The Fallen Spirits - 2022 UPDATE!

[DisOmikron]

2022 Update: Hey everyone! Since I've seen that there are still people who are enjoying this episode, I finally decided to update it. It's filled with quality of life updates (full changelog at the bottom of this post). If you haven't tried this episode yet, I hope you'll do so now. Have fun! - Chris

The Fallen Spirits is an SMBX episode that has a great focus on level design and originality. The Spirit Kingdom, home of the star-shaped Spirits, has been attacked by an unknown evil force. It is your task to bring back the source of the Spirit's powers, the Spirit Cells, which have been stolen and were broken into pieces.

There are 5 worlds (and some extras) in this episode with a grand total of 100 collectables. Each .LVL files consists of a small hubworld and three stages based on a certain theme. There are 5 Spirit Cells to collect per stage. If you manage to find all 15 Spirit Cells per world, an extra (difficult) stage will appear in that world.

This episode has been created using SMBX 1.3.0.1

Original Soundtrack
Download the soundtrack in HQ for free here:
https://disomikron.bandcamp.com/album/t ... irits-2022


Story:
"Spirits are souls that are shaped like a star. An unknown evil force attacked the Spirits and stole their source of power, the Spirit Cells. As a result, their home, the Spirit Kingdom, has sunk into grief and emptiness. Are you able to help them?"

Depending on the amount of collectables you are able to find, more fragments of the story will be revealed. This is optional, but it's supposed to encourage you to replay some of the stages.

Features:
General:

• 4 unique worlds

• 3 stages per world

• Hidden fourth extra stage per world, if you manage to collect all Spirit Cells

• 100 Spirit Cells overall

Level Design:

• Big levels with checkpoints

• Lots of hidden pathways, inspired by the Yoshi and Donkey Kong series

• Gimmick-centered stages

Originality:

• Custom Story, which is almost entirely optional

• Custom NPCs, made by myself

• Custom Soundtrack, entirely composed by myself

Screenshots:

Spoiler: show

Additional info:
- Episode has been created using SMBX 1.3.0.1
- There's of course a detailed credits file in the game files.
- Can only be played as Mario and single player is recommended.
- Don't forget to return to the hubworld before you exit the game or the progress you made in a world will not be saved (since each world is only ONE .LVL file!)

DOWNLOADS 2022:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rj4giby0lcun3 ... 1.zip?dl=0
https://www.mediafire.com/file/53v1jgmw ... 1.zip/file

CHANGELOG 2022:

Spoiler: show

General:

• Minor spelling mistakes, weird sentence constructions and similar issues have been fixed.

• Minor visual updates, especially background stuff.

• More power-ups, coins and extra lives have been added.

• To reduce backtracking, some specific puzzle rooms now have a warp at the end that brings you back to the start of the room.

• Some of the star outlines above doors - showing that a star can be found in this room - were on the wrong side of the door, or not there at all.

• More hidden bonus rooms and passages have been added.

Quality of Life:

• Stages are now numbered and have a difficulty rating.

• Many tricky jumps are now easier to pull off.

• Adjusted some of the enemy placements.

• If you fall down in a bonus room or puzzle room with no floor, you get warped back to the beginning of the room.

• More optional dialogue within certain levels.

• Many stages in the first half of the game are now less punishing if you mess up or fall down somewhere.

• The gimmick of more stages is now teased right in front of the entrance.

• Added more hints in the form of coins, background objects or additional platforms that show you which "blind jumps" are safe.

• Bonus rooms and other secret passages are now marked by a question mark.

Soundtrack:

• The entire soundtrack has been remade and remastered.

• "Extra Stages" has been replaced by a different composition.

• The soundtrack can now be downloaded in HQ for free on my bandcamp (https://disomikron.bandcamp.com/album/the-fallen-spirits-2022)

---------------

Spirit Kingdom:

• There are now hints that you need to find the mother's children to get a hidden star, and she's giving you hints about their location.

• There are now hints that the Spirit Pillars are connected to a hidden star.

• It should now be easier to find the hidden star that has to do with a painting.

Calorie Canyon:

• It should now be easier to obtain the elevator star in "Frozen Valley".

• It's now snowing in "Frozen Valley".

• There are now more hints about the hidden location of a star in "Cheese Hills".

• Previously, it was unnecessarily difficult to exit "Pencilvania" through the normal entrance once you walked across the bridge at the beginning.

Treetop Town:

• Removed star outline above specific door in "Moth Woods" which mislead players to believe that one of the stars was accessible through there.

• Made it more clear that the tree trunks in "Moth Woods" are climbable.

• Made it more clear that the red flowers in "Moth Woods" show that secrets are nearby.

• Doors in "Clock Factory" are now more clearly visible.

Sacred Savanna:

• Fixed an issue in "Night Oasis" where you were able to softlock yourself.

• Fixed an issue in "Night Oasis" where you could enter the white door without having collected the 5 fragments first.

