ISRIERI'S PROFILE

SKY TEMPLE

-Love the music. Good choice for this level.

-Change all the ? Blocks back to normal. Don't make them clouds.

-Change the blinking blocks to the regular SMW kind.

-Change the Spikes back to the regular yellow kind. Only the ones that fall should look rusty.

-The Yoshi's Island castle backgrounds don't match on the edges. Try to find ones that match better.

-The spikes on the wood pillars should be the wooden kind, not the regular kind. It looks bad otherwise.

-I like the birds.

-The yellow mushroom at the moving platform doesn't have a stalk like the green ones to the right of it do. Give the yellow mushroom a stalk.

-Get rid of the iron ball on the yellow mushroom.

-The long corridor with all the spikes in it is still kind of boring. Can you think of something else to do with it?

-Get rid of all the birdos that come out of the pipe. Make them something different. Like SMW goombas.

-Get rid of all the Yellow, Blue, and Red switch blocks. You didn't do anything interesting with them. And the level would be better off without any.

-Good job with the springs.

-At the water part, get rid of the moving spike ceilings and have regular spikes that don't move. Or have a normal ceiling and put some buzzsaws somewhere around there.

-Get rid of the iron spike ball at the end and replace him with Birdo. Actually no, wait. If Birdo dies, the level will be un-winnable. I don't know what to do with the end. Can you come up with anything else? You shouldn't use that ball because it has spikes on it: You must never be able to stand on anything that has spikes.

-Get rid of the Propeller Block: They can use that to get the ? Ball instead of the Spring.

-Take all the custom graphics out of the level's folder that you didn't use. That way the level doesn't take 5 minutes to load. You should always do this before you submit a level.

ALBINO'S ARENAS

-SEE SECTION 2, SUBSECTION 29, PARAGRAPH 4, LINE 36.

-This is a pretty neat level. I made something similar to this concept for RMN4.

-Shorten the firebars in Wave 1 to only have 6 bits instead of 8. It's really easy to get nicked by them as soon as the switch is pressed.

-I'm also a little wary of the fact that the ninjis can't be killed normally if all the enemies are gone. I'm aware that you can slam them against the walls, and I'm fine with that. But you should find a way to clue this in to the player somehow if you want them to be like that. How you would accomplish this without text, is all part of the challenge!

-Alternatively, you can grant Mario the ability to jump on the ninjis. Though if you go this route you'll have to modify the Wave layouts. Since these ninjis are white, I can make them immune to fireballs when I compile the levels together.

-Excellent use of the different music tracks. It immediately lets the player know the way forward has been opened. Also, good clue concerning the ninjis in the level title.

-While writing this, I only just noticed the ninjis have cute lil' mouths.

-I should mention that while this is a fun gimmicky level, it's ridiculously easy. At least I find it so. Bumping up the difficulty in spots (such as wave 4) wouldn't kill it.

-Like Ratty said, block off the ceilings so the player doesn't find himself in the Twilight Zone.

-I like the falling blocks that lead you to Wave 5. But I would like them to be non-carryable. I know the player could cart them over to the fight to deal with the enemies there, but it doesn't make enough of a difference for me to allow it. There's too many ways the player could screw themselves over with them. Those npcs are weird sometimes.

-Move the Right level border back 6 or 7 tiles, and delete the blocks that were cut. To save space and shorten load times.

GIMMICK CASTLE

I still think you're better off without a boss. If you insist on keeping it, spice up the room a bit more. The fight you currently have is pretty darn boring and un-inventive. Since the castle revolved around spikes as their gimmick, you should have the boss fight utilize spikes in some way. Maybe boom boom is on a floor completely made out of spikes, for instance.

DESERT PALACE

-Take the first goomba, and move him 5 tiles to the right. He's too close.

-Y'know what this castle needs? Those blue blocks Mario can pick up and throw! That would be a great mechanic that you could come up with different ideas for. Think of all the things Mario can do with them. They're just like koopa shells, only they can't hurt him. You can use them to bowl over lines of enemies, or hit blocks that are way up in the air Mario wouldn't be able to reach otherwise. Incorporate those somehow!

-Like in the very first room. Those two boos are way up near the ceiling and won't ever be able to get Mario. You should put some platforms or ledges that lead up there. There can be some coins there, or the blue bricks. That way it makes the corridor after that much easier.

-You could even create another section just to have more blue bricks ideas. I don't think anyone's bothered to use them much, so if you use them a lot in your level in clever ways, it will make it more memorable.

-Good job using those background tiles in the corridors. They make the level a lot more distinctive.

