Sockbat Replica: Fortress Castle Rating: Enjoyable When I saw the first vertical fireball descend back into the lava, I thought I'd take the chance to jump onto that rock platform, but I was intercepted mid-air by a thwimp I didn't even know was there. Similarly, I had to jump off of the moving castle block on screen 3 before it went behind the cement blocks, but the thwimp there was already on its way down, so it kind of felt like an unfair situation to me. If you could modify these setups so players have more time to react and/or move them back a bit due to their higher difficulty, I think the stage might benefit from that. On screen 6, if the sparky is in an inconvenient spot, jumping onto the platform in time without hitting it or the spikes is a little tricky, especially as Big Mario. It's not always a problem, but part of me wonders whether all of the spikes there are necessary. Spike usage in general is a little claustrophobic, especially on 5 | 6 with the sparky, but I don't think it ever becomes ridiculous. Apart from those issues, I think your level plays pretty well. You would think the rock platforms sinking into lava would make the level harder than it is, but things usually line up such that there's another platform for you to escape to. That creates a good sense of flow, I think, because you're continuously on the move but you're usually not asked to do anything really precise. The length feels appropriate and the powerup distribution fair. In addition, I like how the moving block setups become a touch more complex toward the end. You stick to your theme without letting it drag on or become boring. Personally, I also appreciate that (a) you're not afraid to give players a cape, and (b) that the jumps on screens B-C are doable even without the cape. I had a hard time telling if that was a platform or a wall right before the goal post, both because there's so little contrast between the FG and BG palettes, and because the status bar was obscuring my view. I understand it's supposed to be dark, but you should still be able to distinguish things like that. Hadron: Sky Adventure Rating: Favorites I really enjoyed this one. It feels almost like something that could be in the original game, and I like all the little ways it suggests that you're high up in the mountains- the non-claustrophobic yoshi flight segment, the use of high bouncing koopas and large, tall land segments in the second half. There are cloud platforms higher up encouraging you to explore, and a cleverly hidden bonus room. The palettes are vibrant but not distracting, and the platform arrangements simple but not boring. The level doesn't force you to play a certain way, either. For example, at the beginning of the second half, you could use the springboard to reach those clouds, but you could also use yoshi or a cape. Essentially, items might help in a couple of spots, but they're not outright required. Where it's important that you do have something- for example, a blue shell for yoshi to eat- it's provided in abundance. There were a few spots I could have used to fly or climb over the level, but I was never really tempted apart from finding secrets. Still, I wonder if it's a little too easy to climb over things in general. Also, there are some areas that could use more polish. The little underground section leading into the pipe cannon feels a bit weird to me, because the goomba automatically walks off the ledge and then the shell plummets into that little spot at the bottom between the wall and pipe, which is kind of annoying because I don't want to get hit by it on the way out. Also, without the shell, the rocks from the diggin' chuck can pile up at the bottom. This is just one possibility, but you could move the diggin' chuck to the top and have a pit lower down, so that you have to follow the rocks' path down to the pipe without getting hit or falling into the pit. I think it would be better for those clouds above the pipe cannon to line up with the pipe instead of being one tile higher, to prevent players from accidentally falling and having to repeat the underground room. The spare shell right after the yoshi could be one tile lower so you can obtain it more easily with a standing jump. Also, I do wonder if the yoshi flight part is a bit too open, and if the red parakoopas could have a more interesting formation than they have now (actually, some don't even spawn because there are so many). Above the yoshi flight section, I think it would be better to box off that ceiling so you can't fall through the dirt from the top. On screen B in the second half, I'm tempted to immediately drop down because of the coin “path” and the way the platforms are arranged, but that often results in landing between two approaching mega moles, so I wonder if the arrangement of coins or platforms should be modified a bit to discourage that. Also, I'm not sure if koopas (with shells) are a great idea for this area because they can kill the mega moles you might need in order to cross the line of munchers afterward. Then again, you could always climb over the ceiling, so maybe that's not a huge deal. Taken together, these issues kind of make the level a borderline case, but I think the overall experience still holds up in the end. Purple Rex: Athletic Something Rating: Favorites I'm not quite sure why, but this level reminds me of New Super Mario Bros. (DS). The difficulty is fairly low, yet despite my exposure to levels much, much harder, I still enjoyed this one. It has a clear theme but doesn't become boring, and I think that might have something to do with the length of the line-guides. Instead of riding a single platform for the whole stage, it's broken up into a lot of smaller segments, so it feels like you're going from one mini-challenge to the next- another reason it makes me think of NSMB, perhaps. The only negative I could argue is that the obstacles seem a little repetitive overall, but I do think they're differentiated enough that it isn't a major problem. I like how the secret exit is hidden- if you pay attention you might notice some question blocks off to the side after a conspicuous pipe, which implies a platform, so it's subtle without being convoluted. Also, since there isn't any obvious way to return from that platform (which is lower down), you're encouraged to use the p-switch immediately, as opposed to aimlessly carrying it around, and then bridges appear to help you reach the pipe. As for the secret area itself, even though it uses a rope instead of a platform, I feel like it ended up being a bit too similar to the main path, and that made me wonder how it would have played if you focused more on something like those grinder trains around the keyhole. I suppose having trees stick out from the top of the canopy and end at log tiles might look odd to some, but given the nature of the level and the restrictions of the contest, I think this is a neat way to have trees work in a vertical area. Besides, I like the composition, personally- no matter how many line guide or tree formations you see, they always have different shapes and configurations, which aids both the functional and aesthetic appeal. Gamma V: Bullet Bluffs Rating: Favorites I think this is a nice early-game level. It introduces obstacles in a way that teaches players what to expect without hand-holding them too much. For example, the first bullet shooter is alone and can be avoided by ducking or jumping, but the second time there's a pair of shooters and it's better just to jump, and the third time the slope in front of the shooters encourages players to approach a bit more cautiously. Similarly, the first timed lifts you encounter are of the longer variety, and they teach you not only how to deal with multiple timed lifts, but also that there are secrets, and that some of them are in the clouds, which comes in handy for finding the two secret rooms. From then on, you start to see the shorter one-second lifts as well. The way secret rooms are hidden, first through a pipe and then by bouncing off of a banzai bill, feels very reminiscent of Yoshi's Island 1 from the original game, and early Mario levels in general. I enjoyed seeking them out. I also like how the level continuously rotates between the different themes so that the level doesn't become boring. Instead of having a long timed lift section and then a long on-foot section with lots of bullet shooters, everything is evenly mixed, so that you always have to be careful to anticipate what's coming next. I don't think any element was overused here. One thing I would like to point out is that a couple of the jumps are pretty wide given that the level feels like an early-game one- for example, jumping to the yellow pipes on screens 6 and E. There are also times where you have to jump from the top of a bullet shooter, which is only one tile wide. I wouldn't say it's a huge deal, but for newer players these might be things that make the level a bit tricky in spots- I'm not sure. Graphically, the use of vertical logs to cap off the donut bridges is nice, and I like how the smaller bushes fit with the arid mountain motif you have going, what with the jagged peaks poking through the clouds in the background. Javier: Hills and Slopes Rating: Unfulfilling I think the main problem I have with this level is that the ground is too continuous and flat. There are hardly any bumps in the road, anything to break players' momentum and make them think about what they're doing. I feel like it's a bit too easy to just run and jump past everything without much effort. There are a lot of walking enemies placed single file one after another, which makes dealing with obstacles very predictable and straightforward. The red parakoopas right after the two winged hammer bros. platforms don't really line up correctly, which makes it hard to cross properly and feels like an unfair situation. Given how straightforward the rest of the level is, this feels really out of place to me. Similarly, having to wait for those two rexes to drop before running up the wall not only doesn't require much thought, but also breaks the flow of the level. Did you choose the right sprite memory setting? Usually Mario or one of the rexes disappears when the banzai bill spawns. Also, the coins on screens 5-6 are hard to get as small Mario. I would suggest looking at other levels in this contest for ideas on how to improve- Bullet Bluffs, for instance. Instead of pasting various enemies into the level single-file, one after another, try to build upon some sort of focus or theme. Use sprites in combination with each other, or make use of varied terrain- pits, walk-through platforms, bumps (as opposed to slopes)- so that players can't just rush past obstacles without any effort. Also, try to make your obstacles different from each other so it doesn't feel like you're doing the same thing throughout most of the stage. SilverSwallow: Road to Larry Rating: Enjoyable While this is reminiscent of of Valley of Bowser 4, there are enough differences that I wouldn't call it a minor edit at all, and I like how you took certain elements from the original- the icy side room, the turn block chute- and put your own spin on them. There are a few minor issues that detract from the experience for me, but overall it's pretty fun throughout. I think a few too many of the chuck setups are the same as the first one you encounter- that is, they're in a high, narrow space you can't really access, so you have to slip in between the rocks lower down. I would have liked to see a couple more in more open areas where you simply have to get past them, or maybe one or two where there's another enemy to keep you busy. Also, a couple of these setups feel a little off. For example, in the one on screen B, the rocks continue a bit to the left before hitting the wall and doubling back, which makes the gaps between rocks really small. The one on screen D kind of feels like a blind drop- maybe adding a small coin guide would have helped? The level as a whole feels a bit too claustrophobic. Almost every time you encounter a chuck, the ceiling is kind of low, and there isn't a lot of room to maneuver. The koopa bounces at screen E are kind of tough because of the low ceiling limiting your first jump, and the only way I could comfortably cross it was by scrolling the screen. The side area is a nice mini-challenge, but even though the distance is proportional, I feel like it takes you back too far. Screen 2 might have been better, I think. Also, the powerup there feels like it's too far out of the way. You have to wait for the right time to use the springboard, and then there are so many blocks to check. A minor point, but it would have been nice if a couple of the turn blocks on screen C | D had coins in them instead. Having to wait for them to stop spinning if you miss a jump is kind of annoying to me, personally. Also, using a red tile on the overworld is misleading- I was expecting to find a secret exit, especially since the original had one. Doopy Buckride: Super Level Run Rating: Ambivalent When I played the first version of your entry, I was prepared to rate it “Not for Me” because I didn't think the sections were differentiated enough to justify the long length, and that that made the level seem really drawn-out and not very fun to play overall, even if the areas weren't too bad individually. I referenced Grandmaster Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy 2 and how most all of the areas within that stage were very idiosyncratic to each environment. While this new version fares better, I'm still not really convinced that you've done enough to make each room feel as unique as possible. I think you did have the right idea with the underground section, because skull platforms and footballs bouncing on lava slopes are things you'll really only find in underground areas for the most part. On the other hand, the castle section kind of just feels like the grassland section, but in a castle environment. I'm oversimplifying when I say that, but hopefully you understand what I'm trying to get at. It would have been nice to see something with layer 2 or a block train, for instance, because those are pretty particular to castle areas. Similarly, while the sky section is a lot less repetitive without those endless jumps between floating or rotating platforms without enemies, I'm surprised you completely took them out, because now it's almost completely bullet bills with a side of net climbing. It also would have been nice to see something with line guides or those wide bonus platforms that move back and forth. The environments and sprites used are different for each area, yes, and I also like the transitions, but I don't think those are quite enough by themselves. Even the grassland area could have gone beyond “standard platforming” (for lack of a better term) if you had used something like green yoshi berries, for example. Also, there's at least one thing about most of the areas that feels kind of off to me. Screen 7 in the grassland area seems pretty tough compared to everything else there, since you have to balance on a steep slope and wait for a hammer bro to return while a monty mole shoots out of the dirt. For the underground area, I personally feel like low ceilings (5, the blarg jumps on 7-8) are one of those things that's too easy for experienced players and too hard for inexperienced players, and usually not a good way to add difficulty. Some of the nets in the sky area seem pointlessly huge and rectangular, and I feel like you could have done something more interesting with them, like more irregular (but not random) shapes or using enemies besides bullet bills and koopas. In the water section, something about the split paths doesn't seem right- the lower one is so narrow that you can't really do anything interesting design-wise there (and there are only a few enemies), and the higher one has a completely flat ceiling which makes it tempting to just take the high road. In the ghost house rooms, it felt really odd to swim up to that platform with the 1up, and I don't like how the fishin' boo at the end is a “react or get hit/die” situation, even if there's a mushroom there. Essentially, it's better than the last version, but I think there's still room for improvement. GlitchMr: rRrRrR rRrRrRrR!!! Rating: Not for Me I enter the level, see a stack of bullet bill shooters and, knowing they'll fire immediately, try to jump over the bullets, hit an invisible note block, and fall into the pit. That pretty much sums up the experience. It's trial and error the whole way through, and the block placement specifically makes it difficult to backpedal to a safer area, so you're always in the shooters' direct line of fire. It's very hard to navigate around the bullets because you don't know the invisible block layout and the ceilings are very low. I managed to clear it, but more through sheer dumb luck than anything else, so it didn't even feel like I accomplished anything. It might be short, but the difficulty is excessive seemingly just for the sake of being excessive. There might be an audience for something like this, but it isn't me. While it's not a bad idea to compensate for high difficulty with shorter length or more checkpoints, you still have to be careful not to take that to an extreme. luigiman09: Random Double Path Rating: Not for Me One of the main issues here is the same as in Hills and Slopes: most of the enemies come single-file, one at a time, so dealing with them is very straightforward. It doesn't matter which enemy happens to come along, because what you do is always the same: just jump over it without effort, and continue. It's particularly bad in the second room, because the platforms during the star run are completely flat and it's boring to just run to the end of the room without anything to stop you. The very beginning of the first room (not the intro room) is the only place that kind of fares better, because you also have to navigate the midair platforms. Speaking of those platforms, it feels very odd for the bottom corners to be solid- I mean, it looks like you can jump through them, but you can't. The parts that are difficult are unreasonable. The hammer bro setups, for example, are pretty hard to get around without getting hit because you can't get underneath them. Also, it's hard to react to that spiny after running up the wall in the first room because you're going at full speed. If you don't deal with the lakitu somehow near