SMB4 SMW TSRP2R Zycloboo's Challenge v2.2 - Final Action

[AlchemistHohenheim]

So if I'm not mistaken Ancient Mouse Trap was called...Ancient Fountain, i think, in the original TSRP2?

Somehow I have strong memories of "the level with the Labyrinth Zone tile-set where you have to go through a whole rigmarole to disarm the Kaizo trap goal". Which is actually kind of notable because the only other levels from the original that I really remember something about are Mario's Castle, We Are Pirates, and Balloon Cave #2.

[Le Neveu de Rameau]

So if I'm not mistaken Ancient Mouse Trap was called...Ancient Fountain, i think, in the original TSRP2?

Old Aquaria. There's still an Old Aquaria in the hack, but now it's the level formerly known as Ruined Ruins. That one admittedly bears a stronger resemblence to Neo Aquaria in terms of structure, but honestly, I prefer this one being Old Aquaria, not only because it's generally a more memorable level, but also because it was precisely its differences from the (chronologically) later settlement always struck me as particularly interesting. The fact that Neo-Aquaria was mostly water-based, but this one only has a bit of (non-moving) water in the bottom and hidden ghost-filled basement made feel old and dried out, a sensation only enhanced by the crumbling blocks and the grey palette of the original. The washed-out smelly cheese effect in this version, in contrast, is significantly less pleasant, and rather of detracts from the atmosphere.

Æsthetic changes aside, this seems to be an unpopular level among the teeming millions, but truth be told, it was always one of my favorites. It actually does the maze concept fairly well, and genuinely feels like exploring a set of trap-filled ancient ruins in a way that strongly appeal to me. There's lots of ways to screw up and die, admittedly, but because of the way the level is constructed, you never really have to repeat all that much once you know where you're going. The empty boxes are a nice touch, too, adding to the feeling of despair and false hope this level provides (without ever causing frustration). You sort of guess what's coming after a while, but you hope it will be different all the same, only to have a pin-prick of disappointment jab you each time. We think ourselves above such naïveté, but alas, dopes spring eternal in the end.

Speaking of dopes, I don't think there's ever been a playthrough of this level where raocow didn't fail to read the warning about the kaizo trap ahead of time blithely bumbled headlong in to it. It was even moved to directly before the trap in this version, but alas, raocow seems to have decided that books are for schnooks, and ended up playing the role of the schlemiel in this novel after all was said and done.

I like how that level is still so boring and ill-considered that raocow still wants to put a savestate at the midpoint.

I like how sprites just fall through all the custom blocks.

I like how the ballin' chain is used in a Yoshi segment, although it doesn't really work with Yoshi (the spike part doesn't hurt Yoshi but the centre it rotates about does).*

It's as though FPI didn't play his levels again when he updated this hack, just made them pretty and added extra midpoints if they looked a bit long.

Let us not forget that this hack was first begun in 2002 and released in 2006, when standards of functionality were perhaps not what they are today. It's always a difficult question when updating a hack from a past era--how many of the weird gameplay quirks of the original version do you leave as was, acknowledging that it is a product of its time and plays fast and loose as things did then, and how much do you update to what is expected today? In view of this, combined with the noxious fumes of sun-rooted cheese which permeate this part of the mountain, we might do well to view today's levels as a sort of manky bridge between the early-to-mid 2000s and today.

In all seriousness, though, the secret area in Nebula Ruins/Ruin of Smell always seemed an oddity to me as well. It's certainly the most complicated hidden section in all of the hack aside from the entrance to the special world, and yet it's also the least essential, being purely lives and powerups. On one level, I get this--precisely because it's so elaborate, it's meant to be purely optional, without locking you out of any new stages. And it admittedly probably does more closely what Classic Nintendo would have done for a comparably hidden secret in this era. On the other hand, because it's so elaborate, you sort of want it be more meaningful in terms of unlocking new content. The core of the problem, I suspect, is that there's no way to no it doesn't open up anything new, a problem only enhanced by the use of a special level marker on the overworld which doesn't indicate secret exits or the lack thereof. Of course, we're talking about a hack whose original version one could ostensibly 100% without having the vaguest suspicion that an entire secret world even exists in the first place (aside from one mysterious and apparently pointless pipe on the overworld), let alone guessing the multi-step song-and-dance to access it, so I suppose it doesn't seem so strange it that version, at least. Here, though, where these sort of issues were explicitly meant to be addressed, it does come off as something of an uncanny artifact of a more bogey-haunted past.

[blue_kirby]

Who's looking forward to raocow playing the

infamous Balloon Cave 2

level very soon?

[AlchemistHohenheim]

So if I'm not mistaken Ancient Mouse Trap was called...Ancient Fountain, i think, in the original TSRP2?

Old Aquaria.

