Super Luigi World (2018)

Mega-Mario Deluxe is an old SMBX episode from way back when the engine was still new and exciting. The developer, Davenport, gained a lot of attention for the game back then, being constantly among the buzzing games list. All the hype didn't mean the game was good, and that certainly still holds true.

Being that I know Davenport, having worked with him in several of the RMN Bros. games, I'm familiar with his work and...particular quirks. He came a long way and I'm sure he's learned a few things since he made this. Still, it is what it is, and every game deserves at least one review. Just bear in mind the age of our subject material, 'kay?

From what I understand, this game has undergone many revisions. It used to be much larger and sport an overwhelming number of stages and worlds (of which the levels themselves were massive). When I picked the game up, I expected the worst, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. I don't know what past iterations were like, but the current version wasn't too bad!

...mostly.

I might as well put this up front; Davenport's biggest problem, the bane of most of his Mario stages is...surprisingly, aesthetics. The guy just doesn't know how to make custom graphics work well.


If you can't see what's wrong here, you might be a Davenport, too.

The game is loaded with custom graphics that would actually be great if they were used correctly. Sadly, the copy/pasting went overboard and the end result is a visual cesspool. It's not limited to background objects, either; the NPCs are the worst offenders of all.


Now you see 'em, now you don't!

There are examples of mistakes like this in almost every level of the game. Most of it is due to the game's main files being overstuffed with custom crap (to the point where levels take 10 seconds to load). Not all stages needed all the custom graphics, so heaps of extra stuff are loaded where they aren't meant to be, and custom NPCs get mismatched like the Crazee Dayzee pictured.

But I've said before and I'll keep saying that aesthetics take a backseat to gameplay, especially in Mario titles like this. Here's where I was so surprised with this game: it's actually really fun to play! Davenport may have the wackiest visuals ever, but his stage design is pretty solid and enjoyable! This is true for most of the game with just some glaring exceptions.

I might be going a bit lenient here, but I had little trouble playing and having fun with most stages. The game is incredibly easy and throws power-ups at you constantly, so you rarely have much to worry about. Even rare items like the tanooki and hammer suits are given out commonly, so you can grab whatever's on hand and just have a good time. The stages might have been more cumbersome without the bounty of free stuff, but it didn't hurt the experience much.


The tanooki suit is a propeller helmet for some reason. Also, the hammers are shells now.

Sadly, I'm somewhat of a perfectionist these days, so I can't overlook this game's multitude of other problems just 'cuz it's fun to play. If you pick this up, you might enjoy yourself, but you'll have to watch out for the following. Almost every one of the game's core features is broken or pointless in some way.

Let's start with the stars. Every level has one, which is one of the game's very few consistencies. Sometimes it's the end of the stage, but in most normal levels you need to collect a random number of special coins to make it appear.



Well, which is it?!

And no, there aren't exactly 5 in every level, and sometimes they're red. You just have to keep grabbin' 'em until you hear the Zelda II fanfare indicating the star has appeared...except in the stages where the events are broken and nothing happens. Whoops! Fortunately (?), the stars are optional and almost completely arbitrary. The only thing they do is unlock the bonus world, and the requirements are pitifully low. If you want them all for completion, that's your self-imposed challenge. Just bear in mind that there's no indication which stages you got them in already, so if you can't remember where you did and didn't, you're outta luck! I found 88 in the whole game, but I had to edit/cheat through some stages to get them all; it's literally impossible to do legitimately. There are also more in levels that aren't even on the world map, but my over-achievements are my own.

About that world map, I was glad to play an SMBX game that doesn't do too much stupid stuff with interconnecting areas. The worlds are straightforward and easy to explore. Too bad the path generation is broken and weird.


There ain't no secret exit here. The waterfall hill looks nice, though!

Red dots are lies in this game; the level color is meaningless and no stages truly have more than one exit. There may have been some that were intended to, but beating a level generates all paths branching off that level no matter how you finished it. At least you don't have to replay anything, I guess.

Then again, you may not want to go through any given stage more than once considering how many of them contain switch blocks. Davenport loves switch blocks so much that you will see them in probably 90% of the stages. I'm not even joking. There are level types where you'd say "No, switch blocks don't belong here under any circumstances!" and sure enough, there they'll be. Some stages put them to more creative use than others, but most of the time it's just an extra pain in the butt.

And then there are the stages that are just outright broken or unplayable. Another of D-port's odd obsessions is with using coins as counters. You might think Booster's Skyscraper is a bit much with 130 floors counted up through different numbers and colors of coins, but it's just the tip of the absurdly tall iceberg.

The most insufferable of the needlessly tall levels are found in the bonus world, and I don't recommend playing any of them. People have complained before about D-port's use of excessive climbing stages, saying that even flying in the Clown Car makes it too slow. Rather than destroy these abominations, he tried to alleviate the problem by including platforms that rocket you up through the sky so you don't have to climb.

It's here that Atmosphere2 gets a special mention as the worst thing that ever happened in SMBX. Davenport committed a true atrocity in the making of this stage. Oh, it's tall, and the rocket platform's there to help, but you'll never reach the top without cheating and you'll be disappointed when you get there.


Did you really get bored by this point, or did the program fucking explode?!

I don't know what metric Davenport used to measure this stage's height, but it may actually be a scale model of the Earth's atmosphere. The rocket platform, in spite of its incredible speed, takes over 16 minutes to reach the top. Along the way are enemies and obstacles just waiting to crush you as you zoom past them, meaning you'll never survive the ride without an invincible cheat on. Should you reach the top, you'll find that the stage's insurmountable height causes the star not to spawn, so you just get...stuck up there. Amazing.

So, looking back on everything I played and endured, I can't recommend this game without some serious conditional warnings. Yes, it's fun to play, but some parts are better off avoided and you can't expect everything to work as intended. Somewhere in here, there's a fun game with interesting concepts and creative level design, but it's drowning in an ocean of switch blocks, misused graphics, and broken mechanics. The only thing I can't criticize is the soundtrack, which was consistently fantastic and rarely out of place. Too bad I can't say the same for the rest. It's a tough call, but I give this a...

1.5/5