The Thunder Discusses An SMWC Production: World 7 and Extended World 1

World 7 and Extended World 1 

Okay, I'm convinced that this hack did not use that prototype program thingy to change their overworld music depending on the area because when Mario crosses the threshold between World 6 and World 7, the music slightly fades out before changing. Now then, as for World 7 itself... Ugh, geez, I really have to wonder what these hackers were thinking. Seriously. Water levels are probably complicated enough, what with Mario's speed dramatically reduced costing time and making levels a bit tedious, but World 7 of "An SMWC Production" decides to kick it up a notch and make things harder than they already are.

Dark Depths

Let's take this level for example. Who's the wise-ass who tried to pull this stunt by darkening every single palette to create the illusion of darkness? So the level is extremely dark and hard to see pretty much anything. And having a spotlight that shrouds out the foreground around it doesn't help. Not only that, the first Yoshi Coin is next to impossible to get without Cape power. Where's the fun in that?

"Beward of downward facing pipes, they have torpedo launchers inside."

Wait a second... Didn't I complain about this shit earlier? Didn't even Vic Rattlehead despise this?! So, what other level had these torpedo-infested pipes?


Ah, yes. The Flooded Crater level back in World 2. And now they're back! In the dark!! Good God, this hack is rolling in the dirt with unpleasantness! Things go downhill for the rest of the level just trying to find the normal and secret exits. Pipe exit tiles are disguised as ground, it's mostly too dark to see a damn thing, and there's a whole lot of tight spots where foreground barely has any space apart, not much room to do much of anything. What's up with that? Why do tight spots even need to exist? Well, this complaint's gonna come back for a second helping, I'm sure.

Morel Mountain

I'm actually gonna go ahead and say that this level is technically unfinished. Don't ask, I just know these things. Okay, I'll answer. According to Lunar Magic, there's an exit that takes you to a Feather power-up item. But the exit tiles aren't even there! And in the section with the power-up, there's nothing else! Well, aside from a bunch of coins, that is. But there's no earthly way of getting back and there's no exit leading anywhere! Was this something originally intended for this level? If so, why does it still exist? So for the record, that's the only bad thing with this level. That and having to rely on Para-Buzzy sprites isn't usually a good thing.

Dinosaur Reef

Oh, boy. Where do I begin with this hellhole?


Check this out! Remember Danger Mines from World 3 and how it started with an improper level entrance? Same thing here! And it's completely absurd! But this isn't even half the weirdness of this level. It's got Piranha Plants popping up everywhere, none of them from pipes! The hackers just think they can pull off abusing classic Piranha Plants by just sticking them in ground tiles when in fact it just looks weird and is nothing more than a big annoyance and a waste of time. And oh my frigging God! More munchers on vines! Good lord! Why?! Why are they even in this hack?! To top these disasters off, the level itself is mostly crudely designed with all these unnecessary holes in the foreground walls. How in the blazes did this hack, much less this damn level, ever pass moderation?! Any other user who would try doing this for a hack level would have the whole darn hack removed from SMW Central! So is this hack some super-mystical project that passes moderation regardless because it's the most talked about collaboration effort? Hmph. I say not worthy.

Tropical Stride

Something seems a bit off about this level. But if it's anything, it's that the Jumpin' Piranha Plants have been placed rather low inside the pipes they spring out of. Call me nitpicking or whatever, but that's not really how they're supposed to work. The original Super Mario World ROM can show you its proper location. It may not screw anything up here, but there's really no point to it either, seeing as the sprites then proceed to jump up from the same location each subsequent time. The key to the secret exit is located in the one blue-colored vacant pipe and the rest is a snap. Oh, and I don't know about having to rely on a Koopa in order to hit a turn block containing a vine to move on with the level. If it was optional, that would be one thing. Because it's always possible to take out every single Koopa along a way and not have Cape power. Then what? You'd be screwed.

Into the Water

"not sure why the time limit is so high."

You're kidding, right? You're kidding! Uh, let's see now, the level has like about five sections, one of them a scrolling screen, and another you have to cope with a terrible level layout! You tell me!

Seriously folks, while the blocks that pull you down are cool, the level itself cannot be taken seriously. In the section with the Cave Story graphics, you're once again faced with tight spots and unfair water physics, having little to no room to do anything, and in the case of the spikes, without getting hit. This, in all aspects completely contradicts one of SMW Central's tips that is supposed to be taken seriously.

Tip: There's a fine line between difficult and unfair. Avoid the latter.

And the worst part is, this isn't the only time. The next section is apparently dark again, but at least you get a chance to have a spotlight. The rest of the level is just bull with its questionable design and layout.

Glacial Grave

Okay, this seems to be another straightforward level, considering it's only good towards obtaining all 117 exits. Wait... this is another dead end level?! Oh... %@$*!! I hate it when hacks do that! What's the frigging point?! Great, now old overworld issues have returned as well! No wonder the worlds are going from relatively mediocre back to being bad shit. Once again, the screen scrolls into the goal post, which isn't so pleasing, and... WHAT IS WITH THE 3-UP MOON BEYOND THE GOAL?! Why is it there?! These hackers know there's no goddamn way of getting it! Didn't I complain about this in World 6?! Is SMW Central trying to make players lose their sanity?!

Permafrost Glacier
And another issue returns in this level! There are no flipping hints on finding invisible coin blocks needed to continue the level. I swear, I don't know why I ever had any hope for this hack to improve, because it hasn't.

Oh, before I forget, remember all the way back in World 1, back to the first level? I mentioned that the Green Switch could not be accessed until World 7 and here we are. When the secret exit of Tropical Stride is found, the quest for the Green Switch begins! So let's get to it.

