Cerulean Bay

[Black Mamba]

This is my firs non-contest level that I'm submitting to the forums, called Cerulean Bay.

The theme is like a late NES game with graphics like Castlevania or Shovel Knight (That's where the music is from)

Screenshots

Spoiler: show

http://www.mediafire.com/download/tdorp ... an_Bay.zip

[silent_]

Oh man, I love the visuals and how classic it is. I'm most certainly going to have to review this at some point tomorrow.

[Vinyl Scratch]

Level Design: 6.5/10
The level was designed pretty neatly, but some things are just... Off
For some reason there are spikes in every section except a miniboss Boom-Boom boss (seemingly like Kirby) despite this being a plains level. Seriously, even in the first screenshot there are spikes on the grass. It would've been better if you used the baby piranha plants or whatever they're called. Nippers? Something like that.. Also for some reason there is wood at the very end of the last 2 sections that go up and don't lead anywhere, and then there's wood at the end of the screen of the real boss' section. Seems kinda unfitting as well. Also speaking of the boss section, why did you use bombs as the thing you need to pick up and throw? If you get hit by the Phoenix's fireballs just once while holding the bomb, the bomb will have no time to hit the bird and you'll be forced to grab another bomb. And then you placed spikes next to the pipe giving you the bomb. Just... Why? If it's a later world level like 6 or 7 I can see it, but the problem is the level duration is not fitted to be that either. If anything, it's a small bonus level. One more thing is that the 2nd player seemingly isn't in the level at all. BTW no secrets Valtteri/10

Graphical choices: 6.2/10
For some reason the graphic for Mario picking objects up from under him are missing on all the powerups' graphics. I don't understand why the hammer bros aren't throwing hammers in this level either. They're throwing Spinies.. Another thing I should point out is that the the giant trees in the background are a bit too unfitting. Maybe if you edited the tree graphic where it looks like it'd be in the same game as SMB2/SMB3/Shovel Knight mashup it'd at least be fitting and match the ground it's on a bit more. Seriously the big trees look a bit too "advanced" for the tileset. The darkened Koopa Troopas in the 2nd section also are a bit unfitting for the level really. Their skin color doesn't match the theme you were going for, unless you were going for darkened, and if that's the case, the 3rd section isn't fitting at all except for the Koopas.

Music Choice: 8/10
It's fitting and sounds nice, but doesn't go too well for a Mario game as you'd expect in all honesty. It is pleasant on the ears though.

Final Score from me is 6.9/10

It's a nicely designed level, but it's flaws weigh down on it
Git gud skrub

[Eternity]

A pretty nice level. While it does have a few flaws, it does manage to be interesting throughout.

Design: 6.5/10

The level design is good overall; it does indeed resemble a NES game, with a simpler design, but it still feels fun to play. The enemy distribuition was a bit lacking though, as there were too many similar enemies on a few areas. The start of secion 3 also feels a bit cramped, mostly due to the goomba on the ledge. The level also feels a bit too short, and definitely could be expanded a bit to feel more like a complete experience; it definitely has a bit of a unfinished feeling now.

The bosses are fine; the Phoenix is actually pretty fun to beat, and it feels like an actual boss to me. It can be a bit repetitive, but it's good as it is. It would be nice to make it take less hits to kill, though, or have some more variation on how the player grabs the bomb. The miniboss felt a bit necessary though, as it didn't really fit the level.

Atmosphere: 4/5

I actually really liked the aesthetics here; they follow the NES style pretty well, and are pretty pleasing to look at. I'm not a fan of the sky color at the first section, as it seems a bit too strong and doesn't fit much with the atmosphere (it's pretty minor though, so there's no real need to change it). The second section's background seems great, though, as the rest of the graphics fit a nightly atmosphere pretty well.

The music selection was fine; it fits the level, and it sounds good as well. Not much to talk about it, to be honest.

Overall: 10.5/15 -> 7/10

While it was a fun level, with a great classic atmosphere and some nice design, it definitely could be polished some more. It has a lot of potential, but it seems incomplete as it is now, and expanding it some would increase the score a lot.