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It'sa me, Kaizo Mario!
- Thread starter MCBanjoMike
- Start date
I key jumped! After really struggling with the "normal" setup (i.e. trying to do it from a standing jump), what ended up getting me through was doing the first move like a shell jump instead. Since that automatically puts the key under you while you're in midair, it only took another minute or two to get the frame perfect grab from there. Gonna keep going on through Learn 2 Kaizo, I think I'm getting near the end.
I also got up to the first test level in Kaizo Kindergarten, but it's testing the very specific and finicky movement tech from the three preceding levels and I kinda wish I could just skip past it. I know the levels beyond this get into broader lessons; it almost feels like the hack should've led with something else and put these levels later.
I also got up to the first test level in Kaizo Kindergarten, but it's testing the very specific and finicky movement tech from the three preceding levels and I kinda wish I could just skip past it. I know the levels beyond this get into broader lessons; it almost feels like the hack should've led with something else and put these levels later.
I finished Baby Kaizo World!
...kinda. I've completed what is referred to as Baby%, finishing the castle in the fourth world. There is, however, a set of Star Road levels that I won't be able to access until I find all four of the switch palaces. I've only found two so far, and of those two one of them is behaving a little suspiciously. I made it to the end a first time and grabbed an orb, but as the level was fading out I realized...switch palaces don't have orbs! Sure enough, nothing happened after I was dumped back on the map screen. Then I decided to try one of the classic kaizo switch palace tricks: going back into the pipe that drops you off in the switch room. This took me to a new room with an actual switch. I hit it, and green blocks flew out into the world, but the palace didn't flatten down on the world map the way they usually do. So I can't tell if I'm missing something, or if it's just a weird graphical artifact caused by the existence of a second exit. Anyway, gotta find myself two more palaces - I have a feeling they're in the two ghost houses, but I guess we'll find out soon!
...kinda. I've completed what is referred to as Baby%, finishing the castle in the fourth world. There is, however, a set of Star Road levels that I won't be able to access until I find all four of the switch palaces. I've only found two so far, and of those two one of them is behaving a little suspiciously. I made it to the end a first time and grabbed an orb, but as the level was fading out I realized...switch palaces don't have orbs! Sure enough, nothing happened after I was dumped back on the map screen. Then I decided to try one of the classic kaizo switch palace tricks: going back into the pipe that drops you off in the switch room. This took me to a new room with an actual switch. I hit it, and green blocks flew out into the world, but the palace didn't flatten down on the world map the way they usually do. So I can't tell if I'm missing something, or if it's just a weird graphical artifact caused by the existence of a second exit. Anyway, gotta find myself two more palaces - I have a feeling they're in the two ghost houses, but I guess we'll find out soon!
There are some kaizo hacks where the switch palaces don't flatten down after you beat them, this might be one of them?
Anyway, I just beat Learn 2 Kaizo! I made a shocking amount of progress yesterday, getting all the way up to the final test, but I got stuck in the cape room and had to quit for the night. Came back today, and an hour later, here I am.
I'll admit that I had to use a save state whenever there was a midair spring jump involved, because for the life of me I cannot do those consistently and it was super frustrating. But everything else I did the hard way, and it feels good. I guess I'm moving on to Baby Kaizo World now!
Congratulations! I should probably get back to Learn 2 Kaizo, at least to run the sections on key jumps and cape mechanics. As for your next steps, Baby Kaizo is great, but don't sleep on the Quickie World games. I've been playing some Quickie 2, which is supposedly the easier of the pair, and the level design has been really excellent so far.
As for me, I wrapped up as much as I think I can do in Baby Kaizo last night. I found the missing switch palaces, although I needed a hint for one of them, then tried my hand at the first of the star road levels. It did not go so well. After dying 20 times with basically no idea what I was supposed to be doing, I decided to watch Dode's playthrough. Even he spent a while on the level trying to understand it, and despite making progress he seemed annoyed the whole time. So maybe the star road levels will be a project for later. Now I'm back to working on Quickie World 2, which is really fun. I managed to clear another 3 exits last night, but I got stuck in one of the switch palaces because I couldn't figure out how to get past a certain obstacle. There's a spot where you need to throw a key onto a line that will carry it to the right, meanwhile the player has to navigate a little maze to beat it to its destination. Once you get there, it seems like you need to jump on the key to continue, but there's a cloud sprite that keeps knocking me off to my death. Clearly there's something happening with these custom tiles that I don't understand. I might try a few more times by myself, but I'll admit that I'm a bit less into the "solving a mystery" aspect of kaizo and there are times when I just want to know how to proceed.
As for me, I wrapped up as much as I think I can do in Baby Kaizo last night. I found the missing switch palaces, although I needed a hint for one of them, then tried my hand at the first of the star road levels. It did not go so well. After dying 20 times with basically no idea what I was supposed to be doing, I decided to watch Dode's playthrough. Even he spent a while on the level trying to understand it, and despite making progress he seemed annoyed the whole time. So maybe the star road levels will be a project for later. Now I'm back to working on Quickie World 2, which is really fun. I managed to clear another 3 exits last night, but I got stuck in one of the switch palaces because I couldn't figure out how to get past a certain obstacle. There's a spot where you need to throw a key onto a line that will carry it to the right, meanwhile the player has to navigate a little maze to beat it to its destination. Once you get there, it seems like you need to jump on the key to continue, but there's a cloud sprite that keeps knocking me off to my death. Clearly there's something happening with these custom tiles that I don't understand. I might try a few more times by myself, but I'll admit that I'm a bit less into the "solving a mystery" aspect of kaizo and there are times when I just want to know how to proceed.
