MFGG - Mario Fan Games Galaxy

Review Information

Game Reviewed	Super Mario Trapped under snow, by LSF Games
Review Author	Espejo
Created	Apr 25 2014, 11:39 AM

General Commentary and Game Overview

Bowser has once again come up with the perfect plan to finally rid of Mario! No, it's not slow physics or even the buggy rendering issues; it's a constant snow storm!

Now, I'll just quickly say I didn't 100% this game, but I do have my reasons for this. I'll explain why in just a sec!

P.S.: Why do I have to watch and complete the introduction every time I load up my file?

Pros	+ Cut-scenes were well made and fun. + Nice graphics and effects. + The music was generally enjoyable as well as the sound effects. + Good variety in the levels; packed with plenty on collectables. + Good attention to detail.
Cons	- Slow physics - Lag and render issues - Some odd warps - Clipping issues

Impressions

Gameplay 5 / 10	What goes up must come down... eventually. The main issue within this game is the physics. Everything is so... slow, smooth and floaty. The whole game seems to be played in slow-motion; Mario seems to run in a "Baywatch" styled motion whilst jumping as if he were on the moon. You'll find yourself waiting just to land on another platform - it all just seems too slow. The attention to detail in the AI is fantastic, however. The enemies are generally well done except for the occasional waiting-for-a-giant-spiny-to-leave-the-tunnel-so-I-can-progress-today moments. The bosses are also great and are well made; the difficulty for them seems to be just about right, perhaps a teeny bit too difficult early on. The cut scenes are also fun. The characters all interact well and it can be pretty funny at times (I'm looking at you, Luigi). The story is there, it's not anything special (pretty much like any other Mario game available) but it sets the scene well. Also, I need to briefly mention that you can occasionally get trapped walls (I swear I'm not using a Gameshark). With a little bit of a struggle however, you can easily get back, so it's not a game breaking issue. One more thing, once I ended up losing to the boss in level 2 and, when I died, I ended up in a Toad House. No idea how that happened, but the mushroom he offered was delicious. The lack of checkpoint in that level was also saddening and unforgiving... Overall, the game runs smoothly; but perhaps a bit too much so.
Graphics 5 / 10	I liked them! Before they disappeared, that is... The graphic choice was good in this game. It felt wintry and kept to a conservative mix-and-match of various 16-bit custom and original sprites. It fit the game and worked well all the while appearing pretty pleasing to the pupils. This did not come without its faults, however! There were two major issues in regards to how the game looked: Major issue the first: - The game occasionally lagged. When I was defeated on level 2 (this happened more often that it should've) and reentered the stage, I was greeting with full force by the lag monster. Now, unless my GTX 760 is outdated already I shouldn't be expecting this. I don't understand why this might've happened, but it shouldn't have. Major issue the second: - The stage disappeared. After being defeated by the boss in stage two AGAIN, I was met by a blacked out screen - all I could see where the objects in the room, no tilesets in sight. This happened after the lag, so that might've caused it; however, I'm not entirely sure. The snow effects were neat, though!
Sound 8 / 10	SPC music? Yes, please! It's obvious that Mr. LSF invested time and effort into this aspect of the game. The SPC music is nice and retro sounding, and the sound effects play their part also. The voices can become quite annoying, however; especially when there's no variance for each move. (I'm looking at you, Koopalings!) Aside from that, the audio was enjoyable, especially the music - well done!
Replay 7 / 10	There's plenty to do and lots to see in this here video game. When the slow play style is fixed, I might consider coming back and 100% this sucker! :)

Final Words

It's obvious that Mr. LSF put a lot of effort and time into this game with its nice visuals, audio and AI; but the physics of the protagonist, Mario, really hindered the experience.

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Comments

	LSF Games May 9 2014, 1:51 PM
Thank you very much for this review, it really helps me out! It shows me the flaws this version has. I already considered making a more fluent version of the game, since I experienced some lag on another pc already. But generally, on my laptop this happened not often. What really confuses me is the fact that the stage disappeared?! o_0 This is really a strange occurance I never came across. But how far in fact did you get? Level 2? That's a bit to early I guess. The more interesting levelthemes come later on with a frozen factory, a lava-ice volcano, a desert at night, the snow bridge etc. The error with the warp to the toad house is really weird though, but it happened to me, too. But I really have no clue what the source of this bug is. I am really concerned about the lag affecting the gameplay that much. I have the theory it has to do with the snow effect. Maybe I have to limit it. Thx. Edit: It might be annoying to watch the intro cutscene everytime loading, right? You can skip them by pressing backspace/delete. Just saying ;) I could swear I mentioned that....


	Espejo May 13 2014, 11:15 AM
Don't worry, I did get further -- just the glitch happened at level 2. ;) It'll be great to see a more fluent version - it'll definitely bring out the great ideas you put in the game! And I'm sure I did miss the cut scene thing, too, I'm not good at remembering that kind of stuff. o_o'

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