MKF 0.5 Beta Review

[thefallenalchemist]

Mushroom Kingdom Fusion 0.5 Beta
REVIEW

(WARNING: INCLUDES SPOILERS!)

Originally, this was going to include every playable level in the game. But instead, I decided to just outline the new levels and the notable features in older ones. After all, this is a 0.5 Review, not an 0.1-0.41 review.
(0.41 review was already posted last year)

Let me just start this at the very beginning, at the very first screen, as a matter of fact. I know this is a beta, and many cosmetic changes (some of which I've suggested) are going to occur in the final; but I do believe that the team's logo needs to be a little more epic than what I see at the first launch of the game. The loading screen is great, but the logo seems dull and doesn't reflect the amount of creativity and uniqueness that this game offers. I have a small suggestion that various sprites from the game could be modeled around the letters, like I have seen with companies. And at the bottom of that, the disclaimer, so that people will know from the very first screen that this is a fan work, which they should already know.

FMOD screen is next, I'm guessing it's a requirement.

Then we have the title. I like this title much better, and the music. The arranged/remixed version of this song works well for the game. I would also suggest that upon death, the player would be returned to the title and not the logo screen. I'm not sure of the limits of Gamemaker, but it would be much faster to "get back into the action" then to have to sit through two screens every time that the player dies.

World 1: Mushroom Kingdom

First of all, I love the redesigned maps. The last beta offered what I thought was too much at one time, but with this version, the game actually feels like more of a game with separated worlds rather than Mario's world in one big clusterfuck. Kudos to the team for this painstaking revamp. But it's worth it. Also kudos on the save system. It works perfectly and I've yet to have a problem with it.

Character Select Screen: Than you for making it ten times easier to select a character. This makes it quicker to get back into the action. But I wish there was some sort of a confirmation sound effect and text that would tell me that I have selected the character. Perhaps the character could make a fight pose upon selection and play a sound effect. Also, the bottom portion of the screen could be used to display the character's emboldened name (whether it's ripped from a game or sprited by hand, gives it a more pro. look) and the stats themselves could be displayed up at the top.

There's a slight problem in the plant world map screen though. Here, you can see it for yourself. There's an invisible track. Found it by accident:

(pic will be added later)

1-GH1: Boo Mansion - Same as I remember it, except this time I beat the big boo. There was no music during that fight, but I'm sure you're aware of the slight error.

1-S1: Subcon Panic - Actually found the way to this level and won the right to take it on. But as I expected, it's painfully difficult. I made it to the boss but haven't a chance in hell of defeating him.

1-S2: Tree Zone Trek - I still hate this stage with a passion. The music in it sounds better, but that second screen is still one of the hardest screens in MKF. Perhaps if I got a character that could throw the bomb enemies and wouldn't alert the ghosts. It's just a massacre all of the way through that second screen. But I'm the one getting massacred. Prepare to lose lives quickly.

1-S3: Tiny/Huge Island - The first time I played through this, it was more or less a recreation of giant land level 1 from SMB3. Now we've got something truly original with a small and large size board and enemies, which must have been a pain to make; hence why the level is so small. It's not even difficult. It's just unique.

1-F2: Beneath The Sands - Though rather tricky, this is a very interesting fortress. I was surprised to see that it was one of the old Mario Bros 1 fortresses buried beneath the sands, and it felt like exploring a lost stronghold. The lava geysers got on my nerves, but I finished it.

1-S4: Birabuto Bash - Now that was a fun romp through SML1, didn't expect that. Custom bosses and revamped enemies too. This is a treat, so thank you for updating an old classic.

1-9: Muda Madness - Besides the bug, this level was interesting. Even though I made it to the boss completely invisible (viewing my character as a shyguy mask) I was not able to beat it for obvious reasons. I'm sure I will finish it in later incarnations of the game.

1-F3: Dire Dire Docks - Can you guys change the track here? Something a little bit more ominous. Sounds like a very calm and tranquil fortress, but it's definitely not. Just as I remember it, except there was something new.

(SPOILERS)

I didn't expect that Dive Man's level was going to be at the bottom of the pipe, and being a Megaman vet, I was more than ready for it. The level itself was fun to play through, and the boss was just challenging enough. Completely unexpected surprise, guys. But it was well warranted.

(END SPOILERS)

1-14: Mushroom Forest - The revamp was much better than the original, added a few things. But there's not really much else to say about it other than the fact that it works well for the game and is an enjoyable (yet challenging, due to the bees) stage.

1-16: Fortress Of Traps - The master of difficult needs to trim this stage down a little, or you'll have younger players crying their eyes out, and old folks cursing. This fortress has the difficulty of a special area, and should be lightened up a bit for those who just want to play the normal game without the pro levels.

