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ElCochran90
For: I Wanna be the 512
For: I Wanna be the 512
*Cleared on 25/09/2023*
Perhaps it was the reviewing exercise of detailing my main complaints of 128 and 512 that will keep this review shorter, even if this is the entry that I found the most enjoyable out of the trilogy (does 724-ish count? Can we leave that as a “short-film-like” extension of the trilogy, like the godawful Disney’s Frozen short films?).
This was much easier and entertaining than 512. Many sins are still present: the Rukito-like aesthetics is an acquired taste and has never been my thing (not a sin, that’s more about me), there are traps, the last stages ramp up the difficulty, the are choke jumps right at the end of many saves, and the difficulty balance is not that balanced. Some random save in an intermediate section can be frustrating and harder than anything preceding it and following it within the stage: the most notorious example of this is the left vine jump you must pull off in Screen 3 of Stage 7, right at the bottom left. This overall save was so annoying (including this jump) it made me postpone finishing the game for like a week, and returning to it felt more like a self-imposed chore than what you’re supposed to feel when returning to a game. Also, the fact you must climb the vertical corridor with vines two times was just a no, and that is not even the ending of the save.
However, let’s get to the positive side and be less Cochran for a while. It has spirit, the bosses are a nice moment from 128-Up where you’re said “ye, here’s something different so take a break”. There are two bosses this time, so this is the game that follows even more the overall Rukito structure. 128-Up also places a lot of emphasis on what could be potential lazy level design: sometimes a gate has a wider window opportunity frame than 4 or 5 frames. The second screen of the first stage was an “oh-nah-a-carner-jamp” and we can’t even complain about it since it gives you the perfect align and positioning to make it. There’s a two-frame window, like a gate, for doing it, so it’s fun. This screen also has the best example I want to give about this: it’s considerate with the player. Consider the final save of Stage 1, which has said corner. When you go to the right side of the wall, you activate a trigger which opens a new route, and for coming back, the next thing you have to do is double jump all the way down to the bottom of the screen (beginning from the tile right to the middle cherry). If you’re observant, the trigger also did something convenient for your backtrack: the spike facing downwards (just left to the corner) gets nerfed, so it’s not a strict diagonal anymore: you can hug that wall and then time your arrival to the bottom block. Any lazy designer would leave it as it is and call it “added challenge”, but here, you see a creator aware of the length of the saves and the consistency required. This kind of “consideration” happens many times, but that’s the first thing you’ll find.
And to close this review, we have the core idea: this is a trigger game. Traps are less heavy, so I’m finally not tagging it as such. The path that opens with each new trigger is the way you head to, and it IS the place you were supposed to go. You then witness the screen reshaping to a new form: small arrangement changes can lead to big changes in platforming. This is how you do trigger. It’s well done. No more “jump all the way hugging this absolute random wall” or “I had a hidden fake block exit to pass the save lol” trash. Everything is intuitive and the trigger hitboxes are much more fair.
Ironically, while being the best of the series, this one doesn’t have something as grand as the last genius screen of 256, but it is what it is: the culmination of 128’s distinctive trigger implementation to Rukito’s (ugly) aesthetics.
[0] Likes
Perhaps it was the reviewing exercise of detailing my main complaints of 128 and 512 that will keep this review shorter, even if this is the entry that I found the most enjoyable out of the trilogy (does 724-ish count? Can we leave that as a “short-film-like” extension of the trilogy, like the godawful Disney’s Frozen short films?).
This was much easier and entertaining than 512. Many sins are still present: the Rukito-like aesthetics is an acquired taste and has never been my thing (not a sin, that’s more about me), there are traps, the last stages ramp up the difficulty, the are choke jumps right at the end of many saves, and the difficulty balance is not that balanced. Some random save in an intermediate section can be frustrating and harder than anything preceding it and following it within the stage: the most notorious example of this is the left vine jump you must pull off in Screen 3 of Stage 7, right at the bottom left. This overall save was so annoying (including this jump) it made me postpone finishing the game for like a week, and returning to it felt more like a self-imposed chore than what you’re supposed to feel when returning to a game. Also, the fact you must climb the vertical corridor with vines two times was just a no, and that is not even the ending of the save.