Shoreline Woods

"Moonwalking Goombas!"

What on earth is the freaking matter with these hackers?! Because I for one cannot even begin to list off the number of things out of whack in this beast of a level. But I'll try my best.

1. Classic Goomba sprites
Obviously because of the original appearances of Goombas in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, X-flipping was never taken into account when the sprites were coded. So with the graphics picked out in this hack, the Goombas walk backwards when they move right. Now it would be funny, but it still boggles the human mind how any of these shenanigans were ever accepted.

2. Yoshi Coin #2
Without Cape power, this Yoshi Coin is completely out of reach!

3. Bullet Bills, Bullet Bills everywhere
In the scrolling screen section, there are apparently hoards of Bullet Bills because of a generator and several shooters. Think they got plenty? Hmm, not enough really.

4. Torpedo Teds infesting pipes

Why?! Why do these level designers keep doing this?! It's crap!

5. P-switch blocks look like Switch Blocks
This was where I got stumped for a bit. It turns out, the player has to find a way to bring blue P-switches up the pipe in order to continue the level or get crushed by the scrolling screen. The P-switch blocks do their thing just fine, but because they look like Switch blocks, my guess is that because of the resemblance to the Blue Switch blocks, which you more than likely made visible at this point, your impulse is not to hit them and I thought the blue P-switch was to help get you out the same way you came in. Way to trick me, hackers. Why couldn't you have used different graphics, like putting the letter "P" on these blocks?

6. The puzzles keep coming!
And this wasn't the only puzzle in the level! No, they had to shove in two more!

All in all, players are just gonna be glad to be done with this crap, that's what I think. Okay, moving on.

Waterlogged Woods

Well surprise, surprise, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this level. The underwater forest is actually kinda cool to be honest. There's a few tight squeezes here and there, but nothing worth complaining over unlike certain previous levels.

Disco Switch

Disco? Why disco? Oh, that's why, because you rely on a flashing Koopa shell for the entire level. There's just one thing that baffles me. Why bother to have a secondary exit located exactly at Mario's starting point in the level? Why not just have the reset doors lead to the same level you're in if the starting point is where you're supposed to end up? So in other words, the level designers wasted a secondary exit that was unnecessary to have. Eh, no biggie, at least not in comparison to all the other wrongdoings I've seen in World 7 so far. Oh, good lord! Another muncher on a vine?! Okay, I take that back! Even this level has problems! So much for that. Oh, and another thing. What was the point of having a pathway beyond the Green Switch, besides to create a shortcut leading to the castle of World 7? Why couldn't it just be a dead end? It would save the hackers a pipe or two and they could have used it for something else.

Well now that the Green Switch is finally done, we can go all the way back to World 1 and get those last two levels done!

Garden Path


Now, this is actually quite interesting indeed. Look at this, we've got a sort of 3-D appearance here. Wow... How long did it take the level designers to do this one?

Cave of Elements

'Kay, so you start off with getting Yoshi and being forced to dismount him in mid-air to get over a stack of pipes.

What is the point?! Why even bother to have Yoshi at all? I mean, can you say redundant?! If you hackers don't want Yoshi, just take out that question block and remove the stack of pipes! Now I know these guys are deliberately trying to torment us into submission! Now as for the level itself, the first section, that is to say the element of water, is absolutely horrid! You have only 20 seconds on the clock, which only counts down while in the water. This was absolute torture for me to get past and not only that, it's clearly a rip-off from a level in Super Mario World Vip Wall Mix 4. I...*sigh*...I don't even wanna get into this...


Next is the element of fire, which has nothing new to it, except that at one point you have to spin jump off a Blargg's head to cross a lava pit. Maybe nothing's up to chance, I dunno. Next up, the element of air, where you deal with a bunch of Lakitus and Spinys. Again, nothing special, not that I want anything now after all this junk. However, you need a P-switch to make a question block appear in order to get into a pipe. At least you get a decent hint. Now comes the element of earth, in which you deal with a moving Layer 2. Dangerous? Oh yes. Unfair? Hmm... I'm not sure to be honest. And at the end, it's important that you take the P-switch with you because you need it to get to the goal. Okay, now World 1 is done for real! Let's get back to World 7.

LuluBoo's Mansion

Is that a fancy way of saying "lullaby"? And what's with the balloons? Is there some kind of party or was Pinky Pie invited? Anyways, we got some pretty bizarre graphics for the Big Boo sprites and some would-be interesting graphics for Boo Buddies, but in the end they really don't work out and those who use Lunar Magic should know why. Oh, and what's this?

"Try not to make the key contact the top of the door, otherwise it might just eat your key and remain locked."

Pfft. Another glitch or error that should have been worked on. And that blue pipe from the first section? You can actually go behind and through it?


Well, you'll eventually discover that this Lulu Boo is actually a Fishin' Boo. When you fight her later, she seems to be some kind of Fishin' Boo boss sprite, which I wish I could use because it seems pretty decent. It's better than the Big Boo boss, it takes five hits from a throw block to defeat it, and it has an interesting movement pattern in comparison to the original Fishin' Boo. Pretty good boss, actually. But for the record, I've heard better female Southern accents, such as dear Applejack.

Wild Wet Castle

Such a long level, I really don't wanna explain or discuss it much, so I'll use small words here.


Cool! Lemon Drop sprites! You know, I kinda wonder why the Yoshi's Island sprite collection has their graphics and not the sprite itself. I swear, if SMW Central is gonna be stingy again...


