of this level is great, but the rough pacing and excessive length sadly keep me from enjoying it very much. I would certainly love to see some kind of Director's Cut which fine-tunes the structure to the point where the level is a cohesive journey with a satisfying conclusion.
Other: This is one heck of a location for a Ghost Trick murder case.
59/100 Overall - 12/30 Pacing - 13/25 Fun - 9/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Sepulchral Steelpunk Planetoid
Wow, what an atmosphere! It's an eerie mix of dream-like and unsettling, which I really dig. The gameplay is quite fun as well, featuring adorable panser plants and a type of wormhole which, frankly, I've always struggled with in the past. Their use here is mostly restricted to the teleporting kind, which is cleverly used as a way of creating infinite loops of enemies and teleporting the player around. Used like that, they flow really well and make for some contraptions which in this ambience I could just watch for a while.
The magnet-type wormholes are fairly underutilized, and when they're used, the setups are often a lot trickier to handle. The repulsive variant's momentum feels difficult to control, and the absorbing variant is oddly inescapable once what seems like an arbitrary thereshold has been crossed. I was first taught its effect in one of the final setups of the level, where the sudden death felt a little cheap. I think the level would have been better without them. For my final nitpick, I'll scold the Fishin' Boo for his sniper-like precision in causing misery while in the upper half of the screen. Though I respect that he has the courtesy to occasionally move to the bottom to give me more space. A standup guy, even if a little eager.
All in all, I love the atmosphere and like how the gameplay plays into that. It's a little rough around the edges, and has some minor visibility issues due to the pipes of the factory tileset looking like BGOs, but hey, great job!
Other: While I like their new look, the Shy Guys' new built-in flashlight eyes look a little like they're competing for a position in a "broke/woke" meme format.
85/100 Overall - 23/30 Pacing - 19/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 14/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Shroomy Forest of Dreams
This... level must be a reference to something I don't know. It has this NES-y ambiance in most aspects other than the design of most enemies used, and the layout of the level seems to be referencing different places, like a bit of a sightseeing tour including a Big Pit (which I will note I DID fully dig out) and a brief waterfall segment. At least that's my guess. As a result, the level feels a little like it comes and goes; a pleasant visit to the mushroom forest.
Though I did manage to find myself stuck for a good 5 minutes! The level hands you a Kuribo's shoe early on, which naturally I gladly accepted. I was very surprised to then run into a dead-end, and scoured the level twice or thrice looking for a way forward, before eventually losing the shoe to a stupid hit and finding out in my cluelessness that the ground beneath the giant mushroom is infact diggable. I feel things like that are always a little risky when you make large-scale sprite overhauls. You had to warn of the spikiness of the snails at the start of the level as well, after all. Furthermore, while I had fun collecting the keys placed around the forest, I feel it would help the level's pacing if the secondary exit were a non-level-ending reward like a SMW star rather than a keyhole exit, as it's basically an entire playthrough of a level already.
Overall, though, this was a rather fun romp, even if I got stuck for a while.
Other: Kinda feels like you'd wanna play this as Mega Man, in some way. It has that enemy-gauntlet type design you might find in something like a robot master stage.
69/100 Overall - 16/30 Pacing - 17/25 Fun - 16/20 Presentation - 11/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Soulbound
Man, what a cool mechanic! I love how flexible it is, with the potential for infinite throw-chains which can be utilized in levels much more evil than this one (this level's moon kind of serving as a tutorial for that hypothetical). There are a lot of cool ways in which this Pal Block is used here already, be it for puzzles or high-stakes platforming, to the point where I don't feel like I've seen enough of it yet. If only the level was a checkpoint or two longer.
There are a couple of spots where things can get a little finnicky (I can imagine the intense up-down-side throw action getting to be a little much for poor souls who play with a controller), like when ultra-long saws unfalteringly march towards your position and you have to react fast, but all in all this is a pretty and entertaining level. Great job!
Other: Add "Lifeless Block" to Luigi's Friend List (next to Oatmeal, Donuts and Anchovy Ice Cream).
