Ninji Hills

Postby **KBM-Quine** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:46 am

(original post was lost, have substitute)

Spoiler: show

-terminated-

Firespike33 · Postby **Firespike33** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:23 pm

My review:

Sound and Visuals
The level was a pretty simple SMB2 level with simple SMB2 music. Nothing too original, but there was no clash and everything fit together nicely. Some pipes would look good if you added them. The music worked well enough. I like how you used different colored Ninji. The parts with the vertical logs felt a little empty; perhaps you could put trees coming out of the chasms. It could use more variety in the scenery. SMB2-recolored grass or bushes might look good. There were also some parts with no vegetation and few trees, which also felt empty. Overall, it was solid, but it could look more lively.
Rating: 6.5/10

Block Placement and Overall Design
The design in this level was solid, for the most part. However, it felt very linear. There were no extra areas to explore and it was completely straightforward. Linear levels aren't bad, but this level just felt a little too simple. Some hidden secrets and maybe alternate paths (with sizable blocks, enclosed areas and such) would do well for it. There wasn't really a gimmick either--just the fact that there were lots of Ninji. Also, in the waterfall section with the Trouters, you could even swim near the bottom in some spots, which looked a little strange. You could make use of things like mushroom blocks or bombs to make the level more interesting. It was also very short. Maybe a little too short, though that isn't a major flaw. Overall, it was, again, solid, but linear and it didn't feel unique for a SMB2 level without consistent gimmicks.
Rating: 5/10

NPC Placement and Usage
Decent...mostly. The beginning had too many freebies, and no enemies. There were other parts of the level that felt empty. Some areas just had straight platforms with enemies on them, which were a little boring as well. The Ace Coins were way too easy to collect, as almost all of them relied on you jumping on Ninji and were completely in plain sight. If you decide to add alternate paths and secret areas, hide the Ace Coins so the player has to search a bit. I like how you recolored the Ninji. The level DID feel a bit repetitive because they were the ONLY enemies, and it felt less like a SMB2 level because of the lack of vegetables and other buried objects throughout most of it. There were some big problems in the waterfall section with the logs, too. The logs come up seemingly out of the air, so I'd move them down a little. They also have inconsistent spawning rates and fall WAY too quickly. It felt cheap and a little frustrating getting across. The Trouters are pretty buggy too. Half of the time, they just sit there, floating in the waterfall, so you can hitch a free ride on one. The pipes shooting yellow Ninji were annoying because they jump around unpredictably, often leading to death. The boss fight was pretty plain, too. Why not use a fire-spitting Birdo you need to throw Ninji at?
Rating: 4/10

Overall Rating: 4.5/10 (I changed the score again.)
It wasn't a bad level, but it felt linear, lacked gimmicks, and had some empty areas. It could also use a better boss and more variety in NPCs. Fix these problems and it could turn out to be really good. Also, I KNOW 4.5 is a low score, but I typically don't give very high ratings for levels. Just fix these problems and I'll give you a much higher score.

EDIT: I moved this into the Average forum. If you improve the level, let me know, and I'll consider increasing my rating for it.