the end of the stage, then passing those airborne platforms is tough because the lakitu is almost at the same height as you are. It also goes into the ceiling at the very end, where the exit pipe is, which looks awkward. Making the dirt tiles a solid blue isn't very attractive to look at for me, and it also gets rid of any patterning it would have otherwise. Also, the outline colors you chose for background look strange. Most of the platforms have very basic rectangular shapes, and those diamond cutout shapes in the dirt are distracting and unnecessary. There's no indication that the second room is slippery, because it looks more or less exactly like the other rooms. There's even some easily fixable cutoff in the first room, on screen 7- you can use Map16 to flip corner tiles. Overall, the stage feels awfully incoherent and random, and even if that's intentional, it doesn't make the level fun to play. I would suggest studying a level like Athletic Something (from this contest), which has a clear focus and is nice to look at. Sokobansolver: Wet Dry Ruins Rating: Unfulfilling I think one of the main problems I have with this level is that the way you're supposed to complete it isn't something I could have anticipated. How was I supposed to know that entering a layer 2 falls room from a different location makes it fall further? How was I supposed to know that going to a particular screen apparently resets the layer 2 blocks' position, or that entering from a different location makes some blocks appear that weren't there before? There are message boxes with instructions, but they don't cover such obscure anomalies like these. Rather than feel like I'm solving the puzzle or finding the right path, it's more a matter of the level just doing what it does and me being along for the ride as a spectator. I don't know why I'm going where I'm going until one of these random things happens, and that makes the level feel a lot more labyrinthine than it actually is. It doesn't help that there are a few too many exit-enabled pipes in this stage. There's an unassigned one in room 108 that allows me to skip half of the regular path. In room 106, there's one that takes me back to room 108, forcing me to repeat an area, and there are two pipes that lead to the same bonus room. You can also enter a couple of pipes out of order by bouncing on bullet bills or ball n' chains, so your reward for exploration could be more confusion or even stumbling upon a shortcut. Which one it'll be is definitely not obvious the first time around, though. While the normal path is straightforward enough so long as you ignore all the side pipes en-route, the secret path involves too much looping around for my liking, to the point where I'd rather just bounce on enemies to access pipes early. Figuring out how to manipulate the position of the on/off switch despite the fact that it resets to the on position in any layer 2 falls room will probably involve a fair bit of backtracking and running around the first time you play the stage. Overall, it feels like I'm spending too much time wrapping my head around the inner workings of layer 2 and on/off switches, and not enough time playing a platforming game. There is a sense of “oh, so that's how it works,” and that's nice, but sometimes the terrain and enemies kind of feel like an afterthought compared to the real focus of the level. Maybe that's just my impression, though. Ladida: Yoshi no House Rating: Unfulfilling I'm not really a fan of how many cheap hits, “act fast or die” situations, blind enemy encounters, and so on are in this stage. As soon as you begin you have to escape from a sumo bro, and entering the second half from the main path or midpoint requires you to react quickly to a bowser statue fireball or ball n' chain, respectively. Every time you restart from the midpoint you have to slowly crawl through a small room with volcano lotus plants and a flying fish generator before continuing, which gets old fast. Then there are things you just can't anticipate, like getting hit by that spike ceiling en route to the midpoint when you use the springboard, or getting hit by the bowser statue fireball on screen 9 in that area if you're unlucky. On top of all that, there are parts like screens 3-5 and B in the first half that feel like unnecessary padding. It doesn't help that the level is stingy with powerups and checkpoints, either. For one thing, you have to carry a springboard with you in order to even get the midpoint, so if you don't know what to do with it and leave it behind- or if you trade it for the p-switch to get the 3up moon- you'll be in for a rude awakening later. The first powerup you get is almost right before the midpoint, and the second one is honestly too risky to chance unless you're comfortable timing a high precision spinbounce off of a vertical fireball amid platforms that immediately sink into the lava once you step on them. Essentially, there's very little room for error despite all the obstacles that require high precision, and there's certainly no incentive to go for things like yoshi coins. Speaking of that section, the vertical fireballs have a tendency to come up right as you're landing on a sinking platform, and in the short amount of time you have, it's pretty tough to decide whether it's better to rush past or wait. Further on, landing on the platform with the p-switch gives you less than one tile of space to maneuver because of the adjacent spikes, and the following p-switch run requires nearly flawless timing and spacing. The p-switch run in the first half of the stage is out of your hands, because the random spawns of the flying fish generator could kill you while you're running up the wall, for instance. It's not like you have time to double back and try again, either, because there's only one p-switch up to that point, and if you reach the end before time runs out, there's a wall blocking you for no good reason (yes, I know about the second p-switch). It's not necessarily that the general concepts are bad- it's just that the obstacles tend to ask too much from players without giving any leeway. KY2010: The Terrible Whiteness of a Sadistic Castle Rating: Ambivalent I really want to like this level, because the general concepts you have for each of the rooms seem to fit the original game quite well, and because each one has its own focus. However, there always seems to be some aspect of the design that makes the difficulty somewhat unreasonable. For example, the magikoopa section is a neat challenge room because you have to be careful not to spinjump to get around enemies, and because there are spots where hitting turn blocks from below makes it easier to jump to the next set of blocks. However, the low ceiling, autoscroll, single-tile platforms, and especially the random spawns of the magikoopa combine to produce a lot of unfair deaths. Sometimes I would land on a block right as the magikoopa appeared exactly there- an inescapable situation. Other times the magikoopa would spawn high up where I wanted to jump, and since the autoscroll left me no time to wait, I had to try a much harder jump to a lone block lower down, and more often than not I slipped off by accident. Overall it's just too claustrophobic with too many things going on at the same time. It would also be nice to have a cement block here and there, in case players want to risk spinjumping from safe spot to safe spot and clearing it that way. In the frozen section, having to balance on lone slippery blocks several times in a row is tedious, and if you happen to miss just one of the jumps, having to redo the whole section is rather annoying. That last spinjump on the ball n' chain is also pretty tough, even as a final obstacle- to an extent, it feels like that spot right before the end of a board game that sends you back dozens of tiles. In the layer 2 section, the blocks dip so low in the “safe” areas that if the enemies get back up at the wrong time, you have very little space to knock them down again. The spike usage is also a little claustrophobic, especially when jumping up to that sawtooth-y area with the two grinders. In general, vertical fireball behavior is awkward because it seems as though you set their starting positions really high, and sometimes they don't even seem to spawn properly. In addition, while those golden bowser statue setups are a nice touch, they only work if things line up properly- otherwise you'll have to backpedal and wait, or just tank through instead. Finally, the secret rooms seem to require too much effort. After obtaining the p-switch (which is hard enough as big Mario because you can't spinjump on the turn blocks) and bringing it all the way to that secret door in the frozen section, I couldn't even grab the yoshi coin because, as small Mario, I couldn't break the turn blocks. There was even a mushroom beneath the blocks for added tease factor. Why so much effort just for a yoshi coin? After that experience, there's pretty much no incentive for me to bring a cape to the very end of the stage to access who knows what when there are so many places en route where it's easy to take a hit from things that aren't entirely reasonable to begin with. Your update confuses me. While it makes the end of the ice section more reasonable, it also now forces you to fight a boss instead of the other two exits that used to be there, which not only contradicts the message box and makes the key useless, but also makes the low time limit much more noticeable, to the point where there's simply not enough time to complete the level if you take the autoscroll magikoopa route. I think these changes actually make me even less keen on the stage than I was originally. notgoodwithusernames: Concussion Mountain Rating: Favorites This is probably my favorite entry so far. The line-guide setups are varied and work well in combination with both other enemies and things like note blocks and wall springboards. Plus, they become noticeably more complex and tougher in the second half without being unfair at all, even if you don't pick up one of the many powerups distributed throughout the stage to help you along. Even the toughest jumps can be viewed safely from a distance before players attempt them. There are minor things you could call questionable, like the fuzzy on screen B because the screen is still scrolling up before you see it, but nothing that detracts from the overall experience. The tremors are a neat effect, and you had the good sense not to spam them throughout the entire stage, though having them repeatedly occur when you're trying to observe an obstacle can become grating. Not to mention, the way you make it look like it's because of the falling rocks when it's really off-screen thwomps is pretty clever. The contours of the ceiling definitely feel rugged and mountainous without dipping so low that it interferes with gameplay, and the ghost house platforms don't feel out of place at all. The dull reds and oranges also communicate the danger of the area, I think. The composition of platforms is nice and Mario travels in all sorts of directions rather than just moving right and jumping. Honestly, it's hard for me to come up with anything negative to say about the level, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done. AirMario: Entry Rating: Not for Me Basically, I think you spent too much time making dirt formations and not enough time on things that directly affect how the level plays out, like platform and sprite placement. The level has one basic pattern- climb to a high platform, then a blind drop- and that one pattern is repeated to cover pretty much the entire level, which is very repetitive. The only thing that really changes is the kind of sprite you happen to encounter after the drop. While it's good that you're not just running to the right and jumping over things without effort, it's even better when the layout has enough variety that it doesn't feel like you're doing the same thing over and over again, as is my impression here. It's also shorter in length than even most levels from the original game, so the experience doesn't feel fulfilling at all. As far as I can tell, those dirt formations don't really have any kind of unifying theme- to me, it just looks like a mess of crisscrossing lines, which is distracting. The outlining on the grass in the foreground and the foliage in the background also looks odd and unnatural, because your light and dark hues don't really suggest any sort of light direction or shading. Generally there should be a transition from light to dark that suggests how light hits the object. If you're looking to make an early-game level, I'd suggest taking a look at Bullet Bluffs, which I'd argue has a clear focus but also doesn't feel repetitive or boring. In addition, I'd recommend you study Athletic Something or Concussion Mountain for ideas on how to make your level look appealing and varied without doing anything too complex or abstract with dirt formations. Morsel: Living Mountain Rating: Favorites While some obstacles in this level are tricky or involve a fair amount of precision, I have a hard time calling most any of them genuinely unfair, and I think there are enough powerups to keep you going if you make a few mistakes or find a few obstacles too tricky to handle. I also appreciate that the message box caters to a general audience, though anyone who isn't used to spinjumping on enemies will probably have a tough time with this stage, and I'm not sure the obstacles are arranged in a way that teaches newer players how to get acclimated to the technique, especially with the steep slope tiles in the first half. Basically, it's clearly not an early-game stage, but it's done well nonetheless. I also like that the level doesn't feel repetitive at all even though you restrict yourself to a relatively small set of sprites over a considerable distance. Making use of both horizontal and vertical sections allows for a lot of different setups that make you approach them in different ways. Sometimes you have to lure out thwomps with the proper timing, sometimes you have to make use of the platforms the thwimps land on to proceed, sometimes you have to cross rock platforms before they dip into lava. There's a lot of variety, and some obstacles are actually reminiscent of Trauma Towers from last year's contest. It's worth pointing out, though, that diggin' chucks' rocks can be killed by sliding, so depending on your intentions, it may or may not have been better not to use slopes in a couple of spots (e.g. screen 8 in the vertical section). The boss is one of the few minor edits I've actually enjoyed. Replacing the donut bridge with the rock platform is such a simple change, and yet it's pretty clever, because you need it to approach the platforms, but it also limits your ability to dodge the fireballs, so you have to choose the right moment to swoop in. The only thing I don't like is that the rock platform disappears once you dispose of the last reznor, so if you never actually board the platforms you could die in a way you didn't anticipate (unless you're already familiar with the inner workings of the boss). On the other hand, you use a very clever method to give players a shortcut to the boss room if they fail the first time, so the impact of such a death is very low. The bonus room also has a clever premise, but I would have liked to see it implemented in a way that didn't require quite as much precision, even if you can try again several times before the clock strikes zero. I did manage to complete it without having to restart the level- with 20 seconds left, mind you- but getting the jumps just right involved so much repetition that it began to feel cumbersome toward the end. There's also the fact that I don't think players will even find the room unless they know it's there; I myself wasn't aware of it until I opened up the level in Lunar Magic. Waiting several seconds before actually moving isn't something players tend to do at the beginning of a level unless there's some sort of indication, and I'm not sure there's anything like that. I was unsure about this one when I first started it up, but the more I played it the more I appreciated the obstacle variety and creativity, and in the end it was very enjoyable, even if I think you might need to have some experience at the game to be comfortable with the difficulty level (and granted, that might just be my impression). Shog: Ashy Plains Rating: Ambivalent I like how you use enemies to distract players or make them hesitate so that the ones behind them- pitchin' chucks, volcano lotus plants, kicking koopas- have time to act before players can rush past them without effort. It makes you think about how to proceed. I also appreciate that the secret path is designed in a way that doesn't feel too contrived or obscure; the invisible blocks' location is hinted well, and feeding the baby yoshi isn't an exercise in patience. On the other hand, I think you kind of miss an opportunity to make those eating blocks part of the theme. The first time you use them feels like a good introduction, because it's simple and straight, giving players time to react. After that, though, you don't see them again until the end of the stage, which feels a bit off to me. I mean, I think it could have helped make all the pitchin' chuck setups feel more varied, for example. Also, in that last section, unless you jump over the blocks on screen 1 | 2, the room involves a great deal of waiting around depending on how quickly you defeat the enemies, which can make it boring. There are also a few things which make the level feel too rushed, or at least not tested rigorously enough. The two major ones are missing yoshi coins and insufficient powerups, and the latter seems especially odd given how many projectile-throwing enemies there are in the stage, even if you can obtain a yoshi for the second half. Then there are the minor things, like giving a 3up moon just for using a shell on a turn block in plain sight, Mario walking into those cement blocks after the goal if he has a powerup, and the munchers on screen 1 potentially hurting players if they land in the wrong spot from the clouds above. Also, this might just be me, but screens 7-8 seem to break the flow of the level somehow, like they're too different from the surrounding areas in structure. Magiluigi: Mammatus Woods Rating: Ambivalent As much as I appreciate that you tried to make a flying yoshi room that's neither spike-laden nor claustrophobic, I feel like there's now too much of a temptation to cling to the ceiling, especially where the enemy setups become trickier or just more time-consuming to deal with at ground level, such as screens 5 | 6, A, F | 10, and 14. It doesn't help that the monty moles can really catch you off guard because they're obfuscated by the mist and the grass lining the ground. In addition, since you need to travel all the way to the end of the stage twice to get both exits, I feel like that's even more of an incentive for players to skip over things if this level were part of an actual game. In a way, it kind of feels like a normal level where you're given a tool that's just too overpowered for the obstacles involved. Part of me wants to enjoy it as some kind of carefree bonus stage- especially due to the palette, which is bright, pale, and colorful- but it feels a bit too long and involved for that. I find myself wondering if you should have just made it a regular stage where you're given a blue yoshi but not the wings, or maybe some sort of autoscroll or layer-2 type level instead. Believe it or not, despite the monty moles and the odd jump that required a questionable amount of precision (i.e. screen 6 ? 