MFGG - Mario Fan Games Galaxy

Review Information

Game Reviewed	Super Mario SkyHigh DX Edition, by Hatman
Review Author	Roo
Created	Jul 7 2023, 5:03 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview

Wait a second, this isn't a game about Mario smoking a phat spliff!

Pros	+ Creative gameplay + Some solid level design + Neat story + SMRPG MIDIs
Cons	- Gets really hard in the most annoying ways near the end - Movement system bugginess screws you over even in levels that aren't hard - The graphics are a bit wack sometimes

Impressions

Gameplay 5 / 10	The gameplay is, bizarrely enough, some of the best AND some of the worst I've ever experienced in a fan game. On a basic level, it feels genuinely creative and, when it works, pretty fun to play. However, the 'when it works' part can't be emphasized enough, as there are a LOT of problems, both with the gameplay and with other aspects of the work. Mario's hitbox changes when you spray water, often causing you to careen off to who knows where. Getting hurt causes you to move around helplessly for a moment, often either sending you right into an instant-kill trap or practically forcing you to take another hit. Many levels have extremely precise sections that would be hard even without the aforementioned problems. When you save, it also stores your number of lives, so if you get to a hard world with few of them remaining, you're not going to have a very good time. Some of the bosses feel way too difficult, especially considering how easy the final bosses are. Basically, at its best it's really good, and at its worst it's really bad. The story is pretty neat, and the final world makes it especially cool. I like how you're required to collect all the stars before you can access it.
Graphics 7 / 10	I wouldn't say any of the graphics are terrible, but some of them are definitely weaker than others and there's a lot of poor resizing and stretching of backgrounds and sprites.
Sound 8 / 10	A lot of the music is from Super Mario RPG, which automatically makes it good even if the MIDI quality is sometimes a bit questionable. Some of the sound effects also get a bit annoying after a few levels.

Final Words

SMSHDX is the worst kind of good game; a bad one. It's worth playing if you're VERY patient, but anyone sensible should just play the sequel instead.

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