Thanks! Yeah, I'm really glad I played Learn 2 Kaizo. I never would've figured out all the cape mechanics on my own. The cape room in the final test really helped put it all together for me. I would definitely recommend you go back and finish it sometime.
Midair spring jumps can still go to a dungeon, though. Luckily for me that's not a super common trick, so hopefully it'll be a while before something forces me to do those again. Speaking of moves that give me trouble, for some reason I find it hard to nail the dismount when you're riding on a saw or spiny with spin jumps -- the timing is a bit weirder than I expect and I don't quite have a feel for it yet.
I do have the Quickie World games downloaded! I'm definitely going to get to them as well. I don't think Dode likes Baby Kaizo World very much, I seem to remember him getting a bit salty in his playthrough. For me, I got through the first three exits relatively quickly but stopped at the first ghost house because I was tired.
Yeah, this is me too. I'm much more interested in the platforming than the puzzle aspect of these games. I don't think there's anything wrong with looking up how to get past certain sections in these games, especially when the solutions are so difficult to actually pull off.
Midair spring jumps can still go to a dungeon, though. Luckily for me that's not a super common trick, so hopefully it'll be a while before something forces me to do those again. Speaking of moves that give me trouble, for some reason I find it hard to nail the dismount when you're riding on a saw or spiny with spin jumps -- the timing is a bit weirder than I expect and I don't quite have a feel for it yet.
I do have the Quickie World games downloaded! I'm definitely going to get to them as well. I don't think Dode likes Baby Kaizo World very much, I seem to remember him getting a bit salty in his playthrough. For me, I got through the first three exits relatively quickly but stopped at the first ghost house because I was tired.
Yeah, this is me too. I'm much more interested in the platforming than the puzzle aspect of these games. I don't think there's anything wrong with looking up how to get past certain sections in these games, especially when the solutions are so difficult to actually pull off.
Well, I made it to the sky tree level in Baby Kaizo World, but I was starting to get really frustrated so I stopped for now. I just can't get the hang of throwing the block up and catching it while climbing without losing all my momentum. Either the arc of my throw is too wide and it breaks against the wall, or I slow down too much before throwing and can't catch up to the vine in time after the wall run. Clearly I'm doing something wrong but I can't quite nail it down.
I just went on a tear in Quickie World 2, finishing 7 exits in a little over an hour. It’s such a great hack! The levels are clever, fun and short - that last point in particular really helps to keep me motivated as I play. I did wind up watching a speedrun to see how to deal with that cloud sprite that was messing me up, and I’m glad I did. The behaviour is a bit...dumb. Anyway, I’ve cleared a little over 3/4 of the exits now, with a bit of luck I can finish this next time I play it. I’d say this hack is less pedagogical than Baby Kaizo, but more enjoyable to play. Highly recommended!
Nice work! I made some decent progress this weekend as well. Turns out what I was doing wrong in the sky tree level was not turning around and jumping before throwing the block. I finished the forest in Baby Kaizo World, but I got stuck on the same shell level you were on in the video you posted earlier. The first two jumps are fine, but the third (where you have to throw the shell behind you and land on it while falling) hasn't clicked for me yet. I know I have to release jump when I'm throwing the shell, but so far I've only been able to nail the timing by accident. Usually I'm either landing on the shell too early and hitting the wall of gray blocks, or I'm never landing on it at all.
That level got me frustrated, so I started Quickie World 2 on your recommendation to change things up. I'm up to the first castle now. I have to say, I was a little grumpy off the bat because the second and third levels both use mechanics I really dislike (poison mushrooms and note blocks). I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because the level after that (with the rotating platforms) was pretty fun and had great music. The yellow switch palace was also a lot of fun!
That level got me frustrated, so I started Quickie World 2 on your recommendation to change things up. I'm up to the first castle now. I have to say, I was a little grumpy off the bat because the second and third levels both use mechanics I really dislike (poison mushrooms and note blocks). I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because the level after that (with the rotating platforms) was pretty fun and had great music. The yellow switch palace was also a lot of fun!
Yeah, the Field of Dreams level is the first one that really grabbed me, but there are a bunch in the second world that I found really fun. Fun fact, Valdio not only made the hack, but he also composed and/or ported a bunch of the music over to SMW too! So you have him to thank for the version of Scatman that plays on the title screen (along with the Deltarune song that plays in Field of Dreams that got my video copyright claimed).
I will say there is one level that I found pretty tough in world 2, called To the Limit. Don't get too discouraged if you find yourself stuck there for a little while.
I will say there is one level that I found pretty tough in world 2, called To the Limit. Don't get too discouraged if you find yourself stuck there for a little while.
Do the switch palaces in QW2 not collapse when you beat them? I could've sworn I'd beaten the first one last night, but when I went back to look at it today it was still standing.
Anyway, I beat seven more exits in Baby Kaizo World today, but I'm still in world 3. I just got to the level with the timed platforms and all the Yoshi sacrifices, but I'm feeling a little tilted from the levels leading up to it so I'm not really focused enough to do much. Man, the gloves really come off in world 3. I feel like the slope level is a little unfair -- forcing the player to do really janky things to progress isn't great.
