It'sa me, Kaizo Mario!

[SilentSnake]

Super Moo World is done! That was an extremely chill, light hack that I had a lot of fun with! There was one part of a stage that was janky, and the optional moons weren't really much of a challenge to get, but other than that the game is excellent! Also, the Special worlds are really creative and fun. (in my limited experience, at least) And it only took me three hours to grind out. I'll have the rest of the game uploaded tomorrow.

Next up: Quickie World 2!

I watched a bit of Juz playing Unlit Candles and it looks to be equal parts incredibly creative and exceptionally difficult. That and a recent hack called Casio both seem to be on the extremely hard end of the scale from what I’ve seen.

Yeah, if the difficulty of Unlit Candles is comparable to Casio, aka the hardest hack of 2020, then it's probably best to steer clear for now.

 

[lincolnic]

I watched a bit of Juz playing Unlit Candles and it looks to be equal parts incredibly creative and exceptionally difficult. That and a recent hack called Casio both seem to be on the extremely hard end of the scale from what I’ve seen.

Yep, I watched Juz's video and while the hack looks extremely cool, I think it's a bit out of my reach for now.

GlitchCat posted a full clear video of Casio Mario World a couple of months ago, and it is bonkers. It's highly unlikely that any of us will ever play it, so I recommend the watch if you've got a few minutes.

Next up: Quickie World 2!

Woo!

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Take It Easy World is done! And I kind of, uh, destroyed the last level. I actually completed the final third of the level the first time I made it there, goal tape and everything - it was sort of amazing. To celebrate, I fired up Little Mario World and knocked out 6 exits in about 40 minutes, which was super refreshing. The levels in LMW have been really fun so far, but is it just me or did they give Mario something akin to Sonic physics for Green Hill Zone??

 

[lincolnic]

It's just you. Maybe it's the music!

But seriously, nice work wrapping up Take It Easy! I spent way too much time on that first big fall right after the checkpoint in the last level, it look me like 40 minutes to figure out exactly when I needed to let go of jump on the way down in order to land on the koopa consistently.

Looking forward to your thoughts on the rest of Little Mario World!

 

[Daikaiju]

Your gentle reminder that Nintendo invented Kaizo Mario...

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Super Moo World is done!

Any idea how many exits are in that hack? It would be really neat to run through a hack in a single sitting for once.

But seriously, nice work wrapping up Take It Easy! I spent way too much time on that first big fall right after the checkpoint in the last level, it look me like 40 minutes to figure out exactly when I needed to let go of jump on the way down in order to land on the koopa consistently.

So I don't think I ever learned how to do that consistently...because I cleared the level the first time I managed to make it through the falling section. Between that and managing to get into the pipe at the end of the leftward section on my first try, I think the gods of kaizo were watching over me last night. It was the exact opposite of Fisco!

Your gentle reminder that Nintendo invented Kaizo Mario...

I mean, kaizo Mario is just SMW if every single level was Tubular, so you're not wrong.

 

[SilentSnake]

Any idea how many exits are in that hack? It would be really neat to run through a hack in a single sitting for once.

It's a 16 exit hack. Also bear in mind it took me three hours to 100%, so you'll probably get there in less.

And if you're still on the fence, here's the rest of my playthrough.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Yeah, if the difficulty of Unlit Candles is comparable to Casio, aka the hardest hack of 2020, then it's probably best to steer clear for now.

I don't know if Candles is quite that hard, but it looks way too rough for me to contemplate right now. And speaking of Casio, apparently the creator didn't plan for it to end up that difficult? I was looking up the (frankly astounding) soundtrack on YouTube and there's a post from Wyatt in the comments where he says it was unintended. Either way, it seems like the top players really dig the hack and the soundtrack (also ported by Wyatt) is both unique and incredible. For now, I'm content to simply be a spectator and to load up the OST on YouTube once in a while.

 

[SilentSnake]

Trying Quickie World 2 tonight on stream if my settings hold up.

twitch.tv/silentsnake20

 

[lincolnic]

I started up Hyperion today. Kinda nice to be playing a hack that isn't called "______ World".

Anyway, this hack is good! It's not easy -- I'd put it pretty squarely in the intermediate category -- but so far there's only been one level (I'm 8 or 9 exits in) where I got really frustrated. The level design so far has ranged from Very Good to Excellent, though there have been a couple of setups where I had no idea what to do at first (generally, the answer is "go faster"), and a few that I had trouble pulling off consistently. Some of those might've benefited from an extra coin indicator, especially when they're far from checkpoints, but eventually I got through it.

