B1KMusic's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Soul Quest +plus+]

So this game is about attempting to achieve enlightenment, but at the end (Assuming you can put up with almost 100 stages of the exact same, repetitive, tedious gameplay), you are instead given reincarnation. I do not care what kind of message you are trying to send here; for 95 stages of that, I should be given something a lot more rewarding. The ending is an infuriating disappointment worth dropping an entire 2.5 stars over. With the way I review, that is extremely severe. It takes quite a few negative points for me to drop an entire half-star over.

There are 95 stages.

4 areas with an incrementing number of levels until area 5, which drops it back to 5 levels (each only 1 stage long). The bosses (final level) of each area only have one stage.

5^2 * 4 + (0+1+2+3) + 5 - (4*4) =
25 * 4 + 6 + 5 - 16 =
100 + 11 - 16 =
95

95 stages of tedious, repetitive gameplay.

This, combined with the repetitive music, the infuriating artificial difficulty introduced by the boss of area 3, having to fight that boss TWICE, and my overall experience, drops another half-star from the game, making the final score a 2/5, or 4/10

[A Koopa's Revenge 2]

I notice that everyone else here is either too nice, blinded by nostalgia, or remembers the first game, and wants to get his review in first, so he doesn't play this game, and gives a fictional review.

But this review is going to be brutally honest.

Update: I've gotten a chance to re-write this, so I amending the mistake of judging too early by re-evaluating the game based on new experiences.

- - - -

Here is a list of my criticisms and commentary:

1. The controls.

The first glaring problem is the controls. The fact that I have to set control based on pre-configured schemes is pretty irritating. You explained to me earlier that this is because there are a few buttons that need to be hard-coded to be hidden from players. So how about making those, and every other control, customizable, BUT, put the special controls' labels as e.g. "SP 1", "SP 2", etc. That way, nobody will know what the control does, but they will know that it does something, probably serving to activate functions for certain power-ups. If you can make the controls dynamic, and customizable by the player, then that would be amazing!

In addition to this irritating "fixed controls" decision, the controls themselves are a little awkward. For example, in scheme 5 (the closest scheme to what I would have set it to if I could), why are the action buttons h,k, and l instead of j,k, and l? Why does jumping arch so bizarrely? I recall Super Mario Bros. 3 having a much wider parabola, and a slower descent, and seeing as you are emulating the games for the NES and the SNES, I think it would be nice to preserve the tight feel of the controls.

2. The art.

You'd think after years of development, the art would be a little more refined. But it looks like art that you spent no more than 5 minutes drawing. I don't mean to be harsh, but perhaps you could have commissioned / partnered with an artist who specializes in this kind of thing?

I'm keeping the above for posterity, but you explained that the art was intentionally cartoony to match the look of the first game. I'm perfectly okay with that, as long as it wasn't induced by limitations.

3. The music.

It's all over the place. A lot of the music doesn't fit. In the end, it just feels awkward. The music is at least catchy. It's pleasant to listen to. Just doesn't fit very well with the stages.

4. The style.

The style is inconsistent at times. Why does the first level end Mario-3-style, but level 2 ends like the first Super Mario Bros? With these two clashing styles, why is the map presented Super Mario World style?

You did present them nicely, though. They match the look and feel of the originals. And I guess I am taking this a little too seriously, seeing as this is a flash game, and not a big multi-million dollar production. Fan service is fan service, but it still irks me in a way.

In the end, I have to admit, the style has some charm to it.

5. Game Over.

I've been thinking about this one, and it still puts me off, honestly. This game is supposed to be your Magnum Opus. It's the sequel to your previous game, which was, and still is, very popular. So using a stupid old meme like "EPIC FAIL" just seems seriously inappropriate, and clashes with the overall charming style of the game. I think you should just stick to the tried-and-true "GAME OVER"

- - - -

I put this game on-par with its predecessor. Charming, unique, and fun, yet rough around the edges. I notice that this game is a lot longer than the last one, and I commend you for doing this all on your own. I can't wait to see what you'll come out with if you collaborate with other artists! Most of the best flash games you've ever played here were collaborations. Even K.O.L.M., for example, was a collaboration between THE-EXP and the company he worked for at the time. The company funded it, and he developed it. The funding allowed him to focus on the quality of the game while maintaining a tolerable lifestyle; it allowed him to really polish it.

