Ignara
Certified Autistic Bean
So, to start, My personal ranking of favorite, to least favorite, then more Detailed feedback below. in order of ranking.
1. ANTE-STATION ZONE
2. LAVA TEMPLE
3. FALCON EMISSARY ZONE
4. TEAL TUNDRA ZONE
5. FORT SUNSET ZONE
6. ABYSS CAVERNS ZONE
7. HOLLOW HILL ZONE, ACT 1
8. MERCURY MINE ZONE
9. RIDGE RAPIDS ZONE
10. ZAXEL'S THUNDER YARD
11. KOOPA KASTLE ZONE
12. BLIZZARD BASTION ZONE
13. DRENCHED DAM ZONE
14. BOMBASTIC BEACH ZONE
15. EMERALD GLADE ZONE, ACT 1
16. MUSIC MASH ZONE
1. ANTE-STATION ZONE
2. LAVA TEMPLE
3. FALCON EMISSARY ZONE
4. TEAL TUNDRA ZONE
5. FORT SUNSET ZONE
6. ABYSS CAVERNS ZONE
7. HOLLOW HILL ZONE, ACT 1
8. MERCURY MINE ZONE
9. RIDGE RAPIDS ZONE
10. ZAXEL'S THUNDER YARD
11. KOOPA KASTLE ZONE
12. BLIZZARD BASTION ZONE
13. DRENCHED DAM ZONE
14. BOMBASTIC BEACH ZONE
15. EMERALD GLADE ZONE, ACT 1
16. MUSIC MASH ZONE
-ANTE-STATION ZONE-
I don't even know where to begin with this one, it's visually insane, the use of portals for extra 3D effect and mirrors in an entirely 2D gameplay stage is phenomenal, It's a huge treat on the eyes for cool effects that aren't screaming "LOOK AT ME!" Like explosions are. The design of the level on a gameplay perspective only has one real hitch for me, and it's near the end, with the spike rings and the looping floor/ceiling. If you get hit by a spike, you can get stuck in a very long endless fall before the game forces you back to walking, and it can cause a lot of flashing imagery which is hard on the eyes.
-LAVA TEMPLE-
A fantastic puzzle-like platforming level with (What I'm almost 100% certain is) a Rayman 2 Aesthetic. The multiple routes through the stage has a lot of replay value, with both an upper, and lower path when the hallway collapses, on top of the character specific end challenges, and even having a route for add-on characters separate from the rest.
-FALCON EMISSARY ZONE-
This stage is expansive and well laid out, there are plenty of enemies (Fitting for an airship type stage) Getting a flow going through the stage is easy to pickup. The challenge of the stage itself is well balanced, hitting a nice middle ground between 'precise' and 'loose' platforming. The weather changing mid-stage was a really nice touch. Biggest notable problem is whenever you die, or start the stage, there is a very long load time, that causes the game window to stop responding for a moment.
-TEAL TUNDRA ZONE-
It's short, sweet, and doesn't do anything wrong, It's got plenty of room to run around, without being too large, it's relatively easy to figure out a flow and way forward, it's pleasant on the eyes with the colours, the enemy placement is a tad on the light side for the size of the level, but better not enough enemies, then too much. Teal tundra is a good example of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Nothing crazy with ideas, just clean simple open platforming.
-FORT SUNSET ZONE-
A fun little level, the objective of getting 500 coins in a tiny little sandbox strikes my nostalgic heart for collectathon games.
The level itself is simple in design, and the custom graphics for the enemies and coins are really charming, Though it is pretty short as a stage overall.
-ABYSS CAVERNS ZONE-
A nice subtle level, the theming is very simple, and easy to navigate. Getting a flow through the level is easy, the platforming is a tad on the easy side, to it's strength.
It's easy for anyone to pick up, and have a good time blasting through. The level is a tad on the short side, but what you get here is a solid short platforming romp.
-HOLLOW HILL ZONE, ACT 1-
A pleasant expansive level with a really nice flow to the design, it was never difficult to figure out where to go, Yet there is lots of room to run around.
And it has it's own palette to the level, which is a nice little touch because of the subtlety in the change.
Notably, the level does seem to lag to an unplayable degree in multiplayer (from my experience.) but works perfectly fine in single player.
