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Jackalotrun Plays - Super RMN World


























Posts

halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
All right, that's a much more fair assessment. I apologize for getting uppity myself. It's sort of a pet peeve of mine when style choices are griped about. As a giver of critique, I try to look at consistency over form. Even this final level has a couple things I'd alter now (like those Snifits). It's a personal philosophy thing and it just struck a nerve, that's all.

Also, I'm well aware your actually very good at SMBX. I know most of the troubles you had here were due to tiredness and the length of recording. I'm sure you'll demolish it next time.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
are my levels good
The thing is, normally I'm the same - I genuinely get annoyed at people who see me playing an old game and say something along the lines of it being ugly and look entirely past the gameplay, but the gameplay of RMN World genuinely never really falls at any point, it's always consistently good, so graphics and gimmicks tend to become the easiest thing to talk about

If this level was in say one of the RMN Bros trilogy, I'd have talked a lot more about the levels gameplay quality because the gameplay quality in the original three tended to differ a lot, you got some crap and you got some masterpieces

author=Deckiller
are my levels good

I'll get back to you on that tomorrow, I'll have to play the levels again to refresh myself and right now I really should be getting some sleep
So Deck, I went through your levels (which I had to check a couple of time, I believe you had six levels, correct?) and if I was to rate them from worst to best, they'd go:

6: Forest Temple

I'll start by saying that the Ocarina Temple music fits all of your temple levels perfectly, even the fire temple's which if you were to ask me prior, I would say that it wouldn't be a good match for an SMBX level

Also let me point out that I am by no means saying this level is bad in any way, shape or form, it is only the weakest when compared to your other levels, I actually hold this level in high regard

However the other temple levels all really manage to make a great identity for themselves, there's nothing objectively bad about the fact that this is a well designed SMB3 Dungeon level with vines thrown in, but it certainly isn't as memorable as your other temple levels

It's also worth noting I really appreciate the creativity that went into the falling ceiling area

5: Shroom Lake

This level is rediculously mellow and relaxing, the music was definitely the correct choice

This levels main gimmick is that it lets you pick if you want to go over the ground or underwater, over the ground is easier but the rewards are better where it's wet - which gives it a great feeling of risk vs reward, it also has an absolutely fantastic secret chain of events, assuming you find said cave first, you can backtrack slightly with a P-Switch to a massive blocked cave underwater and as long as you beat the obstacles fast enough, are rewarded with a hammer suit, keep that hammer suit from being taken before getting to the mandatory indoor area and you're rewarded with a 3up, excellent and well thought out

I do have some minor nitpicks with this level, mainly that it's quite short and that the transition between the relaxing outdoor music and drum-based indoor music can be a smidge jarring

4: Fire Temple

As I mentioned, if you'd have asked me prior to this level if you could make a good SMBX level based on the Fire Temple's music, I would at the very least have stressed the difficulty that would go into doing so, but this level nails a sense of desolation that goes really well with said music

The level looks nice and plays out like a mini-adventure, with callbacks to Ocarina of Time with saving the toads and collapsing the pillar, great level

3: Shadow Temple

The cave absolutely nails a dark creepy atmosphere that again, goes greatly with the shadow temple's music, the dark boos that are invisible when they're inactive were a great idea and the coin platform gimmick is used to great success, it also has some of the best pure, difficult yet fair platforming in the game

The level also does the tanooki suit great justice, with not one but two well made harder paths to acquire them and secrets being rewarded for those who are eagle eyed enough to spot potential secret paths with said suit

Again, I do have my nitpicks, I kinda wish that it was made more clear which paths where harder optional paths for tanooki suits and which paths where the primary paths and I think the change in aesthetic for the blood river, while not bad by any means, doesn't suit the level's feel as well as the main area does

2: Spirit Temple

This level looks and plays absolutely fantastic, SMBX is a very hard game to pull of scale in but you manage to make your temple here feel vast and atmospheric, the switch puzzle is great but the level really shines for the moving platform section just after, it looks so right and it plays just as well, definitely one of the best levels this game has to offer

1: Water Temple

This level has a water temple puzzle, I love it, it's not stupidly complicated without being braindead, it certainly doesn't sacrifice platforming or visuals as both are equally fantastic, the way the puzzle encompasses the level, should you be struggling - means it becomes easier to concentrate as you lower the enemy count which means players who don't get it off the bat don't have to keep worrying about the horde

It also has a great, unique bossfight with an ace dynamic arena and fair yet challenging attack patterns, seriously - this is one of the best levels in the game
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Thanks for the feedback. Interestingly, the water and shadow temples were collaborations, as was the Wall of Death in the Spirit Temple. I wasn't happy with my original version but was too burned out to even fire up SMBX, so Hali reworked it and added moving backgrounds and the little flying dudes. Two heads are better than one? :thinking:

Hali's reworking of the Wall of Death is probably his best contribution to this game IMO.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
I'm not sure any single thing I made for this game could be named as my greatest contribution to it, but I'm glad you liked my Wall of Death.
The finale is now up, I do plan to upload one final video on this game in the coming days, but as far as the Let's Play itself is concerned, it is officially done, it only took me five years
Seriously though, thanks to those of you who've stuck around for the whole thing, I appreciate it
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
And so it ends! Woot! Stuff to say!