7), I think I enjoyed this level more without any winged yoshis, because progressing didn't feel as mindless. Maybe that's just me, though. One part in particular that kind of annoyed me was screen 9, since the only way you can comfortably fit through the block wall with yoshi is to make a gap three blocks wide, and getting back on yoshi before one of those three closes back up is harder than you might think. It doesn't really help that the fourth block from the bottom contains a 1up and can't be broken, so there's no leeway- you have to hit those three specific blocks below it, and no more. Overall, I like the idea, but the implementation just feels off for me. Your update addresses the part on screen 9 to an extent, and the monty moles don't seem like quite as much of a problem as before (though that may just be because I'm used to the stage at this point), but my overall feeling about the level is more or less the same. Aquamentus: Lava Mansion Rating: Ambivalent While I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with asking players to do a bit of exploring in ghost houses, I feel like you're forced to do too much backtracking in the first half if you pick the wrong doors. For example, in level 19, the exits on screen 2 and 9 lead to the same room, and since all that's there is a yoshi coin, there's little point in being there twice, so I feel it would have been better to have two separate rooms if you think the red herring doors are really necessary. Either that, or make the secondary entrance from that room in between the two exits (e.g. in the boo circle) rather than so far to the left on screen 3. You have to do just as much backtracking if you take the first door in level 3, which feels kind of unnecessary- I would move that secondary entrance more to the right as well or just get rid of it altogether. I'm also surprised there are apparently no powerups after the midpoint, which is odd because you're doing just as much exploring there as you were before in the first half. The choice of right or left after a p-switch is reminiscent of Valley Ghost House from the original game, and that's fine, but this version of the idea seems a bit too straightforward, since all you see are a couple of boo streams (and a lone boo block) and it never takes you long to find a door. The aspect of racing to reach as far as you can before the p-switch runs out is lost. Apart from those issues, though, it does feel almost like a true ghost house level (apart from the swimming room, which feels out of place to me), because the focus is more on learning and navigating the layout of the rooms. I just wish it didn't feel so tedious to get through it in the end. There's also the fact that you have to go most of the level twice so you can get both exits, and things like that boo circle in the first room make it especially annoying to repeat things, I think. ShadowPhoenix: Choco Mountains Rating: Favorites I think this is a good beginner level. It introduces enemies fairly and in a way that lets players learn how they work before they have to truly deal with them. For example, the first sumo bro is easy to jump over because it's on a wide platform that's easy to reach, and isolated from other enemies, but the second and third are on narrower platforms and have enemies around them (actually, maybe the third one could do a bit more in that department, but still). The first volcano lotus is easy to jump over because the pipe gives you leverage, and the second is easy to defeat because it rests on top of question blocks, but later ones are below ground level in combination with other enemies, so you have to learn how to deal with them. While someone with a lot of experience at the game probably won't find any of the obstacles too challenging, I think there's definitely a difficulty curve for a general audience here, and that's good. Things like setting ghost house platforms directly into the ground without supports and putting ghost house blocks into the dirt are a nice way to add visual variety to the environment without going overboard on decoration, I think. Also, the palette is very pleasant, and even if it doesn't have the oft-used “bright and colorful” motif, I still think it does a good job of communicating an early-game environment that isn't too dangerous. Since I don't really have anything overly critical to say about the level, I'll just point out a couple of nitpicky things. I don't like jumps like the one to the pipe on screen 8, because even if you're crouch jumping and holding the jump button down, you can still fall past the gap; I personally think openings that are three tiles high (not two) are usually better. Also, I kind of expected the turn block above the pitchin' chuck on screen 6 to contain a 1up, because this feels like a beginner level and I think accessing that block would be kind of tough for a beginner to do...well, unless they jump from the vine, I suppose. Don't take these minor quibbles too seriously, though, because the overall experience is very well done. Yan: A Haunted Mansion Rating: Ambivalent I think my favorite part of the level is when you have to find the hidden block in level B9, because to me, that simple trickery is exactly what ghost houses are supposed to be about. I also really like the environmental design. From the overgrown foyer to the rooftop beneath a colorful starry sky, you've placed a lot of thought into how each area feels, and it shows. In addition, I feel like the connections between rooms make sense and don't make the level seem unnecessarily labyrinthine. Rare is the moment when you have no idea what to do. At first I was unsure about the general emptiness in the foyer area, but considering how often you travel through there for both exits, maybe it isn't a bad thing. Still, there are things which make this level feel tedious. The boo circles come to mind, because they involve a lot of waiting around, you have three of them fairly close together, and you see them more than once if you take the secret path (unless you fly over them, of course). There's also the p-switch in level BA- getting it involves no effort at all because the boos are placed so high, so that part feels like filler to me. Then there's the fact that taking the wrong door in the puzzle room makes you repeat getting that p-switch. I realize this door is also to lead you to the secret exit once you get a cape, but if I accidentally kill the koopa with a fireball or something, why not just reset the room instead of sending me back? The secret path is cleverly hidden, hinted by various things that make you wonder if they have any purpose: the roulette block, getting sent backward from the “wrong” door in level B9, the glance you might get at those blocks above the exit pipe in level BB. I think there could be an additional left arrow closer to the actual location of the p-switch, though, or maybe even a slightly stronger indication that there's something up there to begin with, a subtle clue of some kind. The secret path itself is kind of hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes most of the eeries fly too high or low to be a threat, and sometimes you get a veritable barrage of them that's pretty tough to dodgle. Also, considering it's quite possible to die in this section or freeze the game if you collect a powerup off the top of the screen (this did happen to me, and it was frustrating), I'm surprised you didn't place the midpoint right before this section instead of where it currently is. I mean, you have to jump through a lot of hoops just to access the place again, let alone get another shot at it. Moving on to minor points, that invisible block on screen 6, level 105 actually made me fall off the platform trying to get the yoshi coin, crouch-sliding under such a wide crate on screen 3 | 4 seems silly when you could have just made the “used” blocks two rows wide instead, and room B7 feels kind of tough to do without getting hit. Basically, a great sense of environment, but I think the level is held back by things that make it feel more tedious than it should be. THY: Mustard Nightfall Rating: Enjoyable I think the one issue I have with this level is that it feels slightly too repetitive. Throughout the whole stage, while the configurations of platforms and enemies continuously change, it still somehow feels like I'm doing essentially the same thing. Part of it might also be that it's a bit longer (at 1A screens total) than single rooms tend to be, or that there aren't any side rooms or bonus areas. It might also have to do with the sprites used. I mean, since a lot of the enemies are of the slow, grounded, walking variety, you rarely have to do anything different in order to get around the obstacles. If you could introduce something in the second half of the level, a twist on the formula or some new element, I think that could help make the stage feel more complete. Alternately, you could try shortening the level so the repetition isn't as noticeable. Apart from that, I don't really have any complaints. The sense of environment is really nice, and there's nothing unfair; I think it could serve pretty well as an early-game level, be it on the main path or some secret corner of the overworld. It limits itself to “standard” platforming, yes, but for the most part it handles this well, and there's nothing inherently wrong with taking that approach. Punk Sarcophagus: Fish Nets Rating: Favorites What I like most about this stage is the number of creative ideas it has. Despite the fact that it's actually kind of long, it feels like you're doing a lot of different things along the way, and yet I wouldn't say that makes it feel nonsequitur-ish in this particular case. The little things like jumping on timed lifts in reverse, navigating around turn block bridges while on nets, using turn block walls to discourage rushing past enemies haphazardly, and having to pay attention to which turn blocks house enemies while fish are flying all over the place make the level feel more memorable, I think. It's also rare to see a downward section, especially one where there are (almost) no unfair drops and such due to the camera, and that helps it stand out even more. What I like least are probably those wide jumps over pits during the flying fish part. There always seems to be a fair possibility that a fish will appear in the middle of your jump, even after you've waited patiently to try spotting an opening, and on those grounds alone I think it sometimes borders on unfair. That might just be me, though. Also, in the first section, I think the drop from screen 8 to 9 is misleading, because I followed the coin guide but the carrot top platform had already moved from its position by the time I reached it, so I fell past it and into the lava. I realize it's hard to anticipate exactly how players will fall, but maybe something like adding a couple of note blocks to catch players wouldn't be a bad idea. Then, a minor point, but screen C in room 105 seems a bit empty, even as a transition. Also, on screen D I feel tempted to just spinjump on the rainbow shell, in which case going back and forth on those platforms feels tedious. The architecture is a little simplistic and orthogonal, but in a way that makes it feel like a level out of the NES games; the second half in particular reminds me of a world 8 level in Super Mario Bros. 3. I'd like to say that it would be nice for the first half not to have so many long straight lines in the landforms, but doing otherwise might make it seem too stylistically different from the second half, so I'm not sure. Putting that aside, though, the overall experience here is quite good, for me. MarioFan22: Cave Escape 2 Rating: Favorites It's basically a very pleasant romp through the caves, and I enjoyed it throughout. There's variety in the obstacles without drawn-out showboating or nonsequitur sections, and there's a difficulty curve without going overboard on things that could be considered unfair or too precise. The palettes give that sense of being in a strange new place, I think, and the architecture feels natural without going overboard with complex formations or decorations. The item usage doesn't feel tacked on because it's only used for optional areas, and you don't have to spend time backtracking all over the place carrying stuff around with you. A lot of things about the level feel just right. I only have some minor issues regarding the precision needed for some optional content. Things like landing on a one-tile platform without touching a muncher next to it (10A: 4), collecting the yoshi coin on 10A: 8, having to hold down the jump button to cross the final gaps in 1CA (I think that's obscure for a general audience), and collecting the powerup on 1D: 8 all seem like they're pushing it a bit, for me personally. Also, this might just be me, but I generally don't like having to go through the entire stage twice to get both exits. Oh, and until opened the level in Lunar Magic and figured out that the inaccessible area on 10A: F is just the midway entrance, I thought I was missing a secret area of some kind. Regardless, this is a solid level, and I don't have much to criticize. yogui: A Simple Level Rating: Unfulfilling While I appreciate that this level tries to take a nonlinear approach and give players different experiences based on what paths they take, I feel like most of the segments are so repetitive that it doesn't really matter which way you go in the end. For example, there are a lot of underwater areas populated with nothing but fish and the occasional clappin' chuck, and all of them seem to play out the same way. Similarly, all you'll encounter on foot are a few goombas and koopas, and some of these areas (e.g. 13B: 5-7, top) have pretty flat terrain. The only difference between the first and second half is that you go from a horizontal room to a vertical one; nothing else really changes about the enemies used or how you deal with them. Basically, I don't think early-game stages have to be as simplistic as the name and nature of this level imply. There isn't a strong theme; there's little about the level that's memorable, little to distinguish one area from another. I'd recommend taking a look at entries like Living Mountain and Fish Nets and how they try to mix things up a lot with their obstacles. levelengine: How Did I Get Here? Rating: Favorites I think this level has a great sense of environment. The broken ships all look a little different and tell a story without having to rely on cutscenes or text dumps or the like. Similarly, the transition from an area where the water level swells up and down to one where it lays still at the bottom both gives a sense of progression (i.e. you're escaping from whatever danger you got yourself into) and prevents the watery aspect of the level from becoming too wearisome. I also like that you have to keep in mind how enemies' behavior changes and becomes slightly unpredictable as they go in and out of the water. Sometimes a flopping fish becomes dangerous, sometimes a football loses its bounce. It gives you the choice to either wait until the water level is in your favor, or to try your hand at anticipating the oscillating environment. I think this is one of the few entries I've played so far where you really have to take your time progressing and pay careful attention to what's going on around you. It has the feel of a late-game stage and yet doesn't feel unfair to me at all, personally. The one gripe I do have with the level is slowdown. It isn't always a problem, but it's definitely noticeable, and it occurs several times throughout the stage. It doesn't take away too much from the overall experience, but it can be irritating. Hawthorne: Cinnamon Woods Rating: Unfulfillilng Basically, the level might have a clear theme of jumping on those falling platforms, but it feels extremely repetitive because I almost never have to think about what I'm doing or stop running. Apart from a couple of spots where I may have to slow down for less than a second because of a swooper, I'm basically doing the same jump dozens of times until I reach the goal. Several different enemies sit atop logs above me as I progress, but none of them are any threat because I'm running past them before they can even do anything. It's not as if I'm intentionally rushing to break your level, either- I have to rush because most platforms immediately fall, and as a result nothing interesting happens for most of the stage. The fact that the level changes ever so slightly if you enter the bonus room is a nice touch, but I feel like it's kind of pointless given the amount of repetition and the fact that you don't need it to access the secret exit. Speaking of which, out of all of those falling platforms, how am I supposed to know that particular one leads to a platform below? Trial and error? Unless I'm missing something, there's no indication that something is there. I didn't even realize there was a secret exit until I looked at the level in Lunar Magic. I'd suggest looking at Living Mountain and Fish Nets for their varied obstacles, Cave Escape 2 for pleasant flow, and perhaps Athletic Something for a more reasonable way to hide secret exits. It appears you've completely ditched the alternate area in