I also spent another few minutes with the first QW2 castle, but I'm having so much trouble where you have to spin jump on that extremely slow bone. I can't get the damn timing consistently for making it over the first fall. The bone just moves so slowly!
Anyway, I beat seven more exits in Baby Kaizo World today, but I'm still in world 3. I just got to the level with the timed platforms and all the Yoshi sacrifices, but I'm feeling a little tilted from the levels leading up to it so I'm not really focused enough to do much. Man, the gloves really come off in world 3. I feel like the slope level is a little unfair -- forcing the player to do really janky things to progress isn't great.
I also spent another few minutes with the first QW2 castle, but I'm having so much trouble where you have to spin jump on that extremely slow bone. I can't get the damn timing consistently for making it over the first fall. The bone just moves so slowly!
Got through that castle; I was making the bone section harder than it needed to be. I was trying to do something like a bunch of little spins off of it until hopping off and over at the last possible second, when in reality you just need to do two full bounces. I watched Valdio's commentary playthrough to figure that out, because I realized I had to be doing something wrong. It seemed like an uncharacteristically mean difficulty jump to require players to do what I was trying.
Played through the Batcave level after that, which was pretty fun (and confirmed that I did indeed hit the yellow switch). Now I'm up to To the Limit, and yeah, I think it's gonna take a good few tries to make it through. Between that and the level where I'm stopped in Baby Kaizo, I may not have particularly exciting progress to report next time.
Played through the Batcave level after that, which was pretty fun (and confirmed that I did indeed hit the yellow switch). Now I'm up to To the Limit, and yeah, I think it's gonna take a good few tries to make it through. Between that and the level where I'm stopped in Baby Kaizo, I may not have particularly exciting progress to report next time.
Nice work! That bouncy bone section is definitely hard, but the bit at the end where the castle drops and you end up on the high platform is sooooo satisfying. I will say that spin jump riding enemies is something I've gotten way better at since I started learning kaizo. It's a good thing, too, because it comes up a lot! Batcave was a level I found to be pretty tough, but initially I was playing it without the yellow blocks and that jump off the slide is super tough without them. As for To the Limit, the hardest part is right at the start, as I'm sure you've realized. There are two ways to approach tossing the shell up to the koopa: full speed ahead (or course) or taking your time. I only ever managed the latter, so don't feel like you necessarily have to chain everything together without stopping - although that probably gives you a more repeatable setup for the double green shell bounce later. There was a lot of fine tuning in the slow approach and I'm not sure how easily I could pull it off again.
For me, I played another hour last night but only cleared three exits this time. One of them was the superb final castle, though, and honestly it should count for two. It's a killer level: the platforming is fun, fast-paced and tense all the way through, and the music is inspired. I opted to head to the star road, rather than finishing the game there, and I actually managed to clear one of the levels! So I don't think this is going to be a Baby Kaizo situation where the difficulty jumps up at the very end. I am seriously having a ton of fun with this hack, I'm even tempted to go back and see how long it would take me to clear the game in one sitting (after I've finished it once, that is). Heck, if I can do it in an hour, that would put me in the top 100 on speedrun.com! Out of 102 or so...
As to your point about Janked Up Slopes, I think that level highlights the differences between Baby Kaizo and Quickie 2. Baby K really wants you to learn the common kaizo tricks, so there are a few levels that are basically just tutorials. Baby Shells, Janked Up Slopes and Chuck Garden all come to mind as being more exercises than actual levels IMO. It serves a purpose, and for the most part it's more fun than the disconnected rooms of Learn 2 Kaizo, but Quickie World 2 strikes me as much more of a game.
For me, I played another hour last night but only cleared three exits this time. One of them was the superb final castle, though, and honestly it should count for two. It's a killer level: the platforming is fun, fast-paced and tense all the way through, and the music is inspired. I opted to head to the star road, rather than finishing the game there, and I actually managed to clear one of the levels! So I don't think this is going to be a Baby Kaizo situation where the difficulty jumps up at the very end. I am seriously having a ton of fun with this hack, I'm even tempted to go back and see how long it would take me to clear the game in one sitting (after I've finished it once, that is). Heck, if I can do it in an hour, that would put me in the top 100 on speedrun.com! Out of 102 or so...
As to your point about Janked Up Slopes, I think that level highlights the differences between Baby Kaizo and Quickie 2. Baby K really wants you to learn the common kaizo tricks, so there are a few levels that are basically just tutorials. Baby Shells, Janked Up Slopes and Chuck Garden all come to mind as being more exercises than actual levels IMO. It serves a purpose, and for the most part it's more fun than the disconnected rooms of Learn 2 Kaizo, but Quickie World 2 strikes me as much more of a game.
After all that, To the Limit only took about 10 minutes! For whatever reason I didn't really have any trouble throwing the shell up to the koopa while at P-speed, the harder part for me was lining up the shell bounces after. Anyway, I tore through the rest of the second world in about an hour and a half* and am up to Hot Potato. I know I said this in my last post, but I think I'll get stuck here for a bit. I'm not super good with combining precision throws and speed yet.
