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Posts by MyPocketPlant

MyPocketPlant's Profile → Posts

Holy crap! Thank God you guys are back!

I was afraid Nintendo might have closed down the site the same way Square ruined CT: Crimson Echoes... :(

You guys are awesome!
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Do you play SMW (As well as SMW Hacks) with a Keyboard or Controller?

I play using Keyboard using this Key Configuration:

Up : W
Left: A
Down: S
Right: D (who doesn't use the standard "WASD"? lol.)

B: K
A: L
Y: U
X: O

Start: B
Select:V
L:Q
R:R

Notice that "Y" (U in my keyboard) is further away from all other action buttons on the keyboard. This allows me to isolate my index finger for holds while using the "X" button (using my ring finger) for shooting fireballs and swinging my cape. So I can hit enemies WHILE running top speed! ;)

Notice too that I use "B" and "V" for start and select, respectively. This allows me to use them with my thumb and not have to press the Enter Key all the time.

I use this in all emulated games; NES,SNES,PSX...
IMHO this is the best key configuration you could ever have! Try it!

#w{=D}
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1/3 junjou na kanjou by Siam Shade
from Rurouni Kenshin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClKxvqWVVxc

Any song by Siam Shade is great. Have all albums.
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The reason I don't like Kaizo-type hacks is that I don't really want to spend the rest of my life mastering one level of a hack. I play it in between classes(I'm in college) for some short-term entertainment. The typical hacks here with good story, music, custom stuff is great for short term entertainment because you know you're progressing. I like puzzle-type hacks too. They develop critical thinking which is good.

If you do manage to complete a Kaizo-type hack without any saved states what do you get in return? Hand-eye coordination? Try playing tennis against a moderate tennis player and see how much "hand-eye coordination" you got from playing through Kaizo. Bragging rights? No one else was there to verify it. The answer is: a false sense of accomplishment. No offense but that's all there really is.

I have no complaints against level design, cheap tricks, timed blind jumps and stuff like that but I won't play a hack with those elements in it.
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The Senate Review

Ok. Long time lurker here but certainly not a noob with SMW hacks.

Level Designs: 10/10.
(More like 11/10 really!!) This is where the hack truly shines. Despite the fairly Vanilla look of the levels I was never bored. I like how you have a theme of having different level types in all different worlds (Linear, Aerial, Water types and Cave types where applicable). and not linear-linear-linear grassy or cave-cave-cave... like you'd see in other hacks. You exploited the use of acceleration, placing platforms high enough to need a little bit of running to reach and placed a fair amount of precision jumps and tricky ones having a limited amount of spaces to accelerate in in some cases.

I also like the fair share of puzzle levels adding variety.

I honestly like the lack of the Cape and Yoshi as these just seem to ruin the experience for me. Besides, the cape would be a hindrance with the need of speed in most levels, especially dungeons.
Overall, the levels are genius.


Gameplay: 10/10.

Now for gameplay.
-A reset doors and pipes in case you commit mistakes that's a very good one right there.
-Alternate Bosses. I agree with the noob bosses thing but not that big of a deal.
It's great to have alternate bosses at all than just modifications of the default SMW bosses. If anything I'd say the only real problem was the final boss who was just too easy (got him in my first try) compared to the EPIC Agamemnon boss. That one and his castle was SO good that I really though he was the final boss. :D
-A continue room with one power up for most levels. This is great as you even took the time to design different rooms for different levels. A huge plus right there.
-The climbing levels are pretty good as well.
-Enemy placement was strategic. You didn't just spam enemies like other hacks would.
-Coin Indicators are a basic for blind jumps but you also used them to mark where fireballs would appear.
-Narration is done ok with segments during dungeon levels. Not bad.



Story: 8/10.: Without spoiling too much, deserves a solid 8 at least for having an alternate story at all than saving the princess.


Music: 10/10. Having different fittin tracks each level.


Now for the CONS.

To be honest I don't think you deserve a point deduction penalty for the CONS as these can be fixed if you decide to make a new version.

There are a few spots where Mario goes through the wall and floor most notably in Dragonfruit 3.
Honestly, this felt pretty Kaizo-ish to me. A pretty bit on the unfair side when you get to the cave. You only have one turtle to bounce on to get to the vines and if you're like two pixels off the vine, you won't get to the platform. Also, the top segment is pretty buggy. I fell through the floor and into the lava a few times and the turtle you have to bounce on getting you to the final section of the cave disappears sometimes. It took me like thirty tries getting through this level. Was it a different creator for the last few levels? I expected a repeat door for this segment at least.

-Apple Snowcaps 2 had a block platform that blended with the background. I hit it and fell to my death.

-The bosses thing discussed on top but still on the pro side.
Didn't find the error pointed out with the Dry Bones but I did find that the Agamemnon boss sometimes turns invisible. I don't know if it's my version of ZSNES but it proved to be a huge problem defeating him as I don't know where the lightning would strike next.)

