| Name: | Super Mario Starlight |
| Author: | hendog30_ |
| Added: | |
| Demo: | No |
| Hall of Fame: | No |
| Length: | 30 exit(s) |
| Type: | Standard: Hard |
| Description: | It took a while, but it's finally here! Super Mario Starlight is a solo project that takes a unique spin on a traditional hack. The game has a hub world that lets you explore and find levels freely, but the stages themselves are linear, like a traditional Mario game. Think Peach's Castle from 64 with about 20ish linear stages instead of open world stages. Yoshi Coins act as the main collectable. The more you collect, the more levels and areas of the hub world you will be able to access. The hack features: - 30 collectable Yoshi Coins (sorta equivalent to exits, to give a rough idea of length) - Fun NPC interactions - A new unique story - A fully original soundtrack composed by me!! - Secrets around every corner! - Many more mysteries to uncover! This game is a unique experience. I hope you're willing to give it a shot, you won't be disappointed! If you're interested, here's the release trailer for the hack: https://youtu.be/8uvuQc4FTKk |
| Tags: | asm exploration hdma music no boss original soundtrack story traditional vanilla |
| Comments: | 18 (jump to comments) |
| Rating: |
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Comments (18)
starsdragon coins to access the new levels.I have a full Let's Play of the ROM Hack here if anybody (including Hendog) is interested.
First of all, the fact this hack wasn't featured in the Hall of Fame is slightly baffling to me since it's got just as much polish as the rest. It'd be-at least-one more Standard hack to get in alongside the likes of Truc Bidule and Seek the Discrepancy.
Anyway.
First of all it's very admirable to have an entirely original soundtrack. My particular favourites have to be all the songs during the third sector, especially "Dodgin' Spikeballs" (very "S.N.N." in nature). It's not my favourite 'original' ROM Hack soundtrack out there, but it's entirely done by the creator unlike A Plumber For All Seasons or SMW Central Production 2. I do have to give a special mention to the song "The Generic Airship Level" since it switches the ON/OFF switch and switches on percussion, much like the Beep Block Skyway song from SM3DW. You can listen to the whole soundtrack here if you want to take a listen, though I highly recommend playing it in the context of the hack itself.
I like how each level you're introduced to the gimmick of each stage before you start it. It's a pretty solid way to avoid giving a portion of the actual level just to introduce a gimmick, and not have to be 'retaught' it every time you die. There are even some you can find by messing around with what the environment gives you. I really appreciate the Mario Galaxy twirl mechanic since it's not like a double jump; the twirl allows for greater distances or to show down a fall preventing damage from munchers or whatnot. The aesthetic work of the entire game is very vanilla in style, though it's not devoid of any custom assets or decor. The level design is pretty solid; my favourite level goes to "Freeze Factory" in Sector 3 where it's sort of a more free-form version of The Trap Doors from JUMP1/2, but it's combined with the spike balls and straight sparkies to give a lot of interesting design.
I think my favourite part of the whole hack is the attention to detail, especially with the (optional) puzzles. One particular favourite is this set of pipes that feature a star, a mushroom, and a cape above. Taking these don't do anything on their own, buuut
The story isn't anything groundbreaking, but all the details for the actual story revolved around the ending are foreshadowed in a clever way. There's a lot of world building between the aesthetic design to the NPCs that roam around the place. One good detail is the Bar tender snake gives a powerup in every sector. They're in order! Mushroom is sector 1, Fire Flower is in sector 2, Cape is in sector 3, and there's one more in the final sector he gives you beyond Gate 15. My only gripe is
There are a few issues I think are worth addressing for a future update. A good few screens of the cutscenes (that including the level openers) aren't skippable. There's also an issue with the up pipes; I assume only one half of the pipe is actually an exit enabled pipe, so trying to go up one only works on one side. The backtracking can also be a bit monotonous; having to go all the way down the pipes and all the way back up can get tedious especially with two exits requiring the powerups from the Bar tender snake. One more (funny) issue is Noteblock Noon where every bush shows the message box that's used for
All that said, I think the hack's fantastic, and I highly recommend a try if this is remotely interesting to you. This is a good complete package of a hack, and nothing is in your face with new mechanics and gimmicks. 5/5.
The second problem I have is the lack of available powerups. Making most of them only available in specific parts of the hub world can get annoying fast if you want a certain powerup, and there are barely any levels with any in them, so you're really forced to leave the level to get one. No reserve box was another problem I have.
Otherwise, great hack
Probably the most unusual design decision was for power-ups to only be available in the hub world, rather than within levels. Since many levels are far away from the power-up spots, the player will only have multiple hits in exceptional circumstances. Convenient power-up access tends to make levels more fun, but this hack's levels are balanced so that the player will never feel forced to go out of their way to get them. I wouldn't say that it's strictly better than if power-ups were available in the levels, but overall it adds to the hack's uniqueness and memorability. That said, if I were a less skilled player and really needed a powerup to complete a level, retrieving a new power-up before each attempt would get tiresome very quickly.
I will say that using a simple wind ambience in the overworld in place of actual music was maybe not the best choice. You'll be spending a lot of time in the overworld and it gets stale pretty quickly.
The only issue noticed, which is minor, is that some of the vertical pipes are off-center. For example, you can't go up this one on its right side, but you can go up it all way to its left edge, to the extent that Mario is visible while in it.
There is just a thing I don't know if it is intentional or not.