I have to echo you on the hack overall -- I've really been enjoying it. Valdio is a great level designer and even though the game is Hard, it's not super frustrating (unless you're me and you get stuck on that friggin' bone in the first castle). He clearly understands that keeping the player doing things that feel good even when they die is super important. I thought I was going to hate the blue switch palace, but I ended up really liking it because I could see myself getting better every time I died.
Also hard agree with your last paragraph re: differences between the two hacks, but I also wasn't really articulating my thoughts. Janked Up Slopes feels arbitrary to me because it forces you to do things that very few hacks will ever use (I'm thinking specifically about the Muncher at the end), but you can't skip it. At the same time, there's a water level in the same world that you can skip, even though water levels are super common. Just my opinion, but I feel like the level with hazards you'll see all the time should be mandatory while the one you'll run into extremely rarely should be optional.
I had a similar reaction to some of the later levels in Learn 2 Kaizo. There's exactly one level that the game lets you skip, because it's arguably the hardest trick in SMW (the midair shell jump) and nobody puts it in their hacks. But then you're forced to do midair spring jumps, which have basically the same controller input as far as I can tell. And there are levels like the double/invisible Yoshi glitch that also never show up in most hacks, and you're required to do that one. (Granted, it's not that hard, but it's tricky to get the block to duplicate.)
I'm not mad about any of this, just seems a little weird to me from a design perspective.
*I know this is an awful amount of time, but I'm still new to kaizo and it still felt like a lot of progress.
I have to echo you on the hack overall -- I've really been enjoying it. Valdio is a great level designer and even though the game is Hard, it's not super frustrating (unless you're me and you get stuck on that friggin' bone in the first castle). He clearly understands that keeping the player doing things that feel good even when they die is super important. I thought I was going to hate the blue switch palace, but I ended up really liking it because I could see myself getting better every time I died.
Also hard agree with your last paragraph re: differences between the two hacks, but I also wasn't really articulating my thoughts. Janked Up Slopes feels arbitrary to me because it forces you to do things that very few hacks will ever use (I'm thinking specifically about the Muncher at the end), but you can't skip it. At the same time, there's a water level in the same world that you can skip, even though water levels are super common. Just my opinion, but I feel like the level with hazards you'll see all the time should be mandatory while the one you'll run into extremely rarely should be optional.
I had a similar reaction to some of the later levels in Learn 2 Kaizo. There's exactly one level that the game lets you skip, because it's arguably the hardest trick in SMW (the midair shell jump) and nobody puts it in their hacks. But then you're forced to do midair spring jumps, which have basically the same controller input as far as I can tell. And there are levels like the double/invisible Yoshi glitch that also never show up in most hacks, and you're required to do that one. (Granted, it's not that hard, but it's tricky to get the block to duplicate.)
I'm not mad about any of this, just seems a little weird to me from a design perspective.
*I know this is an awful amount of time, but I'm still new to kaizo and it still felt like a lot of progress.
Nice job on To the Limit, lincolnic, that's a pretty intimidating level! And yes, the bomb management level is one of the harder ones in the game. Managing carry items is something that I find really difficult in general, as the controls are pretty finicky. But practice makes perfect and I'm gradually getting better at it, if only because the game isn't giving me a choice in the matter. And speaking of getting better...
I finished Quickie World 2 last night! The last three stages combined took me nearly 2 hours to get through, so the difficulty curve definitely ramps up at the end. But it's a gradual ramp, rather than the brick wall of Baby Kaizo, and it never felt inappropriate to the hack. I wasted a bunch of time in the ghost house because I thought you needed to keep the big Boo with you the whole time. Turns out that isn't required to finish the level, but maybe it's used to get into one of the secret rooms? The ghost house is followed by a (friendlier) remake of the most notorious level from the first Quickie World game, Sawrfing Castle, which was very challenging but pretty straightforward. Then there's the actual final level, which again isn't particularly devious, but it's a serious platforming challenge that really underscores the Valdio ethos of "gotta go fast". I spent something like 45 minutes just throwing myself at the first checkpoint before finally getting it, but man was it ever satisfying. After that, all that's left is the boss fight, which of course is actually extremely easy, it's just one of the koopaling fights from SMW reskinned to look like Yoshi.
And that's it! Man, looking back to the first post in this thread, I'm really impressed with how far I've come in the space of one month. Quickie World 2 is pretty easy for a kaizo hack, but it's still a kaizo hack and there's stuff in there that I would have found completely impossible back in August. I'm not 100% sure what I'll play next - probably not Mario for a couple days, honestly - but I want to see if I can improve my QW2 run a bit and I'll probably try QW1 soon, too. Gracie World and Korosu Mario are also on the list, thanks to that Juzcook video. But my next real goal, which will probably require a lot of work, will be to finish Juz' own creation, Invictus. I doubt I'll attempt it seriously until I've conquered a few more learner hacks, but for some reason that one in particular strikes me as the next major milestone. Onward and upwards!
