MFGG - Mario Fan Games Galaxy

Review Information

Game Reviewed	Super Mario Bros: Restless Reality, by Hello
Review Author	VinnyVideo
Created	Sep 2 2010, 4:48 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview

Super Mario Bros.: Restless Reality is Hello's latest platform game. It's a big game that will take several hours to finish, but it still isn't much different from Hello's previous games.

Pros	+ Will keep you playing a while + Adds some new features from previous Hello games + Good difficulty curve + Nice variety of enemies + HP system is done well + Some secrets add replay value + Interesting graphical effects + Plenty of dialogue
Cons	- Feels a whole lot like previous Hello games - Darkness gimmicks are overused - Some graphical glitches involving the pause menu - Music often glitches up - Some errors in grammar and usage in in-game text - Weak story

Impressions

Gameplay 8 / 10	The author of this game makes four flavors of games. This is the Hello's standard platform game, featuring many levels connected by an overworld map. The main difference is the addition of a well-executed hit points system, which works well, although it makes the earlier levels rather easy (I didn't lose a life until the end of the ice world). Hello also makes good use of the plethora of enemies and features included in his ubiquitous engine, including fun new power-ups like the New Super Mario Bros. (DS) Koopa Suit and a custom ninja outfit. As usual, however, once you get past Hello's new bells and whistles, you'll realize that Hello's basically just put a fresh coat of paint over the ordinary fangames he's been making since 2006. Other than the zany dark levels, Hello doesn't introduce any game environments he hasn't used before - the grassy/hilly land, the pipe maze, the pyramid, the ice land, and so on. At least he successfully held off on putting the cave level at the third level instead of the second. The Hello Engine remains a little glitchy, too. When you stomp a Paratroopa, for example, you'll usually either get hurt (even if you hit it just right), or it'll automatically become a Koopa Shell instead of a standard Koopa. There are lots of other little glitches, too. The game's storyline is pretty dumb and irrelevant. I'm sure it could've been done in a much more interesting way.
Graphics 8 / 10	Hello made this game. What does that mean? Lots of SMB3 sprites and lots of tiles from everyone's favorite charcoal-colored, bushy-tailed rodent. Pretty early on in the game, however, you'll find a level where you'd swear you'd just stepped into a 70's disco party. Other interesting darkness effects also show up early on. As the game progresses, however, you'll realize that it's hardly an exaggeration to say that about half the game takes place in the dark. This isn't Zelda: A Link to the Past or Twilight Princess, and these ever-dim fortresses and caverns get old after a while. Another problem is that the dark rooms, especially the strobe lights, look absolutely hideous when the game is paused. Other problems relate to Hello's overused graphical styles, where the clock is set to February 2007 for all eternity. The Black Squirrel tiles are some of the nicer ones around, but seriously, does Hello have to use them in every game? If I had the ability, motivation, and time to produce games as many lengthy platform games as Hello can, I'd take the time to explore a greater variety of graphics. And while Hello refuses to use ripped Super Mario World enemy sprites, he sure uses a lot of SMW backgrounds, and in the Ghost Houses, tiles. In addition, some sprites don't look very nice - the custom Big Boo clashes horribly with the regular Boos, and the Gray Snifits have an ugly piece of sprite sheet background between their feet.
Sound 8 / 10	The music in this game is generally easy on the ears. The Ogg Vorbis format is perhaps the best format around for making fangames, and the OC Remix/Newgrounds remixes are pretty decent arrangements of classic Mario tunes from SMB 3, SMW, and other games. The over-Red Bulled "athletic" music (which is just ten seconds long) gets old after a while, though, but I liked the fortress music a lot, even if it was a remix of Hello's most-overused music. The map and underwater themes were also nice, as were the bonus and underground songs, and I'm pleased Hello chose different Game Over songs this time. None of the songs in this game are longer than about a minute, though. One problem is the P-Switch music loops poorly, and once it played endlessly (even on the map screen and on other levels) until I hit F2 to restart the game. Some commenters have also stated that the remixes are a little "over the top" for a 2D Hello platform game. Hello spices up the SMB 3 sound effects with some Yoshi's Island sounds, often used in interesting ways (like with the Blarggs).
Replay 7 / 10	It took me about three hours to beat the game, and I still didn't find all of the game's secret exits (which a good percentage of the levels possess). The replay value is also boosted by the hunt to find well-hidden special coins, hidden in some levels. Unfortunately, while the game is long by fangame standards, the score is hurt by the fact that the levels tend to blend into each other as the game progresses. For example, all the airships are pretty much indistinguishable from one another. The same goes for the Ghost Houses, which are basically identical to all the Ghost Houses Hello has ever made.

Final Words

SMB: Restless Reality will keep you playing a while, but once you get past the engine's latest tweakings, you'll find it's just another Hello game.

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