92/100 Overall - 26/30 Pacing - 22/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Strolling in Chai Lands
While I enjoy the idea of projectile-based challenges around wall jumping, the implementation here is a little more brutal than I think even the level creator intended. The level's content is stretched thin across large sections with a rather unfavourable enemy to powerup ratio, turning every section into a marathon in itself. Couple the low amount of powerups with some rather buggy behaviour next to wall jump walls (not being able to jump off npc only blocks, occasionally glitching into the wall) and the level's challenge is arbitrarily heightened. The level's increase in challenge, however, is so gradual that I think the level would be a lot better if half of it was just cut away, turning it into a more tightly packed challenge.
I think the setpiece of the four houses surrounding the larger house (erroneously called "pagodas") is a great penultimate area, and I was surprised to find that the level didn't actually lead you inside it on its main route - rather only in its secret exit. Though even more surprising than that, I think, is the revelation that these houses infact cannot be visited in any order, but must be traversed left-to-right, which kinda undermines their nonlinear presentation and the 4 locks at the end. This makes it very difficult to practice the key walljump in particular.
The level's secret exit is kind of a big fun-killer. For starters, you are required to traverse the entire length of the level again, to find a key in the fourth house of the aforementioned housing complex. This means that the split between regular and secret exit is at about 12 minutes into the level, 2 minutes before the regular route ends. But in all fairness, getting to the key is the easy part. Getting the key to the door, however, is perhaps the most difficult sequence of inputs I've ever had to perform in SMBX - and I've judged a kaizo contest. You're required to jump up a wall past 3 projectile-firing Shuriken Bros, with a pit beneath your feet. The catch: You cannot wall jump while holding the key, so you are required to throw it and re-grab it in midair after a wall jump. The catch (2): Sometimes, randomly, the key rebounds in a wrong arc, resetting your progress. You are also likely to get hit by projectiles or fall into the pit while doing this, which will require you to play the other 3 houses before getting another shot at it. The gameplay segment you unlock by doing this maneuver, in contrast, is a cakewalk. But this key walljump screams "untested level" to me.
Overall, this level has a lot of cool ideas, but it's unfortunately tuned too much towards the difficult.
Other: Chaia Emblem: Five Houses.
39/100 Overall - 6/30 Pacing - 3/25 Fun - 11/20 Presentation - 12/15 Concept - 7/10 Functionality
Sunken Cavern
Cute level! It's rather ambitious in its scope, combining elements from what could be an episode's town level, and a subsequent cave level into a single level, to the point where I think separating them might have been benefitial for the flow in the long run. The two halves barely relate to or reference each other, so I will talk about them separately here as well.
The cavern half of the level is a quite beautiful descent into an ever more surreal abyss. I'm quite fond of the presentation here, as it does a lot with pure vanilla elements. The cyan glow of the first area, and the thick mist of the final area work really well, even though the latter does a little too good a job at concealing potentially lethal ambushes. There's a split path here in the middle, of which I vastly prefer the right one for how it offers more than an underwater corn maze. Though both will have to be played if one is eager to obtain the star coins located at the end of each of the two paths.
The town, seemingly unaware of the nearby pit, presents a fetch quest wherein a handful of Mr. Saturns need to be talked to to retrieve a precious item for the mayor. It's mostly contained in the town half of the level, although at some point it expects you to trek towards the cavern to retrieve a key, because the warp out of town, unlike the warp within town, doesn't allow you to bring the dug-up key. This stumped me for quite a bit. Admittedly longer than my initial attempt at retrieving the secret star by just bouncing around in the mayor's room before initiating the quest. And after completing it, I'm afraid cheesing it is my preferred way of getting that star. The player gains no insight into the world from following the chain of events, and in terms of gameplay there isn't much more than a tricky takeoff with a tanooki suit to be found.
Overall, I think the inclusion of the town detracts from the level, due to containing less interesting content. The descent into the pit, on the other hand, has a well-done beginning, middle and end with good looks to boot. I think even the pit has room for improvement with how elaborately it approaches its structure, but this area's sense of progression is certainly nothing to scoff at.
Other: These ancient mechanical structures... they look like the work of the Sir Jupiters!
64/100 Overall - 15/30 Pacing - 13/25 Fun - 16/20 Presentation - 10/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Tapped Out!
Clocking in at a comical amount of collectibles with 6 Dragon Coins, 3 Star Coins and 2 exits, this innocent forest level makes for quite an explorathon, to the point where I feel like you haven't played the true level until you Caught 'Em All! While the level doesn't offer much in terms of wow-factor on the main route, going after these nuggets is enjoyable and leads to what I consider to be the coolest setup in the level: the challenge in the keyhole room.