However, let’s get to the positive side and be less Cochran for a while. It has spirit, the bosses are a nice moment from 128-Up where you’re said “ye, here’s something different so take a break”. There are two bosses this time, so this is the game that follows even more the overall Rukito structure. 128-Up also places a lot of emphasis on what could be potential lazy level design: sometimes a gate has a wider window opportunity frame than 4 or 5 frames. The second screen of the first stage was an “oh-nah-a-carner-jamp” and we can’t even complain about it since it gives you the perfect align and positioning to make it. There’s a two-frame window, like a gate, for doing it, so it’s fun. This screen also has the best example I want to give about this: it’s considerate with the player. Consider the final save of Stage 1, which has said corner. When you go to the right side of the wall, you activate a trigger which opens a new route, and for coming back, the next thing you have to do is double jump all the way down to the bottom of the screen (beginning from the tile right to the middle cherry). If you’re observant, the trigger also did something convenient for your backtrack: the spike facing downwards (just left to the corner) gets nerfed, so it’s not a strict diagonal anymore: you can hug that wall and then time your arrival to the bottom block. Any lazy designer would leave it as it is and call it “added challenge”, but here, you see a creator aware of the length of the saves and the consistency required. This kind of “consideration” happens many times, but that’s the first thing you’ll find.
And to close this review, we have the core idea: this is a trigger game. Traps are less heavy, so I’m finally not tagging it as such. The path that opens with each new trigger is the way you head to, and it IS the place you were supposed to go. You then witness the screen reshaping to a new form: small arrangement changes can lead to big changes in platforming. This is how you do trigger. It’s well done. No more “jump all the way hugging this absolute random wall” or “I had a hidden fake block exit to pass the save lol” trash. Everything is intuitive and the trigger hitboxes are much more fair.
Ironically, while being the best of the series, this one doesn’t have something as grand as the last genius screen of 256, but it is what it is: the culmination of 128’s distinctive trigger implementation to Rukito’s (ugly) aesthetics.
Rating: 5.0 50
Difficulty: 82 82
Nov 12, 2023
ElCochran90
For: I wanna be the Azure
For: I wanna be the Azure
*Cleared on 03/08/2023*
I remember beating hours before the clock ticked midnight and the year of 2021 began, exactly like I finished Needle Satan around 18:00 CST during December 31st, 2019. What a throwback to good memories, back when I had a responsiveness in old fangames with Windows 7 because of something related to Windows Aero which ch...
I’m not even talking about Azure. My question is, why did I find out there was an extra extra stage to Locus 3 years later? If I had known back then, I would have done this immediately after Locus.
More accurately, why was this released separately? It makes no sense, but I have two plausible explanations with me doing zero research on the subject matter, and now that I think about it, possibly irrelevant since they are pure speculations, but oh well.
1) Both stages were planned for being in Locus, but felt repetitive having two extra stages, so one was left as a separate fangame for not having effort wasted
2) Laziness or a deadline that have to be met, but wasn’t
Still I find it troubling that I have to review and rate this separately from Locus when this has the actual final boss and the ENDING CREDITS OF LOCUS. Why? More than a “conglaturations for conquering all these previous stages”, it is more like “bro you didn’t know this was part of Locus, but now that you know, bro do you remember all these stages lol?”
For my two cents, if the first scenario is what happened, the best extra stage was chosen for Locus as it is the best part of the game and it contains the only avoidance boss (which I have spoken enough of in Locus).