I finished Quickie World 2 last night! The last three stages combined took me nearly 2 hours to get through, so the difficulty curve definitely ramps up at the end. But it's a gradual ramp, rather than the brick wall of Baby Kaizo, and it never felt inappropriate to the hack. I wasted a bunch of time in the ghost house because I thought you needed to keep the big Boo with you the whole time. Turns out that isn't required to finish the level, but maybe it's used to get into one of the secret rooms? The ghost house is followed by a (friendlier) remake of the most notorious level from the first Quickie World game, Sawrfing Castle, which was very challenging but pretty straightforward. Then there's the actual final level, which again isn't particularly devious, but it's a serious platforming challenge that really underscores the Valdio ethos of "gotta go fast". I spent something like 45 minutes just throwing myself at the first checkpoint before finally getting it, but man was it ever satisfying. After that, all that's left is the boss fight, which of course is actually extremely easy, it's just one of the koopaling fights from SMW reskinned to look like Yoshi.
And that's it! Man, looking back to the first post in this thread, I'm really impressed with how far I've come in the space of one month. Quickie World 2 is pretty easy for a kaizo hack, but it's still a kaizo hack and there's stuff in there that I would have found completely impossible back in August. I'm not 100% sure what I'll play next - probably not Mario for a couple days, honestly - but I want to see if I can improve my QW2 run a bit and I'll probably try QW1 soon, too. Gracie World and Korosu Mario are also on the list, thanks to that Juzcook video. But my next real goal, which will probably require a lot of work, will be to finish Juz' own creation, Invictus. I doubt I'll attempt it seriously until I've conquered a few more learner hacks, but for some reason that one in particular strikes me as the next major milestone. Onward and upwards!
In sadder kaizo news, there appears to be some drama surrounding kaizo wunderkind Dode. This is the internet in 2020, so it's pretty hard to be completely sure of what happened, but the gist of it seems to be that Dode was autohosting a transphobic streamer on Twitch after his streams ended. People called him out on it and he removed that streamer from rotation, then issued a mealy-mouthed apology that seems to have made things worse. I guess Dode is a fairly conservative guy, big into guns and bible quotes, and there's a lot of hard-to-parse screenshots of him saying stupid stuff in various chats. I wish I had a clearer picture of how things unfolded, but right now it doesn't look super great.
Ugh, damn it. I didn't know any of that about Dode, and I'm really disappointed. I looked up his statement, and yeah, it's the typical white dude non-apology that doesn't actually acknowledge the people who are hurt. Haven't seen the screenshots you mentioned, but I won't be going back to Dode's content without a real apology. On the plus side, Barb (AKA BarbarousKing, creator of Grand Poo World) has come out strong in saying "Transphobes have no place in the kaizo community." So at least I can still play his games, assuming the sun doesn't explode before I'm good enough.
In lighter news, I'm coming in hot on your tail, Mike: I also beat Quickie World 2 today! I started Learn 2 Kaizo on the 21st, and nine days later I've completed that and QW2. I honestly would not have expected anywhere near that amount of progress, and I also don't think I would've jumped in if it hadn't been for this thread. So thank you, Mike, for getting me out of my comfort zone and inspiring me to finally try something I've been interested in for a long time.
The final levels of QW2 were certainly hard, but I was also really surprised at how fun they were (for the most part; the part of Sawrfing Ruins right after the checkpoint was pretty grindy). I could also feel myself getting better almost in real time, which was pretty cool. As for my own next steps, they're pretty similar to yours. I'd like to finish Baby Kaizo World, and I'll definitely try the original Quickie World since I already have it downloaded. I want to check out the other hacks mentioned in Juzcook's video too, and eventually work up to Invictus and the Grand Poo World games. At some point in the future once I'm better at these games I'll revisit QW2, I bet it's even more fun when you're actually good. Probably going to take a couple of days off too, mostly because something in the way I'm holding my controller causes it to dig into the side of my middle finger to the point where I've got a light bruise there. I know it's related to when I switch my thumb to X+A for spin jumps, which probably means I'm just gripping the entire thing too hard. I can work on that.
Anyway, congrats on your own progress and accomplishments! I think you should definitely be proud. Looking forward to the next round.
In lighter news, I'm coming in hot on your tail, Mike: I also beat Quickie World 2 today! I started Learn 2 Kaizo on the 21st, and nine days later I've completed that and QW2. I honestly would not have expected anywhere near that amount of progress, and I also don't think I would've jumped in if it hadn't been for this thread. So thank you, Mike, for getting me out of my comfort zone and inspiring me to finally try something I've been interested in for a long time.
The final levels of QW2 were certainly hard, but I was also really surprised at how fun they were (for the most part; the part of Sawrfing Ruins right after the checkpoint was pretty grindy). I could also feel myself getting better almost in real time, which was pretty cool. As for my own next steps, they're pretty similar to yours. I'd like to finish Baby Kaizo World, and I'll definitely try the original Quickie World since I already have it downloaded. I want to check out the other hacks mentioned in Juzcook's video too, and eventually work up to Invictus and the Grand Poo World games. At some point in the future once I'm better at these games I'll revisit QW2, I bet it's even more fun when you're actually good. Probably going to take a couple of days off too, mostly because something in the way I'm holding my controller causes it to dig into the side of my middle finger to the point where I've got a light bruise there. I know it's related to when I switch my thumb to X+A for spin jumps, which probably means I'm just gripping the entire thing too hard. I can work on that.
Anyway, congrats on your own progress and accomplishments! I think you should definitely be proud. Looking forward to the next round.
