8. Afraid of the Heights - Scorching Cave of Swoopers (5.65/10)
The Thwomp King (5/10)
So this isn’t a bad level. Music is a little irritating after a while, and graphics were pretty good. I think you were a little too lavafall happy though. I’m also not a fan of one area where the bill blaster placement felt awkward I also wish you could differentiate between still rafts and moving skull rafts more visually, but there’s not too much you can do there. So your coin placement was pretty inconsistent, but I like the use of blue coins; they really aren’t utilized enough so that made your level stand out a little. As far as enemy placement, some areas had too much happening. You have some poor placement of lotus and too many piranha plants; you can take some plants away since they don’t need to be in every pipe. Overall though the design was pretty good, there just wasn’t too much to make it stand out besides the coins.
PixelPest (5/10)
This level wasn’t too bad, except that the player has to commit suicide to finish it. (Hint: SMW Stars don’t end the level.) Other than that it wasn’t too bad, but it also wasn’t great. It lacked consistent coin placement, some areas were really well done but others had no coins at all. This creator also had “Plant in Every Pipe Syndrome” when creating this level; there were just too many Piranha Plants; one isn’t needed in every pipe. The idea of the Lotus Pollen spawning from the lava as if it was dripping was also an interesting idea and could have been used a lot more, although it was used in only one spot and wasn’t incorporated very well (there was an obvious pause in their motion as they spawned). This level just didn’t have a lot to offer overall although it was a pretty solid basic level except for the issue with the star.
PROX (6/10)
I love the level name. It's very original! :P Anyway, this level was pretty good. I can tell a lot of effort was put into it. The npc placement was good, the gameplay was pretty solid. What really bothered me was that some of those vines were climbable and there were times where I almost died because I thought it was a bgo. The level was mainly a standard level and things didn't really stand out, but it was a decent level nevertheless. I found it funny that you used a SMW star exit instead of an SMB3 star exit which made your level impossible, but I knew what you were doing and I know what your intention was, so I'll let it slide. Just be sure to change it to an SMB3 star exit if you happen to release this level.
Linik (6.6/10)
At first I thought this was just called "level" until I opened up the folder, and ate my words. This level has some otherwise rather good design, with otherwise moderate difficulty and really good decoration that brings out the SMW feel of the level. The non-moving Skull Rafts were an interesting level idea that was used pretty well, especially when combined with the moving ones towards the end of the level, and I liked the neat touch of the fireballs falling out of the ceiling lava. The only thing holding this level back was that the level ended with an SMW star as opposed to an SMB3 star, meaning that the level won't feel complete due to no end event, and thus the player has to kill themselves upon completing the level. The level was pretty short as well and could have seen some expansion.
7. PixelPest - Smoldergeist's Lava Torrent [Daredevil Run] (5.73/10)
The Thwomp King (4.5/10)
You take one of the hardest stars in SMG, and you do a nice job at revamping it. Bouldergeist was my favorite boss in that game, so I was excited to see this revival of him with lava. You have a nice palette choice with the graphics and a solid atmosphere overall. Using the dare devil music was smart as well as the Bouldergeist theme song. Coin placement was pretty solid. Introducing wall jumping was pretty creative, but it felt limited to what you could do; it was very unforgiving if you were next to a pipe or other object where you don’t need to wall jump. I personally found it easier to just wall jump on one side as well the whole time too. The gameplay was pretty smooth throughout besides the wall jumping. The level generates a good challenge for the player, but has its fair share of flaws. It was excessive having the three fireball snifits right in front of the door though; besides that most NPC placement was pretty good. The biggest issue with this level comes from the second half. It gets very tedious and frustrating collecting the launch star pieces to most likely die during the boss fight. The repetition gets very aggravating with the daredevil run, more than it should. The spikes blend to easily during the boss fight as well so it’s easy to overlook them as scenery when dodging everything. The boss itself was creative, but I found it kind of annoying when I died jumping on a boo to grab it sometimes. I assume they can’t be jumped on, so don’t let the jumping harm the player too. Overall a decent level with a handful of things that make the level too unforgiving and repetitive to the point of frustration.
