MINUS'S PROFILE

Most of what you describe is well warranted and justified, but I wouldn't disregard the entire thing as flat-out bullshit. I wouldn't quite call the game itself excellent either - there were a few frustrating bits that I thought were the terrible sort of difficulty (and indeed, a lot of them are as you mentioned), but I also feel that there was a lot of stuff they got right, especially compared to the earlier Super RMN Bros. expeditions. A lot of the levels I did actually find enjoyable, and a lot of the time I did manage to overcome some pretty harrowing challenges the first time through, so I actually do think a good amount of the game is legitimately fair, if demanding. And I do believe there were a lot of levels that were really enjoyable as well (such as the aforementioned Megaman levels, which were absolutely brilliant), and although a fair amount of the levels were, as mentioned, very "standard", I did think that a lot of these standard levels exhibited some elegant, Mario-like level design, and even though they don't have the bells and whistles of some other SMBX levels, I wouldn't necessarily consider their vanilla-ness to be a fault against them. In fact, many of those levels ended up being some of my favorites.

The problem, of course, is that, as you discovered, it's really hard. And I won't argue that there was a fair amount that was very tedious to overcome, and there were a few levels that I had just wanted to end because they were getting far too frustrating for my liking, so I would definitely argue that it really isn't that accessible to those who haven't played a lot with SMBX. But for those who are able to tackle the challenge, and although I have my fair share of contentions, I still don't think the game is as terrible as this review makes it out to be, especially comparing this to the first three Super RMN Bros. games.

This was a good read! It's interesting to hear your thoughts on what does and doesn't constitute a good Mario level, and I'm very much looking forward to what you folks eventually come up with for Super RMN World, and to see how it compares to your earlier works in the Super RMN Bros. series.

I might just have to review it when it comes out.

What's even more interesting is that one of the comments on the LP page is from Raocow, the ROM Hack LPer and the dude who also let's played the Super Talking Time Bros. series. He seems to like it thus far.

Somebody might want to seriously consider posting on his forums (known as the Talkhaus) and suggesting either this or Super RMN World (when it's complete) at some point. That'd land the project quite a bit of notoriety.

Oh man, that's a relief! When I read the "from there, I'll put the game together. It might take a few months, but it'll be worth it!" I thought "months" referred to the amount of time the event would run, rather than the amount of time it'd take to compile the levels into a game itself. You were probably already planning on this, but I'd have the judge folks play the full thing beforehand before you release it, just so that you can have a few extra pairs of eyes and opinions. If possible, I would also get the opinions of some RMNers who aren't part of the level design team (and thus, are of the skill and demographic you're looking for due to their inexperience with Super Mario Bros. X compared to the level designers) and see what they think of the game.

As for my favorite levels so far, hm. Keep in mind that I haven't played every level, but I have played a few of them. Of those, I have to say that I really liked Mushroom Supernova. I'm a sucker for mushroom levels in Mario games, and it felt like it was pulled straight out of Super Mario World, with a lot of attentiveness to Marioness. It just felt good through and through. Peaceful Paradise was a great level too. Good Mario platforming, and very acute attention to detail without feeling visually noisy, as I thought was present in some of RMN's earlier works. It had a lot of detail, yes, but it also had a distinctive scheme and stuck to it. Mr. Burns and Mr. Freeze had a nice charm to them as well. Both of them use a gimmick (the Fire/Ice Flower), but don't go overboard with it or make it interfere with the gameplay, as I saw a lot of in Super RMN Bros. 3. I think some of the best gimmicks are passive - they're there to add flavor, but the platforming and Mario gameplay still take front stage. And that's what I definitely saw there. I also can't go without mentioning Mario's Dreamland. That stage just oozes love for the Kirby games, and it's so charming that I can't help but let it melt my icy heart. Peril Jungle Ruins is also a nice level, and it shows just how far Davenport's sense of level design seems to have come since Super RMN Bros. 2. Unlike some of his earlier works (sorry Davenport), this stage feels very Mariolike and while it doesn't go overboard with a gimmick, or a bunch of visual floof, it's fun and simple. And just about all of Isrieri's stages felt like something I would play in Super Mario World. They're just fine, simple Mario levels that focus on gameplay, and it feels like they accomplish that goal wonderfully.

Really, if there's one central gripe I have about most of these levels, even some of the above ones, it's that a lot of them feel way too long. Stage length isn't as much of an issue if you have multiple checkpoints you can use, but here, you only have one checkpoint. I'm of the belief that, at most in a Super Mario Bros. X level, you should have maybe one to two minutes between the start and the midpoint, and one to two minutes between the start and endpoint both break the levels up into sizable chunks, and they don't make the player replay too much if they die. Of course, sometimes these rules can be broken, but it's important to keep in mind when they should be broken. And here, a typical level seems to take me an upwards of eight minutes to complete, which is the point where a level starts to overstay its welcome a bit with me, especially if I die and have to replay a lot of it.

Just dropping in here to say that if all of the approved stages are as good as Mondrian Grid, this game will be awesome. That is all.