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Wednesday 20 February, 2008
GAMEPLAY:
Progression throughout the game felt the same and the flow of the game was pretty consistent. Some levels would branch off in another direction on the world map if unlocked, but the paths would eventually meet again. Levels did get a tad bit more difficult and more lengthy.
As I played I met different colored Yoshi: green, yellow, blue, and red. Each Yoshi has a unique special ability while a shell is in their mouth. The green is a normal Yoshi, yellow can stomp, blue can fly, and red shoots out fireballs. I have to say that I like the yellow Yoshi the best because I like seeing the monsters die or take damage from the stomp. Eating different colored shells also gave me different abilities, so if I couldn’t get my desired yellow Yoshi and was stuck with a green one, I could find a yellow shell to do the job for me!
I know a lot of people like flying, but I think it’s overrated! I found myself not using the feather as much (to fly) because that would ruin the point of playing a platform game. If I’m going to be in the sky most of the time, why would I even be playing the game? Instead I focused on shooting the monsters with fireballs and collected their coins. Besides, platforms are a lot more interesting than the open sky.
Hmm, I didn’t realize story progression too much, but as I entered different worlds (or parts of the map for that matter) there would be new castles, Koopas to kill and new Yoshi’s to rescue. Other than the block of dialog I got after defeating new Koopas, I wasn't fed too much storyline.
DESIGN:
The game kept the player feeling safe by allowing many different forms of collecting “ups” or lives. The player can get these by either:
1) Collecting 100 coins
2) Finding green mushrooms within the levels
3) Hitting the top of the tape at the end of each level.
4) Reaching 100 points by cutting the tape at the end of each level.
5) Collecting all of the Yoshi coins in a level
6) Successively Killing or hitting monsters.
By allowing this, the player won’t be discouraged during gameplay if he/she were to die a lot and suddenly get a “Game Over.” That’s never a good sign, but SMW kept a great balance in collecting lives just in case this should ever happen. This is also the main focus of the game’s reward structure. Item collection also allowed for the players to receive an incentive while performing challenges.
One of the more apparent aspects of SMW is the designs of the levels. The average level had a range of platforms and monsters but many extended out into the sky with cloud platforms. Other levels took place in dungeons, castles, haunted houses, under the sea, in a chocolate filled land, and so many others. The large variety of terrain landscapes and sprite palette is amazing. The uses of space in these levels were well arranged as well. If you were in an underground level, the paths designed would wind here and there, but they always had paths that would consistently lead you to the right way. The designs of each level were unique and keep the players on their feet. Unlocking or reaching new levels is always exciting and the game provided plenty in the worlds.
Some of the levels were designed to automatically scroll by itself. By adding this feature, players are encouraged (if not forced) to gather collectible items and travel as quickly and safely as possible. This also changed normal the pace of the levels because the players are required to play in a fixed boundary on the screen. These particular levels also relied a lot on interactive environments, such as platforms that can smash the avatar or an endless pit down below.
Another noticeable aspect of SMW are the power-ups. Mario can get either a mushroom (in which he grows into a taller Mario), a flower (granting flower power, the ability to shoot fireballs), and a feather (granting flying abilities as well as a new defense mechanism). All of these power-ups allow for new verbs to be used that couldn’t be accessed before. They create a larger array of gameplay to be carried out because new languages with the verbs can be used to traverse through the levels.
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