ProngoKingdom (8/10)
Welcome to hell the galaxy! This level gave off some challenge especially in the first half. The sniper snifits were a creative idea and the enemy variety in general is neat too. Walljumping to collect star chips was also a pretty cool function with LunaLua, but what I really like with this level is the tension. The level was obviously made to resemble Super Mario Galaxy's Daredevil Comets and I think it does the job pretty well without going overboard. The boss battle on the other hand, isn't exactly what I'd say is the best thing about the level. Mostly because there's a spot you can camp out in between the boss and the wall which leaves you free from any dangers that appear, but I liked the concept of throwing the bomb boos at him like in SMG. I love the presentation for this level too, the forest and cave blend works very well and the SMW style never gets old. Overall, I found this level very enjoyable if verrrrry challenging. (Trust me, you won't actually believe how many times the first snifit killed me.)
PROX (4/10)
This level had its share of clever ideas. I liked the wall jump mechanic although it did cause some unnecessary deaths at times. There were times where I would hug the wall and completely forget about the mechanic and I would jump off and end up running into something. It's my fault though, so I won't take off for that. What really bugged me was at the end after you collect the pieces and die to the boss, you have to recollect the pieces all over again which is a huge pain. Especially since you can only get hit once. The boss itseld needs improvement. After hitting the boss once, the spikes that appear blend in to the BGOs making it really hard to distinguish between them. Also I would try to avoid the exclamation warnings by standing where the boss once stood and it spawned on me and killed me. Also before the checkpoint I would constantly have to select the star over and over again after dying each time which got old really fast. The intro was a cool feature, but it has its share of problems as well. This was a nice attempt, but this level was not only tedious, but incredibly hard as well. One thing that could fix this level would be having a second checkoint after the launch star piece section. Also those fire snifits were a massive
pain to deal with as well.
Linik (6.4/10)
Interesting. In this one, the player has to clear the level without taking any damage or they will die, and there are no powerups. This level appears to be built around this idea and the walljumping gimmick was interesting, but it's a bit annoying when trying to handle it because the player still sticks to the wall instead of bouncing off. The level, while a little on the short side, starts off with an OK-ish difficulty but as the player enters the cave it seems to spike considerably as there are unfamiliar enemies to contend with, and I liked the inclusion of the fetch quest, requiring the player to actually explore the section. The boss fight at the end was quite fun to play, having to actually grab the Boos to toss at the boss, but it's hard to see the spikes because they blend in with the background. But overall, the level was quite fun to play even though it borders on very difficult at points.
6. Camacho - Overheated Macabre (6.35/10)
The Thwomp King (4.5/10)
Wow this is a beautiful level! The graphics are astonishing and the music is excellent too. You really nail the atmosphere, but I’ll go to say you nailed it too much. By that I mean you over do it with too much decoration and some decoration that doesn’t make logical sense like having too many bushes and trees in a mansion for example; I think you could have some of them stay to show overgrowth, but don’t push it too far. I’ll kick this issue out of the way that I instantly noticed, you spoil a lot of what’s to come in the level through the sign in the beginning. This isn’t always a bad thing to do, but there other approaches to it, like maybe have an actual character NPC talk about how there are fake blocks to watch for. With the fake blocks, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to change their color tone a little bit so they don’t camouflage perfectly; maybe have them be slightly lighter than the standard blocks. Anyway through my experience with games and many levels, part of the fun is discovering certain gimmicks on my own without being informed ahead of time, yet you feel you have to inform the player of each thing and that kills part of the fun. I appreciate the thought, but please consider trying this in future levels so the player can have as much fun discovering as they are traveling. You also continue generously giving the player too many powerups at once. It’d be okay if the powerups came gradually in the level rather than continuously slapping two or so at the player at certain points. The gameplay is nice, but this honestly feels like your other levels where you have miniature areas with gimmicks where they’re underutilized. This level would be much better if it had fewer gimmicks that the level devoted itself to rather than a dozen that last for a moment.
I know that’s a lot right there, so I’ll cut to the chase more. With you repeating so many things in other levels, I can’t have that really affect your score entirely because this is about the level you submitted. So the level is pretty fun overall, and you do a good job with some of the tricks and traps implemented that do make this level stand out from the rest of your levels. Some platforms are a little glitchy which can be pretty frustrating as well. NPC spam is there, and the fake blocks need more space since it’s way too cramped for the player to safely get past without narrowly dodging or getting hit every time. Overall the level had some brilliant ideas, but there’s a lot that prevents it from getting a higher score.
If I can make one more suggestion, READ THESE REVIEWS. I respect you as a designer and a friend, but seriously there are so many of us offering advice to you, and you continue to generally ignore most of it from what it feels like.