-Melon Mountains 5.
The view on the checkpoint doesn't change when you enter the level. This makes it virtually unplayable if you die after crossign the checkpoint. I died a few times bumping into the Koopa because I couldn't where I was going.

-The biggest problem I'd have to say would be the lack of Ghost Houses and overall opportunities to save. I had to backtrack to the Cherry Caves a few times just to save my game. Maybe at the last world you could provide the player with an option to save after each level because those are very hard.

-Not a huge fan of Blargg but I did notice he was absent througout the whole game?

-At the journey's end level I died after crossing the waypoint and when I started the level, I was redirected to the Spiked Ball boss and when I defeated him the cutscene played.

Will try to provide screens next time. Well done with this hack!
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Playing this one right now. Loving it so far.
I must say though you're a bit generous with coins all over the place. It's almost impossible to get gameover.
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Ok I only review hacks but I think I have enough experience to know what's good and not.

A good hack imho needs only good and consistent level design.

ASM, Music, Story, gimmicks and other elements really tell you more about the hack creator but are more of bonuses to hack imho. The player should be able to still enjoying playing the hack with a muted computer.

Platforms and blocks spaced far enough for the player to at least need to hold the dash button. Not close enough for the player to be able to finish the whole game without ever needing to dash like in the original SMW. Include reasonably challenging jumps such as ones you might have to hold the down button.

Enemies should be placed strategically, Place one or two where you think a player rushing through a level would end up like placing a spike top or a spinning turtle shell at the end of a long slide. Throw in three or more in some situations like 2 in a pretty tight platform or having a wall of bullet bills or possibly a banzai bill in a 4 block wide tunnel or a Chuck in a 2 block wide space or something to add variation but NEVER enemy spam for no good reason. Possibly only enemy spam flying koopas in platform type levels to give the player an option to gain a 1up or two via jump combos but don't overuse them in an area. It be great to include sections like those at the end of levels.

Powerups and extra lives should be used sparingly but not too easy to obtain. 1 or two powerups is enough for average levels. Go with 2-3 on hard ones. Bonus areas aren't necessary and more of a nuisance imho.

Use coins for indicators as to where to jump next. A basic for all hacks. Don't coin spam for the sake of it. Distribute Yoshi coins fairly. Not too out of reach. Possibly three along the way and on or two the player will have to make a reasonable move for like bouncing off a turtle, do a difficult climb or something to that effect.

Swimming levels should be challenging enough so the player doesn't just breeze through them. The use of better enemies such as the torpedo and a few chucks helps.

If you ever include a gimmick, make sure it enhances gameplay and isn't a hindrance like most.

Also make sure to include at least one ghost house before the ends of easy worlds and possibly at the middle of hard ones to give the player the option to save every now and then.

I could go on but these are just a few I can think off right now...
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Hey no problem man. It was a pleasure playing this hack. :D
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The Senate - Best Level designs

Mario's Keytastrophe - Best use of Gimmicks

Mushroom Kingdom Meltdown

Kaos Islands
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Playing this hack right now.


It's a lot of fun but you should at least give the player the option to save after every level.

Playing this game is like:

-Get used to the wall jumps
-Practice the 3 jumps in level 2.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Finish level 2
-Find out how to get past the spike tops in the Gordo Orgy
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Practice the wall jump without slamming into the top Gordo
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Practice grabbing the balloon without slamming into a Gordo
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Finish level 3.
-Practice landing onto the top ledge without touching the saw,
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Practice entering the pipe without touching the purple lava
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
-Farm 1ups in level 1.
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That isn't fun at all.
I don't know about fair.

So far I'm in level 6.
Have to restart the whole game the next time I play. Is this game meant to be played with saved states?

Don't get me wrong I'm loving this hack so far.
Gonna post a long review when I'm done.
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ZSNES emulator

WASD

A = L
B = K
Y = J
X = I

L = Q
R = E

This works best for me.

No saved states. Even with a good hack, if one level is too hard for me to complete and in some cases unplayable (such as level 2 of the hack COLORS), I won't go out of my way to finish it and probably won't do a review of the hack.
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Dark Mario type bosses are cool in my opinion. Gives you that Dark Megaman feel since it also gets your weapons. If someone could make a Dark Mario that does everything your sprite does from running to shooting bullets to picking up and tossing shells I imagine that'd be the toughest fight
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The wall jump isn't that bad.

The problem is the DISABLED START-SELECT.

Seriously?! I have to COMPLETE A WHOLE LEVEL TO FARM LIVES?

That might be fixed if you just gave the option to save after every level.
I just got back to this hack after a while and I'm not as good as when I was really focused on it weeks ago.