-MERCURY MINE ZONE-
A Very expansive level with extremely wide paths and large platforms, though I feel it's to it's detriment in this case, there's not much going on within the large platforms, save for a few enemies here and there, it ends up feeling a bit bloated in some spots.
The flow of the level is easy enough to read, but adding arrows on path merges might be a good idea, to prevent too much unintentional backtracking.
-RIDGE RAPIDS ZONE-
The scenery in this level is very pretty, but the flow of the level is difficult to get a feel for.
There are a couple spots where getting out of the rushing water is difficult due to the level geometry being uneven on the edge of the rapids.
-ZAXEL'S THUNDER YARD-
This stage is massive, with a lot of enemies, and rings, it's pretty easy to get a flow through this massive stage, having custom visuals for enemies is nice, though the multi-hit enemies are a tad obnoxious when they bounce you back in unexpected ways. The fake goal troll face pits are a bit in bad taste in my opinion.
-KOOPA KASTLE ZONE-
The level itself is pretty simple, easy to get a decent flow, does feel a bit excessive at times with the flamethrowers and enemies, but it's not too bad.
Adding Brak eggman to the end of the level feels super unnecessary And really pads the level for the worse
given there's already the 2D bowser, and the entire level before it.
-BLIZZARD BASTION ZONE-
A rather frustrating stage, enemies in abundance, lacks a nice flow, crush traps that aren't very well telegraphed without trial and error.
it's very easy to get completely lost, unable to tell where the way forward is.
The heavy fog doesn't really do much to add to the presentation, it just highlights the difficulty of finding the way forward in areas that are already hard to navigate.
-DRENCHED DAM ZONE-
The idea of having a unique metal sonic race is cool, but this is a really poor execution of that idea.
lots of invisible walls over fences to try and force a specific path in what looks like a more open area.
it ends up feeling super cramped and awkward to navigate through.
-BOMBASTIC BEACH ZONE-
The use of a custom palette in this level hurts the experience, it ups the contrast really high, and it becomes hard on the eyes.
The level design itself is claustrophobic, everything is tightly packed together in relatively small space.
The level itself is also extremely short, easily clearable in under 25 seconds.
-EMERALD GLADE ZONE, ACT 1-
It feels very empty, the stage has a ton of open room, yet everything is isolated from each other, it has strong 'first custom level' vibes.
Having an emerald hunt stage is a nice pace breaker from the standard levels, but there is nothing that really speaks 'Level' here.
It feels much more like a test room with how isolated everything is from each other.
-MUSIC MASH ZONE-
This level is... Difficult to give good feedback on, tons of flashing lights, the music is oddly quiet for a level called 'Music mash' It's hard to find a flow through the level.
The 'Puzzles' have no real indicator if it's been completed, and it's platforming challenges aren't very interesting to go through.
(Sorry that this one's pretty mean, but i really can't say much else about it.)
I don't even know where to begin with this one, it's visually insane, the use of portals for extra 3D effect and mirrors in an entirely 2D gameplay stage is phenomenal, It's a huge treat on the eyes for cool effects that aren't screaming "LOOK AT ME!" Like explosions are. The design of the level on a gameplay perspective only has one real hitch for me, and it's near the end, with the spike rings and the looping floor/ceiling. If you get hit by a spike, you can get stuck in a very long endless fall before the game forces you back to walking, and it can cause a lot of flashing imagery which is hard on the eyes.
-LAVA TEMPLE-
A fantastic puzzle-like platforming level with (What I'm almost 100% certain is) a Rayman 2 Aesthetic. The multiple routes through the stage has a lot of replay value, with both an upper, and lower path when the hallway collapses, on top of the character specific end challenges, and even having a route for add-on characters separate from the rest.
-FALCON EMISSARY ZONE-
This stage is expansive and well laid out, there are plenty of enemies (Fitting for an airship type stage) Getting a flow going through the stage is easy to pickup. The challenge of the stage itself is well balanced, hitting a nice middle ground between 'precise' and 'loose' platforming. The weather changing mid-stage was a really nice touch. Biggest notable problem is whenever you die, or start the stage, there is a very long load time, that causes the game window to stop responding for a moment.
