Super Mario Bros. X Forums

Valtteri wrote:Tier 3
46. Cheez - A Close Shave (6.446/10)

• castlewars: 4.63/10
  This is essentially just a minecart level because the idea is that the player is standing still yet is moving along an invisible track. Even so, as it turns out, the idea was not executed very well because the level's gameplay and aesthetics are really bland - it's just watching the player ride an invisible minecart and the gist of the level doesn't require skill but memorising the SMBX player physics The physics thing was actually something I noticed accidentally, and decided to let the player know about under the guise of a simple feature rather than leaving players to wonder why they sometimes jumped higher and farther than other times. That's not bad, is it? and using this to figure out the jumps, which need to be done almost perfectly - one miscalculation can result in a fiery death in the lava pits, and this isn't helped by the fact the level is too long despite the checkpoint. Then there are also areas in which the player is forced to duck and this gets really common as the level progresses, alongside having to get the jumps accurately, as they have to do it for around 25% of the time. ...You don't need to duck THAT much, do you? Even so... um. Yeah. You have to duck occasionally. I don't really know what your point is. The other 75% is just watching the player move and judging the jumps, but the instant warps were used pretty well at the checkpoint, though. Thank you! That was a real hassle to figure out. Sorry if the level just wasn't your thing though.
  Chad: 7.6/10
  Really nice idea! It truly recreates the DKC Minecart feeling and gameplay without literally being it. The level is extremely well made for this kind of purpose, and the concept behind it is humorous. While it may be a little long and unforgiving, I also found myself extra eager to try again because it's the kind of difficulty where you know what you just barely messed up when you die. Usually minecart gimmicks are just rainbow shells on tracks way too complicated for them, but this felt very authentic and I felt I could react to each jump. Perfect! Glad to hear you think it was a satisfying difficulty, I was getting a little worried after the first review. Fun fact: I didn't realize that riding a rainbow shell actually came standard with the game- I figured it was a result of some pro-level custom programming. Even if I knew, though, I still would have gone with this because getting on the shells is a hassle and the spinning is always just so inexplicable whenever it doesn't look like a shell. However, I found it a little annoying that Toad tells you not to jump when doing so is pretty important for the entire level. I got crushed into the first wall a few times because, heeding his advice, I thought maybe the level would do something on its own. Of course, that's before I knew the level would be a minecart sort, but it's still misleading. Yeah, I realized that line could be taken that way a little too late.
  Firespike33: 7/10
  A really cool level reminiscent of Mine Cart Carnage. It was really fun and had a lot of tricky jumps. Hard, but very satisfying. Unfortunately, the graphics are far from polished--clash is everywhere and scenery is nowhere be seen. Agreed. You can also get an insane amount of 1-UPs near the end because a rainbow Koopa shell kills dozens of Podoboos in a row. Whoops. Yeah, I tried to keep them from spawning in into the shell, but I guess it's just not really avoidable. It was fun, but not polished.
  Quill: 7/10
  What a silly level! It was super creative! The concept was brilliant! It wasn't executed to perfection sadly, as there were a few glitchy moments and some points in the level where you didn't have much time to react. I would have liked to see the checkpoint put further into the level, as it was literally right at the start. Overall, good level! And now I'm all happy. Too bad to hear about the glitches though. I tried my best to keep them from happening (and they happened in a LOT of the stupidest ways- for example, upward slopes are fine, but downward slopes kill you if you're not big. Also, Link's downstab puts the level in slowmo somehow) but I guess I couldn't keep everything from messing up.
  Valtteri: 6/10
  The concept is fairly original and it works well but the run is way too long in my opinion, even the half after the Checkpoint. It gets really frustrating. Or maybe I'm just bad. I didn't really think it was too long. It only ended up being around 90 seconds, iirc. Though I admit if you have to pay attention for all 90 seconds then, yeah, maybe it does kind of make you start hoping you're near the end.