Messages

31

Mario Chat / Re: SMB3 VS. SMW

« on: November 02, 2009, 05:13:32 PM »

They're both great, but I like SMB3 a bit better because it offers more of a challenge for me and I like a lot of the hidden secrets and overall gimmicks they put in there. The levels can be short sometimes, but they all have pretty unique themes, and when overall themes are reused, there's always something new they throw in there, like the maze in 6-5 and the hologram platforms in 7-6.

I posted my thoughts on SMW a while ago on Super Mario World Central (go figure), so I guess I'll just copy and paste...

Super Mario World isn't a bad game, but as I've said before, it's my least favorite of the "Main Series" Mario games. The design just isn't all that great if you ask me, and I didn't like a few of the changes they made like Koopas sliding out of shells, the Reserve Item, and fireballed enemies turning into coins. I abhor time limits as well, but I won't complain about that since SMB, Lost Levels, and SMB3 also used those. Not to mention the game-breaking Cape Feather. And I really don't like Yoshi.

There are a lot of things SMW did well, though, like the mazes and puzzles in Ghost Houses (not the best, but they were good for a start), secret exits and the complexity of the overworld, hidden areas like the Star World, and so on. It's good enough for some quick entertainment with Super Mario Advance 2 on my DS.

You know, I noticed something a while ago. I was repeatedly testing some custom music I was composing on a clean SMW ROM on Yoshi's Island 1, so I was playing around in that level a lot. And I noticed something: Doesn't it seem like, with Yoshi's Island 1, Nintendo was trying to shove every new SNES innovation in your face before getting to the stuff from previous Mario games? At the beginning, we see a slope, yeah, those were in SMB3. But enemies sliding down slopes? Then a humongous Banzai Bill, bigger than any sprite the NES could produce. And then a flying ? Block. Never seen that before! Finally, a diagonal pipe before we've seen any regular ones and some dinosaur enemies that take two hits to kill. Oh, and a jumping Piranha Plant. And then we see some normal pipes...but they're multicolored.

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General Chat / Re: What Gets Your Internet In A Bunch?

« on: October 08, 2009, 02:25:53 PM »

I would say communication, although media comes in a close second. I'm usually on a forum when I'm on the Internet (I'm not at many forums, so I spend more time at each). I also occasionally watch videos or download stuff when I want/need to.

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Mario Chat / Re: Mario & Luigi 3 is officially the highest rated handheld game ever made.

« on: October 06, 2009, 02:33:16 PM »

What I'm wondering is where exactly Bowser's Castle is in relation to Toad Town and the Mushroom Kingdom. Is it on the island of Dark Land as displayed in the SMA4 map? Is it closer to Peach's castle like in RPG and Bowser's Inside Story and the one in Dark Land is just a "main base" of some kind he doesn't spend very much time at? The first part of BIS was basically Bowser trying to get to his castle from Cavi Cape, so Cavi Cape, Plack Beach, Dimble Wood, Bumpsy Plains, and Blubble Lake must all be nearby.

Incidentally, while I can't say I'm fond of the aforementioned un-Mario areas in BIS, they do hold a particular liking for me. I just like looking at the different styles of all the new areas they come up with in each new game.

About the Partners in Time locations, the PiT map is really cramped with the images of the locations taking up the majority of the space, so I think it's safe to assume that's not an actual map of the kingdom as it is, just a general indicator of the directions the areas are in. Mario and Luigi are just warped to them through time holes, anyway.

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Mario Chat / Re: Mario & Luigi 3 is officially the highest rated handheld game ever made.

« on: October 05, 2009, 03:56:12 PM »

...the generic and generically named Blubble Lake and Dimble Wood come to mind. Also, what is up with Plack Beach? Since when has poor dental health had anything to do with Mario?

Yeah, adding random decaying teeth to a generic beach doesn't make it not generic, it just makes it weird on top of generic. Aside from the rotting teeth, though, I think Plack Beach is a pretty good area. I like the music both outside and the version inside Bowser.

Despite their genericness, I like a lot of the game's areas. Dimble Wood is pretty huge, and it's fun to explore with Mario and Luigi once you're outside Bowser. I'd say my favorite area in the game so far (I'm just short of collecting the third you-know-what-if-you've-gotten-there in Plack Beach) is Cavi Cape; there's just something about the general environment that I like, and the music is incredible. I actually thought the areas might be based on body parts for a little after seeing Plack Beach, just to go further along with the inside Bower theme, since "Cavi" sounds like "Cavity", but none of the other areas have that kind of theme.

Speaking of exploring, I spent the majority of my spare time yesterday exploring the map with Mario and Luigi. It was pretty incredible and really gave me a Superstar Saga vibe.

...And of dog excrement, since Weegee says that PiT deserves a 6.5 to 7 score, I guess dog excrement would be an 8 or something? XP

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Mario Chat / Re: Mario & Luigi 3 is officially the highest rated handheld game ever made.

« on: October 04, 2009, 06:27:15 PM »

I haven't beaten Bowser's Inside Story yet, but I'm a good way through it, and I do think it's up there with Superstar Saga. Partners in Time is my least favorite in the series (as well as my least favorite of all the Mario RPGs)...but I don't dislike it. Can someone tell me why it's so hated?

36

General Chat / Re: Wacko dreams

« on: October 01, 2009, 03:19:12 PM »

Giant, weird bugs seem to be a recurring theme that comes up every so often in my dreams. Which is strange, since I kind of like bugs. I'm not afraid of them or anything.

