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#1: CLOUDSPOOKS by Ivy (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 30/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 49
A good mix of things we generally don't see together. Accordion blocks and circle ghosts were an interesting choice--in addition to the eeries. The boo
rings provided some interesting timing puzzles. Definitely happy with how this
turned out. Some spawning issues. A couple of boos disappeared when a bubble
spawned, but ultimately didn't affect the level's design.
The bonus area wasn't to my liking, due to how Boo Ring spawns work, but
seemed like it would have been fun if I wasn't at it so long hoping for a good
ring spawn location.
A combination of ghost house enemies and cloud aesthetics was an interesting
choice, but I think it paid off. The hidden area being standard ghost house
was fine. Nothing interesting there.
Total 45/60
#2: Mar de Morros by mariosr (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 25/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 0
This level was kinda designed around stacks of flying koopas and lava lotuses.
A bit similar to Donut plains 1. I really enjoyed your use of vertical space
and backtracking for the dragon coin. The lotuses were kinda a nonfactor in
how the level played because you kept the koopas too far away from them. Might
have been a better choice to pick of different sprite or make the level more
dense.
The stacked koopas didn't really change much until the end of the level. I
liked the set with a hole in it and the stack to get the dragon coin. There's
a little bit of cutoff, but not much.
Total 37/60
#3: SPINY SKYWAY by Eevee (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 34/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 0
Felt a lot like Star World level, which is a good thing. You nailed that
vanilla feeling. Definitely wouldn't have been out of place in the OG game.
Loved both the second exit puzzle and the moon puzzle. The moon puzzle's
solution definitely subverted my expectations. The softlock pit wasn't. Yoshi
or no. Whenever I thought I'd discovered something cheesey or inadvertent,
you came back from behind and said, "Nah, I thought of that". Well done on
that front.
Total 48/60
#4: Big Boo's Shipyard by Idunno (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 30/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 1
I liked the fact that you kept the level mostly above water, while just letting
Mario dip his feet in. The one tile water did make things occasionally more
challenging than expected, so it served as a surprisingly interesting--given what it is--
obstacle. The use of ebbing and flowing water for the second half was
interesting, but didn't feel fully explored. Boss was fine for what it was.
Solid choice of mixing ghosts and shipwrecks. Can definitely tell where your
inspiration came from, and it's a good choice.
Total 45/60
#5: BOWSER'S OLD CASTLE by Lucky Bacon (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 30/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 12
Rooms 2 and 4 were definitely the stars. Room 3 felt a little...empty. The
only real obstacles in it were the potobos, and it felt a little redundant.
You already had an auto scroller in room 1, so you kinda covered that base.
The final room definitely kept that Bowser's Castle flair, but it's easily one
of my least favorite levels even in vanilla. The light makes the game lag,
which is just kinda unfun. Would have been nice if you'd done a different
ending, but I get the theme.
I liked this concept a lot. TCRF is a cool thing and working off a concept
like a lost level was just fun. Whatever setup you came up with to do the
doors was also cool. Looking forward to seeing how that works in LM after
these notes get published.
Total 47/60
#6: Shadowland by Maw (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 30/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 5
Really liked the use of false floors and stairs, because you
used them to briefly scare rather than troll. That feeling you get in your
stomache when you drop on a roller coaster hill, but clearly much smaller,
when you fall down off screen. You managed to get me twice with that feeling.
Didn't care for your reuse of the wood blocks as both a consistent solid block
and an occasional aesthetic block. Definitely made things more confusing--but
not in a fun way. It kinda made it hard to make good inferences on some jumps,
unless an enemy was already on said block.
Nice backtracking on the secret exit. Felt very silly till I pressed to switch
where I got it. Too many hacks discourage hitting a p-switch right when you get
it--minus setups.
Doesn't count for points, but beautiful overworld.
Total 45/60
#7: SPIRIT WOODS by Paperdomo101 (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 25/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 3
Really liked the p-switch backtrack. What I didn't like was the doors. Neither
of them seemed to have an effect on the level. On a later playthrough, I did
find the dragon coin in the shadow side door, but the other door felt like a
missed opportunity.
I had fun running through the level and swimming through it again, but I'm not
sure about the ending. Eerie spawners are kinda annoying, and the level kinda
petered out after getting to the old "end" of the level. Might have been
better to just end it there.
Very creative. The clue at the beginning looked more like a second exit or
bonus area, and that kept me guessing about how the level would flow. The
second half was a nice surprise too.
Total 43/60
#8: OP. 10 NO. 12 by Alex_X8 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 37/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 13
Good setups. Enough leeway that it wasn't too challenging, but definitely in
the right spot to feel hard, but not take forever by demanding perfecting.
Definitely would serve well as a final level in a standard hard hack. My only
issue was that the dropping blocks bit was a little fiddly and it would have
been nice to have an extra throwblock if the first one shattered before
hitting the ground, but a minor issue overall. Had a lot of fun spin jump
riding saws.
Total 52/60
#9: Rex Ridge by Fingolfin (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 25/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 4
It's clear that you're into kaizo from
the level design. The rexes in wells is a pretty classic thing to do, and
setup for the first dragon coin feels like it'd be at home in one of the
easier kaizos. But, you've only let kaizo influence your design, while keeping
the difficulty reasonable. For a first level, that's not bad.
You're missing a fifth dragon coin, which is kinda disappointing given how
you've made them a fun thing to look for off the beaten path, instead of the
usual mile markers they are.
Level delivers on its level name. There are rexes and ridges. Definitely
some cute stuff with the dragon coin placement. I appreciate that you've hidden
them around the level, instead of them being mile markers.
Total 35/60
#10: Trial and Terror. by Valentine (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 27/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 11
This feels a lot like a kaizo level. There's a clear setup and you have to
follow the plan exactly to get through. The slow autoscrolling creates a
constant pressure and definitely makes the level a challenging one. The
downside of that is that it feels like it takes forever to get back to the
meat of the level. The setups I saw were mostly fun, but a few seemed a little
off. I clipped through the flying platform and kinda wondered if that was the
intentional way of doing that bit.
There's some broken sprite blocks here and there. Ball and Chains missing
their bottom right corner. Sliding platforms too. The sprite killer block was
kinda ugly, and you seemed to have a setup that meant you didn't need it. Was
that a last minute change? Could you have expanded the red "?" region? I
dunno.
Total 43/60
#11: Intangible Assets by GbreezeSunset (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 37/40
Creativity 19/20
Deaths 8
Loads of setups. Most of them involving killing pokey. Poor cactus. This level
was just fun to play. I found a few of the setups a little repetitive, but
that was a consequence of the gimmick. The extra puzzles at the end were a
welcome change, but really would have liked to see more of that kinda
creativity in the level itself.
Neat gimmick. Very creative post level puzzles. Quite enjoyed the moon one. Very tricky, though quite
gettable. Would have liked to have seen something other than pokey gates in
the main level, but it's really a small thing.
Total 56/60
#12: Bossless fortress by Hayashi Neru (🔑/⬜/⬜)
Design 25/40
Creativity 11/20
Deaths 1
Fun little romp. Lives up to its name. Really liked the use of the one up door as an extra
midway, allowing you to skip right to the decision point.
There's a lot of different ideas here. The final sections on both paths are
vastly different in playstyle. I wonder if it'd've been better to focus and
expand on one of them, rather than split the difference. The secret exit was
the more interesting of the two and probably would have benefited from a
longer second room.
Mixing the grassland tiles with the castle background definitely gave a sense
forbording as Mario approaches the castle.
Total 36/60
#13: KAPPOW!!! by Marcozzo Daro (🔑/🪙/⬜)
Design 20/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 28
This is a very confusing level. You start with the premise of cannon
launching, then it veers into puzzles a bit. Then goes into normal platforming.
Then branches into multiple paths and ghosts. Honestly, this level would have
been a lot better if you'd stuck with one idea and run with it instead of
cramming so many conflicting ideas into one level. There's about four levels
worth of concept here...and it's all stuck in one. A bit like a Mormon jello
with carrot shavings and marshmallows in it.
Some of the setups seem kinda unpleasant, like the one third room of the level
where you need to jump off the bullet bills in a kinda small space. The uber
speed pick a rope at the end of the level was also kinda unfun. Funny once I
got it, but getting back there was a bit of a slog.
Has some creative ideas, but fails to execute on them to completion. There's
also the matter of some spotty fence work and cuttoff.
Total 32/60
#14: Simply Mansion by OrangeBronzeDaisy (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 25/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 0
This is a well done little ghost house. Emphasis on the word little. It'd be a
fine world one level in a standard easy hack, but doesn't offer the player
much challenge or the sort of confusion a ghost house usually implies. It's
very straightforward with just a little exploration and nothing that really
threatens the player. Time limit was also a bit short, but not really
unmanageable.
I liked some of the dragon coin placement, but for the most part, this was a
by the numbers, simple ghost house. Lives up to its name.
Total 35/60
#15: mycologic masochism by OEO6 (⬜/⬜/🌙)
Design 37/40
Creativity 19/20
Deaths 3
Really enjoyed this one. The first half was well executed platforming. With
the requirement that you have to stay embiggened the still the end of the
section, I really appreciate all the reset doors. Lots of fun setups, all of
which were readable and any failure to execute felt more like my fault than
the level's. Very fair.
The second half was a barrage of fun puzzles that required an understand of SMW's
mechanics, but it also gave you the latitude to learn those mechanics as you
went without punishing you too much. Again, very fair.
Definitely would recommend to anyone who was a fan of Blue Mystery Data from
January 2021's 24 hour contest.
Moon puzzle was cool, but I think I cheesed it.
Total 56/60
#16: IDK - Yo by FragOnCrack (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 25/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 99
This level relies on footballs for its difficulty. Most of my deaths
were because a ball bounced in one way or another that was unexpected. It
definitely did not endear me to this level. The blocksnake parts where you had
to wait out a football/lotus were some of the more interesting setups in this
level, but for the most part, it was just jumping and praying that Mario
wasn't the endzone. Definitely outstayed its welcome and probably should have
been a few screens shorter.
