Review Information
Game Reviewed Abducted Toad (Post-NCFC 2013 Demo), by Friendly Dictator
Review Author Mariotroid
Created Jan 23 2014, 12:15 AM

General Commentary and Game Overview
Abducted Toad is a shining example of what every fangame should be: fun and innovative. It is lacking in a few regards but overall it is a joy filled game that doesn't get boring. This game also has a certain undeniable charm throughout all its levels. Play if you want to be inspired!
 
Pros + Great presentation
+ Well chosen and atmospheric music.
+ Fun and innovative level design.
 
Cons - Lacking in animations.
- Some wonky physics.
- At times unfair gameplay.
 
Impressions
Gameplay
9 / 10
The gameplay in Abducted Toad isn't groundbreaking. The physics can be wonky, such as glitches of jumping through narrow openings; and a lack of friction. It comes off as unpolished. But when you look past these simple issues, you find at the core a very, very fun game. Every level in Abducted Toad is unique from the last. In the first few levels you go from a sky level to a grassland to a water level. Surprisingly, the swimming physics are great. Good job there.

At one point I found an underwater submarine. This was an incredibly fun, unexpected perk that really showed off the variety of this game. And how could I forget? The best and most original part of this game: the aura. You use the titular Abducted Toad's aura to attack enemies and even set off bombs and fire missiles from a cannon. This adds great variety to the game.

However, the Gameplay just comes close, but not close enough, to perfection. Some levels are unfair and the level design could use some touches. More gaps of land so you can breathe after an obstacle course would be welcome. And, I'm ashamed to say it but I found incredible difficulty with the last level of World 1, where I had to destroy blocks to go further. Why was this difficult? Because the blocks underneath me would be destroyed every time I hit my aura. Besides all this though, near perfect gameplay can be found here.
 
Graphics
8 / 10
The graphics here are nothing I haven't seen before. Literally. Most of the graphics have been ripped from SMB3, with some from Yoshi's Island and Super Mario World. Nothing noticeably clashes though. I especially enjoyed the particle effects in some areas. One area hosted a rain effect, which looked super neat and complimented the level throughout. Also, the parallax backgrounds worked well and added beauty to the game. There were a few issues though.

Animations were severely lacking in a lot of ways. I noticed Toad didn't have a idle animation, and there was no animation for when missiles were fired from a sub. Also, simple effects like dust forming from running wasn't included. That would have really added atmosphere.

However, despite all the emptiness there was certainly visual appeal to the game. I found atmosphere was a heavy focus in every level, as it should be. Also, the backgrounds were varied as well. Great graphics.
 
Sound
7 / 10
I liked the music chosen for this game. Every level's theme fits the fast paced and hectic nature of the game. I would have enjoyed some original tracks here and there. Obviously, I shouldn't critique on that though. This game is mostly about the gameplay. That being said, the music is pretty varied and taken from a plethora of different games. Most of which I assume are Mario games, though I could be wrong. My major concern is with the sound effects though.

There seemed to be a lot of empty or very low-volume sounds. This took away from my immersion with the game. There was no walking or idle sound and often times there was little sound effects from the enemies. Also, it could have used more sounds of Toad talking, which could have easily been drawn from the Mario Kart series.

It`s not all bad though, there was some nice victory sounds and jumping sounds and with this soundtrack the game didn`t suffer too too much in the audio. Above average sound.
 
Replay
8 / 10
This is definitely a game worth playing again. It has a cool non-official feel to it, and that isn't a bad thing. You'll come back for the presentation and stay for the gameplay. I really enjoyed how fast paced this game was, even if at times I needed a breather. Replay is a definite plus to this game. Great replay.
 
Final Words
8 / 10
Abducted Toad is a fast paced and exciting game that doesn't end to surprise any gamer. I suggest playing this if you want to play a real fangame that is original and incredibly fun!

Comments
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Friendly Dictator
Jan 28 2014, 11:59 PM
Thanks for the review!

More friction is something I'm definitely not going to add. I don't like it when games are slippery; I prefer the way it is in, for example, the Megaman games.

I might add some dust effects later.

There will be some original music tracks in the final game!
 
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Mariotroid
Jan 30 2014, 4:39 AM
You're welcome. I like this game more than most on this site.
 
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