Took a day off from kaizo, then came back today and knocked out the rest of Baby Kaizo World. Well, all of it except the Star Road. I spent a good 20-30 minutes mostly just trying to do the first jump in that first level. I know Mike knows what I'm talking about. Even knowing what I'm supposed to do, it's still the hardest thing any of these hacks has asked of me so far. I know I can do it (I've gotten almost to the end of the level 2-3 times), but I'm not sure if I want to do it. I looked up video of the remaining levels and they seem pretty janky. I may just decide to be done with Baby Kaizo World for the time being.
In lieu of grinding that level any more, I went and did the first two stages of Quickie World 1 in about 10 minutes. Hooray! Already having more fun there, so I'll definitely tackle the rest of that next.
In lieu of grinding that level any more, I went and did the first two stages of Quickie World 1 in about 10 minutes. Hooray! Already having more fun there, so I'll definitely tackle the rest of that next.
Yeah, I immediately made a liar out of myself and started Quickie 1 a few days ago. Turns out that kaizo hacks are actually the thing that I'm most excited to play right now, which is sort of cool considering that playing them can also feel like work sometimes. I don't think I like Q1 as much as Q2 overall, but I hit a few levels in the back half of the game that I thought were excellent. Now I've made it to the famous Sawrfing Castle which, yep, it's a tough one. 90% of the difficulty for me comes from this one red shell pickup that you have to do while bouncing on a spinning mace, which I beef like three-quarters of the time. I spent about 30 minutes on that level this morning before taking a break, maybe I'll try again later today. Q1 is definitely a solid hack, but from the commentary on Valdio's Q2 video, it sounds like he put a lot more work into the sequel. One place where that shows is the music, as there are a bunch of stages in Q1 that just use stock SMW tunes. I really appreciated all the custom music in Q2, as well as the fact that Valdio himself invested the effort of porting a bunch of songs to the game. His ports aren't the most sophisticated that I've heard, but there's something charming about the fact that they all end up using the SMW steel drums at some point. 
Yep, I just came from hitting a wall in QW1 at the first castle (surprising no one, I'm having trouble in the section where you have to spin-ride a saw). I've made it almost to the end of the level a couple of times, but for some reason each time I've missed the spin onto the Thwomp and died. QW1 definitely feels harder than QW2. I'm not enjoying it quite as much as QW2 either, but still having a good time for the most part. I'll play this one through to the end for sure. I do hope Valdio makes a third one like he mentioned in his QW2 video!
That castle was very difficult, but I somehow managed to one-shot the last quarter or so of it. I would probably have been stuck there for another 20 minutes if I didn't clutch out that ending on my first try.
Also, not far from where you are now is a really cool level called Everything is Fine. I won't spoil the surprise, but you will be doing some real-ass kaizo shit soon, my friend. It was really tough but super satisfying to pull it off.
Also, not far from where you are now is a really cool level called Everything is Fine. I won't spoil the surprise, but you will be doing some real-ass kaizo shit soon, my friend. It was really tough but super satisfying to pull it off.
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OH MY GOD I did it, I finally cleared Sawrfing castle. I think I literally spent like 3 hours on that one level over the last 2-3 days. Such an incredible relief to be past that one, man. Next up is the star world, and the first level there honestly seems much lot easier, but my brain is fried and I can't make any progress on it. No matter, this one victory is more than enough for today.
Great job Mike! I hadn't played at all between Saturday and today, but today I was forced to attend a Zoom call I didn't have to participate in from 6-10 PM so I played Quickie World instead. I got through all of the levels in the second world in about two hours (you weren't kidding about Everything is Fine, yeesh), and then got stuck at Sawrfing Castle for the next two hours. The sticking point for me seems to be the jumps right after you pick up the red shell -- just having a real hard time nailing the jump onto the first fireball, and then throwing the shell in the right direction afterwards (I feel like I throw it to the left at least half the time). I've made it past the green shell jump a handful of times, but for some reason I've always been too slow to catch the saw again on the other side. I honestly don't know how to make the time up, because I don't feel like I'm losing time anywhere. Guess I just need to grind it out.
Also, the first half of Chuck City is straight up jank (especially the first jump, where it's possible for the first Chuck to overshoot you completely) and no one will ever convince me otherwise. Still generally having fun, though!
Also, the first half of Chuck City is straight up jank (especially the first jump, where it's possible for the first Chuck to overshoot you completely) and no one will ever convince me otherwise. Still generally having fun, though!
Keep at it! As you may have guessed, the shell toss after the two fireballs can be successful whether it goes left or right, depending on where you release it. I had a ton of trouble every time it went left, but after finishing the level I watched a tutorial by Glitchcat and he showed a good spot to drop it so that you'll be safe either way. If you come down from the second fireball close to the wall and drop it there, the shell will pass through you if you get a left-side release and you won't be harmed. Or you could do like me and just keep trying until you throw to the right. 
The next bit is SUPER TIGHT, I think it helps to land on the platform with the green shell as far left as you can - you'll gain time on the saw while you're running to pick up the shell. And of course, you have basically no time to waste on the shell jump. Finally, make sure you fast-fall (let go of jump) once you've cleared the spike, so that you hit the falling platform as early as possible. After that, it's just a question of keeping your cool, since the last few bounces aren't all that hard. I think I cleared the level on the fourth attempt where I managed to get back on the saw after the shell jump...it's just that there were a whole lot of runs in between where I didn't manage to get that far. One thing I can guarantee you is that you won't have too much trouble with anything past Sawrfing, because I finished the rest of the game last night! There was one level in the star road that I found really intimidating, and which required some janky falling yoshi physics that I didn't know about, but in the end I cleared it in maybe 30 minutes. Overall, I definitely enjoyed Quickie 2 more, but this was a fine, uh, prequel.
