Score: 6

"Quality is there, but not Consistently"

submission: Super Mario Brothers ep 2

date: February 24, 2009

I remember watching your first episode of your series a while ago, and liked it. Now I feel inclined to review.

For a project this size, I'm surprised that you didn't really put much effort into the preloader to give the viewer something nice to look at while they're waiting for this to load. Draw up something nice and related to your movie rather than throwing in a static image and changing the person driving the tank in the Newgrounds box. This is a small ask, but it's generally expected.

Throwing in that montage on what happened last episode was rather pointless and really did more stalling getting to the feature than reminding. Link the previous episode in the title screen or preloader and you won't have to do this. It's not like the last episode was a huge as Super Mario Bros. Z Episode 6 was, so that's why Alwin got away with the intro in ep. 7, though even then it wasn't cinematic and it was skippable.

The size is pretty darn huge. Did you compress and cut your audio? If you haven't, when you're animating, after you've reached a point where you'd like that audio track to stop, cut it in Audacity and re-import it. This does a good job on cutting down the size taken up by unused audio. If a track loops, save it as a .WAV and THEN have Flash compress it to make it loop seemlessly. Also, make sure that you compress all of your audio. Set the global setting (found in the Publish Settings under Audio Stream / Event) to MP3, Convert Stereo to Mono and 32kb/s. There's very little or no quality loss and you still have a lean file size. For stereo music files, manually set them to 64kb/s without Convert Stereo to Mono on. If you think no one will mind listening to mono (it depends on the music of choice), leaving the global setting could help further. When testing, set the quality to Fast, and for the final product, set the quality to Best.

Now to the actual movie. One thing that you should really think about doing all the time is drawing everything with Flash's drawing tools. This is because it draws vector graphics, which are graphics that can be freely resized without getting pixelly. Images and bitmaps use raster graphics, that is, they're made up of pixels, and zooming in on them reveals their true nature. Use Flash's vector graphics as often as possible, as the quality isvery high and, in most cases, the end result is smaller in file size.

You need to work on the look of the characters. As a whole, they're accurate re-creations, but their colour is a little static. Keep shading areas according to the light that would fall on them for an extra graphical kick. Keep the detail high. Also, try to make sure that all characters that are shown are being animated to prevent on them looking static.

Sometimes the sound effects are repeated too much, like walking and such. But as a whole, it's all pretty nice. Oh, and that Mario voice generator sucks because of the unnatural sound of Mario's voice and the fact that Mario wouldn't even say stuff like "You go to hell," or "You suck!". The music, as a whole, was uncompelling too.

I've read and seen that most people were taken aback by Mario having a knife and using it in its full violence. The reason why people don't like this is because it's not true to the games, and, really, you do have to be true to the game. Also, The People's Mario gets away with it because the violence is in greater context in their movie. Stay true to the series.

The second scene was underwhelming for the fact that it didn't really mean much. Why did Luigi go? Why is Bowser attacking the place? These questions are nigh-on meaningless for a story that's not very compelling.

With all that being said, at times, the quality of animation and drawing is supurb and at a very high quality, but the lapses in that quality bring this down. If the attention to detail was kept consistent throughout, this would be something really special. The audio need improvement but the SFX were chosen well at times. The story's a little dry though. Up the quality and fix these and it'll be something great!

Score: 7

"Very Good for Flash, but Doom Legacy is Better"

submission: Doom Triple Pack

date: November 22, 2008

Essentially, coding a 4 MB game down to 2.4 MB in Flash is a great achievement. Doom is just one of those legendary games. However, after playing through a bit, someone who knows Doom enough will be able to pick up the bugs and errors.

BUG: Sound Effects are too Fast
It's a very noticable bug, and although it makes the chaingun almost sound better than it once did, it's annoying everywhere else.

BUG: Controls are Clunky
Unlike in the original Doom, the controls aren't as responsive. They work well eoungh, but it feels like you're dragging something behind you, and your movement just isn't quite as effective as it should be. They remind me of the PlayStation version.

