Recommended Episodes Suggestions

[MrDoubleA]

The main page for SMBX2 now features a section for recommended episodes. For now there are only a few on it, but we're taking suggestions for what to add!

You can reply to this post with a name, description and link to a topic to suggest an episode. There's no need to make a reply if somebody else has already suggested that episode. After enough suggestions have been made, a vote will be held to decide what gets added.

[Valentine]

I wouldn't personally recommend an episode made primarily of shoddily-constructed levels from 2015 and earlier as, what is essentially, a starting point for looking into new episodes. To those for whom it is not obvious, I am talking about A2XT2.

On the same note, while people have had a good time with Betterified VI without prior SMBX experience, I don't know how much it makes sense to advise for that to be one of the first either.

[FutureNyanCat]

For more seasoned players, I'd recommend Subzero Heroes.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Mario Edition by BlueStag is also a good one too. Pretty easy episode with levels that attempt to replicate the Sonic experience to some extent but with Super Mario gameplay.

Super Mario and the Lost Eggs by Cognition is another episode I'd want to recommend for those looking to have a similar experience to SMW but with SMBX2 features. For a more classic experience that'd be the job Return to Dinosaur Land by Valtteri does.

For players wanting to test out some Redigit jank, Ed Laborate (ScienceCon compilation by Emral) is another one I'd suggest. Other contest compilation episodes like the Choccy Con 2021 "Claarglands" episode might be good to put up as well as a showcase.

I would suggest also zlaker's episode, "Level Collection", but right now debug errors are occurring on Beta 5 Patch 2 (which I've already resolved with Rednaxela's help) and may need an update from the episode creator. Haven't heard from zlaker in a while, though.

[Suckerman7 GM]

I'd like to recommend my own recently-released episode, Luigi's Quest: Trouble in Sarasaland. It's an episode that is both beginner-friendly and enjoyable by experienced players!

As an addition, I'd also recommend Luigi's Lost Memories, A Tiny World Episode and Mario and the Missing Shine Sprites as these are also enjoyable episodes that both crowds can play!

[Hoeloe]

I wouldn't personally recommend an episode made primarily of shoddily-constructed levels from 2015 and earlier as, what is essentially, a starting point for looking into new episodes. To those for whom it is not obvious, I am talking about A2XT2.

On the same note, while people have had a good time with Betterified VI without prior SMBX experience, I don't know how much it makes sense to advise for that to be one of the first either.

This is a pretty minority view on A2XT2, from my understanding, and not exactly helpful for the topic at hand. As for Betterified, enough people have picked up SMBX2 specifically for Betterified that it seems sensible to link it directly.

[Master of Disaster]

I'd recommend Wario Treasure Master, a really fun episode by Metroidvania and Basil that scratches that Wario itch

Oh and since Spikeventure by cold soup just released, I can recommend it now, too. It's a really charming and fun minisode featuring everyone's favorite spike (that is in debt).

[Yoshi021]

Chipp's minisode is fun!
viewtopic.php?t=25673

[CodeX]

I would like to recommend my Episode Mario and the Froze Forge. An episode hoping to capture the feel of SM64 and SMW Rom Hacks in Open like Levels with Powerstars to collect.

Another episode I want to recommend is Deeper by Blake Izayoi. A SMW Styled Mini Episode that holds a little bit of a challenge and while short, is a true joy to play as it feels like a real SMW fangame/romhack.

[TLtimelord]

Delightful Adventure Enhanced to me is a must-start-here episode, especially for those who just wanna sit back and enjoy something cute and fun before many of our community's more involved episodes like Subzero heroes, Betterified, and the asmbxt episodes.

[Darkonius Mavakar]

I ELECT Zlaker's Level Collection

it is cute and nice

also i would elect Delightful Enhanced but, we made it so uh, i don't think it's fair to self-suggest

[Cornholio309]

I would suggest also zlaker's episode, "Level Collection", but right now debug errors are occurring on Beta 5 Patch 2 (which I've already resolved with Rednaxela's help) and may need an update from the episode creator. Haven't heard from zlaker in a while, though.

Curious, are you able to share these fixes to the lua errors for Beta 5 Patch 2 (either through spoilered text or through Private Messages here?). I kinda want to finish up the episode without having to downgrade back to Beta 4 or creating a separate installation. If sharing unofficial fixes publicly on the forums is frowned upon here however, I understand.

As for my suggestions:
- Mario Classic v1.11 - Pretty fun standard 'traditional' collection of level that I feel starts out forgiving enough to be recommended as a 'beginner' episode! The game has a pretty standard 'oh the princess has been kidnapped' plot, but the way it thrusts you into the action with the game opening up at the end of a conversation your character is having with Link about the situation (and what he wants you to do) is pretty great. You're restricted to only having Mario, Luigi, and Toad as your selectable characters. It uses a SMB3 overworld system with slightly branching paths that lead to Toad Houses that award Stars and powerups. I feel it works as a good introduction to SMBX's standard exits while also teaching the player about the Star system designers can utilize. Has a lot of custom visuals that are really spiffy too. The only issue I can think of is that Zephyr hasn't been active on the forums since 2020. I assume the authors of the new recommended page are trying to grab written consent from the Episode authors, so I'm not sure it can actually be featured on the page.


- Super Mario Enigmatic - Played this one years ago and randomly thought of it again. Has a really intriguing premise with the single screen puzzle setup and is incredibly well-crafted! The only thing that I think might kinda date it is the old life farming system since it was made prior to LunaLua becoming a thing, but at the same time it does allow the player to customize how many chances they have per area. I assume the sequel is also a pretty easy recommend (and might be an easier sell since it was designed with LunaLua conveniences in mind).


- Also recommending Wario: Treasure Master as well. Pretty amazing example of what's possible with LunaLua's scripting capabilities and is a pretty fun mish-mash of Wario Land 4 and Wario Land: Shake It!'s gameplay (with it having something closer to Land 4's speed and Shake It!'s Mission System). I'd also recommend Susan Taxpayer as well if you want more 'Wario Land 4-esque Episodes'/LunaLua-heavy Episodes, though at the time of this writing Susan is only a demo (very fun however).

[Ness-Wednesday]

What if the episode I want to recommend isn't available on the forums, but it's still available on an older site like RPGMaker?

[mariobrigade2018]

What if the episode I want to recommend isn't available on the forums, but it's still available on an older site like RPGMaker?

That'd probably be fine as long as it isn't a new download of SMBX, a link to the post is given, and the creator gives you the ok to do so.

I'd also like to suggest A Tiny World Episode by MDA to be on there.

[paaolasantanaa]

I read somewhere that I should ask permission to the maker before recommending a link but I cannpt do that becuase these episodes were made by nore than one person. I have played multiple times all 3 episodes in a trilogy named Super Talking Time bros. They are really fun and you should really play them. The have so much effort put into them that they even go as far as to modify the SMBX engine to be able to include some things they wanted. You can download them here:
1 and 2.- https://rpgmaker.net/games/4043/downloads/3497/
3.- https://rpgmaker.net/games/5255/