Would have liked a bit more variety in sprites beyond Football Chucks, Kickin'
Koopas and Fireballs.
Total 39/60
#17: LIGHTNING FESTIVAL by Lotsaspaghetti (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 26/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 3
Level flowed well. The lightning gimmick had a few fun setups, but you didn't
bleed the concept dry. Not sure the kaizoish blocks added to it much. Had
some issues where sprites weren't spawning correctly, but they were all in my
favor so not a big deal.
Really dug the concept. The lightning setups were well executed in a way that
didn't slow down the level. There's a lot of things you could have done with
them, but you stuck to ones that didn't break the flow, and generally had
readable solutions to avoid the wall of flames. Just there's not a lot of meat
here.
Total 43/60
#18: JOLLY BOUNCERS by qantuum (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 27/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 6
This level is kinda all over the place. You've got a dark cave thing going on
for most the level, then suddenly you switch to sky with fuzzies and line
riding platforms. The last section was my favorite and had a lot of character
with the fuzzies suddenly jumping out of nowhere. Was really cute.
The cave sections, in comparison, felt a little empty and suffered from
slowdown. You seemed to be going for a puzzle thing, where maybe you need to
lead chucks to breakable walls or
maybe have a shell, but it didn't really connect with the level well. Maybe if
I'd been ferrying a key the whole way, it'd've felt connected. Dunno.
Some interesting ideas, marred by the execution. Wish you'd stuck with one or
the other conceptually, but it was silly a fun level.
Total 40/60
#19: le fardeau du flux by Centipede (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 37/40
Creativity 19/20
Deaths 11
I really enjoyed this. Two interesting concepts--the Cheese Bridge
autoscroller and the tidal water from [SPECIAL WORLD]. Some really cool
setups. Really liked the bit where you have to stomp two groups of jumping
fish by predicting their jumps and standing in the right place.
The dragon coins definitely added to the level. They didn't serve as just an
indication of distance into the level, but added interesting and unexpected
challenges to the level in a way that kept the autoscroller from getting too
stale.
Had some issues with sprite spawning after the midway. There was a dolphin
platform combo right before the four fish spawn that wasn't consistent. I got
either the last platform or the dolphin. Found a way to do it without the
dolphin, but the intended way seemed more fun.
Glomming those two concepts together in a way that makes a readable level?
Chef-kiss picture here.
Total 56/60
#20: RANCID CONDUIT by Lazy (⬜/⬜/🌙)
Design 35/40
Creativity 19/20
Deaths 62
Good setups. Hard level. The short jumps definitely gave me a bit of trouble.
The first half was mostly about bouncing saws, which is definitely not a
common concept. Really dug figuring how their movement worked and played into the
setups. The there-and-back-again for the midway was a little trolly, but very
satisfying to pull off.
The second half didn't really connect to the first. Kinda wonder if it'd have
been better if the first half wasn't there, though given how the first half
teaches you how the saws work, maybe not. The second half still stole the show.
Very clever use of glitches to create a sort of SMM2 Red Coin level with mini
challenges for each keyspawn. Really loved this concept, especially given how
it allowed me to choose my own route through the level, in accordance with how
I ranked the difficulty of the challenges.
Had a hard time, but ultimately had a very good time.
Total 54/60
#21: Aquatic Rift by E-man38 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 27/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 0
Fun romp. Liked the Porcupuffers in the first half in their role as dragon
coin acquisition aids. Felt they didn't add much to the second half, mostly
because I had a fireflower and could kill them, which nerfs their danger a
lot.
Did like the use of differing speeds of urchins to setup small timing puzzles.
The second half was definitely the more memorable of
the two. Vertical levels aren't common in the vanilla game, but you've pulled
off something that fits in the vanilla dome segment of the game, minus the
funky colors. Fun setups using Torpedo Teds to gain altitude, while still
having some other more traditional Mario style platforming and dodging
Total 41/60
#22: MOLE IS DESERTS by Infinity (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 23/40
Creativity 11/20
Deaths 1
It's a good little romp. Got a bit of a mario maker vibe with it, and that's a good thing in
this case. Would have liked some dragon coins or alternate
paths. The backtracking was a nice change and briefly confused me into
thinking there was some kinda secret around there, but it was a nice change of
pace from just going right. The biggest issue is that a lot of it seems
sparse. There's often not much to threaten Mario in any given screen, aside
from the occasional mole.
One complaint I have would be the green bean jump after the midway was a
little difficult to see where I was jumping, since the landing platform was
offscreen.
Total 34/60
#23: NIGHTLY HOPPING by Nao (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 17/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 1
Lives up to its name. Enjoyed the mode 11 look. Ultimately, I kinda felt like
I was playing the same few screens of a level but rearranged in different
ways, but not in an interesting harmonic offset, but in a sorta weird Markov
Chain designed level. Really would have liked to have seen a bit more variety
in enemies beyond the piranha plants and two jumping koopas. The jumping
plants often weren't a threat because of how and where they were spawning. The
flames just wouldn't intersect Mario because how the height or distance away
from Mario when they spawn. Then they often drop into pits never to be seen
again. Lots of waiting for things to line up too.
It's not a bad level, but it definitely could use some work.
Total 27/60
#24: CAVE O' MOVEMENT by MrDoubleA (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 27/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 7
Pretty fun level. Periodic layer 2 movement is under utilized in general.
The borderless water was an interesting choice, but it
actually helped in understanding where the real collision was. Given the
aesthetics of the level, it worked well. Didn't care for one specific jump from
water to water near the midpoint. The second half felt a little under
developed, but I appreciate being given a cape in a situation where flying
isn't really a useful option. Clever.
This level would have really benefited from having some Yoshi coins, just
because what's here is kinda sparse aside from the specific setups. Would have
been cool to have a little more exploring for rewards, like the hidden
mushroom at the end of the level.
Total 39/60
#25: WENDY'S WATER TOWER by TheOrangeToad (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 33/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 1
I enjoyed this. Gotta say, the second half was a lot more interesting than the
first. The first half kinda felt like you wanted to do something kinda mazy,
but stopped yourself. There are alternate paths, but there was little reason
to take them. Occasionally no reason at all. The dragon coins were well
placed in the first half giving some reason to explore, but really would have
liked to have seen more branching.
The second half with the scrolling water virile section was a joy to play.
The only thing that felt kinda odd was the possibly mandatory spin jump from
the water onto a saw at the very end, but you did teach us to do that in an
earlier section. Still felt off. Standard Wendy fight to cap it off. All in
all, well done.
Total 46/60
#26: BLUE-GREY VALLEY by Brutapode89 (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 20/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 6
Fun level. Enjoyed the dragon coin placement. Not sure the moon added
anything, and kinda wish you'd done something more with the key-hole pipe.
Just walking uphill past a lot of kicking koopas was a bit anticlimactic.
Might have been time better spent working on the main path.
The biggest problem with this level is the blind jumps. Like the second dragon
coin. There's no reason to assume there's land in that pit, but you still
clearly want to get it in, but you've only left one tile of space to land.
Then the coin guided jump before the midway. Again, one tile. Not a huge fan
of that sort of thing. The cape helps, but also makes the level trivial.
Total 33/60
#27: The Call of the Mt. by Lightvayne (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 30/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 5
Very cute level. Was definitely built with exploration in mind, and as such
had some satisfying alternate paths. Dragon coins were often cleverly hidden
or required some small puzzle solving to get, which I always enjoy, even if I
fail to see the solution the first time through. Autoscroller was enjoyable,
though a bit laggy.
Had a couple issues with how you made your slopes in the cave section with the
football chuck. His balls kinda escaped the level and made that part a lot
more unpredictable than I expect you intended. In fact, the slope after chuck
is also a bit messy with random enemies strewn about.
Total 47/60
#28: MATCHA MANSION by Heraga (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 34/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 4
Good use of blocksnakes. The only problem with your usage was that I could
outrun the snake and despawn the moving block for a few of the longer snake,
but it's a minor issue. Really enjoyed the moon room. Never had to platform on
disappearing platforms when they're being eaten in the opposite direction of
travel. Would have liked to have seen some of that in the main level, but I
can see why you left it in the bonus area.
Good use of pallets. Didn't outstay its welcome. A solid level all around.
Total 48/60
#29: BOWSERS BIGGEST FAN by JamesD28 (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 34/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 37
This is interesting! A very clever use of of the bowser statues and layer two
and bowser statues on layer two blocks. Really enjoyed finding the dragon
coins. Layer 2 hiding spots are tricky to spot. Almost too tricky at times.
Hiding the very first power up in the level is a bit mean. The spike clusters
coming down from above were very memorable.
The second half had some really interesting setups, but also was pretty dense.
Not a lot of leeway for failure. Might have been nicer if the level was a bit
shorter and focused on the more fun setups and cut out some of the waiting.
The p-switch bit being optional was an interesting idea, but probably should
have been made mandatory or cut.
Honestly, would have prefered it without the boss, since the level was long
enough as is, but it was fine.
Total 52/60
#30: Rehab by Magmatic + le4che (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 31/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 23
Very creative level. Not touching the mushroom has been a bit of a cliche
since ProtonJon ate that mushroom, but this is a nice spin on the concept. I
really enjoyed the water section, which was a new take on this. The last
section's koopa shell bouncing puzzle was also a joy. The final obstacle felt
a bit unfair, but wasn't too bad. Not sure if I lucked through it.
One complaint I have is that the midway is inaccessible if you manage to clear
the first room on your first try, which is kinda lame, but also forgivable.
Had some difficulty dying in the water section too. A little more polish would
definitely made this level.
Total 49/60
#31: Ebb and Flow by AmperSam (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 35/40
Creativity 19/20
Deaths 3
Interesting concept. Really liked the layer two water combined with the sorta
speedrun aesthetic. The best part of the level was definitely the final
challenge where you really need to hurry to beat the scroll. Glad that part
had the ability to reset the layer 2 if you walked back. One issue is that a
lot of the challenge is diminished if you can get a hold of a fire flower,
just because the fish are pretty easy targets. You also have the option of
"clearing the way" if you did want to just take your time and kill all the
important obstacles in the final stretch. Not sure whether or not it's a good
thing.
