VLDC8 JUDGING: Eternity ______________________ ADAM: STAR FIELDS ______________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 19/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 20/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 79/100 COMMENTS: This feels like something straight out from SMW, or possibly a SMW sequel. There's nothing really special to it, but it felt just right to play through, and very polished overall. I can't help but feel like it was sort of "just there", though, and the Super Koopa generator at that sublevel felt a bit out of place. Still, great job. _________________________________ AGIE777 - PISTACHIO CLIFFS 3 _________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 16/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 18/25 AESTHETICS: 16/25 OVERALL: 68/100 COMMENTS: Simple, but really nice to play through. Some areas could use some more polish, such as some enemy placements which felt a bit off (the goombas being a bit spammed in some areas, the most obvious example being the last level) and one of the Yoshi Coins (the one that involves some backtracking). Not much wrong in it other than that. The random unreachable blocks also bother me a bit. ______________________________ ALEXIS - POKEY'S PARADISE ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 15/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 19/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 17/25 AESTHETICS: 14/25 OVERALL: 65/100 COMMENTS: Another very SMW-esque level! This one is surprisingly well made, and feels very fun to just go through. I'm afraid it might have too much variety, but in the end it works out. It doesn't try to do anything unique - both the design and aesthetics are very close to the original SMW - but it still manages to be a solid level overall. __________________________________ ALLOWISCOUS - FUZZBALL FRENZY __________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 25/25 AESTHETICS: 25/25 OVERALL: 98/100 COMMENTS: An all-around fantastic level. Some great design, clever obstacles and very well made aesthetics. Challenges varied enough for the level to stay fresh but still feel connected to the central theme. Very nice. ______________________________ AQUAMENTUS - MATRIX MINES ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 20/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 83/100 COMMENTS: The Matrix theme is really unique, and helps differentiate it from most levels, even if it's only a visual gimmick. It was also implemented in nice ways, such as the blue sprite-only ledges, but they could have been explored more through the level. Some solid work, both aesthetic-wise and design-wise. _______________________________ AXEMJINX - PEACHPUFF PEAKS _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 21/25 OVERALL: 87/100 COMMENTS: Some really nice design here, and while it has some neat sprite placements it quite often goes overboard with it. Might have used some work on a few areas, as it might be way too hard right now. Some of the sprites, such as a Super-Koopa generator somewhere on the level, feel a bit unnecessary and don't do much other than add more difficulty to sections that would be fine without it. _____________________________ BBK61 - THE ICE FORTRESS _____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 15/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 17/25 OVERALL: 70/100 COMMENTS: Not bad. A solid level, with some interesting design and nice progression. Aesthetics were average, and there's not much I can comment on because it followed the original SMW's style for the most part. The Reznor battle at the end feels a bit weird, though. ______________________________ BLUE LEAF - KOBALT QUARRY ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 24/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 94/100 COMMENTS: The "electric ground" gimmick is used very nicely, and it feels great to play overall. The level has a nice sense of progresssion and while it's simple I like how it stayed far from the vanilla sprite combinations (Grinders + Volcano Lotuses). ______________________________________ CARLD923 - SEASIDE TROPICAL RUINS ______________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 17/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 16/25 AESTHETICS: 18/25 OVERALL: 69/100 COMMENTS: The first half of the level is really nice, but the other sections have some... unusual sprite choices and is less interesting, which brings it down a lot. The Magikoopa felt particularly out of place in the water section, and I'm not really a fan of the autoscroll + bullet generators. _______________________________ DAKRAS HAYASHI - BLACK ICE _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 2/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 0/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 3/25 AESTHETICS: 1/25 OVERALL: 6/100 COMMENTS: Could have used some testing. The level barely works and there are quite a few weird issues around, mostly from weird acts like settings. Heck, the submission even lacked a goal point making this unbeatable. _________________________________ DANIELGOLOSNEANU10 - UNNAMED _________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 5/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 0/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 1/25 AESTHETICS: 2/25 OVERALL: 8/100 COMMENTS: This... just doesn't work. The design is very awkward and all over the place, and the level lacks any sort of consistency or anything to make it unique. Aesthetically it doesn't do