Mushroom Pass Once Again

[Marina]

Today, I'mma present you the first level of my episode (that currently still doesn't have a name yet and has been on hiatus for a good three months now)

It's a level that leads the player along the Mushroom Pass, once again. Creative name, I know.

Well, it's the first level and should be relatively easy, I hope you enjoy it. c:

Screenshots:

Spoiler: show

Credits:

Colored Mushrooms made by nathan360
SMB3 recolored clouds by legend-tony
Extended bridge fences by Luigifan2010

Download:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/0u11zy4fzfbcgnd

Playthrough by bossedit8:

[CreatorForce]

This isn't bad for me. Much blocks and others stuff. Seems good so far.

[Axiom]

Review - Mushroom Pass (Once Again)

I decided I'd try a slightly different review approach, instead of listing my thoughts as I go I'll play the level all the way through and do a what i liked and didn't like at the end.

Okay, I played the level and liked it ALOT.

What I liked
-MINIMAL USE OF CUSTOM GRAPHICS
Seriously, some people could learn from this guy. I guess I should clarify as to what I consider "minimal use of custom graphics"
A few graphics are from existing Mario games but have simply been recolored to fit in with SMBX's built in stuff. (i hope that clarifies pls dont cause shitstorm)
-You made the level feel alot less linear with those mushroom platforms
It was done REALLY well. It had a reasonable amount of vertical and horizontal travel. It was great and never felt too linear.
-Good amount of power-ups
Thank god, I got hit a couple times by my horrid shell throwing tactics.
-Hidden goodies
I found like 3 1-ups? Or I found 2 and one was from the bonus area I can't remember

What I didn't like
-This
I'm not sure how to describe so take a screenshot instead. You can get up there, but it doesn't actually go anywhere? I think it would be cool to have a hidden pipe or something
-Some of the higher areas could benefit from some BGO's
Like here. Toss some clouds or something :3
-NPC Variety was kinda non existent
Well I suppose if this is meant to be a first world level, then this could be circumvented (is that the right word? idk english) but other than that it was standard koopa goomba pirahna. Which isn't all bad, like I said if this is a first world level then this can be excused.


And now for the overall scores!
Atmosphere: It felt like a really well done SMB3 level, and I like that alot. The music fit nicely too albeit a bit overused. 9/10

Gameplay: it played really well, not too difficult and great amount of goodies. and you really went around it feeling linear with those mushroom platforms (I guess that's why they call it mushroom pass) albeit a bit short 8/10

NPC Placement: while npc variety was lacking, the npcs were placed in just the right spots that i didn't get frustrated and throw my controller when i got hit. 9/10

Graphics: minimal custom graphics and the ones that are used are colored nicely to fit, i love it 10/10

Overall Score: a solid 9/10, if you enjoyed the princess cliche's style of levelling I think you'd really enjoy this level. Honestly.

AND BEFORE YOU TRY AND SAY IM BIASED
no stop right there
sure, me and GLuigiX are friends but I promise you none of that influenced this review, you have to remember I've always been more a fan of Nintendo's Mario style of levels and that's really what this was (or the princess cliche style idk you pick).

SIDENOTE: i forgot to mention, having bricks and "?" blocks inside the terrain was a clever decoration gimmick c:

[zioy]

I noticed a cutoff in the third screen.

[Axiom]

I noticed a cutoff in the third screen.

lolwhere

[zioy]

Between the SMB3 mini-bushes and the ground.

[Axiom]

First off, I don't even see it.
Second of all, cutoff isn't even that big of a deal as long as it doesn't look like this

[zioy]

First off, I don't even see it.
Second of all, cutoff isn't even that big of a deal as long as it doesn't look like this

Yeah, but it does make the level less graphically appealing.

That stuck out like a sore thumb to me.

[Axiom]

gameplay > graphics

I fail to see how a matter of two pixels can make an entire level less appealing, the only thing that bothered me was the bridge fence but that still doesn't change the overall quality of the level.

[zioy]

I know that, I'm actually a level judge on a minor forum, and I myself find good gameplay far superior to good graphics, but I honestly think that, of the graphical errors that can break a level's appealingness factor, cutoff is the worst. And it's also the easiest to fix.

[Axiom]

Cutoff didn't ruin the appeal of SMB2 for me, and minor cutoff like that certainly doesn't ruin a level's appealingness factor and you're just being a nitpicky KoolTwat.

[zioy]

I don't even want to argue, I just said that cutoff is easy to fix and that it should be fixed where possible. Honestly, this is retarded. Cutoff looks bad, end of story, this still belongs in Best, now leave me alone.

EDIT: Misunderstood, he was joking.

[Marina]

Uploaded an updated version, added Dragon Coins and fixed all the cutoffs to give you the "full" playing experience


Edit: also scaled down the number of coins from roughly 400 to about 300

[zioy]

I'm going to play this new version, and review it. Are there any gameplay differences?

EDIT: Yeah, I didn't notice your full post, just skimmed it. I'll look for the Dragon (ace) Coins.

[zioy]

Review of Mushroom Pass Once Again
Level Author: GLuigiX
Review by: KoolKat

Overview:
This level was a grassland level, designed to be the first level of an episode. The enemies used were Goombas, Koopas, and Piranha Plants, and there was also a egg generator that spawned Goombas. There was a lower portion to the level, which was fairly linear but not boring, that kept the player interested, and there was also an upper portion a few times, consisting of mushrooms that could be used to collect an Ace Coin, or skip a few enemies. Overall, the level was easy enough to be a first level, but kept me interested to the point where I never got bored of the level. That's a hard balance to hit, and I think you hit it well.

The (Major) Ups:
- The difficulty was balanced between easy and fun, instead of some first levels which are so easy it's boring. (+2.5)
- The enemy placement was very fair, not necessarily challenging, but I had to think to dodge the enemies a few times. (+2)
- The Ace Coins were well hidden/placed to where I had to actually put some effort into finding them. I played the level twice, the first time I got 4, the second time I got all 5. (+0.5)
- The level was aesthetically pleasing. I liked the recolored BGOs, and the way the level felt decorated, but not spammed. (+1)
- The level was fun. More often than not I don't end up reviewing a level because I couldn't take the time to replay it when I died. (+1.5)

Points Added: 7.5

The (Minor) Downs:
- That music feels a bit overused. I personally would've gone with something from NewerSMBW. (-0.25)
- There were some very minor cutoffs that I noticed when running my 100% second run. I won't take off too much for this though. They really hard to notice. (-0.5)

Points Subtracted: 0.75

Details & Nitpicks:
- The level wasn't flat, but it still had a certain linear charm to it that reminded me of Nintendo's official levels. (+ 0.5)
- The overall layout didn't feel at all rushed. The bricks and question boxes in the ground showed that you actually put thought into the overall design and feel of the level. (+ 0.5)
- I don't have any nitpicks that belong here. The music and the cutoffs were about the only things I didn't like about this level. (BONUS + 1)

Points Added: 2

OVERALL SCORE: 8.75/10

[Marina]

Uhm, may I ask which cutoffs you meant? oO I didn't think I overlooked any...

[zioy]

You didn't overlook any of the original ones. I barely noticed them, but the fences you used to fix the fence cutoff create cutoff sticking out of the side of the grass. It's only 3/6 pixels (depends on if you want to count 2x2 as 1x1 or not) so I don't know if it's worth fixing to you.

[Marina]

Oh that... yeah, I might update the gfx in the episode level, but I won't upload a new version just for that now

[zioy]

Yeah, it's too hard to notice to bother with.

[bossedit8]

Playthrough Made:



Original Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8KGZZFXFUU