1-18: Isle Of Mystery - Since the siren was added to the stage, I thought I'd talk a little about the fight. My friend said that her voice was ripped from WOW. I don't know if that's true, I've never had a WOW account in my life, and now the game's apparently too shitty to have one. Regardless, I think it went well with the character. My only qualm is this. Why is she in the Mario world? I would have expected to battle her in Gehenna. I died a few times on the battle, until my friend decided to grab the controller and spammed the fire button so much that it literally caused a buster glitch. Yes, every time I would try to charge with Zero, it would instead fire three or four shots at once. The only way to stop this was to reset my game. It was kind of a fun and useful bug though.

1-WB: Hell Prominence - Definitely one of the toughest castles that Bowser's ever inhabited. The portion with the airship is ingenious, but also quite difficult. There are so many tricks and traps in this place, that I haven't yet been able to conquer it. Oh, it also likes to glitch the game. I've had several times where if I'd enter it and run out of lives and try to re-enter the stage on a loaded game, where the game would not load the stage and reset itself completely.

World 2: Alternate World

2-S1: Yellowstone Journey - Yellowstone journey has gotten even more hellish than what it was before, I believe I got frustrated and skipped over this one.

MAJOR BUG: When I died and restarted the level, it put me back to the cave entrance that leads into W2. The background of the castle was different though, and when I hit the flagpole it considered the world beaten, but did not change the marker on the map. WTF?
 
2-3: Fever Las Vegas - This stage looks and plays much better than it did in it's beta form, obviously. Roper was a pain in the ass, but I managed to finish him off well with Zero, moreso with just jumping on his head then shooting him.

2-S2: Raccoon City - I dreaded this one, thinking it was going to be a pain in the ass. But it was actually not that difficult and surprisingly detailed as to what a 2-D version of Raccoon City would look like. The zombie sprites from Metal Slug are a great touch here, and the hand spirited plant monsters also work well. The Tyrant was fun to fight, actually. I thought it brought a little bit of humor to be able to jump on his head. Normally the RE series is supposed to be frightening, but to jump on the Tyrant's head made me laugh a little. Kudos on the sprite design for him, btw. As a hardcore RE fan, I really think it's the perfect 2D representation of Tyrant for this particular game.

2-4: Skyscraper Domain - This stage was good from the beginning, hopping on the building signs and such, riding the car to avoid being killed by the spikes while dodging the incoming Bob-bombs. Then you have the truck that chases after you, (It still says Bob's Balloons, even though it would be easy to tack a face of Bowser on the front of it or something, at least make it look like the guy didn't hijack somebody's truck full of helium filled party favors.) immediately following the screen, rather than having two separate levels.

2-5: Aztec Citadel - Definitely a great Metal Slug level, but tough as nails. I played this one for a good hour or so, before I gave up on the second screen with all the jumps and vines. I'll give it another shot sometime in the future, but it's a little challenging.

2-7: Sahara Scramble - This one's another tough one, but after losing a few lives I managed to get past the walking cactuses, the helicopters and tanks, and those sword throwing guys. The second screen had those little tornadoes, but they were very easy to dash over with Zero.

2-8: African Safari - The backgrounds and animals definitely work perfectly for this stage, it definitely looks like you're in the jungle. Some of the animals are a little more of a pain then the others, the second screen with the waterfall wasn't too bad - the boss was quite easy. It was a decent stage overall, but it really fit the concept. This is exactly what an African safari stage should be.

2-9: Egyptian Tomb - This stage might have been confusing to some, and even frustrating due to the backtracking, but I found it to be a lot of fun. Everything that was in the stage seemed to belong there, so no enemies were out of place - and since this is the big pyramid stage, so you'd expect it to be a grand labyrinth.

2-10: Persian Palace - This stage is a masterpiece. I don't think you could've done Prince of Persia more justice, but it really does need a boss. I've got a Persian friend who's actually a big fan of the game Prince Of Persia (he calls himself that, btw) and I can't wait to show this to him.

2-11: Mt. Everest - A friend of mine said that there were a few enemies out of place, but I didn't notice anything really wrong. It certainly feels like you're traversing a mountain. Could've done without the wind, but it helps to make the stage original, and that's what you did. Apparently I haven't been able to beat this one yet, because it's not cleared.

2-F2: Tiger Temple - The first one from the stream, I can't believe how many times that dude died on this one. It's really not that hard, but is perhaps too easy with Zero. I have one major qualm here, and I know the game is 80%, but please hear me out. The stage is called "Tiger Temple" but for some reason I'm fighting some angry Indian man who has the ability to teleport and shoot small pieces of ice? That guy really doesn't belong there, and he was very easy to defeat. Of course, I was more confused than anything else. I kept wondering, "What did I door to this poor fellow to make him want to attack me, and furthermore, why is he able to shoot these balls of ice?"