much, but some things (the overly bright backround and the random Map16 work) aren't very appealing. _______________________________ DR. TAPEWORM - PURPLE PYRE _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 21/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 22/25 OVERALL: 88/100 COMMENTS: Always nice to see the Fishin' Boo actually being used in a good way instead of ruining an otherwise decent level. This one is very well designed, and I really love the aesthetics as well. _____________________________________ DRAGONIANTE174 - SEA SIDE COURSE _____________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 15/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 10/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 10/25 AESTHETICS: 15/25 OVERALL: 50/100 COMMENTS: An otherwise solid level ruined by its length. It just drags on without doing much different. It lacks focus and feels all over the place, goes through different environments and gimmicks without any sort of transition and fails to properly develop any of them. ________________________________ EMINUS - YOSHI'S STARVATION ________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 25/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 21/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 89/100 COMMENTS: Very creative! This one is mindblowing aesthetically, and while it distracts a bit from the vanilla feeling it's not really a major issue. It also has some interesting design, specially in the interior section, but it feels a bit too short. It would be interesting to see more done with it. _________________________________ EXCAVATOR - EYE OF THE STORM _________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 25/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 25/25 AESTHETICS: 25/25 OVERALL: 99/100 COMMENTS: Excellent. Some very interesting use of the eating blocks, a lot of variety in the obstacles and it feels just right to play. Some obstacles could have been a bit more lenient as they required the player to react too fast, but otherwise great job. ___________________________ FEENICKS - NEPHE COURT ___________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 89/100 COMMENTS: Great. Some interesting sprite placements, well thought design and provides a nice challenge. Nothing special, but the overall design is fantastic. Even if built with simple sprites and uses no overly creative "how the hell is this vanilla" gimmicks, it still manages to be very memorable, due to both the pleasant aesthetics and fun gameplay. ____________________________________ FERRETY111 - WHOLLY UNNECESSARY ____________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 21/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 21/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 80/100 COMMENTS: Overall it's a neat level, but it takes a bit too long to actually get interesting. SOme of the more clever sprite placements only come after the level's midway point, and before that it feels like I'm doing the same thing over and over again. ____________________________ FINAL THEORY - CHAI TEA ____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 9/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 10/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 12/25 AESTHETICS: 14/25 OVERALL: 45/100 COMMENTS: Would maybe be alright for a first level, but that's it. Doesn't really do anything interesting and is rather unmemorable. Sprites feel like they're only there to populate the level, and it seems to lack any focus and doesn't really feel like one level. _______________________________________ GABRIEL YANNI - LAKE IN A MOUNTAIN _______________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 14/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 13/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 17/25 OVERALL: 58/100 COMMENTS: It has a few interesting obstacles, such as Hammer Bros. and Chucks underwater, but nothing interesting otherwise. It's short and doesn't try to do anything else, which makes it feel boring at the end. ________________________________________ GALACTAKNIGHT - ARCHAIC ART ARCHIVE ________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 10/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 15/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 65/100 COMMENTS: Interesting concept, but it doesn't work very well because the level's sort of a mess. The difficulty curve is all over the place, and it suffers from too much variety and not enough focus. There are way too many completely different obstacles and themes meshed together and it doesn't work very well. _____________________________________ GEMINIRAGE - CRYSTAL REEF GARDEN _____________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 24/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 95/100 COMMENTS: One of the most interesting water levels I've played. The design is interesting throughout and I loved how it didn't simply stick with the Water spriteset. All the sections felt a bit similar other than the color scheme, but it was interesting enough that it wasn't a big issue. It's interesting how having Yoshi can actually help, as it's usually more of a hindrance in most water levels, and I like how the secret exit involves having Yoshi as well. ___________________________ GIANT SHY GUY - HOSTEL ___________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 19/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 18/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 80/100 COMMENTS: A huge improvement when comparing it with