Difference between revisions of "Enhanced Mobility"

This level starts off amazing and ends amazing but the middle of it is just kind of bleh. I really love your unorthodox usage of the Galaxy Man portals - the ending shaft is really fun and creative and I <3 it. I wish the whole level was built around it, though, because the rest of the level is less than great. There's long stretches of level which just seem to be every enemy ever placed down everywhere, and they'll just hit you over and over and kill you and it's just not fun. The sled sections are also pretty dumb because not only do they lack any sign commands, they're also incredibly short and the second one will mainly just consist of you getting hit by the enemy spam over and over. Also, that second exit is entirely pointless. The level really gets brought up, though, by the amazing final section. It's soooo good <3. I just wish the whole level was built around it, though, because when the level loses focus it just kinda falls apart!!

This level was a bit of a disaster, both in terms of design and aesthetics. It really felt like blocks and enemies were just placed wherever and then left there. The sled slections were completely skippable, and it was honestly easier to fly over them and shoot enemies with Rush Jet than to actually use the sled, because those sections were very hard to memorize without dying several times due to the many enemies. I don't think that part was tested enough. The part at the end with all the galaxy portals was cool, but it was sometimes unfair because you couldn't see what was above you.

This level exists in a weird state between interesting teleporter setups and enemy spam, the latter of which also bleeds in the second of this level's snowboarding segments. I really enjoyed the spike fall and spike rise segments, but the rest of the level strikes me as something that could've been much more if it adhered more closely to the teleporter boost gimmick. There's a lot of undiscovered potential here, but the problem is exactly that: It's undiscovered in this level. I also got killed by a random screen border that one time. I assume there were spikes on the other end.

I'd say this level is alright, but it suffers from bad enemy placement, considering how many enemies there are who shoot hard-to-avoid projectiles. Not to mention the little enemy variety. Besides that, the level is just way too short, with split paths only being one screen long each. Anyway, I liked the teleporter gimmick, and I had a short period of fun in that vertical spikes section. Overall, it's not a bad level for what it is, but it could be better.

.... pfft, Oh deary me. Playtesting your own level you see, is a good thing, as about half of the gimmicks in this stage are utterly pointless. As in, you can skip using most of them. This includes the Frost Man Sled. Both of them. Without weapons or utilities. I actually completed the two areas that use Jet Sleds - without the Jet Sled. I'm sorry, but that is hilarious. I went back to play both segments with the Jet Sled afterwards, and they're not exactly improved by the gimmick, especially with the enemy spam of the second one. (Also, I think Pandeeta has a bit too much health for the Sled segment, really.)

Secondly - most of the Galaxy Man Teleporters can also be outright skipped without even using weapons. This is a bit silly. This stage wants to do two paths - which is weird, because of the paths is incredibly short, so short in fact it doesn't really warrant existing (like, it feels short enough to only have a Noble Nickel in it.), the other has some thought put behind it and is a decent length at least.

Enemy selection in the stage was - frankly - spotty. There are many instances of only a single enemy of a type showing up in the stage, usually without thought to their placement. It's all a hodgepodge, and really doesn't help the level any, mostly because many of these are really badly placed. The single random Cocco is an example of an enemy that shouldn't sit where it is, as it is more nuisance than challenge. The tileset appears to be random blocks placed all over the place. At no point does this level seem coherent, which makes it fairly ugly to look at.

I'll give you praise where you deserve it - your checkpoint placement was great, and the final room on the long path, whilst silly, was a very clever way of using the Galaxy Man Teleporters. The spike drop earlier in the level was also well handled. Everything else was a bit lackluster, in most cases, and rubbish in others, and the fact so much of the level can be played by outright ignoring segments is ridiculous.