Also, a few nights ago, I had my second recent dream in which a house collapsed...another thing I'm not afraid of at all. Does this mean something? >_>

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Mario Chat / Re: Vivian = Male? (Paper Mario)

« on: October 01, 2009, 03:10:46 PM »

Am I the only person who likes the fact Nintendo localizes gay/transgender/transvestite characters out of my games?

I don't have experience with any besides Birdo and Vivian (are there others in other series?), but I'm glad they're female here.

38

Mario Chat / Re: Where do you stand on SMW Hacking?

« on: September 23, 2009, 05:35:00 PM »

I've liked a few other SMW hacks too, but the only one I can think of right now is Keytastrophe.

Man, I love Keytastrophe too - I actually tested the most recent demo a little while ago and made a thorough commentary for S.N.N. (the author) to provide feedback and bug reports. I actually haven't played a lot of hacks, but Keytastrophe is my favorite for now. I'm really itching to play The Essence Star, but first, I want to play the first two in the series (I'm already halfway through the first), and to do that, I have to get a controller whose left directional button works properly.

Oh, and thanks for the feedback.

After the first world, I stumbled upon a weird secret level, it contained "Glass" platforms and a bunch of Chargin' Chucks. I found the level [and the game] a bit too hard so I gave up...

Yeah, that's Glass Secret 2. My current hack isn't going to use Chargin' Chucks at all, actually. They just wouldn't fit the theme. Going back to what CrossEyed7 said, it's going to be easier than SMI1, but I'm going to make sure the later areas provide ample challenge.

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Mario Chat / Re: Where do you stand on SMW Hacking?

« on: September 23, 2009, 03:46:12 PM »

My main aversion to working with hacks is I'm always preoccupied by the idea that limited ROM space will limit the size of levels and what I can do with it.

If it's any consolation, in SMW, you can use a maxiumum of 96 levels on the overworld and 512 areas in total, each of which can be up to 32 screens in length (varies depending on if it's a vertical level and/or uses Layer 2, though) and has no limit on the amount of objects and enemies that can be put in. Within reason, of course. There's usually a cap at about 84 sprites in a single area, but using that many in the first place will probably cram so many sprites onto the screen that the game experiences slowdown, and you'll never have to worry about putting too many objects in a level unless you like fill every single block with a tile. If you use up too much space in the ROM, Lunar Magic will automatically expand it, so you don't need to worry about expanding it manually.

One of the hacks I created, Super Mario Infinity 2, is widely regarded as the longest SMW hack in existence, and I didn't even have to use all of the areas (though I came somewhat close!).

Anyway, as I just implied, I've created two full-length SMW ROM hacks, so of course I like SMW Hacking. I'm currently working on my third and final one, and no, it's not SMI3.

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Latest News / Re: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story out now in North America

« on: September 22, 2009, 03:32:58 PM »

I wouldn't say it's too easy. As a matter of fact, it seems to me that the action command timing was made just a tad harder than in the previous two games. It could just be my imagination playing tricks on me though.

I think this is true, at least for the Jump attack. In the previous two games, you could be anywhere from halfway through the jump to right on the enemy's head when you press the button and still get the action command, but in this one, you really have to get the timing right just before you land on the enemy to get that second attack.

I haven't beaten this game yet, but it's really good so far.

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Latest News / Re: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story out now in North America

« on: September 16, 2009, 02:06:52 PM »

My birthday is actually today, but I'm going to get it on Friday. I'll have more time to play it then and it'll feel more special. ;)

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Video Game Chat / Re: Project Needlemouse

« on: September 14, 2009, 02:10:39 PM »

The reason the thread spun off into this is because of that rabbit picture PaperLuigi posted, actually, not Sonic games in and of themselves. I don't know if the reason he posted it was because this is a Sonic thread or not, but the fact remains. :P (No offense or anything!)

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Video Game Chat / Re: Project Needlemouse

« on: September 12, 2009, 08:25:45 AM »

Interesting...I'm not really into Sonic right now, but this seems like a neat idea. I have faith, but I'm not going to say for sure if this will be good; I don't share "mainstream" opinions about Sonic, but his recent games have still been hits-and-misses for me, and just because it's 2D isn't a guarantee of quality (Sonic Advance 2 is my least favorite Sonic game of all time, although 1 and 3 were good). The new concept behind the whole thing, though, sounds promising.

Why don't I post my thoughts on each of the six games PaperLuigi posted, to give you an idea of where Sonic stands with me (these are just my opinions)...

Sonic Heroes - I honestly don't like Heroes at all. The "team" gameplay is sort of hard to get a feel for, and the levels are sort of dull and linear.

Shadow the Hedgehog - I've only played two levels of this game, but from what I saw, it seemed like a pretty decent game with some major flaws.

Sonic 2006 - This one's great if you ask me. Fun Sonic Adventure-style gameplay, creative and platforming-heavy stages, and an epic (if rushed) storyline.

Sonic and the Secret Rings - Also great. It had a nice feel to it, and the gameplay with the Wii Remote was fun.

Sonic Unleashed - Meh. The Werehog levels are sort of fun, but the Sonic levels don't really have anything going for them besides "hold button to win". The last three or so are genuinely challenging and fun, though.

Sonic and the Black Knight - It's decent while it lasts, but the game is just too short, and it's not really enjoyable enough to get into it besides completing the main story.

So, Sonic's had his ups and downs as far as I'm concerned. I don't have an opinion on the state of the franchise. I just hope for the best.

Also,

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Forum Games / Re: What's on your Paste?

« on: September 08, 2009, 03:48:42 PM »

This just seems to come naturally to me, and

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Forum Games / Re: What's on your Paste?

« on: September 07, 2009, 11:12:20 AM »

nd out who Maxwell is!
Absent minstrator reference?