My God! Golden Thwomps! Not only do the Thwomps once again have their original graphics, but apparently a single custom sprite consists of original Thwomp behavior and power Thwomps that stun Mario upon shaking the ground, with a different color to boot. Okay, maybe I'm getting a little jealous.


The colored blocks from Yoshi's Island? Wow, I never would have expected that. It seems that only Koopa shells can remove these blocks by tossing them right at them.


Now we're talking! A custom block that produces limitless shells! Come to think of it, I want one of those.


Please tell me I'm not the only person who doesn't recognize this. It's obviously a rip-off of a similar section in Hookbill's castle from Yoshi's Island, though not quite a replica. Because this hack has blue-colored 32x16 blocks that take four hits from shells to dissolve. Now it's boss time! But this time, you enter the boss's room via...a red pipe.


Ta-da! The return of giant over-sized enemies! The Giant Piranha Plant boss is more of a test of endurance than anything. Because you have to wait it out while dodging spitfires of fireball attacks before it starts randomly generating stuff, ranging from simple Mushrooms to Koopas, hell even Monty Moles and Rex! The idea to defeat this boss is to hit its head with Koopa shells. Three hits and it's toast! Of course, it's not exactly easy and there are quite a few bugs and quirks unlike the previous custom bosses so far.


Looks like there are some things that not even the No Sprite Tile Limits patch can fix. Too bad. Oh, and guess what? After all this trouble, World 7 is still not over!

Bully's Brambles

Another post-boss level! But oh man, these bramble graphics are just sad. Ironically, the first level in World 10 actually has the better-looking brambles from Donkey Kong Country 2, so why couldn't they just use those? I'm sure there would have been plenty of room left for the background. At least that didn't suck. Oh, and get this. You actually have to go through the Yoshi wings bonus section in order to complete this level! From what I hear, most hacks don't even use Yoshi wings and it is said that levels C8 and 1C8 are usually best left unedited, but if this hack can do it, then I suppose it's okay for me to do it, which is my plan for my hack of course.

And with that, World 7 is finally finito! Oh, what a world... No, that's not a good thing! Don't think for one minute that I'm gonna be suckered in to think that this world started to lighten up, because it wasn't good. Okay, I admit that it had its few moments in the castle level with certain custom blocks and sprites, but it doesn't even begin to make up for all the uncouth stuff littering the previous levels. So while World 6 started to go downhill from mediocre, World 7 was worse. This really isn't bolstering my confidence about this hack showing any visible signs of improvement, lest World 8 can pull off a miracle somehow. Yeah, World 8 is next, and man does that have a lot to cover. Two paths leading to the eighth castle, and Bowser's Castle itself! Ugh... I'm really looking forward to that. Well, let's just hope things aren't so rotten. Because for some of us, there could be a surprise waiting in store for us yet.

This means war, SMW Central!

Odds and Ends

"Candace, I'm not stupid.  You want me to bust Phineas and Ferb for your romantic advice?  That's blackmail!"

"What are you girls talking about?  I don't understand any of this."

We're closing in on the end of Phineas and Ferb Season 3 and it seems that a few questions and estimates remain.  First of all, it is widely believed that regarding the episode in which Isabella asks Candace for romantic advice that Candace could potentially work Isabella over for it by having them team up to bust Phineas and Ferb.  One, Isabella would never betray Phineas just for the sake of winning his heart for a number of reasons and from what I see, it wouldn't even make any sense to begin with.  Two, there's no way this would work right from the beginning because it means that Candace hadn't learned her lesson from teaming up with Suzy, that is to say her results were still the same.  So who's to say that even if she suckered Isabella in that it would work anyway.  Secondly, it seems that fans are trying to get smart and expect multiple cliffhangers to happen in the two-part episode "Where's Perry?" instead of just the one in which Perry disappears to God knows where.  Some say that more buildups between Phineas and Isabella are a probability.  Not to be pessimistic, but I for one still say that the movie had that chance and blew it, and even though the doors are still open for business, I still have my doubts.  "Meapless in Seattle" technically had nothing special aside from Phineas acknowledging Isabella's cuteness a second time, so what makes fans think that "Where's Perry?" is gonna be something special?  Last I checked in "Summer Belongs To You", Isabella willingly sacrificed her would-be time with Phineas to return him to the state he always should be in.  Therefore, the last thing she would do is sacrifice the boys' summer fun just for a chance to win Phineas' heart, especially if Candace is a jerk who could possibly just be tricking Isabella to get her brothers busted and nothing else mattered.  Believe it or not, even this is potentially possible because she nearly sacrificed Phineas' birthday during one of her utmost attempts.  In any case, I still think Phineas is entirely too oblivious in spite of all the episodes so far.  But it looks like later this summer, we will be able to find out more, though I'm secretly hoping the rest of Season 3 can just come and go in order to pave the way for Season 4.  It all comes down to this.  Let's see what awaits us...

The Thunder Discusses An SMWC Production: World 6

 

World 6

You know, if there's one thing I admire about this hack so far, it's that the overworld map music uses four different tracks. This includes Worlds 1, 2, 6, and 7. Personally, I'd really like to know how the hackers did that. I know that SMW Central had some kind of program that allowed different areas of the overworld to have certain music, but I think it was some kind of prototype and of course required pointing to free space.

Now before I get started with World 6, there's a couple of things I'd like to point out. First of all, the next two worlds don't really seem to have shortcuts despite still having two paths that lead to their castles. And second, you remember that back in World 4, I mentioned it was possible to skip the castle there? Well, guess what. It's the same deal for World 6! That's right, you get to skip this castle as well! Now I really have to wonder how Mario's gonna get all eight eggs if he keeps skipping castles like this. I'm telling you, it's an overworld event being cleared that allows you to enter Peach's castle and acquire the spacesuit in Toad Town. No eggs about it! Well, let's get started and pray to God this world is at least nothing short of mediocre. Here we go.