• Overall difficulty of "Fervid Pyramid" has been slightly increased.

• There are now harmless fire particles flying through the air in "Fervid Pyramid".

Haunted Hills:

• Overall difficulty in "Horrific Mansion" has been decreased.

• Fixed an issue in "Horrific Mansion" where a bottomless pit would softlock instead of kill you.

• Doors in "Horrific Mansion" are now more clearly visible.

Spirit Haven:

• Overall difficulty of two of the challenges has been decreased.

Final Boss:

• Overall difficulty of the second phase has been decreased.

• Room layout of the second phase is now more open and less punishing.

• Made changes to the final boss dialogue and its pacing.

Top Ride:

• Overall difficulty has been slightly decreased.

• Many passages are now much less narrow.

• Doors are now more clearly visible.

• Coins now guide you on your way to find the 5 fragments.

Finance Office:

• The time it takes for your number to be picked has been decreased significantly.

• There are now clear hints that the finance office has both a basement and an attic.

• More finances related stupid jokes have been added.

• It is now raining dollar bills lol.

• Shortcuts and connections between the rooms have been added.

Celestial Calamity:

• Overall difficulty has been decreased.

Space Rush:

• Overall difficulty has been slightly decreased.

• Some tricky jumps are now easier to pull off.

• Amount of harmful particles flying through the air has been decreased.

Have fun!

[jaf]

I playtested this episode. It's really good.

The level design is great, every level is about a different mechanic which gets build on over the course of the level. There are secrets hidden in every nook and cranny, exploration is really rewarding. Every level looks and plays unique, there's not a moment of boredom. It's also pretty challenging, though never to the point where it becomes discouraging.

The amount of work that has gone into giving this episode personality is amazing. Every level is completely different from the next, always changing it up. The setting is completely distinct from the Mushroom Kingdom, featuring a lot of new enemies, characters, and an entirely original soundtrack. Considering how many "vanilla" episodes there are, that simply borrow their personality from SMB3/W/NSMB, someone going the extra mile to make his episode unique is really refreshing, and I think it paid off.

[DisOmikron]

I've uploaded the entire soundtrack to YouTube. If you want to use any of the music that I composed for your own episode, feel free to do so (just credit me, please.)!

Also, I'd really love to hear some more feedback on this episode.

[TheNewGuy]

I've uploaded the entire soundtrack to YouTube. If you want to use any of the music that I composed for your own episode, feel free to do so (just credit me, please.)!

Also, I'd really love to hear some more feedback on this episode.

Please see rockythechao's signature regarding it being hosted on mediafire. Thanks!

[DisOmikron]

I've uploaded the entire soundtrack to YouTube. If you want to use any of the music that I composed for your own episode, feel free to do so (just credit me, please.)!

Also, I'd really love to hear some more feedback on this episode.

Please see rockythechao's signature regarding it being hosted on mediafire. Thanks!

I've never seen anyone having problems with mediafire. I've now added a dropbox link to the main post!
EDIT: I've now added a dropbox link that actually works xD

[TheNewGuy]

I've uploaded the entire soundtrack to YouTube. If you want to use any of the music that I composed for your own episode, feel free to do so (just credit me, please.)!

Also, I'd really love to hear some more feedback on this episode.

Please see rockythechao's signature regarding it being hosted on mediafire. Thanks!

I've never seen anyone having problems with mediafire. I've now added a dropbox link to the main post!

Thanks! Now I can play it.

[KorayD]

DisOmikron creates another masterpiece! As another commenter said, each level is unique and features its own gimmick.

Why aren't you getting the recognition you deserve? Someone posts a casual garbage episode, and everyone sings high praises for mediocrity. We should all be striving to do our best and push the limits of human creativity, or else what's the point?

Everyone, download this now. This episode should be featured.

[TheNewGuy]

We need to make a topic about underrated episodes.

[DisOmikron]

DisOmikron creates another masterpiece! As another commenter said, each level is unique and features its own gimmick.

Why aren't you getting the recognition you deserve? Someone posts a casual garbage episode, and everyone sings high praises for mediocrity. We should all be striving to do our best and push the limits of human creativity, or else what's the point?

Everyone, download this now. This episode should be featured.

I'm glad you like it so much! I think creativity has to play an important role, whether you're developing an SMBX episode or a completely new game. I've never been good at advertising or promoting myself, though.

[RedYoshi1704]

I am not going to lie when I say I did this whole game in one run, and in about 7 hours non-stop. I'm also not going to lie that I loved about 99% of the game, which is very impressive. Here's why.

First off, the plot of this game was very impressive. I never accepted such a betrayal, it brought tears to my eyes (hypothetically)

Each of the levels had some sort of creativity, one of my favorites being the 'Top Ride' challenge. I also like how there was a lot of secrets in each level. You put them in clever spots, that sometimes I would have to restart a level just to go back and see if I missed something. Usually it was hidden in plain sight, I must have been tired.