This possibility of an extra stage is “45° platforming: the fangame”. It starts very rough, assuming you have beaten all stages of Locus quite recently, all decently warmed up, so there is not really a merciful difficulty curve. It’s whatever, and brutal. There’s a reason why the entirety of Locus and the “shortness” of Azure are rated around 70 of difficulty. The extra in Locus also had a lot of 45° hills with needle, but this one maximizes that challenge. You’re not used to tilted physics, and you move, to our perception, quite fast. Calculating 16px gaps is a horror story and is a must in this game. Granted, it’s not usual level design either and one appreciates an approach to creativity: none of the screens are the same. However, adding traps to many of the saves after 50% of their completion is the final insult. The gimmick is enough for the challenge so that now you have to time, adjust and adapt to traps.
The song? Amazing. Screw the Falcon Sound Team haters: Azure Arbitrator will always be insanely epic, and for this game, Mystic Core works terrifically: no loop, correlates with the game’s distinctive and pleasing color palette, and the colorful spikes. It just fits.
And yet, it is a short fangame with a final boss which difficulty has no relation to the brutal needle. It’ll take 20 minutes if you are not sufficiently skilled, and perhaps 3-5 tries to the ones used to respond quickly to attacks. The sprite is nice, the fight is just plain dumb. Why make something like this? And this is the point where you’re thanked for playing all Locus as well? What if you didn’t?
It is this disconnection with Locus, the game giving you zero room for warming up, the traps in 45° needle / platforming, the lack of correlation with the boss, and feeling more like a short extra stage of another fangame than as a self-sustaining, independent game which makes me not enjoy this.
I’d only recommend this for the ones that played Locus and want to theoretically 100% it, assuming you got all the items and the extra stage in the original Locus; otherwise, even the credits won’t make sense.
[0] Likes
I remember beating hours before the clock ticked midnight and the year of 2021 began, exactly like I finished Needle Satan around 18:00 CST during December 31st, 2019. What a throwback to good memories, back when I had a responsiveness in old fangames with Windows 7 because of something related to Windows Aero which ch...
I’m not even talking about Azure. My question is, why did I find out there was an extra extra stage to Locus 3 years later? If I had known back then, I would have done this immediately after Locus.
More accurately, why was this released separately? It makes no sense, but I have two plausible explanations with me doing zero research on the subject matter, and now that I think about it, possibly irrelevant since they are pure speculations, but oh well.
1) Both stages were planned for being in Locus, but felt repetitive having two extra stages, so one was left as a separate fangame for not having effort wasted
2) Laziness or a deadline that have to be met, but wasn’t
Still I find it troubling that I have to review and rate this separately from Locus when this has the actual final boss and the ENDING CREDITS OF LOCUS. Why? More than a “conglaturations for conquering all these previous stages”, it is more like “bro you didn’t know this was part of Locus, but now that you know, bro do you remember all these stages lol?”
For my two cents, if the first scenario is what happened, the best extra stage was chosen for Locus as it is the best part of the game and it contains the only avoidance boss (which I have spoken enough of in Locus).
This possibility of an extra stage is “45° platforming: the fangame”. It starts very rough, assuming you have beaten all stages of Locus quite recently, all decently warmed up, so there is not really a merciful difficulty curve. It’s whatever, and brutal. There’s a reason why the entirety of Locus and the “shortness” of Azure are rated around 70 of difficulty. The extra in Locus also had a lot of 45° hills with needle, but this one maximizes that challenge. You’re not used to tilted physics, and you move, to our perception, quite fast. Calculating 16px gaps is a horror story and is a must in this game. Granted, it’s not usual level design either and one appreciates an approach to creativity: none of the screens are the same. However, adding traps to many of the saves after 50% of their completion is the final insult. The gimmick is enough for the challenge so that now you have to time, adjust and adapt to traps.
The song? Amazing. Screw the Falcon Sound Team haters: Azure Arbitrator will always be insanely epic, and for this game, Mystic Core works terrifically: no loop, correlates with the game’s distinctive and pleasing color palette, and the colorful spikes. It just fits.