2-13: N.Sanity Island - Again, I can't believe how many times dude died here. This stage is really not that hard (at least the first two screens.) I'll be honest, my friend and I milked the Metaknight glitch for the third screen and during the fight with Cortex. That third screen is nothing short of hell. Dude died on that screen over and over for about 30 minutes. But he made some stupid mistakes too. (Like leaving that carrot.) Regardless, the stage is a perfect recreation of Crash Bandicoot, and the mini Cortex also looks well sprited. Well done guys, this is about as professional as a 2D Crash would've been.

2-S3: - Running Of The Bulls - This is one of my all time favorite stages in MKF period. Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like running through Spain with a herd of angry bovines coming after you. In all actuality, these ornery cows could have been blasted away with a shot from Megaman, Roll, Vile or Zero. One of Mario's fireballs would've even sent them back into the other direction, but nonetheless, it's a great and original stage. I think it should be a linear stage, because it isn't really that tough and it's short, plus it's a good representation for the level.

2-S4: Castle Wolfenstein - Another masterpiece. I loved this one back 0.41, and I think it looks even better now. Not much has changed, but things seem slightly easier. A perfect representation of Wolfenstein in a 2D format. Surprised that there was no Hitler in a giant tank, but I don't suppose we need real world villains in the game, plus putting Hitler in it might offend I dunno, a couple million people? So I understand why he's not there. Great representation, regardless.

2-14: The Highlands - This is about the best representation of Scotland that I think could be in a game of this type. Love the Scottish Goombas, and the Loch Ness monster ripped from Earthbound. The stage isn't all that hard, but without the stars, you're going to have a hell of a time with those pincer runs. Background, stage design and music is all great for this stage. I hope you don't change a thing.

2-15: Scandinavian Campaign -  I didn't play the new version of this one, but I watched due play it on the stream. Doesn't look like much ahs changed, but seems to be a tad bit easier in the Finland area. Still one of my favorite stages.

2-17: Trans-Siberian Trek - I didn't play this one yet, but it looked kind of fun, so I'll try it out. The guy went through it pretty fast, and it seemed pretty easy to be honest. That boss looked tough, but it's probably no big deal. This train stage seems to hold together well as a whole, and there isn't really anything I'd change about it.

2-S5: Industrial Nightmare - Last time I played this one, I almost shit myself because of the difficulty. But this time, I found it to be a bit easier. Maybe that's because I've gotten better, I dunno. Anyway, I always liked the stage's theme and overall background. The enemies aren't too out of place, and the mouse and Birdo fights weren't too difficult. I just happened to have enough cherries for a star to rise up, so I blew past the Birdo quickly. I could've just jumped right over Abobo, but I decided to jump on his head a few times and give him a good rest. Cheap bastard only gave me one coin for it! Still a good stage.

World 3: The Megaverse

Having made my way here by skill and not debug, I decided to see how many robot masters I could take out. Love the new theme by the way, MM8 theme I would've never guessed would work.

3-1: Gutsman Quarry - I couldn't beat the first version of this, very pleased with the revamp. But I have a qualm. The background is from the real world, and while this is a fusion game, it just looks a bit shoddy to have the real world background. I'm sure I can dig though roms and sprite some mountainous backgrounds for you to use if you need them. But again, I know that this is a beta and cosmetic changes could happen to change this in 0.6. (or the final.)

3-2: Woodman's Forest - The music is here is a little low quality. I like the track, it's a good heavy metal rendition, but the quality isn't very high. The stage though, is perfect aside from the real world backgrounds. That to me just seems odd.

3-3: Maintenance Tower - Great to combine Cutman and Elecman's stage together. Cutman's stage was a little tougher this time around, but Elecman's stage had greater difficulty. However, I didn't seem to mind it. It was nice seeing Sparkman make a cameo. I couldn't tell if that was an 8 Bit version or a new model of him though. Elecman has a very interesting attack here that is unlike the original, he telepathically sends electricity towards your character when low on health. Good idea. Something I wouldn't have expected. Game's full of surprises and that keeps me playing.

3-4: Construction Site - Great rendition of Needle Man's stage. I especially like the second part with the Rush flight portion. People are going to be using that to farm more than likely, since it's a good place to rack up on easy lives and rupees.

3-5: Mirror Falls - This one's great. Gemini Man's stage recreated perfectly. Toad Man's stage recreated perfectly. As a hardcore Megaman nut, I applaud these stages. They work just right and play like Megaman stages, you know - like they should.

