El_WaKa's Forgotten Dunes:

This is a great-looking SMB3 desert stage, but it has some issues that are more serious than your W1 level.

- It really sucks that falling in the quicksand at the end of the first section is basically death. Quicksand is different from a bottomless pit in that the player can usually still save themselves from it. There's no way out of these little chasms, so that's a no-win situation. You could provide a path back out for stuck players, but here's what I recommend: set those four columns as a moving layer that bobs up and down. If you sink the outer two low enough to jump on and put a note block between the inner ones, the player could hop out when the columns sink far enough. I can advise further if you're unsure how to make that work.

- The hidden 1-up at the end of the first section allows for wall-zipping. You should move the block up one tile and remove two tiles' worth of ceiling to prevent that.

- The thwomp in the top-left of the temple took me by surprise. If you climb too fast, you can't see it until it's already dropping on you. I like what you're going for, but you should lower it so you can at least see the thwomp from the ground. It's chin shows if you place it evenly with the second coin, and it still serves as the same hazard.

- Although falling platforms and donuts respawn off-screen, for 2P compatibility, these should be generators. Make a layer for generators with 3-second timers to put underneath the platforms on the default layer (I can explain how if needed).

- The coin trails at the temple's end should guide the player to safety, but the goombas at the bottom pose an unexpected threat. I'd take out the goombas, and maybe put just one donut underneath each coin trail instead.

- The final section has no music!

Beyond those, I think it's pretty solid. I do have a couple other nitpicks, though:

- I like how you placed your 1st flower, but it's a bit silly to require a Yoshi jump just because the hidden blocks are too high. Move them down one so the player can make it on their own.

- The 2nd flower is placed pretty much the same way as the 1st. I'd move it above the next set of bricks to the right where Lakitu can sort of guard it. I'd be fine with it needing a Yoshi jump there.

- SMW Lakitus look a bit odd sliding back and forth. If you move it one tile up or down, it'll bob on its cloud instead of staying perfectly horizontal.

And that's all I have on that. It's good for W2, otherwise!

Blobofgoo's The Grand Pyramid:

Hmmmmmmm, you have me thinking hard on this one. I like the concept, and the stage is constructed well, but somewhere in there the implementation is falling apart. But first, aesthetic issues!

- The blocks constructing the outside of the pyramid look way too plain. They need a grainy, sandy texture so they don't look so smooth and dull.

- The SMB3 doorways look far too modern for an ancient pyramid. I'd use the wooden SMB2 door instead; it looks more ornate.

- I don't normally recommend music changes, but I think SM64's cave music would fit the pyramid interior better. It just gives me that Shifting Sand Land vibe, and it'd be a nice throwback to that world's pyramid.

- The 'rmn' emblem is a nice touch, but its sprite is a different resolution than everything else. SMBX's pixels are all 2x2, so you should adjust the picture accordingly. Doubling its size would work. You could also halve the sprite and re-double it, but that could mess up the quality.

For the more serious issues I'm seeing, we need to look at the level as a whole. I like the exploration aspect, and the maze is sufficiently confusing. However, the midpoint is beyond where you'd find the level's exit, and the critical path to the finish is a little wacky. The midpoint needs relocated, but the level's one true path doesn't offer any good spots. So, here's what I'm thinking...

The exit to the pyramid should be sealed until a switch in the RMN chamber is pressed. This puts the chamber onto the critical path and offers a better place for a midpoint. I'd seal the lower path to the RMN chamber so it must be approached from above, and maybe move the flower so it has its own chamber in the opposite direction off the top of the screen. Did all that make sense? Whatever you decide, here are the other things I noticed...

- Since the pyramid has level wrap, using the fire-spitting piranha plant is a bad idea. The fireballs will keep traveling around the room until it finally goes off the top or bottom of the screen. It's too problematic, so just remove that plant.

- I was sure there was a hidden block in the coin formation to the right of the entrance. I'd either put something there or not arrange the coins that way.

- I like that hitting blocks lowers sand piles, but you should have the blocks vanish after they've been hit. Striking them repeatedly does nothing, so there's no reason for them to stay on-screen.

- Yoshi is certainly helpful for crossing spikes, but it should be possible without one, too. The only spike beds you can't cross lead to flowers; one has vines and one doesn't. The one without needs vines, and the one that has them needs them better placed. It's too easy to hit your head trying to cross them and land in the spikes. Even if it can be done, it's too tricky and should be adjusted.