your entry last year. I like how it's the complete opposite of the original one, and design-wise it's really solid as well, but some of the jumps were very annoying to do correctly. ____________________________ GREGOR - PLATFORM PANIC ____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 21/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 81/100 COMMENTS: A simple, short-but-sweet level. I can't find anything wrong with it, but there's an wrong exit in one of the pipes that ends up killing Mario. The level's really polished and fun to speedrun, and could probably work as a 105 replacement on the first part. The second half of the level is slightly more athletic, but the timed platforms make it work. Not really creative, but it's nicely designed. ________________________________ GUILHERME F SANTOS - A WALK ________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 14/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 12/25 AESTHETICS: 15/25 OVERALL: 59/100 COMMENTS: The first two sections are rather mediocre, and I specially dislike the cave section, with cluttered areas, enemies that do pretty much nothing (e.g. most Swoopers) and a Skull Raft out of nowhere that lasts pretty much 2-3 screens. The last section wasn't bad, but when you look at it as a whole the three different sections feel very disconnected. _______________________________ HINALYTE - COLLAPSE CASTLE _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 21/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 23/25 AESTHETICS: 21/25 OVERALL: 89/100 COMMENTS: Very refresing level overall. It stays simple, with some great design, beautiful visuals and a nice twist. The area where you get the key felt very off though, as I kept doing something wrong but I couldn't really see what was happening or where I was going. I'd say it's nothing big, though. ____________________________ HOLYOKE - HOLYOKE WORLD ____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 10/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 5/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 2/25 AESTHETICS: 10/25 OVERALL: 27/100 COMMENTS: I'm not sure on what to think. This level tries, but it doesn't really work. Flat stretches of land spammed with Volcano Lotuses, a series of obstacles withut much consistency and several annoying jumps throw it down a lot. ___________________________________ IMAMELIA - RUINSWAMPLATFORMIST ___________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 93/100 COMMENTS: This level uses most (if not all) platform sprites and still manages to be fairly consistent somehow. Other than a few less interesting areas, this has tons of clever setups and is really aestehtically pleasing as well, even if it's rather simple. ______________________________ IVAN SWORD54 - SHIP RUINS ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 16/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 22/25 OVERALL: 72/100 COMMENTS: Interesting level. It has some good design, nice sprite placements and good aesthetics. A few sections might be a bit too cramped, and I'm not a fan of how you marked those Torpedo Ted launchers (seemed like just decoration at first, and it's just not what I was expecting) but otherwise it's fine. __________________________ IZUNA - TRUNK TROUBLE __________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 25/25 OVERALL: 92/100 COMMENTS: Has some great difficulty (as in, it's really hard but it's atually fair) and the design is really great overall. Really love some of the setups there, the Line Guides are used in very creative ways in this level. The secret exit placement slightly bothers me, as it's in a random pipe just there. ______________________________ JACKTHESPADES - VERLASSEN ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 21/25 OVERALL: 83/100 COMMENTS: Not bad overall. Has some interesting sprite placements and it's great visually, but it doesn't do anything unique or stands out when comparing it to other levels. ___________________________________________ JAPHETHMARIO21ST - REX'S SHROOM GARDEN ___________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 19/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 17/25 OVERALL: 74/100 COMMENTS: This would be a really neat level if there was more space to navigate. For the most part it was really cramped which made a few obstacles harder than they should be. _____________________________________________ KAISAAN AND MAIMUR - 2 BROS MAKE A LEVEL _____________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 1/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 1/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 1/25 AESTHETICS: 2/25 OVERALL: 5/100 COMMENTS: Sorry, but I'm not sure if I can even call this a level. There's pretty much nothing to do, it's very short and there's nothing to differentiate it from most levels. I'd recommend trying to stick to a central theme and develop it through the level next time, be it a creative gimmick or even a specific sprite(set). _________________________ KDEEE - EPIC NOTHING _________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 0/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 0/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 0/25 AESTHETICS: 0/25 OVERALL: 0/100 COMMENTS: I'd rather play through all of Superman 64 or Drive the Desert Bus. _____________________________ KERKEC - CAKEWALK CAVERN _____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 22/25 OVERALL: 82/100 COMMENTS: A few areas were a bit unfair or too cramped (the P-Balloon section comes to mind), but otherwise