Super Mario Bros. X Forums

Level Description

Alrighty, so this is the forest level I've been working on for a couple weeks! I personally think it came out fine, and it's definitely the best SMBX level I've made so far (although I know it isn't Bests quality, I'll have to work hard to get there x3). I'm finally getting the hang of using custom GFX and all that, and a shoutout to 8bit, RudeGuy, Emral, SquishyRex, and Bomber57 for helping me out with it!

Anyways about the level. It's nothing super crazy or anything. As the title suggests, it's a forest level. It takes around 2 minutes to beat overall. I don't think that's short, but if you guys do, I'll make it longer then set it up for re-reviewing. The level isn't hard at all, it's just a nice medium level. The end has somewhat of a mini-boss, being two Hammer Bros. I know it sounds overkill, but it's not hard at all if you can get under the range of the hammers (trust me, I play-tested it multiple times). In this level, there are lots of Goombas, Koopas, Spinies, Thwomps, and Piranha Plants all around, so you really have to watch out from being killed! ;D

Graphics

Grass GFX pack: Natsu (I recolored the mushroom platform to make it darker)
SMB3 Hammer Bros: Valtteri
Recolored Piranha Plants: Me
Darkened Koopa shells (both red and green): Me
Recolored Thwomp: Me

Screenshots
Download

Okay, the block placement and NPC placement were done well, but there's an integral part of SMBX levels that this level lacks: power-ups. There isn't even a checkpoint in the level. This is annoying since, although the level isn't too long or difficult, a tiny mistake will result in having to re-do the entire level again, and this is especially annoying if the player died at the Hammer Bros (which can be tricky to get past since they jump at different intervals on slopes than they do on flat land). Plus, it seemed like most of the Piranha Plants were placed specifically to force the player to wait (and waiting = boring = not fun), even if they don't force the player to wait for very long. Also, you used a Bullet Bill cannon once and never again, making it seem gimmicky; I recommend either using it in more places or removing it from that one place.

Summary:
GOOD:
-Graphics aren't terrible.
-Music fits the level well (though it may be a bit too short).
-Block and NPC placement is done well.

BAD:
-No power-ups.
-No checkpoint.
-Level is a bit short.
-Annoying Piranha Plant placements.
-Random gimmicky Bullet Bill cannon.

In conclusion: This level was enjoyable for the most part, but the lack of power-ups/a checkpoint and the annoying Piranha Plant placements are just a bit too much for me to put this in Pretty Good. I'd say this deserves a 5.5/10.

LEVEL REVIEWS -RING EMRAL



Call me a stalker, but I've been watching your development from afar, patiently waiting for you to come out with this level so I could experience a first-time level again ala The Invasion 2-like designing style. And seriously: This level didn't disappoint. After playing through it I can definetly say that this is one of the most solid first-timers I've ever seen. No joke. If anyone doubts me, play this one and then compare it to my first level. I didn't even know how to enlarge sections back then. But I digress.


So what the player encounters in this level is a forest. Obviously. You can tell from the thwomps and especially the LoZ music. You don't use thwomps in your forest levels? What year is this? 2014? While playing the player will quickly notice that the level is actually rather difficult (although people with little to no experience in placing enemies and coins normally fare way worse when it comes down to this segment), be it to the aforementioned (IMNBH4L review) lack of powerups, the claustrophobic area, or the waves of enemies rushing towards the enemy at full speed (except spinies because they have cliffturn hue...). Being confident in my abilities I obviously failed multiple times while trying to overcome some advanced jump combinations like the spiny-into-fireball-ambush or the oh-shit-I-didn't-see-that-thwomp. But while IMNBH4L suggested POWERUPS, it wouldn't work without reworking the entire level.

The way I see it, the cramped atmosphere is what drives this level. Hell, even the background objects join it. Overlapping bgos, while commonly shunned upon, enhance this claustrophobic feeling and the atmosphere as well. It's like the topping to the cake when it comes to what makes this level engaging. The main factor, the cake cake, is the enemy placement. Like I mentioned before, it is rather challenging to overcome if you're not careful, and the player has to watch his surroundings at all times. Although I feel like it was a bit overdone at some points. Getting ambushed by a fireball, three enemies, and a bullet bill cannon, is nice and all, but incredibly spammy. A segment like this would be just as challenging if two of the ground enemies were removed, and only the spiny remained. Same goes for multiple other sections in the level. They're a bit too harsh on the player.

