This level was incredibly fun to play to say the least.
Visual Appeal
The graphics were pretty bright and albeit a bit hard on the eyes, it justifies the level name pretty well. All the different variation of hammer bros guys, replacing the tinsuit, bully, and original hammer bros all looked really good. Pretty much every aspect of the level graphically looked really good, everything went together really well. And oh goodness the boss... I'll mention that later.
I'd give it a 8/10
Design
The design for this level was really solid. It was rather basic, long, and incredibly, but I didn't see any type of error for the first half. There could have been a little more scenery, but from what I saw, there couldn't be much to add except for some foreground blocks darkened as background, but it isn't your tileset, so no harm. All the obstacles, such as enemies, key door, coin filled platforms (nice touch by the way) were just right. I also loved the billy gun area(s) because it was executed well for the most part and you don't see that too often anymore. I would like to point out something small:
If I was paying any less attention, I would have fallen to my death there. It looked rather misleading with the background and all with the addition of a rather iffy jump from either the bottom over the top from that section, especially with a big character. I suggest making it a big easier to maneuver there by making the pit a bit less wide. The boss arena was also done pretty well and the events were done out well, though, but how does the boss spawn across the screen when rolling for a while? SMBX's buggy events, that's why.
In general, I loved the design for this level 9.4/10
Gameplay
The gameplay for the level was almost the same as the design. Every enemy was placed just right, no flaws at all during the billy gun section minus what I mentioned above, The level was easy, but not too easy to the point where the player would stop enjoying it. The level was long but the midpoint was placed in a decent spot, which is highly expected. Even though there's nothing wrong with the Z2 gate, I suggest removing it because it adds a bit of unnecessary length to the level. And... oh goodness the BOSS.
"in Soviet Russia, coin spends YOU!"
I literally lol'd at that (and lost all my powerups) because it was so unexpected. The boss itself isn't too bad. To get rid of the issue with fallen coin when it stops rolling, I suggest attaching the hidden layer to the rolling coin, if that isn't too complicated so when it falls, it shows it fallen right where it stopped. If that doesn't work, then
no harm done.
Great boss. 9.8/10
Music
The music was sub-par, but pardon my high music expectations. It simply just fit with the level really well with the fantasy-ish style of the level (Since it's owned by King Midas, right?). The boss music goes pretty well with the last stage of the boss, but not quite as well with the earlier stages.
Not much to say in this category. 8.5/10
I liked the level a lot. 9/10
Moved to Bests!