this was very nicely designed and had some great aesthetics as well. Had some nice spritework and interesting uses of certain enemies, such as the Blurps outside of water. __________________________ KEVKOT - VARIETY PATH __________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 5/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 2/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 10/25 AESTHETICS: 8/25 OVERALL: 25/100 COMMENTS: There's so much thrown around in this level I'm not even sure on how to judge it. It's more of a random sublevel collection than anything, and even those are pretty mediocre individually. This level drags on for too long, isn't very fun to play and could use some work in some of the obstacles. Most of those being very cramped and having some obnoxious jumps doesn't help. _________________________________ KOOPSTER - TRAGIC REVOLUTION _________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 90/100 COMMENTS: I really love how this entry progresses from a simple forest level to a pretty much devastated area. It's great how the sprites used also change accordingly, from Wigglers and simple forest sprites to more Chucks and Grinders. It's a simple effect but very well done. The time void is also a nice touch, but I didn't expect the toxic water to kill the player instantly. ___________________________________ KTBHACKING - KIND TIMBER BIOME ___________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 16/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 14/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 16/25 OVERALL: 60/100 COMMENTS: With some more work this could've been something straight out from SMW, but it feels a bit repetitive overall - it needs some work on the obstacle variety part. It's also slightly annoying how you can swim into the big trunks and die because they're just decoration - they should act like the water tiles there. _________________________ LAZY - THE PODOBOORU _________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 25/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 24/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 96/100 COMMENTS: Really nice use of the autoscrolling here. The sprites used were very interesting and the level did a great job at not losing creativity and being a very nice experience. It's also fantastic aesthetically, so there's not much wrong there. I wonder if that last section was necessary, though, but it worked well so it's fine. ____________________________________ LEVELENGINE - SIGNS ARE USELESS ____________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 23/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 21/25 AESTHETICS: 22/25 OVERALL: 86/100 COMMENTS: Simple, but it works surprisingly well. Some really interesting setups here, and I really enjoyed most of it. The second part wasn't as good as the first, as you went a bit overboard with the munchers there, but it's still a farily good level. _________________________________ LIGHTVAYNE: MONOCLOUD CASTLE _________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 25/25 AESTHETICS: 24/25 OVERALL: 99/100 COMMENTS: Brilliant level design here. This one introduces a variety of different challenges and still manages to have a nice cohesion through them, which is surprisingly rare to find. One of my favorites. The aesthetics are simple but work well, and the small details on the design are really neat. The end of the level is also probably the best use of "thwomp sounds" I've ever seen, very creative. _________________________________ LIMEMASTER92 - CAVE OF BONES _________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 15/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 12/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 15/25 OVERALL: 56/100 COMMENTS: While a few parts were rather empty and lacked sprites, other areas were slightly cramped and had too much of them. Overall it was a fine level, but some weird areas brought it down a lot. Carrying the P-Switch from the start of the level through the nets was a pain, for example, and there were a few cases of unnecessary muncher spamming near the end. _____________________________ LOLYOSHI: HOW DOES MOLES _____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 25/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 25/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 25/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 98/100 COMMENTS: One of my favorites. The moles gimmick was just brilliant and it's used in a variety of clever ways through the level. It's a lot of fun to play, very well-crafted, and even hilarious at some sections (loved the floating munchers). I had to take some points from the aesthetics part, as it does cause cutoff, but there's some really great design there so I feel it would be unfair to take off much. ________________________________ LUI37 - EXCITING EXPANSIONS ________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 24/25 AESTHETICS: 22/25 OVERALL: 90/100 COMMENTS: Great level. It feels like it goes a bit overboard at times with the bullets, but for the most part the level is good. I found the second section to be a lot more exciting than the first; it's a nice change and I really like the use of Banzai Bills. The first half of the level also feels a bit slow when compared with it, but it's still pretty nice. ____________________________ LUKS: LAPUTA SKY CASTLE ____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 17/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 13/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 