Review Information
Game Reviewed Toadette Strikes (Toad Strikes Back 2), by Thunder Dragon
Review Author VinnyVideo
Created Jan 29 2015, 11:28 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview
It's finally here! Toadette Strikes is Thunder Dragon's long-awaited sequel to his original Toad Strikes Back released back in 2007. TSB is still regarded as one of the finest games on MFGG, so can his latest work top the original classic?

And yes, for those who are counting, this is my 100th submission. I was waiting for something special to review for this occasion, and I believe this game suits my definition of sufficiently special!
 
Pros + Quite a few hours of gameplay
+ Smooth engine
+ Wide variety of gameplay mechanics
+ Difficulty level is spot on
+ Solid graphics
+ Great music and sound
+ Memorable boss fights
+ Excellent writing
+ Entertaining characters
+ Does a great job of tying in with original TSB while still feeling fresh
+ In other words, everything
 
Cons - Your health isn't refilled after levels, which is sometimes irritating
- The main quest can be completed rather quickly if you don't go for the Mushroom Medals
 
Impressions
Gameplay
10 / 10
The gameplay can be compared to the original Toad Strikes Back, which was largely inspired by Super Mario Bros. 2 (or, more specifically, the North American version of SMB2). There are many elements from other Mario games, however. Like Toad in the first TSB, Toadette jumps high and runs fairly quickly. Her primary means of attacking are her trusty Fire Flower and hammer, but this time there's a new twist: Yoshi! Your cute little green dinosaur buddy plays a prominent role in many levels. TD takes many fun Yoshi mechanics from the official Mario games - such as melons and flying - and puts them to use in fresh, ingenious ways.

TSB2 includes an extremely diverse array of levels. Many levels are built around a theme - rockets, conveyor belts, or keys, to name a few. I can't do it justice to them in a concise text-based review, but it'll suffice to say that these gameplay mechanics are executed marvelously.

The boss battles are some of the most memorable parts of the game. As with other aspects of the game, the bosses often take an underused idea from the official Mario games and puts a new spin on it. The bosses are just the right difficulty level, and there's usually an "aha!" moment where you finally figure out how you can defeat them.

The game's writing is outstanding. TD does a great job of creating characters with interesting personalities.

TSB2 starts off relatively lighthearted. If you assume that this game is going to be just like TSB2, you might be surprised that the story goes in a darker direction! Still, there's a good number of cute, whimsical levels like Moo Moo Mountain, and even the darker levels are balanced out by some hilarious Easter eggs.

The game is not extremely difficult. I didn't lose a single life until the third world. There are definitely some challenging levels in this game, but I never lost more than a handful of lives. The levels aren't extremely long, and every level has a checkpoint, which prevents you from having to replay a difficult section. In many ways, the most challenging aspect of the game isn't completing the levels but finding all of the hidden goodies.
 
Graphics
10 / 10
The graphics in this game are top-notch. Everything melds together perfectly. The sprites and backgrounds are always fresh and creative. Instead of using the same old SMB3 graphics that continue to dominate the fangaming scene, most of the graphics are things we haven't seen before - some are edits of other people's custom or ripped graphics, but there are also lots of graphics that I believe TD made himself. TD put a lot of effort into making this game look nice, and it shows.
 
Sound
10 / 10
The background music primarily consists of soundfonted arrangements of various MIDIs from VGMusic. The music always fits the mood of the levels. It's nice to hear a mix of new songs and arrangements of familiar tunes from the first Toad Strikes Back. I also liked hearing some good songs based on games that don't get as much attention, like Yoshi's Safari and the N64-era Mario Party games.

Sound effects work quite nicely, too. It's not just the same old SMB3/SMW sound effects we hear in most of the other Mario fangames.
 
Replay
10 / 10
The main adventure can be completely relatively quickly if you don't try to find all of the Mushroom Medals and Switch Palaces. However, there's no shortage of fun goodies waiting for those who take the time to find everything - and this is one game where you'll enjoy the rewards for beating the game 100%. Many of the most memorable levels are hidden levels that can only be accessed by collecting these goodies.

I don't know how much I'll play the game now that I've fully completed it, but I'm tempted to give Hard Mode a try - and to go back and find all the goodies I missed in the original Toad Strikes Back.
 
Final Words
10 / 10
Thunder Dragon made it. Need I say more? It's probably the best fangame I've ever played.

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