Got softlocked in the midway room, which kinda sucked. There should have been
a muncher or an on/off switch to proc in there.
Weird noises during the fanfare. Probably caused by layer 2 smashing down at a
bad time.
Total 54/60
#32: cavemania by xyz600sp (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 17/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 2
Cute little level. Kinda was hoping you'd be going in more of an exploratory
direction once I saw that you could go through the pipe into the
water section and back with the p-swtich. Some of the dragon coins factored
into that exploration idea, but most did not. Really wish you leaned into it more.
The other sections were pretty straightforward, the water sections especially.
Felt like you copied and pasted the same section multiple times, but slightly
lower. Secret exit was fun to find, but didn't offer much gameplay. Probably
should have fleshed out that sublevel.
Lava ride was fun though.
Total 27/60
#33: LIVING SPONGES by ft029 (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 35/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 5
This was cool. You managed to find a way to implement timed challenge rooms in
a non-blocksnake way using vanilla mechanics. Well done. The first half of the
level was definitely my favorite. Rushing downward quickly could be a good
idea, or not depending on how the current strata is working out for you.
Didn't really get the powerup in the block jail in the midway room. Not sure
what you were aiming for other than powerup jail. Maybe if you wait long
enough to hit the box when it's going the other way? Still kinda annoying.
The second half worked in your theme. Not sure about the one tile high water,
but for the most part, the upward section just kinda was. Not sure what the
right solution timing wise for the two saws bit, but had a hit so I just
walked through it. Wonder if waiting longer would have gotten them into a
usable sync or if I somehow spawned them wrong.
The p-block level building bit at the end was really cool. Enjoyed timing my
decent so I could exploit the paths I made on the way up.
Total 51/60
#34: GREEDY ATHLETIC by MiracleWater (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 17/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 31
While levels with coin exit requirements aren't exactly new,
this was something of an interesting take on the genre. Unfortunately,
this wasn't the kind of contest for it. You have to either manually track the
number of coins you enter the level with--or restart the whole hack I
guess--whenever you fail, which is just something I'm not a huge fan of. If
the level's design was such that collecting all the coins you needed was
obvious, this probably wouldn't have been an issue, but because the key
challenge is picking and choosing which coins to get, this gets kinda annoying
fast. In a contest with uberasm, it'd be simple to reset your coins on the way
in, but...OLDC.
Anyway, I think the key thing is that this level is a routing challenge. Take
a few tries, figure out which coins you can get and create a route to make it
happen. This just wasn't something I wanted to do with the fast auto scroll.
Just didn't jive with me.
Total 29/60
#35: FUZZY DRINK by Stivi (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 32/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 8
This kinda felt like it wanted to be a Kaizo level, but got told to major in
standard instead. Switching on the layer two scrolling midway, as you
transition from a water castle to a lava one was a bold move. While cute, it
did get a bit old waiting for the lava to come back after a death, but you did
seem to provide a spin-jumping-on-fuzzies-route, but that goes back to the
kaizo thing. A bit of an audience mismatch.
The final section was probably my favorite. Combining the scrolling platform
with the autoscrolling mallets made for an interesting challenge. Overall, I
really enjoyed this level.
Total 49/60
#36: #6 WENDY'S DOOM by AbuseFreakHacker (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 15/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 20
First half was kinda painful. Lots of trial and error because there wasn't
really any time to react when moving upwards. I suspect this is because how
the fast upward scrolling is implemented. The arrow at the end was also kinda
misleading because the head of it seems to run you directly into a bullet
bill. Second half was handled better, but also had some sprite spawning
issues. You had too many sprites on one screen and some of them became
invisible, which is less than ideal. The arrow on the blind jump downward was
just strange. There wasn't anything near it to justify the signal.
The boss was a cute Wendy fight. It was fine. Whole thing really just needed
more polish and care.
Total 28/60
#37: IGGY KOOPA'S CASTLE by FritzMillfarmer (⬜/⬜/🌙)
Design 25/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 1
Solid. I definitely could be convinced this was a level in vanilla SMW if I'd
not played it in a while. Probably should have capped your levels to keep
people from roaming over the top of them, after getting the moon,
but it's a pretty minor thing.
The level design here is very standard, but solid. Would have liked to have
seen a bit more exploration--like the moon. I think you'd have done yourself a
favor by adding dragon coins as a reason to take a bit of time and slow down
to look around.
Total 39/60
#38: HOT COCOA HILLS by Devazure (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 28/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 4
This is a fun little romp. The most memorable part was probably the sublevel
bypass for the dragon coin. That and the first dragon coin gave some
exploration flavor to an otherwise straightforward level. Good use of the
background tiles to make interesting shapes for aesthetics. Really enjoyed the
use of number platforms here. Just a solid level.
Total 38/60
#39: SUPERKOOPA BRIGADE by DoktorGroove (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 10/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 74
I really enjoyed how you hid your dragon coins. Really forced me to explore
the space in some interesting ways with some unexpected jump possibilities.
Forced me to think laterally in a couple spots. The secret that lead to a
version of the bonus level was kinda nice and hidden in a cool way, but
ultimately dropped me off back at the start of the level, which was less cool.
The latter half of this level really feels like it wants to be a kaizo level,
but with indicators that seem a bit off. The blind jump onto the super koopa
that starts the final jump setup felt more like a troll than an indicated
jump. Some of the setups just seemed too tight or strangely timed, like the
jump from the flying question block to two other super koopas.
Total 26/60
#40: Shameless Sky by Galaer (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 23/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 18
This level is completely based around cloud clipping, which is cool. It's an
interesting section of SMW I'm not that familiar with. My big problem is with
how you teach us the tech. It's usually long after we'd want to use it. Before
getting the second dragon coin, you tell us how to get the first, which would
require dying (or a long ride) to do. Same for the third dragon coin. It's
kinda annoying. It's also pretty cheeseable, since you can just get up next to
a ceiling and spam up and down to avoid some of your setups, like the mole
ones.
I did have quite a bit of fun figuring out some of the puzzles legitimately, but the
requirement to do a lap to get the second mole wasn't fun.
Total 39/60
#41: Chucks Grass by Enan63 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 23/40
Creativity 7/20
Deaths 21
My biggest issue with this level was that you reused a lot of the setups.
While reducing the distance between the spinblocks and the baseball chuck may
be somewhat different in LM, it feels very samey while playing it.
Mostly, this level was a lot of waiting for things to line up, and I'm just
not a huge fan of those sort of levels.
On the other hand, I really liked the falling block sections. Those felt a lot
more creative than just more chucks. Would have liked it you'd've leaned more
into those. There's a lot more potential there.
Total 30/60
#42: Why Be Right? by SomeGuy712x (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 37/40
Creativity 19/20
Deaths 6
Really cool level. Took me a while to figure out the gimmick, but having
played all of it both ways, I have to say it's really impressive how well it
hides its gimmick. Lots of interesting secrets to get, if you head through the
various pipes. I just had a blast exploring it normally, and then rebeating
the sections "as intended". The hints did work, though due to a vernacular
difference, I spent longer than I'd've liked to on the second exit.
Yeah, I don't have much to say because I just really enjoyed it.
Total 56/60
#43: SECRET GHOST HOUSE by MercuryPenny (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 20/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 1
This was just silly fun. Got really turned around through your use of doors, and the
fact that there is one unbroken cycle you can run through to get all the
dragon coins and complete the level was pretty clever.
There's not much difficulty here, pretty much the only way to die is to get
unlucky with a boo or run out of time. Would like to have seen some more
platforming or really anything that would have made the level more engaging.
Really, just having any other enemy that wasn't a standard boo would have
helped this level a lot. A second exit could have been an opportunity to make the maze more complex and offer a non-maze based challenge the player.
Total 34/60
#44: UberzequistA-o!!! by kjitmno".pqr (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 34/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 16
Very clever use of a glitch I definitely wasn't aware of. Taught me about how
it was use in reasonable intervals so I could be prepared for the next set of
challenges. The second area was probably the weakest of the set. Ran into a
spawning/visibility issue with a diaper platform seeming not to spawn and had
to jump around till the invisible spiney (FUZZY?) killed me. Would have liked
to have seen more Yoshi setups, since there wasn't much going on in the upward
direction. The final
autoscrolling level was the best part. A solid culmination of the lessons
taught in both rooms used to great effect.
Total 50/60
#45: NOT SECRET AREA by rextep (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 24/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 3
Not a fan of the spawner at the very end of the level, but it did fit well
thematically with the level. Would have liked a little more variety
besides the flying koopas, but it felt very much like it could have been drawn
from an earlier time before more setup/gimmick based levels became the norm.
Some of the lotuses were placed where there really wasn't any threat from them.
Although the last two in the level were placed in a rather clever way to both
add some needed threat and manage to have all the lava dots spawn. Dragon
coins were placed well throughout the stage. Just a solid romp. Nothing
extraordinary, but solid.
Total 37/60
#46: Flickering Forest by Lui (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 24/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 7
It's strangely discordant how most of the enemies come from the castle set,
but the background is more foresty/underground. It's just kinda strange.
The most interesting bit was the box with the
sparkies, though the first time I got there, I had a cape and could skip it.
Was still an enjoyable puzzle. Do enjoy a
good sparky level if for no other reason than spin jumping on them feels
rewarding, but you also tempered that temptation with the use of a lot of
breakable spinblocks. Definitely setup an interesting risk/reward when
considering what kind of jump to use. Second half was a lot more interesting
in that regard.
Total 37/60
#47: salute to tomato by Morsel (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 0/40
Creativity 0/20
Deaths 13
This level is literally nothing. DQ'd
Total 0/60
#48: [Untitled - YI1] by Disk Poppy (⬜/⬜/🌙)
Design 20/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 5
Kind of odd to have such a short time
limit without setting up some sorta speedrun challenge. A fair bit of lag, due
to having a lot of dinos on the same screen at the same time all spitting
fire. Especially at the beginning of the level where there's just a ton of tiny
dinos. The fire lags a lot on more accurate setups. Really would have liked to
have seen more puzzle solving like you had in the second half of the level.