15/25 AESTHETICS: 15/25 OVERALL: 60/100 COMMENTS: Design-wise, I must say this tries to do too much. There's a lot of sprites there which could be expanded upon more, and the difficulty curve feels a bit all over the place due to that. There's barely any consistency from one obstacle to another, which ruins the level's progression and makes it feel incomplete when it's done. It being rather short doesn't help either. Other than that it's fairly decent, though. _____________________________ MASTER LAKITU - ZONE 434 _____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 10/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 16/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 13/25 OVERALL: 53/100 COMMENTS: Just a few average sections thrown together without any real connection, which usually doesn't work well. While it would be decent if you went with any of them and expanded more on it, it feels a bit awkward to play through as it is now. Plus you can skip half of the level by simply doing a running jump from the top of one of the pipes. ___________________________ MECHANIC - I.C. CASTLE ___________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 14/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 14/25 OVERALL: 60/100 COMMENTS: Decent level, but it's slightly annoying how you have to wait a lot on the snake block section, as it's rather easy to go ahead of it a fair bit. Other than that it doesn't do much unique, and the very monochrome palette isn't very pleasing. _________________________________ MEGAMARIOMAN9 - SOMBER SEPIA _________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 15/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 17/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 15/25 AESTHETICS: 10/25 OVERALL: 57/100 COMMENTS: This could be a fairly nice level if it wasn't for the very distracting background, which kept confusing me while I was trying to go through the level. Some of the challenges were also rather annoying, such as the one where the blocks keep throwing you up the rope, but otherwise it's actually pretty fun. ______________________________________ MERCURYPENNY - NORMAL GHOST HOUSE ______________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 20/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 16/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 74/100 COMMENTS: A fairly... normal level. There's not much interesting going on in the main path, but getting all of the Yoshi Coins is pretty fun. It's rather easy to skip straight to the boss, but not much wrong otherwise. _______________________________ MILK - COPYRIGHT VIOLATION _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 20/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 18/25 OVERALL: 80/100 COMMENTS: I suppose this was made by rearranging the objects/sprites in the original level without adding or removing anything, right? Very creative! An interesting kind of "blatant edit" and in the end it's fun enough that this isn't really an issue. It would be interesting to see a hack made by levels like this... _____________________________ MINEYL - PERMAFROST PASS _____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 25/25 AESTHETICS: 24/25 OVERALL: 93/100 COMMENTS: Very entretaining level, but it might have been a bit too long... Which is a bit weird considering it didn't deviate much from the original setups. It still manages to be pretty fun for the most part, though. _____________________________ MINIMAY - DORITOS DESERT _____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 81/100 COMMENTS: This level could be scored higher, as I really loved it. The design's great, it's fun to explore and there's a lot to do in it, but it's ruined because there's simply not enough time. The time limit is very annoying when it's a level where it's expected to have enough time for the player to take it slow and search for most of the optional areas, but it doesn't work very well here. ___________________________________________ MIRANN & GLOOMIER - THROW BLOCK HEAVEN ___________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 23/25 AESTHETICS: 25/25 OVERALL: 96/100 COMMENTS: I'm usually not a fan of slower paced levels, but this is an exception. It's brilliantly designed overall, really fun to play through and it gives the player a lot to do in the "waiting" sections. The level's main theme is rather unique as well, including a Lakitu cloud ride (one that's actually fun!) and the orange platform that goes on. ________________________________ MORSEL - MUNICIPAL SWIMMING ________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 25/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 92/100 COMMENTS: At first I wasn't even sure if it was vanilla, because it has a series of gimmicks that didn't seem like they would fit, such as the hyper fast (and diagonal!) Urchins. Some of the sprite placements felt a bit off in the main path, though, and the optional section was a bit too hard (but still doable). ________________________________________ NEGATIVELYSONETTE - MARYOLO JOURNEY ________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: worldpeace-quality/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: good old kaizo/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: as fun as being staff/25 AESTHETICS: no cutoff everywhere?