The overworld deserves a special shout-out, because it's fantastic. At the first secret exit, I figured it would just lead me to a switch palace, but instead a whole different chunk of the map opened up, complete with even more secret exits and branching paths from there. I haven't played another hack where I'm genuinely excited to see where all the paths lead.

All of this is even more impressive considering this is AmperSam's first hack. Their description on SMW Central mentions that they worked on it for a year, and it really shows. I'm only 1/3 of the way through, but I already know I'll be watching to see what they do next. Really looking forward to playing more tomorrow.

Also, I somehow broke a boss fight. There are rising platforms on either side of the boss room for you to jump on, but in one of my attempts I somehow made them vanish after hitting the boss once.

 

[SilentSnake]

Made it through Vapor Palace in Quickie World 2. The main lesson thus far in the game: Regrabs are important. I need to learn them. Also, this game sure does love its Deltarune music.

 

[lincolnic]

The main lesson thus far in the game: Regrabs are important. I need to learn them.

Have you heard the Good News about Akogare Mario World?

 

[Daikaiju]

Closure...

 

[Mightyblue]

RE: Casio Mario World

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Yeah, that's the one. Just incredible work to make that all run using the Super Nintendo's sound hardware.

I started up Hyperion today [...] Anyway, this hack is good! It's not easy -- I'd put it pretty squarely in the intermediate category -- but so far there's only been one level (I'm 8 or 9 exits in) where I got really frustrated.

How hard are we talking here? You cleared 9 exits in one night, so I assume it's still a bit easier than Take it Easy was (or else you're really putting in the hours). I'm curious about Hyperion, but if every level is going to be a grind then I'll just go straight to Invictus when I'm ready for that level of challenge again.

 

[lincolnic]

How hard are we talking here?

Easier than Take It Easy, definitely harder than the Quickie games. Probably a little easier than Akogare, maybe? I've finished some more exits today and completed one overworld loop, so far there've been maybe two levels that I actually had to grind. Many of them went down in under 30 minutes, even some in 10. You should definitely check this one out after you finish Little Mario World, Mike.

Today I found the first level in the hack I actively disliked -- not because it was poorly designed (it wasn't), but because it was just incredibly slow. You have to do a lot of skull raft riding and fence climbing, which means when you die there's a lot of waiting around to get back to where you were. The actual content of the level was cool, but it got really tedious.

That aside, there's been a lot of great stuff in the hack so far. I'm about halfway through it now (maybe more, I didn't check my exit count) and the batting average is still remarkably high.

re: Casio Mario World soundtrack, it's incredibly impressive that it all runs on the SNES, but if I was actually playing the game I think it would get frustrating. The Oneohtrix Point Never tracks are just too abstract for me to listen to for the amount of time it'd take to beat any of those levels.

 

[SilentSnake]

Made it to Elusive Numbers in Quickie World 2, and am quickly realizing that this game really wants you to interrogate the reasons you do things in games, i.e. holding a button without thinking, and deprogramming yourself. That's the lesson I learned on the vine level a couple of levels ago. Also, I got really stuck on Hot Potato because I didn't know a slide technique. I even had to look up a Barb video to see how he did it. Want to keep playing more.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Hot Potato is definitely one of the sticking points on a first playthrough, although it gets a lot easier with practice. Of the early levels, I'd say Take Five and To the Limit still trip me up the most, even after a dozen plays. But the level that I've had the most trouble mastering is in the special world - I wouldn't say it's the hardest in the game, but it's the hardest for me to clear consistently.

Today I found the first level in the hack I actively disliked -- not because it was poorly designed (it wasn't), but because it was just incredibly slow. You have to do a lot of skull raft riding and fence climbing, which means when you die there's a lot of waiting around to get back to where you were. The actual content of the level was cool, but it got really tedious.

Yeah, kaizo is difficult enough that it suffers a lot when the pacing is bad. It's one thing to do a slow section 3 or 4 times in a normal game, but when it might take you 100 tries to complete? Ouch.

 

[SilentSnake]

Quickie World 2 is down! I'm definitely getting better, though I'm still taking a million years to clear each level. In the process, I've identified weaknesses (slopes) and noted where I'm improving (regrabs).

Gotta keep grinding though. Tomorrow I'm going to start Hyperion, so that should be fun.

 

[lincolnic]

Quickie World 2 is down!

Congrats! I know Mike and I have talked that game up a lot, but hopefully you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Gotta keep grinding though. Tomorrow I'm going to start Hyperion, so that should be fun.

So, I'm about 2/3 of the way through Hyperion, and you may want to play through another hack or three before jumping into it. There's going to be a lot of stuff that the hack expects you to just know how to do and you'll probably have a much easier time with a little more experience under your belt. It's a big step up from the Quickie games.

