Postby PixelPest » Mon Jun 27, 2016 4:07 pm
Review of Green Grass Hill
Level Design and Gameplay (weighed 70%): 3.0/10
This level needs a lot of work on a lot of elements, however it didn't receive lower than a 3 because it wasn't too bad from a gameplay perspective. The variety of NPCs was a little too much in this level, since some were only used once. Their placement (spacing) wasn't too bad, with the exception of the excessive number of Piranha Plants in pipes, however using an NPC more than once or twice in a reasonably sized level makes it look messy. This included the Piranhacus Giganticus, Ninji, Snifits, and large Goombas. Coin placement also needs a lot of work in this level; coins should not be on the ground in most circumstances. I personally leave a space of three blocks between coins and the ground in most circumstances. Another good rule of thumb is to not cluster more than 5-6 coins together, unless in a bonus area. Neither of these concepts are by any means required, just recommendations as to what I believe looks good under most circumstances. The larger blocks in this level really seemed to stick out and not fit; neither did the large pipe structure with the excessive number of Piranha Plants. BGO placement was really solid in this level though. The biggest issue I found in this level is the section with the Clown Car to get the key. This section was really too short to be worth it in my opinion and the NPC and block choice did not fit a sky atmosphere; there were very few cloud blocks, lots of wood blocks, the castle NPCs did not fit at all, and the Hammer generator really weren't necessary. The level would be much better if this part were removed. Although this level was relatively linear, it had some good variety (in some bits a bit too much) and seemed to be a reasonable length for what it had to offer, even though it didn't offer much in terms of gimmicks or ideas. Overall, I also found that this level really wasn't a 1-1 type level. It was too difficult and would probably be better in the latter part of World 1 (maybe 1-4, 1-5 depending on how large your World 1 is). Although I didn't knock off points for this, it's just a recommendation.
Graphics and Sounds (weighed 30%): 4.4/10
A bunch of graphical styles were mixed in this level that didn't look very good together. Although the level seemed to be overall SMB3-styled, SMB2 NPCs didn't look very good. Neither did the SMW Clown Car. The custom frogs were really poorly done. They were completely 1x1 pixelated and were styled incorrectly for SMB3 (not relating to the 1x1 pixels, but regarding the outline). The effects were really messed up some how and barely ressembled a frog. The music tracks for this level seemed to fit fine.
Overall: 3.42/10 (Average)