/25 OVERALL: disqualified/100 COMMENTS: Wrong contest. _________________________ NGB - ABANDONED MINE _________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 25/25 OVERALL: 91/100 COMMENTS: Aesthetically, this is probably the best level in this contest. It's just amazing how creative some of the objects there are, and it adds a lot to the overall atmosphere. The gameplay also feels just right, with a fair bit of nonlinearity and some really nice sprite choices. ______________________________ NIC NAC - BARREN BADLANDS ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 16/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 17/25 AESTHETICS: 19/25 OVERALL: 70/100 COMMENTS: A pretty solid level. It could use some touch-ups on weird sprite placements, though (such as the two moles near the level end). Nothing really interesting other than that, but it's still a nice level. ______________________________ NICK 139 - MUSHROOM SKIES ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 16/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 18/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 72/100 COMMENTS: Not bad, but most of the concepts it introduces could've been developed more (such as the platform sprites), and quite a few of the enemies are very easy to avoid or out of the player's way for the most part (Monty Moles, Super Koopas). There's not much to it other than that, sadly. __________________________ NIN - PIPES AND VINES __________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 10/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 12/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 12/25 OVERALL: 48/100 COMMENTS: Could have used a lot more work on the design. There wasn't much on the pipes and vines part, and the main gimmick of the level were the castle enemies, actually (which weren't used a lot too). I'd say the main problem with it is that it stays mostly the same throughout, and has no real sense of progression. _______________________________ PAPERDOMO101 - MT. BLAZIUS _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 10/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 5/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 5/25 AESTHETICS: 15/25 OVERALL: 35/100 COMMENTS: While it had some fine aesthetics, the level felt very bland to play through. Most sections usually lack sprites (or at least used in an interesting way), which makes it very empty and boring for the most part. There are also quite a few blind jumps around (where missing those will usually instantly kill the player). Other than that there's not much going on in the level. _________________________________________ PARAN01ABUG97 - P IS FOR PANDEMONIUM _________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 0/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 2/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 6/25 AESTHETICS: 8/25 OVERALL: 16/100 COMMENTS: A... not very fun level of P-Switch runs, one-tile jumps, weird Yoshi uses and munchers. This level is seriously lacking anything interesting and feels very bland all the way through. ___________________________________ PATPATPAT - ST. PATRICK'S FORT ___________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 87/100 COMMENTS: A very well made level. While it starts out pretty nicely, the second part's where it really gets interesting, with some more clever setups (specialy the ones involving climbing nets) and good challenges. I also like the level's little bonuses, such as the 1-UP hidden in the turnblocks near the end, the one where you have to go behind the Thwomp and the P-Switch at the start. _________________________________ POLOROS - THE KOOPA AIRFLEET _________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 19/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 75/100 COMMENTS: This one really feels like a SMB3 airship level. It makes a nice use of the special autoscroll, and I really like how the bullet generators were used as well. I'd say it could expand a bit more on the Thwomps, though, as they worked well to give the spriteset some more variety. ______________________________ PROTO MAN - NIGHT OF FIRE ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 2/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 4/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 1/25 AESTHETICS: 0/25 OVERALL: 7/100 COMMENTS: Design-wise this level is really empty and has almost no sprites or any sort of obstacles, and it does pretty much nothing overall. The only thing it has to it is the backtracking to get the P-Switch, a short (but rather boring) run and the Big Boo boss which is spammed with Boos, and some of those are invisible causing unfairness. _______________________________ REDCHOMP - DANGEROUS & WET _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 15/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 15/25 AESTHETICS: 16/25 OVERALL: 64/100 COMMENTS: This has some really solid design, but most areas that involve swimming seem a bit lacking, and some of the lava/water setups are a bit weird to go through (such as climbing a vine with lava to the sides, doesn't have a lot of action to it) and weirdness with the lava tiles is specially noticeable in some areas of this level but it's not really an issue. __________________________________ RETRONOM - THE DARK DIMENSION __________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 17/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 16/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 71/100 COMMENTS: Design-wise this had some potential, but some annoying obbstacles bring it down, such as (rather frequent) bullet bills which blindly hit the player without any warning. The last section's trees also obscure the player's view a bit too much, specially when there's a