OTABO'S PROFILE

author=Isrieri
Otabo

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OVERGROWN OBELISK

-I'd like a pipe that the bros Enter the level through. This is another castle that could use an outside entrance area, but I don't feel as strongly about it as with Underground Fortress.

(The pipe can be arranged, but I don't know about an outside area entrance.)

-I still think the fire flowers look tacky.

(Can change those back no problem.)

-I still think the Spike Tops should be red. I also think the sprinboards ought to be red too: To help them stand out against the cool darker colors of the level.

(I'm taking all the Spike Tops out, to be honest, and by all, I mean all 2 of them. Springboards can change no problem. though.)

-I don't know about the big piranha plant at the start. I think you'd be better off just taking it out, and putting some floating SMB3 platforms where the egg blocks are. So that they can float in the water all pretty-like.

(I disagree. I mean I want to have something growing out of the water, but actually, I might switch out the big pirahna plant for a normal sized one instead (not the fire-spitting kind like the ones at the end of the level). Shouldn't be too bad because the player can just easily shoot it with a fireball - if someone loses their fire flower power-up before that point, I don't know what to say. The platforms I can dig, however. But to match the style of the level, I'll make them the blue YI platforms instead. Those wooden ones aren't going to work.

-Why'd you block off that one drain behind the checkpoint with blocks but not the one earlier?

(It was something I forgot to take out a long time ago.)

-Still desperately needs secrets! That pipe with the venus plant after the springboard bit is a prime candidate for a bonus room. I also find that this level could really benefit from a stopwatch powerup. By which I mean, the stopwatch could be utilized well here.

(Maybe I could work in a bonus area, but I disagree about the stopwatch though, that kinda takes away a bit of what little challenge this level has, IMO. To be honest, I never liked using stopwatch powerups/grey P-switches in SMBX because they're so cheap. I loathe stopwatches almost as much as hammer suit.

-I like the platform falling into the spikes at the end: It killed me, but the level was short enough this time that it didn't bother me. I see rave reviews for this level now.

(Dunno when I'll get to update my levels though, if at all. Gonna be busy, so unless I get some time with SMBX, I'll just have to make do with what's here currently. Can't promise anything.)

author=Ratty524
OTABO'S OVERGROWN OBELISKYou win the award for having the best visuals as far as this castle collab goes. Does it play just as good? Well... Have a look-see

Pros:
+ REALLY good Yoshi's island styled visuals
+ Nice puzzles

Cons:
- Random power-ups was not a good idea
- If I see a vine, I expect to climb them, yet you can't
- Level design was a bit too open. Make it tighter
- Felt a little bit too long

When designing a game, or designing anything for that matter, you have to consider why you are placing an object in a particular spot and what it will communicate to others. The vines were a nice addition to the scenery, but to have them hanging like that, and in places where it looks like the player can climb up to reach something on a ledge, left me, as a player, feeling unrewarded by the fact that I can't climb those vines like in most other Mario levels.

Scrap the random power-up idea, I don't know why you thought this level needed it. It's game-breaking, not in a way that it makes the level unplayable, so much as it gives you access to god-tier power-ups (the tanooki and hammer suits, for instance) that make the level ridiculously easy... Or it will give you a mushroom when you really don't need it. Just set your blocks to have a specific item.

The puzzles and gimmicks were very well-executed, except for that area withe the flipping, spiked platforms. I'd speed up the time it takes for the platforms to flip, because as of now the timing is so slow that it's a little harder to keep track of exactly when those platforms will flip.

Overall this is one of the better levels I've played, but some revision is necessary.