Overall 3.3 Graphics 3.3 Sound 2.3 Addictive 3.2 Story 1.5 Depth 2 Difficulty 7.9
1
Not so super NovemberJoy
So, once SMB was released, it almost single-handedly revived the American gaming industry, and the game itself is still regarded as a classic even today. Wouldn't you want to be like Nintendo at this time? Sitting pretty with a new franchise and a newly revived market for your gaming system?
Well, Zemina decided to make a Mario clone for a South Korean MSX knockoff, though it works on a regular MSX as well. Given that this game is from South Korea, I shouldn't get my hopes up too high, but let's just see how this game stacks up.
Graphics:Mediocre at best...The MSX has its limitations, but this is just barely mediocre even by the system's standards. Objects are missing details from the NES version, basically all objects either have two colors or are monochrome, and it just doesn't look especially good for an MSX game. The best part about the game is the scrolling, which is fast and smooth, unlike some other MSX games.
+Good scrolling
-Little detail
-Objects are either two-colored or monochrome
Music/Sound:Better than one might expectWhile the music and sound isn't bad, it's watered down a lot for the MSX's standards. The music is taken from the original, but it's missing a song or two, and one of the songs has been very badly remixed. The sound isn't much better, and almost none of it is from SMB.
+At least the music is somewhat decent...
-but it's stolen.
-Sound effects aren't exactly excellent
Gameplay:They somehow managed to screw up SMBWhile this game is basically the MSX version of SMB, it has many more problems. Let's see exactly what these problems are...
For one thing, the controls are way beyond just being slippery, to the point where you'll probably end up running off ledges accidentally if you try to run in most levels. Jumping is almost completely uncontrollable, and Mari-I mean, Super Boy runs extremely fast, and slides a LOT when stopping. This makes it a lot more difficult to platform and such than it should be.
For whatever reason, the hit detection is horrendously off, to the point where you can easily die from touching something harmful, even when there's an obvious gap between you and said harmful object. Example:I try to run under Bowser, and when he's about a foot above me, I die for no reason at all.
Another notable problem is the fact that items are randomized - and the chance of actually getting something useful is hopelessly low. About 80% of the time you just get coins. Also, all invisible blocks are gone, and, well, actually, all blocks at all that aren't question-mark blocks no longer produce items at all. This means that there's a massive shortage of items, which makes the game even harder for the wrong reasons, mainly due to the fact that it's completely luck-based, and unless you're lucky enough to bankrupt a casino, you probably won't get the items you need when you need them. One run through the game, I get multiple mushrooms, and on the next run, I get no powerups at all.
The game is quite glitchy, and glitches are easy to perform. The most notorious one - the Double Jump glitch. Just jump on an enemy, press the jump key(which is assigned to the Ctrl key, for some odd reason), and watch Super Boy soar up into the air again, without even having to touch solid ground again. Ah, glitchy Korean bootlegs.
Do you know what the biggest kicker is? All the missing content from the NES version! Floating platforms of every kind except the "drop quickly when you stand on them" are omitted, making the platforming even more of a chore, parts of levels seem to be cut out, some of the levels are poorly suited for Super Boy's game engine, and some of the levels had to be
completely redone so that they would actually be possible to complete. You'd think that'd be their first clue as to not port the game over to the MSX...
Then, the worst bits of missing content - to my knowledge, the warps are gone, along with all of the underwater levels, and then the absolute worst part...*drumroll*
HALF OF THE LEVELS ARE MISSING. No, I'm not kidding, worlds 5 through 8 are gone, never to be seen in Super Boy. I guess their budget ran out after programming worlds 1 through 4. Seriously, I didn't think it was possible to fail this hard at backwards-porting a game. I've seen Chinese bootlegs with more faithfulness to the original!
Oh, and the ending? You beat world 4-4, and then you go to where the princess should logically be, and you find...nothing? The game gives you the text "END", and sends you back to world 1-1. I've seen Atari games with more satisfying endings than that!
Overall, Super Boy isn't anywhere near being good, and it still confuses me exactly how this game got multiple sequels. After Super Boy II, you'd think that people would wise up and stop buying Super Boy games...or, better yet, stop buying games from Zemina at all. I think they kinda need to find a new line of work, if they programmed this.
-Really glitchy
-Randomized items
-Extremely poor controls
-Ridiculous amounts of missing content
-Terrible ending
-Ridiculous hit detection
Overall Score:F - It has some "So Bad It's Good" qualities, but they are overwhelmed by the flaws and such.
