John's Fan Creations Thread (Reviews, Sprite Art, and More!)

[Cocoa]

Well, I would apply for the 'Shroom, but I don't know to properly do the application. I got hung up when I was deciding whether to use Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

Anyway, like the title says, I'm gonna be writing little reviews about different stuff. Games, Movies, Characters, that kinda thing. Of course, I need time to actually write the reviews, but the first one shouldn't take too long to write, so expect it soon! Who knows, I might use it as my demo when/if I apply for the 'Shroom!
Stay fresh, Mi Buckos! - Long John Spaghetti

 

[Anton]

I use google docs to write Half-Baked Reviews because I can access it on my phone when I'm out and about, plus it's free.

If you still want to apply, all you have to do is send a message to LudwigVon, or me and I can send it to him, including this information:

1) What position you want to apply for
2) How often you plan on submitting sections (every month, bi-monthly, etc.)
3) Accept the condition that we will consider your behavior in the community as a factor in your approval and continued submissions
4) Provide a full-length demo of your proposed section

With most applications we receive, we ask them to format it for the wiki (a lot of people format it for the forum, which won't work on the wiki), and to consider including images. It's easier than it sounds, but if there's any questions feel free to ask

 

[Cocoa]

Hey, Hey, Hey, everyone! Welcome to the first issue of John's Semi-Professional Opinions! Today, I'm doing something special to celebrate! Since this is my first review, I've decided to review the very first video game I have ever played! Grab your hats and hold onto 'em: It's John's Semi-Professional Opinion of New Super Mario Brothers!

Plot


The story of New Super Mario Brothers is pretty much what you'd expect out of any other Main Series Mario game. Princess Peach has gotten herself kidnapped (again) and it's up to the Mario Brothers to save her! This time, however, Peach has gotten kidnapped by Bowser Jr, which is the first time that's happened in a 2D Mario game.



Gameplay


Even Miyamoto-San has stated that New Super Mario Brothers was supposed to be a re-imagining of the original game, so the gameplay is supposed to be similar to Super Mario Brothers on the NES. Well, the game does just that and more. The gameplay is super-smooth and really satisfying. Mario & Luigi still retain their Super & Fire forms, but this time, they have 3 new power-ups to help them. First up, the Mega Mushroom. While in Mega Form, Mario & Luigi can crash and smash to their heart's delight. You can't run while in Mega Form, but that's to keep you from moving too fast, since you already go faster while in Mega Form. Also, the power-up only lasts a few seconds, but again, that's so that the power-up isn't so overpowered (See what I did there?). The next new power-up is the Mini-Mushroom. In this almost sub-atomic state, Mario & Luigi can go into Mini-Pipes, Jump way higher than before, and even run on water. The only real downside is that you can't stomp on enemies, but then again, you're smaller than a Goomba. Also, you still die in one hit, akin to having no power-up, but again, smaller than a Goomba. The last new power-up is the Blue Shell, my personal favorite. While wearing this surprisingly non-spikey shell, Mario & Luigi can skiddash all over the level like a Koopa out of control while mowing down any enemies in their way. The worst part about it is that the Blue Shell is super rare, so don't expect to have it while in a Boss Fight.




Nostalgia


Being the first game I ever played, New Super Mario Brothers will always hold a place in my heart. I first got the game V.I.A my aunt at my Grandfather's funeral. My cousin wasn't really interested in the D.S. anymore, so I got her's, and low and behold, it came with New Super Mario Brothers.




Final Verdict:


10/10: A+




...And that's it for the first volume of John's Semi-Professional Opinions! Hopefully this won't be the only one I do, so until next time, ciao!​

 

[Jackie Frost]

Well I suppose there's a difference between a subjective review (how much you like it) and an objective one (how well you think it was designed, and, if applicable, how well it has held up to this day).

Ranking NSMBDS subjectively: it gives me nostalgia and I do have a blast playing it, but it's not all that special to me. Rating: 6.5/10

Objectively: The gameplay is alright but I wouldn't say it's the best 2D Super Mario game we've seen, not even amongst pre-2006 ones. The story is next to worthless. The graphics were alright for the time do not hold up well to this day. Rating: 4/10

I can't say I know much about writing in The Shroom but if I were writing an article reviewing a game I wouldn't want to send the message that it's a good game when that's just a personal preference and I realise that it was poorly made.

 

[Cocoa]

Yea, Issue 1 was heavily rushed (I did it in less than 30 minutes), but Issue 2 will most likely be higher quality.