- This stage is really lacking power-ups! Another block or two somewhere throughout would help, even if it's easy to keep your Yoshi here.

- I feel as though this pyramid could use some Boos. Not a lot of Boos, but enough to make things interesting. It's kinda easy for W2 anyway, so a little boost in difficulty wouldn't hurt.

That's all for now. The stage's over-arcing issues need addressed before I can evaluate it further. I'd like to see this stage shine, so I hope you take my advice!

from Blobofgoo
I'm not sure where you want me to change the flower location too. Also, how will you escape the rmn chamber If I seal it from below?

Near where the midpoint is presently, there's a decent chunk of ceiling you could excavate to put the flower in. Getting there would be as simple as going right instead of left when above the screen.

Also, lol, I forgot to explain myself fully. The blocks sealing the bottom of the RMN chamber should vanish along with the ones sealing the pyramid exit. Maybe the switch could unlock other things as well, if you're feeling crafty. You should pick a distinct block for these so they don't blend in with the normal walls.

Frozen's Tokotoko Desert:

Ooh, this one's kinda rough. A novel concept for a desert stage (and good music choice, btw), but I think the implementation needs some help.

- First up, there are several places where falling in the quicksand simply means death. I mentioned once before that quicksand is different from a pit in that the player should still be able to escape. You need to fix these no-win situations by allowing the player a way out. To the best of my knowledge, Mario can only jump two tiles up out of quicksand, so every spot needs a side you can escape from or some means of climbing back up. Note blocks and vines in blocks are both good for this. Anyway...

- You're way too generous with your power-ups here. Two fire flowers and a Yoshi at the start is too much. There's another spot down the road that offers just as many, even though the Yoshi's secret. Then there are even more just before the checkpoint! Then, suddenly, there are no more power-ups for the rest of the stage. I recommend you leave one fire flower at the start, one non-hidden Yoshi at the next spot, and move the checkpoint before the next fire flower. Add at least one more fire flower later in the level, and maybe move the hidden Yoshi somewhere out there, too.

- The platforms that sink below the sand are a real bummer to wait for and get awfully out of sync with the ones that rise. I tried messing with the sink speeds and timers to see what I could make work, and this is what I came up with: I set all the timers to 3.5 so they wouldn't get out of sync, and I set the 'wizard' speeds to .6 and the 'another' speeds to .8. This makes them a lot less cumbersome to cross, though they don't rise quite as high. You may need to move some flowers lower to compensate.

Those are the big issues I had with this level. The rest of this is for specific stuff.

- Fire-spitting piranha plants are very, very dangerous, especially in the desert. You need fewer of them. There shouldn't be one at the level's start, and there shouldn't be two at the first sinking platform. Actually, there should never be two on the same screen. Take some out!

- I found it odd you put some coins under that pipe into the sky when it doesn't lead anywhere. I'd just remove them.

- The flower in the bonus room is on the moving layer. For this game's purposes, it must be on the default layer.

- The red koopa outside the bonus room exit is poised to get ya when you fall from the pipe. Move it or lose it.

- This stage is a bit too hard for W2, but fixing the things I mentioned should make it just right.

I think this stage has some great potential, but its bigger issues are really bringing it down for me. Make these adjustments and I think it'll be fantastic.

Davenport's Twilight Desert:

Dude, dude, dude...we've been over this stuff before. This stage has some nice atmosphere, and the playability is there, but some of your custom sprites and design choices are too far out. Let me lay it down for ya:

- First up, this sounds like a cool song, but it cuts off at the 1:00 mark. Track down the full version if you want to use it!

- No mushrooms in blocks! Make it a normal power-up instead!

- Those custom piranha plant graphics are terrible; both the regular ones and the fire spitters. Delete those sprites.

- The YI goomba would be a nice touch...if the NPC weren't a dry bones. It even turns back into dry bones when you tail whack it! The goomba sprites have gotta go. If you want a custom enemy that works similarly, try SMW bony beetles instead.

- If you're going to use YI koopas, make sure all of them are the right style. There's a green SMW koopa further into the stage.

- I know you love using different styles of coins, but there's no significance to the different types. I'd change them all to SMB2-style just so you don't have to redo your bonus room.

- I thought the pink brick was a re-colored ice block. It's not, so just leave them their normal gold color (remove the custom sprite).