The titular Tap-Taps are just kinda hanging out in their natural habitat here and barely get in the way of you, which is a little unfortunate. Their resilient body makes for a good enemy in a level with some back-and-forth, though, making sure the lands are never too empty to be fun to traverse, which is great.
Visually the level is nice and I only took issue with the choice of SMB2 waterfall for an instakill damage zone. I mistook it for a background element until I ultimately decided to take a leap into one to figure out how much damage it deals. It doesn't help that the enemies that frequently come in contact with these poisonfalls are entirely immune.
Good level overall I wish it was more daring, but it has good exploration to make up for it.
Other: The Tap-Taps dancing on the submerged castle tell a story of a victory in colonialism. Not again!
74/100 Overall - 19/30 Pacing - 17/25 Fun - 16/20 Presentation - 12/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Temple Run
Pretty cool idea, which sadly ends before it's able to really get going. Choosing your own path from a selection is pretty fun! But with the lower path being faster and easier, and either path being over in 15 seconds, there is sadly not much to comment. It looks nice, what's there is fun and I'd love to see more for sure.
Other: Temple Run just isn't the same since they introduced exits. :pensive:
53/100 Overall - 4/30 Pacing - 12/25 Fun - 15/20 Presentation - 12/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
The Brothers Mario
Injecting charm into a level's soul is just about the best thing you can do, and this is a perfect example of that. The old-timey atmosphere carries this level hard, and turns what would otherwise be 'just another standard level' into one of the most memorable levels I've played in a long time. It transforms otherwise standard, 2010-SMBX-looking sections into a tool for storytelling, which I think is a really cool idea.
The vignette featuring an audience is a clever touch that never gets in the way of gameplay while cleverly disguising some of the collectibles. Together with the film grain, it rounds out the presentation beautifully. In terms of gameplay I've had just a couple of issues with the enemy layouts getting a little silly in the caves. I feel like the beginning and approaching Kaboom's chambers could also be given a bit more development. It feels like the kind of level that should start in a town, and Kaboom surprises the player more than Mortimer surprises him, it seems.
Overall though, this was very well done and a lot of fun. I'd love to see a variation on this that leans more heavily into disneyisms like falling safes, enemies whose attack pattern is coyote time, and jokes of the sort. This level does a great job at getting those gears turning, I find.
Other: The observing Bowser must be pretty jealous of the villain Strongarm Kaboom, for until Super Mario 3D World, Bowser never managed to kidnap more than one victim at a time.
92/100 Overall - 25/30 Pacing - 22/25 Fun - 20/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
The Dino Chronicles
Talk about an entire experience overshadowed by a UI element! Looming above me for the entire level were the readme's promise of a long time spent in the level, and that dastardly reminder of the level's Star Coin count. Indeed, the level is long. So long, in fact, that the creator decided to put in a shortcut skipping the middle half of the level, and half the Star (Dragon) Coins alongside it. It would have struck me as a smarter move to either remove the shortcut, or the section of the level skipped by the shortcut, as either approach would have streamlined the level's presentation and progression dramatically.
But enough lamenting a fraction of eight, let's talk gameplay! First and foremost, I like the idea of the blue suit switch bonus. Going out of your way to obtain it and getting rewarded with an easier time later on is rather satisfying, and implemented well here. The level's main idea, and reason for its length, is that its central gameplay mechanic is that of one Yoshi color being highlighted per section, which simultaneously causes similar challenges throughout while leaving each colour's unique mechanics underdeveloped. I think it's generally better to either allow the player to choose the colour they want to use at each checkpoint and build branching paths accordingly, or focus on just one or a few colours to highlight their abilities in depth. Unfortunately, glitchy warp transitions also got in my way of enjoying this level.
Overall, this style of marathon design is not my cup of tea, and I would have thought more favourably of it were it split into two or three levels instead. There are some cool ideas buried among the bloat like the spade switch, variable speed autoscroll and puzzles about making a path for a running Yoshi. These are worth digging up and expanding these would make for awesome challenges, but sadly they get overshadowed in this level by enemy arrangements that don't change even if the visuals change.
Other: Once again, the problems are colonialism and racism. Funny how that keeps happening.