And yet, it is a short fangame with a final boss which difficulty has no relation to the brutal needle. It’ll take 20 minutes if you are not sufficiently skilled, and perhaps 3-5 tries to the ones used to respond quickly to attacks. The sprite is nice, the fight is just plain dumb. Why make something like this? And this is the point where you’re thanked for playing all Locus as well? What if you didn’t?
It is this disconnection with Locus, the game giving you zero room for warming up, the traps in 45° needle / platforming, the lack of correlation with the boss, and feeling more like a short extra stage of another fangame than as a self-sustaining, independent game which makes me not enjoy this.
I’d only recommend this for the ones that played Locus and want to theoretically 100% it, assuming you got all the items and the extra stage in the original Locus; otherwise, even the credits won’t make sense.
Rating: 3.6 36
Difficulty: 70 70
Nov 12, 2023
TheChiekurs
For: I wanna be the Blood TIS
For: I wanna be the Blood TIS
Tagged as: Avoidance
[0] Likes
Rating: N/A
Difficulty: N/A
Nov 12, 2023
ElAnpepion
For: I Wanna Maker
For: I Wanna Maker
Difficulty based on Campaign Mode.
I wanted to wait until the game came out of early access to leave a review so here we go.
I Wanna Maker is a work of art, a game in which you can notice at every moment the love, effort and enthusiasm that the developers invested in its creation. I will divide this review into 3 sections: Editor, online and campaign mode.
EDITOR:
The main core of the game. It contains a very wide range of objects with which to create more things than one can imagine, which is demonstrated with some levels created by some people. It may seem that it only serves to create 2D platformers, but it has been seen that you can even create 3D game simulations, so the level of customization that the editor has makes it, in my opinion, superior to other better-known games like Mario Maker.
ONLINE:
One of the most complex online systems offered by a fangame. The system contains a database of levels with multiple search options so that each person can find the levels that best suit their taste, including filters such as difficulty, genre, publication date, etc., in addition to having a simpler system of filters as the fact that it simply finds the most popular, most recent levels or those in which the most people are playing (a feature which is one of my favorites), regardless of any type of more advanced filter. But the online is not only in this database, it also has an integrated "I Wanna Play Online" through which you can see other people who are currently playing the same level as you, as well as have a chat text to chat with them.
CAMPAIGN:
The highlight of version 1.0 for me. At first I expected a fairly simple campaign mode that would serve more as something extra. Instead, I found a story mode that, if released as a standalone fangame, could very well be one of my favorite adventure fangames. It has basically everything I look for in a fangame: Outstanding visuals with beautiful world maps, considerable length (6 worlds with a good number of levels + a world 7 that serves as a conclusion), incredible soundtrack, immersive sound effects and a difficulty to beginners that I really like. Each level brings something new to the table, and together they serve as a great showcase of what you can do with the game editor. The level design throughout the story mode is excellent and it's a delight to run through the levels while trying to find the optional collectibles.
CONCLUSION:
This fangame has a level of polish like few others. I really hope this game eventually gets the popularity it deserves. For everything mentioned above, I can only say: Long live I Wanna Maker.
[5] Likes
I wanted to wait until the game came out of early access to leave a review so here we go.
I Wanna Maker is a work of art, a game in which you can notice at every moment the love, effort and enthusiasm that the developers invested in its creation. I will divide this review into 3 sections: Editor, online and campaign mode.
EDITOR:
The main core of the game. It contains a very wide range of objects with which to create more things than one can imagine, which is demonstrated with some levels created by some people. It may seem that it only serves to create 2D platformers, but it has been seen that you can even create 3D game simulations, so the level of customization that the editor has makes it, in my opinion, superior to other better-known games like Mario Maker.
ONLINE:
One of the most complex online systems offered by a fangame. The system contains a database of levels with multiple search options so that each person can find the levels that best suit their taste, including filters such as difficulty, genre, publication date, etc., in addition to having a simpler system of filters as the fact that it simply finds the most popular, most recent levels or those in which the most people are playing (a feature which is one of my favorites), regardless of any type of more advanced filter. But the online is not only in this database, it also has an integrated "I Wanna Play Online" through which you can see other people who are currently playing the same level as you, as well as have a chat text to chat with them.
