Such a preparing state going on! I do wonder as of how all the levels will be that I haven't encounter at all... this will be fun once I play it through unlike CC11 where I know a lot of it.
This is a pretty great castle. The atmosphere and construction are pretty intense and it's filled with a wide variety of tricky enemy placements and clever gimmicks. The mirror room is cunningly made, and while I think it could have introduced itself to the player a bit more simply, it's pretty learnable. The rooms with different spaces darkened are an interesting visual challenge too, and I really enjoy timed gimmicks like those fences. It can be possible for the fence timing and enemy placements to align themselves poorly sometimes, but it's almost always passable. It was also pretty cool how the Boos occasionally interacted with things to change or move them. I would have wanted to see more of that, but that probably would have made the gimmicky sections more difficult to interact with, so they were interesting while they lasted. However, the main negative point in this level for me would be the false-ground section. It's a bit hard to grasp because of how similar it looks to everything else, and if you try to proceed forward while the sky is dark, there's virtually no sense of what's real and what's not. Most players aren't going to want to wait several seconds multiple times just for the background to change so they can move, and I think the room would have done fine without the switching. Also, while I imagine the first Ninji was perhaps meant to demonstrate the gimmick, it doesn't really stand out as such, and instead my introduction came in the form of hitting a ? block obscured by fog in the precise place that a person would jump which knocked me into that first pit. Really hard to register that block when it's completely covered. I also thought I needed the propeller block to complete the last part of the section because mandatory invisible blocks are never expected things, so I ended up having it taken from me in the Dragon Coin room and having to go back for it for nothing. That's really the only part I found to be really bad though, and the rest of the level still holds up pretty impressively. I still admire the layout and imagination of everything else as a whole, so great job!
ElTipsta (8.5/10)
This is a really clever level that makes use of a wide variety of gimmicks such as darkness, key hunt, graphical effects (the section just after the checkpoint has a neat graphic-based mechanic which I love, tohugh seriosuly that ? Block in the fog just to the right of the pipe needs to be removed as it's possible to die if yuo don't know its there!). The Red Coin hunt is also a fine way to end the level. Graphics and music are perfect. And judging by a certain section I glanced at in the editor, I think zlaker made this.
Quill (9.0/10)
Wow, this was super good! I loved the huge variety of gimmicks in this level. They're all so incredibly unique yet really add a lot. It's so much fun. My favourite is probably the section where you can see the layout of the land above you and upside down, but what you're standing on is invisible. That one took me by surprise and when I figured it out I was amazed. The other gimmicks such as the darkness and the climbing net switching were great too. My only real complaint is that the level kinda came to an abrupt end!
Shinbison-Kof (8.5/10)
A very nice level! The various gimmicks go well with the atmosphere. The fog mixes well with the background. The first section is great. I love the creepy ghost, they appear and disappear along some blocks like in some ghost castle. Some hints could be added in the second section as to how to progress as it took a while to figure out. I like the shadow gimmick in the third section. It's creative. The section after the checkpoint has interesting concepts, like the ghost block which requires the player to pay extra attention. In the same section there's a very high place that is impossible to reach unless that the player finds the secret propeller block. I found that a little too cryptic. The fence section is creative too, but it gets kinda annoying with the red coins. The remix is great! Overall it's a very creative level.
Valtteri (10.0/10)
This level has some really interesting gimmicks. Stuff keeps disappearing when you least expect it and it feels like a combination of SMW castles and NSMB ghost houses. It's really great! The part where you had to figure that the ceiling mirrors an invisible floor was cool. However the room where some bricks would be fake and the light would go off for some moments so you wouldn't see which ones you can stand on wasn't so good. It just forced me to stop and wait it out every few seconds. It didn't feel very intuitive. The timed fences thing that came after I liked though! The design is consistent and polished and the enemy placement is great. Overall it's a really fun and creative level!
2. FireLink - Spectral Arcane Machine (8.89/10)
Chad (8.0/10)
This is a super nice level. The design is very simple when you're outside, but the inside is a bit more explorative and complex, and I like that contrast. It tells a nice story more with its progression and atmosphere than with dialogue, and the level is generally kept pretty easy so you can just enjoy what's going on around you. Moving parts like pistons and crushers are put to clever use and even cinematically when they break through the floor, and often require creative reaction from the player. I didn't care too much for the introduction of the skull crushers, though. It's explained pretty clearly, but it does nothing to prepare you for the number of times or rate at which they will press the ground. At least this is only the first instance, but the others are a lot easier to grasp. There's a clear indication of when it'll happen, and that it'll only happen once for each one you encounter. The first one should have been handled this way too, with a white marking and a single stomp. I also found the moving spikes to be a pain, because they're identical to the stationary ones and react very suddenly. These aren't huge issues, but they're certainly troublesome. The boss is pretty clever, though. Not too difficult, but it keeps you on your toes and it's pretty easy to learn what you have to do, and the health bar is nicely implemented. I have mixed feelings on having a boss this far away from the midpoint, but it's a fun fight and nice ending to the level.
