MFGG - Mario Fan Games Galaxy

Review Information

Game Reviewed	Super Mario Pandemonium, by ShyGuy182
Review Author	Vitiman
Created	Jan 22 2018, 10:18 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview

In the early days of MFGG, the Super Mario Pandemonium duology had a reputation for being some of the most brutally difficult games the site (and perhaps fangaming as a whole) had to offer. In all truth, it's not the hardest fangame I've ever played, but I can certainly see how it could be frustratingly difficult for anyone (myself included)... but that's more the fault of utilizing the ever-infamous default platform movement that plagued practically every other fangame of the era.

Pros	Hilariously stupid story Surprising polish in the pre-game buildup
Cons	Almost everything else

Impressions

Gameplay 2 / 10	When you first boot up the game, it's actually quite decent looking. It has a functioning and pleasant looking main menu on the title screen, and the opening cutscene with Mario falling down (that you can actually control, mind you) is surprisingly charming and a unique idea... even if it drags on for a bit. But then the actual game starts, and it's difficult and obnoxious for all of the wrong reasons. Aside from the aforementioned engine handling, the levels are very spaced out in their design and if you're every elevated on a platform and have to jump down, you're ALWAYS taking a leap of faith. This happens surprisingly often, and it's nerve-wracking. Shortly after the first level ends, you have to properly beat it via a bizarre skateboarding section, which involves going insanely fast and avoiding spikes and spinies. It's mostly a game of patience: go as slow as you can, and it's really just a matter of tedious jump timing. That can actually sum up the game as a whole, the more I think about it - tedious timing challenges. A lot of the difficulty is really just waiting games and the (correct) assumption that most people won't bother to wait more than a second before taking on whatever's just off-screen.
Graphics 2 / 10	A mediocre, clashing mess. Level 1 looks infinitely more appealing than level 2 does, so I presume the creator got lazy after the first level and started slapping together graphics that didn't fit in the slightest. Not terribly surprising, but what can you do? It's bad to look at, but it isn't the absolute worst eyesore I've come across on this site. Yet.
Sound 4 / 10	Unfitting MIDIs, your typical low quality sound rips from the late '90s, it's all here and... that's about it. No "and then some", just... that. That's really it. It's unremarkable, unoriginal, and par for the course.
Replay 1 / 10	It's too boring and repetitive to make you want to play through to the end, and I have no desire to replay it after losing too many times. As far as I can tell, you can't Game Over, as losing all your lives just means your life counter is stuck at 0 for as long as you have zero lives - there is zero penalties for losing all of your lives, so you could theoretically play the game forever. I chose to not do that.

Final Words

It's hard for all of the wrong reasons, really, and it's also not terribly remarkable otherwise. I'd avoid it if I were you

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