Review Information
Game Reviewed Psycho Waluigi, by Thunder Dragon
Review Author cyberkid
Created Nov 2 2011, 4:42 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview
As I said in my review of the second demo, Take two parts Kirby-like copy ability, one part Mario-like platforming, two parts Thunder Dragon graphic and level design, and three parts crazy Waluigi goodness, and you've got yourself one heck of an awesome game.

The big draw for this game is Waluigi's new sidekick and superpower, the ever villainous and powerful Psycho Iris! With the psychic powers of his new friend at his disposal, Waluigi is capable of defeating enemies and manipulating objects in ways never before seen in any Mario game. Simply by using his MIIIIIIIIIND.

The Psyco Iris (Who is very honest and trustworthy and has absolutely nothing but the best planned for his new partner in crime.) is controlled using the Up and Down arrow keys, allowing it to slide in a semi-circle in the direction that Waluigi is facing. pressing control will make anything within the Iris be caught and levitated within, free to be thrown, squashed, or otherwise manipulated.

With this awesome new power, will Waluigi set out to save a princess of his own?

...

Nah, he's just gonna forcibly take over the world of Unconcia from General Hazel the Hazelnut Army.
 
Pros :Amazingly original and useful Psyco Iris gimmick that gains some new function every other level.
:Both old and new enemies to flip out during your conquest.
:Completely original, (and hillarious) worlds to conquer, each with their own, unique gimmick or theme.
:Just about anything in the enviroment that you can interact with normally can be bent to your will.
:Great music choices that fit with the worlds and characters.
:Humorous plot that twists around the traditional ideals of heroes and villains. It also has enough twists and turns to make you dizzy by the time the endgame rolls around.
:Fascinating characters like the Psycho Iris, Monkeybags, and General Hazel that add depth and emotion to this new world of Unconcia.
:40 Gold Crowns to earn that unlock secret worlds with their own unique gimmicks.
:A shop with incredibly useful items that can be purchased with your piles of money earned within the stages.
:Plenty of neat tricks that you can pull off with the Iris' power that help make the game unique, like carrying items through walls or pulling just out of reach powerups, coins and Diamonds in to yourself.
 
Cons :Eyefly powerups are hard to hang on to without an Eyefly Charm, making you rage when you find a rare Golden Eggplant and lose it to a Bullet Bill expy or other annoying enemy.
:The shop charges immense amounts of money for their wares, making you have to grind multiple stages to get an item that only lasts for either one stage or one life.
:Bob-ombs have an annoying tendency to detonate in your Iris whenever you try to fire them, hurting you with the blast radius.
:Certain gimmicks can be overwhelming at times, especially when you are thrown into using one for the first time. (Looking at you, Airplane!)
 
Impressions
Gameplay
10 / 10
Thunder Dragon shows off his programming talent by creating a solid Mario engine that could stand on it's own without the Psycho Iris' help (And it does in at least one Kingdom.) However, the Kirby-like powers of the Psycho Iris help to expand the capabilities of the game.

Then you have the specific gimmicks like the Tank, the Airplane, the Cloud, the World 0 secrets, and the varied kingdom-specific abilites that the Iris tends to pick up, and you have an amazing engine that remains similar to control, while still staying fresh with each new world.
 
Graphics
10 / 10
Here, TD shows off his skills yet again with custom and edited graphics that maintain a Mario feel, yet make it very clear that we're not in the Mushroom Kingdom anymore. Unique foes, tilesets and backgrounds make for a very fresh experience not seen in many fangames.

Add the bosses, map screens, unique rulers of each kingdom (Especially Static Void. TD you rascal.) and the very fancy title screen. You see that this game's graphics are top notch, rivaling any sprite work that Nintendo has put out for their 2D games.
 
Sound
10 / 10
The music in this game is downright incredible. First off, you see that the most common songs have either Wario Land or Waluigi Pinball influences, making a common reccuring riff that you hear. However, many songs are pulled from some of the more obscure Nintendo games. The happy-go-lucky kingdoms for example, use the Fire song from Mario's Game and Watch Gallery. And I still don't know what the boss stages and boss fight music comes from.

The game uses high-quality sound, rather than Midi. I am a fan of Midi music, and it was used to Good effect in Toad Strikes back, but it's nice to hear pre-rendered, MP3 quality songs in this adventure. The only place Midi music is used, it's intentionally done to give a song the feel of a Banjo-Kazooie boss theme, and it does it's job well, barely sounding like a Midi at all and perfectly fitting the situation.

As for the sound, Waluigi makes his trademark WAAs and Wahahas and other voiceclips as he tosses out rulers and continues his quest, but they are sparsely placed, and the common ones are toned down, so you won't be reaching for the volume control to shut him up any time soon.

Speaking of voices, a nice touch to the game is that the enemies and kings have their own little sound effects that play when they are defeated. It's a nice touch that almost makes you feel sorry for them. Almost.
 
Replay
10 / 10
In my review of the Demo, this was the one place that the game fell flat. let's be honest, 4 stages with few gimmicks are not enough to satisfy your appetite for the amazing power of the Psycho Iris!

That has been averted at long last! Besides the game's gripping story mode, there are at least 39 stages for you to quest through again and again, with tons of gimmicks and abilities, lots of items and powerups to find and purchase, the 40 Gold Crowns to earn by hunting down the Golden Diamonds and other money-making secrets in the levels. Not to mention a boss selection/rush that becomes available once the main story is done. Oh yes, the world of Unconcia is filled with adventure and secrets to discover.

One last point for replay. Most games give you a pat on the back for unlocking everything the game has to offer, with nothing left for you to go back to. With Psyco Waluigi, unlocking secrets gives you the chance to unlock more secrets! SECRETCEPTION! There's no telling how far you can go before you unlock all the amazing rewards this game has to offer.
 
Final Words
10 / 10
Thunder Dragon comes through yet again, giving Waluigi his own game that's absolutely worthy of Nintendo itself.

Dive into the world of Unconcia and help Waluigi and Psycho Iris gain the respect and power they so rightfully deserve!

Comments
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Thunder Dragon
Nov 4 2011, 10:36 PM
Oh yeah, I remember your previous review-- particularly your oh-so-accurate analysis of Psycho Iris way back when. ;D But yeah, thanks for the review(s)!
 
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cyberkid
Nov 5 2011, 2:50 AM
Quote (Thunder Dragon on Nov 4 2011, 10:36 PM)
Oh yeah, I remember your previous review-- particularly your oh-so-accurate analysis of Psycho Iris way back when. ;D But yeah, thanks for the review(s)!

Hoo boy... I didn't see that coming for the final level. That's one amazing plot you wrote there, mister. I'm sad that this is your last fangame.
 
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Thunder Dragon
Nov 7 2011, 12:43 AM
Well, I do have just one more coming. ;)
 
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cyberkid
Nov 7 2011, 2:02 AM
You're gonna be hard pressed to beat this masterpiece, my friend.
 
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