Wait...I think it's time for a skit! Of course, "professional" reviews need skits, right? Right??
(Nov) So, who would want to play this? It's so terrible...
Suddenly, Mario busts down the door and runs in.
(Mario) It's-a-me, Mario!
(Nov) It's Mario! In my own home! I never thought I'd see this day!
(Mario) I think-a I have something to-a discuss with you.
(Nov) ...like what?
(Mario) You were just-a playing Super-a Boy. That unlicensed-a clone of my game?
(Nov) Yeah, and?
(Mario) Why are you-a playing it? Why not play-a my game?
(Nov) I'm a reviewer, I have to play bad games and review them, and this game is a prime target.
(Mario) But you are-a drawing attention to-a this game!
Then, Super Boy walks right through the open door.
(Super Boy) What? What is this ripoff of me?
(Mario) No, YOU'RE-A the ripoff!
And then they began to fight with each other. SKIT END
As you can see, I have fulfilled my randomness and skit quotas in one bound. Nice, isn't it?
So, that's another review under my belt...I think you can guess what I'll review next.
Graphics 6 Sound 5 Addictive 1 Depth 1 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 07-28-12
Updated: 07-28-12
Review Replies: 8
2
"Sorry Nothing" - A Super Boy Review liquidmk
It's not every day that you get to play a game called Super Boy. Here is a game that is clearly the NES classic, Super Mario Bros.. But for the MSX.. And plays like utter nonsense. As one expects, I will be reflecting Super Boy to Super Mario Bros.. But at the same time, I'll try to look at Super Boy as a standalone game.
Graphics:
If this doesn't look like Super Mario Bros, then call me a monkey's uncle. It's REALLY obvious that they borrowed graphics from Super Mario Bros.. Isn't that creative? As for a MSX standpoint, this game runs like trash straight from a dumpster. I haven't seen or played much MSX games, but I can say.. This game runs like garbage. It gets a 1, no questions asked.
Sound:
Thankfully, the music and sounds are listenable.. But that's all it's going for it. To Zemina's credit [Zemina is the company who "made" this game], they have made the music almost similar to the original Super Mario Bros.. But that's all it is, similar. It just comes off as a ripoff like the graphics it clearly borrowed. It gets a 2, but only for trying.
Addictiveness:
Games are addictive. There are many reasons why each game is addictive in its own way. Super Mario Bros is addictive because of platforming, stomping on Goombas, and if you're REALLY good, warping. In Super Boy's case, the platforming is pathetic. It feels like you're jumping on the moon with a pogo stick and the jerky movement of the terrain REALLY does not help this game's replayability and comes off as an unplayable mess... It clearly is.
Story:
From what I can gather, you play as Super Boy. A boy with no name, but has a mustache. The boy can eat mushrooms. Like a certain.. Other person you may know. The boy goes to many different castles and is greeted with a message.. "Sorry nothing." What will the boy find next? Heck if I know, I didn't get that far. Whatever is at the end is anybody's guess.
Just because the story is so dang genius, I'll give it a 3. At least he's not called Mario.
Depth:
It's not a matter of depth, but a matter of endurance. If you can get past the amount of "depth" that this game has with the screen lagging, then there's plenty of depth to cover! I give the depth a 2, because every puddle needs some depth.
Difficulty:
I really don't know about the difficulty. The gameplay is easy enough to understand, but the flaws with how the game works is enough to make this a "difficult" game by the wrong means. The difficulty gets a 7, because.. Well.. Zemina can't code.
Overall:
Super Boy is not a game that I would recommend to the general public. It's clearly a game that Zemina made to get an extra buck and leeching off of the fame of the original Super Mario Bros.. But seeing as how SMB was released four years ago, I'm guessing that Zemina gave the old "better late than never" strategy when it came to making it..
After Super Boy, Zemina went on to make other games. Such as.. Super Boy 3. Wait, what? I suppose once is not enough for them, let's make another.
In a nutshell, Super Boy is an awful game ripping assets from Super Mario Bros.
Not recommended.