BUG: Automap
I once pressed Tab to access the Automap, as you do. However, Tab is also the magical highlight buttons in Flash key, and I couldn't exit the automap unless I saved my game and re-loaded it. Then I couldn't access the automap again. Please change the key.

FEATURE MISSING: Switch in Level 1
In the first room in the first level, there's a switch on one of the pillars before the stairs leading up to the green armour. This switch opens up a wall to the radioactive lake where the blue armour is. Although it's not greatly missed, it still should be there. I see you already know of this.

POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENT: Ditch 8 Bit / 256 Colours for High Bit Depths
Yeah, yeah, we all know that Doom used to run in 8 Bit, but those days are long gone. Doom Legacy, which is the best framework for Doom out there, as far as I know, allows you to display the game in up to 32 bit (not sure 'bout 64). I can certainly see the difference, especially in dark rooms, where 8 bit is almost shocking in comparison.

These are the bugs and things I noticed that you might not have in my playthrough of the first two levels. You nailed the enemy AI fantastically as well! A great achievement too! But, to be perfectly honest, you're competing against the likes of Doom Legacy in terms of the ultimate Doom experience. Go on, check it out. It has so many awesome features. For instantanious browser play for those who don't have a copy of the Shareware or full versions of Doom, this is a pretty solid effort. Well done for reviving a true classic of a game, that's still not exactly 3D!

Score: 7

"What an unexpected delight!"

submission: Jeffrey Davis' Resume

date: November 4, 2008

Well, first off, I'm only here 'cause you scored daily tenth, so congrats to you. But the only reason I found your movie is 'cause I was interested to see what score ws required for a daily tenth nowadays, so my view was more luck than anything else.
Well done on the description, because really, otherwise I'd just left the page. I really liked the creativity you put into it, and was held throughout the entire movie. Your humour is certainly in the right place at the right time. I like the monochromic style you chose for this Flash as well. One noticable weakness is your microphone. I could hear it crackling from time to time, which means you were probably too close. Use a program like Audacity to record, preview and edit your voice clips. The absense of the mug-hitting-character sound effect was missed, 'cause we all love a bit of slapstick comedy.
All in all, a solid showing. Might I suggest next time you add in some background music. Don't worry, Flash will be able to compress it so that it doesn't hurt your small and appreciated file size.
Great work!

Score: 3

"Misleading, not an Actual Review, but Entertaining"

submission: Twilight Princess Review

date: May 20, 2008

First off, congratulations on your Daily 9th. It's the only reason I know of this. But now for my actual review, and I'll actually review your Flash.

As a review, it fails. I personally was expecting a review. Sure I do have the game myself, but one day I play to review it myself, of good quality mind you, so I'm interested in other people's reviews. If I was actually considering the game, and watched this review, I wouldn't have any, or much more, idea about it. Since the title makes the viewer think they'll actually get an actual review, they're disappointed to see it isn't actually a proper review, as I was. By review standards, it's terrible.

However, this was a great deal more intended on making people laugh. And I do admit laughing. You threw in some short jokes that had enough punch for the user to notice them. Of course, many of these were common observations and could be done by anyone, especially me. Most of these are aided by simple visuals to try and add to the humour, which works all in all.

But there's a few essential things you need to improve on. First up, the icon. That icon doesn't describe anything about the movie, which is its purpose. It's just your logo that's been really poorly resized. Next up, you need to improve on the overall visuals. Most are very basic or Google images. Not the way to go.

Thank you for using your voice to... er... present the movie. Otherwise, it would've been quite terrible. Soundwise, you could include some of the music that featured in the game, Google will make sure you find it, and if you're having trouble, search the game name as well as OST, which will bring up the game's soundtrack.

Overall, I was left very disappointed for the lack of review. The funny parts made it watchable, but I wouldn't watch it again. To be honest, it's quite terrible, because most of the jokes were making fun of Nintendo or the series rather than the actual game. Other movies have done that over and over, not that I've watched them all but I've watch a couple. Its structure is not good either. The whole thing needs a revamp. But hey, keep at it. If you can get a Daily 9th for this, think of what you'll get if you make it at a great standard!