- Your bonus room is fun, but it's impossible to leave with Yoshi. Just put the exit pipe on the floor instead of the ceiling.

- Since there's a flower right outside the bonus room anyway, you might as well put it IN the bonus room in place of those red coins.

- After the bonus room, the sand blocks under the lava lotus make it hard to see the spikes. Take those out and use the dark brick background instead.

- If you want to use that camel sprite, at least put it in a puddle so it's drinking water instead of sand. Also, flag the NPC as friendly so I don't kill it by jumping on it (it turns into a shy guy o_o).

- The orange pipe in the section with all the pink pipes looks weird. Just stick with the pink ones.

- The custom P-switch looks kinda gross. You should ditch that sprite, too.

- Among the pink pipes, there's no reason that note block needs to be invisible.

- The sand block backgrounds look like they're solid, making the spot with the vines very deceptive. Again, stick to the dark bricks.

- What's the point of the springboard with the coin trail? At least put the flower at the end of the trail to make the jump worthwhile.

- The screen runs just a bit long after the end goal roulette. Shorten the screen by a few tiles so Mario runs off by the end of the jingle.

This stage has some cool stuff going for it, but it's heavily over-decorated and some parts are just confusing and weird. Fix these things I've mentioned and we'll have another look.

jackalotrun's Green Thumb:

Well, I like this concept quite a bit! However, we've got some oddities that will need ironing out.

- It's super-cool how these blocks rain water down to grow mushroom platforms, but the block itself doesn't look like anything to me. I'd try to find something that passes for this purpose instead. The YI mystery cloud comes to mind, though you'd have to knock its wings off to make it a block. And you never did find a good gif editor, did you?

- The mushrooms sprouting from the ground are a wonderful effect, but there's a potential wall-crush issue if you stand where they're rising. Plus, you can see them rising from the bottom of the screen, which kinda sucks. There's an easy solution, though! The SMW sizable mushroom platforms would make excellent replacements here. You can't see them rise through the ground and they can never wall-crush anything. Your mission is clear.

- Since this is the giants island, I'd use big goombas, koopas, and hammer bros. instead of the littl'ns.

- The block you have to hit after the hammer bro is stupidly hard. I couldn't even react quickly enough after hitting it to get the flower. You can leave the flower where it is; that's a clever trick. But the block should be low enough to jump and kick it. It would also help if the spawning ice blocks were huge. kentona used ones like this in his Tree Base level from RMN Bros. 3. Rip 'em from there!

- Your midpoint is too low to the ground. It's touching the floor.

- The final section shouldn't be dead silent, even if it's leading to a mini-boss.

- That mini-boss came out of nowhere. I was too bewildered when it started, and was dismayed to discover the koopas were immune to fireballs and yoshi's tongue (even though the sign said so). But I didn't have to beat them because they flew off-screen and despawned. And what the heck was that music? Geez oh man, if you want to keep this fight, it's gonna need work.

{minibossadvice}
- First up, I'm fine with homing koopas being a mini-boss. I pulled this same crap back in the first RMN World and it was a'ight. I'm not fine with homing koopas that have inexplicable resistances to normal power-ups. I can't allow that.

- Since the koopas shouldn't have special resistances, they should have greater numbers to face you with. Look up my stage "Flight of the Phanto Koopa" from RMN World and do something similar to that. Having the enemies come in waves works well.

- While you're at it, pull those giant Phanto Koopa sprites I made and use those in place of these black koopas.

- Because homing koopas move so erratically, having the battlefield flow is important. Use the SMW sizable mushrooms here too, so the player can navigate more easily and evade the koopas.

- To stop the koopas from flying off-screen and vanishing, you need to put solid walls off the sides and top. Leave the bottom open so shells can still be kicked down the hole.

- That fight music doesn't fit AT ALL. You already used Paper Mario's Yoshi's Island theme, so why not use the panic version of that track?

I know I'm asking a lot of you here, but an overhaul is what it needs, and I'm sure you have the know-how to make it work.
{/minibossadvice}

Apart from that...well actually, the stage prior could use a little more love, too. It looks really uninspired and empty. It needs some background decorations and more enemies to fill it up. Grab big versions of the common enemies and make more use of them. There's only one hammer bro and this is W3. The stage feels like a skeleton, and it's a great skeleton, but you gotta flesh it out. See what you can do, okay?