3-6: Skull Man Wastelands - Could this be renamed to "Skull Man's Wasteland?" A little bit more proper on grammar. Or how about, "Scrapyard of The Undead." There's also "The Undead Wasteland" or even give it the Romero twist and call it, "Wasteland Of The Dead." or "Scrapyard Of The Dead." Those are catchy. Just a thought. I like this level now just as much as I did then. The mix of undead and demonic enemies from other games works PERFECTLY for this level. I also love that Skullman raises the dead to attack you. I liked that in the last game as well. Another unexpected surprise for gamers that think it's going to be a vanilla battle.

3-7: Snake Man Pit - You could call it "Snake Pit" or "Pit Of Serpents" but whatever. The original was long as hell, and it took me forever to finish. This one was considerably shorter and has more going for it. I think it's a stark improvement.

3-8: Air Base - I understand this is a beta, but the background never moves, and it looks like someone typed in "cloudy sky" on a google image search and posted it for a quick background. It works, but I hope these real world backgrounds aren't used in the final. Again, I can rip some backgrounds for you if needed. I was happy to see Tornado Man, I think? I don't remember him, but oh well. He was interesting in the fact that you had to use him to be able to proceed. Air Man needs to be re-tweaked. His tornadoes need to move just a few seconds slower, it doesn't quite match up with the original, and I found it impossible to dodge his tornadoes. I barely finished him.

3-9: Jungle Facility - Slash Man was... well, he was Slash Man. Not much to say about this one really. Not much was changed. Would've liked to hear the MM7 Boss battle music, but what played is fine too. When I got to Napalm Man's stage, I found it challenging, but I was able to conquer it. Thank you for spriting 8-bit characters into 16 bit characters. I've always wanted to see how the other robot masters who weren't in The Wily Wars would've looked with the 16 bit treatment. Napalm Man looked great, just the way Capcom would've made him look, I'm sure of it. His pattern was also 100% accurate as far as I could tell. You people really know your patterns.

3-11: Artificial Reef - Other than the problems I had with the stage, I didn't think it was all that bad. Get rid of some clams and some ball chains and it might be a little less frustrating and more enjoyable. Wave Man looked resprited, he was a pain but looked great. The battle with Pirate man was fun, but then seeing Aqua Man sprited from 32 to 16 bits was also intriguing. Again, Capcom would've probably made him look the exact  same. Very good job there. Aqua Man was simple to beat, but I didn't realize I'd have to fight them both. I barely made it out of this stage alive.

3-WB2: Wily Citadel 2: Since this is the only one done, I'll have to review it. The stage was almost as I remember it, Top Man in 16 bits was a good fight, but his tops were tougher to avoid than on the last version. But it might just be me. An unpainted Gutsman now makes an appearance as well as the bee robot. I can't remember who he is. I don't remember a Beeman, but if it was an original, it was done well. But I was really psyched to see Yamotoman. Please tell me that you guys are doing Knightman and the others as well? I'd like to see all the ones that never got the 16 bit treatment get it here. Of course, then there was Yellow Devil. I ate him with Zero's sword. Much easier than last time. Definitely hungry for more great Megaman stages.

World 4: The Demon Realm

First of all, the music on the map sounds much better here. Kudos to the remixer.

4-S1: Barrels Of Fun - Great job, Mew. This matches the same concept of the Doom level perfectly. The only problem I have is with the music. I've sent some stuff already that might match the level more and are great remixes of original tunes from Doom. A great stage needs great music, and hopefully I was able to hook you up with that. Overall, one of my favorite stages though.

4-3: Tower Of Babel - The revamp adds a little more to the level, but nothing really major. The Cyberdemon has no music yet, as you're aware, but the fight is kind of fun, albeit a little difficult.

4-5: Darkstone Cemetery - I just got through playing this Castlevania style stage with Megaman, which is sort of orgasmic; because Megaman and Castlevania are my two favorite franchises. Megaman plowed through undead Klansmen and eyeballs for a good number of screens, and wiped out the knight boss with the bomb weapon. That was a fun stage, I'd certainly like to play it again. Definitely a good addition.

4-8: Dragon Dominion - A very clever stage, with a little bit of difficulty here and there. Definitely a lot of Doom enemies and enemies that go well with a Hell-natured area. The boss is clever as well, you hit him when he charges his attack. Not original, but a good pattern nonetheless. The fact that the stage is practically bathed in lava makes it very challenging.

4-S4: Volkmire's Inferno - Well, this stage is hell. It's a scrolling night mare filled with rough jumps and a variety of enemies. (Do we really need the space invaders here, though?) I've never been around ethanol either, but I guess you can't touch it.

