SMBX: SMB1 episode

SMB1 is probably my least favorite of the five key Mario games of the 80s and 90s (SMB1, SMB2, SMB3, SMW, M64). I mean, sure - it was the first and it was revolutionary, but it's nowhere near perfect and Nintendo has improved on the formula vastly since then. Thankfully, ShortStar doesn't stay locked into SMB1 mechanics and makes use of more modern design principals while staying true to the SMB1 aesthetic and feel. The result is a decent pack of levels that nevertheless have their flaws.

First and foremost, the hub world. It's simple, and I like simple hub worlds. However, it's also really long and the pipes are out of order. You might have to go into the first pipe to get a star, but then you'll have to go to a pipe halfway down the long (did I say long?) hub world to reach the next level. These pipes should really be in sequence, methinks.

The aesthetics are more or less classic SMB. I did catch a few errors, such as SMW and SM3-style mushrooms mixed in with SMB1 powerups, but generally it felt like old school Mario. All of the default sound effects are here, naturally.

I played through a decent amount of the levels, but there was one common element: all but a couple of my deaths were due to flying koopa shells, whether they be from breaking blocks in congested areas, or exploding shells flying out of pipes. I died a lot of cheap deaths due to these. Using koopa shells for secrets in congested areas can be a major design issue, especially when it's hard to stop the bloody koopa shell from bouncing back and forth to proceed.

Also, it seems that the length of the levels is somewhat inconsistent; some levels are fairly long, while others are short and/or can be sprinted through without an issue. Thankfully, ShortStar added some cool wrinkles and bonuses for each level, such as killing all of the red koopas or beating the level in under 60 seconds. This gives each level its own personality, though I was never able to really capitalize on these bonuses.

I also had a few other minor gripes. In the first castle, the first powerup is blocked by invisible coins...you have to find a way around while dealing with a moving lava platform that you must hop on to progress. This was a very annoying segment. There are also some issues with powerup placement: some powerups come too late after the start of the checkpoint, and some levels have too many or too few.

Overall, though, this is a nice pack of levels and I enjoyed quite a few of these. My favorite level was probably the underground water level (the one with the red koopa bonus opportunity). With some level tweaks and an overhaul of the hub world, I think this level pack could be quite good for SMB1!