-That ledge with the 2 koopas and pokey: Take the right side of that and make it one tile longer. Trust me on this one.

-I think you ought to get rid of the pipe. It doesn't really do anything now, and it makes it kind of easy to get hit by the venus plant sometimes. While you're at it, you should get rid of those blocks above the pipe and make something more out of that area. Add a pipe with a piranha plant on the ceiling, or put in some spikes or platforms. Maybe add some spike pits and more pokeys. Anything you can think of.

-That sure is a long hall of nothing from the vine to the first door. You should either shorten the corridor so that the door is closer, or put something in the corridor!

-Hmm. You ought to rename the level Dusty Dune Dungeon. (You don't have to I just thought it was cool)

-Section 3 is better, but it's still a little boring. Here's a little trick you can do: When the player enters the room, have them go up a ladder, or some platforms, to reach the corridor which will be at the TOP of the section. And then they can DROP into the main room. That way it doesn't seem as flat, makes more use of the space you have, and is more interesting than just walking straight right.

-But then you'd need some more platforms in the main room. You could make two platforms in midair with roto-discs circling around them, and get rid of the roto-disc on the lower platform. It would still be tricky to get to the powerup, but you wouldn't have to if you didn't feel like it. Well guarded powerups are a sign of a good castle.

-And then you can either make the next corridor higher up, or you can leave it where it is. But I'd say make it higher up, because it makes the room itself stand out more. Like a pitfall with stuff at the bottom, instead of just a big ol' room.

-Section 4 (the tower) is much better. Segmenting the platforms really helped! I don't know about the goomba spawner though. It's a little too high for the player to notice that they'll be dropping on his poor head. But you don't need to get rid of it, just make them come out slower: 4 seconds in stead of 2.5.

-I'd like it if you used the default SMW red boss door. The one you have is neat, but if we make the boss doors big, it will be more noticeable. And consistent.

-I still love that boss. Surprisingly tricky for an otherwise mild level.

OHP, HOLD IT HOLD IT. I FORGOT SOMETHING.

-I read Ratty's comment and there is a flaw with this fight. The quicksand! I never fell in the quicksand and totally forgot it was there. It doesn't add anything to the fight save annoyance: If the player falls in there, they have to waste time getting back out of it. I think you would be better off just putting some spikes there instead.

-Actually it might be better to just add a regular floor. That way there's no annoyance and no danger. You can make the floor somewhat deep so Mario can't jump up and throw the bombs: He has to hit Mouser while on the platforms. Have a ladder on the left side so Mario can climb back up though!

-Or maybe you could think of something a bit more clever?

FUNKLEN TOMB

-I like the entrance area better now. The tomb walls are a lot more distinctive than the simple hole you had before.

-Don't make the donut blocks spawn though. That was a good idea in Sky Palace, but not in this level! If it doesn't trap the player when they all fall, there's no reason to make them generate. Plus it looks weird.

-If I can't get that 1up by making the jump on the thwomp. It's too hard. I still like the idea, but as I keep saying: No margin for error! You have to be perfect! I'll let you guard the hammer suit this way, but you should just take out that first 1up.

-I gotta say, I kinda liked some things you did in your old level more than this one. Hey! This one is still good. There's a lot more variety here, and that's never a bad thing. This draft will be far more memorable. But I was more fond of the setups you had in the older level. Did you hang onto the old draft? Or did you delete it?

-I knew that music track was a good choice. Much better than the Shadow Temple. Makes it feel more like a dungeon.

-Like I told you last time. Make sure all the shellkickers are at least 1 tile away from their shells. No matter what.

-Those pipes sure take you every which way. Easy to get turned around, but almost impossible to get lost. The level guides you to where you need to go. I can dig this.

-But the pipes in the checkpoint room are too much. You need to make those more linear: One pipe shouldn't take you farther along the section than another. And when you go back through a pipe, it should lead back to the same pipe in the checkpoint room. To not do so there comes across as amateurish.

-Get rid of the venus plants in the pipe corridors. They were better placed in your old draft, but not here. It's too hard to get around them without taking a hit. The corridors with just the normal plants will be enough anyway.

-Nice didgeridigdoggers you got runnin' around on the spikes.

-You could do with some more powerups in spots: You often leave the player wanting for one. Like in the first area: Y'know how you have that dragon coin in that alcove up above? That should be a powerup!

-Your level was much better when it didn't have a boss. Get rid of him. Believe me, sometimes it's just not worth sticking a boss in your level.

TRICKS AND TRAPS

-The first area needs some music instead. Something innocuous like the SMB3 fortress theme. That way it's more of a trap, because the player will be expecting a regular no-frills fort.

