Hello all, after being away from the hacking scene for a very long time, I'm excited to present some progress towards a recreation of my previous hack,

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Mario's Journey
For the Seven Mystic Gems

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Plot
Bowser has stolen a mysterious object known as the Dark Star, said to foster a tremendous power, and he intends to use it to wreak havoc all over the Mushroom Kingdom. Legend says, however, that the key to sealing up the Dark Star lies in seven artifacts called the Mystic Gems guarded in elemental temples across the land. In order to stop Bowser, Mario's journey begins...

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World 1 Demo! NEW!
World 1 is pretty much done, and I'd love to get some feedback! If you're interested in testing my hack, check out the testing thread for it! Make sure you follow the rules for the Hack Testing thread if you want to reply there, but feel free to reply here if you'd like or even send me a PM.

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Progress!
Title Screen:
Still incomplete, but with a new logo!

Overworld:

World 1-1: The First Steps
(video) - NEW



World 1-2: Koopas' Forest

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And that's all I've got so far, I'll try to upload some videos soon. Let me know what you think so far! Thanks for stopping by!

New Update!
World 1-3: Waterfall Cave
The waterfalls in these screenshots are custom blocks that push Mario down quickly if he doesn't fight it.

Begining area, featuring my redrawn squishable Goombas.

First look at the titular waterfalls

Tricky maneuvering!

New breakable blocks GFX!

Piranha plants getting plenty of water

Spike tops' feet are too sticky to care about waterfalls!

A tight area!

Onward to the first temple!

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Mario's Journey for the Seven Mystic Gems - World 1 Demo

I feel kinda bad for triple posting, but oh well. I have a bit to share!
World 1-Temple: Temple of Fire
Home of the first of seven gems, this level's gimmick is, well, fire. Here are two screenshots from the first half of the level:

This marks the first time I've ever attempted making a custom layer 3 background. It's pretty basic and similar to SMW's castle BG, but it was a fun experience. I'll definitely try to spice it up in the future.

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Mario's Journey for the Seven Mystic Gems - World 1 Demo

The hack is looking good, pspecially your custom GFX. I must say, it feels a tad generic, altough that's not a bad thing per se.

Not really convinced about that overworld, though. I'm sure is that part of grassland that it seems in "contact" with the sea. I would suggest to add some cliffs in that zone unless that perpective has a purpuse.

Yeah I was thinking of changing the cave GFX entirely. I gave a custom drawn cave tileset a go, but without much luck. I might give it a go again, but I'll definitely check out your buzzy beetle, though!


Thanks for the reply about the overworld, I wanted some feedback about the perspective. I might try to make it look like a beach or put another ledge around it. I'm really curious what other people think about it.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!

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Mario's Journey for the Seven Mystic Gems - World 1 Demo

World 1-3: Watefall Cave Revamp
As I mentioned before, I wasn't digging the SMB3 cave tileset as much I was when I designed this level the first time all those years ago, and I managed to create a cave tileset that fits my liking.

I also redrew the pipes!

I'll probably change the background to something fancier later, but I was actually quite pleased on how it turned out with just a quick palette edit.



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Mario's Journey for the Seven Mystic Gems - World 1 Demo

Hey thanks! It's much appreciated! As for the title screen, I completely agree. Funny enough, I had planned to do exactly what you suggested. I'll get around to it eventually, but in truth the title screen as a whole could use an overhaul. That's probably next on the checklist after I finish the temple level.

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Mario's Journey for the Seven Mystic Gems - World 1 Demo

World 1-Temple: Temple of Fire
Complete!
I'll give those interested a treat. Here is the video of the original version of this level. I actually want to re-add the HDMA lava gradient, but I think I'd prefer not to have the heat wave effect.

Anyways, here are some screenshots:

Very first screen.

Off to a fiery start.

Gotta have a few Thwomps.

And some Dry Bones while we're at it.

So of course this level's gimmick is fire, so why not have fireball shooters?

First part of the second half, this section is shorter and features autoscroll!

Split paths!

Gotta be careful!

Down to the final stretch!

If you watched the old video you probably know what's behind that door!
All that is left to be done now is to make the Blue Switch Palace level, and the bonus level after the castle and World 1 is done!

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Mario's Journey for the Seven Mystic Gems - World 1 Demo

Hey everybody! Progress on World 2 has begun! I've decided to go with a beach theme for the first level. Most of the work so far has gone into the foreground graphics, let me know what you think so far.



Also, if you weren't aware already and are interested, I've made a demo for World 1 available for testing. Check out the thread here or download the BPS patch over here if you just want to give it a try.

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Mario's Journey for the Seven Mystic Gems - World 1 Demo