SMBX (2014 Yacht of Opinions): MaGL X - Whoohoo!

[LovelyPenguin]

Everyone, what were your favourite World 2 levels and why?

Why, I'd say What Blue Pipe?, of course! XD

But with all seriousness, if I were to exclude my own level, I'd say my favorite was Bowser's Oldest Fortress (I think that was the name). Yeah, it wasn't big on action, but it oozed atmosphere, and I love atmosphere (especially when it's creepy, like it was here).

[zmonbobbo]

I'm glad people are happy with my level (Dudes)! Looking back, I kind of wish I had taken the time to learn how to implement custom graphics, but I was kind of lazy and I was dealing with finals/internship applications, so... blah. Also, I knew going in that I wanted to go for an easy, rompy kind of level, but I think I might have overdone it with the lack of enemy variety/any challenge whatsoever.

That said, the goal was to make folks laugh, and I guess I did, so I'm super happy!

Also, fun fact: the bully was also friendly and said something to the effect of "Just a reminder that dudes come in all shapes and sizes! Have a nice day!"

[phencer42]

Also, fun fact: the bully was also friendly and said something to the effect of "Just a reminder that dudes come in all shapes and sizes! Have a nice day!"

Oh man, that's awesome! Great job on the level, dude and keep duding it up.

[yogui]

Everyone, what were your favourite World 2 levels and why?

A Jolly Bouncing Level maybe? All those bouncing blocks and happy enemies bouncing was cool, if only it was longer.
That or Dude because dude, that's good dude. Yeah dude.

[Voltgloss]

Everyone, what were your favourite World 2 levels and why?

I have to go with Dudes. It had and stuck to a neat idea; it was implemented in a way that was both legitimately funny and offered decent gameplay; it used the idea in interesting ways (I liked the wave of "friendly" and "not friendly" hopping Koopas); and it didn't overstay its welcome.

Just below Dudes, I'd put What Blue Pipe, Dead Yoshi Ship, and A Swim in the Sinking Lake. All decent levels that looked reasonably fun to play. (Disclaimer: I enjoy flying challenges, so the finicky aspects of Yoshi's flying mechanics don't bother me.) It's the cleverness and humor of Dudes that bumps it just above this set of three.

In the third tier, I'd put levels that were almost good but suffered due to one particular flaw or design element. This includes I Hear in Japan they Fly in their Castles (well-designed technical challenge EXCEPT for lack of blue Yoshi respawning and otherwise punitive second half), Ocean (solid level EXCEPT for the "music"), and Bowser's Oldest Fortress (great atmosphere and concept EXCEPT minimal and token gameplay).

Fourth tier is levels that were more basically (though competently) designed but were "just sort of there" or looked like not much fun to play. By which I mean Jump the Canyons, A Jolly Bouncing Level, and Lava House. Lava House in particular falls more on the "not so much fun" end of the spectrum.

Lowest tier includes two levels that were more confusing than anything else (Too Much Lava in this MFing Disaster and A Foxtrot in Dreamland) and two levels that were both "just sort of there" AND didn't have much gameplay to them (Jolly Old Toad and Jump Rapidly).

[QuantumPhysicsMan]

Everyone, what were your favourite World 2 levels and why?

Dudes and A Jolly Bouncing Level would have to be my favourites. They looked happy and a lot of fun.

Bowser's Oldest Castle was pretty great too.

[RedMageSusie]

Hm...I want to go with Dudes, closely followed by Lava House and Jump Rapidly. They felt the most "complete" in terms of level design. Bowser's Oldest Fortress I think I liked the most conceptually. And lastly, I really think I Hear in Japan they Fly in their Castles had a lot of potential, and I think it was mostly well planned and had a lot of effort put into it. But I think the difficulty might have been a bit much. Although, I think being in a contest like this kinda hurts it because there really isn't a difficulty curve to speak of. I could imagine this fitting it really well in a world 7 or 8, and the difficulty my not seem as bad. As it is right now with the other levels around it, it's kinda jarring (but there's not much you can really do about that).

[skyluigi2]

Hmm, my favourite World 2 level? That's a tough one, there were some pretty nice ones. If I had to go with one though, it'd honestly be I Hear In Japan They Fly In Their Castles. It has a high difficulty, but to me it looked fair. That's just the style of levels I enjoy. It might not have been the fanciest looking (that'd be Ocean), but I liked it anyway. And the name made me chuckle, for some reason.

[Rednaxela]

Everyone, what were your favourite World 2 levels and why?

Hmm... I'd say a tossup between I Hear in Japan they Fly in their Castles (Most mechanically interesting by far) and Dudes (Dude, it managed to mix similar looking friendly and non-friendly koopas, in a way which appeared to be more amusing than annoying)

[Septentrion Pleiades]

World 2 was just a giant bleh. We aren't even though a quarter of the way through this contest. I estimate I will get at least 100th place at this point though, but not any sooner.

