MFGG - Mario Fan Games Galaxy

Review Information

Game Reviewed	Mario Tails (Flappy Bird Clone), by IAmGreenMike
Review Author	StrikeForcer
Created	Sep 15 2015, 6:04 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview

Well, this is something. A Flappy Bird-inspired game but with Mario in it. I was one of the many who had the fortune to play the original Flappy Bird before the creator morally grandstanded with the removal of that game app. Flappy Bird had left a lasting effect on the mobile games industry as well as numerous clones made within Flappy Bird's likeness.

Pros	- Replayability. - Player mechanics are slightly more refined from the original Flappy Bird. - Glitches are non-existent.
Cons	- Sound effects have too low of a volume to be clearly communicable for the player. - Procedural generation of pipes can be rather steep with the difficulty curve. - Graphics are used yes, but not to any extent to affect gameplay. - Like Flappy Bird, the game is rather punishing with it's precision gameplay. - No leaderboard.

Impressions

Gameplay 5 / 10	There isn't a lot to write about with the gameplay, as it is basically an infinite runner game where you gain points the longer you do not hit a procedurally generated obstacle. Where I give this game praise, is that it is easier to score more points with the physics of the game. You descend slower than in the original, you are slightly faster which necessitates the tapping of the controls less than in the original, and you being in the middle of the screen as opposed to the left for the same reason as the second point, which makes this game easier than the original. But that's about it, as you still do not have much room for error when getting hit means you have to redo the entire game just to reach and surpass where you got your high score upon death, which happens to be a staple of the infinite runner games, but you have other games within that genre who are more generous with dying, among other things...
Graphics 4 / 10	The background and foregrounds are cohesive graphically, seeing that they are derived from SMAS-SMB3, their source game. They also fit thematically, but that's about it on the positives. The negatives is that Mario is from M&L: SS, and it clashes because Mario from that game has stray pixels and his coloring wouldn't really fit in SMB3's graphic style as its rather bright when SMB3 uses darker colors. Furthermore, while the background and foreground graphics are cohesive, I do not find myself experiencing any evocative and unique feelings regarding the various settings in the game.
Sound 3 / 10	Well, the sounds do fit their respective gameplay functions: A jump to start, a Raccoon Mario tail flap sounds from NES-SMB3 when pressing the Space Bar to control Mario, a coin sound from NES Mario games after SMB to indicate that you passed a pipe and thus, earn a score. The Mario voice of "Ow!" can be heard when you hit either the ground or pipe obstacles. But that is just about it. The problem I have is the fact that their volumes is too low to me to hear that communicates to me, which is bad, as gameplay is supposed to blend the sounds, graphics, and player controls into a unique experience. Also there is no music, but I do not see it as a major con here because the focus is on the precise gameplay getting through the pipes. I would argue here, that having music would probably be unfitting for a game that has such gameplay though the drawback is that a lack of music makes it hard for me to experience anything evocative, as stated in the graphics section of this review.
Replay 5 / 10	The replayability is the strongest point with the infinite runner genre, seeing as you automatically earn points the longer you remain in the game without hitting any object. You can challenge others who may like this genre of games to trump your high scores, though a leaderboard would have incentivize this more alongside with your personal best as seen in the HUD of this game. Also, there is the matter that you have those who will not appreciate the difficulty resulting from the precision gameplay of this game as well as the procedural generation bearing a fluctuating curve of difficulty which hinders the replayability of this game and games like this.

Final Words

This is a game that is basic and forgettable due to not doing anything different with the infinite runner genre as well as the fact that many other games based of Flappy Bird exists out there, for better or worse.

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