The level itself was pretty standard. Would have liked to have seen something
other than dinos and hammer bros. Didn't think the hammer bros added much,
really.
Total 30/60
#49: A Spin Over Hazards by slakkmichael (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 26/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 0
Fun little level. Nothing too challenging before the jump from the mega sparky
to the bowser statue fire, but still a lot of fun to execute on. Would have
liked it to be longer, to be honest. Maybe playing more with verticality would
have been nice? Some variety in the types of jumps could have been nice, like
some more non-stationary sprites, but you picked a theme and stuck with it the whole way.
Total 39/60
#50: Koopa's Battleships by iTom33.ro (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 25/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 2
Fun little level. Reminds me a lot of some of the Mario 3 airships in
design--for obvious reasons--but also due to the density of spites and other
objects that want to kill me. The second half wasn't quite as interesting, but
as water areas go, it was still pretty good. Would have liked to have seen
something more maze like? Having a fireflower made all of the non-ted parts
trivial, but that's kinda to be expected.
Weird moon placement. Scrolling would have been nice here.
Total 38/60
#51: Don't be Afraid by Big Brawler (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 34/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 5
A very cute concept. Enjoyed both my midwayful playthrough and midwayless
playthrough. Some fun setups involving the bonzai bills and moles. The
expanded part was probably my favorite area. Some really nifty jumps.
The secret exit had an interesting reveal, but I kinda felt that area fell
flat. Felt like more of an afterthought to show off a cool vanilla mechanic
than a fully fleshed out idea. The retry pipe were conceptually appreciated,
but probably unnecessary.
Total 51/60
#52: Slippy Slopes by ToxicRave (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 34/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 10
Very interesting setups. The combination of slippery slopes and fences is one
I've never seen before and the interaction between them made for some
cool puzzles. The frozen area was definitely the star of the show, whereas the
first section felt like it was just trying to teach me about nutraling my
jumps on slopes, which while not common in standard hacks is a pretty normal
trick for anyone mildly versed in kaizo.
All in all, I really enjoyed this level.
Total 52/60
#53: FRESH AIR FORTRESS by Friday_D0nat (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 26/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 1
Gotta say, you managed to cobble together some interesting aesthetics from the
original bowser's castle set. Really liked how you indicated the accordion
platform's directionality. Fun jumps, and you legitimately got me on one of the
falling platforms. Thought I had to jump, but there was a safety platform
under it. A pretty kind level, given the name.
The falling platform setups were pretty nice. Just wish the level was had a
bit more meat to it. Having to take risker jumps off the falling platforms to
get dragon coins could have added quite a bit to the level.
The boo fight at the end was kinda anticlimactic,
given you could just use the blocks under you from the start without any sort
of danger from the boo circle.
Total 40/60
#54: Musical Sci-Fi by Squirrelyman157 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 33/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 9
This is cool. Using the layer two noteblock glitch, you managed to create some
memorable setups. The layer two crushing me at the start if I didn't get
moving seemed a little cruel, but was ultimately in the service of the level.
Really enjoyed how the level taught me about the glitch first in a WTF way,
and then in a couple of ways to make me understand exactly what to expect. In
this way, there was a pretty solid difficulty curve to the setups.
The second half was a lot less reliant on said glitch, but that's kinda fine.
Some very intense layer 2 scrolling platforming action. Was satisfying to pull off
some of the tighter sections. The dragon coins were placed in challenging
places which gave them a good sense of purpose.
Definitely gunna be thinking about this one in the future.
Total 49/60
#55: New Londo Ruins by Fellipe R (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 19/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 37
Interesting level. There's a fun idea in here with a destructible maze of
throwblocks, but I'm not sure this level executes well on it. Starting from
the beginning, you better hold on to your throwblock, because if you don't and
regrab your Y button--or have a slightly flaky controller--you're gunna have a
bad time. There are similar setups with the same issue throughout the first
half. Not sure this is where you want your difficulty to be coming from.
The second half takes an odd departure from the first half's theme where
you're suddenly doing something of a disco shell escort mission. I found the
puzzle to get the key to be incredibly painful, and then realized about 10
seconds after getting the second exit that there was a really simple and not
annoying solution, so a bit of a wash. Finding the keyhole was also a bit
weird. Falling down into an unclued pit just because there aren't any other
obvious things to do.
Might have been better if it was a bit shorter, really.
Total 33/60
#56: Blockchain Fortress by neosaver (🔑/⬜/🌙)
Design 32/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 5
Really fun concept. Blocksnake puzzles are always a good time. My big issue is
in the third room, there's a line of coins that if collected don't respawn
upon entering the re-try doors. Got hung up on that for a bit.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. Kinda wished you'd moved the midway back a
room, so it was between three and four instead for before room five. Room five
felt like you were trying for a different thing. Using the block snake as a
timer, but it never seemed to matter. I got so far ahead of it, it was just a
normal level. Not sure it fit with the rest of the level, given the puzzley
nature you seemed to be going for.
Total 48/60
#57: Rock Fest by BlueToad (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 23/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 2
Seemed very inspired by getting over it. Lots of bullet bill jumps. Got a
little confused by the Yoshi branching paths part. Kinda wish you'd used he
multiple paths sequentially, because the level did seem a bit short.
Really enjoyed how you hid the dragon coins in the periphery. Made looking for
the satisfying, instead of mile markery. You may have relied a bit too much on
timed bullet bill jumps just a bit. Would have liked to have seen some more
variety in obstacles beyond falling platform jumps, bullet bill timing and
the occasional dragon coin guarding chuck.
Total 35/60
#58: To the Dark Cave by Edphonse15 (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 30/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 2
Definitely lives up to its name. While I generally don't care for the windowed
light--because it causes lag, and is kinda annoying otherwise--I think you
used it well. It was fun looking for the dragon coins by going off the beaten
path, which wasn't always obvious, just to be clear. Kinda wish there was a
little more danger than the occasional fish, but it was more like a Sierra
adventure game cave than a Lost Levels cave. Something to be said for making
exploration fun. A decent romp all around.
Total 45/60
#59: [Untitled - YI1] by Davidvama21 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 22/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 2
A mostly straightforward level, with a few cute twists. I really liked the
bonus room and how you could get two of the items, if you were fast enough.
The section after the bonus room was a little lackluster. Really would have liked more indication I was above a bottomless pit. And really would have liked
a bit more fortress. It seemed like you were going somewhere interesting with
the clouds, but it kinda didn't go as far as it needed to, in either area.
Being able to circumvent the second cloud section seemed like a bit of a
missed opportunity to make it a more integral part of your level.
Total 32/60
#60: Cloud Nine by EduzinMMA (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 20/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 20
An interesting and varied level. The first section is a kinda standard rompy.
Dunno if it needed the goomba/bombs falling down, but it was pretty decent.
Loved the secret Yoshi room. Really didn't care for the balloon part. It was
quite the difficulty spike, but didn't really feel all that good to play.
Good balloon levels are hard to make. The final section with the cloud was a
quick victory lap. No complaints there. Dragon coins were hidden in a few
interesting places.
My biggest problem was the second exit. You had to get all the dragon coins
and then come back most of the way through the level and then check an obscure
dragon coin spot where you'd never really go back to unless you were scouring
the level for stuff. Maybe if this was done in a larger hack with some sorta
message giving a hint, or even a message box in the level giving a hint, this
wouldn't be as annoying.
Total 34/60
#61: THE DANK PIT by yogui (⬜/⬜/🌙)
Design 31/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 30
Very interesting constraints for this level. Really wondering how it was done,
beyond just using LM 1.51, as the intro text was so kind to inform me. The
first half was pretty straight forward, given the only mechanic was going down
carefully, except for the big Mario bit, where I kinda decided I wasn't going
to find a way to get hit. Shockingly, it was still beatable...to a point.
The second half relied on an assumption that should have been obvious, given it
was the first thing you tried to teach me in the level... After learning that,
the second half was a lot more fun. Really liked the final puzzle. It brought
the whole concept together and made me feel like I learned something. All in
all, a lot of fun.
Total 49/60
#62: Forestress by Spedinja (🔑/⬜/⬜)
Design 30/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 23
I really liked the level part of this. The first half had some really fun
setups and challenging jumps that felt very satisfying to pull off. The
secondary exit was a little superfluous. Getting there was cute, involving
riding the statue flame, but the sublevel was short to the point of
pointlessness. Would have liked some more number platforming or something.
The boss is where this kinda lets me down. Good, unique boo fights are hard to
pull off, and while this is at least somewhat original, I definitely didn't
have much fun with it. Jumping on bullet bills while holding a breakable item
is just kinda jank. You do acknowledge this in the message box, but the level
design still makes the player want to jump on bills with items. Not really
sure how to fix it though.
Total 42/60
#63: Coasting Redwoods by PSI Ninja (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 27/40
Creativity 20/20
Deaths 85
I really want to like this level, but it's just too dang long and fiddly. A
second midway (via 1 up door or something) right before the Yoshi stuff really
would have made this shine. As it is, it's a long slog to the top, where you
have to carefully spit the blue shell out, eat the mushroom, get the blue
shell back in yoshi's mouth and then do a shell race to the top. It's just too
much for one section, especially where there's no safety net.
Just to be clear, I love the ideas in this level. I loved solving the jumping
puzzles--minus the flame one in the second half. I just don't want to spend
two minutes of real time getting back to the yoshi section.
Total 47/60
#64: The Myth of Icarus by Nitrogen (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 30/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 17
Very nice classical reference. Ties the whole level together well, though I
think an epilog would have been nice, just to bring the whole thing to a
close, conceptually.
The level itself was a lengthy cape level. The first section had some reset
doors that were kinda helpful, but once I got that far in, they weren't very
useful. While I'd assume that you'd reset the timer on door entry, you didn't.