[Alice]

Everyone, what were your favourite World 2 levels and why?

I personally like Bowser's Oldest Fortress most. It could have had more done with it and I'd like to see a more thoroughly expanded version but it was really interesting and the most memorable of the levels in world 2 for me.

[Minnakht]

Dudes, What Blue Pipe and Bowser's Oldest Fortress, not necessarily in this order or any particular order. I can remember the names of those three, and Dudes might be biased since I just watched it so of course I remember its name.
Either way, those three I liked.

Jolly Bouncing Level I suppose was kind of fun, but... less memorable.

[Joseph Staleknight]

I really liked Dudes. It had a really good feel to it, like you're a total bro with the red Koopas. Also, I found it funny that there would be an angry old shell-less Koopa at the end.

[Gezo24]

It seems like the biggest problem with alot of levels was that they were too short, so they never really went anywhere.
Also I liked the last level alot. Had alot to it compared to the other world 2 levels. Id say it deserves the top World 2 level. And, I liked the music, converting 'actual' songs like that is always interesting.

[zmonbobbo]

Bowser's Oldest Fortress was my favorite World 2 level. I'm a sucker for neat-looking levels with an interesting story, and the homemade soundtrack was a really cool touch. Could've been harder, sure, but it made an impression.

[YelseyKing]

Everyone, what were your favourite World 2 levels and why?

Despite its simplicity, I enjoyed A Jolly Bouncing Level. And like everyone else, Dudes thoroughly amused me.

And I made it out of the casino, too. Hooray!

[Unaniem]

I hear in Japan they fly in their castles for the reasons I mentioned earlier in the thread. Sure, it has its problems, but I'm just a sucker for very difficult levels that get pulled off reasonably well, seeing how easy tough levels fall into the abyss of cheap difficulty and midpoint starvation.

Dudes was a very pleasant level despite how simple it was. Everything just seemed so...merry.

Bowser's Oldest Fortress for the same reason everybody else has mentioned.

[SAJewers]

raocow: Any reason you're using only Mario unless forced by the level?

[YelseyKing]

raocow: Any reason you're using only Mario unless forced by the level?

He's actually explained that in a previous SMBX video. As I recall, it's because only Mario (and Luigi, who he'll also sometimes use) can ride Yoshi, so he feels like he may miss out otherwise. Plus, I'd imagine some of it is just him being the most comfortable with Mario's abilities and play style.

[GalaxyOfJ]

Bowser's Oldest Fortress was a really neat experience, but that's something everyone's said.

Something I liked was A Swim in the Sinking Lake.

The idea of a water elevator is pretty cool though some of the obstacles were questionably placed and the nature of the enemies being purely generators made them mostly ineffectual.

What got me the most was the layer 3 joke at the end. I loved the joke just enough to not be bothered by the fact that using the midpoint and second half on it made the level kind of insubstantial.

Good job PichuVSLink man

[Ignoritus]

Dudes
This level amused me. The design is really damn meh though. Not bad but not good.

Swim in the Sinking Lake
The way it used the gimmick was pretty cool, but the actual implementation of this gimmick was questionable. The fish are usually a total nonfactor since the falling water pushes them up to the top, leaving you safe. And then those narrow spike passageways. And then the level just ended. Super short. Found the Layer 3 joke hilarious. Be sure to enter the Make a Good Joke contest when that happens.

Lava House
Yeah. Eh? It's not awful, but it's really all over the place, doesn't look very nice, and really didn't do anything special. Oh well.

[Ometeotl]

Phew, I survived the casino.

[zmonbobbo]

By the way, anyone have a link to the SMBX-style "Supermassive Black Hole" cover? It was pretty brilliant!

[Validon98]

I watched yesterday's levels and made no comment on them... and besides like a few things I forgot what they were mostly about anyways because yeah, World 2.

First level I thought was kind of neat how it separated out the friendlies from the not so ones, but other than that it was kind of an uhhhh level.
Second level just sort of happened and had that one little joke near the end that was a little funny but at the same time kind of didn't add to much to it. Ahh well.
Lavahouse I don't think was tedious in my opinion, besides MAYBE the one section with the Spiny Tops. Other than that it was fairly okay. Also raocow yeah, you missed the midpoint, although by now I suppose you've been told already. Multiple times. :V

But yeah, World 2. Favorite level? Uhh... I don't know. A lot of them were so average I kind of forgot a lot of them. I kinda liked that one with the angry Toad, but I think overall I didn't really have a favorite.

I am now confident in my ability to avoid being below 100th place. Double digit ranking here I come! :V

[Rednaxela]

But yeah, World 2. Favorite level? Uhh... I don't know. A lot of them were so average I kind of forgot a lot of them. I kinda liked that one with the angry Toad, but I think overall I didn't really have a favorite.

Except "Toad House" was actually near the end of World 1, not in World 2. World 2 sure flew by.