Now, my one struggle was when I hit 90 stars. I really didn't except you to hide stars in the Spirit Kingdom. The first 3 came to mind quite simply, but the other two, man those were some head-scratchers. I spent 40 minutes looking for the last one,but once I found it, I understood.

Anyway, amazing episode. I can see this being featured, so good luck! Hope to see some more amazing stuff!

[DisOmikron]

I am not going to lie when I say I did this whole game in one run, and in about 7 hours non-stop. I'm also not going to lie that I loved about 99% of the game, which is very impressive. Here's why.

First off, the plot of this game was very impressive. I never accepted such a betrayal, it brought tears to my eyes (hypothetically)

Each of the levels had some sort of creativity, one of my favorites being the 'Top Ride' challenge. I also like how there was a lot of secrets in each level. You put them in clever spots, that sometimes I would have to restart a level just to go back and see if I missed something. Usually it was hidden in plain sight, I must have been tired.

Now, my one struggle was when I hit 90 stars. I really didn't except you to hide stars in the Spirit Kingdom. The first 3 came to mind quite simply, but the other two, man those were some head-scratchers. I spent 40 minutes looking for the last one,but once I found it, I understood.

Anyway, amazing episode. I can see this being featured, so good luck! Hope to see some more amazing stuff!

Thanks for the detailed review! 'Top Ride' was actually one of the first ideas that I implemented into this little episode as I've hardly ever seen anyone use these mechanics before. May I ask which stars from the Spirit Kingdom you struggled to find? I assume the 'out of bounds' one, or maybe the one with the pillars? Anyway, I'm glad you like this episode so much!

[RedYoshi1704]

I am not going to lie when I say I did this whole game in one run, and in about 7 hours non-stop. I'm also not going to lie that I loved about 99% of the game, which is very impressive. Here's why.

First off, the plot of this game was very impressive. I never accepted such a betrayal, it brought tears to my eyes (hypothetically)

Each of the levels had some sort of creativity, one of my favorites being the 'Top Ride' challenge. I also like how there was a lot of secrets in each level. You put them in clever spots, that sometimes I would have to restart a level just to go back and see if I missed something. Usually it was hidden in plain sight, I must have been tired.

Now, my one struggle was when I hit 90 stars. I really didn't except you to hide stars in the Spirit Kingdom. The first 3 came to mind quite simply, but the other two, man those were some head-scratchers. I spent 40 minutes looking for the last one,but once I found it, I understood.

Anyway, amazing episode. I can see this being featured, so good luck! Hope to see some more amazing stuff!

Thanks for the detailed review! 'Top Ride' was actually one of the first ideas that I implemented into this little episode as I've hardly ever seen anyone use these mechanics before. May I ask which stars from the Spirit Kingdom you struggled to find? I assume the 'out of bounds' one, or maybe the one with the pillars? Anyway, I'm glad you like this episode so much!

It was in fact the one with the pillars, and then the one with the children. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to look for the children LOL.

[DisOmikron]

I added a poll with some options to choose from about how to improve this episode and all the stuff that I'm going to make in the future. I'm looking forward to constructive critisicm!

[jaf]

I added a poll with some options to choose from about how to improve this episode and all the stuff that I'm going to make in the future. I'm looking forward to constructive critisicm!

Honestly I don't think there are any real flaws in this episode that you would need to improve on if you made another one. I guess it would be nice if there were more bosses because the ones that are there are actually pretty creative. But I wouldn't call that a flaw personally.

[AAguy11]

Initially, this episode seemed to have a dull idea, but the story did grow on me as a played, But I'm not gonna lie, There were a couple of stars which were pretty hard to find, I appreciate difficulty but somtimes I don't think there should be way too much.

[DisOmikron]

Initially, this episode seemed to have a dull idea, but the story did grow on me as a played, But I'm not gonna lie, There were a couple of stars which were pretty hard to find, I appreciate difficulty but somtimes I don't think there should be way too much.

To be honest, I didn't expect anyone to try and 100% this episode. That's one of the reasons why you need less than half of the stars in order to beat the game. But as you can see in the poll I made in this threat, I'm aware that some of the stars are pretty hard to find without further clues, hints etc.

I hope you found some enjoyment nonetheless.

[DisOmikron]

Since I've seen that my little episode here could be featured with a lot of luck (and your help!), I've finally updated the episode - as can be seen in the first post of this thread. Generally, World 1 and World 2 are a little easier now. I've added a few more secrets and lots more hints that will help you find more collectables. I also touched up a few other things here and there.

[rlopez3]

one question: which one is the correct version of smb x for run this episode? Can i play this episode in any version of smb x?

[ElectriKong]

one question: which one is the correct version of smb x for run this episode?

1.3 or SMBX2

[joelcanciones]

Hi: I tried playing your episode but since each world is on .lvl file, how can I know how many star does each level has if it is not indicated in the entrance to each level for that reason?