ElTipsta (9.5/10)
Now this is how you make an atmosphere! This level has a really unique hybrid of jungle/factory/ghost and it's very engrossing, and the music is a perfect match. The design itself is very nonlinear with a variety of challenges from water pools to crushers that damage the player if they are on the floor when it lands via clever usage of layers and events, it altogether blends to make a very unique experience and one of the best in this contest. The length is good too, though usage of LunaLua to make a second checkpoint before the boss would have been grand. Also, the boss dosen't always take damage when you throw a star at it, which would have probably got this level an even higher score from me if this wasn't the ccase. I think Bomber57 made this.
Quill (7.2/10)
This was pretty cool. The general setting of this level was pretty unique and allowed for some unique design. The majority of the unique design is only featured in the second half though with the active machines. Aside from these elements, the general design was pretty decent though a lot of it was holding left/right and jumping occassionally. That's alright, but it got a little boring at times. Thankfully, the better second half helped spice things up. The boss was pretty basic. The attacks were annoying to deal with especially as the projectile was vulnerable to everything. Speeding up the projectile spawn time could help here. The boss could have more variation in the attacks too.
Shinbison-Kof (9.75/10)
This is an amazing level! I love the atmosphere, it's unique and very beautiful. Factory in a mystic land is a perfect mix! The level design is great, I like the transition between the forest and the factories. I love the smash blocks and the secrets. The gimmick is very well executed and the effect of the smash block is new to me. I like how some ghosts interfere with the scenery. The moving layers are a nice addition too, especially in the factory parts. The factory section feels cramped sometimes, but it isn't much of a problem because the npc placement is still fair. The special effects and gimmicks are great in this level, but they seem to only come in after the checkpoint. The level intro is weird, too. The boss is great. It's simple but very well made. You handled the difficulty very well. I loved the music! The level design was just great. The level was fun and amazing overall!
Valtteri (10.0/10)
Impressive special effects in this level. The smashers are really cool. The design is near professional. It's fluid and interesting throughout the level. The boss was good, although it seemed like Boo only got hurt if he was in a specific position. The level looks gorgeous, too!
1. Chad - Sherbert Skywaves (9.03/10) (CONGRATZ!)
bossedit8 (9.25/10)
A very nice water based stage where you have to not only be in water but also move along with it to survive and to get further. I like the multicolored coins, enemies, tileset and even specific effects so graphics wise it's very good. The gameplay of this level is also very nice with the challenges but some of your enemy placement can be tricky in certain situations. It wasn't all too bad though. Power-up placement was alright. There were no secrets but oh well. Overall, a very nice water based level with nice challenging gameplay and the water movements. I also like the music choice there.
ElTipsta (9.0/10)
I think I found Chad's level ^^ This level is pretty simplistic, but is well designed with a nice new set of sandy graphics and other SMW graphics. The fish look great. The level itself focuses on moving water, which is cool. Length is perfect. The only real issue is that the Urchins look wierd if they aren't in water, which is true moreso in the last section. I had fun most importantly and if this is Chad's return to level designing, then you're off to a good start.
Quill (9.0/10)
Oh wow, this is super neat! The gimmick present here is super neat and it works really well, adding plenty of depth and challenge to this level. The aesthetics are colourful and help add to a pleasant atmosphere which helped make this level feel like a true Mario level too. The enemy replacements helped to add in that extra flavour and I really appreciate that the level didn't overstay its welcome. It showed what it could do and ended without dragging it along. Fantastic job!
Shinbison-Kof (7.9/10)
Here's a nice and colorful level. The colors are so cheery. The level design is good. I like the variety in the level like the moving water. The mix of tilesets is well done. The graphics are good. I like the recolors. They all contribute to the "happy beach" atmosphere. The second section is a bit cramped and the npcs are hard to dodge with all the flying water around, especially the Venus Fire Trap fireballs. There's great variety in the npcs but there are too many fish considering the space the level gives to dodge them. The moving water gimmick is used creatively but their somewhat glitchy nature became frustrating in the third section with the blind jumps. Overall it's a fun and beautiful level.
Valtteri (10.0/10)
The moving water gimmick together with the special color scheme and quite creative Goomba-Cheep Cheep mash-ups make a quite original level. The gimmicks are carried consistently through the whole level. It breaks the boundaries of a casual Mario level but doesn't go overboard.