Graphics 1 Sound 2 Addictive 1 Story 3 Depth 2 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 12-20-12
Review Replies: 1
1.9
Awful Mario Clone CrazyHecticLife
This is so bad. the graphics are so terrible and so is the sound. They both are just sooo TERRIBLE! There is literally no story. The only difficulty in the game comes from two things. The first thing is just because I want to stop playing so I murder myself. Second, the screen moves slowly and awkwardly. Mario, I mean "Super Boy" jumps and moves SO slowly. He seems like he has no gravity too. He jumps and stays in there air for a while and starts slowly floating down. Sometimes, if you fall off a cliff, you just stand there, stuck in a hole not having any way to get out unless you just turn off the game. Which is exactly what I did. I probably won't ever turn it back on.
Graphics 3 Sound 4 Addictive 3 Depth 2 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 03-08-14
Review Replies: 1
1
It's bad Seasaur888
This is probably the worst game I've played so far. It is a shameless copy and paste job and is obviously a way for Microsoft to sap all the money they can from Mario's success. The graphics are horrible and they literally hurt my eyes because of the brightness. The animations are really choppy especially on Super Boy(Mario). Jumping is very weird to do, as you jump the camera tries its best to follow you but it only makes it more sickening to look at. Like Mario the story is almost non-existent and by the end literally nothing happens. I could only play the first level before shutting it off because I had such a huge headache. Just don't play it, it's not a good experience. .
Graphics 1 Sound 1 Addictive 1 Story 1 Depth 1 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 12-10-12
Review Replies: 2
2.2
The failure of Zemina Co. supersonicracin..
So,When Super Mario Bros. On the NES was released,The whole gaming indenstry CHANGED.But I Bet Microsoft Was Mad AS HECK!So,They made this HORRIBLE CLONE OF SMB,And they named it,SUPER BOY.
Graphics,3;
I'm not being THAT mean,but the graphics Look like barf.I mean really,THE COLORS SOMEWHAT LOOK LIKE BROWN.
Sound,1:
Ugh,NOT ANOTHER HORRIBLE GAME WITH HORRIBLE SOUND!And Tell me,THE JUMPING SOUNDS EXTREMELY WEIRD!(Even in SMB its sounds weird,but its still better!)
Addictiveness,1:
Ugh,Don't get me started on this,I have nothing to say BUT THIS ISN'T 1% ADDICTIVE!
*I'm skipping story,its the same As Super mario bros,the princess has been kidnapped by bowser and its your job to save her."
Depth,1:
Still,Don't get me started on this,It has no depth AT ALL.
Difficulty,8:
Jesus,The Original SMB Was hard,BUT THIS IS HARDER THEN SILVER SURFER!Every time you die,YOU START FROM THE BEGINING OF THE DARN LEVEL!That's Bad Programming right there,Yup,I'm NOT Lieing,YOU DIE,YOU START FROM THE BEGINING OF THE LEVEL,NO CHECKPOINTS FOR YOU!
To Sum it all up,I give this a whooping 2.2,This is a more horrible clone of SMB,Thanks Zemina Co. For Wasting time of my life playing this junk.
Oh wait,There's a sequel?WHAT?!?!?!?Watch me rage reviewing that game.
Graphics 3 Sound 1 Addictive 1 Depth 1 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 10-22-12
Updated: 11-18-12
Review Replies: 0
8.9
An underrated game misterblox2
This game is awesome for all of the WRONG reasons. First of all, Mario becomes PINK JAMMIES MARIO! Pink Jammies Mario has the power of what I call the "Floaty Jump", which means he goes up, then floats up a little more after stopping. He can also do a faux "Double Jump": after jumping on an enemy, jump again to go even more ridiculously high. For these reasons, I declare the game "So Bad It's Good", and a treat for just a little while. Mario controls about as well as a really mad horse on ice skates in an oil slick and covered in grease and laminated, which makes this game FAR more challenging than the original Super Mario Bros. I personally think it's a horribly done port: the first levels are identical to the original, except for, I believe, the first castle. Enemies look basically the same, but when walking off a ledge, they go down diagonally THROUGH THE EDGE OF THE LEDGE and continue in that straight line. After hitting another wall, they reverse trajectory, making for a... memorable scene in 1-2. Mushrooms also do this, and, on the subject of power-ups, instead of having them appear in fixed places, there's a random(and low) chance that a mushroom or fire flower will pop out instead of you getting extra points. There's no extra lives in this game THAT I KNOW OF, which adds to the "challenge".
In short, this game is amazingly bad.
Graphics 6 Sound 1 Addictive 10 Depth 1 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 1/5
Submitted: 07-09-12
Review Replies: 0
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