Right, upon checking the playlist for raocow's original Google Video run of TSRP2, apparently the level title I was thinking of was Cursed Fountain, and I just kinda mixed everything up together.

[raocow]

Who's looking forward to raocow playing the

infamous Balloon Cave 2

level very soon?

yes get hype for this

[Bean]

I'm honestly more hyped for the return bouts with

Happy Goomba and the Powercats

.

[Super Maks 64]

The following links are not safe for children

Whole thing
Straigth to the point

[SAJewers]

[Bean]

Again, just goes to show that you're definitely better at these games now.

[Grounder]

The following links are not safe for children

Whole thing
Straigth to the point

Do you find this level annoying, Russian raocow?

[raocow]

man I sure was terrible back then

[AlchemistHohenheim]

Man, it really doesn't feel like its been 7 years since the TSRP2 Youtube run.

[blue_kirby]

"Get ... the ... thing ... DAAAH!!!!"

Also, the TSRP2R version didn't look too hard. The coins are a bit easy to follow as well. Kinda gives me Battletoads vibes as well.

Major Spoilers for those who haven't played the game

Also, Balloon Cave 1 is in the very final world (which is actually a full-fledged world compared to the original hack where it was just 3 or so levels if you didn't include Mario's Castle) this time around, and the whole "Powercats" world is different as well.

[Giik]

I can't unsee that little wiggle raocow makes mario do when he's jumping off of something and he needs to stay in the same spot. It's usually off a spring or bouncing off an enemy.

[Paragraph]

Did my eyes deceive me, or did the fireball pass through the lava fall right at the end before the goal? Is there a bonus area hidden behind it, as it does "block" off a pipe?

[Alice]

Did my eyes deceive me, or did the fireball pass through the lava fall right at the end before the goal? Is there a bonus area hidden behind it, as it does "block" off a pipe?

It wasn't just you that noticed that. I'd caught it too. I'd assume it's probably one of the next bonus areas he'll get hints for or something.

[Lockirby2]

I also think Balloon Cave was a bit easier this time around on the first half, although I haven't really scrutinized every block. But yeah, pastcow looked like he was just sitting there stiffly while falling down.

Also, you can beat this section (at least in Reloaded) just by hugging the left wall and not pressing anything.

[Sebby19]

I think the original Balloon Cave 2 was one of the earliest examples of the phenomenon known as Angrycow.

Those kids must be teenagers, by now.

[Le Neveu de Rameau]

Fire's not going to be very useful here, because, you know, ghosts.

I found this comment a bit unfortunate, as almost immediately afterwards in the cloud-riding segment, you can totally roast some ghost, as the the straight-moving Boos are naught but Blurp resprites. It's so much fun I tend to kill myself if I don't have fire there, as I just can't bear the thought of not doing it. We take our ghost lights very seriously round these here parts.

And Balloon Cave 2 hasn't actually been changed that much for its conversion to Venom Tunnel; the only thing I noticed was a handful of hopping flames being transformed in to Lantern Ghosts. In the first section, only one of these actually matters at all in practice, but it makes a pretty significant difference, as the flame it replaces was the only enemy that made just falling straight down not a viable strategy; with a boppable enemy in its place, all you have to do now is sit back and let gravity do the work. In the second section, the only flames which were replaced were the two guarding the five-block wide breakable platforms in the center of the shaft. Due to their more predictable patrolling and lack of radnomly turning around and hopping up to hit you once you've passed, the Latern Ghosts do make a somewhat less menacing sentry for these two setups (which are hardly the worst in the section anyway), but honestly, it doesn't make that big a difference. raocow has indeed just gotten that much better.

[Alice]

I found this comment a bit unfortunate, as almost immediately afterwards in the cloud-riding segment, you can totally roast some ghost, as the the straight-moving Boos are naught but Blurp resprites. It's so much fun I tend to kill myself if I don't have fire there, as I just can't bear the thought of not doing it. We take our ghost lights very seriously round these here parts.

That's kinda a bit of an odd design decision. You'd think eeries would be a better choice there.

[Lockirby2]

Wow, I could not find that secret exit in Old Aquaria. I hit that P-switch in a few places, but I never tried going up there.

[Ashan]

The thing that's always been missing for me in the first party Mario games was a bunch of exposition from Yoshi

[Bean]

Hey, the very first official one he was in had exposition right when you freed him!

[blue_kirby]

The fact that Gold Yoshi says that the Rexes imprisoned him came out of nowhere. I was expecting him to say that the Pirate Koopas (seeing how they're the tertiary antagonists) or something imprisoned him.

[morsel/morceau]

It's interesting to hear raocow say this hack is polished. I used to 'polish' my grandmother's furniture when I was a child (she wanted me to think it was a marvellous game). Of course, I used too much polish and it ended up sticky and streaky and someone else had to do it over again. This is the sort of polish this hack has.