Dark Desert Night

"This is a nighttime level. Since the Sanctuary Fortress also went from day to night, and To Land Much Below! was daytime, doesn't this mean Mario is already late to deliver Peach's cake?"

Well, Vicky, let's backtrack for a minute, shall we?

Mario

Is it? Is it? IT IS! Peach's birthday is tomorrow! And I remembered everything for the cake but the eggs!

He said TOMORROW!! That means he still has a whole day left to do the job! Man, where are your priorities?! Well, at least I can give the hackers props for checking their sources before just randomly tossing in a date for Peach's birthday. Because it is surmised to be September 13th.

Back to the level, apparently it seems to be nothing short of making up for all the chaos and hell you've endured for the past two worlds, as it's pretty straightforward from the beginning to the goal. All the enemies in the level are nothing new to Super Mario World levels, so... again, I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I don't have any complaints about this level. Not one. As for the secret exit, that's pretty easy too, at least in comparison to previous levels. All you gotta do is stick to the bottommost path to get the key and then backtrack to the highest path towards the start of the level where the keyhole is.

Buried Graveyard

The level really isn't all that dark, but I for one really dislike the custom music that was picked out. I know it was supposed to be spooky, but it's more like something that can make my ears bleed. Anyways, to get to the midway point here, you need P-switches of both colors and a shell to do random things to create the path, but you have Cape power you can skip out on that. Okay, now here's my first complaint about World 6. On your way to the midway point, you have to jump over some spikes, but the ceiling is only two 16x16 squares about the set of floor spikes! There's almost little to no chance of getting over without taking a hit if you're not small Mario! That's unfair game play! If the ceiling was up one more notch, that would have cut it. After the midway point, it's straightforward from there to the end of the level! You think there would be another setup or something. Now it's like, if you can reach the midway point, you're pretty much done with the level! What's the point?

Lakitu's Lag00n

Ugh... Why can't they just spell 'lagoon' properly instead of making another reference to Internet language.

Tip: Unique level names aren't necessary, but they're a plus.

*sigh* Whatever.

Hmm, aquatic pipe dwelling Lakitus, huh? Well... I actually can't really complain about them because they're not too different from pipe dwelling Lakitus behind walls as seen in the hack Super Demo World: The Legend Continues. This level also has some kind of sand blocks apparently, in which you pick them up and they dissolve. It's a nice touch, but in personal opinion, I really don't like their graphics all that much. They look like clumps instead of just whole sand like in Super Mario Bros. 2. I would have preferred that, but maybe it's just me nitpicking. Getting the secret exit is a bit more serious than in Dark Desert Night. When you hit the P-switch to turn the blocks into coins, you have to keep going and fast to get to an unblocked green pipe. The key is down there and to reach the keyhole, you have to be big in order to break through some turn blocks and expose a vine. But again, most of this can be avoided with Cape power.

Mostly Dead Desert

Okay, I'm cool with having many of the enemies use skull graphics, but what I'm not cool with is how the skulls were designed.

Tip: Original ExGFX are much more impressive than those imported from other games.

I honestly have to say that more often than not, this isn't the case. Take a look at the skulls in this level. They're flat, they're boring, and they hardly have any real effort put into them. I swear, the hackers didn't even try. The skulls might have been a lot more impressive if they had more shades than just black and white. And the secret exit? Too easy. The keyhole isn't even blocked off or anything and the level designers apparently thought they could pass it off by putting a Thwomp that close. Nice try. Actually, it wasn't even trying. The level design itself is sort of mediocre, but not really more than okay, but the graphics for the skulls are lame. They could have been designed a whole lot better.

Sand Castle of Doom

Again, like Dark Desert Night, the level's normal exit is straightforward. The only thing harder than usual is trying to hop from bone to bone while trying not to land on the munchers. The Volcano Lotus plants do not help either. But again, with Cape power, no fear. But the secret exit...

"Arrrrrrgh, this exit."

Uh-oh, sounds pretty bad. Well, when you find out where the key is, you'll find it's on a conveyor rope and you have to wait for it by moving slowly along with it. Pretty tedious. Once you have it, then you just have to figure a few things out and find where the keyhole is located.

The Counterfort

Now this is an interesting level. You have to go up to get to the normal exit and down to get to the secret exit. But there is one part where you get a blue Yoshi and you have to fly through the section. I'm not sure if this should be considered cheap, but at the end, things get really frustrating. If Mario is big, you have to duck under two 16x16 solid blocks and you get very little space to build up sliding momentum. Big complaint right here, folks. It's like you almost have to be small Mario to continue. I'm telling you, I seriously think the hackers really didn't do a good job with this. I'll even bet my chips they didn't even test half of things they did. Boom-Boom is at the end, so just beat him up like you would in Super Mario Bros. 3. You know, I thought things were bad when SMW Central declared that the homing Thwomp custom sprite being used a boss was overly used and redundant. Next thing you know, it's gonna be Boom-Boom. Just sad.

Hidden Oasis

Hidden Oasis? In this level, it's more like hidden shit.


This is like the only good thing in the level. See those coins? There are invisible coin blocks above them. About time! We finally get a more solid hint! No wall hugging!

"Observe the 3-up moon in the wall teasing you."

