Spoiler: show
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l4knnxssiczcf ... p%20V5.rar
Video (on my channel but made by bossedit8)
Reviews:
Spoiler: show
7. Darkonius64 - Windy Woodtop - 8.705/10
bossedit8: 9.125/10
bossedit8: 9.125/10
- A huge Grass Level. It was very nice Designed with Propeller Platforms that moves and if you jump one of them for a little bit it falls (SMB3 Red Donut Platform) which was nice but sometimes they gain a little issue. A part that there are two that moves differently and if you are on the second one while he is floating down it can kill you if your timing is like that. Later there are multiple pathways you have to choose. First 4, second 2. On each sections (paths) there are different amount of Obstacles to go through which is nice but going back would be nice so I can check the other sections while on one playthrough but not 100% necessary anyway. There is nothing wrong in terms of design until you hit to the Boss, Giant Ninjis. Challenging, nicely designed but the Timing is a bit off by Events of how these Bosses are act (although it is hard to do this correctly). It is getting progressivly harder but after you destroyed the last Ninji you gain a Star.
- What a great forest mountain level! All of the cliffs have excellent placements, and I particularly like the structure of the wooden walkways and ladders. The layout of the level is great, with pleasant difficulty and fun exploration. The little hovering platforms are pretty cool, as moving donut blocks are a unique implementation. Even though the level is enormous, it never holds back when it comes to detail. The boss is especially incredible. Each phase has a complicated setup, but there are no issues at all with how they function. It's a highly sophisticated boss for a Mario game, so fantastic work on that. The difficulty is challenging but reasonable, and truly a lot of fun. The level overall is awesome, however I feel like it could use some more variation. Most of the routes feel very similar to one another, but the wrapping section feels unique. It makes great use of the boundaries and has especially impressive enemy placement. I didn't enjoy the Chomps in narrow passages, though. There isn't anything reasonable the player can do to get past a Nipper in a space with a low ceiling. Spin-jumping is hopeless, and the enemy doesn't stay airborne long enough to go under it. I also felt like the Lakitu cloud was kind of pointless, but other than those things, this is a really enjoyable level.
- This is an enjoyable little level! It takes place in a forest with mixed elements and actually offers quite a bit of variety in gameplay.
The way this level did that was by using split paths. You'll need to play the level four times in order to complete it, as there are four paths to choose from before getting to the checkpoint; two after the checkpoint. The paths themselves each introduce a new gimmick to the level, be it a wrapping section, Lakitu or challenging jumps, compared to the ones in the previous sections. They're all fun, but really short. Now, I can't blame the designer for that, as overall the level is of perfect length, just short enough to get a second playthrough to explore two more sections out of the player, which is actually really well done.
The boss fight was fun aswell. I like the earthquake effect which I first saw in Midas Tower (I refuse to call it Mida's) and the attack patterns were generally fun to dodge and well made. It wasn't overly difficult either, nor tedious, as the boss had three HP and difficulty scaled smoothly. There was also a twist to the formula which I don't wanna reveal right here as I'm already talking far too much about the fight.
Atmosphere-wise this level provided a calm atmosphere, both through the style of the graphics and choice of enemies, music etc. I liked the little floaty guys from Yoshi's Island and thought it was a bit disappointing they only appeared in the very beginning and in the wrapping sections. The bubble'd item section could've actually used some of them too. Would've been nice at least. The only graphic which really stood out to me in a negative way was the propeller platform. While clever in itself, the design is just off. You don't expect to encounter metal platforms on a treehouse treetop stage. If there was a laboratory twist, this wouldn't have been a problem but it just doesn't look good this way. Maybe a half-broken wooden platform with a stem going down offscreen?
There's another thing I disliked, being the use of the glitchy airship tile. I know what you were getting at, but why would anyone want to collect it? It's more of a power-down than a power-up and doesn't last long anyways, so it's not really worth it. Especially for an explorer like I am. You could've made the Lakitu un-killable as this'd have guaranteed a gimmick for the entire section. I immediately killed him and the rest seemed a bit generic, to be fair.
One last thing I should mention is that I'd have really liked it if you made 3/3 instead of 4/2. Split path-splitting I mean. I just don't understand why you did it this way. Just a thing. Also, the level might've been more special and woven together if you carried some elements from one section to another, for example combining bubbles and lakitu and introducing something completely new in the former lakitu section? I'm just thinking. Great level anyways. Was fun.
Guess: Probably the first time ever Darkonius' distinct level design wasn't the easiest to distinguish.
- Good job with the alternate paths, they added a lot of replay value to the level. It also added to the exploration for players who are into that kind of thing too (including me, but I felt lazy at the time). They were pretty short though and some felt exactly the same as others with just a few minor modifcations. The boss was the highlight of the level in my opinion. It flowed together so well and the boss had a variety of attacks. It was great fun too. The bombs did sometime glitch and explode before they could even reach the player, though.
- Really nicely designed level and probably one of the best adaptations to Shikaternia's tilesets I've seen, even beating lots of LFFTMK's levels that use them. I thought the multiple paths idea was cool since I've never actually seen it done before. You also did this in a really well thought out fashion as every path kind of winds themselves pretty closely with each other in a few areas. I thought the mix of Shikaternia's Woodworks tileset (I originally intended for this to be used for beaches, so props to you for making it look good here) and the recolored version of his mountain tileset, with a small twist. The propeller platforms were a good inclusion and the Yoshi's Island gusties give the level's name "Windy Woodtop" for a reason. Enemy placement was great and since Darkonius commonly uses those goombas and koopas in his level, I'm going to assume this is his level. This level doesn't dissapoint in providing what the player can expect. I feel like it should have a few more coins though.