PixelPest (4.2/10)
I really did not enjoy this level. Although its length was good, it was a total mess. A lot of the BGOs didn’t make sense with their placement (bushes inside a ghost house, etc.) and the NPCs were a whole other issue. And it’s always the SAME ISSUES WITH THIS CREATOR EVERY SINGLE CONTEST: too many gimmicks that are rarely used, too many NPCs introduced at the beginning, and an overworked atmosphere. Specific to this level, the moving (bouncing) platforms were incorporated poorly and could kill the player if they jump at the wrong time which is kind of frustrating. Other than that, most of my other reviews for this user’s levels say the same things every time so I’m not going to go any farther with this review since it seems kind of pointless to do so.
PROX (8.5/10)
This level was beautiful! The atmosphere in this level was crazy. It wasn't really lava themed, but it had lava in it so I'll let it slide. The layer attachment gimmick was pretty clever and the lua usage in this level really made things unique. I did find some of the changes in the level to be a bit unnecessary such as the mushroom shrinking down, but for the most part, it really did wonders as far as a spooky atmosphere. The fake block gimmick could have been done better. It was really tricky to avoid, and it was super abrupt. Yes you told me it existed, but you failed to indicate it very well. Also when you go under it, you have very little time to react to it. I found myself having to go over it instead. There is another area where you have to wait for a platform to appear while constantly avoiding roto disks. It was pretty annoying to deal with. Aside from that, I really enjoyed this level. Very well done!
Linik (8.2/10)
OK, no words can help me now. This level was just amazing, and it was incredibly atmospheric, combining the lava setting with the ghost house setting. What I loved about this level was while it looked like and tried to be a ghost house level, it still retained its core as a lava level. As well as this, the level tried to be ambitious with its gimmick choices, because there are several different ones strewn across the level, such as Podoboo-controlled platforms and platforms attached to falling platforms that the player can "push" down. The sudden changes to things as the player approaches them were a neat concept (was this inspired by my CC11 level?) taken further with the static effect as the player travels between sections. However, certain problems are masked by the scenery and atmosphere. There are too many powerups given away, too many gimmicks in the level to the point it can get confusing, and certain parts are over-decorated. It's not about the custom graphics, it's about how you use them. But still, this level is really good.
5. YokoAnashiwa - Fiery Ruins (6.5/10)
The Thwomp King (6.5/10)
A nice attempt is made in establishing a great volcanic environment. However some graphics don’t fit into this level like the bone beetle’s effect when it gets hit and the spinies don’t fit in either. The fireball blaster is kinda messy when it spawns a rinka npc that chases the player. Instead the fireball should still shoot straight forward, or you could find another way to utilize the fireball. So the music is a nice touch to this level and the overall setting is pretty good. The general design of the level is pretty solid and there’s enough going on that keeps the player entertained while not overwhelming the player with too many gimmicks. The bonus room is a big letdown as there’s hardly anything there to get while you nearly die trying to get two coins. The climbing rocks were a nice touch, and I wish there was a way to make scaling down them more interesting. The boss was a let down as it was just a boom-boom followed by a boom-boom. Overall this is a pretty good level.
PixelPest (5.8/10)
Not a bad level, but it didn’t do much great either. One of the biggest issues with this level is aesthetics; it mixes some styles that don’t look good together, the Bony Beetles have the wrong effects, and the Fire Blasters are very poorly done (the palette for the blaster itself looks wrong and the spawning of them is very messy). This level also lacks good coin placement. The boss battle wasn’t anything special either: just a normal AI Boom Boom which really didn’t advance this level any further by respawning.
PROX (7/10)
The design was really solid. The difficulty was fine, and the level was polished. I also liked the npc variety in this
level as well. The level always seemed to introduce something new, and it really keeps the player interested. The atmosphere was fantastic and I really like the graphical choice. There were a few areas that I didn't really care for such as the bomb part. It involves waiting around and it really kills the mood in a sense. Thankfully it wasn't repeated, so that's not really a big problem. The dry bone part where you have to break the blocks confused me as well mainly because dry bones came out of the pipes rather than koopas. I realize that you recolored the dry bones red to help the player differentiate between the two, but it was still a tad confusing. It was mainly my fault though, so it's not that big of a deal. The boom boom boss was pretty repetitive and it really didn't need another form. At least there were hazards on the stage so it kept things a little interesting. Overall, the level was fun.
Good work!