Okay, I'm really gonna go out on a limb here. I know you don't want to make 3-up moons easy to get, but do these hackers have to keep on sticking things in places they know the players can't get to? Really? Look, it's bad enough that SMW Central in general has lazy staff members, maybe even corrupt, but do they have to be part of something that enjoys torturing players? Don't they know that non-users might play this hack too? What kind of impression does this give? That SMW Central is not the most encouraging community? It certainly seems that way with what they're taking advantage of.


And just look at what the water is sitting on top of! Ugh. Just... ugh. Why couldn't they just have their old friends the grey cement blocks instead? They gave them square edges because they're great nitpickers, but they do this instead? Puh-lease! Oh, and after all this trouble, the normal exit just takes you back to the first level. So this level is only good towards getting all 117 exits.

Cactus Cavern

If there's one thing bad about this level, it's that you have to wait around for almost every Pokey in the level to move out of your way. It's time-consuming and it's boring. I mean, the hackers do know that these Pokeys live up to their name, so it takes time for them to get going. And you have a time limit! There's also a horizontal pipe with ends on both sides, but the right end actually has a level exit! Now maybe it's my turn to be redundant, but that's just weird. Why not remove the pipe's left end and have a wall instead? Or just use a vertical pipe? I mean, there are turn blocks covering up the right end, so it's obvious there's an exit there, right? And this isn't the only time we see that! The pipe at the end of the level is also double-ended and its exit doesn't even take you to the other side! Why couldn't the level designers just bring the wall down so it looks like two separate pipes? I know it's probably unnecessary, but in terms of aesthetics, it's a little unpleasant.

Arbiter's Grounds

Here it is, the sixth castle in the game, and if the custom music doesn't possibly drop a hint as to who the next custom boss might be, I don't know what will. So you play through this level normally, dealing with practically nothing unusual because at this point, there's hardly anything this hack can introduce you to as far as level designing is concerned. But then you find stuff that shouldn't be there. Then we have a problem.


Here's the first. Okay, so we got a custom Ptooie sprite stuck in a block. Okay, SMW Central, I get it. You're sick of us taking out your prized custom sprites because it makes the level easier, right? WRONG! Did you or did you not design the foreground of the level? What do you think that is? If you're so concerned about your precious sprites, why do you need to stick them in blocks or walls? The only concern this really raises is that you have to come back this way quickly after hitting a P-switch block and you have only a few seconds to collect the coins before they turn back into blocks. Chances are you'll stumble on the Ptooie's little toy and get distracted. Why not just have a pipe showing the Ptooie and put some blocks over it? This hack doesn't even use level optimization (I know it probably didn't exist back when this hack was in production). Are you level designers really that lazy?




Oh, now this is interesting. Squawks is here, all the way from Donkey Kong Island. I got a little worried when I started flying up because the camera wouldn't budge and once I did, there was the good ol' vertical scroll generator, to the rescue! So, any issues here? Yes, I can name one.


So these Bullet Bills are being shot from pipes. Okay, I have no trouble with that for the most part. But the real deal is using a standard Bullet Bill shooter for places where clearly Bullet Bills can be seen firing in both directions. I don't care what anyone says about me on this because this little issue just looks plain awkward. Two things can be done about this. One, put in a proper graphic instead, or two, insert a custom Bullet Bill shooter that fires in one direction. The latter is certainly questionable as to why it wasn't used. Why? Because they've been available on SMW Central for like the longest time! They're like basic shooters! What's the matter?! Why were they not used? Did this hack finally run out of room for custom sprites much less shooters? Okay, enough of this, it's time to get on with the big, bad boss.


Look, it's Tutankoopa from Paper Mario!

"This is actually one of the easiest bosses in the whole hack, but he has high stamina."

So is this guy actually easy? Hell, yeah! He's definitely easier than that awful Spider Guardian, that's for sure! But what really makes him easy is that you have the power to stop him from attacking, by stepping on his head! Okay, so Tutankoopa attacks with a Buzzy Beetle shell, a Chomp, and rocks up in the ceiling, just like his original self. He'll cycle through attacks randomly, but again, you pretty much get to pick. When he attacks you with rocks, you have to get under him so that the rocks hit him on the head, knocking him down, and then you can stomp on him to actually damage him. After 10 hits, he's ancient history, and you get to hit him from about three to four hits in succession if you're lucky. And that's that for World 6!

So, what did I make of this? Well, there were some things wrong with it, but then again, this was just about present in every world so far. That old issue from World 4 in which you get to skip a castle returns, so it's obvious that these eight eggs aren't really items or anything stored in an inventory interface or anything. It's just gonna be this one overworld event that when passed will grant you access to Peach's castle and the end of the game as well as give you the ability to buy the expensive spacesuit, whatever the hell it does. So what was bad in this world? Let's see... In Buried Graveyard, we have awful music, badly placed spikes just before the midway point, and the lack of relevance for even having a midway point. In Lakitu's Lag00n, the sand blocks are not aesthetically appealing. For Mostly Dead Desert, crappy skull graphics. The Counterfort has that point where you have to slide and duck and hardly have the space to slide, and it isn't even an icy level. Hidden Oasis has misplaced foreground and the placement of its 3-up moon is capable of driving players mentally insane. In Cactus Cavern, anyone can lose their patience. And in Arbiter's Grounds, we just have a few things out of place. Okay, so while Worlds 4 and 5 went from the barbaric shit that was Worlds 2 and 3 to simply nothing less than mediocre, now it seems that with World 6, that apathy is starting to lose its grip. And like all the other worlds, changes could have been made to make things more pleasing and somewhat less frustrating. Because as it is now, it's still extremely tricky to get through this hack in one piece without the use of save states, which if relied on could be a bad impression depending on a player's point of view. Well, six worlds down, four to go. And with crap stuff beginning to return, it really makes me worry what's in store for World 7. A water world, is it? Oh, man. What could possibly make these kinds of levels worse? I have a feeling I'm about to find out.