I'm pretty sure there's a vanilla way to do that. Because of this, the reset
doors felt a little less helpful.
A few of the setups in the second half did feel kinda fiddly. The
spinjump off a saw to hit a spinblock to free another saw one felt kind cruel.
The ceiling spikes bit had a very fun solution though. Very satisfying once I
finally got it.
Total 46/60
#65: CLASSIC ROMP by AnEvilGhost (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 24/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 3
Lives up to its name. Really didn't like how you had a coin trail that drops
Mario straight into a pit. Some odd choices introducing obvious shell puzzles
that don't really pay off, given how far you have to walk to get a shell, and
the final sublevel secret had nothing but a box with a single coin.
On some level, I get the sense this was a little trolly, but not really.
Not much to say. Very straightforward.
Total 36/60
#66: Underworld by monkey03297 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 20/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 9
A few interesting ideas vis-a-vis hiding dragon coins.
Found and collected four of them, but the fifth eluded me. Looking at it now,
I can see the pipe, but I can't see any reason I'd've wanted to fall down
there. The other coins had environmental hints, but this just had a really
inaccessible return pipe. Spent some time trying to get into it, and didn't
succeed.
Anyway, other than the dragon coins, this level's pretty much just a romp.
Nothing exciting, but not a bad few minutes of play.
Total 32/60
#67: wet socks by FrozenQuills (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 37/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 20
Very cool level. The first half had all the dragon coins, which is something I
appreciate. They required going a little out of the way, but not immensely so.
Really liked how you introduced mechanics for the second half, by forcing the
star. Set up the second half in a way that made it obvious that key throwing
was going to be an important mechanic. The speedy "race" section was also a
lot of fun. Not sure about the final little throw to get the star. Not sure if
it was rushed, but didn't seem like it quite fit with the rest of the second
half challenges.
The moon bit was tricky, but very satisfying once I pulled it off.
Total 55/60
#68: Shifting Cavern by ModernKiwi (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 35/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 11
Some really cool layer two stuff going on here. Without a doubt, the highlight
was the #2 MORTON'S CASTLE-esque secret exit. Lots of fun jumps there, with
relatively little waiting. Nice flow.
The main difficulty really comes from outrunning layer 2 so you don't end up
in the lava. This does make it a little slow because you've got to wait for
layer 2 to "catch up" to you, but it does make for an intense experience if
you're trying to speedrun the level. I really like that aspect.
The dragon coins were well hidden, with perhaps an exception for the last one,
but a freebie was kinda welcome at the end. Spent some time by the up pipe
hoping for another scrolling one, but no dice. Layer 2 hidden coins are always
fun. All in all, really well done.
Total 51/60
#69: SPINJUMP CAVE by Xboy1282 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 18/40
Creativity 11/20
Deaths 12
Not sure about this one. The dragon coins were kinda just mile markers, and
some of them were a bit sketch to get. Really didn't like jumping on the high
jumping fireball during the skull raft part was really fiddly. Didn't care
for the spiney in the middle of the air either...
What I did like is that it delivered on its premise. There was a cave, and
there was spin jumping. The Blargg jumps were a lot of fun. Just kinda felt
like you needed something more here.
Total 29/60
#70: CASTLE OF WTF?! by Magikey (🔑/⬜/🌙)
Design 32/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 78
Glitchfest. Fucking weird. Still had fun and learned something about Reznor, I
think.
Some of the puzzles were a bit harder to read than others. Spent a very long
time coming up with a block duping solution to the second puzzle, which was
definitely not the way to do it. Some strange inconsistency with yoshi
despawning made that part a little annoying to redo. The third room's message
block didn't really help me understand the glitch--the relation between
p-switches and Reznors--in the way I expected you intended, because that
knowledge didn't transfer into the fourth room where I really needed it. Could
be my fault for being dense, but ehh.
After that, I kinda got it and the rest of the puzzles were a lot of fun.
I'd say the most annoying thing about the level is that if you fail to act
fast enough, you have to sit through the castle cutscene...again and again,
but it's a minor, and can't be helped for this contest. A one-up door to take
you back to the midway would have been nice though.
Total 50/60
#71: PENCIL SHARPENING by Aeon (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 31/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 9
Fewer pencils than expected. Really enjoyed this one once I got started. Feels
like it could have fit into special world, in a way. The setups felt natural
and the level was never really unfair. My biggest issue is that you have some
setups that can have overlapping saws, and that can result in unfairish
deaths, but it's a minor thing.
Yeah, this is a just solid level.
Total 46/60
#72: Slippery Skies by Mario is the best (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 23/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 5
Pretty fun level. Might have liked it a bit more without the ice physics.
Biggest problem I had was that some of the coin indicators for falling weren't
consistently safe. Falling to your death to find that out kinda sucks. Pretty
standard fare for a level, but that's not a bad thing here.
The dragon coin hidden where you'd die if you didn't jump off the falling
platform in time was cute, but I found the whole set of jumps leading back to
the number platform to be rather strange.
Total 35/60
#73: BLUEBERRY FORTRESS by Selicre (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 25/40
Creativity 11/20
Deaths 16
Pretty alright level. I'm very impressed by the patch size. The route to get
all the dragon coins seemed a little convoluted. I started out thinking you had
a high road to get the dragon coins and a low road of shame if you fell down,
but that really wasn't it. Because you couldn't get back up to the high road
easily
The second exit felt a little tacked on. Would have liked a different full
section or something instead of a bone fish jumping puzzle--which could have
been entirely avoided with a damage boost.
The second half of the level felt a little cramped, not really sure what your
plan was there, but it pretty much boiled down to waiting for a few different
sources of periodic motion to line up. It was also very short.
Reznor fight plus bullet bill spawners is...okay. Not great.
On a technical level, I really dig what you did here, but it's not
part of the scoring criteria. Either way, entering a contest like this and not using
LM is very impressive.
Total 36/60
#74: Volcania Hills by MORC (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 27/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 3
Fun little romp. The first half is fine, but the upper path after the midway is
a bit bare and could have used something more interesting going on than one chuck.
Really would have liked more after the mid way in the vertical
section too. Another layer of upward jumping would have been cool, given how
much fun the first one was. ORB valley at the top was cute.
I like the idea of multiple pathways though a level, and the use of it for
dragon coins was pretty nice, especially given the dragon coin teaser at the
very end of the first level. That being said, I think the bottom path there
was a much more interesting section. Might have been better to scrap the
upper and lower concept and just give the coin at the end. Dunno.
Total 39/60
#75: McYoshi's by 7 up (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 35/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 4
Cute lore. Really enjoyed the assorted credits. As for the level, I found the
dragon coin path to be a bit frustrating. The triple eat didn't come too
naturally to me, but it worked out eventually. The secret exit is nothing. Not
too sure why you even had it, given it amounted to beating a portion of the
level again without any real changes.
Overall, though, once I remembered what
Yellow Yoshis do, I had a good time in the first half. The second
half--skipping the coins part--was pretty fun too. Really, where this level
shined were the parts where you had to keep Yoshi from eating things. You
crafted some really interesting setups that required forethought to avoid and
those parts were a lot of fun. Just...didn't like the first third as much as
the latter two thirds in that regard.
Very much appreciated reset doors and the use of hidden pipes to skip the parts
of the level I'd already beaten. Just wish I didn't need to go through the third
section twice for no real reason.
Total 52/60
#76: POPSICLE GLACIER by Aja (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 21/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 12
Looks like an ice level. Totally isn't, which is totally a good thing. It's a
pretty decent romp. I liked what you did with the water sections. Lots of fun
exploring. Ties well into the hidden dragon coins. Lots to look for and find
in this level.
The final section has a fugu, but it felt a little tacked on. He didn't really
provide any challenge because you could really easily avoid the water, given
the chucks and slightly higher ground. This section might have been better
left on the cutting room floor just because of how it didn't mesh quite mesh
with the level, and the level is already pretty dang long. Dunno.
Got myself softlocked after the midway right before the water
section of that level. A little less than ideal there. A good thing to do is
make sure your walls go up far enough to prevent that kinda thing. Especially
if you're going to give mario a static Chuck rock to spin jump off of.
Total 31/60
#77: Fish's Lair by eduard11 (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 37/40
Creativity 19/20
Deaths 10
I really dug this level. Something about spin jumping on fish. Can't quite
explain that one. Honestly, this is how you make an autoscroller interesting.
The dragon coins were well placed and kept me engaged with spin jumping on
fish through the level. Kept the slow scrolling from getting too monotonous,
while also giving a chance for some easier sections to relax in, if you don't
wanna go for the coins. My two gripes would be that there was a lot of
nothing but seemingly random fish spawns going on around the spot where you
used the one yellow/orange fish, and that the level crushes you at the end
near the pipe. Really hate that.
Moon puzzle was just silly. Fun, but silly.
Total 56/60
#78: Leap Claps by MarkVD100 (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 31/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 5
This is kinda clever. Just a set of chuck jumping puzzles, and yet I feel
there's more to explore here. They start simple and get a lot more involved as
you go through the level, which leads to a nice difficulty curve. One
exception would probably be the underwater one, since you could just swim to
the top of the Chuck steps without having to really do any thought. Very easy
cheese. The final puzzle's solution was very satisfying.
It might have been nice to not have the midway so far into the level. A one up
door or something to break up the level before the final long puzzle would
have been nice, but it's a minor gripe.
Total 49/60
#79: slopey buttey capey by quietmason (⬜/⬜/🌙)
Design 18/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 6
This level is kinda...not great. Very very high slopes aren't consistent and
aren't a lot of fun to hug. Some of the signaling in this level is also a bit
lack-lusture.
The second half with the butt sliding puzzles was kinda fun actually. Had the
whole level been about that, I think it would have been a lot better to be
honest. Felt a bit odd being capped off by just flying for a bit. Not really sure if you ran
out of time, or that was your intent.
Just felt like a kinda confused level, and the first half is very likely
channeling some sorta troll hack.
