Hello and welcome to Super Mario Wishing Stars! My special Christmas minisode!
I've been wanting to create a Christmas minisode for a long time now, it's absolutely my favorite holiday, and an minisode dedicated to that is the least I could do.
That was delightful! I really like the puzzle aspect and the visual effects. Definitely a fitting minisode for Christmas
Glad you liked it! And thanks for your feedback, really appreciated!
Btw, I made a patch to fix some small problems in Eternal Castle, reported by eclipsed.
- Changed location of fourth star coin in Eternal Castle because of softlock, reported by eclipsed/dawn.
- Edited a setup with Big Spike in Eternal Castle.
you hadn't fixed a bug with music name in intro level
I tested it here and asked some friends to test it too, and none of them received this error, which leads me to believe that it's a problem on your part.
I recommend downloading the episode again and seeing if the error persists.
you hadn't fixed a bug with music name in intro level
I tested it here and asked some friends to test it too, and none of them received this error, which leads me to believe that it's a problem on your part.
I recommend downloading the episode again and seeing if the error persists.
Well, as I understand it, the error is only for those who have Russian-language windows, and they do not support the letter “é” (with acute) in the name of folders/files and are replaced to the Russian letter “B”. So it's better to replace the letter "é" with acute to the letter "e" ordinary in the title of the track and in the level with this music too
you hadn't fixed a bug with music name in intro level
I tested it here and asked some friends to test it too, and none of them received this error, which leads me to believe that it's a problem on your part.
I recommend downloading the episode again and seeing if the error persists.
Well, as I understand it, the error is only for those who have Russian-language windows, and they do not support the letter “é” (with acute) in the name of folders/files and are replaced to the Russian letter “B”. So it's better to replace the letter "é" with acute to the letter "e" ordinary in the title of the track and in the level with this music too
I... I had no idea about that, lol.
So it looks like it's my fault, after all, huh.
I will fix this in the next update, which should happen after CCX3.
even though it's not christmas, this looks really fun, and I'm working on an episode that shares some aspects, so I will try it out and post my thoughts once I finish
it's really short map, when i lost all lives in first level i decided to play in menu it said that with first half of first level played it's 36% of this episode, is this demo or smth? i dont think so because you put it in episodes without telling in episode's name it's demo
it's really short map, when i lost all lives in first level i decided to play in menu it said that with first half of first level played it's 36% of this episode, is this demo or smth? i dont think so because you put it in episodes without telling in episode's name it's demo
I don't know exactly how the SMBX percentage system works, but it's very likely that it doesn't work properly due to the nature of the episode (where almost all levels are already unlocked from the start).
And no, this episode is not a demo, it's just really short.
The Wishing Stars: Winter Wishes is a short episode where the Mario Bros. and Peach visit Snowdia Island to chill for the holidays, but alas, someone has stolen the island’s symbolic wishing stars! It’s up to Mario alone to recover them and save Christmas I guess.
Let’s Talk About Assets!
This episode sticks to an SMW aesthetic, including Mario’s sprites. There might be occasional exceptions, but the visual consistency helps it look cohesive. The music is a variety of thematically-appropriate tracks and remixes from various games, such as Freezeezy Peaks from Banjo-Kazooie and White Glacier from Bomberman 64, setting the snowy atmosphere. Not much is new in the sound department, but the whole thing is put together well enough to feel legit.
Let’s Talk About Writing!
There isn’t much, but it could’ve done with a proofread. Small errors here and there make it sound awkward, though it’s not too important since the story is simple. After a brief introductory paragraph and an initial hub with some NPCs, you’re off on your own with a clear mission. Some stages have NPCs with hints or gaffs, but outside of that and the ending, there’s little dialogue and it’s kept to what’s necessary. No serious concerns here.
Let’s Talk About Design!
The episode is nonlinear with all but one stage available to you from the start. This includes the final castle, but although I didn’t confirm this, I suspect you can’t access the final boss until you’ve gathered all the stars from everywhere else. Stages vary in difficulty but are generally on the harder side. Multiple checkpoints are common and some of the challenges become quite devious.
Offsetting the difficulty somewhat, you begin each stage as Super Mario, regardless of what your prior power-up state was. This means you can’t bring fire flowers or leaves into a level, but you’ll get a 2nd tier item from the first available block and can always take at least one hit. It’s a blessing if you find yourself dying a bunch, but a curse if there’s a particular item you want and can’t access.
Of more concern is getting a Game Over, as this resets your progress in the level. Lives are scarce outside of one stage where you can complete it for a bounty of 1-ups, so unless you visit that one first, you could be in peril of losing progress from repeated failure. The stages have 5 star coins to collect and they aren’t saved until you finish, so these are at risk as well. It might not seem to matter, but there are some tasks in this episode I’d be very irritated to repeat.
As was noted, this episode can be challenging. I’d say it’s mostly fair; some parts are dumber than others. It relies a lot on dashed line semi-solids (lazy blocks) to micromanage its difficulty and create problematic situations. They also detract from the setting since they’re everywhere, so it hurts what would otherwise be effective atmosphere. I often found them unnecessary, either by function or through workarounds, but one stage was actively broken by them. In it, there are Pokeys on springboards that you need to jump past. The springs are placed inside NPC lazy blocks, and if you fall in them, you get stuck until you do a frame-perfect jump or the Pokey kills you.
