Epic Pyramid Switch Puzzle [Re-Review]

[Imaynotbehere4long]

A giant switch puzzle in a mostly SMB2 pyramid.
[rimg]http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy10 ... 654914.png[/rimg][rimg]http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy10 ... 63b9ca.png[/rimg][rimg]http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy10 ... 63af9b.png[/rimg]
(click on screens to make them bigger)
The graphics were made by Sednaiur, Valtteri, me, and I think Redigit (Unless it was Red Yoshi).

Download

The level has been updated for re-review:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/r7qbh ... h_Maze.zip

[Socknic]

It's a shame that there haven't been any replies to this topic until now. People are overlooking one of the better puzzle levels that I've seen. Since you haven't received any feedback yet, I figured I would review the level. To start things off, I really liked the graphics. They kept with the tried and true SMB2 theme. Also, they seem to be a first choice when creating pyramid levels. The only things that I didn't like too much were the large trees. They just looked a bit odd. Moving on to the gameplay, I'd like to say one thing first: I'm generally not a puzzle level guy. However, this level was an exception. It kept the pacing and challenge at a good level to keep things from feeling stale. The only thing that bugged me while playing was the lava pit section. I couldn't tell if I would be able to stand on it or if it was just an oddly placed background object. The only other thing I'm going to mention is the Birdo fight. It was pretty generic, and taking a moving platform from the previous section can make things even easier, as you can slide it along the ground, damaging Birdo. The music was default SMB2, but I didn't mind since it was fitting. In conclusion, this is a fun puzzle level with great pacing.

Gameplay: 8/10

Graphics: 8/10

Level Design: 9/10

Overall Level Score: 8.3/10

[silent_]

Heh, I was originally going to review this and give it a 6.5, but after I lost the review due to my internet temporarily going out, I didn't feel like rewriting it again.

Pretty reasonable score I guess, but I guess I found more bugs than you did.

[underFlo]

This looks really cool and creative, but why is there a red block over a blue vase in the second screen? If you recolor it for the yellow Switch Block, why not make it consistent?
I'll defintely try this out once I'm home

[silent_]

This looks really cool and creative, but why is there a red block over a blue vase in the second screen? If you recolor it for the yellow Switch Block, why not make it consistent?
I'll defintely try this out once I'm home

You hit the blue switch in the pipe with the red block over it, I believe.

[underFlo]

This looks really cool and creative, but why is there a red block over a blue vase in the second screen? If you recolor it for the yellow Switch Block, why not make it consistent?
I'll defintely try this out once I'm home

You hit the blue switch in the pipe with the red block over it, I believe.

But don't tell me you hit the yellow switch in the yellow vase because that doesn't make too much sense imo. But I haven't played it yet, but it's definitely on my "To play" list if I come back from vacation.

[silent_]

But don't tell me you hit the yellow switch in the yellow vase because that doesn't make too much sense imo. But I haven't played it yet, but it's definitely on my "To play" list if I come back from vacation.

You hit the yellow switch in the yellow vase because you need to have it activated sometimes, and deactivated sometimes. It's really confusing, but play it like I did and you'll see.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

Ah, I see you took the best level in your episode, fixed some of the problems I pointed out, then released it as a stand-alone level. Well, I'm going to review it again!

So, pretty much the entire level takes place in an SMB2 styled pyramid, and the level is built around activating and deactivating various switch blocks in order to proceed. The main path isn't too challenging, but it's the secret path where this level really shines: unlike Super Mario Enigmatic, this level actually forces you to stop and think about what you have to do to proceed! Unfortunately, the SMB2 cave theme is playing the entire time (except for the lone outside section). The SMB2 cave theme was never meant for a level of this caliber, as it's extremely repetitive, and it makes what should be a really engaging puzzle level more annoying than it should be. Speaking of annoyances, there's a rock pillar in front of the green switch that the player has to jump over in order to reach said switch, which I recommend you remove. Also, I agree with Socknic about the Birdo fight; everything else was well thought out, so having a generic Birdo fight in the level just feels out of place. Finally, for warps 17 and 18, the exit warp is facing the wrong direction.