Total 31/60
#80: Roy's Castle by KevinM (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 23/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 27
I want to like this level, but it feels a bit more fiddlely than I'd like. You
had some setups that were cool and felt good to do, but things like the
bowser statue having inconsistent fire timing made the level feel harder than
it probably needed to. Given that we're always on the clock of the moving
platform--which was a cool idea--having inconsistent things is gunna drag it
down a bit.
The Roy boss is sheer nonsense. Like, it's glitchy and doesn't make it much more
difficult if you beat the boss fast. Very silly, but not very good.
Total 36/60
#81: A Clockwork Moon by CM9 (🔑/⬜/🌙)
Design 23/40
Creativity 11/20
Deaths 4
Pretty reasonable romp. Liked all the clocks and thought they were semphore.
Not sure if I got it right, but I don't think “EFMCEKD” was the intended
message... Anyway, the second exit being a backwards, though largely truncated
due to the clouds up top, run back through the level was kinda disappointing.
The key puzzle was kinda cool, but a little frustrating if you kill both your
blocks...which was kinda a bad choice on my part.
The cave was pretty much more of the same as the first part, though the
obstacle where you fork paths to either go up or to the moon was pretty nifty.
Total 34/60
#82: ONI MOUNTAIN by Truxton (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 10/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 24
This level has some problems. The chuck on the munchers seems to not want to
spawn consistently. Some of the sumo's lightning bolts also don't seem to want
to spawn, but that could be how I set it up.
Really, what it comes down to, is that the constant acute slope jumps are
kinda awful. I kinda like the idea of what you're trying to do, with making
mario stall in an interesting way to wait for the obstacles to clear so you
can proceed, but this is as not fun. If you're not playtesting without
savestates, you probably should start not using them.
Total 22/60
#83: Chainsaw Coppice by N450 (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 30/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 2
Fun level! You had a pretty simple Butter Bridge seemingly inspired
level. I ran into an issue with the rope spawning correctly after the midway.
Not sure if it was supposed to be big or small, but it changed size between
deaths, and that's weird. There were some parts made easier by giving Mario
more headroom than he needs. Mario doesn't get hit by the saw engines, so a
few of your obstibles were negaged by ducking or simply walking past.
The dragon coins were well placed. I like a little risk/reward sometimes, and
they offered some nice chances to do a fancier thing rather than play it safe.
Moon troll was funny. Liked the faces after the goal.
Total 47/60
#84: CAVE WITH NO FISH by Mirann (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 31/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 2
Actually had fish in layer 3. DQ'd.
No, for real. This level was fun. Key swimming actually makes water levels
kinda fun and not as tedious as expected. Dragon coins involved going a little bit
off the beaten path, which was nice. Plot was kinda funny. The layer two water
section was a good follow up to the first area and introduced new challenges
that still felt thematically linked to the first section. There were some
sparse parts, but because you were still wrangling a key underwater, none of
those felt like too long or boring. Well done.
Only issue I could see is that it'd really suck if you swam ever so slowly to
the end of the first section without a key and discovered that you were boned,
but it seems pretty unlikely that someone's not gunna take a key with them,
even without prodding.
Total 46/60
#85: Sky Battalion by Klug (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 30/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 2
Really enjoyed this level. Kinda marred by the fact that I hard locked the
game by collecting the feather off screen during an auto scroller. Only a
minor issue.
Very cool choice going for a Mario 3 style airship. Definitely felt the
inspiration, and it's a decent choice. Mario 3 airships have a lot of
hurry-hurry-wait sorta gameplay, and I think you captured that pretty well
here. There were spots that were very hectic and parts that were relaxing
repreves. Considering the OLDC constraints, you pulled it off very well.
Boo fight was nice to cap it off, but nothing special. Pretty standard fight,
minus the Errie spawner.
Total 47/60
#86: french twost by lolyoshi (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 28/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 118
Really, the key challenge here is to search for and execute a route perfectly
so you can meet the tight timing. A very challenging level, especially if you
want to get the dragon coins. So, I gave up on the coins. I couldn't find a
consistent way to get the third dragon coin, but that might be because my
route involved some scrolling cheese, which was the only way I found to get past
the obstacle before the third coin without taking damage.
This level demands a lot. If the time limit wasn't so severe, it'd be more
approachable, given you could take your time and wait for some of the
projectile timings to line up better for you, but it's not and you can't. I'm
not sure if I felt proud to have beaten it with 4 Mario seconds remaining or
just plain relieved that I didn't have to find more time to eek out of my
routing. Definitely not for everyone. Probably not for me, but I can respect
the intent here.
Total 41/60
#87: Slip 'N' Scare by Segment1Zone2 (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 17/40
Creativity 11/20
Deaths 4
I kinda like what you did with the combination of icy and ghosty, but I found
that I spent of lot of time waiting for the boo rings in general. The first
exit was kinda fun. Some interesting setups to get past groups of ghoulies,
but again, marred by waiting for the rings to line up.
The second exit...I dunno. I feel like the fact that you had the key that you
needed to use spawn before the midway, in a weird place was a misstep. Why?
Because if you touch the midway, you're stuck either beating the standard exit
again or resetting the game. Not a fun set of choices. Add to this the fact
that the coin indicators at the very bottom of the screen could be take as
either "here's how you get past these ghosts" or "this is a secret pipe" adds
to the confusion. Confusion can be good in a ghost house, but not when failure
means resetting the game.
Also, Mario's invisible during the boss fight. Why? Seems needlessly cruel.
Anyway, I think if you'd just stuck with the first exit path, I'd've liked
this level a whole lot more.
Total 28/60
#88: mario go spinny by Jead (🔑/🪙/⬜)
Design 16/40
Creativity 11/20
Deaths 3
This level is kinda fiddly. There are parts where you've made the jumps really
easy, and then there's the jump near the end between the two spinny platforms
which is really tricky and kinda feels like it's spawn dependant how hard it's
going to be. Add the fact that you get one shot at it is kinda a drag,
especially if you got what felt like a bad spawn. Hard to sight right if you
get a bad spawn.
The first half was actually pretty fun, minus some of the random waiting,
but amping up the difficulty a lot in the second half wasn't a good call.
The whole thing felt a little uneven...and while I'm writing this, I just
realized I forgot to look for the secret exit...
Anyway, got the secret exit. That
poor spring's already been used for like three things already. Having the exit post
midway was kinda annoying, but not bad. Really, didn't add anything to the
level. Was probably just fine as a dragon coin byway.
Total 27/60
#89: New WinRAR archive by JP32 (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 22/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 1
Love the name. The concept is sound. You've made a lot of setups for bullet
bills of various stripes to require you to either jump out and away or wait
around for the large bill to pass while under duress. I don't really feel like
you explored the concept fully here, but that's okay. What is here is a solid
little level that doesn't wear out its welcome. My two solid complaints are
that there was some issues with some of the small bullet bills being
invisible, and you can jump on the first banzai bill to run over the top of
the level, skipping the whole thing.
Total 35/60
#90: SHIPWRECK SHORE by Caracc (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 17/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 1
The first half was kinda fun. You had an aesthetic that matched the gameplay you
were aiming for, and swimming through the sunken ship with a rising and
falling current was kinda fun, though the level was a bit sparse. Liked going
out of the way for a few of the dragon coins.
The bigger problem was the second half. The layer two intro to the midway got
me pretty excited, but there...just wasn't much there. The bubbled enemies
didn't really feel as thematic, and the half just kinda felt rushed. The
hammer bro at the end was sorta outta nowhere.
Total 27/60
#91: CREME CAVERN by HammerGuy (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 17/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 0
Not a fan of this. It's basically a combination of everything that makes the
game bog down and slow down a lot.
It's a romp in the dark with Ninji and Lava Lotuses. Liked the dragon coin
placement, but this level just don't got much going for it. It's a kinda
unpleasant romp, mostly due to said darkness.
Total 27/60
#92: MONTY MOLE MOUNTAIN by AppleBoy54321 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 20/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 1
This is a perfectly fine romp. Wish there was a little bit more to it. The one
place where there was some exploration--the pipe--was basically empty. Would
have liked to have seen a vine in a block or something to encourage looking
around a bit more. The level is also really short. The midway is basically at
the start of the level and pretty unnecessary at that point.
Total 30/60
#93: Alto Adige by NerDose (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 35/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 0
Fun level. Great flow. Lots of fun little setups. Really enjoyed some of the
waiting sections. The little puzzle with the koopa and the vine blocks are
cute. The vine assencenion right before the midway was also a pleasant design.
Transitioning to an autoscroller after the puzzley bits was a gamble, but I
think it paid off. There was basically always something going on, but it still
didn't feel claustrophobic. Struck a nice balance of frantic saw avoidance and
standard platforming, and it wasn't long enough to wear out its welcome.
Really well done.
Total 52/60
#94: [Untitled - VoB4] by Prestinator13 (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 0/40
Creativity 0/20
Deaths 0
As the level name states, this is Valley of Bowser 4. It's quite clear your
started with VoB4 as a template and remixed/added your own stuff, but it's
also clear that there are parts that remain wholesale. While this isn't a
terrible thing to do, it's definitely not a good idea for a contest level.
DQ'd
Total 0/60
#95: Tower of Triangles by Sariel + Wakana (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 39/40
Creativity 19/20
Deaths 2
This is a puzzle level. Pretty much all the puzzles, but not all, revolve
around running up walls using those triangles. Finding setups break, spin or
remove blocks so you can proceed. You'd think that it'd get stale...but nope.
You managed to find a lot of differing and interesting setups to keep the
whole thing fresh all the way to the end.
The dragon coins really added to the level. Either by making me have to
speedrun certain sections or by having less-triangular puzzles on their own.
The only one I'd say didn't I really love was the last coin puzzle with the
disco shell. May have accidentally cheesed it. Or maybe the solution was just
that simple. Either way, I really enjoyed both aspects of this level. Really
well done.
Total 58/60
#96: 2ODA LAKE by Hobz (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 27/40
Creativity 17/20
Deaths 60
This is a hard level. Your text boxes are...accurately written and would help
anyone who wasn't familiar with those mechanics have a chance of beating this
level, but only a chance. I'd imagine anyone who didn't already know that
probably hasn't played enough SMW to really beat level.