 

This means war, SMW Central!

The Thunder Discusses An SMWC Production: World 5

 

World 5

Well, what do you know! World 5 doesn't actually start off with a cut scene. Then again, that may be because technically there are two entrances to the world (remember the secret exit from Zephyr Manor in World 4?) and it was completely possible to skip the castle of World 4. Not that it matters because I'm willing to bet the player is gonna somehow get all eight eggs anyway. Oh, and it seems that World 5 is a sky area... again. What do I mean by that, you ask? Well, don't you remember Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Super Demo World: The Legend Continues? Yep. They had sky levels in World 5 too. Now, I remember saying that while Worlds 2 and 3 had noticeable issues that could have been fixed, World 4 was actually relatively mediocre in comparison to them. So, could this be happening as the worlds go on? Well, let's find out.

Cotton Course

Hmm, kind of a good level name here, but World 5 doesn't seem to start out that promising, seeing as you apparently have to bounce off an enemy just to hit a question block with a power-up item in it. Yeah, I know, this is World 5, so the difficulty is starting to pick up, but surely we don't have to have anything too fancy, do we? When you meet up with the level's first Bob-omb, you notice a trail of coins leading upward and wherever it goes, it obvious that you can't just simply bounce off an enemy to get up that high. Guess what that means? That's right, you have to use Cape power to fly up there!


...Oh wait, never mind. Guess you could always use this cloud instead.


Oh, now this is interesting. You know how in Lunar Magic, it identifies these diagonal-shaped platforms as Carrot Top lifts? Well now look. The hackers actually turned these platforms into carrots. Ha, ha! This has got to be another joke reference. The rest of the level is pretty easy, with one minor exception.

"but one 1-second cloud under a downward facing green pipe can prove troublesome if you're on the left side of the pad. Try to be as far right as you can for this one."

Okay, for once, I'm not gonna blame the hackers for this. Even if it is mildly difficult, when you design a level like this, you should at least except that the player has a good sense of judgment before just waltzing on forward. So anyways, you duck under the pipes and clouds while riding these timed lifts with neat graphics that make them look like clouds, and then jump off before they fall and take you with them.

Atop the Clouds


Cool! Albatoss bombers! These guys actually make the level genuinely interesting. But I guess having a custom generator for them would be too much, because there is none. Oh, and the second section is supposed to be this thunderhead area, but... wait... What's with the custom music? Wasn't it also used in Weeaboo Manor? Ghostly music for a thunderstorm? Really? I'll be honest, but from my point of view, that really doesn't mix so well. And to make things more interesting, the level designers threw in those lightning bolt sprites spawned by Sumo Brothers, which turn into columns of fire. Hmm... hmm, hmm, hmm... I dunno, there's some part of me that's saying this is just sugarcoated, but at least it's not boring. Oh, and if you see a question block on the ground, you know there's gotta be something in it. In this case, it's the key! So you have to take it to the next area and find the keyhole somewhere... And there it is! Right to the upper left of the Amazin' Flyin' Hammer Bro!

Wieza Niebo

What the crap? Wieza Niebo?! What the hell is that supposed to mean? Weird name... Did the hack creators run out of ideas and start using a bunch of random shit for names? Ah, forgive me, I don't know what it means. And the custom music? Sounds like some kind of Super Mario World castle remix or something, like what they did for the very first level of the game. Anyways, you'll find that you need a key to unlock a door, which is located in the pipe to the left, but you'll discover in the room that not only are there two Phanto sprites, but they spring to life and come at you for taking any carryable item! Geez, what is this hack coming to? You'll face this problem again later in the level, so the difficulty is as what you would expect from a World 5 level.


Gee, it looks like those crocodile Blarggs are back and... Oh no, so are those God-awful Reggie Bills! I seriously don't get the joke with those things, they're really bizarre. But I what I do wanna point out is where one of the Blarggs was placed. It's too close to the diagonal lava, so when it rears up and snarls, you can see how weird the sprite bottom looks and then the Blargg disappears instantly just like that. They're supposed to do that when they disappear beneath the lava! That's why they shouldn't be too close to diagonal lava! The same section also has upside-down Piranha Plants coming out of the ceiling, which I really think is a bother to be quite honest and also... an Amazin' Flyin' Hammer Bro? Really? Now, what was the problem with having these guys near lava from an Underground tile set? What was it again?

Tip: Never put a Hammer Brothers Sprite near lava. After being killed, it will still throw hammers until it sinks or goes off-screen.

And then they went and did it, didn't they? Okay, so for some odd reason when it falls past this lava slope, it actually doesn't sink or anything. Maybe that's just a lava slope glitch. But seriously, you really don't wanna do this in your hack. If anything, An SMWC Production is not a hack to learn from, except of course from mistakes.


And guess who's waiting for you at the end? It's the Big Boo boss sprite. All too easy. Sure, a lot of SMW hacks are probably gonna use this boss and try to spice up the battle by decorating the room with dangerous stuff, but in this case, it looks like the level designers didn't even try. There's just one additional Boo floating around and that's pretty much it. I have to wonder if any of the collaborative users who helped with this project were newbies and didn't know too much about SMW hacking. Then again, it's partially the moderators' faults that they actually accepted this what I sometimes tend to see as garbage.