4-S7: Palace Of Dark Delight - The games' nefarious Quake level. It's done rather well, with all the different Quake weapons and enemies looking wonderful in 2D. It's a tough one so I haven't gotten to the boss, even though it's been shown dozens of times. If there's only one Quake level in this game, this one shows it beautifully. Oh, and the first Quake too. Not the BS second one and the Online Multiplayer 3rd one. Definitely not 4. Only the first Quake was right to get the treatment.

Of course, I'm most excited about Dracula's castle and have a million questions about it. Will it be multi-tiered, have many bosses, and the showdown with death and Dracula himself? I'm not expecting answers to these questions, but I hope that my Ogg's work well for it. I worked hard to find some great heavy natured Castlevania mixes for the chaos that goes down in the castle.

World 5: Gehenna

Out of all the worlds, this one has to be the one that I'm most stumped on. What is it based on? It reminds me of Lovecraft, in all actuality. Lovecraft and Clive Barker too, perhaps.

5-2: Rotten Eden - This is a very interesting level. Of course, I had my fair share of difficulty with it, but that doesn't mean that it's not interesting. I'm not sure who came up with the idea for it, but the music taken from the first Alice game seems to benefit the stage nicely. This is exactly what I'd expect to hear while walking through a garden of this nature. Of course, I don't think I'd personally be walking through this garden in real life, or even in a 3D sim - (Ready Player One) it's just too dangerous. The boss is taken from Altered Beast, but I sure would've liked to have the Weredragon to beat him instead of, well... Sonic The Hedgehog. Tried it with many characters, and just can't kill the thing. Chrono Trigger boss battle music works well here for him though.

5-5: Fiddler's Green - So, a ship graveyard, huh? I still don't get this world. If someone could explain to me what Gehenna is in this game, (I've heard that it means Hell, but I've also heard it referred to as a trash jump in Jerusalem) please let me know. Regardless, a lot of work was put into this level and you can see that here. This is a killer level, but it's also not easy, like most of the tough as nails levels in this world. The Alice music works well here, once again.

5-S1: T'Leth - Alright, now you're really getting Lovecraftian on me here. But it's actually an alien spaceship. A giant alien spaceship that you can get lost in. A great attention to detail was put into this, along with a great variety of alien enemies and unique transporters. The stage is massive, but the first boss fight is actually sort of fun, while the other is just plain confusing. The difficulty is upped a great deal in the second half of the base, mainly being more enemies at one time, and much tougher ones to boot. This must have been many months of work, and it seems to have paid off. It's like a separate game itself.

World 6 : Adventurers' Domain (Does that apostrophe need to come after that s? I don't think so.)

6-4: Fillmore Weald  - First of all, the stage seems great and all, but I find the Castlevania music to be a bit out of place. Perhaps if I didn't know that it was Castlevania music, I wouldn't care; but nonetheless, it sounds odd in that stage. As for stage mechanics, everything seems to work well enough. I flew through most of it with Metaknight. I did like the tree portion, where it would walk across the spikes. That was inventive. The portion with all of the flying dragons was a bit redundant, and I wish you'd make it easier to tell that those blocks of wood in between the two trees actually work as pipes. I had no idea what they were until I stepped through them, and then I thought it was kind of shoddy. It would've been easier to use a Mario pipe as a base and then skin it with the wood graphic. It also would've added a little bit of a unique feel to the stage, showing the player that "this is still a Mario game at it's base" but instead of using the traditional green pipes, they've become wooden. It's at least interesting. Other than that, no real complaints. Found the key and lock in the stage too. Not to difficult to find. But that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Games can be frustrating if too much unnecessary backtracking is needed to put X key into X lock.

6-6: Blue Mountains - Gladiacloud, since it seems that you're responsible for the next three levels, I'll more than likely be addressing you. But I have nothing but positive things to say. First of all, I like that you used the Rayman sprites and backgrounds in this section, the enemies seem to behave just the way that they did in the games. The spike portions of the level are also effective, making things tough - but not too tough. You've got your spike balls here and there which are no big deal - but the kicker of the stage is when the wind pushes you on the lowering rock platform. If you don't jump a million times, you'll get impaled by the spikes. (Or worse, get stuck behind them - it happened once, right before the Onyx that guards the flagpole.) Not a terribly long stage, but certainly a good romp.

6-7: Gemini Canyon - I'm already intrigued by the fact that this level actually features a shmup style interface from the beginning. Definitely some challenge to be had, but I think you might have overdid it with insects near the end. As is the "no one stage gimmick" rule with MKF, are there other stages that will feature this shmup style gameplay? Of course World 9 would surely benefit from it, being a space world.