First, I enjoyed a little moment of validation when you tried to use the shell nuker to get rid of the homing koopa. I set it up like that so homing is what it sends in (for exactly that reason). But that switch could've helped you when all those extra koopas showed up!

Second, here's a piece of advice I heard from a decently popular youtuber: don't worry about talking all the time. There's this notion that Let's Plays need to be filled with constant commentary, but what you're sharing is your experience of the game. It's good to give opinions and insight, but sometimes the best thing you can do is keep quiet, or save a thought for later.

Third, there may yet be more RMN Bros. games. I'm not out of ideas, but I'm also not ready to dive into that again. In the meantime, have fun with SRW2 (if you do pick it up after all).

And of course, thanks for playing.
I just have to sort out the logistics of it but my next SMBX LP will indeed be Super RMN World 2 with 2 players, I've just got to sort out controls, recording and sound related stuff with my player 2
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
I'll be looking forward to it. We went to a lot of trouble to ensure two-player compatibility, so that should be interesting.
And this is it, my last video for the first Super RMN World, I've rated my top 10 levels, I've been meaning to do this after the finale since episode 1 and I've been itching to try a more scripted and edited video, I'm hoping to start the Super RMN World 2 LP when I have all the things sorted (so early-ish next week sounds good to me)
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
nice! glad you enjoyed the spirit and water temples that much. I collaborated with isrieri for water temple BTW, not with hali
author=Deckiller
I collaborated with isrieri for water temple BTW


Bugger
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
Yeah, the only thing I did for Water Temple was revamp the boss. It was quite a contentious issue way back then...
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Shadow Temple, Water Temple, and Spirit Temple are hopefully good examples of a more collaborative approach to level building.

For those three temples, I had no choice but to check my ego at the door and bring in helpers due to IRL issues and lack of time. Most people haven't been willing to do this for their levels, and I certainly wasn't until forced to do so. Ultimately I think it was for the best, because those three temples were better than any individual level made by Isrieri, Hali, or myself.

Mario Vs. The Moon Base was also created in a collaborative style, level by level, and is amazing as a result.

For Water Temple, Isrieri did an amazing job with the rough draft while I had to take a break from RMN. I then came back and gave it more of my aesthetic style (though Isrieri laid a solid foundation with that too). I only changed about 20 percent of the platforming/puzzling. I'd say that level was 65 percent Isrieri, 25 percent me, 10 percent Hali.

Although most of Spirit Temple was flown solo by me, Hali's additions at the end are greater than the sum of their parts. My initial Wall of Death for the Spirit Temple didn't have the moving background or the birds, and I wanted to overhaul it BADLY. But I had my IRL issues and had to leave that level (along with the ideas of Shadow and Water Temple) with others. Honestly, I probably would've never thought of adding the birdies. Sometimes you need that second touch in your design to bring out the level's potential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T8RlJyC7AI

(2 minutes in - one of the most iconic rooms in the Spirit Temple from Ocarina of Time)

I've seen levels with awesome ideas that were underutilized because people didn't want to step on the creator's toes; written feedback wouldn't be enough, because developers are more likely to dig deep into their inspiration when they get to put their own fingerprints on a level, credit and all. It would be a damn good thing if we all had a true reviser for our levels, but that would require everyone to be unafraid to see their ideas reworked.
I hate to be a pester Hali, but ya don't seem to have gotten my mailbox message, I was going to pitch the music based SMBX event to Liberty for November and I just wanted to double check I was still asking the right person
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
BTW, a review would be awesome...though it would also be asking for too much since your LP is great :3
author=Deckiller
BTW, a review would be awesome...though it would also be asking for too much since your LP is great :3


I made a level for the game which means I'm on the list of developers, I would imagine devs can't review their own game
Seiromem
I would have more makerscore If I did things.
6375
They can!
Just not score it. give it a score that affects its overall star rating.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from Deckiller
I've seen levels with awesome ideas that were underutilized because people didn't want to step on the creator's toes; written feedback wouldn't be enough, because developers are more likely to dig deep into their inspiration when they get to put their own fingerprints on a level, credit and all. It would be a damn good thing if we all had a true reviser for our levels, but that would require everyone to be unafraid to see their ideas reworked.

Funny you should say that, because that's exactly what I did with Yoshi's Archipelago. I made no concessions with that game. If I found a stage lacking, I spruced it up how I saw fit. But I know you have reservations about that game, so...welp.

from jackalotrun
I hate to be a pester Hali, but ya don't seem to have gotten my mailbox message

My bad, dude. I asked, but forgot to check the answer. Liberty is indeed the person you want to contact.