Rockin' Kamikaze Woods (SVLC 32nd Place; Looking for a Re-review)

[PixelPest]

Here's my extra salty SVLC level. Please tell me what you think. The New Version of the level removes the puzzle section and adds one non-vanilla element to the level. Try to find the secret castle and the star hidden inside it!

Screenshots:

Spoiler: show

Downloads:
Even Newer Version
Contest Version

[Nerx]

Seems if I enter the pipe when it's purple without a key it's impossible to continue or go back.

[PixelPest]

Seems if I enter the pipe when it's purple without a key it's impossible to continue or go back.

You need to kill all of the Boos using the Spiny generators (lure them underneath) and then the key will appear

[snoruntpyro]

oh my god why do people do dragon coin second stars soidfjosd9w0eiajoisdjfsd

will post my thoughts later probably

[RudeGuy]

I initially thought this level was somewhat fair. Then I've got to section 2's fence part...

[PixelPest]

I initially thought this level was somewhat fair. Then I've got to section 2's fence part...

Do you mean section 4? Although it is difficult, how is it unfair? The player is given time to react and nothing is really hidden

[RudeGuy]

(yes I meant section 4) The boos are placed in annoying ways and the player has actually very little time to react.
Section 8 is especially annoying. The boos' placement is so much annoying that you always have little room to avoid them. I'm not even able to jump and change direction because spikes are everywhere. Also, If you are facing right at the start you die almost instantly. How could you think this was fair?
Section 2 is just shit. I can't even begin to do something and I already get it.

[PixelPest]

(yes I meant section 4) The boos are placed in annoying ways and the player has actually very little time to react.
Section 8 is especially annoying. The boos' placement is so much annoying that you always have little room to avoid them. I'm not even able to jump and change direction because spikes are everywhere. Also, If you are facing right at the start you die almost instantly. How could you think this was fair?
Section 2 is just shit. I can't even begin to do something and I already get it.

That's understandable. I removed the boo puzzle section completely in the new version but I can see where you're coming from

[Emral]

I wouldn't have too many problems with the level if it only had one star. The level's main route is pretty creative, although it is very difficult because of what I've bolded in one of the lines below.
What you gotta ask yourself though is if your gimmick's execution is actually.. good. I feel like I was only able to beat the level because I managed to look and walk into the right direction when I needed to by accident.
Some enemies in this level are placed in stupid ways. There's this one rainbow shell which will almost guaranteed hit you near the blue switch at the start of section 4. Another one above that can respawn in weird circumstances and strike you when you least expect it. Most of the boos in the fence sections are placed unintelligently and make the area more stressful than it needs to be.

My biggest problem with this level comes with the secret star. It's like it was added just for the sake of having another star and ruining an otherwise, in my opinion, perfectly acceptable if janky and hard-for-wrong-reasons level.
The sign.. is where things start to go wrong. I don't see the point in making the star only available to Mario, or - if arguing the other way - including Luigi in the level at all. To start off, even figuring out how to get three of the dragon coins is a puzzle with a solution which you don't even hint at. I ended up looking in the editor just to find out I gotta get another shell and hit the pipe again for some reason. Usually I'd assume it to switch back to green. Having a different colour of switch here would've helped greatly.
Sidenote: 5 dragon coins in this level are 10x harder to collect than a 3-up moon. Think about that for a second.

The side-sections for the dragon coins add absolutely nothing to the level apart from a boring propeller block section and an useless ludwig fight without substance. I don't think any of this needs to exist. It's only dragging the level down for me.
Which is a shame because I kind of enjoyed the main part. Granted, I didn't get frustrated because I got extremely lucky and beat it without deaths (until I attempted to get dragon coins, that is), and I can see people having tons of problems with the boos in the final area, which are generating almost all the difficulty of this level due to being placed in a rather spammy and unintuitive way.

This level is far from perfect. The gimmick is nice but not executed well and there are moments where the level tries to throw a curveball at the player. Dragging focus away from boo-type hazards and adding different enemies to substitute them is a good way to balance out the difficulty.
3.7/10

You do have a pretty intricate layout here, but it'd only be enjoyable in a context where the player is given any warning and any time to adjust to anything. It's highly evident that the level wasn't made with the experience of someone besides the designer in mind.