On this second part, I do think that the music could be changed. The first tune goes great with the shmup style, but something a little darker, earthier perhaps; should be used. I still don't understand how this is a Gemini Canyon. I see it more as an infested canyon, personally. I'm not a fan of bugs and there's quite a ton of them here. That trick with the key will take a little getting used to, but it's possible. The boss is interesting, the wood that comes down certainly works, almost like a classic boss fight from a NES, SNES or GENESIS platformer. A little hard to beat, but I'm sure I could finish it with time. All in all, this is certainly one of my favorite stages due to the shmup factor.

RANDOM BATTLE: This is an interesting idea, certainly works well with the RPG world. Some of the enemies are a pain, I'm curious if there will be different ones scattered throughout the board, or just this one. Wouldn't matter to me, but I guess the prospect of unexpected battles with unknown enemies each time might be interesting.

6-S1: Dream Forest - Rayman level, huh? Not quite my favorite game, but I did play it a few times. Never finished any of them. The level itself works brilliantly. It's the perfect clone of a Rayman level. You can tell that Gladiacloud worked his ass off on this one. He seems to be as focused as I would've been, had I been able to make a Megaman X stage for World 3, except that I'm not near as familiar with GM as I should be when doing something like that. Despite drowning in the water rise portion, I found that the level was utterly perfect. No complaints, no bugs found - everything seems to work well. You've got too much time on your hands, sir.

World 7: Mobius

I like the new tune. The old loop got on my damn nerves.

7-1: Green Grove Zone - This stage is an absolute blast to play through as Sonic. I mean, it felt like a Sonic stage from a Sonic game and that matters much to me, as a traditional Sonic fan. (The Sonic Adventure games were all right, at best.) It was original, but kept the nature of Green Hill and had just the right amount of difficulty. When you can play a Sonic stage with Sonic and it feels right, there is little else to say. I was worried that the Hedgehog wasn't going to get as much support as the plumber, but it's good to see that there are stages where he is fully represented and with Robotnik/Eggman battles to boot. Great job!

7-2: Bridge Zone - Lars, you managed to take the boring old zone from the 0.4 and make it worth a damn. Great job, this is actually fun now, and quite challenging. It still resembles the old Bridge zone but has much more structure now. The boss fight is laughable, but it works.

7-8: Collision Chaos Zone - Wow. I'm amazed just how much this looks and plays like Sonic CD. Can't quite figure out where the devices are that I need to destroy in the past (spoiler) and can't quite beat Robotnik/Eggman either. But it was a hell of a lot of fun, and brought back fond memories. (I'm talking about the PC Version by the way, never had a Sega CD.) It still runs in 256 for me, actually. You have to pretty much play the thing in Win 95. This definitely is less hassle, so thanks. I like how it even uses the same sounds from Sonic CD

7-9: Sky Battery Zone - One of my favorite zones is the Sky Fortress Zone, and combined with the Flying Battery Zone is well, unique. Everything looks, feels, and plays like it belongs in each of those zones. Sonic is pretty much down pact if this major attention to small detail continues in the other zones. I am highly awaiting the final version of Mobius as well as Megaman's world. By the way, the orchestral version of Flying Battery is awesomely epic. Whoever did that piece deserves kudos.

7-S1: Tainted Toadstool Zone - Clever idea. Mix Mario and Sonic together and make it where Robotnik/Eggman is trying to takeover Mario's world as well. Definitely not an easy zone, but that's why it's a special stage. The boss is a little ridiculous, but ingenious. To think that poison mushrooms might actually be used as a weapon...

THE BALL GAME: Plays just like in Sonic 3. Must not be a hard engine to program.

7-S3: Ecco's Ocean - Definitely enjoyed playing through this as Sonic for the first time. By the way, I think I played these games more recently than most here probably have - it was last summer, I believe. Or maybe the summer before; time flies so much these days. Anyway, I never really got a chance to play them when I was younger, so I checked them out and got stuck, the whole nine yards. The MKF way is much simpler. The temple area is a bit tricky, but not impossible. Everything resembles perfectly an Ecco game and I'm glad to see that this series was well represented within the world of MKF.

7-S5: Funkotron Frenzy - Not much can be said about this one that hasn't already been said. The Toejam and Earl series were landmarks for the console, I remember playing them when I was younger, and remember seeing just how unique and original they were from anything else out there, that was made back then and that is made today. It's a truly great thing to see those games represented here, with the other legends and underdogs in the world of MKF. Both this level and it's precursor definitely belong in the SEGA world.

