ISRIERI'S PROFILE

Vivid Void: Being the first level I played I wasn't too thrilled with it. Not challenging at all, but very interesting to traverse though. One more section and it would’ve been pretty good.

Partners in Prime: When I began this level, the first thing I noticed was how jarring it was to get messaged in the face before any pixels had even loaded yet! Beating this was a challenge, not because of how you get scrolled with the ninji, but the unreliability of said scrolling. YES the ninji can get stuck! On that little elevator at the beginning if you aren't in the right spot he won't make that first jump, and you are stuck in limbo forever. And that's terrible. I liked the concept of needing to follow the ninji though. Why the hell is it in the first world?

Supra Mairo Bors: “Mairo Bors.” Now that's a name I will be abbreviating forthwith. I enjoyed this one quite thoroughly because is possesses a quality I value: Simplicity. There's no boom booms or platform shenanigans or Glitchy Ninjis©. Its mario! Er, mairo. And thus you know what to expect out of the level, and it delivers. I particularly admire the well done underground section.

Picky Picky: Having to constantly pick up grass is not very entertaining when its needs to be done to progress. Yet the stage itself is very well done, and entertaining to climb. I was too busy having fun to read the NPC messages so I found the potion by accident! Having to climb back down the “other mountain” was somehow a surprise for me, totally a “Woah man, my mind's been blown!” moment. I wasn't a fan of the secret star: not really secret, just tedious. Though I can't imagine bouncier music with which to endure said tedium.

Mario in the Mines!: I love this level. Yet I don't know why. The corridors of the cavern are pretty tight with little room to jump, and the enemies are placed well enough that you'll die a few times before you beat it. Not really a fan of the bats though, something about their inclusion seemed off to me. I doubt anyone but me actually used the ladders. A good length for this sort of level, despite me wanting more. The spawners made me laugh.

Great Grasslands: I don't get it.

Wooden World: Much to my surprise, this was actually pretty good. There were a lot of moving platforms combined with pretty decent level design and well placed enemies. The main thing is that it just feels a bit lacking. How do I describe this though? More platforms or sizables to create a second layer above the main ground would've been nice. Having more than just, y'know, ground is a staple of the well-designed level. Even if its just bricks.

SMB 2 Dessert: I laughed when I heard the character select music! I was never a big fan of Mario 2, so I don't have much to say about this one. But I did notice: A lot of the pipes were pretty same-y. Yet never enough so that I didn't decide to skip any. This is a good design choice! I would've liked to see some different faces in those pipe rooms though. For the life of me, couldn't find that secret star!

Awesome Hills: Oh boy now we're talking. Right away you notice that you don't start on level ground, but in an alcove close to the top of the screen. Not many people think to do that, myself included. The brilliance here is in the slanting of the ground. You can utilize it to take care of a lot of enemies: including that banzai bill at the beginning. But if you aren't quick on that button you'll slide right into a pit! In addition, the enemies are placed well so that you'll get hit often if you're too slow on the draw, yet if you know what to do, can easily breeze though them. Plus the mushroom platforms aren't just there for performance but for embellishment as well! Yay for good design! The only big complaint is the water bit: No one in their right mind will swim through all that. There's no incentive! Its nothing but fun, and is my favorite level of world 1.

Shell Game: There are blocks blocking your path, you need “shell item” to unlock blocks and reveal path. So for the most part, you use your koopa shells to progress through the level, and weave between the foes to not lose it. I like it, since you don't really see levels based around the concept enough. I do wonder though: why the regenerating shells? I think it'd be better to just use koopas throughout the level instead, primarily to eliminate the backtracking, and secondarily because its more fun to kill things than avoid them. I love this bit where the goombas are kept from going down a pit by a block, and make breaking it that much more of a challenge. And when its broken they'll start moving down the pit and become a new hazard below! Sneaky sneaky! Combine that with a easy-to-miss hidden star and you've got yourself a good time.

Bowser's Lava Castle: I'm not a fan of slow-moving platforms. However this one is done well. A lot of thought was put into the enemy placement, so you can't just stand there and expect to not take a hit. You've gotta keep movin', man! The bowser fight at the end is made tougher because of the hammers: they'll knock the bombs right out of your hands. It's a pretty decent castle, therefore a good end to world 1.