30/100 Overall - 4/30 Pacing - 2/25 Fun - 7/20 Presentation - 8/15 Concept - 9/10 Functionality
the Hexakeep
Wow, what an ambitious presentation! Adding two sides to every geometry in this level must have been quite the undertaking, and it worked out wonderfully in cases such as the six-pointed Asteron and the tilesets, I think. It creates quite the alien atmosphere, like Mario shouldn't be here. Excellent music choices to drive that feeling, too! There's something really special about how this level looks and sounds.
When it comes to the meat of the level, however, I'm afraid it's barely holding together. I think the visual theming is in part at fault for it. It's a rare case where in almost every room I found myself confused by a setup in one way or another. Be it because of the Big Steely replacement I didn't know I could stand on, the large glass hexagons with their bizarrely small hitbox, the Celeste Bubble paths that feel like they line up less frequently than they should, the surprise-death pit near one checkpoint, or the path-based Hexaguns that completely go off the rails and chase you into the next screen. It's all rather minor stuff in the grand picture, but it adds up, and unfortunately in part even overshadows the otherwise eerie mood with a tinge of jank. Given another polishing pass or three, I'm sure the level would be incredible, but I have a hard time recommending it in its current state, despite its ambitions.
The level's boss uses the level's stage elements in creative ways to try and inflict harm, to the point where it imbues stage elements with new rules in places. It's a boss fight where I was torn between mashing fire to quickly take it out, or sitting there for a while to watch all the attacks. Both approaches are fun, though you're likely to die when pursuiting the latter. Overall, I like the boss and looks, but I'm afraid outside of the early screen where you go in circles to wait out an Asteron, not much in the level worked for me, sorry!
Other: Why do they have a map in the dining hall with Merluvlee's Place crossed out? My guess is that Merlow is the only character in Paper Mario 64 who, when prompted about CGP Grey, snarkily responds with "more like CGP LAME", leaving everyone rolling their eyes.
51/100 Overall - 12/30 Pacing - 6/25 Fun - 15/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 3/10 Functionality
The Imperfect Foyer
Such a cool castle! I love the vast, dark background, the elaborate roto disc structures, and the unique challenges the level presents with its 'boss' and secret star challenge. I'm a bit sad it didn't go as far as massive interlocking roto disc circles so large you can only ever see part of them at a time, after teasing me with the Windmill, but overall I'm fond of what the level puts forth. It just feels like it could have gone a few steps further with its idea.
Other: Ah, dang, I have to re-write all my reviews with "Simon says, ..." now to properly convey their truthfulness.
93/100 Overall - 26/30 Pacing - 23/25 Fun - 20/20 Presentation - 14/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
The Reservatorium
Hah, what a neat way to make use of reserve powerups! I love the idea and wish there were more things to play around with here. The level briefly hints at wacky reserve items in the end as a joke, but isn't courageous enough to build puzzles based on them, unfortunately. That said, the level is still super swell, featuring creative fade-generator based challenges that occasionally get a little rube-goldberg-y.
Staying true to its science-y setting, the level's difficulty escalates in a rather mad-scientist fashion, to the point where spiky shells start getting fired at rather silly speeds at times. In some places I wish this level was playable in an ultra-wide resolution, so that it's less likely to be ambushed by them, as those shots felt kind of cheap at times. I would love to see the concept expanded further in its capabilities for puzzles. Despite these shortcomings, however, this is still great fun!
Other: When you softlock yourself in the final room by spawning the star in the wall, Megan should come in and audibly sigh at you.
88/100 Overall - 23/30 Pacing - 21/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
The Windy-Power Worker
Man, such a cool idea! Great way to present a rather simple challenge in a way in which the player can just get in the zone and focus on what's ahead. Automatically turning paddlewheels and distinctly wack-ass line guide paths are a nice way to ramp up the challenge, even if I found the former to be a little underutilized in the end. In its melancholy atmosphere the level still manages to find a way to be funny in its brief intermission rooms, getting a good chuckle or two out of me. In terms of looks, the only thing I have to criticize is the abrupt cut between darkness and light, as it's a little jarring. Great work, overall!
Other: I like to think that this place has just been a greyscale blot in the Mushroom Kingdom skyline for 12 years and everyone was just like "yeah, that's the Grey Zone" until Mario decided to go there on a tourist trip.