 

[Ten]

I recently got this game and it is kicking my ass! You can tell I am a 3D, RPG, and Ghostbusting Mario player. While my favorite 2D will always be either Bros 3 or World, NSMBDS is a fun little challenge for me. Just don't vs. me, I suck~ A main problem for me is that the Mega Shroom is used in only... three levels? Another one was that with the world 2 boss, I accidentally defeated it. I just kinda stood waiting for it and bam, it died under my feet?! Also Bowser Jr. isn't even a boss. So levels hard, bosses easy. But, I like it~

 

[YoshiFlutterJump]

I can't say I know much about writing in The Shroom but if I were writing an article reviewing a game I wouldn't want to send the message that it's a good game when that's just a personal preference and I realise that it was poorly made.

There's nothing wrong with sharing opinions. An objectively correct opinion simply cannot exist, and it's not wrong just because you disagree with it. No opinion is unanimously agreed upon and it's not misinformation to share them. Also...

Objectively: The gameplay is alright but I wouldn't say it's the best 2D Super Mario game we've seen, not even amongst pre-2006 ones. The story is next to worthless. The graphics were alright for the time do not hold up well to this day. Rating: 4/10

This is not objective at all. Even disregarding the fact that you can't have a truly objective opinion, this is entirely dependent on what you find important in a game (subjectivity). What you are calling "subjective vs objective" is actually "fun factor vs other factors", which are both entirely subjective.

Don't say that something is objective when it isn't. True objectivity simply does not exist, and if somebody likes something that you don't, you can just say that you disagree and explain why, instead of saying that the other person's opinion is not objective and yet yours somehow is.

 

[Jackie Frost]

I'm not saying it's objective in the sense that people don't have the right to find the gameplay the most enjoyable 2D Mario Platformer so far, I'm saying that when I do my best to remove my personal bias and judge the design of the gameplay rationally in accordance to how well the developers designed the game to capture and entertain audiences, and how well that design is improved by later games, it doesn't come out as the best. Thus this is not dependent on what I find important but rather what I judge should be important to the kind of game NSMBDS was intended to be. Of course I as a human being can never perfectly remove bias, but I don't see any harm trying.

If someone were to present to me a part of NSMBDS which goes against the aims of the developers or the appeal of the game, I would want to change my objective opinion of the game, to account for that poor design, but assuming it didn't affect my own enjoyment, it wouldn't change my subjective opinion.

My aim is not to say that everything I believe about the quality of video games is objectively correct and anything different is objectively incorrect, but rather to observe that I am personally influenced by factors which don't reflect the wiseness of the developer's choices, and to try to judge the game without that bias. I'm talking about objectivity in arguments rather than in facts. I can't get a ruler out and measure how good NSMBDS is, but I can put my personal preferences to one side and consider the game from a less biased viewpoint.

This is somewhat similar to https://movietime.guru/editorial-cl...rsus-objective-in-film-criticism-aa5e7016daca

 

[Cocoa]

Hey, guys, and welcome to the second issue of John's Semi-Professional Opinions! Before we get started, I want to apologize for last issue. It was really rushed and sloppy. However, this time, things will be different. Grab your Pickaxes, everyone, because as requested by Shy Guy on Wheels (@Dr. Eggman), it's John's Semi-Professional Opinion on Minecraft!

Plot

I know what you're thinking: "But, John! Minecraft doesn't have a plot!". Well yes, but actually no. Minecraft does have (somewhat of) a plot. Your end goal is to kill the Ender Dragon. Sure, there is no dialogue or cutscenes or anything like that. It's just your main goal in the end: Kill the Ender Dragon. However, this end goal is optional can be ignored if so desired.

Gameplay

Minecraft has the biggest level in all of gaming history: It literally goes on forever. You couldn't even reach the end without hacks, and even then, Mojang fixed the same so that there is literally no end whatsoever. So, you don't spend time going from Point A to Point B, instead, you have to build your house and craft your tools to go mining for better resources. It all runs pretty smoothly. However, things can get pretty lonely. Luckily, Minecraft lets you play with more people, so you don't have to go it alone. There are even servers dedicated to just one style of play, whether that be Competitive, Cooperative, or my personal favorite, Jailbreak. Of course, there's gonna be some pretty salty people on there that take the game way too freaking seriously, but, unfortunately, that's the way it is with pretty much every game with multiplayer.