Lakitu above you continuously throwing Spinies in your face. It also might have dragged on for a bit too long. __________________________ RICHARD NIXON - FEZ 2 __________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 10/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 12/25 AESTHETICS: 16/25 OVERALL: 56/100 COMMENTS: I would have enjoyed this level a lot more if not for the weird acts like settings on the trees (where you keep falling through it where you expect to go up like a normal slope) and how some of the enemies, such as the Volcano Lotuses, don't work very well with the obscuring gimmick. It's an interesting idea, but the execution was lacking a lot. _______________________________ ROYKIRBS - MANIC MECHANISM _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 25/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 24/25 AESTHETICS: 24/25 OVERALL: 97/100 COMMENTS: Really fun and has some great aesthetics too.. I love the multiple paths and all the gimmicks used - there's a lot of variety there, but it feels just right because they all fit really well with the factory theme and you don't go through all of it in one playthrough. ______________________________ SAMARIO - LIGHTNING LANDS ______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 10/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 5/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 9/25 AESTHETICS: 11/25 OVERALL: 35/100 COMMENTS: This doesn't really work well, as most of the enemies are out of the player's way, making this feel really boring. The closest to a "gimmick" this level has is the lightning sprite, and most of them don't actually do anything. The only one which can hurt the player is at the level's end. _____________________________________ SILVERSWALLOW - WATERFLOW TEMPLE _____________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 20/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 25/25 OVERALL: 88/100 COMMENTS: This reminds me of Ocarina's Water Temple, which is surprising considering it's a vanilla level. Aestheticalluy it's very well made, and I really like some of the sprite graphics here. The overall spriteset is also very creative, and changing the water levels in the main room is interesting, even if the player has pretty much no control over it. _________________________ SNOWSHOE - PIPE PATH _________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 21/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 21/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 82/100 COMMENTS: Another SMW-esque level. It's simple but fun, but doesn't do much to stand out from the rest. Some of the setups here are very creative though (such as the line guides + rising pipes, I don't remember seeing that before). _________________________________________ SOCKBAT REPLICA - IT REALLY MAKES IT _________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18//25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 17/25 AESTHETICS: 18/25 OVERALL: 73/100 COMMENTS: Really nice use of the double mushroom platforms, but it could've expanded on them a bit more - the level feels like it ended too soon. Nice to see some less usual sprite choices here (Diggin' Chuck's rocks and football, Thwimps, upside-down Piranha Plant), even if some of them feel a bit out of place in a athletic mushrooms level. ___________________________________ SOKOBANSOLVER - LOG JAMMER JOG ___________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 16/25 AESTHETICS: 18/25 OVERALL: 70/100 COMMENTS: Interesting, but you might've went a bit overboard there, specially in the first section. There's way too much happening at once, with all the enemies, the Porcu Puffer AND the L3 smasher which makes this feels too overwhelming at first. The rest of the level is fine for the most part, but the drastic decrease in difficulty makes it feel out of place. _____________________________________ SOMEGUY712X - EATING BLOCK RUINS _____________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 20/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 18/25 OVERALL: 84/100 COMMENTS: Some really great uses of eating blocks there, and I like how it's not used only with used blocks. The bones part is specially interesting, and I actually got stuck there for a while (lol). It takes a while to actually get interesting and start some of the more unique eating block setups, but it's still a pretty fun level overall. The aesthetics are very distracting, though, with the floating dirt everywhere in the outside sections. _________________________________________ SWITCHPALACECORNER - A VANILLA LEVEL _________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 0/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 0/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 0/25 AESTHETICS: 0/25 OVERALL: 0/100 COMMENTS: Seems that this year most levels are either really good or just horrible. ____________________________ SYSTEMKRASH - GOAL HUNT ____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 16/25 AESTHETICS: 19/25 OVERALL: 73/100 COMMENTS: This level would've been higher if not for how long it is and how some of the trees obscure too much of the level, making ambushes rather common. The koopa at the start was a neat but simple touch and the level's designed nicely overall, with some clever puzzles and interesting enemy placement, but the two points mentioned before take off some of the fun, unfortunately. _____________________________ TCDW - BEFORE BRIGHTNESS _____________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 