-TEAL TUNDRA ZONE-
It's short, sweet, and doesn't do anything wrong, It's got plenty of room to run around, without being too large, it's relatively easy to figure out a flow and way forward, it's pleasant on the eyes with the colours, the enemy placement is a tad on the light side for the size of the level, but better not enough enemies, then too much. Teal tundra is a good example of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Nothing crazy with ideas, just clean simple open platforming.
-FORT SUNSET ZONE-
A fun little level, the objective of getting 500 coins in a tiny little sandbox strikes my nostalgic heart for collectathon games.
The level itself is simple in design, and the custom graphics for the enemies and coins are really charming, Though it is pretty short as a stage overall.
-ABYSS CAVERNS ZONE-
A nice subtle level, the theming is very simple, and easy to navigate. Getting a flow through the level is easy, the platforming is a tad on the easy side, to it's strength.
It's easy for anyone to pick up, and have a good time blasting through. The level is a tad on the short side, but what you get here is a solid short platforming romp.
-HOLLOW HILL ZONE, ACT 1-
A pleasant expansive level with a really nice flow to the design, it was never difficult to figure out where to go, Yet there is lots of room to run around.
And it has it's own palette to the level, which is a nice little touch because of the subtlety in the change.
Notably, the level does seem to lag to an unplayable degree in multiplayer (from my experience.) but works perfectly fine in single player.
-MERCURY MINE ZONE-
A Very expansive level with extremely wide paths and large platforms, though I feel it's to it's detriment in this case, there's not much going on within the large platforms, save for a few enemies here and there, it ends up feeling a bit bloated in some spots.
The flow of the level is easy enough to read, but adding arrows on path merges might be a good idea, to prevent too much unintentional backtracking.
-RIDGE RAPIDS ZONE-
The scenery in this level is very pretty, but the flow of the level is difficult to get a feel for.
There are a couple spots where getting out of the rushing water is difficult due to the level geometry being uneven on the edge of the rapids.
-ZAXEL'S THUNDER YARD-
This stage is massive, with a lot of enemies, and rings, it's pretty easy to get a flow through this massive stage, having custom visuals for enemies is nice, though the multi-hit enemies are a tad obnoxious when they bounce you back in unexpected ways. The fake goal troll face pits are a bit in bad taste in my opinion.
-KOOPA KASTLE ZONE-
The level itself is pretty simple, easy to get a decent flow, does feel a bit excessive at times with the flamethrowers and enemies, but it's not too bad.
Adding Brak eggman to the end of the level feels super unnecessary And really pads the level for the worse
given there's already the 2D bowser, and the entire level before it.
-BLIZZARD BASTION ZONE-
A rather frustrating stage, enemies in abundance, lacks a nice flow, crush traps that aren't very well telegraphed without trial and error.
it's very easy to get completely lost, unable to tell where the way forward is.
The heavy fog doesn't really do much to add to the presentation, it just highlights the difficulty of finding the way forward in areas that are already hard to navigate.
-DRENCHED DAM ZONE-
The idea of having a unique metal sonic race is cool, but this is a really poor execution of that idea.
lots of invisible walls over fences to try and force a specific path in what looks like a more open area.
it ends up feeling super cramped and awkward to navigate through.
-BOMBASTIC BEACH ZONE-
The use of a custom palette in this level hurts the experience, it ups the contrast really high, and it becomes hard on the eyes.
The level design itself is claustrophobic, everything is tightly packed together in relatively small space.
The level itself is also extremely short, easily clearable in under 25 seconds.
-EMERALD GLADE ZONE, ACT 1-
It feels very empty, the stage has a ton of open room, yet everything is isolated from each other, it has strong 'first custom level' vibes.
Having an emerald hunt stage is a nice pace breaker from the standard levels, but there is nothing that really speaks 'Level' here.
It feels much more like a test room with how isolated everything is from each other.
-MUSIC MASH ZONE-
This level is... Difficult to give good feedback on, tons of flashing lights, the music is oddly quiet for a level called 'Music mash' It's hard to find a flow through the level.
The 'Puzzles' have no real indicator if it's been completed, and it's platforming challenges aren't very interesting to go through.
(Sorry that this one's pretty mean, but i really can't say much else about it.)