Jump Land (LukasSmbx's Makamakarena.)

[HeroLinik]

Level Review #11: Jump Land by LukasSMBX

Reviewed by castlewars.

Level Design: 7/10
Yeah...I actually had a little fun playing through this level. The casual run 'n jump nature of it made it seem as if actually did come out of SMW as some of the puzzle-solving was reminiscent of that in SMW. The strange tileset as well: the SMW grass tileset without the grass made it seem more mountainous rather than grassy, which goes well with the feel of the level and the idea of having to use springboards to advance. The shapes of the platforms also added to the mountainous feel as well and making the level appear to be more naturalistic rather than artificial. However, the fact that Used Blocks actually hide items such as Vines seems to be a bit off-putting and it gives the impression that you seem to have been using random blocks here and there, and the fact you used Used Blocks makes it seem the player is stuck at this point because the Used Block makes the player think there's nothing in it. Also, the underground section was a nice change from the mountain, but the pipe at the end breaks the laws of physics, because going down the pipe actually brings the player up into the overworld. Also, in the last section, there are two faults, but the one we're describing here is the fact that if the player gets a running start from the Giant Gate and bounces left from the springboard, they'll end up on the ceiling. Bricking up all ceiling edges two blocks higher is strongly recommended in this level as springboards are prevalent.

Music: 8/10
The music in my opinion feels very adventurous, which is a fitting choice when it comes to mountain-based levels. However to actually capture the true feel the music shouldn't really have many chromatic notes and feel very carefree as you picked here. This allows for concentration as the player ventures through the level like how a hiker climbs a mountain.

Graphics: 6.6/10
For starters, the tileset (SMW grass without the grass) as I stated before, gives the mountainous feeling very well. All the sections were very well-decorated as well, considering you only used just the vanilla graphics that came with the editor and not much more. Even with them, this allowed for a very well-decorated level, even when you tried to use sizables. However, among the good decoration, I found this really obvious flaw:

Spoiler: show

There is an example of a cut-off that I like to refer to as a "poke-in" right where the right-hand supporting bar of the checkpoint intersects with the ground because it's foregrounded. A lot of level designers replace the offending foreground piece with a backgrounded variant such as the SMB3 seaweed. I would suggest in your future levels if you're doing that then replace the seaweed BGO with a checkpoint BGO so it's not poking in. A similar issue can be found at the end of the level on the Giant Gate; just like with the checkpoint supporting bars, one bar is shorter than the other, and even though it requires an immense amount of skill, it's possible to jump over the gate. You can actually experiment with this and try to hide secrets. That aside, there were no clashes in this level and everything was all outdoor-related graphics and there were no indoor graphics such as castle graphics that would clash.

NPC Placement: 7.5/10
I managed to brush up on the fact that you sometimes forget to check the debugger when designing the level. Proof? There are only four Dragon Coins in the level. You can actually add a fifth behind the Giant Gate and using the idea that it's possible - but very difficult - to jump over the Giant Gate and claim the fifth. Speaking of coins, the coin distribution was very well thought-out. There were no areas that lacked coins as a whole. Enemies, on a completely different subject, appear to be placed in very proximate spots, but the fact that the Banzai Bills were basically being fired from here and there can be awkward, suggesting that you should really think about where you should place NPCs in levels. Testing a level over and over again can help with this. I also managed to find a third issue with the Giant Gate that can be remedied through repeat testing - where you place the tape is the highest point the tape will reach, and in SMW it's usually at the top of the Giant Gate. To give a better SMW feel, try making the Giant Gate supports the same height and plonk the tape on top. The final thing is about the springboards. Well, it wouldn't be called "Jump Land" for a reason, right? Springboards play true to the name and game of this level and the fact that they are on supports makes it appear almost gimmicky in style. However, some of them seem to slowly sink into the ground for no reason.

Overall Result: 7.3/10 (Level Status: Pretty Good)
You should be proud of your first level, LukasSMBX. You actually scored quote high considering that it is your first. If you read over the review and look at the problems I mentioned you should be patched up and ready to release better levels in no time. This includes the poke-in mentioned and the ceiling problem - walking on the ceiling.