Name: | Super Mario: Star Seeker |
Author: | K3fka |
Added: | |
Demo: | Yes |
Hall of Fame: | No |
Length: | 5 exit(s) |
Type: | Standard: Normal |
Description: | Super Mario: Star Seeker is a hack that draws heavy inspiration from games like Super Mario 64. Unlike a traditional SMW hack, the focus here is on exploring large, open levels to complete several objectives. This demo contains 1 complete level, complete with 5 stars to collect. Additionally, you can see a small preview of an upcoming level if you collect all 5 stars. |
Tags: | asm bosses exgfx exploration hdma health music |
Comments: | 14 (jump to comments) |
Rating: |
Download
429.99 KiB | 2,124 downloads
Comments (14)
The game is very enjoyable
5/5
I did experience a game crash when killed by the Jelly Fish at one point. I lost all the progress, but I'm not even mad I just played it again. Good job.
I know that ROMhack projects are highly prone to abandonment due to the fact that they demand similar labor-input to paid game development but yield no financial compensation and little, if any, career advancement, and I do not begrudge you the right to dispense of your labor and expertise as you see fit. However, I want to emphasize to you that--in my humble opinion--this project really is something special and any progress you make on it is worthwhile.
I do have a few criticisms, but it's important to bear in mind that this short demo is some of the very best Super Mario World I've played.
- The second star is probably my favorite of the bunch, but I found the maverick thwomp section to be unintuitive, even if it wasn't particularly difficult. Maybe if I had observed them for a second or two I would have figured out their behavior and how to systematically avoid them, but even then the standard for Mario games is that obstacles should either be instantly readable or methodically introduced so the player understands their finer nuances by the time they become relevant. For what it's worth, I've seen my fair share of SMW mavericks (most of which presumably use the same custom sprite you used) and I don't think I've ever really gotten a solid handle on their behavior.
- The outdoor environment is a bit repetitive and lacks outstanding points of interest. This makes the level less engaging to explore and less intuitive to navigate, especially when probing every last nook and cranny for a red coin.
- I am almost absolutely certain that one red coin did not successfully load into the level the first time I attempted to collect them all. If it's relevant, this was the coin at the top of the vertical shaft with horizontally moving urchins which opens downwards (as opposed to the other similar shaft with urchins and a red coin at the bottom).
- The jellyfish/torpedo ted generator often produced a very large number of jellyfish at once without warning, multiple times to the point of preventing escape entirely.
I would also like to suggest that you remove the mission select sequence entirely and replace it with a system where the player can view star names and the hint cutscenes in exchange for coins. This would achieve a few things that I think would elevate the experience even further. First, it would encourage the player to take initiative in engaging with the world and further enhance the "natural" quality of the exploration. Provided that your subsequent levels are as well designed as this one, I don't think players will have much trouble figuring out most objectives on their own. Second, it would provide a real incentive to collect coins in a hack where the life system is absent and a general gaming environment where the life system is considered antiquated and burdensome.