your update, but my stance on the main path still stands. Dark Mario Bros: My Level Rating: Unfulfilling My main problem with this stage is that it uses too many enemies at the same time in some areas, which causes slowdown (the underground side room, the area after the midpoint with all the chucks) and makes some enemies not appear. One time the vine didn't even appear when I hit the block, which made it impossible to complete the level; a few times the springboard under the 1up block didn't appear, either. Also, sometimes the high sprite count just seems unnecessary or repetitive, like when you have to go back and forth down those platforms on screen 8 | 9 while waiting for monty moles to get out of the way. On the other hand, when the level isn't spamming sprites, I think it's fairly enjoyable- the area between the pipe cannon and the goal, for example. If you could make the rest of the level more like that, with some self-restraint regarding sprite usage, I think it has potential to be pretty good. I'm not saying that you need to make the level empty or barren, though- just tone it down so it doesn't cause technical issues. To me, the level also feels kind of random when it comes to what types of enemies you're facing. Variety isn't bad, but it should serve some sort of purpose, and I don't really get the sense that all the enemy types make the level feel different as I go through it. Plus, I feel like you're missing out on the opportunity to build on some sort of theme that makes the level memorable. I'd suggest looking at entries like Cave Escape 2 or Athletic Something, which are very consistent in theme without becoming boring (I think). I do like how the pipe cannon is set up so that you grab a reward, bounce on an enemy, and skip a bit of the level, but I'm not sure whether players have enough time to anticipate the chuck in front of them once they land, and it's unfortunate that it lets you skip the most enjoyable part of the stage (for me). Mr.Blue Yoshi: Boo's Forest Rating: Unfulfilling I do like the concept of going back through the same area as it was in the past, but the problem is that apart from the environment, it doesn't really play any differently. In fact, since the past version is so desolate, it even feels boring, because there's nothing really to hinder my progress. I can understand if you want to make the past version more peaceful-feeling from a narrative standpoint, but based on what the big boo boss says, this isn't the case anyway...which makes me confused, because if the big boo boss is trying to stop Mario, shouldn't the past version of the area be a bit tougher than the future version? Also, be careful what you let players bring with them into the boss room. The first time I played, I brought a shell and the boss didn't even appear, so it was impossible to complete the stage. When it does work, the boss is ok, though for me it's a bit repetitive to go up to that same platform every time you need a block to throw. The future version fares a bit better, but overall it still feels like the spritework is too plain, because hardly any of the enemies pose any real threat to players, and it's not like you have some sort of puzzle or something else to compensate for that, so the level just ends up not feeling engaging. You might want to look at the entry “How Did I Get Here?” to see how a level can combine narrative elements and interesting obstacles, even though that one's on a much different difficulty level than this one. Looking at your update, the eeries do feel like a more natural fit for the boss than what you had before, but my opinion of the rest of the level hasn't really changed. Tjdtnsu (Snails): Short Advanture Rating: Unfulfilling For me, this level has the same main issue as Super Level Run- there's not enough variety from section to section, so the long length makes it wear out its welcome too early. Individually the sections aren't that bad, and I like the transition from day to night as you progress, but the obstacles players face feel a little too similar throughout. There are minor differences like seeing the wigglers at night, but I wish those differences were expanded upon so that they made stronger themes in each area. It also wouldn't hurt to make the sections a bit shorter, I think, or even get rid of one- for example, what if the sunset area was right after the water one? Oh, and the lack of a midpoint is surprising- I mean, it'd be annoying to go through so many rooms again if you die for whatever reason. That said, something about the pipe arrangements and the simple landforms reminds me of the original games, which is nice, and I like how the chucks and rip van fish in the water section make things a bit tricky while still giving you enough room to dodge things. I also like the way the secret exit is hidden, even if it does come a bit late in the stage, because that cluster of pipes seems just suspicious enough that you'd want to check them out. Another thing that's odd is the lack of vertical scrolling- some hammer bros and spitting piranha plants become much less dangerous because their projectiles disappear off the top of the screen. I would either enable it or bring those enemies down lower so that they work properly. You may want to take a look at entries like Cave Escape 2 and Fish Nets, which run a little long but don't suffer from it. ShadowFire: Forest Stroll Rating: Favorites Though it's a bit on the short side, I found this very pleasant to play through. I like how it's basically one small, unique landform after another, each with their own enemy setups. Every time you jump to a new platform you have to be careful to react to whatever the level throws at you next, but you're always given enough leeway to do so. I suppose the lower paths are usually more for show than anything else, since it's much more convenient to just stay high, but I don't see that as a problem in this case because the high path is engaging enough on its own- for me, anyway. I do personally think making diamond cutouts in the dirt just to place coins there is a bit odd, but apart from that I really like the arrangements of platforms and trees throughout. The fact that you can go in and out of the cave area at will made me suspect there was another secret somewhere, and I'm pleased to see that you don't have to carry the p-switch across the level to find another side room. However, when you exit that room, bouncing on the chuck can place you directly underneath a spiny that's about to fall, which seems a bit questionable to me. Also, the mushroom in the bubble seems a bit high to collect, assuming you don't drop into it from spinbouncing on the piranha plant before it. Overall, well done- I think this is a great example of how to do short levels properly. Blue Leaf: Sky Island Rating: Favorites Another favorite, for me. Foremost, I like how you build upon the main concepts and introduce things fairly so players don't have to flail around blindly at new obstacles. The chainsaws become a bit tougher once you introduce note blocks, and the platform rides become more complex once you mix in volcano lotus plants and super koopas, but these changes occur gradually over the course of the level rather than being thrust into players' hands all at once. The whole level has a tendency to play the high-low game with various enemies, and it's effective without being overwhelming. I even found the yoshi coins fun to obtain (kind of a rarity for me), because each one had its own little trick to it, and the little touches like the chain platform safely depositing you on the exit pipe and using the underbellies of upside-down mushrooms as platforms are really nice. There are various bits and pieces that make the level actually memorable, and that's good. I don't really have anything to criticize, and I'd go as far as to say this wouldn't look out of place in some sort of “second quest” for the original game. Dakress: Grand Galleon Rating: Favorites In a way, this reminds me of the earlier airship assaults from Super Mario Bros. 3, except here you go through the whole process of boarding the ship and traveling through it, and it's nice to see the environmental progression as you go from the bottom to the top. There are several rooms, but they get shorter as you go, so the level doesn't wear out its welcome- a smart move, I think. I also like the little touches, such as how you replace the holes with windows in the sunken ship background, and put the clouds on a layer 2 scroll to simulate the swell of the waves. There's also a clear difficulty curve here. The underwater section is actually fairly pleasant despite using an autoscroll, and then later sections ramp things up a bit with football chucks and bullet shooter clusters, but at the same time it always seems manageable, and doesn't go overboard toward the end, either. The boss is nice in that you have plenty of ways to clear it thanks to all the platforms and note blocks surrounding the reznor platforms. Overall it feels like a complete experience, and it doesn't even go near the 64 screen limit. The only part I wasn't too fond of was the split paths at the end of the underwater section, partly since the path that gives you the yoshi coin actually feels easier to me, and I wonder whether having a single path that slowly leads out of the water to the pipe might have been better. Apart from that, though, I don't really have much to complain about. ZMann: Negative World Rating: Enjoyable I think the one main issue I have with this level is that it starts feeling kind of repetitive by the time you reach the end. The grinders, for example, may go over different terrain, but all of them nonetheless feel the same in how you deal with them. Maybe making use of eeries or some other enemy to complement the later setups would have been a good idea, to keep the concept from becoming stale. I do like how you start with a downward segment, since that, along with the palette, makes me feel like I'm descending into this “negative world,” whatever it is, but then then the second half feels kind of anticlimactic. Overall, though, it still feels like a nice early-game stage, and it looks more intimidating difficulty-wise than it actually is. Minor, but there are a couple of spots where it looks like you want players to use boo blocks, but it's possible to progress without them (1CB: 0 | 1; 1CA: 0). There's also the fact that you can slide into grinders, but since you can't modify their behavior under this year's rules, it's not a huge deal. Mariosyoshishade: Blazing Desert Rating: Enjoyable This is a different kind of level, and I appreciate that. The huts throughout the level encourage a sense of exploration, and having enemies placed safely within the dunes makes dealing with them more a matter of avoidance than one of confrontation. The palette makes the environment look a little harsh, which is appropriate, and having the huts reset the timer is a clever way of complementing that, though it's kind of subtle because the music never speeds up (I didn't even notice the first time until looking at the timer during the goal sequence). The platform arrangements are interesting and the layering doesn't look random or incoherent for the most part (though maybe it's a bit overdone in spots), which is good. I do see a couple of issues, though. For one thing, since a lot of the enemies are placed lower down within the dunes, you naturally tend to go along the high ground to make things a bit easier. Also, the sheer number of sprites causes noticeable slowdown in some parts. As nice as the landscaping is, it's hard to spread enemies over so much surface area to keep the difficulty even without running into technical issues. There's also the matter of your jumps being interrupted where the slopes touch the ground, which can trip you up if you aren't used to it. Also, I was kind of hoping for some of the huts to have more content. Pretty much all of them are just isolated bonus rooms, and it would have been nice to see some that are interconnected or have multiple floors or something, so you're not always in the desert. Overall it's a pretty clever idea, but I think the execution could be a bit better. everest700: Land of Mystery Rating: Ambivalent The yoshi wing path is a pretty big part of what brings down the experience for me in this one. First of all, considering how precisely you need to throw in order to hit the vine block, I think only one throw block is too few, even if you can use koopa shells as a failsafe. Also, having to wait for the p-switch to run out in order to grab that 1up or see what's in the turn blocks on screens 0-1 is unnecessary; remember that you can use coins and question blocks that only appear when the p-switch is active. Once you get into room 1CB, carrying the baby yoshi all over the place for things to eat feels pretty tedious for me, and since the wings are placed in an awkward position, it's quite possible to miss them and have to do the whole thing over again. I would just use a powerup, but the yoshi has to be all the way at the top before it's fully grown because it can't climb vines, plus the item box is too far over for you to use it at the very top. Another oddity is that the door is connected to a pipe, and if you enter with yoshi, you'll have to kill yoshi and reach the reset door again, because the egg will spawn a 1up instead and there's no way to avoid that. After all that, I kind of expected to find an alternate path or something, so to just find a bonus room you don't even have to complete feels like a let-down. I mean, it's a lot of effort for what feels like little reward. Another thing is that the whole second half of the level is essentially a star run, so overall the level doesn't seem to have a lot of content. I would have at least surrounded the star block with brown used blocks instead of coins, so you can use the p-switch to give yourself an easier way to complete the stage. The side room where you have to spinbounce on the diggin' chuck's rocks is kind of annoying because of the low ceiling, plus there aren't any other enemies in the room, so it feels incomplete and not fully developed as an idea. Overall, I think this level has the potential to be good, but only once you address some of these issues. Carld923: Forest, Cave, 'n Mole Rating: Favorites I think this entry manages to compress a lot of elements into a single level without becoming incoherent, which is good. There are enemies you'll only see used once or twice but nonetheless put to good use, like the lava lotus and the sumo bro, and overall most every obstacle feels a little different, so that the level never gets repetitive. Personally, I also really like the platform arrangements and terrain layout; there are a lot of unique formations at different heights and Mario is never moving in the same direction for too long. I'd argue the stage is memorable on these merits alone, because each segment seems especially crafted rather than tacked-on. One thing that confuses me, though, is whether this stage aims to be easy or difficult. On the one hand, you use the slower monty moles and are somewhat generous with 1ups and powerups, but on the other hand, there are also plenty of one-tile-wide platforms and low ceilings, especially in the second half. The level could swing either way, but part of me feels like you might want to pick one instead of hovering in the middle somewhere- widening some of the narrowest platforms a bit, for instance. Also, that football at the beginning of the cave area is basically a “react fast or get hit” situation; personally I'd move that further back or use something else that players have more time to process. HyperMario: Frozen Wonderland Rating: Ambivalent Partly because you rely a lot on grounded walking enemies, which don't really provide much variety by themselves, I feel like this level starts out alright but ends up dragging on for too long. In particular, the jumps across one narrow platform after another on 141: 1-3, B-D are not only repetitive but also kind of irksome to do with ice physics, even if they're not one tile wide. I feel like you should take only the more creative bits of room 141- screens 9-A, for example- and merge them with room 105 (deleting the rest of 141 in the process, except maybe for a goal area) to make the level more succinct. The three-part structure also makes the midpoint a little lopsided, so that might be another reason to trim things down. The underground area has plenty of segments where you have to deal with enemies in somewhat claustrophobic tunnels, which seems kind of unnecessary on top of the ice physics. The same could be said of the ascending jumps on screens 4 and C, which don't give you much leeway. It's kind of odd, because the level starts out easy enough but the second and third areas feel quite different in terms of difficulty, comparatively speaking. I do more or less like the first area, in that it's icy but doesn't succumb to common pitfalls, like demanding high-precision platforming from players. I think the stage has the potential to be a nice early-game (or early-world) romp so long as you stay with that approach, keep things brief, and perhaps get a little more creative with enemy usage (again, I'll point to 141: 9-A here and how it's more interesting than most of the stuff surrounding it). Archie: Rocky Land Rating: Favorites I like how this level manages to mix puzzle and action segments without feeling too incoherent. You'll go from dodging pitchin' chucks' baseballs to manipulating a line guide platform so you can embark on it safely, and throughout it all the stage maintains that mountainous atmosphere and moving platform motif. Sometimes even just getting past certain enemies feels like a little mini-puzzle on its own, as in the first piranha plant you see or the chainsaw in room FF. I also like how the puzzles feel natural rather than tacked-on; there's no item ferrying or obscure maneuvers. Instead, the level opts for simple cleverness, like having the layer 2 mushroom platform rising from the spikes in room FB- which, mind you, players can reasonably figure out, because they do the same thing earlier in that room. It was a little odd to be told to screen-scroll in room FE, but overall I much prefer this style of puzzle-making to something like item trading. P-switches are used more or less where they're found, and it's easy to reset things (without getting sent back unreasonably far) if for whatever reason you