Stratosphere Ride

Well, could it be that the creators finally decided to get serious with using Cape power to cheat? Maybe. Because in this level's first section, you can't fly. Period. But the "Ride" in this level actually refers to a series of line-guided platforms that have to be controlled with ON/OFF switches. And guess what? None of them are in the section that has disabled flight! Not a single one! No, they're in another section of the level where flight is not disabled! What's up with that? This is irony! Anyways, you might see a pair of switch blocks yellow and blue respectively, if you found and hit the switches that is. And look, it's a trail leading left with plenty of room to fly! Hackers, don't you know how easy it is to come to this level with Cape power? You did make it available at the Toad Town shop for what... only 500 coins? That's not all that steep of a price, except in the long run! So yeah, you can fly all the way to the left, or if for some stupid reason you don't have Cape power, you'll have to ride more platforms using ON/OFF switches. Well, the way to the left eventually helps you get the secret exit, which unlocks a level that creates a shortcut to the World 5 castle. Again, nothing special seeing that there's a shortcut in every world so far.

Nimbus Ascent

Now let's talk about the shortcut level. First we got another vertical scroll generator, but trying to collect stuff while going up is quite a chore because enemies are either falling on top of you or just plain getting in the way. And in the next section... I really don't know how any hacker can get away with both a scrolling screen and line-guided platforms. Also, I really don't think putting the goal at the end of a scrolling screen section is all that appealing. Horizontal levels should be ended properly, and by properly I mean that the camera should keep its focus by scrolling along with Mario up until the level blackens out around him. But hey, you know, whatever, that's just me. It's certainly not my problem if hackers wanna remove the game's aesthetics and such.

Pink 'n' Purple Path


Now this level introduces us to the new graphics for Dino Rhino and Dino-Torch. Mm, I'd say I'm about lukewarm with them, but moving on. You know, I think I've come to realize just now that some of the custom generator sprites put in some of these levels are actually some kind of ceiling to prevent Caped Mario from flying off the screen. So, why couldn't this generator have been used towards the way to the secret exit back in Stratosphere Ride? It could have given players the incentive to ride the platforms instead of cheating. So this level has sort of a rosy palette to it. Big deal. You know there's a lot more to gaming than just simply stopping and staring at everything around you.

Tip: Even though good graphics may make people interested in your hack, what really counts is how fun it is to play.

What counts is how fun it is to play. Yeah, there's a tip these hack creators might have overlooked because a majority of this hack was anything but!

Snowflake Caverns

Now let's start covering the levels from the other entrance to World 5. Evidently, this one proves to actually be serious about getting its secret exit because it takes quite a bit of effort. Here are the generously given steps.

"1) Locate the springboard on a low platform after the first Bullet Bill launcher, use it to grab the blue p-switch above. 2) Move springboard left, under some brown blocks. 3) Take blue p-switch right, and use it on the blocks above the key. 4) Quickly rush left to the springboard, and clear out the coins before the p-switch runs out of time. 5) Take the blue p-switch from the area left, and bring it back to the key. 6) Hit the switch, grab the key, and rush to the right to the green pipe on the low part of the stage. If the p-switch runs out of time before the horizontal green pipe on the low end of the level, you're out of luck, you need to retry."

Okay, so supposing you succeed in doing this and for some idiotic reason you don't bring the key with you.


See this? While in Lunar Magic, they had the secondary exit for this all mapped out and everything, they forgot to even put the exit in! There's no exit tile anywhere! In other words, if you somehow forget the key, you're a goner. Bad? Hell, yeah! This is a fatal flaw, a fatal mistake! My God, didn't the level designers even test this part? Now for the rest of the level. And as a start, we see that the poorly coded upside-down Buzzy Beetles are back. Also, just before the first door that takes you onward is something that suggests that their use of munchers is a bit overdone. So for the first section, there are already several things wrong - the upside-down Buzzy Beetles, including one that's out of camera range and drops in on you unexpected, the Layer 1 priority because of the Bullet Bill launchers, and of course the secret exit part purely because there's no exit from the section. The rest of the level really isn't any better, especially the green-colored area because that has a lot of tight spots.

"You're welcomed to feel confused. This is probably the toughest segment of the level, due to some tricky jumps."

"The steep slope isn't fun to deal with, it could cost you a few lives if you're big."

Okay, this makes it sound like the level designers expect you to die if you're not small Mario or something. Doesn't this contradict another one of SMW Central's grand, magnificent tips?

Tip: Test your levels as all forms of Mario.

I'm gonna guess that the beta testers either did not do this or somehow persuaded the moderators to allow this hellish section to be kept in. Chances are, I'm willing to bet that the SMW Central staff and moderators who actually make stuff just love tormenting the players. Sheesh.

Aero Skyline

While this level is simple enough for Super Mario World veterans, I kinda wish that the time limit was actually 400 seconds instead of 300. It may be somewhat short, but there's a lot going on that could slow a player down easily.

Peaks to Puffs

This is the easiest level by far to get a Cape power-up, even more so once you clear the level and you're able to press Start and Select to bail out.


But... oh, ho! What's this? Now this, whatever it is, is way cool! This hack was nice enough to put in a little something anime-related, not that it makes up for all the faults I've encountered so far and with the prospect of even more in the later worlds. But it's still cool anyway. And there's a 3-up moon here. Now, I came back here a second time and I saw that the moon was gone, so I'm guessing that the hack creators decided to do some kind of hex editing with the game's .srm file that makes it so that once a moon is collected, it's no longer there throughout the remainder of the game. Hmm, okay, that's actually kind of reasonable.

