Released in 2008, this Super Mario Brothers 1 hack was created as a “response to the various video game hacks such as Super Mario Frustration” according to its creator DanteRules of TANE Productions. Does Super Mario Brothers - Ninja Insanity have what it takes to contend with Frustration and similar hacks?
The graphics for SMB1 were iconic and I consider them to be a 10 and because this new version does not take away anything from those graphics it loses no points. With any creation such as this there is also the opportunity to offer new graphical content and Ninja Insanity does have some limited additions. The mushrooms, the goombas, the hammer brothers, toad and many more all get noticeable modifications by TANE. These changes fit with the far east theme. I was slightly disappointed that Mario was not clothed in black because with all of the other changes that occurred, this one seemed almost mandatory. Also, there are no noticeable changes to the background or other world elements. I’m tempted to deduct a point from the graphics score for my disappointment in Mario’s attire but it’s obvious that the hacker put a lot of effort into the changes that were made so I’m leaving the graphics at 10.
Almost anyone that has ever played the original game can hum its music from memory and the sounds were memorable as well, which makes that game a perfect example of a 10. SMB-NI loses one point for missing the opportunity to make any changes to those original sounds and music. Admittedly , I don’t know much about hacking ROMs but I am certain that these changes are possible. I would have loved to hear some music with a Japanese influence and similarly any martial arts sounds. 9 is my final score for sound.
Super Mario Bros. 1 is, to this day, the most addicting game I have ever played and ranks as a 10 for me. When I think about what the reasons are for that high of a rating, I come up with replayability, perfecting my skills, making steady progress and thinking I have a chance of beating it. The difficulty of this creation kills the replay ability so I’m deducting 2.5 points and steady progress doesn’t occur which kills another 2.5 points. Perfection of my skills and thinking I had a chance to see the ending were both present while I was playing. Taking these factors into account, this game earns a 5 from me in the addiction category.
I’m not sure that there is a game player alive that doesn’t know that Mario is supposed to save the princess. That’s not much of a story but it has worked for this platform in a way that helped SMB to achieve a legendary game status and it deserves a 10. DanteRules has thrown the “our princess is in another castle” element out of the game and replaced it with “prove your awesomeness”. Does it work? Considering the game is subtitled Ninja Insanity, it does work but not entirely. I have to deduct 1 point for abandoning heroism and another point for not mentioning ninjas, geishas or whatever. These subtractions bring my final rating for the story to a 8.
SMB-NI is a creation that has taken a beloved platformer and transformed it into a platforming puzzle and that is a good thing. There were many parts of the game where I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out the timing and techniques that were required to advance. Every world was a new mind boggling incarnation of familiar building blocks. There were new secret vines to climb on that led to new cloud levels with enemies in them. The creativity of TANE Productions has caused me to award the depth a solid 10.
With the word “Insanity” in it’s title, I was expecting difficult and I was not disappointed. There are places in the game where my timing had to be perfect and other times I just had to get lucky. The creator has seen fit to start Mario with crown/sky lives which I think is 99. In my opinion, Mario will need all 99 lives plus access to save states if there is any hope of achieving awesomeness at the end of 8-5. Yes, there are 5 levels in each world and no, I have not seen the ending. The reason for not seeing the ending is due to my frustration with the difficulty. It takes so long to figure out an areas puzzle, be lucky or fast enough, and time the save states precisely that I put the game away for a while. If I could rate this game as an 11 in difficulty, I would. I suppose a 10 will have to be sufficient.
My overall rating comes out to an 8.7 and I am confident that any fan of the original game or the frustration style hacks will probably enjoy this game. It’s creative and offers new elements to the story, technique, and graphics. As for me, I have to stop playing this game for a while before I go mad but I know the day will come when I prove my awesomeness in Super Mario Bros. - Ninja Insanity.
Released in 2008, this Super Mario Brothers 1 hack was created as a “response to the various video game hacks such as Super Mario Frustration” according to its creator DanteRules of TANE Productions. Does Super Mario Brothers - Ninja Insanity have what it takes to contend with Frustration and similar hacks?
The graphics for SMB1 were iconic and I consider them to be a 10 and because this new version does not take away anything from those graphics it loses no points. With any creation such as this there is also the opportunity to offer new graphical content and Ninja Insanity does have some limited additions. The mushrooms, the goombas, the hammer brothers, toad and many more all get noticeable modifications by TANE. These changes fit with the far east theme. I was slightly disappointed that Mario was not clothed in black because with all of the other changes that occurred, this one seemed almost mandatory. Also, there are no noticeable changes to the background or other world elements. I’m tempted to deduct a point from the graphics score for my disappointment in Mario’s attire but it’s obvious that the hacker put a lot of effort into the changes that were made so I’m leaving the graphics at 10.
Almost anyone that has ever played the original game can hum its music from memory and the sounds were memorable as well, which makes that game a perfect example of a 10. SMB-NI loses one point for missing the opportunity to make any changes to those original sounds and music. Admittedly , I don’t know much about hacking ROMs but I am certain that these changes are possible. I would have loved to hear some music with a Japanese influence and similarly any martial arts sounds. 9 is my final score for sound.
Super Mario Bros. 1 is, to this day, the most addicting game I have ever played and ranks as a 10 for me. When I think about what the reasons are for that high of a rating, I come up with replayability, perfecting my skills, making steady progress and thinking I have a chance of beating it. The difficulty of this creation kills the replay ability so I’m deducting 2.5 points and steady progress doesn’t occur which kills another 2.5 points. Perfection of my skills and thinking I had a chance to see the ending were both present while I was playing. Taking these factors into account, this game earns a 5 from me in the addiction category.
I’m not sure that there is a game player alive that doesn’t know that Mario is supposed to save the princess. That’s not much of a story but it has worked for this platform in a way that helped SMB to achieve a legendary game status and it deserves a 10. DanteRules has thrown the “our princess is in another castle” element out of the game and replaced it with “prove your awesomeness”. Does it work? Considering the game is subtitled Ninja Insanity, it does work but not entirely. I have to deduct 1 point for abandoning heroism and another point for not mentioning ninjas, geishas or whatever. These subtractions bring my final rating for the story to a 8.
SMB-NI is a creation that has taken a beloved platformer and transformed it into a platforming puzzle and that is a good thing. There were many parts of the game where I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out the timing and techniques that were required to advance. Every world was a new mind boggling incarnation of familiar building blocks. There were new secret vines to climb on that led to new cloud levels with enemies in them. The creativity of TANE Productions has caused me to award the depth a solid 10.
With the word “Insanity” in it’s title, I was expecting difficult and I was not disappointed. There are places in the game where my timing had to be perfect and other times I just had to get lucky. The creator has seen fit to start Mario with crown/sky lives which I think is 99. In my opinion, Mario will need all 99 lives plus access to save states if there is any hope of achieving awesomeness at the end of 8-5. Yes, there are 5 levels in each world and no, I have not seen the ending. The reason for not seeing the ending is due to my frustration with the difficulty. It takes so long to figure out an areas puzzle, be lucky or fast enough, and time the save states precisely that I put the game away for a while. If I could rate this game as an 11 in difficulty, I would. I suppose a 10 will have to be sufficient.
My overall rating comes out to an 8.7 and I am confident that any fan of the original game or the frustration style hacks will probably enjoy this game. It’s creative and offers new elements to the story, technique, and graphics. As for me, I have to stop playing this game for a while before I go mad but I know the day will come when I prove my awesomeness in Super Mario Bros. - Ninja Insanity.
|