mess something up. Apart from the fact that you have to play pretty much the whole stage twice to get both exits, the issues I see are generally minor. It would have been nice to have a coin-guide leading you downward in room FF, for example, to compensate for the camera, and I kind of expected that first question block in room FE to contain a powerup. The p-switch at the top of room FC seems a bit unnecessary, and the fifth yoshi coin involves an awful lot of waiting around (not to mention potentially any part of room FA if you have to wait for a net to loop around again). Overall, though, it's nicely done. 1UPdudes: Dino River Rating: Favorites Another good early-game entry. I like how the tide concept is introduced without forcing players to swim against it for most of the level. Instead, hopping fish are interspersed with dino enemies, which is a nice way of making players pay attention to the water without it being overly annoying, I think. The land formations look natural and apropos for the locale (except for the one on screen E, which looks out of place to me), and reducing the height of the forest background complements that. The level sticks to its theme and doesn't overdo the length. It feels like an all-around solid entry. One thing that kind of bugs me is how berries are placed right where you'll be jumping on enemies, which can interrupt the flow, in a way. Also, minor, but the gaps between the blocks on screens 6 and 7 seem small for when you're on yoshi. ferrety111: Fine Lineguide Ride Rating: Favorites Another favorite of mine. I really like the obstacle variety in this one- not only does most every obstacle feel unique and yet part of the same theme, but I also definitely got the sense that the setups were becoming more complex and difficult as I progressed. In the beginning, enemies are few, and where they intersect with the platform's path, it's on wide loops, which gives you plenty of room to maneuver. Later on, though, things become more dense; you'll see multiple fuzzies on the same line, and the loops will be smaller. I think it's a great example of developing a core idea. I do wonder if the level goes on for a bit too long (especially considering you only get two powerups), and whether every single variation on the idea is necessary, but nonetheless I found the stage very enjoyable to play. Guinimo: The Distant Island Rating: Not for Me First of all, I think you should take a look at the entry “Road to Larry.” While that one seems like a good example of creating an alternate version of the original game's levels, this one feels too identical to the original in plenty of places. This is especially true for the side rooms, whose layouts are almost exactly the same, but there are also things like the banzai bill spots at 105: A, E and the string of koopas at 106: 1-2. Usually, it's better not to copy any spot from the original, but to have your own interpretation of it instead. Try not to have anything that's immediately recognizable. Also, there are a lot of areas in the stage that are very flat and have nothing to compensate for that, such as 105: 5-7, F-12, 106: 7-9, 10-13, and nearly all of 102. You should try using slopes or jump-through platforms to make the landscape seem more natural and varied, or put more thought into obstacles and enemy combinations that will actually require some effort from players to surpass. I think “Dino River” would be another good entry to look at for this aspect of the design. The empty space at the end of each area is particularly boring, and I think you should remove that. For that matter, the level is pretty long considering it doesn't do much beyond what the original levels did. Room 102 is very easily breakable by swimming under everything, and forcing players to reset if they don't immediately grab the goal sphere is very unreasonable, especially since they might be looking for the secret exit. Speaking of which, I think the key is hidden too well, because there's pretty much no indication, not even a clue of any kind, that there's something in that side room if you fly up. The screen doesn't scroll up when you fly up there, and even scrolling with R won't reveal anything. When you're actually getting the key, being forced to wait out the p-switch is very irritating and boring. There's also the fact that you have to replay most of the stage to even get to that spot, and it's odd that you don't get any powerups before reaching the cape room. Basically, I think this level needs a lot of work. In addition to the ones I've already mentioned, I'd suggest you take a look at highly-regarded entries for ideas. However, don't copy exactly what they do- try to understand the general structure of the levels and the approaches those authors use. Ripperon-X: Weakevel Rating: Unfulfilling First of all, you should be careful about changing the palettes of similarly-colored objects without explaining anything to players. I didn't realize those were throw blocks during the mega mole section until I looked at the level in Lunar Magic. Normally throw blocks are blue, plus their hue in this level is really similar to those of the turn blocks (not to mention they use the same graphics), so I was convinced I had to defeat all the enemies in the way with fireballs. Actually, I think it's much easier that way, since you might go for the yoshi coins and since that goomba might jump over the block you throw at it. Also, there's not a whole lot to that mega mole section. I mean, you deal with all the enemies and jumps in the same fashion, so it feels like there isn't enough variety. The muncher jumps do get wider as you progress, but that's the kind of difficulty I don't like because it asks for pretty high precision from players. The same can be said for the first half of the stage, since you're mostly just jumping over grounded enemies one after another over continuous terrain. I don't understand what's so popular about those zig-zaggy dirt cutouts, but seeing them set against the perfectly straight lines of the grass is pretty distracting for me, personally. I also find it odd that the sky transitions from day to night in the same area, and while I understand that you're going for a blue-ish palette, I feel like a few too many things are blue, to the point where it begins to look drab and monotonous. You might want to take a look at entries like Fine Lineguide Ride or Rocky Land, which I think have varied content. Kenny: Sunrise Mountain Rating: Enjoyable While I really want to rate this entry under “favorites,” there are just too many spots that I feel are a bit unreasonable in terms of precision or difficulty. To start with, while it's fine to do things like place pitchin' chucks behind other enemies or volcano lotus plants on the edges of platforms, I think you overuse these tactics a bit, and they end up making the level more arduous overall than it needs to be. There are situations where it feels like the only safe approach is to run away (only for the enemies to respawn when you come back sometimes), like on 105: 7 and B, and situations where all you're really doing is waiting for a piranha plant to come down so you can proceed, like on 105: D, 11, and 15 | 16. Some of the lotus setups toward the end just seem silly. On screen 13, that jump is really precise, plus you have to do it at least three times, since the monty mole spawns before you can run up the wall and the lotus projectiles can get in your way. On screen 17, anticipating when you have to jump to avoid the projectiles is not obvious at all, plus it's pretty easy to fall off as you're trying to hit the invisible blocks properly, making the whole obstacle feel irritating. The coin guides don't seem very helpful. I thought the one on screen 3 was telling me to look for a platform lower down (not to mention, that's a fairly tough jump to begin with), and I don't think the one on screen 10 really communicates the danger of not following the coins exactly. In addition, if you hit the green skinny pipe on screen 10 on the way down, you'll probably fall into the pit, even though you're moving to the right as the coins are telling you to. To me, coin guides should give you a general idea of what to do; they shouldn't be something you have to trace precisely at penalty of death. Powerups seem to involve too much effort. Players have to choose to go left first in order to get the first one, and only after a fairly precise drop on screen 0. In order to get the second one, you have to carry a throw block all the way around a complicated enemy setup without losing it or getting hit. The midpoint also seems a bit tough to get given that players might be in need of a powerup at that point in the stage. What's the point of trying to get a powerup if you risk getting hit in the process? That more or less defeats the purpose for me. The secret path also has some pretty precise jumps, like 105: F (you only get one chance, and you have to hit the center of the pipe), 106: 3 and 4 (it's easy to hit the ceiling and fall into the pit), and 106: 7 | 8 (throwing the key up such that you don't pick it up while running up the wall is pretty annoying). I will say I like the atmosphere. The palette and sky gradient are nice, the pipes add flavor, and the land formations don't look out of place. It reminds me of Toffee Terrain from last year's contest. PatPatPat: How Do Chuck Glitch Rating: Favorites The one thing I don't really like in this stage is that toward the end, because some of the chucks spawn close to lava lotus plants in areas with low ceilings, the safest way to deal with them is to just methodically defeat them one at a time, which feels somewhat tedious. Apart from that, I like how you manage to center the level concept around chucks without it becoming too stale or annoying overall. There are some tricky obstacles thanks in part to the corridors being narrow, but I don't really get the sense that they cross the line in terms of precision required, and so long as you can aim well with throw blocks, you can actually make some segments a bit easier, which is nice. I also appreciate that the yoshi coin placement doesn't feel like an afterthought, nor does collecting them seem to demand an unreasonable amount of effort. Oh, and I also like the ground palette. It's different without being too weird or eye-searing. Undy: Fierce Fire Flow Rating: Favorites Foremost, I like how this entry develops its themes and ramps up the difficultly slightly as you progress. When you're bouncing on enemies to reach a high ledge, first there's nothing in your way, then you have to avoid a koopa on the high ledge, and then you have to bounce on two enemies instead of one to reach the ledge while avoiding the koopa blocking you. Similarly, the skull raft segments start out with isolated enemies and plenty of room to maneuver, but later on you see combinations and trickier jumps. It does a good job of introducing the concepts without holding players' hands. The p-balloon segment also puts a twist on things without demanding too much impromptu precision from players, which I like. The sense of environment is also very nice. The landforms are unique without being incoherent, the decorations don't seem too overdone, there's a nice sense of alternation between the grassland and ghost house tilesets, and giving the background hills more varied slopes is a nice touch. While the palette is a bit on the darker and muted side, there's still enough contrast to distinguish things and tell what's going on. Part of me does feel that the level could be a bit more generous with powerups considering how long it is. Disregarding the midpoint, you only get one for each half, and I was kind of surprised that neither of the blocks on screens B and 1A had any. There are also a couple of unfortunate oversights. The reset door sends you to the wrong level and kills you, and the block on screen 1A contains a p-balloon that isn't really useful for anything (unless I'm missing something). Still, I really enjoyed playing this one. TomPhanto: Kumquat Caverns Rating: Enjoyable At first I was worried the amount of space you have to maneuver would be too small, but in my playthroughs I was almost never in a situation I couldn't escape with a well-timed jump (the exception being those footballs in the first half). I like how you have to pay close attention to how enemies will move around so that you can find safe spots and develop strategies for dodging the more projectile-heavy areas. Sometimes you have to decide whether or not to hit a chuck, since there's a tradeoff between having it chase after you versus throwing projectiles at you from behind, and I think that's nice. The yoshi coins also feel built into the level concept in that you have to know when to time your jumps to reach some of the higher platforms. However, the second half feels noticeably weaker in execution to me. Maybe I just expect more out of it because it uses the same concept as the first half, but it's easier to kill enemies with sliding or a fire flower (which you're guaranteed the first time around with the midpoint), so it doesn't give me the same sense of tension that the first half did. There are also fewer enemies overall, and the same types as in the first half. What if you had chosen a different sprite set here, like the underground one, for instance? What if you had focused more on swimming? I feel like the second half needs to be differentiated somehow. More on the minor side of things, but there's also noticeable slowdown in the first half's most sprite-heavy areas. Snifit: Forgotten Fortress Rating: Favorites I think what I like most about this level is how well the enemy arrangements complement the special autoscroll. Sidestepping those gold bowser statues to keep up with the descending camera on screen 7 is clever, for example, and those diagonal fireballs seem carefully thought out, because the way they bounce around and stay on screen for extended periods makes them a constant danger without demanding unreasonable precision from players. The turn block section at the end prevents you from spinjumping to make things easier, but unlike The Terrible Whiteness of a Sadistic Castle, you're also given ample room to maneuver around the grinders and magikoopa, which I appreciate. There's also a clear difficulty curve- the level starts out with isolated enemies and makes things more complex as you go. It's important in a level like this to make sure everything fits the path of the autoscroll properly, and I feel like that's exactly what you did, so I had plenty of fun playing this one. PowerNewTop: Ghost Tower Rating: Unfulfilling I think it would have been better to either set the time limit to zero or have rooms reset the timer. The first time I played through this stage, I spent probably around 8 minutes learning it (assuming 100 in-game seconds = one real-life minute) only to run out of time at the bottom of the underwater section, right before the pipe leading to the switch. If I had just had even a half-minute more, it would be fine, but I had to spend another 5+ minutes rushing through the entire stage a second time (now that I knew the layout) just to get the first exit. That's a lot to repeat, and many of the segments become tedious and boring once you know what you have to do. Not to mention, it's not like I was going out of my way to waste time, either- I just didn't know the layout at first, so I had to do some exploring. Why isn't there a midway point in this stage, at least? This time aspect really brings down the experience for me, considering how long the level is to begin with. Speaking of which, that's the other major issue I have- length. Individually, none of the rooms are too bad, but there are just too many ideas crammed into the same stage here. A spotlight area, a frozen area, tide and underwater areas, a lava area, not to mention an area with lots of backtracking and carrying items around. Plus, what happens if you need to use a reset door for whatever reason (which costs valuable time)? What happens if you fall into a pit by accident? I think you need to be more conscious of how first-time players are going to experience the stage, and how much time they might spend overall completing it. What I do like is the general structure. You start off in a foyer area where areas are closed off or beyond your reach, but as you work through the level, you keep on returning to this area and unlocking new ones, which is a neat way of showing your progress. If you could rework or trim down the most tedious rooms (13E comes to mind with its item backtracking, though what to keep is up to you), or even just mitigate the amount of stuff players have to repeat if they fail, I think the level would benefit a lot from that, personally. Oh, a minor point, but what's the point of room 144? It seems unnecessary. Hobz: Dimensions Rating: Favorites This level reminds me a lot of Yoshi Valley from Mario Kart 64. There are a lot of twists and turns, but all the paths eventually lead you toward the goal, and it's hard to tell which paths are the quickest until you've done some poking around. For me, it's one of those few levels that's actually fun to replay a couple of times searching for alternate methods and shortcuts. Rather than lean solely on items as a “puzzle crutch,” the cave area revolves around flipping the room and alternating between water and ice versions, which feels clever rather than contrived. I do think maybe the time limit is a bit low for situations in which players take one wrong turn too many, but it's not too big a deal, and regardless, I like the sense of “Waiiit a second” that you get as you begin to realize exactly how the room is morphing from pipe to pipe. While the first half feels slightly generic in comparison (in terms of obstacles, for instance), I like how you use the springboard there as a potential shortcut in two different ways, and seeing things like fish flop about and swim through the air without water gives the alternate dimension motif a whimsical flair that, I think, fits the level rather than feeling patchwork or nonsequitur-ish. The alternate palette and the use of the endless bonus room also add to that sense of humor. It doesn't hurt that the first half is rather short, anyway. Basically, it's the sort of level that focuses more on atmosphere and puzzle-y stuff than, say, sprite placement and action segments, but I think the execution is pretty solid, so that's not a complaint. It definitely manages to stand