The dragon
coins are an interesting challenge, which made the level even harder, and that
was kinda cool. Overall, I enjoyed the routing out the sections and the
careful swimming. My big problem is with boo rings. You probably didn't test
on a more accurate emulator that randomizes ram, so the starting position of the boo
rings when you tested it wasn't the same starting position when I played it.
Total 44/60
#97: NINJI HIGHLANDS by yv64n (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 16/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 0
Nice little romp. I liked the few diversions you had for the dragon coins,
but it ultimately felt pretty empty. A lot of the same sorts of situations.
Would have liked...just something more than a lot of lava lotuses lying
around and a few jumping Ninji.
Total 26/60
#98: Dizzy Aerial Stunts by yoshi9429 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 32/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 2
Fun level. Not sure why you chose to gimme a cape at the last minute, but it
was an interesting touch. Whole level had a pretty good flow, but some odd
choices. You had a few platforms that kinda went nowhere, but might have been
a nice spot for a secret or something, like the one a bit after the midway.
Similarly, there were ropes that felt like traps just after that. Why were
they even there? Maybe a last minute nerf? I dunno. I had a lot of fun in this
level, but there definitely were some moments that made me question the
overall design, but not really enough to matter. Dragon coins had some good
placement and offered more opportunities to jump on saws. Good job.
Total 48/60
#99: Way Coolbular by KiloMinimo + Matt (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 16/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 114
This one...I'm not sure about. I definitely get the sorta-Kaizo 1/ feeling,
but I'm not sure it's a good one. Reminds me a lot of On Liberty by John
Stewart Mill for some reason. Definitely not for everyone.
The first section is fairly precise and pretty punishing. The long string of
fuzzy jumps wasn't really that fun, and because of the autoscroller nature of
the level, just felt demoralizing every time I screwed those up. The bullet
bill spawns also got me a few random times. Not sure you want RNG in a level
like this. It definitely feels kaizo adjacent, but not quite.
Anyway, I actually really liked the second section a lot more than the first one, to be
honest. I kinda wonder what would have been if you'd gone all in and made just
one long level around balloons, but given how trying the first section was,
you probably would have been better off with that kinda plan.
The level name is also, in fact, most triumphant.
Total 30/60
#100: Dino Mountain by Green Jerry (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 23/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 4
Dino rinos are weird sprites, and I definitely ran into a few case of them
clipping or doing other strange things. They can also make parts of a level
tedious if they start breathing fire and you don't have a way to kill/bypass
them. Not a huge fan of the waiting sections with the flying blocks, just
because there's a couple of them back to back. The green bean trick is cute
and definitely got me tripped up for a second. Such a fun little glitch.
There's a weird slide jump onto a winged platform puzzle that kinda has no
payoff. Really think you'd have done yourself a favor to put in some dragon
coins to make the level feel less linear and more interesting. Otherwise, thos
is a pretty standard romp, with a pretty good flow, and that's just fine.
Total 35/60
#101: Winning Level by NewPointless (🔑/⬜/⬜)
Design 0/40
Creativity 0/20
Deaths 10
This level was DQ'd and I
suck atdon't really like crazy cape tech. Not my thing.
Total 0/60
#102: Radical Rope Ride by RussianMan (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 27/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 2
Delivers on the named premise. Had a lot of fun figuring out the setups. A big
problem is that the lines that the ropes and saws are one are the same color
as the background near the bottom of the screen, so it can be hard to see
where they're going to go when they dip down there.
The rope with two saws intersecting it near the end of the level was kinda tricky,
but surmountable. Might have been nice if the whole setup was a block or two
higher up so you could see Mario when you're on the bottom of the rope. The
finale with lots of quick rope jumps was a nice touch.
Total 41/60
#103: mini-castle of spin by TheKazooBloccGosh (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 15/40
Creativity 11/20
Deaths 32
Yeah, this is pretty small. The first section is sprite spam. Hate the spike
directly to the right of the door in the second room, but at least it's a
pretty straight forward room.
The set of spin jumps off the wiggler never felt quite right, but I also never did it right, I don't think.
The bonus room was cute. Really liked the "shoot the moon" aspect of it.
Cute lore, but like you said, it's pretty rushed and rough around the edges.
Probably needed a little more time in the oven or more testing.
Total 26/60
#104: BOWSER'S CANYON by crist1919 + TheMarioVariable (🔑/🪙/⬜)
Design 13/40
Creativity 10/20
Deaths 0
This level is just confused. There are a lot of ideas I like in it. The first
section is an enjoyable romp, which is marred somewhat by sprites disappearing
from view, but not from existence. Nothing like trying to dodge invisible
sparkies and bullet bills. The second half was also just kinda strange. You had a sublevel with fish that were flopping around
in water, and you absolutely need the p-switch that the level seems to want
you to use in the sublevel, but if you do, you can't proceed without going
back and getting another p-swtich. All in all, I had fun in parts, but a lot
of it was cluttered and difficult to read.
The second exit was a little unnecessary. It didn't really add much and was
cheesable with a cape, instead of the intended solution.
I did like the dragon coin placement. Added some fun risk/reward to the first section. I think you needed to test this entry more.
Total 23/60
#105: Bouba-Keykey Effect by bebn legg + Tahixham (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 27/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 2
This level is kinda all over the place. The key thing here is...getting keys
in sublevels to repulse Banzai Bills and then using those keys to enter doors,
probably to prevent cheese. Each of the sublevels is radically different than
the main level, and some of them are kinda out there.
The first one is a pretty simple there-and-back-again romp. The second...is a
level with scrolling layer 2 water. Not sure I liked this one all that much.
There's a lot of waiting due to how the floating platforms are setup. They're
mostly just in the way and trying to make you wait till maximum tide. You can
kinda break this though. This leads to a lot of waiting around for the
scroll to come back to where you need it, unless you can shove the platform
down and do a somewhat kaizo swim trick to clip through.
Also, because of how the pipe that takes you to this room is reused as an exit
pipe, you can
get end up getting sucked back into the room because key swimming is annoying.
Less than fun.
The third key section was a lot more enjoyable. The line art was cute too. The
level kinda ends on an anti climax. Would have liked to have some sorta
callback to the messagebox or something, but it's fine. Not a bad romp, just
inconsistent.
Total 43/60
#106: FINAL CASTLE BASIC by Albert1234 (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 14/40
Creativity 6/20
Deaths 3
Yeah, I get what you were going for, but it didn't really work. The doors send
you backwards sometimes and ending with a bowser fight is kinda annoying. The
doors' difficulty levels are kinda all over the place. Some of them are
really long, some are quite short and easy. Really would have liked to see
some more balance here, and the fact that the wrong doors can take you back to
the start of the level is a huge drag.
Room 2 feels like you copied and pasted the same two Thwamp setup like six
times in a row, and that's...just not good. Please don't abuse copy and paste
the way a freshman who forgot to write a term paper does.
Just kinda feels like you should have playtested this a lot more.
Total 20/60
#107: All the way up by Neidave (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 32/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 3
Very fun level. I really liked the environmental story you told here. Start in
the cave. Climb the hill. Go to space. Get the orb. All of the jumps were
fair. Dragon coins were placed in fun spots to make you go just a bit off the
beaten path. The fourth one did have a cheesy way to grab it, but that's fine.
Dunno why you bothered with that moon though. Made good use of the vertical level type.
Had some really minor issues with slowdown and some sprite spawning too.
Didn't quite get my whole skull raft.
A good romp.
Total 48/60
#108: MANSION SLIDE by Luaxon (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 26/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 3
I always appreciate it if someone tries to either tell me or show me a mechanic
before requiring it. Even though this is one I'm aware of, I liked that you
wanted to inform people about the power of Mario's butt.
For the first half, you had a good combination of platforming and butt sliding
puzzles. The slide onto the vertical moving platform for a dragon coin was
really slick. Dragon coin placement felt a bit like how vanilla SMW does it. A
combination of slightly off the beaten path and mile markers, and it felt just
right for this level.
I will admit, I was pretty dumb about the fourth coin, but it was completely
fair in retrospect. The rest of the second half was way more butt sliding and
a lot less platforming. Not sure this was a good mix, especially with the
vertical level type. Not as much fun as the first half, but I do like your
dedication to the concept.
Total 39/60
#109: MOSS HILL by Koopster (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 34/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 14
This is cute. Didn't catch that there were two ways to get through the first
section--the climbing way and the jumping way--the first time through. Having
to do the level again, without taking damage was a little bit trolly,
especially given that saw that falls from the heavens and dances for a bit
before desawping into a cloud, but you do have the choice of not collecting
the midway, so at least there's a second second option.
The second half of the level was a fun veractle romp. Liked the dragon coin
placement. Kinda wish there hadn't been so many Bullet Bill spawners, but it
was still a fun romp upward.
Really, I found the multiple paths through the fist half just for the sake of
the secondary exit very endearing. Unlike an awful lot of secondary exits that
make you replay the first half again, this one had a good purpose. Only way I
think it could be improved would be if it dropped a key on you at the start
after found the key once, just to remove the redundant replay, but given the
midway placement--and the fact that I was using the midway for a cheese
shroom--I can't complain too much.
Total 52/60
#110: Lit Dungeon by Katerpie (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 36/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 3
Starts off rompy and quickly becomes a puzzle level. Really liked the optional
dragon coin puzzles. The room that starts with a blocksnake was a little
silly, since the only threatening thing is a single Magikoopa. Might have been
better off without it. Kinda sad it was a reset door up there, but I think I
understand the constraint there.
Spent a non trivial time remembering that the top lava tile cannot, in fact,
kill me. Felt dumb, but given there's not much else to do in that area, it's
probably okay. The fourth dragon coin puzzle was also pretty fun, though the
fifth was a little bit of a letdown.
