Review Information
Game Reviewed Super Mario Paralax World (BUILD 4), by Yoshiguy
Review Author Vitiman
Created Mar 8 2019, 3:58 AM

General Commentary and Game Overview
Let me establish the premise of Super Mario Paralax World. First of all, it SHOULD be titled Super Mario Parallax World, with 2 'l's, but alas... it was 2004, we really didn't understand how to type back then. Or at least, Yoshiguy didn't. That's more plausible, seeing as Yoshiguy doesn't seem to understand a lot of things. More on that in a moment.

Okay, so why the name? The concept of parallax is simple: in laymen's terms, it is the depth of a background or object that causes a 3D effect when you move. You can witness natural parallax by looking out your car window to your side while driving and viewing the horizon as it stays stationary while various roads and buildings move at varying speeds depending on how close they are to you.

What is the significance here? Usually, parallax in video games is achieved via multiple layer systems. You simply apply your background images to a different layer and have them scroll at a fraction multiple of the main action. For instance, to have the background scroll at half the rate of the foreground, you would set it to scroll at 0.5 the rate. This is how it's achieved in Clickteam, and it's probably not too different in Game Maker - however, it probably requires you know how to code basic stuff in GML and all that rather than a specific layer setting.

So what's the big deal then? Why is this special? If it's so simple to do, then why make a game showing off this "incredible" concept? Well... back in the day, amateur game making programs such as The Game's Factory (which is what is used here) simply didn't have any native way of creating parallax. It wasn't really something you could just set and be done with. So... you had to cheat. Active Background Object was a common one in the MMF 1.5 days, but what if you don't even have that? What if the program you're using is so archaic... and so simplistic... that you couldn't make a backdrop move at a fixed rate unless you made it an active sprite object. But that would mean... making EVERYTHING an active sprite object.

Welcome to Super Mario Paralax World. An atrocious experiment in trying to squeeze the most out of a program that just couldn't. This isn't your typical demoscene magic, this is just... sloppy. Inconceivably sloppy.
 
Pros The sounds and graphics chosen amuse me
There's only one level in this nightmare to endure through
 
Cons Lord help me... just... please, read on
 
Impressions
Gameplay
1 / 10
There are bad engines. There are bad static engines, and there are really poorly put together applications of the built-in (very VERY infamous) Clickteam default movement. So what happens when someone naive and young decides to MIX THESE TWO KINDS OF PLATFORM ENGINES TOGETHER? Well, since I'm so glad I asked myself this, I'll happily answer! You get this game.

You see, due to the nature of mimicking parallax backgrounds in The Game's Factory, everything has to be a moving object. Everything. Also, because of how the game is scrolling everything, the platform movement has to remain fixed to the center of action on the screen. Essentially, Yoshiguy was clever enough to attempt making a working parallax scrolling engine, but was unfortunately lazy enough to not make a dedicated platform engine to match, so he just forces Mario to scroll with the level's fixed, SLOWER-THAN-MARIO-CAN-ACTUALLY-MOVE, rate. It's not fun.

You get stuck in objects frequently. You slip off of platforms barely longer than Mario himself. Falling platforms are indiscernible from non-falling platforms! There are SIDE SPIKES for no real apparent reason other than "gotcha!".

You have one power up. Two or three fire flowers that crop up throughout the duration of this torturous hellhole. They're not too helpful, and are honestly kind of grating to actually make use of. There's also a star hidden under a piranha plant, but it's suicide. The platform below it falls, and obviously the piranha plant itself can't be harmed unless you use a fireball, which conveniently is all but impossible to aim since the plant is shielded from both sides below you.
 
Graphics
4 / 10
Cute, if a bit clashing. Mario is from, of all things, Mario's Early Years - a series of edutainment games made for the SNES by a third party under license from Nintendo. They were aimed at preschoolers and very very young children, and the Mario sprite in it is roughly based off of his appearance in Super Mario World.

Other than that, it's nothing terribly remarkable.
 
Sound
3 / 10
The music is just Yoshi's Island athletic theme, the sounds are actually kind of funny at least! I did enjoy them to some extent. Not enough to like the game.
 
Replay
1 / 10
No.
 
Final Words
1 / 10
15 years later, this game remains unfinished despite the description claiming active development! Well, I for one am glad, this atrocious behemoth of a fangame deserves to rot in the pixelated caverns of MFGG's long and forgotten. Avoid, if you know what's best for you.

Comments
No comments have been left.
Pages: | Last Unread