Um... K.
After some research I found out that SME2 is Super Mario Epic 2, and it does indeed look rock solid. I'm dl'ing it as I type.
I can't help but question the fact that the only two power-ups are the fire flower and Hammer Bros. suit--two power-ups that do almost the same thing. Oh well, I'll reserve further judgement for when I actually play it.
The plot is basically just a rehash of SMB2, but it looks to play more like a hybrid of SMB2 and SMW. Sounds fun for sure, but I definitely got a "kick" out of Blue Twilight's selection of Mario 64-esque moves, especially the wall-kick.
If anybody else wants to try out Super Mario Epic 2, you can dl it here:
http://www.sitesled.com/members/jeffsilvers/sme2.html----------------------------------------
All right, so Super Mario Epic 2 is pretty cool, and has a lot of neat ideas, but it also has some fundamental control problems that REALLY hold it back.
First off, do NOT try to play it full screen. I did, and it gave me a very bad first impression of the game. Playing SME2 on full screen turns jumps through the air into swimming through jell-o... NOT FUN. So in order for this game to run at a normal speed, it has to be on a TINY screen... but not too tiny, or Mario will zip around and drop like a brick. It's a little tough to get the right balance.
Also, SME 2 does NOT support control pads. Yep, keyboards only for SME2. It works for thsi game, but it definitely doesn't feel as good as a game controller.
The physics are a little wonky as well. You don't bounce off enemies when you stomp them, you go right through them, and gravity in general (especially on full screen) isn't always on your side. It sort of reminded me of Ithe original ce Climber, and that's not a good thing.
However, SME2 has a very complete visual and audio style. It looks and sounds like a REAL Mario platformer. So in a sense, it looks better than Blue Twilight, which has a much more lavish and impressive look, but it isn't as coordinated... more of a pretty mish-mash than SME2's coherent, if less wowing visual style. However, Blue Twilight's music is much easier on the ears, and a very cool selection of classic Mario tunes to boot.
SME2 also gives you a lot to do in each level, with a hidden area or two per level, plus four special A coins, as well as red coins to track down. Of course, Blue Twilight has a comparable amount of things to do--a star coin hidden on each level, plus tons of stuff to unlock, as well as a comparable number of secret areas within each level, especially the Ghost House.
Of course, Blue Twilight has some odd control issues as well: you CANNOT stand on top of bullet bill launchers when they're shooting, or you'll take damage, and once in a while you'll get stuck on the sides of walls and blocks and stuff--the downside of being able to wall-kick, clearly. Despite this, it still Mario still HANDLES more like he would in a classic SMB platformer in Blue Twilight.
Blue Twilight has some really clever boss fights, I have yet to see any for SME2. Both have a lot of cool level designs, but SME2's levels seem to have a few more hidden tricks, which is fun for sure.
SME2 has a greater deal of interactivity within the levels, allowing you to destroy certain blocks, and the ability to hold an item (ala SMW) is cool as well... but I think the tighter control, better jump physics and more interesting theme put Blue Twilight just a notch or two above. Two very cool games though.