Multiplayer

There are many, many, maaaany different ways to play Multiplayer Minecraft. The most obvious one is to play Co-op, with everyone working together in a regular world with the end goal of defeating the Ender Dragon. That's cool and all, but there are many more ways to play. For example, Creative servers. They were my stomping grounds for the longest time. You get yourself a reasonable sized plot of land that you can do whatever the heck you wanna do with. Wanna build a roller-coaster? Yep. A hotel as tall as the server lets you? Of course. A deep dark cave? Well, it has to be above ground since you can only go three blocks down, but sure! Also notable is Survival Games, a game type based on the Hunger Games book series. In it, a group of players (about 15-30) start out in a big circle. In the center of the circle, there's multiple chests. Players rush up, grab what they can out of the chests, then spread out across the map. When only two players remain, a 'deathmatch' starts. In it, the two players are confined to a small area of the map and forced to fight to the death in order to determine the winner.

Nostalgia

Oh, man. You have no idea how much time I spent on Minecraft. At one point, I was averaging an hour per day, everyday. Sure, playing alone was good for me, but I liked to go on big servers and play all the intricate game modes. I didn't meet any new friends, but I sure had a good time. Eventually, I forgot my password (because I had "Remember Me" on) and I couldn't play anymore. But, the memories are still there, right?

Final Word

Minecraft is a charming game with an… interesting history on the internet, to say the least. However, what it does, it does right. And I only scratched the surface here.

Closing

That does it for issue #2 of John's Semi-Professional Opinions! Make sure to look out for next issue, covering Mario Sports Superstars, as requested by @LeftyGreenMario! Until then, stay frosty, everyone!​

 

[Jackie Frost]

Yes absolutely.

Top Ten Lists at TheTopTens.com

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www.thetoptens.com

I know that list is based off my personal opinion only but even putting my own enjoyment to an aside, there's no doubt that Minecraft is an incredibly powerful and remarkable game which has extremely versatile ways to play, and can be used to build amazing things and to help educate children and solve problems in real life.

In terms of the "objective critique" this is probably the greatest game I have ever played, though I personally love some of the Mario RPGs more devoutly, and gets a solid 100% from me.

 

[Ten]

too bad minecraft's controls broke my 3ds c pad ;-;

otherwise i love it too.

 

[Jackie Frost]

too bad minecraft's controls broke my 3ds c pad ;-;

otherwise i love it too.

If you have a spare 20 bucks I recommend you just get the Java version of PC, as this gives you access to both Java and bedrock editions of MC (by far the most desirable two.) And it's not limited to one console so you can enjoy hardware upgrades indefinitely as well as being able to switch between portable laptop screen and big tv screen.

 

[Cocoa]

Well, after a bit of a forced hiatus, I'm back with another edition of John's Semi-Professional Opinions! This time, as requested by LeftyGreenMario (@Princess Mario), I'm giving my Semi-Professional Opinion on Mario Sports Superstars!

Soccer/Football
I'll tell you something right now: I'm not really big on real life sports. That's why I must be so bad at soccer. That, or I'm an idiot. Probably both. Either way, I haven't made it past my first game of soccer. I keep hitting the ball out of bounds expecting to hit it into a wall like in Mario Strikers Charged. See, I'm so used to Mario Strikers Charged, that I'm so impaired at regular soccer. Seeing as I haven't fully played the soccer mode, I can't really give a clear opinion on it.

Baseball
Now we get into something I can give an opinion on: Baseball. I was more prepared for this, since it was pretty close to Mario Super Sluggers. Well, as close as it could be, since motion controls were out of the picture on this game. The lack of motion controls got to me at first, but once I got used to how they reworked it, I was hitting home runs in no time. In particular, I like how they made lemonade out of lemons and made more types of pitches available. Instead of a regular, charge, and star pitch, there are many, many types of pitches used in major league ball, and of course, the star pitch returns. Overall, for what they could do with it, they did good.

Golf
Here's where it all started coming naturally to me. Having already played Mario Golf: World Tour (and having all the DLC for it), this was really easy for me to get a grip on. Unfortunately, I can't see all the coins come out of the ball when Gold Mario hits it (as he isn't in the game), but playing as good ol' Mario is actually really refreshing to me. Sometimes, it's nice to play as Mario for a while and get a break from Luigi. Luigi's great and all, but Mario's pretty good too. Anyway, back on topic, what they basically did was take what they already had worked on for World Tour and brought it over to this game. Sure, they could've done something completely new, but from a development standpoint, it's way easier to copy/paste existing work than to make something entirely from scratch.