Linik (6.7/10)
This had some pretty solid design, and a good layout to boot. There was some interesting ideas going for this level, such as destroying blocks with a Fire Flower and using Bob-ombs to destroy bombable blocks, and the fireball Bill Blasters are a great concept despite only replacing the Rinkas. I couldn't agree any more with your tileset choice and decoration, as it brings out the feeling of abandoned ruins very well. The boss at the end though - a standard Boom Boom fight - was a bit of a letdown though after such a good level and there doesn't seem to be a challenge aspect to it, even though it is fought twice, involves Rinka dodging and there are spikes on the battlefield. It thus seems as though it was only shoehorned in at the last moment just to lengthen the second half. That, plus the fact that the checkpoint is also placed too close to the boss, is a marker of how long and tedious the first half is in comparison to the second half. However, it still keeps its charm as a good level.
4. RudeGuy07 - lava ruins (6.55/10)
The Thwomp King (6.5/10)
This was a very aesthetically pleasing level. The environment is well-constructed together with great music to top it off. Or should I say should be great music because the music files were messed up! I had to look up the actual song online and play the level with that instead, and then the music blends in perfectly. I thought it was very neat having the flames as both obstacles and as part of the environment, it really enhances your level. So great job with creating a dangerous lava atmosphere. Gameplay was also pretty well done. You don’t do anything too crazy with gimmicks, but each one you use is utilized very well. You have plenty of common gimmicks in this level, but you add your own twist to each by using the environment to your advantage to add more fun to them. NPC placement was decent, but there were a couple slip ups scattered throughout. For starters you misplaced the first piranha plant in the level. Aside from that most NPC errors honestly come from spamming in very few areas. It’ll come to a point where the player has to keep watch for a lot of things to avoid getting hurt. Otherwise coin placement is pretty decent with exception to too few coins in the second section. The last two issues I’ve ran into were the random axes appearing and the rising lava being a little too fast. Otherwise I really enjoyed this level. Great job!
PixelPest (7.3/10)
I knew there would be at least one level named “Lava Ruins”. It had an okay atmosphere and some interesting gimmicks that were well-developed. At the beginning, I thought that the fire shooters weren’t incorporated very well since they weren’t really in the player’s path. The first Piranha Plant was also off-centered. The first section was very well-built overall and even though it wasn’t anything special and didn’t have any major gimmicks, the design of it was pretty solid in terms of NPC placement and layout. The second section took a really common gimmick (the downward moving SMW checkered platforms) but did some interesting stuff with it that was really fun to play. There was a good variety with the obstacles used, however this section could have used a few more coins. The axes going into the third section weren’t invisible which was a small issue, but not a big problem. Another overused gimmick was used in this section as well: using bombs to break through walls. However again, this gimmick was developed and used different obstacles of increasing difficulty to keep it intriguing. At the end of this section though, I thought that the lava rose unreasonably fast for the obstacles the player was required to avoid. I quite enjoyed this level due to its method of taking overused gimmicks and making them interesting, however the main issue I found throughout it was that there wasn’t a consistent spread of power-ups.
PROX (5/10)
To start things off, I will say that there were some clever aspects to this level. For one, that lava gimmick
at the end was clever after bombing the area and letting the area fill up with lava. I do think the lava
was too fast though. The level was great aesthetically as well. It really captures the atmosphere very nicely.
As far as the gameplay is concerned, the level was just insane. There was so much going on at once that it really
overwhelms the player. I found myself dodging 5 different things at once in certain situations. I would really tone
down the npc amount. The area where you have to move down a platform was especially difficult mainly because of how many hazards you have to dodge such as that one sparky area where you have to constantly avoid 2 sparkies while gradually letting the platform fall. There were some flame jets that were placed in really inconvenient places as well such as the one next to the bomb and the one next to the mushroom block. Also the music file didn't work at all so that kinda killed the experience for me as well. It was a good attempt and I can really see the effort being put in, but it needs a lot of work.
Linik (7.4/10)
I don't know if this is just me or not, but your music files aren't working. Other than that, this is a good level, combining the ruins and the cave tilesets in a lava setting, and the two actually work very well together. The lava spurts are an interesting concept maintained throughout the level, used in conjunction with other level ideas that I liked, such as the falling platforms and having to blast your way through walls using bombs; the former actually worked pretty well and required a bit of thought as to when to stop the platform. However, the Piranha Plants are a little off-centre, suggesting that the level was made only in PGE and not corrected in the legacy editor. You also forgot to make the axes invisible, and also, please stop using the SMW Bowser statues; they have a glitchy hitbox and you can get hit by standing on top of them.