I think this sentence sums the main part of the level up well, though I'd add players who like throwing their face against the wall to the target audience. I think I'd have given this a 6 or something myself if the 2nd star didn't completely ruin my enjoyment of this level.

[snoruntpyro]

I really dislike this level.

Overall, I think the level isn't as hard as the reviews made it out to be, but it's still a pretty bad level. To be honest, the first section really isn't that bad, and it's intuitive enough that you have to hit the switch to turn the pipe orange and get the one dragon coin. The level takes a nosedive in quality right after the first section though. The level doesn't seem to understand that "boos in places where you can barely dodge them" ≠ "fair difficulty". The boos are placed all over the place in fence sections, where it's very hard to try to dodge them due to it being difficult to change directions on a fence in an incredibly cramped instant death zone. The level also has its fair share of stupid non-boo enemy placements too. This part:

Spoiler: show

This part is really dumb. It's nearly impossible to try to dodge the rainbow shell in such a cramped area. If the Turn Block had been a regular turn block, it would have been much more reasonable to dodge. Aand the final section before the main exit. Once again, Boos are placed down everywhere, and it's even harder to dodge them because the entire section is an incredibly cramped tunnel. The difficulty feels far more obnoxious than fun, as you're mainly just spending the section worrying about the Boos and trying to guide them around in incredibly cramped, spike-filled areas while you're also trying to hit switches and climb on fences.
As for the second star, oh god why. I hate the second star. I only found out that you had to hit the switch again because someone told me. The method of getting there is completely stupid and very intuitive. I would have never figured it out had I not been told. Then once I get into the new area I'm greeted immediately with this garbage:

Spoiler: show

Once again, I only got past this room because I was told how to solve it. The way to turn on the key generator isn't telegraphed or hinted at at ALL. A much better way of telegraphing this would have been to start the room with a Boo immediately getting shot and the Boo playing, say, a switch noise, to let the player know 'hey, stuff will happen if you kill the Boos'. The castle section is okay, I guess, but it's pretty bland. Though to be entirely honest I kinda liked the propeller block section. Oh but then there's the icing on the cake.

Spoiler: show

Seriously. Why would you do this. I know that the sign at the beginning of the level supposedly told you this, but the sign is worded weirdly so I didn't actually realize what it said, and second of all, why?! Everything is entirely possible as Luigi and the reasoning that you were trying to "encourage people to play as Mario" is stupid. Why did you offer Mario in the first place if the sign at the beginning of the level recommends you to play as Luigi?! And then if you don't get the dragon coins you fight Ludwig and get taken back to the midpoint...? Why didn't you just attach the second star to Ludwig? It's already obtuse enough to get into the castle.

[PixelPest]

Thank you for your reviews. I'll probably further update the level and maybe just get rid of the Boos completely

[PixelPest]

Made some updates based on Enjl and Pyro's reviews (thank you very much for those). Removed a large number of Boos, the puzzle section, and the pointless bossfight. Still leaving the hidden entrance to the castle, but the secret star can now be collected by either character. Also changed the 3-up moon to a 1-up. Here's the new download link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sow4nrk040if8 ... s.zip?dl=0

Videos coming soon.

[PixelPest]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAg9KepQFc0

Recorded a full run of the newer version with Mario

[PixelPest]

This has been here a really long time (the second oldest level on the Levels forum waiting to be reviewed), so could another Level Judge please review the Even Newer Version now?

[Emral]

If the 2nd star didn't require Dragon Coins I'd consider this a Pretty Good.

[PixelPest]

If the 2nd star didn't require Dragon Coins I'd consider this a Pretty Good.

What's wrong with needing to collect Dragon Coins to unlock a secret?

[Emral]

You're not just collecting Dragon Coins to unlock a secret. You are collecting 2 Dragon Coins, kicking a shell against a block which was already hit before to progress normally and then moving through a secret area with the other 3 Dragon Coins. In my opinion, just hitting the switch again is enough to warrant a star reward.

[PixelPest]

You're not just collecting Dragon Coins to unlock a secret. You are collecting 2 Dragon Coins, kicking a shell against a block which was already hit before to progress normally and then moving through a secret area with the other 3 Dragon Coins. In my opinion, just hitting the switch again is enough to warrant a star reward.

I see your logic there. If you think it's overkill and that changing that will get it into Pretty Good, that's what I'll do