The rest of the level was a pretty reasonable castle level. Lots of fun jumps
and solid setups. Easy to read what's expected. Flows well. The boss was an unexpected
surprise, but worked well in the context of the level's puzzles. All in all, a
really good level. Would ebay again.
Total 54/60
#111: MOCHA TOWER by IronFoxGaming (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 30/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 1
An interesting level. Starts with an autoscroller, but with some interesting
twists. The fog makes the whole thing a bit more challenging and more than a
bit surreal. Would have liked a bit more going on, and to not have the level
crush me near the pipe, but it's a decent start to the level. Dragon coins
took a little effort to get, so that's nifty.
The vertical section was a lot of fun, even though there's a missable dragon
coin. I find the environmental story here of being in the castle, climbing the
tower and then being on top of the castle to be a bit strange, but it works,
even if the level looks weirdly broken. A second autoscorller is a bit much.
Kinda wish this one was faster than the previous one. All in all, this was
weird, but enjoyable.
Total 48/60
#112: Endgame Entourage by Daizo Dee Von + EvilGuy0613 (❓/❓/❓)
Design 36/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 11
This is a really solid level. The choice to use mode 11 was a good one, not
that it affects your score. Nice use of extra "checkpoints". The moon was pretty cute.
The secret exit was a blast to play, really made good use of the weird block
(1F0?) for setting up some jumping puzzles that were distinct from the main
path of the level. The boo boss was unique, and I appreciated the message block
explaining the gimmick. I'd seen it before in other hacks, but it was good to
make it explicit.
The main path, likewise, had a lot of 1F0 jumping, which mostly felt fair and
challenging. The last jump before the midway seemed a bit sketchy. Good dragon
coin placements, to make you explore a bit. Could have done with fewer
blindish jumps downward. Some coins--or more contrast-- would have been nice.
Total 54/60
#113: LINE DRIVE by Blue Leaf (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 30/40
Creativity 16/20
Deaths 2
This is a level that lives up to its name. The entire thing is driven by
platforms on lines, and having to dodge lava particles and baseballs. Because
of how the level was designed, these usually provided a fun challenge, rather
than being annoying spam.
Lots of fun and readable setups. I rarely wondered how to do a section and just did
it. If I could find any fault, it'd be that the level is fairly short, but at
the same time, I think it's good that it didn't overstay its welcome. Maybe adding
a sublevel or two for some dragon coins would have been a good idea, but as it
Is, this level is just solid fun.
Total 46/60
#114: Sky platforms zone by Jeosberry (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 24/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 0
Pretty fun. Some of the saws seemed unnecessary, but provided some challenge.
The highlight for me was the fourth dragon coin. It was cleverly hidden and
finding that pipe brought a smile to my face.
Really, this is a pretty reasonable level. Nothing spectacular, but solid and
fun.
Total 37/60
#115: ? by Sixcorby (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 36/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 6
This level really trades on its name, shockingly. Loads and loads of setups
involving the flying question mark block. And it actually works. The first area gets out
acquainted with our new winged friend, starting out with some basic standing
around on the block to travel, then uses it as an obstacle for some green bean
timing jumps and then the dragon coins even get in on the action. The second
dragon coin puzzle was cute. The first section ends on what feels like a
troll, but in a good creative way.
The second section is bit of a backtracking puzzle, where we have to bring
back a winged block to get up to a pipe. The section feels different and still
kinda fresh when going backwards. Really creative.
The final section was an autoscroller, and it was fine. Nothing as quite as
interesting as the rest of the level, but still very solid. The last dragon coin troll was also
pretty cute.
Definitely would recommend people play this one.
Total 54/60
#116: ^('w')^ by waterwithoutanyice (🔑/🪙/⬜)
Design 24/40
Creativity 13/20
Deaths 7
The main level was a large bunch of slopes and dino rinos, with the occasional
flying koopa or piranha plant. It got...a bit repetitive. I'd say the best part of the level
was the dragon coin placements. They provided some interesting challenges in
the level. Most of the level is just dodging the dinos that run straight at
your face. It's not bad, but it would have been nice to have some more
variety.
Finding the getting to the second exit pipe was kinda cool, but the room
beyond was kinda uninspired. Would have liked something thematically linked,
but jump past the sparkies and fireballs, grab the key and jump back was a
little underwhelming.
Liked the troll fish at the end. It's a okay level, just not much to write
home about.
Total 37/60
#117: 12PTLAYERGM by 2pvenezuela (⬜/⬜/🌙)
Design 15/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 11
You found a gimmick you liked and tried to do some stuff with it, namely the
jumping off of keys to prevent falling into a morass of hidden blocks. Some
of the setups were chessable because you didn't extend the blocks far enough.
Some you could just walk through and avoid entirely. Felt like it needed more
testing. Midway was broken. Did like the tall door.
Really, would have liked to have seen more exploration on the theme you chose,
but it really was the same setup like 4 times. Liked the troll at the end.
Didn't care for how the level ended in cutoff.
Total 29/60
#118: Triangle or Devil by Rhodonacht (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 30/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 11
Pretty fun. A good use of the triangle blocks in general. Some of the setups
were a little suspect, but the end run was a lot of fun to pull off. Some of
them were more forgiving than others. With some kaizo type skills, you can
jump back onto a single triangle block with enough speed to run up the walls,
and there was exactly one triangle you setup where you couldn't do this. It
was something of a pain point, but also the ability to do this negated some of
the challenge at the end of the level. Not sure what the plan was about the
bullet bills, but scrolling kinda was the way to go.
Total 44/60
#119: [n/a] by Dispace (❓/❓/❓)
Design 15/40
Creativity 9/20
Deaths 0
This is a perfectly adequate level. You didn't take any risks and stuck to
something that was pretty much like a shorter Yoshi's Island 1. A perfectly
okay romp. You should consider something more ambitious next contest.
Total 24/60
#120: Is This 105? by MarioPlayer001 (⬜/🪙/🌙)
Design 0/40
Creativity 0/20
Deaths 0
Pretty much is. You sure nailed the concept. DQ'd.
Total 0/60
#121: [Untitled - SW5] by Chris (⬜/🪙/⬜)
Design 31/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 3
Interesting setups with the mushroom platform. The red yoshi section was a lot
of fun, even if I kinda failed it. A lot of the jumps off the platforms felt
like they were pretty close to the limit of the height--or distance--that
Mario could accomplish. Nerfing those might have made the level play
better. It was a kinda challenging level, but enjoyable for what it
was. This would be a perfectly good level somewhere in a standard normal/hard hack.
Total 45/60
#122: Iggy's Dizzy Home by Wind Fish (❓/❓/❓)
Design 31/40
Creativity 14/20
Deaths 1
Fun little level. The thwomp setups were well clued and fun to pull off. Some
were a little fiddly, but not too difficult. Really loved the spike clue you
put the to the right of some falling setups. Those were a nice touch. My
biggest issue was that the level was so forgiving--due to having like 5
mushrooms at various points--that the reset doors felt unnecessary. Not sure
how you could have made this more difficult in an interesting way, expect with
blocks you might not have. Simply requiring you to maintain your mushroom for
more of the setups would have made this level feel more complete.
Total 45/60
#123: [Untitled - YI1] by eltiolavara9 (❓/❓/❓)
Design 17/40
Creativity 12/20
Deaths 1
Had fun spinjumping. Kinda didn't like the reuse of the same lactu setup like
3 times. There wasn't enough going on to make it a satisfying jumping puzzle.
Would have liked something to make the waiting more impactful.
Basically, this level had one idea: spin jump on something over a bunch of
munchers, but it only started evolving the idea in the very last section. This
might have been a better level if you'd had some diversions for dragon coins
or a secret exit requiring a different kind of spin jump ride, but the whole
thing a pretty one note. It's still kinda fun though.
Total 29/60
#124: Supersubmerged Keep by Raymondsze (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 25/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 6
The first half isn't much fun. I can see what you were going for, but there's
a lot of rough edges that make it less enjoyable. Dying on entry. The mushroom
going over Mario's head. And the plain fiddliness of precision swimming in
tight confines. Even worse, some of those parts were also just kinda...there.
Swimming and walking slowly through some static spikes isn't amazing. The
dragon coin right after the midway, though requiring the throwblock, was an
interesting idea, but probably better reserved for just getting the moon.
The second half is where this level shines. The set of vertical challenge
rooms was a lot of fun. Minus some visibility problems where I couldn't see
the spikes above me till it was a little too late, this was a really solid set
of areas and a far better concept. Really wish the whole level had been more
like this.
The second exit was pretty much just there, and it made me play through the
first half of the level again. Probably should have skipped that. You tried
something ambitious, and I appreciate that, but some more playtesting would
have really helped this entry.
Total 40/60
#125: Some Strange Place by codfish1002 (🔑/🪙/🌙)
Design 29/40
Creativity 15/20
Deaths 15
An interesting combination of concepts. I found the falling thwimp section to
be a lot more engaging than the main section with the fireball fish. Not
exactly sure why. The autoscroller leading into the Lemmy fight
was a really cool concept, let down somewhat by the actual fight being
somewhat tedious, as he didn't want to spawn often. Dunno if this is an
emulator/sd2snes problem, but it was a drag. There also were some weird issues
with the thwimps clearly spawning in a set of four, but after falling
becoming a set of two a few times. Not sure what to think of that.
The dragon coin puzzles were, admittedly, kinda fun. Though I'm not sure
I cared for the backtracking for the first one.
Total 44/60
#126: *Alpha Dreamflight by NopeContest (⬜/⬜/⬜)
Design 25/40
Creativity 18/20
Deaths 56
This was a pretty cool level, though I don't really think it respected my time
as a player. A single midway--if possible--would have made this level a lot
more enjoyable. Spending a whole half minute every thing time to just get to
the meat of the level was kinda annoying. The problem with puzzle levels is
that solving a puzzle once is edifying. Solving the same puzzle 25 times is not.
Not having a reset door for the p-switch in the (phrasing) part was kinda
painful, if you destroyed the yellow shell. Timer issues were also kinda a
problem. I really liked the premise, but felt the execution was lacking.
Total 43/60