I apologize for the overly-harsh tone in my last review. I felt disappointed by what I saw on the surface, and lashed out. So now I'm giving this game the score it really deserves: a 7 out of 10.

Lambtaco responds:

1. Seems to me if someone is that bent on having the controls the way they like, they should be using a controller anyway. That's my excuse at least. I split the item box button up, because when it was closer to the other keys it was too easy to hit accidentally. It's like the select button, intentionally hard to press. The jump arc is what it is because turtles are slow.

2. I'm assuming you don't draw much. Because five minutes is absolutely ridiculous, even as an exaggeration. Just based on the volume of art in the game, I'd need to have spent less than 1 second on each asset. I like the way the game looks. It's basically what I wanted it to look like when I imagined it. Am I supposed to have a realistic looking Mario game?

3. I think I did a damn good job with the music considering the limitations I had. Some self-imposed. You're the only person to complain about it so far. Which is actually a pleasant surprise. I was expecting tons of bitching about the lack of Mario remixes.

4. You'e the only person to complain about the different level endings, and I think you'll be the only person to ever do it. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and stand by my decision.

5. Another thing you seem to be the only one complaining about. I think we should all be tired of the words GAME OVER by now.

I think we just have fundamentally different expectations for what the game should be. I wanted a content heavy game, you wanted a very polished game. I wanted to make it on my own, you wanted me to collaborate. I think one of the reasons your criticisms get me so fired up is because I disagree with them. We wanted different things from this game. Seems you would like the game, if it were an entirely different game.

Thanks for re-reviewing.

[Kill Your Nerves]

It's challenging and has decent art, music, and attention to detail with the little blood splotches, but needs a story and a purpose.

With no purpose to grinding through these levels (other than the fact that there are levels that exist), playing this is totally unfulfilling, which destroys any motivation I could have had to continue past level 9.

[Execution]

I don't get it.

It doesn't matter whether I play YOLO or not, I always start this game up to Sir Giant Pink Lizard, tied up, ready for shooting. Doesn't matter if I kill him or leave him alone, reloading the page brings me right back to the same part, over and over.

Is it broken?

raitendo responds:

Might be..! You know it's rather old at this point, and all.

[Nothing To Hide]

My only complaint is "HO GOD WHY IS THIS SO SLOW!?"

Hopefully, it won't lag so badly in the final version.

For what's presented though, it's everything I would expect from the likes of NutcaseNightmare!

Just... the lag though...

[Phoenotopia]

I don't usually give 5 stars in a serious review. Only games that blow me away get this rating. I have no complaints. Well, the difficulty spikes up pretty high, and it can be difficult at times to figure out what to do, but that's half the fun.

In reply to cybergmrxx0020's review, talk to all the people in Atai, and you will notice that there is a lady selling a "truth potion", which makes people "talk embarrassingly too much"...and there is a captured bandit who refuses to talk. There's your hint.

[GunFox vs. MonsterBoss]

I can't shoot. X doesn't do anything. This is a serious flaw, and it breaks the game before I can even get anything done. I'm stuck at the tutorial level.

[Reach The End]

While the concept of zooming in on a pixel is neat and all, I feel the viewable area is too small, and could be bumped up without affecting the difficulty, and still meet the criteria of the challenge. Just make the viewport (or "stage") a little wider and taller. At least 4 - 6 times larger. Please do that.

Aside from those complaints, this game is pretty good!

FattyJoeMan responds:

The reason for the small stage is due to the ow Resolution Jam's main rule. The game must have a resolution of 32 by 32 pixels. This rules is the reason for such a small view area.

[Sloppy Turd]

Flappy Bird with a turd instead of a bird.

Bravo.

[My Friend Pedro]

The game's pretty good, but I notice a few things along the way:

* The stairs function in a way that reminds me of Castlevania (that's not a good thing)

* Game runs slowly, and the 'mouse' lags, since it is part of the game. This causes my mouse to go all over the place when trying to aim (cause you just HAD to make the real cursor invisible, didn't you?), and I accidentally clicked the "art portal" link while trying to aim.

* The knife pretty much removes the need for a gun, as it can mysteriously hit targets at long range. About a meter.

* Apparently I'm invincible. No amount of gunfire seems to harm my guy.

* Why am I going in and killing these random people? What's my goal? Did they steal something from me? Am I the bad guy?

All in all, my rating is 3/5. There are many things that could use improvement. That is my honest opinion of the game.