Verdant Valley (Remade from scratch!)

[Darkonius Mavakar]

so this is supposed to be 1-1 of my project
it's a simple short level with 2 secret stars
i hope this level is FUN to play
mmmkay?

YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PLAY THIS LEVEL AS EITHER TOAD OR PEACH.


screenshot

Spoiler: show

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eagg9cdhgs49l ... 1.rar?dl=0
EDIT: REMADE FROM SCRATCH

[PixelPest]

This is a beautiful level. I think I'll record it and throw it on my YouTube channel.

[Darkonius Mavakar]

updated the level, redownload it just in case

[Nightmayor]

Well this was a very nice level here's my official n//on-official review.

Music: The music in this stage was very fitting and appropriate for a traditional first level.
Although after playing the stage twice I came to the realization that it gets very repetitive.
But other than that I had no issues with the music in the stage (4/5)

Level Design: It was a typical first stage so I wasn't expecting it to be brutally difficult and as
expected it was very easy and simple. The addition of the two bonus green stars was a nice
reward for players if they were to go out of their way to collect them (5/5)

Enemy Placement: This much like level design was very well done. I never felt like there were any
unfair moments throughout the stage. The one times that I did take a hit were purely my fault
for failing to appropriate guess a hammer's range and what npc the Chain Chomp was (5/5)

Graphics: The graphics were both beautiful and bit unnerving. I won't take off any points for this but
those Koopa Troopas and Goombas were creepy looking. Overall the custom graphics were very nice
and fitting for the stage. I'm not taking points off for this but I want to address something that bugs
me.

Spoiler: show

This block that I'm holding just seems a bit off. It's up to you on whether or not you want to change it.
I'm just throwing my personal opinion in there (5/5)

Overall this was was very good and fun level. I'd definitely replay it again.The final score is a 19/20.

[Darkonius Mavakar]

pinnnng

Thanks for the review matey
glad that you liked it!
also yeah those grass patches kinda look like butts

...eh

[as303298]

Guess I beat Pixel to the punch here, sorry.
My Review:

Atmosphere [5/5]
No issues whatsoever. I am mad though that I had to learn something today, since I looked up what "verdant" meant.
Verdant: (of countryside) green with grass or other rich vegetation.

Level Design [3/5]
Level was pretty cute, but it fell short in two ways.
-Level incorporates no optional sidepaths, making the level still feel linear despite your best effort. You had a lot to work with and I am a little disappointed there was no minor cave section or vertical portion to this level. On top of this, I really feel like the level just "ends" abruptly with that star in a gate.
-Level is incredibly dull, which is really just a problem with grass levels. You really only need to go right and take a few extra pipes here and there in order to get these stars. Which, I might as well guess this is for a project then eh, considering how easy it is to get these little guys.
-I found the difficulty to be really lackluster to. I never really got hit or felt like I was even remotely in danger, which is kind of lame. Playing a level that holds you hand too much is nothing short of boring to play.

Graphical Consistency [5/5]
My only issue is that the custom coins do not animate when they fall on the ground after using a Pow Block.

BGO Placement [5/5]
Still no issues regarding this.
You really should use some clouds in the level, but that is only my opinion.

NPC Placement [4/5]
This is really just an issue with your design style, but do try to place your npcs on a manner that it could be considered an obstacle. Like I said before, a level that is incredibly dull and holds you hand it not fun to play.

Difficulty Replayability [4/5]
-Level is painfully linear
-Level is way too easy, even for a grass level
-Level feels like it ends abruptly
-Level is pretty short to be quite honest

Overall Score: 26/30
Final Score: 8.6/10
Judgement: Pretty Good
Video:

Spoiler: show

Original Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhPCM2n0Mik

[Darkonius Mavakar]

Thanks matey, if i update The level and add some more sections and so on, can this re-reviewed? I wanna make this level better!

[as303298]

Yep, just PM me the changes with pictures and it'll get sent bakc into the endless cauldron that is the Levels subforum. Sadly, I dont believe the same LJ can review a level twice..

[Enjl]

Moved back to levels for the rereview. Also Wraith: A judge can actually do that. HOWEVER. Now it's my turn.

Reviewed on request.

Player start position in the wrong spot.

Let me start by saying this level is NOT a good example for an 1-1 level. I'll only glance over the issues with this being an 1-1 as you requested a full on standalone level review, but I still want to address them as you do try to sell it as a 1-1. The general goal of an 1-1 is to introduce the player to a few basic concepts which are prevalent throughout the game without taking it to the extreme. While this level does try to do some of that, introducing concepts such as split paths and bonus areas, the 3 gem gimmick and hidden bonus stars, it does it how a normal level should do it, rather than an introduction. For the introduction having one split area and fairly obvious secrets is enough. Even difficulty and length-wise this level exists where I'd expect World 2-4. There's a lot of tricky and sometimes spammy areas the player has to go through, all of which would be next to no issue if the level was much shorter, more straightforward and you used the "it's for a sequel" excuse.
I took some screenshots of some of my favourite World 3+ difficulty areas:
[rimg]http://i.imgur.com/cEyjcVP.png[/rimg][rimg]http://i.imgur.com/3bIKGyW.png[/rimg]
(My score if this was an 1-1 would be like 2/10 or something. I could go much more into detail but that's really not the point of this review.)


Now, let's get back on track. As a standalone level, this is pretty neat! You presented some rather innovative concepts, such as grabbing red coins with a boomerang or using the beans to grow a beanstalk. Apart from that.. there's really not much to talk about. This level is like, ultra generic if you look past the occasional beanstalk. I think if you expanded upon the gimmick rather than repeating it over and over, this level might become more interesting (have the player smash some turn blocks to allow a beanstalk to grow, having another alternate path in the sky, have some pots contain harmful plants, etc..). While it's not the most versatile gimmick you can use, there sure is some things you can do with it.

The NPC placement and stuff is all okay. It's your iconic design and it works out for levels of this level of difficulty. I don't know how you'd have to adapt to make easier or harder levels, though.

MAN I feel so bad because I really have nothing to talk about. This level just kind of happens.
The only thing I can really talk about at this point is how, even for a non 1-1, the scale feels rather large and progressing through the level can get rather confusing. IDK if this is because of SMBX's atrocious screen size or because the community just likes it big, but please tone it down a scale.
Overall it's a rather generic grassland level which tries to be all like SMB2 and cool-beans but also is kind of a maze.
5.9/10, moved to Average because Wraith reviewed a completely different level and the sorting rules cannot apply in this case.

Reading Wraith's review I'm thinking I might've given the previous version a 6.something.

[Darkonius Mavakar]

After that review i think i might update this level a little more.