Tennis
Here's something that also came naturally. Already having played Mario Tennis Open, I knew exactly what to expect, and, well, I expected correctly. It was almost like I was actually playing Mario Tennis Open. Besides that, there's not much else I can say without repeating what I said for golf.

Horse Racing
Now here's something that nobody was expecting. Horse Racing. I could make a Back to the Future joke about betting on sporting events, but whatever. Now, Horse Racing in itself could be its own game. I mean, not only does it have the racing, it also has a little simulator where you can feed and brush your horse. You can even take it out for a walk. And while on a walk, you can go to a race course to practice! Amazing stuff, really. I nearly forgot about the other parts of this game because I was too busy trying to figure out what my horse's favorite food was.

Overall Final Word
This game can satisfy fans of Mario's sports incursions (with the exception of Mario Strikers). However, the only thing missing is the multiplayer. I tried to play online just days after release and nobody, and I mean nobody was online to play with me. That sucks, sure, but there's a lot of single player modes, especially with Horse Racing, to keep you satisfied.

Closing
That's all for issue #3 of John's Semi-Professional Opinions! Keep an eye out for the next issue, where I'll have a look at the original Super Smash Brothers! Until then, stay frosty, everyone!​

 

[Vivian]

Hiya! just here to say, I love your writing style. And your first review was fine, you explained why your ratings are the way they are, it's nice to see something different from the norm once in a while.

 

[Ray Trace]

The tennis game actually plays very differently than Mario Tennis Open's. It's much faster paced: I say it's closer to Ultra Smash than it is to Tennis Open due to the Jump Shots and characters having better lateral reach than they do.

 

[Wintertime Peach]

I didn't really like this game very much and I got bored of it quickly. For me the only good thing about this game is that Pinkgold Peach returned, because I really did not want Mario Kart 8 to be her only appearance.

Remember how BLOF reacted when she saw Baby Luigi riding a horse (I think her sister said that she was hyperventilating)? Well, I probably reacted the same way when I found out that PGP was the final unlockable character. Actually, I was very pissed off at first because I only knew that Metal Mario was an unlockable character, and I really do not like this character. But when I found out that PGP was the other unlockable character, my anger immediately went away and I was so happy. ^_^

And yet, despite not liking this game very much, I still spent a lot of money to get all 90 amiibo cards. Not sure if it was worth it. :/

 

[Ray Trace]

I own only Baseball and Soccer Baby Luigi. Didn't get the horse racing one. Tennis and Golf reused artwork and...just bleh.

 

[Wintertime Peach]

I think the main reason why I ended up disliking this game is because I was very disappointed with the multiplayer. Before this game came out, I was really looking forward to playing this with my cousin because I thought that you would be able to team up in most sports. Well, you actually can't team up in most of the sports. Let's see:

You can't team up with the other player in Soccer, and I know that you and LGM were unhappy about this because you both wanted to be on the same team.

Baseball was the one sport that I was really looking forward to playing because I thought that 2 players could be on the same team. Well it turns out that if there are 2 people playing, they have to be on opposing teams. Remember how Mario Super Sluggers let 4 players all be on the same team? I wish that was possible in this game.

Also, they removed some things that I liked from Super Sluggers such as error items and player chemistry (I just liked knowing which characters get along and which ones don't like each other, even though some of the chemistry didn't make sense. Like, why do Peach and Birdo have bad chemistry with each other? And why does Birdo have bad chemistry with Tiny Kong?).

Tennis lets you team up with the other player, but that's just one out of five sports.

Golf is just one-on-one against the other player, without any computer players, and that's very boring. I really miss Doubles Play from Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

Horse Racing doesn't let you team up, but I wasn't expecting you to be able to team up in this sport. But if I wanted to play a racing game, I could just play Mario Kart 7...

 

[Cocoa]

Here's a Sprite Sheet of my Avatar/Self-Insert. Short Sleeved version is coming soon.

 

[Cocoa]

Wait hold up this isn't my sprite corner

 

[Ray Trace]

You should start with recolors, and then eventually give him a unique outfit.

 

[Ray Trace]

Still working on that wiki? I am strongly considering just vandalizing it by writing articles on my characters.

 

[Cocoa]

By all means

 

[Ray Trace]

I've done it.

 

[Cocoa]