After that, I spent 20 minutes peeking at some other hacks, but I didn't commit myself to anything. I tried Korosu Mario, where I made progress relatively quickly on the first level but didn't finish it. Unfortunately, that game uses stock music and it plays the full death jingle every time you die, which then causes the music to restart. Maybe I've been spoiled by Baby Kaizo and the Quickie games, but that alone might keep me from playing this one (or at least playing it with the sound up). Next I moved on the Gracie World, which at first blush seems like a step up in difficulty from what we've been playing so far. The first level didn't seem too bad, until I realized that you need to collect a shell from a floating coin block that I was using just as a platform and bring it to through a series of bullet bill jumps. Not impossible, but a little more intimidating than the hacks I'm used to! I'm also still considering going back to Quickie 2 to see if I can eventually finish it in under an hour. But mostly I think I need to take a break from kaizo, because I seem to have hurt my left thumb from jamming down the run button so hard playing Valdio's hacks. Go fast, don't hesitate, bruise your thumbs!
The next bit is SUPER TIGHT, I think it helps to land on the platform with the green shell as far left as you can - you'll gain time on the saw while you're running to pick up the shell. And of course, you have basically no time to waste on the shell jump. Finally, make sure you fast-fall (let go of jump) once you've cleared the spike, so that you hit the falling platform as early as possible. After that, it's just a question of keeping your cool, since the last few bounces aren't all that hard. I think I cleared the level on the fourth attempt where I managed to get back on the saw after the shell jump...it's just that there were a whole lot of runs in between where I didn't manage to get that far. One thing I can guarantee you is that you won't have too much trouble with anything past Sawrfing, because I finished the rest of the game last night! There was one level in the star road that I found really intimidating, and which required some janky falling yoshi physics that I didn't know about, but in the end I cleared it in maybe 30 minutes. Overall, I definitely enjoyed Quickie 2 more, but this was a fine, uh, prequel.After that, I spent 20 minutes peeking at some other hacks, but I didn't commit myself to anything. I tried Korosu Mario, where I made progress relatively quickly on the first level but didn't finish it. Unfortunately, that game uses stock music and it plays the full death jingle every time you die, which then causes the music to restart. Maybe I've been spoiled by Baby Kaizo and the Quickie games, but that alone might keep me from playing this one (or at least playing it with the sound up). Next I moved on the Gracie World, which at first blush seems like a step up in difficulty from what we've been playing so far. The first level didn't seem too bad, until I realized that you need to collect a shell from a floating coin block that I was using just as a platform and bring it to through a series of bullet bill jumps. Not impossible, but a little more intimidating than the hacks I'm used to! I'm also still considering going back to Quickie 2 to see if I can eventually finish it in under an hour. But mostly I think I need to take a break from kaizo, because I seem to have hurt my left thumb from jamming down the run button so hard playing Valdio's hacks. Go fast, don't hesitate, bruise your thumbs!
Holy shit I finally just did it. I appreciate the tips! My real sticking point was jumping from the saw to the fireballs. I just couldn't get the timing consistent there, but eventually I got close enough. I still never got fast enough to be right on top of the saw after the shell jump like Glitchcat was in his video, so I had to make a big leap to the right to catch it and bounce to the top one. After that it was a matter of staying calm and not dying to the Thwimp, which I did at least 3 times in my prior attempts.
Now I never have to play that again, onto the Special World!
I actually just rewatched the Gracie World run from GDQ last year, and that hack looks a whole lot harder than the ones we've been playing so far. It's also apparently got kaizo blocks everywhere, which I'm not super keen on...not sure if I'll pick that one up or not, we'll see.
Now I never have to play that again, onto the Special World!
I actually just rewatched the Gracie World run from GDQ last year, and that hack looks a whole lot harder than the ones we've been playing so far. It's also apparently got kaizo blocks everywhere, which I'm not super keen on...not sure if I'll pick that one up or not, we'll see.
Forgot to mention - definitely take care of your hands! I developed an RSI while crunching to finish a game a couple of years ago and while I didn't end up needing surgery, my left wrist basically hurts all the time now. It's not great. Take as long a break as you need!
Original recipe Quickie World is down! Made it through the star road in about an hour, managed to accidentally cheese the second half of White Moth's Lair so I don't actually know what the end of that level's supposed to look like. I think I'm gonna rewatch Juzcook's video to get some ideas about what to play next.
Congrats! You didn't miss all that much in White Moth's Lair, it's honestly cake compared to the levels that preceded it. I had a bit of trouble in Rainbow Road because of the weird physics you get jumping off the invisible Yoshi - maybe that's something that was covered in the later levels of Learn 2 Kaizo? Anyway, I'm in no hurry to revisit Quickie the First, but I'm still tempted to play QW2 again and see how long it takes me now. Then again, I'm still suffering from a mild case of Valdio Thumb, and I want to wait for that to clear up completely before playing any more kaizo. But beyond what we've played so far, there are a few possibilities to consider:
The Path of the Novice, Continued: There are still a lot of "easier" hacks out there to try. Juz mentions some of the ones I've already talked about in his video, like Korosu and Gracie World, plus one or two others like Take it Easy World. Any of those could do the trick, although I have a strong preference for hacks that have instant restart and custom music, just to maintain my sanity. Akogare Mario World is another one that gets mentioned a lot - I tried that when I was starting out and was kinda stumped by it, but I bet I could make some headway now. There's also the hack that originally motivated me to try kaizo, Super Hark Bros, although that one might be a step up in difficulty. Super Glitchcat World and Banzai Mario World are other options that I've heard mentioned a few times, and the recently-released Peachy Moat World also seems really neat without being too hard.