-Instead of that secret 1up to the left, a powerup would be better. Since you already have one 1up at the start that the player can get if they're careful, it seems a bit soon to have another one right afterward. An ice flower would really help in this level.

-Good secret room. ;D

-I have no clue what the pow block is for except killing those 2 goombas right after it. Unless it's for something special, I don't see much use for it here. The stopwatch might be good. No one uses stopwatches.

-Well placed 1up where the 3 spikes are!

-The crushing spikes got me once or twice!

-I really like how Peach transforms into Morton/Roy. Little touches like that can make all the difference.

-Not quite sure why the ? Sphere is hidden behind some blocks. The player already knows they'll get one for beating the boss. It's not a problem though.

-Not much else I can say. Simple and straightforward. Appropriately falls in at a 2. It was a 1 for me.

STRONGHOLD OF THE GIANTS

-Didn't enjoy this level. The concept of a castle filled with giants is a great one, and can work. But the level itself was boring as all get out. I didn't reject this level because it was a wholly bad thing, but because I think its a better idea for you to start from scratch than to try and remodel it. Let me try and explain my reasoning.

-First thing's first: DON'T CHANGE THE GRAPHICS FOR MARIO. When the game has to load up the default character graphics, then go into a level that has different ones. It takes forever to load. Your level had few to no custom graphics and was very simple, but it almost took as long to load as a graphic-intensive one.

-The castle itself was very flat and boring to look at: The majority of the castle's corridors and rooms were just boxes. Rectangles and squares. The ceiling and floor has to play a bigger part of the level's design than just being the ceiling and floor: They're 98% of the reason why tough jumps are hard. You did okay with the floors and floating platforms, but I don't think you used the ceiling at all.

-The rooms come across (that is to say, most people will think they are) uninspired. The one I liked the least was the room with the red shy guys that keep spawning. Not only can you ride one and go through that yellow bridge, but it isn't particularly interesting or fun. Too easy.

-I like how you have different doors that lead to different rooms. That's a very good idea that you should expand on! Make the doors you can go into lead to different rooms, but do it like how Bowser's Castle did it in SMW. They aren't “literally” rooms, but hallways that serve like minicastles. Pieces of different ideas.

-Didn't like the room with the fish. Boring and unfun. Because all I had to do was walk to the right. Literally. Didn't press any buttons but right and I made it.

-Also, the water in that room came up too high and it reached the bridge. So it slows you down when you walk on it. This isn't good because the player will quickly realize that it's the water that's slowing them down, and it will make you look bad.

-Section 3 was a bit better. The sledge bro can't do anything down where you put him, so I would have put him somewhere where the player needed to get around him instead of down in a ditch. A lot of the enemies in this castle are like that. They're just there, and don't do a whole lot except walk around. In regular levels that doesn't really matter, but it does in castles!

-No floating doors. It's just not a good idea.

-The sledge bro on the ninji is fantastic and I support it wholeheartedly. I am also a fan of doing that. That's a challenging setup because the player has to stop and think for a second in order to get past them. You need more obstacles like that in these levels.

-The coins and mushrooms are cute but I don't think its worth keeping them. The mushrooms are kind of glitchy and don't work right. Plus it would mean you couldn't use the other powerups. So I'd just make them regular size: The enemies get your point across well enough anyway.

-The boss is horrible. That's exactly the kind of boss I was afraid people would make. All you do is stand there with the bullet cannon until he dies. That is no fun whatsoever. Plus, he's the SMB3 Bowser! You shouldn't be using him unless you can think up a good way of defeating him without powerups. You shouldn't make a boss like an epic fight. This is not the engine for that sort of stuff.

-The SMW tiles aren't used that well here, and I don't think it was a good choice for the kind of castle you're going for. I know you were trying to go for big, because that's your theme. But you made it too big. It's empty! There's not a whole lot going on.

-So the reason I'm having you scrap this level is because I want you to use the SMB3 or SMB1 castle tiles instead. And when you make the castle, don't even touch the Top or Bottom level border. Just the Left and Right ones. I want you to have a smaller and tighter castle to work with, because then you might be able to come up with more ideas for interesting obstacles. The castle should be normal size anyway: It makes the enemies look even bigger. Once again, I don't think this level was terrible, but it's not worth trying to fix.

-Remember that map I posted on your forum topic? Use that for inspiration: I don't think there were many enemies (if any!) in that castle. The reason why it was hard was because of the ceilings, the way the platforms are placed, and the timing of the jumps. That's what you should focus on.