Chateau of Storms

"If you expected anything other than p-switches and springboards, you need to stop being so optimistic, my friend!"

Excuse me?! I was never optimistic about this entire damn hack to begin with, my friend! Especially since Worlds 2 and 3 started visibly exposing stuff that could have easily been tampered with. Anyways, this level, for only a mere 500 seconds, has quite a lot of hidden stuff to find in order to get to both the normal and secret exit. So, I'm gonna say that a slightly longer and reasonable time limit such as maybe 600 seconds would have sufficed just fine. If the creators were worried about having over 400 seconds remaining when a level is cleared, then they could have inserted that patch that takes care of it. The hack already has some surprisingly good custom ASM in it already, so I don't see what would be so hard about it.

Red Switch

A vertical switch level? Why didn't I think of that? Okay, the only things I see out of place with this level are the reflecting fireballs maneuvering in tight spots because it's way too easy to get hit and the Piranha Plants coming out of the ground. What's interesting about this section is that it has exactly 30 coins and that is what's needed to get a 1-up out of the green star block. The final obstacle is a Sparky guarding a pipe, but because of the minimal space you have to jump up and into the pipe, the Sparky really shouldn't be there. It's just too tight. So you hit the Red Switch and make the red switch blocks visible. And you get a message advising you to save your coins. Well, you do want that spacesuit, don't you? That and preserving your power-ups may be necessary, like that's easy to do.

Palace Acropolis

Oh? Can it be? The Thwomps here have their original Super Mario World graphics! Hallelujah! But... holy cow! Look at those giant Thwomps! That and their graphics are not too shabby. You even get Yoshi in this level as well and you actually need him if you go one way! This level could be fun yet. It looks like this level has some kind of custom blocks that are only solid for a Yoshi (maybe any sprite, for that matter) to stand on. Now I think it was this level I was actually able to bring Yoshi all the way to the end, but I discovered that in a manner similar to Donkey Kong Country, Yoshi doesn't stick with you on the overworld map when you clear a level. Again, I'm pretty sure hex editing took care of that.

Sanctuary Fortress


Ah, so here's our next cut scene! It looks like Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth are just gonna barrel into this secret headquarters and start messing around like they have search warrants.

Mario
Or Peach, for that matter. Let's get a move on. We already have half the eggs, and we're about to find another!

And just how do you think you did that if you decided to skip the castle of World 4?


Wait a minute. Something's not right. Just getting to the boss was too easy and you have unlimited time in this level. Anyways, to defeat the Spider Guardian, you have to use a mechanism that operates with an ON/OFF switch. Toss a throw block up at the switch just before the little orb passes the middle of the upper track.

"This couldn't be simpler."

Hell, NO, it's not simple! The Spider Guardian is dropping bombs like every second, so you're dodging its one attack more than half the time!

Anyways, after the "easy" battle, you get to be Spiderman and you're now able to climb the magnetic tracks. Right. I'm sure you acquired this ability. But in actuality, the level was copied with Lunar Magic with the magnetic tracks now treated as vine tiles. Yeah, I'm a spoilsport, but anyone who has used Lunar Magic to an extent can figure this one out easily.


So you use this magnetic ability that you totally acquired to get further in the level and after some snags and complications (probably nothing new in this hack by now), you'll arrive in the boss room where you challenge the Spider Guardian to a rematch. And what does the walkthrough say?

"This one is even easier, because you can easily hang on the far right side with a throw block and kick it up without worry of getting hit."

Is this guide trying to make me laugh? Because what it says is absolutely ridiculous! No, it's not easier, and no, you can't simply hang to your right and never get hit once, or at least you can't hope to. I mean, the Spider Guardian is dropping bombs every second! What do you think the odds are? But enough of that. You have to beat it pretty much the same way you did before, but now you have to give it three hits. Oh yes, this is totally easy. Let me tell you, it wasn't for me. And guess what? You're still not entirely done with World 5! There's still one more level to go!

To Land Much Below!

A post-boss level, huh? You know, I've got one myself for my own hack, but I guess this means I'm not the first hacker to do this. Maybe I never was, I dunno.


Okay, this is gonna be the last cut scene for a while. Toadsworth thanks Mario and Luigi for their assistance and heads back to the Mushroom Kingdom while Mario boasts that he has only three more eggs to find.


So we learn that Bowser is cooking up some kind of virtual reality project. What does it mean? Well, I know what it means, but I'm not gonna spoil things just yet. So let's get on with the last level of World 5.

Now I really don't like this level. Why? Because there are custom blocks here that set your timer to 20 seconds and your only chance of survival is touching more of them. That's pretty much the hardest part of this level and the last segment is actually a desert. It's sort of a sneak preview as to what the next world is gonna be. In this case, World 6 is a desert.

So World 5 is over, and believe it or not, like World 4, it's actually more mediocre than anything. World 1 started out fairly well with a few minor setbacks, Worlds 2 and 3 were basic shit and now Worlds 4 and 5 jump up to being somewhere in between. Now the story of the hack is original and creative, but the level design for a good part of the hack could have been way better and less frustrating. I know the worlds are supposed to pick up difficulty as they go along, but some of the levels have a cheap flow to them and could have been a lot better. Add that the boss here is also not a giant-sized enemy and we're probably wondering what kind of pattern is being used here. Okay, we're now halfway through the hack, having done five worlds out of ten, so I imagine this is the part where we're gonna hope it's not too late for improvement. Unless of course, you're like me and you wanna just fly through the levels when you're not hunting down the secret exits, then maybe it is too late, if anyone is getting fed up with this hack by now, that is.

 

This means war, SMW Central!