MFGG - Mario Fan Games Galaxy

Review Information

Game Reviewed	Super Mario Country, by DJ Coco
Review Author	RaymanFan1995
Created	Jul 26 2014, 4:33 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview

Not a whole lot to say about this game in terms of concept; it's just a fan project inspired by Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins. There are some recycled zone concepts with new designs, and there are a few completely different (compared to SML2) zone concepts. But aside from new looks and level designs, is the game just as good (or even better) than SML2, or does it fall just short? Well, let's find out.

Pros

+Recycled zones (beach, forest, graveyard, and space) with new designs and stage maps, as well as new zones (snow, canyon, bonsai, and thunder)

+Graphics in the style of Super Mario Land 2, the game that inspired this one (in other words, everything's in a set style)

+Decent enough level design with decent enough controls (though not perfect) (for GameBoy standards, anyway)

Cons

-The four recycled zones, even with their new designs, are not very original. Then again, even in the official Super Mario franchise, originality died out a couple decades ago...

-No original music. Sure, it makes sense thematically; the game IS based on Super Mario Land 2. But I seriously think fan project developers should really look into asking experienced chiptune composers (and composers in general) to compose music for their games, like how LakeFepard got music for his Sonic: Before and After the Sequel games.

-Mario's running is a tad too fast; I end up running into an enemy or obstacle before having much time to react.

Impressions

Gameplay 8 / 10	Decent enough, for GameBoy standards. Certainly not as good as the original SML2, but MUCH better than SML1.
Graphics 10 / 10	Very stylized, and I like that there are a lot of new set pieces in each zone. Small Mario's head during his walking animation looks a bit off in one frame, but aside from that, the game definitely looks like a legit GameBoy game.
Sound 9 / 10	There are times when sound effects "overlap" each other (e.g. when you're collecting multiple coins in a small group), and the music is unoriginal, but still fits the stages nicely.
Replay 8 / 10	While not perfect, I could certainly see myself playing this game some more.

Final Words

Not a bad game in general; the idea and potential is absolutely there. I think with just a few tweaks, twacks and twerks (NO, NOT THOSE KINDS OF TWERKS!!!), this game could be just about perfect.

	DJ Coco Jul 26 2014, 5:47 PM
The starman theme is kind of original: It was composed by Can of Nothing for this game exclusively. I guess I could have asked for some more original tracks, but I didn't think it was that important. Anyway, thanks for the review and the feedback!


	RaymanFan1995 Jul 26 2014, 7:38 PM
You're welcome! :D EDIT: I wouldn't necessarily say "important"; you can still have a great game with music from other sources. I just think original music makes a game stand out more.


	Pickleboy Jul 27 2014, 12:23 AM
Quote (DJ Coco on Jul 26 2014, 5:47 PM) The starman theme is kind of original: It was composed by Can of Nothing for this game exclusively. So you're aware that the starman theme is actually just an 8-bit version of "you spin my head right 'round, baby" song? I wouldn't particularly claim that to be "original".


	DJ Coco Jul 30 2014, 3:17 PM
Quote (Pickleboy on Jul 27 2014, 1:23 AM) So you're aware that the starman theme is actually just an 8-bit version of "you spin my head right 'round, baby" song? I wouldn't particularly claim that to be "original". Yeah, I know, but the remix is still exclusive to this game.


	CanofNothing Aug 24 2014, 3:32 PM
As for the Starman theme, I was explicitly requested to make an arrangement of said theme. Composing an original soundtrack takes a lot of time and effort - it's the reason Sonic After the Sequel took so long to make, as well as why a lot of fangames and hacks don't have original music. As far as I know, this game was a bit of a backburner project of sorts - an original soundtrack wasn't a big priority for either of us. While a future fangame of DJ Coco's will certainly have an original soundtrack, the only thing I think would have been necessary was proper looping of the other oggs.


	RaymanFan1995 Aug 25 2014, 6:31 AM
Quote (CanofNothing on Aug 24 2014, 3:32 PM) As for the Starman theme, I was explicitly requested to make an arrangement of said theme. Composing an original soundtrack takes a lot of time and effort - it's the reason Sonic After the Sequel took so long to make, as well as why a lot of fangames and hacks don't have original music. As far as I know, this game was a bit of a backburner project of sorts - an original soundtrack wasn't a big priority for either of us. While a future fangame of DJ Coco's will certainly have an original soundtrack, the only thing I think would have been necessary was proper looping of the other oggs. Yeah, that's true. Like I said, it's not critical, but it does add charm to a fan game. Either way, this game is fun to play.

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