16/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 12/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 18/25 OVERALL: 60/100 COMMENTS: This feels really bland and lacks anything interesting for the most part, specially the first half. The rainbow shell + note blocks at the midway point feels both out of place and is a pain to safely go through, as the note blocks more often bounce you to the sides instead. The two Buzzy Beetles just bbefore the level end also don't go well with the level. _________________________ TEYLA - A NICE LEVEL _________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 23/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 90/100 COMMENTS: Very cool level. Has some interesting line guide uses and is a lot of fun to just play through. I really like how the Yoshi Coins are positioned here - they're not too hard to get but aren't simply on the player's way too. _____________________________________ THEINSANITY115 - SUPER HOT FIELD _____________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 12/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 16/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 14/25 OVERALL: 56/100 COMMENTS: A decent level, but it doesn't really do anything interesting to make it stand out. There are also a few weird design choices, such as a pipe on the first section that's pretty much pointless. ________________________________________ THEOTHERGUY25 - THE POW PERSPECTIVE ________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 25/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 20/25 OVERALL: 87/100 COMMENTS: Definitely an interesting change from the usual P-Switch runs! Very interesting gimmick here, and it's used fairly well through the level. Some of the P-Switchs are a bit too close, specially on the second half, but it's nowhere near being a major issue. ________________________________ TROLLOPE - SKYBREEZE CASTLE ________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 19/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25 AESTHETICS: 19/25 OVERALL: 76/100 COMMENTS: Interesting entry, but the first and second halfs of the level feel like completely different levels to me. Plus, the second half's background can be a bit confusing, as it uses a palette very similar to the ground palette. It might've also been a bit too cramped, specially on the second half, but nothing big. ___________________________________________________ WAFFLEDOCTOR87 - THE CAVE OF WALL SPRINGBOARDS ___________________________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 17/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 14/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 15/25 AESTHETICS: 13/25 OVERALL: 59/100 COMMENTS: Rather interesting design, but it has quite a few unusual design choices. Overall it could use some focus, as the level seems to randomly shift gimmicks a lot. There aren't a lot of wall springboards, for example, and this level goes through a lot of different sprites and setups without developing on most of them. _______________________________ WAKANA: SEARING STRONGHOLD _______________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 16/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 16/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 16/25 AESTHETICS: 22/25 OVERALL: 70/100 COMMENTS: This one reminds me of Luks's entry, as once again it just has too much going on. There's enough for several levels there, and it just doesn't work on a single level. While it has potential, it was brought down a lot by that. Still manages to be a fun experience, so it didn't influence the score too much. ____________________________________ WORLDPEACE - SUBTERRANEAN CANAL ____________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 25/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 25/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 25/25 AESTHETICS: 25/25 OVERALL: 100/100 COMMENTS: Simply amazing. There are tons of very creative gimmicks here, from all of the main rooms to even the bonus room with the last Yoshi Coin. The fast autoscroll room specially surprises me - it's simply genius, and the first time I've seen it done in a way that is both fair and very fun. __________________________________ WUTHERING - CONVENYOR COPPICE __________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 23/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 91/100 COMMENTS: Very nice level, with some interesting use of the convenyor tiles and some nice variety on the level's obstacles. I really like the spriteset used here, it works very well with the level's theme for the most part. __________________________ ZMANN: CALORIC CRATER __________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 18/25 AESTHETICS: 23/25 OVERALL: 83/100 COMMENTS: A simple but fun level. It doesn't try too much or do anything awesome, but it has some nice sprite placements and I really like how you hid the Yoshi Coins as well. While it's a bit lacking in overall creativity, the overall design makes up for it. And as a bonus, this also has some really nice aesthetics! ________________________________ ZYGLROX ODYSSEY - BUTTS.ZIP ________________________________ CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 16/25 APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 14/25 OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25 AESTHETICS: 16/25 OVERALL: 60/100 COMMENTS: A few interesting ideas there, but there's barely any safe space for the player in the level. The Layer 2 Smash + Layer 3 Smash can be very overwhelming at a few areas.