All in all, this is one of the most challenging puzzle levels I've ever played in SMBX, and I'd probably put it under "The Best" if it weren't for some of those issues I pointed out. As such, I'd say this deserves a 7.5/10.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

The level has been updated for re-review:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/r7qbh ... h_Maze.zip

[underFlo]

Epic Pyramid Switch Puzzle by HanryRichard - Review



Looks and Armosphere

This level was pretty pleasant to look at, only thing is, that the beetle goes into the ground and there's some tiny cutoff with some ground fill tiles in the beginning section. Aside from that, I really didn't have anything to complain about, except maybe the Yoshi Eggs and key being SMW styled.
The music was pretty fitting, too.
That's why Looks and Atmosphere gets an

7.5/10



Design and Gameplay (counts double)

Well... I wasn't too fond on the gameplay tbh. The fact that you could stand on these sideways pillars wasn't clear since they're pretty dark (I assumed I had to spinjump the podoboos), they're in the forgegound of the normal ground and you can easily get killed by the pillar if you don't watch out (aka get squished). The Birdo boss wasn't too good since he could just despawn sometimes and it wasn't too original imo.
Also, I generally dislike puzzle levels that also have challenging platforming to some degree, since these kind of switch levels revolve a lot around backtracking, and the same platforming twice isn't any fun. Besides, the main fun of a puzzle level is solving the puzzles, and thus only fun once. If you die, you have to do all the puzzle stuff and backtrac kignagain, an d itisn't really fun imo. I also disliked how if you just stood on the beetle, it hurt you as it went into the ground. The main route also didn't really involve any thinking since it was always clear where to go, only the secret one was kinda tricky and I had to think a little bit about it.
Since this was compared to SM Emignatic, I feel like also comparing it: Emignatic's gameplay was split into bits, and even these weren't alwas really challenging in the platforming department, and even if they were, they only were really short, so you only got frustrated at a small bit. Here, there isn't really anything puzzle-y in the main route seeing how straight-forward it is, and the puzzle for the secret exit is only fun the first time. If you wanna hear my full opinion on levels that mix puzzles and platforming, look no further then here. Aside from that, I did enjoy some parts and some ideas (like the vases and palms being the corrsponding switches color or the beginning with the Ninjis falling down). The core gameplay wasn't bad at all, it's just that this mix of puzzle and platforming doesn't really fit and you get too easily frustrated and bored.
Thats why my final rating for Design and Gameplay is

5.5/10



Verdict

Before anyone complains about this rating since it's lower then before: Different reviewer, different scores, since reviews are subjective after all. And before someone says that I don't like Puzzles, I do like them, and SME is one of my favorite epsiodes. But I don't really enjoy it if you mix puzzles and platforming. If you do like it, though, this level might definitely be something for you. But it's not my piece of cake, so this level gets a

6.17/10

Moved to Pretty Good

Edit: We did it btw:

Spoiler: show

I remember when this had 3 pages lol.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

before someone says that I don't like Puzzles, I do like them, and SME is one of my favorite epsiodes.

SME barely has any puzzles, therefore this example is meaningless.

Also, I generally dislike puzzle levels that also have challenging platforming to some degree, since these kind of switch levels revolve a lot around backtracking, and the same platforming twice isn't any fun. Besides, the main fun of a puzzle level is solving the puzzles, and thus only fun once. If you die, you have to do all the puzzle stuff and backtrac kignagain, an d itisn't really fun imo...The main route also didn't really involve any thinking since it was always clear where to go, only the secret one was kinda tricky and I had to think a little bit about it.

Hmm...I guess you're right. I probably just got too exited that someone actually made a decent puzzle (even if it was only the secret exit), especially after having played SME.

I remember when this had 3 pages lol.

I remember, the day I became a judge, this had 100 topics (in other words, one topic away from having 5 pages).

[HenryRichard]

HanryRichard

lol

I appreciate the review, though it is moderately disappointing to improve your level and then get a lower score than before. But hey, I can always try again some other day.

[underFlo]

HanryRichard

lol

I appreciate the review, though it is moderately disappointing to improve your level and then get a lower score than before. But hey, I can always try again some other day.

The reason for that probably is that I don't really like these kind of levels. I feel like mixing puzzles and platforming together just destroys the flow of a level.