Oh, and as a footnote, I'm a Mario fanatic. Fate is the reason Twilight Princess ended up in my Wii games collection.

Score: 6

"Simple, Nice Job"

submission: I hate MAC ads

date: April 29, 2008

You said you read all reviews, and respond to some too. Awesome, because I like getting the chance to critic Flash when the author is there. :P
All in all, it was pretty good. First up, the title of the movie was so good that I clicked the link that was on Newgrounds' Daily Winners e-mail, something I don't often do. The title doesn't exactly describe the movie's contents, but you managed to get me to watch just because of the title, good work.
You made a very smart decision when you took the unbiased approach to this. That made it so much more easier to view without feeling like you were being bagged about what kind of computer you use, not something that bothers me, but would insight quite a few annoyed reviews.
What you could've done to make it even better was to find the music that was on the Mac ad and put it in here. Sure it might be annoying or bland, but it adds to the experience you give the viewer. It's very, sometimes essentially, important to have music in your Flash. If you manage to use the right music, your score is sure to be greater.
Nice job with the voice acting. Subtle and suiting, nothing out of the ordinary, just how it should be. And thanks again for making subtitles optional. A very important fact I've discovered is that, when there are subtitles, the viewer will pay more attention to them than what's actually happening. Smart move. And since the voice acting was clear and the volume almost perfectly balanced, there was almost no need for them, but I wouldn't ask you to get rid of them.
The only bit of it that didn't work so well was when the Linux penguin showed up and says "The moral of...". That line ruined the mood and was the movie's worst point. The viewer would've already got that point. But good job on picking yourself up afterward. The ending was as good as the rest of the movie.
Ah, it's great to write a review. It's even better to write a review that the author will listen to. I can tell you value your fans. Good on ya for that! Good luck with your future animation!

Score: 5

"Not True to the Game, Improvement Needed"

submission: LOZ - Twilight Problem

date: April 12, 2008

You were either going to hit the nail on the proverbial head, or your thumb instead. To my surprise, it was somehwere in between and, unfortunatly, untrue to the game, thus preventing you from achieving a higher score.
Full points for the choice of Voice Actor for Midna, a very important factor. In fact, I think the only reason I even half like this movie was Midna alone. The script is actually quite pathetic, random skits are not professional, mind you, and since it wasn't true to the game, you lose quite a few points there. Every random skit had me feeling unimpressed. Pity, this had potential.
Graphic and animation wise, it was fair. Improvements in detail and animation would be much appreciated. Sound-wise, there are too many sounds that don't match. It's a pity you're using those generic sound found around the 'net. I'd be much happier if you managed to find some sounds that matched the actions on-screen better.
Everything else is just medicore. Like I said, it's a pity because you really could've done a lot with this. Instead, sadly, you almost slacked off, missing the chance to make this thing fantastic. BUT, there is hope for you. If you were to fix up all the flaws, especially the "story" / script, you should be able to make something like this work. Try again after perfecting your Flash skills and you may just get higher in the weekly rankings.

Score: 3

"Medicore, maybe less so..."

submission: Marios New Secret Weapon2

date: April 12, 2008

This movie is no thriller by far. And I see that, again, I am your first constructive reviewer. Ahem...
The intro where you state the title and that there's mild violence run for too long. It's annoying to sit at the "This movie contains Mild Violence" screen for 10 or something seconds. If we cared about it's content, we'd refer to the rating that is given beside the movie.
Battle scenes are badly constructed. It is waaay too one sided and the enemies are quite dumb in the fact of their moves and the way they just stand there. A sign of extreme laziness is seen when Mario is surrounded by all those enemies, that are hardly animated, and he transforms into this bug thing for no reason and kills them all. Riiight. Slack really.
OK, so you decided to stop being funny, something that can be argued both ways. I'm thanking you for ditching the bloody Arnold Shwarterwhatever voice clips. But the movie is still quite dull. I think the whole idea isn't great, or maybe it's the way you made it.
As for the Koopa Asylam, it was as good as pointless to put it in. It wasn't used in the episode and, I guess, will be used in the final episode. It is out of place anyway. The abrupt end isn't good either.
You did decide to change you Mario sprites, something that, though it is unprofessional, was the right choice. The 8-bit Super Mario Bros. Mario sprites didn't fit at all.
There is too much happening that has no reason and is unrealistic. That random ship at the top of the stairs? What the?
All in all, you need to do some thorough research in improving your Flash skills and story-telling as well. It will be hard, but then you will achieve higher awards than Daily 5th.