One thing I feel like this level suffers from is the what I like to call "oh there's a pipe so there must be a plant there" syndrome. Not all pipes have a plant, but most do. This isn't a dead set rule and I think if this syndrome occurs in your level, you can easily tell that you should shift back a gear in terms of NPC placement.


So why do powerups not work? Many passages are even harder to navigate if you're twice as big as small mario, and end up making the extra hit not really worth it. Especially since you'll be playing more carelessly than before since you do have that extra hit.

So what does this level offer? Well, a challenge for not so good video gamers like myself, obviously, but apart from that? Not much, actually. It's, like Zeldamaster himself already said, a rather standard forest level. Even though the jumps themselves had some variety, the level didn't. And I'm not going to say I expected such a thing from this level, because frankly, I didn't, but point is that this level ends up being rather forgettable in the long term. But this is just the nature with first(ish)-timers. So is the all-over-the-place-ish coin placement, but it's acceptable, so I'm not going to complain here.

Length was fine, maybe perfect? Mostly fine. The player has to take his time and not rush through the level anyways, so why make it incredibly long? Adding a second half and a checkpoint wouldn't offer anything new, to be honest.

I think it's quite fun watching you climb up the base of the Level Design tree. This is a very good first(ish) attempt, and I really enjoyed playing it.


PROS (yes I'm going to be copying this system forever now)
-nice atmosphere, brought to life by the cramped design and bgo placement.
-I'm impressed I found a level which works better without powerups
-Nice length, perfect to make the level engaging, but not frustrating

CONS
-please turn down the NPCs a bit. Maybe remove one or two thwomps, a few goombas, and some upside down piranhas in the more cramped areas. That should settle things.
-doesn't stand out much due to it's length and, may I call it, newbie design



So, overall I think this earns a 6.4/10 from me. I really don't have much to add at this point. I'll continue stalking you from afar for a while, dropping hints here and there on what you could do better, but this was a really solid first release. Good work!

Thanks for the reviews, IMNBH4L and Emral! Glad you both enjoyed it!

Emral wrote:But while IMNBH4L suggested POWERUPS, it wouldn't work without reworking the entire level.

So why do powerups not work? Many passages are even harder to navigate if you're twice as big as small mario

Duck-jump. Problem solved.

Imaynotbehere4long wrote:

Emral wrote:But while IMNBH4L suggested POWERUPS, it wouldn't work without reworking the entire level.

So why do powerups not work? Many passages are even harder to navigate if you're twice as big as small mario

Duck-jump. Problem solved.

The decreased mobility is lethal.

Imaynotbehere4long wrote:

Emral wrote:But while IMNBH4L suggested POWERUPS, it wouldn't work without reworking the entire level.

So why do powerups not work? Many passages are even harder to navigate if you're twice as big as small mario

Duck-jump. Problem solved.

You'd have to do a lot of duck jumping in this level if you had a powerup, which is something I didn't want in this level.

Duck jumping is somewhat of a more advanced mechanism for a player. I was going for a medium level, so I want it to be a level where players of all skill will be able to beat it relatively easily and enjoy it while doing so. Having a powerup in this type of level would be more of a hassle than a benefit.

Oh, I see.

In that case, scrap section 2 and replace the warp pipe with an SMB3 roulette (and make an opening for the player to walk off-screen). My biggest issue with the level is that the Hammer Bros are a bit of a difficulty spike with this level; getting under the range of the hammers isn't hard, but they're still annoying to deal with since they 1) are right next to each other, 2) throw hammers at different intervals, and 3) jump behind each other when they jump high, all of which make them unnecessarily tricky to get past. Don't get me wrong: I'm not against tricky NPC placement, but if the player dies there (which is likely to happen due to the aforementioned reasons and lack of power-ups), he/she is forced to redo the entire level just for another chance at getting past the Hammer Bros, which is quite annoying.