Don't get me wrong, if you really want to play Hyperion next then go for it! Just be aware that it might be more frustrating than you're used to so far.

If you want to play through some other stuff first, Mike and I both played through Super Ryu World after we finished the Quickie games and found it to be a nice stepping stone between them and slightly harder hacks. We also played Baby Kaizo World, which is around the same level as the Quickie Worlds (though neither of us finished the special world, because the first level is bullshit). And I've talked a lot about Akogare Mario World in the thread here, which I definitely do recommend playing, especially if you want to improve your regrabs.

There's also Little Mario World, which we were just talking about. I think this one was intentionally designed to be like the Quickie series (especially in terms of level length), and it's worth your attention too.

 

[SilentSnake]

Hmmm, thanks for the suggestions. Maybe I will wait on Hyperion. I think I'll try a short and easy one I've been meaning to try first then.

 

[SilentSnake]

Climb the Tower is done. Overall it felt less chill than I was expecting - like, when I think of chill hacks, I think of Super Moo World levels of chill. What I got was a game in line with the difficulty of the Quickie games, just without the difficulty spikes. Oh, and I learned more about slopes. Enjoyed playing it!

Think I'm going to take your suggestion of Super Ryu World next actually.

 

[lincolnic]

Nice! I think it's a pretty good hack to follow the Quickie games with. You'll get introduced to some new setups that will definitely help sharpen your skills.

If you get stuck on anything, Ryukahr himself has a two-part playthrough video on Youtube that might be helpful. Just make sure you're looking at the latest videos -- the hack was released and then completely overhauled (for the better) some time after, he's got playthroughs of both. Apparently the original was much harder.

 

[SilentSnake]

I've just been informed that the creator of Super Ryu World is a garbage person who is banned everywhere, so I'll be stopping playing that. Think I'm going to try Super Hark Bros. instead.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Really? Aguni, right? What did they do?

I saw someone claim that Ryukahr himself was a white nationalist, but I haven’t been able to find anything to back that up.

 

[SilentSnake]

I'm told he's a "hateful doucherag" by people I trust, which honestly is enough for me.

 

[lincolnic]

I had no idea about any of that, sorry to hear it. Wouldn't have played/recommended that one if I had known.

I've been interested in Hark Bros myself, please let us know how it goes!

I've got (to the best of my knowledge) one final level to go in Hyperion. I just played through four tough exits so I'm not sure if I'll come back to it before tomorrow, but I'd like to do a little summary post of my thoughts on the game once it's done.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Man, I think I might be done with Tofu. I already didn’t like that he constantly tosses around the C-word as a casual insult. But today, Twitch removed the “blind playthrough” tag after some requests from the visually impaired community, and he was being a reactionary dipshit about it. I’ve actually seen three Mario streamers address the issue today and two of them (Barb and SuperMegaMimi) were thoughtful and open about it. I get that people don’t like being asked to change or being told that they’re wrong for using certain words, but if your first instinct is to throw a hissy fit over it then maybe you need some self reflection.

 

[lincolnic]

Yeah, inclusion costs you nothing. If you have a problem with people asking you for a basic level of respect (that they shouldn't even have to ask for in the first place), the problem is you.

 

[SilentSnake]

I had no idea about any of that, sorry to hear it. Wouldn't have played/recommended that one if I had known.

I've been interested in Hark Bros myself, please let us know how it goes!

I've got (to the best of my knowledge) one final level to go in Hyperion. I just played through four tough exits so I'm not sure if I'll come back to it before tomorrow, but I'd like to do a little summary post of my thoughts on the game once it's done.

So Super Hark Bros. is weird. It makes a terrible first impression thanks to a really untelegraphed first jump, and it will have weird difficulty spikes, but in between those sections is some of the finest kaizo level design I've come across thus far. I'm only on the second stage, mind, but I want to keep digging into this.

Man, I think I might be done with Tofu. I already didn’t like that he constantly tosses around the C-word as a casual insult. But today, Twitch removed the “blind playthrough” tag after some requests from the visually impaired community, and he was being a reactionary dipshit about it. I’ve actually seen three Mario streamers address the issue today and two of them (Barb and SuperMegaMimi) were thoughtful and open about it. I get that people don’t like being asked to change or being told that they’re wrong for using certain words, but if your first instinct is to throw a hissy fit over it then maybe you need some self reflection.

This is true, though I do want to call out Twitch for doing this yet not implementing a ton of accessibility features that the community has been needing, like high contrast themes, a separate audio channel for TTS / audio description purposes, chat and emote size settings, stuff like that. Removing this tag is the right thing to do (heck, I've been guilty of using it), but it kinda rings hollow when Twitch isn't doing the real work towards accessibility.