Score: 5

"Not fantastic..."

submission: Marios New Secret Weapon1

date: February 15, 2008

I see that I'm writing the first constructive review for this movie so please pay attention to it.
Your Flash isn't amazing and is overated at this stage, but it's not terrible. It was good enough not to bore me, which is an important thing. The first thing I noticed about your Flash was the sprites you used. Some were 8 bit and some were 16 bit. Also, they were from quite a few different sprite sets. My suggestion is to pick a sprite set and use it throughout your movie. It's a lot smoother that way.
The mix of music was good at times and annoying and irritating at others. Especially when you added in the really heavy music, that really knocked the Flash off the good path and onto the one of critisism. Plus, I found myself fiddling with my volume, something I don't enjoy. Please try to equalize the sound.
Plot-wise it was alright. Nothing special but hey, that's not always the important thing. It was cool seeing Mario pull a few tricks in the pipe at the start, regardless that nothing happened because of it. I especially liked the "Fake Castle" bit. Good call!
The "tube" bit was a bit off the wall. Nothing much was happening, only a few spoofs and a few too many Arnold Shwarterniger voice clips. Honestly, I think that scene should've been cut down a little.
Another annoying point was where Mario was traversing the castle, and when the Dry Bones touched the lava, the screaming was awefully annoying. You could've got away with it if it only happened once, but it didn't, and that bugged me. Finally, the "cliff-hanger" ending was quite annoying.
You Flash had adiquate humor when I was watching, not much I would actually laugh at, but it was fair. I did like the Dr. Mario easter egg. Not only did the music rule, but you synced it quite well, which saw me smile. Good work on that one!
Overall, sure it's overated, but hey, it's not a bad piece of work. Just work on the things I have mentioned. Oh, and keep Flashing!

Score: 5

"An Improvment"

submission: Tooth Paste Man 2

date: February 9, 2008

Heh, I remember watching your first one. That one seemed really low pace. I forgot what I rated it in the end...
But I can see an improvment in this one. The fact that I wasn't bored while watching it was evidence that you're shrugging off the slow pace of your last one. But then again, you still need to speed up things a little.
Everything seems average here. It's hard to critic, which means you've got something right. But there's nothing outstanding about it either. You art style is fine and the audio is also fine. You could work a little on your humour, but otherwise, it was up to scratch.
You may want to consider finding or making music to fit with your movie to make it better, Like the opening song, but all the way through. The only parts when you don't need music is when you say to yourself "there shouldn't be music there". However, music is hard to make or find if you want it to suit your movie.
All in all, it's alright. Keep working on it!

Score: 5

"You're lucky, you've got a release date..."

submission: So... Brawl was delayed..

date: January 20, 2008

I live in the PAL region (Australia), we have NO RELEASE DATE AT ALL! That sucks, bigtime. My guess is that Brawl will come out in June for us.
Yeah, I had to break the news to my Wii Club that I've set up and am making a website for. I don't think they noticed though...
Heh, everything is average or less than average in your movie, except the fact that you were attempting to connect to the public about a matter they cared about in a humorous way, thus bumping up the score considerably. But overall, I think it's acceptable. Keep flashing! And maybe I'll see ya 'round the Brawl arena, eh? My Wii is connected to the 'net. :D
Time to check the Dojo... in 9 hours. ;)