Doll of Hourai (Extra Stage)

[reghrhre]

Yeah, a stage made almost like in Imperishable Night - Extra Stage but in SMBX. It is more into platforms instead of flying but you still have to dodge a lot. This is really a difficult Stage to go through and it even has a midboss "Forms" in it like in the original game. Normally if you defeat this stage you go straight to the boss itself called Fujiwara No Mokou but the level ends after you defeat a little boss at the end. Go to this link to check Fujiwara No Mokou's Forms Level.

So anyway, here is a Video from this themed level:



Download Doll of Hourai Level here!

Criticism is always nice to get. Have a nice time and enjoy...

[m4sterbr0s]

Review of Doll of Hourai (Extra Stage)

Level Design: 5.5/10

Since I don't really play Touhou, I didn't necessarily enjoy it. I will agree with what you had said about this level being difficult. However, I did see that you were trying to attempt a remake of some kind and some of the events used were well done. But, I find huge alteration of difficulty going from the first section to that room with the cannon balls and the upward moving platforms and onwards. I attempted several times, and I never could get pass that room. I then decided to just give up and use God Mode, in order to be able to play through the rest of the level and experience the actual design. Enemy placement was alright, but generators, however, especially those random ones, were annoying. In terms of powerups, there seem to be a lot. For the first section, it is quite forgiving, and perhaps easy, but later on those abundance of powerups seem to be somewhat helpful I suppose. Other than that, I'd say it's about decent for a remake.

Level Aesthetics: 5.5/10

The realistic background used for this level wasn't as appealing to me, and I saw it more as a clash. However, the tiles used seemed decent. I saw that you were making an attempt to make these graphics blend together, but that realistic background didn't entirely help. The architecture for this level was alright, but some parts felt plain open, especially in the later parts of the level. The music used was alright, too.

Advice:

The difficulty should definitely be toned down a bit, particularly in the later parts of the level, so it could be at least somewhat enjoyable to everyone, regardless if they have played Touhou or not. In the room with all of those cannon balls being shot, there should at least be a place that should be safe rather than in between the generators, along with some sort of indication. In addition, there shouldn't be such a spike in difficulty for this level. Level difficulty should be and remain consistent. And if there's changes in difficulty, there should be slight changes, not huge ones. Finally, in terms of graphics, try to avoid using realistic backgrounds so there isn't any clash. Also, try to add more decorative objects to make the level stand out more.

Final Score: 5.5/10
Level Status: Approved