out, and that's good. EvilGuy0613: Mushroom Fields Rating: Favorites To an extent, I think this level has the same issue as “Forest, Cave, 'n Mole,” in that I'm not sure whether it's trying to be an easy or hard level. On the one hand, you're (quite) generous with powerups and use the slower monty moles, but on the other hand you have things like one-tile platforms and chucks and lotus plants in slightly tricky places (e.g. the pitchin' chucks in the vertical section). To me, it feels a little inconsistent. There are a few other minor things that feel a bit odd, too. The p-switch at the beginning seems like overkill given that you can get a fire flower only two screens later anyway. It's a bit weird for me to see a pipe sticking out of a nonsolid edge at the end of the first section, and maybe it's just my personal preference, but those diamond cutouts in the dirt seem a bit jarring. Nonetheless, I found this one very enjoyable to play. There's a good mix of enemies and obstacles without being overbearing, so the level doesn't wear out its welcome despite its length, and the use of mushroom and ghost house platforms add visual variety as well. I never really got the sense that it was doing too much of the same thing or being too random- it strikes a nice balance, and I don't see much to criticize. chineesmw: Autumn Forest Rating: Unfulfilling There's a lot of crowded, inconsistent overlapping in this level that almost feels like it's deliberately trying to confuse players. The colors of the solid and nonsolid ghost house platforms don't contrast enough for me to easily tell them apart, and more than once I fell into a pit because I mistook one for another. What's more, there are spots like 105: 4 where the two types overlap, so how are first-time players going to know whether those are those solid or not? There are also times when these platforms are solid from below and times when they're not, and the way trees weave in and out of platforms while often blocking your view only adds to the bewilderment. On top of that, the sheer density of platforms and decorations is distracting, and I feel like the distance between solid platforms is fairly large, too. I think I spent as much time checking to make sure the next jump was safe as I did just playing through the stage. It's not inherently bad to have elements of a level that are tricky (just look at ghost houses), but this one takes the concept too far, personally, and it makes the stage look incoherent to me. I think there's potential for a good level here if you tone down the aforementioned things, but in its current form I don't find it very enjoyable to play. Gloomy Star: Mountaintop Bridges Rating: Favorites I like the platform arrangements in this one. Not only do they convey the sense of scaling a mountain at night (along with the nice background), especially in the second half, but they also play a role as obstacles, in a sense. That is, navigating the terrain safely is often as important as dodging the enemies. Speaking of which, the sprite placement complements the terrain and also has a good sense of spacing and distribution. You never have to deal with more than a few sprites at a time, and yet thanks to the way things are placed you still have to be careful in dealing with them, so I think that's nicely done. Basically, the level has a clear theme, develops it well, and is engaging the whole way through- for me, anyway. It's also nice to see throw blocks used for optional content for a change, plus I appreciate you're not afraid to provide capes as an alternate method (though personally I find the invisible note block ceiling kind of unnecessary). I appreciate that I don't have to replay the whole stage to get the secret exit, too. One thing I'm not really a fan of are some of the one-tile-wide platforms you use, especially when you have to drop down blindly to them like on 104: 6 and 9. I don't think they're really necessary when the platform arrangement in general already provides a fair challenge in combination with the spritework. Similarly, a couple of lotus setups, like the one on 25: B (right), seem to demand a bit too much precision. These didn't detract too much from the experience, though. There are a few other minor things that seemed odd to me- the throw blocks on 104: 9, monty moles spawning on ledges- but these aren't a deal-breaker either, for me. Caracc: Colorsplash Castle Rating: Enjoyable While this level has plenty of rooms, most of them are short and stick to a clear individual theme, so it doesn't become a tiresome marathon session and I can appreciate the variety of ideas. The first room does feel a bit out of place due to its longer length, but I suppose it still works as an introductory passage before you reach the inner rooms or something. The lo-fi aesthetic is also interesting, though after seeing the level title I didn't expect to see so much grey in the brickwork and background from room to room, plus it's now harder to tell when the volcano lotus plants are about to throw projectiles. Something I don't particularly like is how claustrophobic the rooms feel. I have seen worse, but there are several spots in the thwomp, spike, and pipe rooms where it's easier to slip past enemies or make jumps safely as small Mario, where I feel compelled to crouch-jump a lot with powerups just to be safe. I don't personally like that, because to an extent it ruins the purpose of having powerups to begin with. I feel like some of the rooms could be implemented a bit better. For example, since it's easy to hide behind walls in the magikoopa room, I wonder if it could benefit from ball n' chains or some other enemy, to make things less straightforward. In the thwomp room, I might move the second hidden mushroom to the lower right corner, so it doesn't feel like a waste of time if players choose the wrong route...or maybe it would be better not to do something maze-like to begin with, given how small the room is anyway. In the spike room, I don't think running across those single platforms at the end is something you should expect players to know how to do, and the spike ceiling feels a bit low to cross them with jumps, especially as big Mario. Overall, I wouldn't call it a bad level by any means, but I just feel like the focus is a bit too narrow for some of the rooms. Lemonade: Molten Magma Meadow Rating: Favorites I like the environment in this one. Not only does it combine two elements (grass and lava) that you don't often see together- without seeming patchwork or random, no less- the sprite choices also complement the theme. I particularly like what you did with the sumo bros- it's as if they're causing tremors or undulations in the lava. It's also nice to see arch platforms used for a change, especially without them suddenly taking over the architecture at the expense of everything else. I also like that the obstacles are unique and based equally on platform and sprite placement. There's good usage of diagonal ledges and sliding koopas, and there's enough time to react to most everything the level throws at you. In fact, despite the somewhat harsher atmosphere, it doesn't feel like the same old late-game endurance level, which is another way I feel the stage breaks conventions and stands out. Overall, there's not really much for me to criticize here, except that the last jump in the cave section is a little questionable...although that's actually kind of unfortunate because it's the last obstacle in the level- think about how much players have to repeat if they fail. Still, in terms of length, difficulty, and theme, I don't think it would feel too out of place in a Mario game. FPzero & Teyla: Simmering Stalagmites Rating: Favorites I think one of the things I like most about this level is how friendly it seems to a general audience despite its length and how many different things it throws at you. Even the football chucks are placed in non-annoying ways: the first one's footballs are impeded by the slopes, and the second's fall into water. Need to bounce on koopas? The level provides three of them. Some particular enemy annoying you? Grab a buzzy beetle, or find the hidden cape room. The level doesn't lock you into a specific way of passing its obstacles, and that's good. I also like how the stage manages to juggle multiple tilesets without anything seeming out of place. On the contrary, everything used- mushroom platforms, stone blocks, pipes- complements the underground locale, and I like the little touches such as the bends in the pipework and the suggestions of stalagmites and stalactites in the land contouring. The upside-down mushrooms are also a good way to keep the environment interesting even late into the stage. Basically, it was engaging the whole way through, and I enjoyed it very much. Hielus: Tenacious Rating: Favorites There are three main things I like about this stage. One, it pays homage to Awesome from the original game without rehashing the same ideas. Two, it's slippery but doesn't require things like balancing on one-tile-wide blocks. Three, it stands out by using elements you rarely see- namely, the ice-blue turn blocks and that wide scrolling platform. The only thing I'm not too sure about is the length of the second half, but maybe that's because I wanted to see a couple of mega moles and bullet bills used there too, as they were in the first half. Still, I like the way you have fuzzies going around tetrominoes and how you incorporate turn block bridges and throw block walls as barriers. Overall, there's pretty much nothing unreasonable in this level, which makes it very pleasant to play, and it really does feel like a Super Mario World level to me, as I'm sure was the intention. Koopster: Haunted Treetops Rating: Enjoyable I think the one main issue for me is length. I like the transition into the canopy, but by the time I reached the boss I felt like the level had run out of tricks, in a sense. There are a lot of kicking koopa setups that feel similar, for example, and as you progress it begins to feel somewhat repetitive. The length also makes the midpoint feel a little lopsided toward the beginning. I think if you could find some way to make the obstacles more varied, or if you just shortened the sections a bit, the level would benefit from that. Also, I personally dislike jumps such as the ones on 105: 13 and 1CB: 2-3 (though I've certainly seen worse elsewhere), where accidentally hitting the wall above you means instant death. It forces you to jump in a specific way, and you have to repeat a considerable portion of the stage if you miss. I do like how you can explore the lower paths in the first half to get some extra powerups and a 1up, but at the same time, it also involves a fair amount of backtracking afterward. I wonder if you should have these parts meet up with the upper path at the end- adding a vine block on screen 7, for example, or placing some ascending ghost house platforms on screen 11. Overall, it's an enjoyable level, but I just feel it could use a bit more polish. Egadd: Mountainous Mountains Rating: Ambivalent The one thing that seems odd here is the spritework- it has a tendency to oscillate between ineffective (super koopas swooping a bit too low, strings of the slower monty moles that you can rush past) and unreasonable (somewhat blind hits in room 27). Whenever that isn't acting up, though, the level is fairly pleasant. Room 25 is probably the strongest area in my opinion, as it suffers the least from this- the obstacles seem more balanced and consistent rather than hit-or-miss. There are a few other minor oddities, too, like the unfinished dirt at the end of room 10, grabbing the midpoint in room 10 only to see another empty one as soon as you enter room 25, and not entering from a pipe at the beginning of room 25. They aren't a huge deal, but they are noticeable, for me. Room 27 in particular feels pretty out of place. Dropping down to hit the chuck scrolls the camera down past the first kicking koopa, setting players up for a blind hit. The super koopa generator causes some slowdown until you go to the right half of the room, and then you might get blindly hit by monty moles as you descend toward the exit pipe. The up-and-down layout also feels much different than the rest of the stage. I think there's potential for a good level here; I just feel like it could benefit from more playtesting, to ensure the obstacles work as intended and flow better. Right now the stage seems a little unfocused and incoherent, even though the general theme is there. BokuNES: BokuSecret Stage 1 Rating: Not for Me The big problem I have with this stage is that it's just too repetitive. Many areas are very flat or have the same kind of platform pasted over and over again; the only interesting part was around screen F, simply because the terrain was more varied. Almost all of the enemies are dealt with in the same way, too- just hop over them effortlessly and continue- so it feels like I'm doing the same thing over and over again. There isn't enough of a clear theme to keep players hooked. In addition, in order to get both exits, I have to play the entire stage at least twice, not to mention hunt around for hidden pipes and doors with the p-switch multiple times. That involves a lot of backtracking, and when the level isn't too exciting to begin with, it begins to feel more like work than play. Some entries you might want to take a look at are Tenacious, Simmering Stalagmites, and Molten Magma Meadow. They all have strong themes and are engaging the whole way through with varied platform and enemy arrangements. FrankyC253: Small Vanilla Castle Rating: Ambivalent First off, is the level supposed to end where it does? The door at the end of the first area leads to a bonus room, which makes me feel like I'm only playing part of it...either way, though, it seems to end too soon. It's shorter in length than even the original game's levels, and while I don't think it's impossible to develop a theme within that amount of space, the execution in this case feels a bit incomplete. I'm also not really a fan of the amount of precision some jumps demand. For example, on screen 7, you have to bounce on the dry bones with a very specific height which is hard to control; the same could be said of those springboard bounces on screen 3. In addition, the bowser statue fireballs on screen 0 | 1 and the grinder on screen 4 | 5 don't give you much space to pass (though it's true you can spinbounce on the latter). I wouldn't call them unfair, but I'm not sure I would call them fun, either. In contrast, every wooden spike jump is pretty easy, and that makes the difficulty overall feel wobbly and inconsistent to me. I wouldn't say it's a bad level, but I think it could be longer and a bit more even in difficulty, with less emphasis on avoiding spike ceilings by cutting off your jumps early. K1ngHacks: Deep Dark Cave Rating: Unfulfilling This stage is just too incoherent for me. Not only is it shorter than a level from the original game would be, but instead of focusing on a single idea over that short length, it splits its attention between three different areas, so none of the concepts are developed very much. It basically feels like three incomplete levels instead of one full one. The different areas are distinct from each other, at least, but I don't think this kind of structure works very well. I also don't like the football usage in room 104- since their bounce heights are random, I feel like it's more a matter of patience (or luck) than anything else, which isn't very fun for me. Similarly, being forced to wait out the p-switch in room 103 is irritating when you could have just used the coins that only appear when the p-switch is active (or used none at all). Things like these give the level a sense of stop-and-go pacing that interrupts any sense of flow the level would have otherwise, and considering how short the stage is to begin with, that really damages the experience. In a short level, it's even more important for every individual element to work and flow properly, because each piece is a larger fraction of the whole. You should take a look at short entries in this contest that nonetheless have a strong, engaging focus, such as Molten Magma Meadow, Forgotten Fortress, or How Do Chuck Glitch. Burst Man: Burst Man's Level Rating: Not for Me There isn't really any sense of danger in this entry. The coin guides lead you away from the dead ends, which is fine because otherwise it would just be trial and error, but then why are the dead ends there to begin with? It feels like a lot of wasted space, considering how much of the level involves going through narrow, sparse corridors. Aside from the occasional enemy to hop over, nothing really happens in this stage. It just feels too straightforward and plain, for me. You could try going for the yoshi coins, but all of them involve looping back and just barely avoiding the lava with high precision, so why even bother? Similarly, that side room requires advance knowledge to access since the coins lead you away from it, but there's no point in even exploring it because there are fireballs every other tile, which is really tough to dodge. It's safer just to avoid any optional content, but then you run into the same problem of nothing really getting in your way apart from the claustrophobic architecture. Basically, while the layer 2 lava concept isn't bad, I think the layout needs to be more open in terms of space, and there needs to be more of a focus on creating unique situations rather than throwing an enemy at players here and there. The difficulty also needs to be more even overall- as in, less precision for the optional content and more creative obstacles on the main path. You may want to take a look at Kumquat Cavern, which has a similar idea but feels more engaging to me. Jonny: Jonny's Entry Rating: Unfulfilling I feel like too much attention was spent on making the landscape look nice and not enough was spent on making the spritework engaging. Don't get me wrong- the contours of the ground tiles do look very natural, with a lot of gentle curves merging into each other rather than flat corridors and orthogonal formations everywhere. It looks nice, and it makes each area look unique. Things like the multicolored coins and pipes set into the ground are also nice touches. However, I feel like the enemies are there more to populate the stage than to develop a theme or pose a legitimate threat to players in most cases, and many