As for the stage, it looks and feels like it should. That's a little difficult to do, but you pulled it off. Definitely can't wait to see what the masses will think of these when the game is finished.

7-S6: Neo Tokyo - Pulseman's stage was something I definitely didn't expect. It's only right that it would link to Megaman's world. I've played the rare Pulseman game before, it's certainly well worth checking out. The stage both behaves and looks just like the first stage, I believe; in the Pulseman game. It was a little odd, I'll admit - but it's fun.

World 8: Nintendo Subspace

8-1: Superflat World - Holy shit. This is dedication. Game and Watch... I'm definitely beyond the shadow of a doubt impressed. God knows how much programming it took to get all of this to work right. With programming like this, Lars is going to go out there and create the next gaming franchise that makes him a billionaire. Anyone who's got this much dedication and puts this much hard work into something that he's just giving away to the fans is definitely worth his salt in this world and will soon be recognized for it.

My eyes kind of bulged at this one, seriously. I'm sure If I posted a level demo of this to some people who've never played or heard of this game, they'd be gobsmacked. Especially if they were around during the Game and Watch era, which I faintly remember. I'm speechless.

8-8: Icicle Mountain - A level based on Ice Climbers. Interesting. But a little tougher that I would've thought. The platforming can be a bit difficult at times, and I'd like it if the blocks changed color as you went up (like in the original game, I believe) but the addition of other hazards in the level does make it interesting. The scrolling portion killed me right off the bat, but I figured it was going to. Kirby might be more effective on this stage, I would figure, since he has flight.

8-10: Planet Bomber - My friend actually played throught his one as Zero. I failed a few times on it, but he was very familiar with Bomberman (apparently he's beaten the original and others in the series) and managed to get through the room quite easily. Except there's a slight problem. We can't reach the key! I'm not sure exactly how, or why - but the key got stuck in the left wall. Maybe an explosion pushed it in there, but you need an explosion to reveal the key, so WTF?  There was no way to get it out of there, no matter how hard we tried. We found the door, but you can't do much without the key. I sense this stage still has some development to be done, so I can expect the few errors. Nevertheless, it seems to be a great representation of Bomberman and uses the stage gimmick that the Bubble Bobble stage also uses, so that works.

World 9: Edge Of Beyond

9-3: Zebes - Hold on just a second. I just realized that Zebes is 9-3. I would've expected it to be like a Fortress level or something, since it's a game on it's own. My friend and I have spent the majority playing through Zebes, and we've tried several different characters, opting to finally cheat with Metaknight. The programming isn't that great here, personally, so we had to use Metaknight to beat what was at times, very cheap.

Even though it looks and plays like Zebes, there are far too many enemies at one time. Metroid is about battling lots of alien lifeforms, but in some there are too many. the biggest complaint in Zebes which I hope you will address, is that there are not enough save points. Death awaits at every corner, and there's just not enough places to save if you should screw up.

The Metroids have been able to cheat as well. I stomped on one about ten or twelve times, and then it for some unknown reason, was able to just fly out of my reach and capture my character. How does that work? Usually, if you keep repeatedly pounding on the things, they'll take damage and will be in a slight state of paralysis. This happened, till about the eleventh or twelth time, where the thing didn't even seem to get damaged by my jump.

The biggest and most frustrating BS on this level is the massive Metroid hall at the end, where the Space Pirates also join them. (Really, guys? This is a level that you have to finish) There's a trick to beating the Metroid drop that comes before it though. Basically, you have to fly around until you can get into that closed section with nine cherries. Grab all of them, and in the next room get the last cherrie. Grab that star as fast as you can and plow through those Metroids to get the keys. Simple and effective.

As for the Metroid Hall, I used stupid erractic thinking that would normally get me killed. But I said what the hell, and decided to fly past everything as quicklya s I could, without getting caught. But near the end of the hall, I did get caught. While the damned Metroid was still attached, I entered the door anyway. In the next room, I didn't even bother to hit the block, so I have no idea what it says. I just grabbed the wand and it played the character theme. Is it still under construction? I'd think so. Zebes is great, but needs a few kinks ironed out. Tone down the difficulty just a bit. Even the Metroid games didn't have this many enemies at one time. Remember, this is a level that has to be passed, so don't go overboard on the difficulty or people are just going to get frustrated and play something else.

Samus usually has a great deal of life in these games, so it is normally no problem when playing as or using her due to the upgrades and tanks. But for other characters that only have one, two, or even three hitpoints total, this stage almost becomes unbearably difficult. Being in the second to the last zone of the game is understandable for the level of difficulty, but that some of the enemies should be dumbed down a bit, at least on the number of hits it takes to down them. The Metroids need not take ten and twenty jumps to defeat either. It's more like they're bosses, rather than just strong enemies. I would say 6-8 hits personally, we've got to think of it as Mario going through here by himself armed with only the ice wand and whatever suit (sci-fi suit I'd guess) he's currently equipped with. I'm not so sure that Mario could make through all of this by himself. But I'll definitely test that today.