While I’m no fan of lazy blocks, I can put up with them, but what I really despised was the added anti-zip feature. This prevents you from standing up in a 1-tile gap to wall zip out. It would be fine if that’s all it did, but it also causes you to rocket upwards (including through solids) if you take damage while ducking. This can put you in impossible situations, like getting trapped above the ceiling, and is invariably annoying. You can avoid it by not ducking when near enemies, but those are times when it’s usually wise to duck since it minimizes your hitbox. You might also be able to abuse it to your advantage in certain places, but not much. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it just to prevent wall-zipping, which only affects a couple areas in the game anyway.
However, if you put those things aside, the episode has plenty of interesting ideas it fits into a tight package. There are only 8 stages (including the secret bonus level), but they all explore and thoroughly expand on their gimmicks. The design is noticeably deliberate and you can’t expect much mercy. You’ll have an easier time if you skip out on the star coins, but they encourage exploration and help you appreciate more of what each stage has to offer, or perhaps drive you mad.
Let’s Wrap This Up…
There are things I appreciate about this episode and others I really don’t. As a result, I have mixed feelings about it. I like the creativity, but not the execution as many things feel needlessly difficult. If some parts were toned down and it didn’t lean on lazy blocks so much, I’d have a much more positive impression. As it stands, it’s a short ‘n tough episode, but at times may feel like it’s tough for the wrong reasons.
The Wishing Stars: Winter Wishes is a short episode where the Mario Bros. and Peach visit Snowdia Island to chill for the holidays, but alas, someone has stolen the island’s symbolic wishing stars! It’s up to Mario alone to recover them and save Christmas I guess.
Let’s Talk About Assets!
This episode sticks to an SMW aesthetic, including Mario’s sprites. There might be occasional exceptions, but the visual consistency helps it look cohesive. The music is a variety of thematically-appropriate tracks and remixes from various games, such as Freezeezy Peaks from Banjo-Kazooie and White Glacier from Bomberman 64, setting the snowy atmosphere. Not much is new in the sound department, but the whole thing is put together well enough to feel legit.
Let’s Talk About Writing!
There isn’t much, but it could’ve done with a proofread. Small errors here and there make it sound awkward, though it’s not too important since the story is simple. After a brief introductory paragraph and an initial hub with some NPCs, you’re off on your own with a clear mission. Some stages have NPCs with hints or gaffs, but outside of that and the ending, there’s little dialogue and it’s kept to what’s necessary. No serious concerns here.
Let’s Talk About Design!
The episode is nonlinear with all but one stage available to you from the start. This includes the final castle, but although I didn’t confirm this, I suspect you can’t access the final boss until you’ve gathered all the stars from everywhere else. Stages vary in difficulty but are generally on the harder side. Multiple checkpoints are common and some of the challenges become quite devious.
Offsetting the difficulty somewhat, you begin each stage as Super Mario, regardless of what your prior power-up state was. This means you can’t bring fire flowers or leaves into a level, but you’ll get a 2nd tier item from the first available block and can always take at least one hit. It’s a blessing if you find yourself dying a bunch, but a curse if there’s a particular item you want and can’t access.
Of more concern is getting a Game Over, as this resets your progress in the level. Lives are scarce outside of one stage where you can complete it for a bounty of 1-ups, so unless you visit that one first, you could be in peril of losing progress from repeated failure. The stages have 5 star coins to collect and they aren’t saved until you finish, so these are at risk as well. It might not seem to matter, but there are some tasks in this episode I’d be very irritated to repeat.
As was noted, this episode can be challenging. I’d say it’s mostly fair; some parts are dumber than others. It relies a lot on dashed line semi-solids (lazy blocks) to micromanage its difficulty and create problematic situations. They also detract from the setting since they’re everywhere, so it hurts what would otherwise be effective atmosphere. I often found them unnecessary, either by function or through workarounds, but one stage was actively broken by them. In it, there are Pokeys on springboards that you need to jump past. The springs are placed inside NPC lazy blocks, and if you fall in them, you get stuck until you do a frame-perfect jump or the Pokey kills you.
While I’m no fan of lazy blocks, I can put up with them, but what I really despised was the added anti-zip feature. This prevents you from standing up in a 1-tile gap to wall zip out. It would be fine if that’s all it did, but it also causes you to rocket upwards (including through solids) if you take damage while ducking. This can put you in impossible situations, like getting trapped above the ceiling, and is invariably annoying. You can avoid it by not ducking when near enemies, but those are times when it’s usually wise to duck since it minimizes your hitbox. You might also be able to abuse it to your advantage in certain places, but not much. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it just to prevent wall-zipping, which only affects a couple areas in the game anyway.
However, if you put those things aside, the episode has plenty of interesting ideas it fits into a tight package. There are only 8 stages (including the secret bonus level), but they all explore and thoroughly expand on their gimmicks. The design is noticeably deliberate and you can’t expect much mercy. You’ll have an easier time if you skip out on the star coins, but they encourage exploration and help you appreciate more of what each stage has to offer, or perhaps drive you mad.
Let’s Wrap This Up…
There are things I appreciate about this episode and others I really don’t. As a result, I have mixed feelings about it. I like the creativity, but not the execution as many things feel needlessly difficult. If some parts were toned down and it didn’t lean on lazy blocks so much, I’d have a much more positive impression. As it stands, it’s a short ‘n tough episode, but at times may feel like it’s tough for the wrong reasons.
3/5
You cannot play as Luigi.
First of all, thank you for playing, recording and reviewing the episode!
Yes, the difficulty of the episode is a bit above average, it's based on my personal experience with SMBX, but apparently I exaggerated a bit, lol.
If I remember correctly, the antizip bug didn't exist in beta 4, which is the version I released the episode on, this problem was fixed in the latest update of the sequel, however.
Overall, this episode is very experimental, I wanted to test a few things here and there and this episode gave me a better understanding of the experience of a regular player.
