MAPM7: Troll Zarro Celestial Sanctuary Zone
Really this map is perfectly fine (certainly a lot better than the 1.09 AGZ thok-off-pit arena), but I wish, as I stressed during one of the first playtests of this map, that there were more tails/knuckles stashaways were Sonic can't go (unless you switch chars). Really, there's only ONE such place on the map, but supersonic can get to it pretty damn easily.
A really good place for this would be some upper room above
<HERE>, that can be entered/exited from
<THE WATERFALLS> in some way, be in from that protruding chunk between them, or from inside the waterfall 'pipes' themselves. Hell, that protruding chunk could be a view-window to the room so you know it exists. Or something.
The main outside room has a noticeable tendency to lag at high resolutions.
MAPMA: Gray boredom Granite Gorge Zone
It's not that I don't like the map, it's just that the map is visually depressing. And boring. And everything freaking blends together into the same g
rey mess. I mean I know there isn't much other use for the textures and flats in the main game, but holy crap is there a reason why.
You have a
<GOOD TAILS LOCATION HERE>, yet with nothing actually here. Couldn't there be a ringbox or SOMETHING? Despite the water for the waterfall coming litterally from nowhere, there's nothing visually interesting up there at all. And it's such a small, closed off area, that it doesn't make a good sniper location, either. Ergo, entirely worthless space.
Incidentally, what is
<THIS> doing here?
MAPMB: Thesaurus Extinction Overgrown Thicket Zone
Really there's nothing wrong with this level save for the name and the dull music.
Although it could stand to be a good idea to put more on the trees than just empty space, if I'm able to go on top of them. (And yes, I did find ONE tree with a rail ring and some ring boxes. But how would I ever
normally find it if none of the OTHER treetops are inviting?)
MAPMC: Red U-Turn Amber Ravine Zone
This is an improvement over Granite Gorge, but it's still visually one-dimensional with its singular colorset. In all honesty I only really dislike this map for
<THIS U-TURN>. It makes me come to a sudden halt to find myself cornered in confusion because there's no open space at ground-level, and you have to seriously make a U-Turn to keep moving. Which I frown upon greatly.
MAPMD: Impress Zarro Marine Grotto Zone
This is the most visually impressive of the bunch for me.
<THIS ROOM> does tend to lag badly on higher resolutions, however, and it might be because of the
<OPEN WINDOWS>. Which, I really wish there was an easier means of recovering from jumping out them accidentally, as I almost didn't make it back inside after jumping out with tails, expecting a solid barricade...
MAPME: Reasonless Slowdown Crystalline Caves Zone
Nothing really wrong with this map, save for
<ONE ROOM> which causes sonic-thokkers, like myself, to have to slow right down to 0 in order to get through the room at all. All those pillars could probably do with being removed entirely for just an open room with upper entrances and some decorations.
Incidentally, there is a rather
<OVERPOWERED> tails-only item box that you can access very easily from that same room. And it isn't hidden either.
MAPMF: DAT LEVEL Acid Plant Zone
This map is a very nice improvement over the original, primarily due to all the new textures making it exceptionally easy to navigate, and looking good to boot. I only found
<A FEW TEXTURE FLAWS>, and the same room being one with only one entrance/exit to it, making it rather... strict. I do recall a lot of firefights going on at the hallway leading to this room because of this, during the original pre-good-texture tests.
MAPMG: Nostalgia Vibe Secluded Woodland Zone
I get Mushroom hill flashbacks traveling from the brighter green to the grey-green parts of the level. This is a good thing.
Unfortunately, this will happen excessively often, as it seems to be the ONLY way for sonic to get to the upper part of the zone. Which is rather restrictive. I couldn't be one to say whether this is a good 'reverse balancer' or not, regarding player abilities, though I will be one to say that tails and knuckles shortcutting straight up would probably just lead to getting sniped out of the sky.
Also the center room lags LIKE HELL'S OPEN GORGE in high resolutions.
MAPMH: Surprise Shockpad Orbital Hangar Zone
I cant tell whether to like the map or not. On the one hand, the working end-level plungerbox working made me smile. On the other, OH GOD MY EARS.
And tell me, what does
<THIS> look like to you? "Oh a red ribbon". Yes, I know there is electric paneling there. I know this because every time I forget it's there, I run onto it without any natural evasive tendancy. The same can be said for the hallway version, and
<THESE CHIP DECORATIONS> (key word, DECORATIONS,) as well. It isn't a matter that I cannot jump to avoid it, it's the matter that never before have I had to, because NORMALLY you have to fall onto them first, because there's usually a gap big enough that you don't immediately step onto the panel, so much as auto-leap from fast movement. Yeah, I know you want it to actually be there to hurt players, and I'm sure it will anyway, but I shouldn't have to jump when running would cross the gap in any other instance. In short,
raise the caution tape and lower the panel.
Finally,
<THIS JUMP> really annoys the crap out of me for no real reason, and it's because it LOOKS LIKE sonic should be able to get to it but he just baaaaarely can't. I wish it were lowered, just... because.
MAPMI: No Comment Diamond Blizzard Zone
This zone certainly isn't bad, but it doesn't present much else that the
OTHER TWO snow/ice stages prior didn't already cover. Although I certainly prefer this over the Cirno-Fanboy-Zone.