SMW Chaos CompleXX is a ROM hack of the popular Super Mario World game for the SNES. I discovered this hack from a YouTube gamer by the name of Pkgam back in the summer of 2015. I haven't played it all that much like I have some of the other hacks of Mario World like the Lost Adventure or the Reality Project. This is a short game when compared to the original with only 3 worlds. Chaos CompleXX turned out to be a pretty enjoyable game with some interesting design. The only downside was how it felt almost incomplete without as much content or story as SMW, but the gameplay and layout is all still there.
Graphics 5/10: Chaos CompleXX is very similar looking in quality to the original SMW. Although, a lot of the sprites don't fit with the backgrounds in many of the stages. This hack just looks like a jumbled up mess in certain stages. The person who made this hack looked like they tried to bring in backgrounds from Yoshi's Island and blend them in with sprites, characters, and other background objects from Super Mario World. I don't know, it's similar to SMW but not really? These sprites and backgrounds just don't look right. Much of it is brought in from Mario World, but the placement of these environments just don't work.
Music 9/10: I have to rate the music of Chaos CompleXX the same as I would in the original game. It's basically the same soundtrack as SMW. That game had a nice collection of songs with the exception of about one or two. CompleXX follows the same musical pattern from the original with the caveman theme. When Mario is riding Yoshi, the game starts playing bongo drums. I felt like both the hack and the original sounded better than Super Mario Bros. 3 on NES. The castle theme is also a good track, and that song was used a lot in the SMW cartoon. CompleXX has a great song selection to it, but there was still room for improvement.
Gameplay 9/10: Chaos CompleXX basically plays the same way as Super Mario World. It is a platforming game identical to SMW where Mario has to reach the goal before time runs out. He gets help from Yoshi and also can pick up items like: the Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Feather. There isn't as much of an item selection like in SMB3, but the overworld map does return. These maps are the same as they were in the original game too. When you sit down and start reviewing this hack, you start to realize there isn't that much originality to it. The levels themselves are unique, but the overworld maps aren't that creative.
When Mario enters a stage, it is very different in layout from SMW, and that is kind of interesting. Things really start to get this way towards the end of the game. This hack has some legitimate challenge to it. This is especially true for Larry's Castle and the final Castle also. Bowser's castle is a real puzzle, not to mention the level with the Bonzai Bills that make Mario disappear temporarily. He re-appears after they scroll off the screen on this auto-scrolling level with mountain platforms over lava. Some of these levels really took some thought.
There aren't that many levels in Chaos CompleXX, meaning there aren't but one or two secret exits. So, there isn't much exploration to this hack like there was in the original. I don't think this is just a rip-off of the original, and these levels are pretty fun to play. It does feel kind of short with only 3 areas to explore and play through. The final area does contain some real challenge that tests your skill but does get easier over time. I also liked how this hack wasn't all that hard either. I thought Chaos CompleXX was a pretty good game, but it wasn't as much fun as the original. However, I still enjoyed it quite a bit.
Story 7/10: The plot of Chaos CompleXX is the same as in SMW. Bowser has kidnapped the Princess in Dinosaur Land, and it is up to Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi to go save her. Only 3 of the Koopa kids return for this hack: Iggy, Morton, and Larry. The story of Super Mario World was a lot like the one in Super Mario Bros. 3, but this time, there is a lot less to it. I think it is a pretty good plot, and it is complete unlike in some of the SMB3 hacks. The only problem was how most of the characters from the original game were left out of it. It's an okay story, but there was a lot that was cut out.
Content 7/10: Chaos CompleXX only contains: Yoshi's Island, Donut Plains, and The Valley of Bowser. That's only 3 areas that add up to only a little less than an hour's worth of gametime. Players will invest some time in this hack but not all that much. There is little to no exploration to it either with hardly any secret exits. There is no Special World or Star World nor is there a Lost World like in the Lost Adventure hacks. I thought the original SMW was a lot more impressive, and it looks like whoever made this hack ran out of ideas by the time they got to Vanilla Dome and just decided to make that the Valley of Bowser.
Difficulty 7/10: This is one of those ROM hacks that start out easy but get hard pretty quick. However, I didn't find myself struggling with it all that much after I played through it a few times. It is harder than the original game, but it all feels like a reasonable challenge. The level with the Bonzai Bills took some getting used to. The final castle was also a challenge to figure out my first time playing it. Larry's Castle was also pretty hard with the ice physics and moving platforms. This is not an easy hack, but you still get plenty of lives, and it does get easier the more you play it.
Overall 7.4/10: Chaos CompleXX turned out to be a pretty decent game, but it is nowhere near as good as the original Super Mario World. There was a lot that got left out with the game's plot and content. The graphics didn't look all that great either with sprites and backgrounds that just didn't work out. The hack was fun to play but only to a certain extent because of everything that had been cut out. This isn't a hard game, but it just didn't have what the original Mario World game had. This is a short version of that game, but it is still pretty fun to play.
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| ID: 1374739 | 56 Words
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