Honestly, I'd recommend just removing the lava puddles entirely/replacing them with pits. Pretty much everyone who's tested the level seems to regard them as a bad idea; the last thing the player needs in an area which demands semi-continual movement + a fair amount of both speed an accuracy is hard-to-spot instant death tiles--they should either be unmistakable or not be there at all. And they don't even look particularly good even as decoration, anyway.
A few more things:
- The player's first instinct in this level is to jump over the pit. However, this Podoboo jumps out exactly at the moment the player would normally do that. There is, moreover, no way the player could expect this the first time, and they may likely forget on subsequent playthroughs after making it through much of the level, making for some cheap, start-o-the-stage deaths.
- If this Fire Bro decides to fire off two shots in a row (as he quite frequently does, Mario is almost forced to take a hit (barring some fancy lava swimming). He can't stay on the upper platform, as the lava forces him down, an if mon frère is attacking, Mario may be unable to get the drop on him before the lava makes this unfeasible. Add to this the fact that there's no powerup post-midpoint (or anywhere at all in the second half of the stage, for that), denying even the possibility of just tanking the hit, and things are off the a somewhat frustrating start.
- Speaking of which, there should probably be some powerups in the second half of the stage, no? With the ever-present threat of magma-y instant death, it seems appropriate to allow the play to take a spare hit or two from the normal obstacles.
- I died about a gazillion times from the extremely hard-too-see firey excrement the hopping flame leaves behind. Note how hard it is to see even in the above image. It blends in far toowell with the layer 3 BG, at least in this particular spot.
Didn't know the layout of this part ahead of time? In that case, it's curtains (of lava) for you, as stopping here for the briefest moment is most likely fatal.
Putting a semi-hidden hopping flame a top a ledge at such a point where it it jumps right in the player's path at a section where they're likely running like made (for so the level encourages in the obstacle immediately before) again seems to be asking for more precognition.
This part is a bit horrific. The fire-feces from the hopping flame mentioned above effectively prevents the player from advancing until the lava is moving down, at which point it's insanely difficult to avoid the plants. What's more, the player has no reason to expect the area between the pipes to contain instant death--indeed, due to the above situation, it seems as though these are the only safe spots as the lava descends. Maybe they should be safe spots (or at least the area between the first and second pipe should) in light of this.
A few more things:
- The player's first instinct in this level is to jump over the pit. However, this Podoboo jumps out exactly at the moment the player would normally do that. There is, moreover, no way the player could expect this the first time, and they may likely forget on subsequent playthroughs after making it through much of the level, making for some cheap, start-o-the-stage deaths.
- If this Fire Bro decides to fire off two shots in a row (as he quite frequently does, Mario is almost forced to take a hit (barring some fancy lava swimming). He can't stay on the upper platform, as the lava forces him down, an if mon frère is attacking, Mario may be unable to get the drop on him before the lava makes this unfeasible. Add to this the fact that there's no powerup post-midpoint (or anywhere at all in the second half of the stage, for that), denying even the possibility of just tanking the hit, and things are off the a somewhat frustrating start.
- Speaking of which, there should probably be some powerups in the second half of the stage, no? With the ever-present threat of magma-y instant death, it seems appropriate to allow the play to take a spare hit or two from the normal obstacles.
- I died about a gazillion times from the extremely hard-too-see firey excrement the hopping flame leaves behind. Note how hard it is to see even in the above image. It blends in far toowell with the layer 3 BG, at least in this particular spot.
Didn't know the layout of this part ahead of time? In that case, it's curtains (of lava) for you, as stopping here for the briefest moment is most likely fatal.
Putting a semi-hidden hopping flame a top a ledge at such a point where it it jumps right in the player's path at a section where they're likely running like made (for so the level encourages in the obstacle immediately before) again seems to be asking for more precognition.
This part is a bit horrific. The fire-feces from the hopping flame mentioned above effectively prevents the player from advancing until the lava is moving down, at which point it's insanely difficult to avoid the plants. What's more, the player has no reason to expect the area between the pipes to contain instant death--indeed, due to the above situation, it seems as though these are the only safe spots as the lava descends. Maybe they should be safe spots (or at least the area between the first and second pipe should) in light of this.