I can still go through levels 1-4 quickly but I'm stuck on a single jump in "Sharp Tasting Woods" where the space is just too narrow.

Will post a review this hack when I get the time to actually get good at it again. This isn't a hack you can just go back to and have fun with. It's almost as unforgiving as Zelda 2.
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I've played some hacks that disabled the Start-Select function we're used to.

It'd be reasonable to do that as a gimmick if the hacks are fairly easy or normal difficulty (slightly harder than the original SMW) but these hacks have levels that have unforgiving jumps you wouldn't be able to pull off if you're at least 2 pixels off!!

Please consider the overall difficulty of your hacks before doing this as a "fair" challenge. It feels like a chore playing hacks like these if you're constantly backtracking world 1 levels for lives making it a point to collect those damn yoshi coins!
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Mario's Journey Through Time & Space Review

I was hesitant at first but decided to give it a chance and oooh boy...
Like the Toad hack you released earlier this hack looks beautiful but most of the level designs... Sigh... :(

So I breezed through the first world and was about to give up on this hack but decided to try more.
I skipped ahead to world 7. (One good thing about the hack was that you can skip worlds) Maybe I'd find a good challenge ahead.
So you used a gravity gimmick for this world. Makes sense but it is just so poorly implemented as are most other gimmicks. The platforms are placed so closely together that the player wouldn't ever need to hold down the dash button. You could have included occasional high platforms at least to complement the high jumping. Then I get to the castle and now the gravity gimmick's gone? Where's the consistency? And just look at this:



This is the last castle and all we have is conveyor belts, empty void and occasional one hit kill critters? Where are the spikes or sparkys at the very least least?

There is hardly any consistency from gimmick to gimmick too. In the pirate ship you chose to implement the wall jump patch but there was hardly any indication of wall jumping in the past worlds.

Another is this boss:



First of all, boss?
If you just stood in the space indicated you're hardly gonna be taking damage. In order to defeat this boss you needed to wait for it to spit out eggs Birdo style then toss it to her. But throughout the whole game there wasn't any indication of picking up and throwing things.
If a player first picks this game up without having played the original SMW he'd have a hard time figuring out what to do.
Okay sure we can assume the people playing this have already played the original SMW but this hack just passes for an expansion pack than its own game.

Example of your enemy placement:



This thing just stays at the bottom of the screen and hardly does anything to hinder you from progressing.

It's one thing to make easy hacks that anyone can enjoy but these just play like early programming experiments to try and see what the SNES is capable of. The platforms are placed like they might fit the original Super Mario Bros game but that game was challenging because of the extremely slippery controls.



There is more playability in Super Mario Land for the Game Boy.
You can just run through the levels, killing enemies occasionally if you want to but the death animations are all the same. The only challenge I found in this hack was that hit detection of most enemies is pretty bad notably the Koopas in Giant World ant the spinning heads in the space world. You'd have to hit them in the head dead center so it's best to just avoid them.
Another HUGE flaw this hack has is the knockback. You try to run past an enemy but just keep taking hits because of the horribly short recovery time.

Also what was the point of providing a mushroom powerup if it doesn't increase your health?
What happened to spin jumping, climbing, picking up things to use as weapons?

In conclusion, if you're looking for a hack with beautiful backgrounds and heavy gimicks (but not necessarily implemented nicely), this hack is for you.
I'm not writing this review to piss on you but I've played some beautiful levels in your previous hack, Toad most notably the Mushroom Cave Maze. That level was just brilliant. I just feel you got bored with actually making some levels and just decided to make a hack purely based on gimmicks when you know you're capable of so much more.
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Originally posted by MrDeePay
Originally posted by Re1Mu2R3
I'm not writing this review to piss on you but I've played some beautiful levels in your previous hack, Toad most notably the Mushroom Cave Maze. That level was just brilliant.


Those levels were actually by FPI.


I see.
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Originally posted by 1UPdudes
Heh heh... Didn't expect replies on this thread still ;P
Maybe I'll fix some of the crappy choices I made back in the day if I make Chomp 2 or something... :')


Don't get me wrong. I love this hack.
But consider Super Meat Boy. It's difficult but the controls are flawless and extremely responsive AND it has unlimited lives.

Since we can't change general SMW gameplay, you could maybe enable start-select and replace a few hazards in the hack.

I played some of your other hacks and the level designs are wonderful but again you have disabled start-select so after the 20th time I'm reduced to using saved states.
I think it's fair for you to enable start-select because it's not like you provide instant 1ups at regular levels. I noticed you like to give 3 ups as a reward so players really only have coins and have to know where the scarce 1ups are hidden to restock.
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Hello. Filipino here.

Kailangan niyo ba ng taga-Translate ng hint boxes sa orihinal ng SMW?

Pwede ko nang simulan tapos post ko nalang txt sa thread na 'to.
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