MFGG - Mario Fan Games Galaxy

Review Information

Game Reviewed	Super Mario Epic 3 (April Fools' 2007 Demo), by Jeff Silvers
Review Author	Thunder Dragon
Created	Apr 4 2007, 7:53 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview

The first Super Mario Epic was rather mediocre. The second one was quite enjoyable, and a vast improvement over the first, though many flaws were still present. And now, we have this: finally, a fan game worthy of the title, "epic." Well, about as epic as your run-of-the-mill Mario clone can get, really.

Pros	-Play as Mario and Luigi -Great blend of SMB2 and 3 elements (a la TSB)
Cons	-You still can’t die in the demo -In this demo, you can’t return to the stage select after clearing a stage (without resetting, of course)

Impressions

Gameplay 8 / 10	Smooth engine, blah blah blah. To be perfectly honest, engines, no matter how well made they are, don't mean crap if there isn't enjoyable content and stage designs to back it up. And thankfully, SME3 delivers. This new demo contains three stages – though nothing particularly unique or interesting, they are assembled rather well and are simply fun to play. There are even some bonus rooms and other secrets scattered about that make the stages worth coming back to. Item wise, we've got the fire flower, the hammer suit, and the SML2 carrot - an item seemingly popularized by Blue Twilight. And of course, we've got SMB2 vegetables and Shy Guys. It's got the content, it’s got that professional polish, and it’s got potential. While nothing truly new or exciting, SME3 is indeed a truly enjoyable experience.
Graphics 8 / 10	A fine combination of graphics from SMB3, SMW, and Mario Party Advance, with a few original sprites thrown in. All in all, it looks nice. While the resemblance to the SNES Mario games is there, SME3 takes enough measures to make itself actually look like its own game. There have been some graphical improvements since the previous demo, however, I still say the recovery heart could use a smoother animation.
Sound 7 / 10	Sound samples come from various Mario games, as expected. For the first stage, we have the use of a not-so-commonly heard song from Yoshi’s Safari, as opposed to the SMW overworld theme we are all bored to death of hearing in fangames. For the other two stages, we have the SMB3 overworld theme – good song, though I’d prefer to hear something slightly less common.
Replay 8 / 10	Both Mario and Luigi are playable, so that could add some degree of replay value. There are three stages complete with secrets and ace coins to collect, so you’ll actually find incentive to replay this demo.

Final Words

SME3 isn’t necessarily “epic” on a general level, but for your run-of-the-mill Mario clone, there is no doubt that this is as epic as they come.

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