CAMPAIGN:
The highlight of version 1.0 for me. At first I expected a fairly simple campaign mode that would serve more as something extra. Instead, I found a story mode that, if released as a standalone fangame, could very well be one of my favorite adventure fangames. It has basically everything I look for in a fangame: Outstanding visuals with beautiful world maps, considerable length (6 worlds with a good number of levels + a world 7 that serves as a conclusion), incredible soundtrack, immersive sound effects and a difficulty to beginners that I really like. Each level brings something new to the table, and together they serve as a great showcase of what you can do with the game editor. The level design throughout the story mode is excellent and it's a delight to run through the levels while trying to find the optional collectibles.
CONCLUSION:
This fangame has a level of polish like few others. I really hope this game eventually gets the popularity it deserves. For everything mentioned above, I can only say: Long live I Wanna Maker.
Rating: 10.0 100
Difficulty: 30 30
Nov 12, 2023
xva
For: I wanna Thousand Spike
For: I wanna Thousand Spike
it really embodies the true essence of sunspike
piss easy until you get to the last stage
piss easy until you get to the last stage
Tagged as: Needle
Sunspike-like
[0] Likes
Rating: 6.7 67
Difficulty: 70 70
Nov 12, 2023
xva
For: I wanna be the Priapus
For: I wanna be the Priapus
popop was right
Tagged as: Needle
Hades-like
[2] Likes
Rating: 4.0 40
Difficulty: 76 76
Nov 12, 2023
ElCochran90
For: I wanna be the Magnanimity
For: I wanna be the Magnanimity
*Cleared on 25/07/2023*
On the underrated vein of PomuRin’s most creative game, “Conscience”, Magnanimity is a solid and fun classic that is painfully unfinished. However, I still find it to be not appreciated enough by the community, considering my unpopular rating scale and the time this was conceived.
The game is quite Conscience-like in the way it concocts and amasses a respectable variety of environments from original video games like Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy to Kirby Super Star Ultra for the DS. We also have Super Mario World, Kirby Super Star and Super Mario All Stars thrown in for good measure, as obligated and overused they might seem today; at least those are done in a better way than freaking Popularity.
The implementation of stages, bosses and gimmicks are cool, but the quality overall presents great variance. The lava stage, the one with Sagat as its boss for absolutely no reason, which had me laughing at the beginning to be honest, has standard screens and a gimmick that allows you to freeze fireballs. Also, we have the normal, generic and standard IWBTG stage, but what is a classic without it (except probably something better)? The Zombie boss is just whatever... There are some questionable decisions here and there, so expect no rhyme or reason.
Yet, this odd facet works in the favor of the game and keeps it fresh, unexpected and unpredictable: it’s better to go blind. Difficulty balance is not off, although you might experience some grinding with the later bosses compared to the overall adventure platforming.
This is the type of fangames that retains my favoritism for the adventure genre, and at the end of the day, that was the genre of the one that started it all. Yet, it is not a consistent experience overall, the last boss is really easy (and famous), and the latter combined with the whole unfinished business gives it a very anticlimactic “conclusion”. What a bummer.
[1] Like
On the underrated vein of PomuRin’s most creative game, “Conscience”, Magnanimity is a solid and fun classic that is painfully unfinished. However, I still find it to be not appreciated enough by the community, considering my unpopular rating scale and the time this was conceived.
The game is quite Conscience-like in the way it concocts and amasses a respectable variety of environments from original video games like Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy to Kirby Super Star Ultra for the DS. We also have Super Mario World, Kirby Super Star and Super Mario All Stars thrown in for good measure, as obligated and overused they might seem today; at least those are done in a better way than freaking Popularity.
The implementation of stages, bosses and gimmicks are cool, but the quality overall presents great variance. The lava stage, the one with Sagat as its boss for absolutely no reason, which had me laughing at the beginning to be honest, has standard screens and a gimmick that allows you to freeze fireballs. Also, we have the normal, generic and standard IWBTG stage, but what is a classic without it (except probably something better)? The Zombie boss is just whatever... There are some questionable decisions here and there, so expect no rhyme or reason.
Yet, this odd facet works in the favor of the game and keeps it fresh, unexpected and unpredictable: it’s better to go blind. Difficulty balance is not off, although you might experience some grinding with the later bosses compared to the overall adventure platforming.
This is the type of fangames that retains my favoritism for the adventure genre, and at the end of the day, that was the genre of the one that started it all. Yet, it is not a consistent experience overall, the last boss is really easy (and famous), and the latter combined with the whole unfinished business gives it a very anticlimactic “conclusion”. What a bummer.
Rating: 6.1 61
Difficulty: 65 65
Nov 12, 2023
ElCochran90
For: I Wanna Possible
For: I Wanna Possible
*Cleared on 06/07/2023*
Like Needle Satan and countless other needle games, it consists of two stages with a few screens of needle each. Left warp gives a winter feeling and is a fan of corners. Right warp is neon-like and has the more creative-ish needle, but with one of the most intolerable, annoying and loud music choices for a needle. If we’re going to these extremes, I’d prefer the game to be silent. It is two screens but also the hardest warp by a dumb margin; the last jump of the last warp is pretty dumb difficulty-wise unless you immediately know how to cover that much of a distance. Personally, I would recommend playing the left warp and tossing this to the Recycle Bin.
Also, I could never see the clear screen because the game crashes. Everything I did was download the game and that’s it. Perhaps the error screen is the true clear screen.
It sucks.
[0] Likes
Like Needle Satan and countless other needle games, it consists of two stages with a few screens of needle each. Left warp gives a winter feeling and is a fan of corners. Right warp is neon-like and has the more creative-ish needle, but with one of the most intolerable, annoying and loud music choices for a needle. If we’re going to these extremes, I’d prefer the game to be silent. It is two screens but also the hardest warp by a dumb margin; the last jump of the last warp is pretty dumb difficulty-wise unless you immediately know how to cover that much of a distance. Personally, I would recommend playing the left warp and tossing this to the Recycle Bin.
Also, I could never see the clear screen because the game crashes. Everything I did was download the game and that’s it. Perhaps the error screen is the true clear screen.
It sucks.
Rating: 2.5 25
Difficulty: 65 65
Nov 12, 2023
Flockiv
For: I Wanna Escape My Dungeon
For: I Wanna Escape My Dungeon
When I heard that this fangame was made in only 5 days after playing it, I just couldn't believe it. For such a short game, the art and design are truly incredible, with one of the most pleasant and good-looking graphics I've ever seen.
Furthermore, it also manages to bring a few, but quite unique gimmicks, that add a deeper layer to the platforming, which would have been pretty bland otherwise. Unfortunately, they often felt neglected, and I'm certain they could have been used in a much more interesting way, since they were pretty much useless most of the time. Because of that, the game ends up looking unfinished, and its sudden conclusion gave me a weird taste that had a great impact on my overall appreciation of this playthrough.
I would still recommend it, since it has quite a unique charm you will probably appreciate a lot, but don't get too excited about it as it would most likely end faster than you would expect.
[1] Like
Furthermore, it also manages to bring a few, but quite unique gimmicks, that add a deeper layer to the platforming, which would have been pretty bland otherwise. Unfortunately, they often felt neglected, and I'm certain they could have been used in a much more interesting way, since they were pretty much useless most of the time. Because of that, the game ends up looking unfinished, and its sudden conclusion gave me a weird taste that had a great impact on my overall appreciation of this playthrough.
I would still recommend it, since it has quite a unique charm you will probably appreciate a lot, but don't get too excited about it as it would most likely end faster than you would expect.
Rating: 7.8 78
Difficulty: 44 44
Nov 12, 2023