Super Mario Bros. X Forums

68. Cosmik - Secret Desert Tar Sands (4.12/10)
Bomber57 (5.0/10)
Mmhm, this is a desert with sand, and there is some tar about the place. Secret? Not so much. Nothing too spectacular about this one. The graphics were plain but managed to work a little. The last skull raft ride was too hectic, having three podoboos and a thwomp in quick succession. Also, the level ends in a SMW star rather than a SMB3 one, so the level never actually ends, you just get the star and then commit suicide. Was this level trying to say that shiny things don't bring you happiness? Who knows? Maybe that is the true secret of the Secret Desert Tar Sands.
bossedit8 (1.0/10)
Overloaded graphical construction in a small level. This level was kinda messy and highly flawed. Being big is pretty much suicide since your timing has to be overly perfect in order to manage. Secret was strange but at least it kinda works as a secret and this level doesn't even have enough dragon coins in it. Only 3. At the end you get a SMW star, not a SMB3 star which basically means there's no way you can beat the level unless you die which is terrible. No thanks!
Chad (5.5/10)
This is a really interesting level. It's a desert level with a strong mechanical feel to it, and I like the focus on tricky jumps and enemy evasions alongside navigating around moving layers. The tight design has an intriguing effect on this difficulty as well, requiring careful planning from the player to squeeze around the narrow obstacles, which is pretty entertaining. However, it's a little bit overkill in several places. Sometimes the opportunity, time, or space to avoid something just isn't there, and getting through some of it almost comes down to luck. The Spiny generator at the start combined with the moving platform, for example, make the Spinies' movements inconsistent and unpredictable, while the crushers up above leave you with little room to squeeze through considering SMBX's very strict tolerance for that. The skull rafts, which put you on a fixed path in a narrow space, tend to leave the player no choice but to take a Podoboo hit if luck isn't kind to them. The level's at least short, so at least there isn't a massive amount of level to redo, although I'd say the start of the inside section would be a good place for a midpoint. Also, don't use the SMW star as an exit star, because then you force players to manually kill themselves after grabbing it. Don't put every graphic in the game in the level's folder either, because that makes it take several minutes to load for no reason.
Quill (5.1/10)
The SMW star being the exit was weird as it gives the impression that it's just a secret star. But oh man, you have to kill yourself to exit the level! Also, those red blocks at the start move way too slow. As for the rest of the level, it's pretty basic and could do with a little more length too. It was a nice attempt though.
Valtteri (4.0/10)
Yeah, the level ends with a SMW star and therefore can't be escaped by other than committing suicide. It's a pretty out of ordinary desert level with an underground section with thwomps. The level is relatively short. Overall I don't like the messy nature of the level. An illusion of boiling oil coming out of upward pipes was attempted and it turned out blocky.