Just Fuckin' Go For It: Part of me just wants to jump into Invictus and give it a serious go. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so drawn to this hack, but I'm really motivated to play it and that might be enough to help me push through stages that are more difficult than I'm used to. It definitely has great music and instant retry, which will help keep me going. Might be time to jump in at the deep end? Heck, I could even try Grand Poo World 2 while I'm at it! (just kidding...unless?)
Anyway, one thing I've realized is that a) most of the hacks people recommend are actually a few years old, typically from 2018 or earlier and b) more hacks have been released in the last two years than all the years before that combined. So that means there are probably a bunch of awesome hacks that just haven't had time to build up a reputation in the community yet - not that that'll help us choose one to play, I guess. Still, with all those new games, a handful of them are probably really excellent and just aren't being discussed much right now. Definitely curious to see which ones end up rising to the top!
I'll leave you with this GDQ run of Super Ryu World 2, which I watched yesterday and found very entertaining. The hack isn't supposed to be that hard, as kaizo goes, but watching this run I felt like it was probably too tough for where I'm at right now personally. Lots of fun to watch, though, with a bunch of graphics borrowed from Yoshi's Island and some excellent music.
The Path of the Novice, Continued: There are still a lot of "easier" hacks out there to try. Juz mentions some of the ones I've already talked about in his video, like Korosu and Gracie World, plus one or two others like Take it Easy World. Any of those could do the trick, although I have a strong preference for hacks that have instant restart and custom music, just to maintain my sanity. Akogare Mario World is another one that gets mentioned a lot - I tried that when I was starting out and was kinda stumped by it, but I bet I could make some headway now. There's also the hack that originally motivated me to try kaizo, Super Hark Bros, although that one might be a step up in difficulty. Super Glitchcat World and Banzai Mario World are other options that I've heard mentioned a few times, and the recently-released Peachy Moat World also seems really neat without being too hard.
Just Fuckin' Go For It: Part of me just wants to jump into Invictus and give it a serious go. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so drawn to this hack, but I'm really motivated to play it and that might be enough to help me push through stages that are more difficult than I'm used to. It definitely has great music and instant retry, which will help keep me going. Might be time to jump in at the deep end? Heck, I could even try Grand Poo World 2 while I'm at it! (just kidding...unless?)
Anyway, one thing I've realized is that a) most of the hacks people recommend are actually a few years old, typically from 2018 or earlier and b) more hacks have been released in the last two years than all the years before that combined. So that means there are probably a bunch of awesome hacks that just haven't had time to build up a reputation in the community yet - not that that'll help us choose one to play, I guess. Still, with all those new games, a handful of them are probably really excellent and just aren't being discussed much right now. Definitely curious to see which ones end up rising to the top!
I'll leave you with this GDQ run of Super Ryu World 2, which I watched yesterday and found very entertaining. The hack isn't supposed to be that hard, as kaizo goes, but watching this run I felt like it was probably too tough for where I'm at right now personally. Lots of fun to watch, though, with a bunch of graphics borrowed from Yoshi's Island and some excellent music.
So it's not explicitly covered, but there is a level late in L2K where you have to do the double Yoshi block dupe glitch, and that did teach me that if you ever have two Yoshis onscreen one of them will disappear. Even so, it wasn't until I actually saw it happen for the first time in Rainbow Road that I remembered that fact -- I don't think it comes up very often.
Normally there'd be a big part of me that would say Fuckin' Go For It, because there's literally no penalty for failing, but I got curious and tried a bit of Akogare Mario World tonight, and I am absolutely not ready to Fuckin' Go For It. Even for a relatively "moderate" hack, Akogare is kicking my ass. I played for a total of maybe 2.5 hours, and I have yet to reach the midway on the third level. Also, it has a death counter, which I absolutely hate. Even though deaths are meaningless in these games, it makes me feel very, very bad. I'm currently at about 350 deaths. I know I'm bad at these games, I don't need the constant reminder staring me in the face!
Maybe I'll take a look at Korosu or Gracie tomorrow. I actually was meaning to ask you if you'd seen Peachy Moat World yet -- I've only seen maybe half of it (Grand Poo Bear has released two Youtube videos over the past two weeks or so, I expect he'll wrap it up soon) and from what I can see, it looks really hard. At the end of the second video he says it's maybe a little harder than Invictus, so make of it what you will. Has some very cool level designs for sure, though.
That Ryu 2 speedrun is a lot of fun -- I think Ryu 1 is supposed to be on the easier side? I may look at that one tomorrow, actually. I've seen a playthrough of it before and it didn't look too bad.
You'll probably also enjoy the GDQ race of Quickie World between Glitchcat and RBMACHOK, with live commentary by Valdio: