Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Press Start: Super Mario World - Valley of Bowser

It's been awhile since my last post. I actually had this part of the game down a little while ago but I've been busy (mostly playing Sf4, lol). Anyway, I'm almost done!

Levels Completed
- Sunken Ghost Ship
- Valley of Bowser 1, 2 (2 Exits), 3, 4 (2 Exits)
- Valley Fortress
- Valley Ghost House (2 Exits)
- Larry's Castle

Definitely some of the longest levels in the game are present here.

Sunken Ghost Ship is probably my favourite swimming level for all the ghosts and the second section where the ghosts randomly appear and disappear. Valley of Bowser 1 was kind of annoying cause of all those giant mole wearing shades and it's easy to get lost because there are a lot of platforms. Valley of Bowser 2 is also long especially woth 2 exits. The second section where the giant block rises and lowers and you have to find safety from being crushed is quite intense and rushing ahead can get you killed.

Next up is the Valley Fortress which was actually a bit hard. If there's one thing I don't like in castles, it's those long spikes that come down. If you get hit by one, you're pretty much dead, even if you are any big version of Mario. Halfway through you're narrowly dodging these things that cover entire platforms so you gotta keep moving. The boss is those triceratop things again and they're easy for me now.

The ghost house is actually quite easy when you know where you're going. The first part is just dodging the green bubbles while the other sections are just dodging ghosts and quick moving. In the video, I'm trying to get to the secret exit and to get there, you need to be small Mario and set up a path of blocks. However, I couldn't see the path I was making the first time through and I tried so hard to get through that hole but couldn't make it. Just watch the video and you'll see what I mean.

Valley of Bowser 3 is another one of those levels that kind of puts me on the edge of my seat. I need to constantly keep jumping on platforms that eventually fall while dodging flying koopas and bullet bills. Not too hard but I always get the feeling that I'm going to miss the jump. Valley of Bowser 4 is an annoying level. Those football guys are throwing rocks at me while you're trying to jump onto platforms and if you're timing is slightly off, you'll get hit. What sucks is that you need Yoshi to get the secret exit and the first two times through, I got hit by the boulder and Yoshi ran into the lava. Damn bastards.

Larry's Castle is one of the toughest ones and takes quite awhile to beat. I need to follow a moving set of blocks, dodging those giant spike balls spinning around and in the second part, I need to jump over lava pits, dodge those wooden spikes that slide up and down, and those damn wizards! If I don't hit em exactly on the head, you get hit. Larry is the same as the first boss except three fireballs fly up. I died the first time fighting him so I went to get a flower since it makes knocking him into the lava very easy. Of course that didn't work out as I lost it to the wizard but I managed to get Larry the old fashioned way.

Phew. Big update. Now before I tackle Bowser, I'm going to do the Star Zone and Special Zone. Fun times.

Valley of Bowser (Part 1) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VXxYGj2EW0
Valley of Bowser (Part 2) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRpR_APVdRc
Valley of Bowser (Part 3) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHWRYN7b7jo
Valley of Bowser (Part 4) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV_KabcEt7Y

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Press Start: Super Mario World - Chocolate Island

Whoopsie. If you saw what was posted here, I accidentally skipped ahead to the Valley of Bowser but forgot to post about Chocolate Island so here it is.

Levels Completed
- Chocolate Island 1, 2 (2 Exits), 3 (2 Exits), 4, 5
- Chocolate Secret
- Chocolate Fortress
- Chocolate Ghost House
- Wendy's Castle

An island made of chocolate. Wouldn't that be nice? Not too much to comment on here about this one. Fairly standard stuff going on in these levels.

The first section of the ghost house was annoying because of that Fishin' Boo that has a flame on his lure, following me constantly as I dodge pits and eeries. The second part is kind of annoying too since I have to dodge those line of ghosts that bounce of the walls and I have got a small space to work with.

The secret goal in Chocolate Island 2 is kind of tricky. Or the actual goal is kind of tricky because which goal you get depends on the time on the counter when you exit the second area. If you just speed through the level every time, you probably wouldn't have figured it out.

Chocolate Secret is a fun level for all the constant running while jumping on those cheese blocks that are lowering into a giant lava pit and avoiding Chargin' Chucks. Beating this level gets you directly to Wendy's Castle too.

Chocolate Fortress is a pretty interesting level. In te first area, I've got to dodge those wooden spikes and random fireballs coming at you from the right of the screen. The second area is dodging Thwomps and Thwimps. Not too hard but not that easy either.

Not too much to say about Chocolate Island 4 and 5. Just a lot of jumping and dodging stuff. Standard Mario stuff.

Now Wendy's Castle, that's a hard one. In the first section, you need to dodge those wretched insta-kill spikes while dodging saw blades. No easy task, I tell you since you need to be on the move constantly for most of the area. The next area is probably just as difficult as I need to jump on moving blocks all while avoiding those cute Sparky's and Hotheads that travel along the platform. In the video, I die a couple of times to these things. Onto Wendy. Like Lemmy, there are a bunch of pipes which Wendy and two dummies will come up out of but the added challenge is that you need to dodge two fireballs while trying to hit her. Not quite so easy as Lemmy, but not that much harder either.

Woo. Now with Chocolate Island behind us, we move onto the dreaded Valley of Bowser.

Chocolate Island (Part 1) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHoUU3ckc3E
Chocolate Island (Part 2) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKs8XSGfZ2g
Chocolate Island (Part 3) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_0007rvE9Y

Monday, June 15, 2009

Press Start: Super Mario World - Forest of Illusion

Hooray for an update, this time featuring the Forest of Illusion, a doozie of an area. These levels are definitely the most difficult so far in the game.

Levels Completed
- Forest of Illusion 1 (2 Exits), 2 (2 Exits), 3 (2 Exits), 4 (2 Exits)
- Forest Ghost House (2 Exits)
- Forest Secret Area
- Forest Fortress
- Roy's Castle
- Blue Switch Palace

Talk about long levels. Each of the regular stages had two exits each, with some exits just leading to another regular stage.

Well, what's there to say? I had a lot of fun with these levels. Forest of Illusion 1 introduced Wigglers, those caterpillar things which Yoshi can eat up in one gulp. And yes, I lost Yoshi once again... though I did it on purpose this time (I can be such a jerk sometimes. >_>). Forest of Illusion 2 was a swimming level which I'm not very fond of because it just feels slow. This level was really long too and I had to go through it twice. Forest of Illusion 3 is a fun level and brings in the Bob-ombs... in bubbles. All the enemies are in bubbles actually, just floating and randomly popping. Once again, I get Yoshi who I manage to keep the first time through the level. Forest of Illusion 4 was easy as pie (I don't even know what that phrase is suppose to mean). A lot of Lakitus throwing Spinies at you.
The ghost house was kind of hard because in the first area, you're in such an enclosed space with those boos that chase you if you have your back turned to them. Then you've got Eeries which fly across the screen that you need to dodge.

Forest Secret Area is an interesting level too. You've got two platforms that move diagonally up and down and you have to travel on them across a massive hole while dodging flying koopa troopas. I had a lot of fun in this one playing hacky sack, seeing how long I could keep hitting a shell as Cape Mario. Next up is Forest Fortress (Has a ring to it, doesn't it?). First area I goof up and die while trying to dodge the giant logs (at least I think they're logs) while avoiding spinning blades as the screen scrolls. Next area is like Saw, but more entertaining with spinning blades everywhere you go. If you have Cape Mario and go past the first door, then fly across the lava pit until you reach the end, you can get a ton of green mushrooms. The boss here is just another squad of those fireball shooting triceratops.

Roy's Castle, here we go. The first time through, I end up dying. Mainly because I misjudged my spacing and got hit by a fireball and fall down a hole. The first area you have to travel across a moving platform made out of those blocks which move like the snake in the game Snake while the second area has you jumping over statues shooting fireballs at you while dodging flames. I died in the second area. Anyway, after all that, you get to Roy which is the same as Morton but the walls close after every hit. This was the easiest boss yet. I beat him in about 10 seconds or so. Wow.

Well now that I'm out of the forest, it's onto the delicious Chocolate Island.

Forest of Illusion (Part 1) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdpxweYKVc4
Forest of Illusion (Part 2) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYW9aChiuRw
Forest of Illusion (Part 3) - Chttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIWlxfvXTE8

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Press Start: Super Mario World - Butter And Cheese Bridge

It's been awhile since my last update. I've been a bit busy.. mostly playing other games. Haha, SF4 has eaten up a lot of my time but I'm also doing some recording for other games which I'll post up here for Press Start soon.

Anyway, I finally got around to beaten the next section of Super Mario World.

Levels Completed
- Butter Bridge 1, 2
- Cheese Bridge 1 (2 Exits), 2
- Soda Lake
- Ludwig's Castle

Once again, some cool levels this time around. A nice scrolling level in Butter Bridge 1. For Butter Bridge 2, I didn't want to abandon Yoshi and start flying but... well, he got hit and ran so whatever. I got a new Yoshi anyway. Cheese Bridge 1 is one of those levels that makes me a bit antsy because on levels where I have to do some precise jumping, I get to thinking that I might end up missing the platform as well as think that I might slide off the platform when landing so I end up jumping a lot trying to keep on it. Yeah, that's really weird. Anyway, once again, Yoshi bites the dust but it's the only way to get to the secret exit so his sacrifice was not in vain! Now Soda Lake is one of the hardest levels I've played yet. Those damn annoying missiles just kept on coming and they get lined up with you so it's difficult to avoid, espcially when you have four coming at you at once with fish. I ended up dying but I made it the second time around, woo. Ludwig's castle was fairly easy, the first section with the spikes the difficult part. I didn't think I'd make it to the switch in time. Also, Ludwig is by far the easiest boss. He's incredibly easy to dodge and hit so I'm kind of disappointed. Ah well.

The Forest of Illusion is next and oh boy, it'll be a treat.

Butter and Cheese Bridge (Part 1) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IykoXInvhig
Butter and Cheese Bridge (Part 2) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBHuKrqEox8

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Press Start: Super Mario World - Vanilla Dome

The third update for Super Mario World. Things are going better than before. This time I'm dealing with Vanilla Dome. Oh Super Mario World, you have the best names.

Levels Completed:
- Donut Secret 2
- Vanilla 1 (2 exits), 2 (2 exits), 3, 4
- Vanilla Ghost House
- Vanilla Secret 1 (2 exits), 2, 3
- Vanilla Fortress
- Lemmy's Castle
- Red Switch Palace

So, it seems I accidentally missed an area back in Donut Land. I thought the level in the area after the pipe was something else so you'll have to excuse me for going back and completing it. You'll also see me return to the Top Secret Area. I won't go there all the time but if I have quick passage to it, I will go there to grab some power ups and Yoshi if I've "accidentally" left him behind.

Some noteworthy levels.. welll, uh, Vanilla Secret 3 is pretty fun. I mean, it would be fun had I played it normally instead of just flying across. Vanilla Fortress was kind of annoying, particularly when I died. Fortunately, being mini Mario let's you take a short cut. I goofed up against the four fireball spitting triceratops. but it's not my fault I landed on that stupid fireball. I was even invincible for a moment there too. Blah. I got my revenge the second time around though if you're not careful and get on a platform after killing two of them since the ground starts to disappear.

I usually try to do all the Secret levels before the actual ones. These levels were a nice change from the earlier levels. The Ghost House was fun but damn those green bubble things. If you're not careful and pay attention to the way they're travelling, you'll get hit. I got hit trying to dodge the second one, I went to duck under but it just kept travelling down and hit me, taking away my cape. Boo.
Vanilla Dome 3 and 4 are good levels too. 3 had that skull raft going across the lava with those lava snake things popping out. If you have Yoshi (which I both got and lost in the same level >_>) you can just stand there and Yoshi bounces right on top of them. For Vanilla Dome 4, I just flew across the level but this is probably the hardest level so far had I played it normally because you've got pits, flying koopa, and mini missiles flying all over the place. Crazy stuff.

Lemmy's Castle, oh man. I didn't want to wait for the wizard to hit the block so I could get to the bottom so I did Mario's spin jump which was a bad idea because I couldn't stop spinning and there were no regular platforms. Good thing I got hit or else Mario's ass would have been fried. In the next area with the lava and the moving blocks, I kind of get impatient waiting which is weird because I'm a patient guy. If you've watch the video, you'll see me spinning around a lot, ducking, and doing spin jumps a lot while waiting. Lemmy's a pretty neat boss fight. Not very challenging but a cool idea where you're standing on a platform of pipes and you have to hit Lemmy as he pops up but tries to trick you with two dummies. A pretty easy boss fight but fun none the less.

Vanilla Dome (Part 1) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywjaVA2FsQg
Vanilla Dome (Part 2) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcmDFg_k1r0
Vanilla Dome (Part 3) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQYHLIFdSwo

Phew, that was a long post. Next part coming up soon!