of the upper areas are practically empty, so sometimes it feels like you're just exploring an empty landscape rather than playing a Mario level. It doesn't really help that most of the upper paths are just places to put yoshi coins and extra powerups, and involve backtracking in order to return to the main path. In a way, it just feels too straightforward- methodically explore every path, occasionally deal with an enemy in your way, and that's it. I think you should take a look at entries where the enemy and platform placement work together, such as Mountaintop Bridges and Forgotten Fortress. RealMarioGamer: Vacation Island 4 Rating: Unfulfilling I think this level has the same issue as Jonny's Entry- most of the enemies feel ineffective and are just there to populate the stage. They don't really pose a legitimate threat or contribute to an overall theme. The sliding koopas in particular are completely ineffective because they slide away from you before you can even reach them. While Jonny's Entry at least had nice landscaping and other aesthetic touches, this one looks somewhat plain until you get to the second half, which fares a little better because it has more of a sense of environment. In fact, I think you should base the whole level around the “ruins exploration” motif, not just the second half. It would help make the landscape less flat and uninteresting, plus it would make the theme of your level stronger. Early-game levels don't necessarily have to be so simple and straightforward. Try taking a look at entries like Dino River and Choco Mountains to get an idea of what I mean. The Secret Exit: Running Greens Rating: Unfulfilling I think this level suffers from the same issues as the two before it, Vacation Island 4 and Jonny's Entry. There's an over-dependence on grounded walking enemies that feel like they're mostly there to populate the terrain rather than complement it. Yellow koopas fall off platforms before they're even a threat, and many enemies besides require little thought beyond simply jumping over them and continuing. There's not really a strong theme that holds the level together, and though the land formations have some variation, the extra layering seems kind of incoherent and unnecessary (plus it's not even consistently used throughout the stage). I also don't like the way the stage hides its secrets. Some pits have pipes, some pits don't, and there's really not much indication of which is which, so I feel like it's just luck of the draw. The message box telling you to look low for the p-switch seems unnecessary because players were already on the path leading to it when they entered that side room in the first place. Not to mention, it feels kind of contrived to bring a p-switch back just for the sake of accessing the key. Moreover, if you enter that room from secondary entrance F3 and try to bring the key back with you, not only are you forced to drop it while exiting the pipe cannon, but it won't even work on the keyhole. The whole setup feels kind of odd to me. Also, a somewhat minor gripe, but many powerup blocks are placed so high that you need a running jump to reach them. When they give you a fire flower, this is kind of irritating for me. I would recommend looking at the same entries I told the last two to look at. mariocool1999: Reznor's Fields & Fortress Rating: Unfulfilling This is the fourth level in a row with similar issues, and I feel that too much attention was spent on creating unique land formations at the expense of enemy placement. There are too many platforms scattered about, and not enough enemies to cover them all, so dealing with any of them is almost always just a matter of choosing the platforms they're not on, or just jumping over them thoughtlessly. Also, the distribution seems pretty inconsistent. On screens 2-4 you have so many enemies it consistently causes slowdown and prevents sprites from even spawning, and those three green parakoopas at the top aren't even necessary because there's so little chance players will ever really encounter them as a threat. Not to mention, all of those enemies will turn into coins anyway if you use the silver p-switch, so what's the point? In contrast, screens 6-9 hardly have any enemies, and it feels like they're just there to populate the area. For me, the castle area revolves too much around claustrophobic architecture and low ceilings, especially on screens 6-9, and there are areas where you're mostly just dodging spikes, like on screens 2-4 and B, so I feel like the area alternates between being too straightforward and too high-precision. On screen 3, it's pretty tough to even embark on the grinder thanks to the low ceiling and the way it jumps up at the endpoint, so getting that yoshi coin feels like too high a risk. On screens C-D, it feels a little too risky to try squeezing between the hot head, thwomp, and spike ceiling, but if you don't try, you have to wait a pretty long time for the hot head to get out of the way, which is irritating. Overall, the difficulty is fairly wobbly and inconsistent, and it only makes the level feel even more incoherent. I'd make the same sorts of recommendations for looking at other entries as I have for the last three. Ragey: Verdant Garden Rating: Enjoyable I wish this level were a bit shorter. I like the overall premise, but it begins to wear thin by the time I reach the midpoint (making it somewhat like Haunted Treetops). Speaking of which, if you're going to hide the midpoint in a side area, you should (very) strongly indicate that it's there- it's not something players should be able to miss. Not to mention, it feels pretty lopsided, since you have to go through roughly two thirds of the stage to reach it. I think I understand why you placed it that way, since the final section is the hardest, but nonetheless I feel like the stage could be trimmed somewhat- four areas is a lot. I also feel like the first and third sections could use a second powerup to offset their length, but perhaps Yoshi makes up for that. In the underground area, I don't like how those off-screen swoopers are used, because you're forced onto the top of the level and you have little time to anticipate them. I think Valley of Bowser 2 from the original game handled this better, giving you low spots to retreat into and more room for leeway in general. This feels too abrupt. Also, entering from the secret pipe leads to a blind drop into koopas. The third area has a bad habit of making enemies appear when you're in the middle of your jump and have no reasonable way to dodge them, such as on screens 1 (lower) and 6-7. I think you should also be more careful about where you place berries, since that brief pause while eating one mid-jump can throw off players' flow. In the last area, dodging a diagonal bullet generator is hard enough by itself, but giving it “cloud cover” with the canopy goes a bit too far, I think. It's tough to tell exactly where they'll appear, and by that time it's more or less too late to dodge them if you're in an unlucky position, especially with Yoshi. It also causes some minor sprite despawning around the goal point. What I like about the level is how it's designed specifically around Yoshi with the muncher pits, but not in a way that requires you to have Yoshi to proceed. The core idea is sound, and the environmental transitions are nice, but it just drags on a bit too long for me, and then the aforementioned issues become more apparent as a result. SomeGuy712x: Magikoopa's Fun House Rating: Enjoyable I like the way this level hides its secrets. Since there are so many blocks, the ones with something inside are generously marked for you with coins, and there are little alcoves and spaces lining the tops of some areas suggesting there might be something up there. So, rather than wander around aimlessly, you have an idea of what to do- a quality many levels seem to overlook. The way some are hidden also complement the magikoopa motif, because there are spots where you need shells, so all you need to do is get the magikoopa's magic to hit a block whenever you need one. It was pretty fun to replay the level hunting for things I had missed- one of the only levels in the contest like that, for me. However, when I look at the main path, I feel a bit more ambivalent, because the concept eventually starts to become stale for me. I constantly want to kill the magikoopa to save myself trouble, because it's almost always easier just to jump and spinjump my way through with the occasional shell instead, and there aren't a whole lot of enemies besides the magikoopa, so sometimes areas feel somewhat empty. Manipulating trapped enemies like thwimps was clever, and I wish the idea were developed further; in particular, I think diagonal fireballs would work well here. I feel like the level is only as fun as the number of secrets you try to find, and the fun of actually progressing through it takes a bit too much of a back seat. That might just be me, though. Some minor quibbles: If you get hit in the vertical section, the central pillar makes it hard to grab the item box powerup, and being small in this level is fairly tedious because you have to wait for the magikoopa to spawn in the right spot in some areas. I'm also not too keen on half of the yoshi coins being hidden behind block walls, making them all dependent on either the magikoopa or a shell- that also adds a bit to the tedium for the same reason, especially if you're small. Findoku29: Jumping and Stuff Rating: Not for Me There are a few things about this level that make me really not enjoy it. The first half is more or less the same setup repeated three times in a row, the random nature of the super koopa generator can cause unfair deaths, and if you die during the tricky super koopa bouncing on the third one (which is quite possible), you have to repeat all of it again, because one missed jump is basically instant death and the level doesn't give you any powerups besides the midpoint. Mind you, bouncing on multiple bullet bills is not exactly easy to begin with. Sometimes you'll jump forward in anticipation of the bullets firing, but due to sprite density or camera position, not all of them actually fire, so you have to wait (or worse, it's too late and you die). Further down on screen 16, the level expects you to bounce on two super koopas from the generator to cross, but there's no guarantee after bouncing on the first that the second will show up in the right spot, so unless you're willing to wait for a good combination, it's basically a crapshoot. I suppose the area right after the midpoint fares better, but even there, getting around the pitchin' chucks on screens 11-12 mostly involves waiting for things to line up, unless you get lucky. Overall, it just seems like not that much effort went into making the stage, plus there's a bad combination of high precision, luck, and patience here. Maybe I'm being a little harsh, but I didn't enjoy playing it all the same. Daizo Dee Von: Platform Pothole Rating: Unfulfilling I think the slow pacing is part of what brings down the experience for me; I feel like I spend most of the stage just waiting for something to happen. The enemies range from completely ineffective (e.g. the chucks on screens 2-3) to nigh impossible to avoid unless you rush past them in time (e.g. the chucks on screen 4), and there's enough downtime between the individual enemy groups that the feeling of tediousness slowly accumulates as you progress. The architecture is pretty cramped, with plenty of low ceilings, which makes me feel like I have to play the stage a specific way (something I generally don't like). Also, the rocks blend in too well with the background, making it tough to anticipate them and resulting in hits that feel unfair. How are you supposed to get the secret exit in this stage? After resorting to looking in Lunar Magic, I see there's a side room with the key, but unless I'm missing something, there's no entrance. I'd recommend taking a look at Kumquat Cavern, which is reasonably engaging despite having a slow scrolling speed. neosaver: Volcano Valley Rating: Ambivalent While I like the general idea of this level, I feel like the execution could be better. For example, I like the addition of layer 2 platforms to the scrolling lava section, but I feel like this was more for flavor and not the core concept. It wasn't developed that much, partly because there were so few of them, and the area felt like it was over too quickly when it could have made the stage more interesting; the rest of the level doesn't have as strong a theme or hook, for me. I wasn't too fond of the yoshi coins in this area, either, since they force you to wait for the lava to loop around. There are also a couple of structural oddities. Why the door on screen 5 in the beginning, for instance? I feel like it would flow better if you just came up to the pipe normally. Also, why bother going through the second half of the stage when you can just skip much of it using the first part of the secret path? Overall, it feels a bit short and underdeveloped. For the secret exit, the way you have to guide the bouncin' chuck through the first side room is clever, but if players die in the high-precision eruption room (quite possible the first time), they'll have to repeat the puzzle, which feels tedious. Finally, I don't really like hammer bro placements like the one in the beginning of the level, because if you spinjump on the koopa before you see it, or if the shell misses, you have to try jumping on the hammer bro, which doesn't even work half the time. Dphoenix29: Burning Boiler Rating: Enjoyable I like how this level (eventually) transitions into a hotter area with stronger reds and more use of pipes, because that's apropos for the environment, but there isn't really a matching transition for obstacles. Every area uses the same combinations of pitchin' chucks, bouncing koopas, and bullet bills, but I thought it would have made the level stronger to use more fire-based enemies toward the end, such as diagonal fireballs, hopping flames, or bowser statue fireballs. The only fire enemy you used was a single sumo bro. I also wonder whether the environmental transition should have come earlier, or whether the last area should have been extended, because it's a nice change but feels rather short-lived. The bullet generator adds to this feeling because it activates out of nowhere and then only lasts a couple of screens (I'm thinking it might be kind of redundant, too). A few of the pitchin' chuck / bullet shooter combos- like on screens 4 and D in room 1- feel kind of unreasonable, because the pitchin' chuck doesn't give you a large window of opportunity to begin with, and if the bullet shooters fire at the wrong time, it might become nigh impossible to avoid getting hit. It's also a little tedious to have to stop every few screens and be patient for pitchin' chucks and bullet shooters to stop throwing / firing so you can continue. You could risk rushing through, but it's usually not a good idea, as something tends to catch you mid-jump. Overall, the level often has this stop-and-go pacing that detracts from the experience a little- for me, anyway. The fairly low ceilings in some spots don't exactly help matters. Also, you have an unassigned exit pipe at the start of room 2 that takes players to an endless bonus room. Poloros: The Great Koopa Gate Rating: Favorites I think a lot of thought went into communicating the environment in this entry, and it shows- the level kind of feels like Bowser's Castle from the original game in that there are a lot of smaller rooms with distinct themes, and sometimes you have a choice of which to try, so things don't drag on for too long. I am kind of disappointed there isn't a midpoint at the end of the courtyard, though, because if players die toward the end of either exit, that's quite a bit of ground to cover again. Still, I like how the sprites chosen match each room- bob-ombs and bullet shooters for the armory, super koopas for the parapet, and so on. It really helps sell the theme in a way that doesn't even require palette work or tileset mixing. If I have one main complaint, it's that the end of the normal route feels rather anticlimactic. It uses the boss music and a medium scrolling speed, yes, but all of the enemies are pretty easy to deal with and not very strong in number, so it doesn't really feel like a final challenge area that matches the boss room in the secret route. Oh Hell No: Complexity, in a Nutshell Rating: Ambivalent For me, this entry has the same issues as Super Level Run. Unlike The Great Gate or Grand Galleon, the themes used are not distinct parts of a larger locale, but merely an arbitrary string of environments, and while I can see what you're trying to accomplish by making the tileset mixing more and more complex as you progress, the different areas still don't feel differentiated enough in terms of gameplay. It's true that the rooms are on the shorter side, so things don't drag on for too long, but this also means that there's no chance for the differences between rooms that are there to fully develop. The first two areas feel awfully similar to each other, and discarding the visual aspect, the only (minor) difference in the third area is the inclusion of a few line-guided enemies (as opposed to making them the sole focus). The fourth area focuses exclusively on a new set of enemies, but it's still more or less just “standard platforming” for lack of a better term. I think you need to find a way to make these earlier areas in particular feel less like each other and more unique. It also would have been nice to see a midpoint in the middle so players don't have to repeat too much if they fail, especially toward the end. Masterlink & MaxodeX: Super Amazing Castle With Nets Rating: Ambivalent I don't really like the palette choice for this stage. I realize it's nighttime, but the lack of contrast makes it fairly annoying to distinguish between the foreground and background, especially when you need to do something precise. Similarly, the whole reason the midpoint bar is normally between those striped poles is because that makes it noticeable, so players don't miss it by accident. It's not something you should tuck away in a corner, even if there's an indication that something is there. There are a lot of other little things about the level that feel either awkward or unreasonable. The first powerup takes an awful lot of effort to obtain- arguably even more than the 1up on 9 in that room. The same can be said of the first yoshi coin, which is basically a “spam the y button and hope you don't fall into the pit” situation. The jump from the second springboard to the third on screen 8 (still the first room) demands really high precision, and it's easy to hit the low ceiling as you're trying to get off the third one afterward. In the vertical room, there are spots where you have to spinbounce off the top of the screen, such as on screens 8 (grinder) and 7 | 6 (thwomp), and partly because of the palette, it's not obvious in which direction you have to land. Getting the coins on screen 8 | 7 seems pointless because it makes you loop around. Getting the yoshi coin on screen 6 is unfairly harder as big Mario. When trying to get the 3up moon, I feel like players' momentum will naturally lead them into the platform they're supposed to land on, making that spot nearly a guaranteed hit the first time around. I realize that some of these issues are with optional content, but I think even that should be feasible to obtain. The fact that you don't have to do it to clear the stage shouldn't be a panacea excuse for whatever level of precision you demand from players. I think there's potential for a good level here, but all of these little things take away from the experience somewhat. I also feel like there's a bit too much of an emphasis on things like spinbouncing and low ceilings. 