Most of these things I have addressed were things that my friend personally wanted me to address to you all - guy knows a lot about programming himself  (it's his job) and is working on a game as well as other projects. I could tell you about the graphic intensive RPGs that this guy would make on a TI-83 graphing calculator back in the day, but you probably wouldn't be interested. His current project is a team-based roguelike in Linux.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed the stage and you kept the both of us glued to the screen, as we kept attempting to finish it for several hours. So yeah, the hard work was worth it. Definitely a great stage and good representation of Metroid, despite a few flaws.

9-4: Silus - This is one that my friend recognized instantly. I never really played the game, but from what he says, it looks and plays like it was supposed to. Definitely has the 8-bit robot feel, if that's what you're going for there. Sorry I couldn't say more, but I'm unfamilair with the series.

9-S5: Wart's Nightmare - As soon as I walked into this stage, my friend and I both anticipated that it would be hell, and we were right. Couldn't even get past the first couple of screens. I'm sure there's more, but I don't think I could actually go through with it all the way. Perhaps we'll test each other's patience with the stage later. As for level design, it definitely resembles the original, but with a fiendish twist. Can't say anything about difficulty here, because Del can make these tough as nails - they're the special stages.

Well, that's the last of the stages. Now about the new characters.

Simon Belmont - Finally finished, but a pain in the ass. While I like the fact that he can use his whip to platform, I find it rather odd that a character known for jumping cannot do so without the whip. Odd. He also might be a little too small, but the spriting to fix that would probably be a pain to do.

Megaman - Eh, decent enough. I could've done without him. Plays like he's got lead feet though. Very slow and can't jump over some of MKF's drops at all. Jumping might be a weakness for character, but it could also create the unnecessary failure of impossible gaps when using that character.

Metaknight - Definitely overpowered right now. But I hope that this changes in the future. Infinite jumps make the Hell prominence easier. I shudder to think how it will be when they're fixed. 

Ryu - My friend compared said that he had "ice physics" and it was very hard to control him. I do like the odd feature that alows him to crawl onto invisible walls in midair...

Arthur - Didn't notice much new about Arthur. Besides the fact taht he works a little better, not much else to say. Arthur is Arthur, after all.

I don't think anyone else got spiffied up/added in this version.

That's the long and short of it, guys. I crashed FMOD.DLL when I attempted to run MKF, PAINTOWN and MUGEN all at the same time. Not trying that one again. First my music screwed up and then all the sounds became gnalred and fuzzy. I think if I replace the files, it'll fix them. I also had that weird, "die and then go back to the save point of the stage you cleared and once you clear that stage it clears the stage you died at instead" bug. Yes, it's weird. I can't explain it. Kind of helpful, but not when you're trying to review the game and trying to play levels through as far as you can.

I could mention the stages in Minus world, but nothing's changed except the removal of the test stages and the Jaquio and Whispy battles (Will they ever return? Time will tell.)

Again, it goes without saying that MKF is one of my top favorite games of all time as of right now. It's certainly one of the best fan games ever made. Despite a few flaws, an enormous amount of effort was put into it, and despite in the beginning my friend made fun of the game, after watching me play it for a while; HE GOT INTO IT HIMSELF.

That should certainly be a marker that you're all doing something right. I've spent hours on this game, and it's been a hell of alot of fun. But I feel like I have a dual nature of gamer and tester with these betas, and that's another reason for the review.

Upon the next releases, my friends and I will definitely play the new levels, test out the new characters, exc. But when the final does come out, it will be a very different game because of the fact that you don't have everyone at the start, there's a storyline and the levels themselves will be much more interesting with limits. Instead of Zero-ing through it all, you actually will have to play the game. It will feel more like a game and completely 100% different from everything that we have experienced thus far. This will give people a new experience, the feeling of actually playing the game the way it was meant to be played.

And I'm sure that it'll be enjoyed and talked about for years to come. And probably modded. Yep, definitely modded. They'll mod the hell out of it.

But nonetheless, it's a great piece of work.

[Divadale]

I agree with everything you said this was a great and long review. Btw because you were complaining about the second room in tree zone trek I have a trick use Mario and instead of jumping on the bombs you spin jump on them to avoid the explosions.

[thefallenalchemist]

Alright, I'll try that.

Sorry about the typos near the end, it was close to midnight and I was exhausted while writing this review.