85/100 Overall - 19/30 Pacing - 22/25 Fun - 19/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Traditional Level
Making a traditional level is deceptively challenging. It's easy on the surface, cause you can look at what Nintendo did and copy that! Though, if you dig beneath the surface, that's about as valid as taking pieces from 6 different jigzaw puzzles and making a zombie jigsaw. That's kind of what's happening here as well: Some parts are recognizable as direct copies of various Mario Series 1-1 levels, taken out of the original context. And besides that, there isn't much else, unfortunately. It seems to mostly just copy Miyamoto's homework.
Other: I could talk for hours about the first level of Super Mario Bros., and the Goomba at the start which only scrolls on-screen once you learned how to move.
26/100 Overall - 4/30 Pacing - 3/25 Fun - 7/20 Presentation - 2/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Tubular Tunnel Fun
What an adorable puzzle level! There's a ton of flavour here, in the message boxes, vibe room, getting fuzzied for making a jump off a Koopa... it just has a really friendly aura about it, which I adore. The puzzles the level presents further this by often being made up of thematically-fitting switch contraptions. I love the way the pipes are carried across entire screens, and how you fix clear pipe ways by shifting the pipe system around.
The hats make for a nice change in the second half and are fun to blast the landscape away with. I do feel like the level does get a little meandering from time to time though, as the exit just kinda creeps up at you, and the Guard House subplot of using helmets to fix the pipe system is never explicitly resolved. Overall though, lots of fun and great puzzles!
Other: Mario's consciousness transfers into Toad for a solid 20 minutes when he enters the sewer system. With a nose as big as his, I would also not want to be around sewage smells. Better take control of the graverobber indeed.
89/100 Overall - 21/30 Pacing - 23/25 Fun - 20/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
Untouched Garden
Hah, what a silly story. Love it! The level's stunning, too, and features a lot of variety in its gameplay and ideas as well. I must say, the quicksand zones aren't my favourite mechanic, given how much control they take away from you (a way to speed up/slow down via directional inputs might have been nice), but I appreciate all the different things done with them. It lead to a rather creative final "autoscroller" as well!
For a brief complaints list: Jump-instead-of-spinjump is always kinder than nothing-instead-of-spinjump, I think! That misunderstanding got me killed a couple of times, which was extremely punishing at the start of the level, as there is no way to skip the opening cinematic! Furthermore, Act 2 inexplicably starts lagging like crazy when not starting in that section! It's quite mesmerizing, in a way, but also makes the level nearly unplayable unless you voluntarily kiss the abyss.
Iron out these peeves and you have a pretty polished little package! Great work, either way!
Other: The Act 3 image never showed up for me, so as far as I'm concerned that image is reserved for the Pizzequel.
90/100 Overall - 27/30 Pacing - 20/25 Fun - 20/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 8/10 Functionality
Urchin Bay
This level is really cool and flows pretty nicely! It's beautiful, generous and expands on its ideas at a solid pace. My biggest complaint with it is that it just kind of ends suddenly. A dedicated screen for the exit, or a final, longer challenge leading up to the exit would have been nice to make the end feel more conclusive. It would have been easy to copy the SMW dolphin wave for this, too! That aside, my nitpick of the day is that two of the Star Crystals are obtained in a rather similar fashion, which feels a little silly.
Overall though, this was a lot of fun! Just ends a little early, I think. Well done!
Other: No fish in these waters! This is more of a Delfino Plaza.
89/100 Overall - 24/30 Pacing - 21/25 Fun - 20/20 Presentation - 14/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality
We All Ignore The Pit
Oh, what a hilarious, eldritch level. The juxtaposition of the SMRPG town music and the ever-expanding Pit works wonderfully, and the oppressive, dark ruins inside the Pit raise more questions than they answer. It's a simple idea explored effectively, and it's great fun. Though I must say that visually it is quite cobbled together at times, even if that plays into its aesthetic. Furthermore, I wish either exit didn't end QUITE as abruptly, as it does take you a little by surprise when the level just... ends. Generally though, this was a lot of fun. Though I don't expect everyone to cherish it as highly as I do :p
Other: This is exactly the kind of behaviour that lead to the creation of Dark Pit.
86/100 Overall - 19/30 Pacing - 25/25 Fun - 17/20 Presentation - 15/15 Concept - 10/10 Functionality