678ruby678: The Time Dimension Rating: Not for Me Going through a single level that transforms to represent different times of day is a neat idea, but the big problem here is that I didn't enjoy any of the variations at all. In the day room, the fish generator is very hit-or-miss; either I'm too high or low for it to affect me or I'm directly in it's line of fire, which is (unreasonably) tough to dodge. In the afternoon room, I spent most of my time off the top of the screen avoiding the torpedo teds, plus crossing that row of munchers on screen 3 | 4 requires too much precision and waiting for the dolphins to line up correctly. In the night room, the boo barrage generator appears without warning in the middle of a jump, making it nigh impossible to dodge, and when the tide is low, making progress is also nigh impossible, especially on screen 3 | 4, so it's altogether very tedious. The last room is fairly tough, and yet you don't get any powerups prior to entering like you do for the other rooms, nor has there been a midway point anywhere to cover you, so if you die at this point, you have to repeat all three rooms again. There's no rhyme or reason as to where the vertical fireballs come out- they're simply all over the place, and if you get hit by one without warning, too bad- time to restart. Magikoopas are also pasted everywhere, so even if you manage to defeat one, you won't catch a break. You might want to take a look at an entry like The Great Koopa Gate, which also has a bunch of smaller-scale rooms but makes them more differentiated, more even and reasonable in terms of difficulty, and uses them to convey a greater sense of environment. Lui37: (Untitled) Rating: Enjoyable I like the enemy placement in this stage- it makes you think carefully about how to pass through safely. The periodic torpedo teds and spike ceilings prevent you from making things too easy by staying high or low, so all angles are covered, and yet the level doesn't really feel claustrophobic despite this. You more or less always have enough time and space to react to obstacles as they appear, and overall I think it's a fair challenge. However, I wish the level would incorporate something else into its routine after the underwater section, because apart from a slight increase in difficulty and a more interior environment, the third section kind of felt like more of the same to me. Maybe something like fishbones or some other type of aquatic enemy would help, or perhaps doing something other than a tide section would work. There just doesn't seem to be enough of a change or transition, given the level's total length. Also, I think ducking under the torpedo ted launcher to get the yoshi coin at the end of the underwater section involves too much precision. X-cniS: Goat World SNES Rating: Not for Me This level feels too incoherent to me, with things happening for no reason and no sense of theme to tie things together. It seems random for the sake of being random, and even if I just accept that as the level's brand of humor, it still isn't fun to play- not for me, anyway. Leaving aside the first area for a moment, the underwater section feels completely non-sequitur to me, plus it's pretty repetitive- just swim past the same thwomp / thwimp formations several times. The underground scrolling area afterward is really grating due to the constant shaking, plus the overusage of thwomps off-screen means there's little room for obstacles that are actually a threat, which makes the section feel drawn-out and bland. The layer 3 background on top of the normal one also looks odd. The secret path fares better, partly because of the eerie formations and the way some of the boo streams are a constant threat, but there are no powerups, the section is long, and there's a fair chance you'll die at the end when the fishin' boo appears, in which case you'll have to start the whole process over again. Not to mention, the pipe you have to enter to start the secret path seems arbitrary, even if that only affects finding it the first time. In the first area, the difficulty is all over the place; for example, you'll go from a blind jump into enemies (screen 5) to an easy group of koopas (screen 7) and then a high-precision p-balloon segment (screens A-B). There's a pipe cannon seemingly just for the sake of having one, and some of the dirt patterns just don't have any pattern to them (along with the rest of the architecture, which feels very patchwork). Though part of me suspects the level was designed this way on purpose, I'll still recommend taking a look at something like Simmering Stalagmites, which goes through several areas but maintains a strong theme- and is engaging- the whole way through. I'll also point to Dimensions, which has a whimsical sense of humor (to me, anyway) but doesn't feel nonsequitur-ish. tatanga: Bowser's Blocks Rating: Unfulfilling First off, I don't understand why you picked an arbitrary tile and made it dangerous to Mario when you could have used something that was already in the game- spikes, lava, or munchers, for example. I'll admit that it allows you to create a couple of enemy bouncing setups that would maybe be awkward to build otherwise (e.g. 26: 1 | 2, 6 | 7), but I find it hard to be lenient on those grounds considering how much redundancy the design has. For example, what's the difference between the jumps at 25: 1-4 and A-B? What's the difference between 26: 1 | 2 and 6 | 7, between 26: 0 | 1 and 5 | 6? Why is there a section at the end of the level with even more falling platform and note block setups that don't really add anything new? I think there are too many minor variations on the theme; instead of lasting easily twice the length of a stage from the original game, I think the concepts should be compressed into a shorter distance so it isn't as much of a repetitive endurance run. It doesn't help that hijacking those blocks requires you to spell things out in a message box, which feels inelegant. What's more, so many of these jumps require really high precision at pain of death, and you only get two powerups, disregarding the midpoint. I'll admit there's some variation in the obstacles thanks to things like note blocks, falling platforms, enemy bouncing, and hammer bro platforms, but it gets old fast having to repeat the “easier” (comparatively speaking) jumps when your precision is just a bit off anywhere else. Plus, most of the falling platform setups seem to discriminate against big Mario, as does the slide at 105: 4 | 5. Also, I don't think the gaps on 105: A are something you should ever use, personally. Either you know how to do it or you don't; it's too easy for those who know and too hard for those who don't, so it comes across more as a “sorry, too bad” for the latter rather than a legitimate obstacle. Why exclude people from playing just because they aren't aware of some obscure technique? I think I would enjoy the level if it were shorter, more lenient with the amount of precision you need, and if it didn't over-explore minor variations on the theme. I feel like recommending you take a look at entries such as How Did I Get Here? and Living Mountain, since those are on the harder side of things, but for different reasons. Also, levels like Concussion Mountain and Fine Lineguide Ride, for their smooth difficulty curves. Pikerchu13: African Cave of Ice Rating: Unfulfilling This level just feels like overkill to me. It's slippery and claustrophobic, with munchers and spikes everywhere; there's a constant barrage of enemies, and every other jump you do requires awfully high precision. There's no sense of a difficulty curve here- it's just all high, all the time. Having that rock wall pattern distractingly overlaid on top of everything doesn't help matters, either, nor do all the crouch jumps I feel forced to do in order to avoid the spike and muncher ceilings. Honestly, I'm temped to say the level would be fun if you just removed most all of the munchers and spikes, because the level is challenging enough even without those. Moreover, with enemies like piranha plants and spike tops being the most common (in a claustrophobic level), you have to spend a lot of time waiting for things to line up or for enemies to reach a certain position before continuing, which can break the level's flow in various spots (or leave you with very little leeway in the scrolling section). Similarly, sometimes you'll encounter a bit of slowdown in the middle of a jump thanks to the sprite density, which can throw off your precision enough that you'll have to restart the stage from the beginning (or midpoint). Because so much of the level involves high-precision maneuvering, and because the same few enemies are used over and over again to generate these high-precision obstacles, the level also becomes repetitive pretty quickly for me, even with the use of vertical fireballs and an autoscroll in the second half. Overall, it seems to have the same issues as Bowser's Blocks- namely, too demanding of players and with too many minor variations on the theme. I'd make the same recommendations for looking at other entries as I did for that level. Also, you might want to look at Tenacious, which is icy but doesn't go overboard on the difficulty. Minor, but it felt strange for the goal room to be so much simpler aesthetically. That might just be me, though. Also, the powerup block on 4: 6 | 7 is in an awkward, hard-to-obtain, easy-to-screw-up position, and the midpoint shouldn't be so close to something that can hurt you, I think. NoelYoshi & Incognito: (Untitled) Rating: Ambivalent I like how the first area is open-ended in terms of what route you pick, but I don't like how it uses spikes to limit where you can go and make some jumps unnecessarily precise, like the platform with a lone spike on screen 1. Also, the springboard is too much effort for not enough reward. You can carry it to the end of the section for a bonus room, but all it gets you is some coins at the cost of not really being able to spinjump when you could really use it (screen 3, for example). Similarly, it's kind of arduous getting back down from the yoshi coin on screen 3 | 4, partially because of where the springboard lands and partially because of the lotus projectiles. The double-plated turn block wall seems like overkill, too. In general, the area also seems kind of claustrophobic, unless you take the high path, which nullifies almost all challenge, so the difficulty feels a bit uneven as well. The sudden transition to a castle area feels kind of nonsequitur-ish, and it also feels odd not to have a midpoint where the path splits- or anywhere in the level, for that matter, even if the rooms are all on the short side. In fact, the level overall feels kind of short-lived and underdeveloped, especially with the final room only lasting a few screens. The only room that feels fleshed-out properly as a concept is room 27, and that one was the most fun for me. Room 26 has an interesting idea which reminds me of Mining Outpost from SMWCP1, but whereas that level's implementation evolved over time, this room only ever has that one grinder, so it ends up feeling too straightforward, repetitive, and anticlimactic. Using additional enemies in some fashion, even if just a couple, would probably help here. In the final room, that moving platform setup on screen 1 is really tough to do as big Mario, whereas small Mario gets a free pass. To me, that ruins the point of having powerups. Overall, the stage has some nice concepts, but doesn't seem to develop them enough, and the execution could be better in spots. LuigiTime: Mario and the Quest for the Perfect Picnic Spot Rating: Not for Me Basically, I think this level focuses too much on conjuring obscure Map16 formations (that I don't even like, personally) and not enough on making the level fun to play, which is what should come first. The layout of the landscape in the first half of the first room is pretty flat and uninteresting, apart from a random, incoherent jumble of platforms toward the end; most all of the enemies are just there to populate the area, and are easily jumped over without any thought. Having to use one item just to get another, etc. is unnecessarily tedious, plus you have to walk on the lowest row of tiles, which can't be seen in-game. Not to mention, that vine overwrites half of the arrow sign, which looks odd. I have no idea where the tiles for the cave background come from, and it makes me feel like you're missing the point of the contest. The rows of spinies on 105: A are repetitive to deal with unless you just jump over the pipe with the silver p-switch from before, and the nets made from donut bridge tiles just seem like Map16 for the sake of Map16. I suppose screens E-13 fare a little better (apart from the bullet shooter hopping at the end), but the dirt formations are still incoherent, with no underlying theme. You're also pretty generous with powerups at this point, with four for one section that isn't really all that challenging. Also, the yoshi coin on screen 13 is nigh impossible to obtain with a cape. You allow players to swim over the underwater section, and what's worse is that I prefer that method, because the alternative is constantly squeezing under torpedo ted launchers in narrow corridors, which is pretty annoying to do. The key is more or less in plain sight and getting the secret exit is just a matter of backtracking through the whole section carrying it, not to mention you have to replay most of the level a second time just to reach this point, which is tedious. The fact that there's space beyond the exit pipe actually made me think I was supposed to swim over that part for another secret, but it's completely empty and a waste of time. I hate to say it, but this level does almost everything wrong. You should really study the most well-received entries in this contest and try to figure out what's fun about playing them, and how that differs from the approach you took with this entry. Amida: Air Plains Rating: Not for Me This level doesn't really have a theme, both in terms of visuals and obstacles. For example, instead of just pasting blocks and stretching them to fill the stage, you should try making use of the ground tiles and varying the layout with things like slopes, walls, and jump-through platforms so it doesn't look so flat and repetitive. In addition, when you go from nets to pipes to note blocks to throw blocks in the beginning for no apparent reason, it makes the level feel random and unfocused. The scarcity of enemies there doesn't help matters, either, nor does the fact that the banzai bill makes the first p-switch disappear (probably the wrong sprite memory setting). Yoshi is a powerup, not a disposable puzzle element; having to get rid of it as soon as you get one feels awfully contrived and unnecessary. The shell run afterward is basically just trial and error, though you can “cheat” by destroying the turn block with a well-spaced spinjump instead. Screens F-14 are just one random thing after another, with no though placed into developing any sort of core idea. There's no synergy between enemies and terrain; it's just a few sprites pasted over a flat platform so that the level has obstacles. Also, the only feasible way to make the jump on screen 16 is to spinjump on the piranha plant, but this won't work with a fire flower because you'll kill it with the fireballs, so you have to take a forced hit to continue, which feels unfair. I'm going to give the same advice here as I did for Mario and the Quest for the Perfect Picnic Spot: study the most well-received entries and what makes them fun to play, and compare that with the approach you took for this level. TLMB: Extreme Lava Cave! Rating: Unfulfilling The two big issues I have with this stage are constant slowdown (likely buoyancy plus high sprite density) and the fact that you have to play the exact same slow-scrolling level twice in full to get both exits, which is pretty tedious even despite the short length. I'm not even sure the autoscroll you chose is appropriate, since the way the level doubles back on itself only compounds your sprite limitations; the end is mostly just a matter of hugging each bullet shooter as it comes so it doesn't fire. The “doubling back” aspect also means the corridors have to be somewhat narrow, which leads to some awkward jumps when the ceiling hangs long enough, such as the lower parts of screen 3 and 5. For that matter, dealing with a lot of the enemies is somewhat annoying thanks to the cramped architecture, since your jumping space is limited. The only exceptions are the swoopers, which almost always come across as ineffective, and the sprites that don't spawn- usually the chuck at the top of screen 5 and the rainbow shell at the bottom of screen 7, on the exit pipe. Having lava on the top and bottom isn't a bad idea, and it reminds me of a world 8 level in Super Mario Bros. 3, but I think the execution could be better. I suppose I'll suggest looking at Kumquat Cavern for reference, as I've done for other slow autoscroll entries.