Levels

Sunset Heights

This is actually the first Level from The Neocosmos to be shown to the public. This level is a beta version of a late level from the episode.

Published February 14th, 2019 // Requires SMBX-38A 1.4.4

Sunset Heights

Dark Bowser’s Dungeon of Despair

This level was originally created for the SMBX All-Stars Level Contest. The level got thirty-second place with an average score of 39/100.

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PixelPest (20 | 6 | 12) – 38/100:
This was an interesting level that was a bit enjoyable overall, but not very exciting. There were some good enemy set-ups, like the second thwomp in the first section, but in a lot of cases there was way too much enemy variety that it just felt a little cluttered and unfocused, and losing these good set-ups in exchange for more random set-ups of just varied enemies that often never appeared later in the level. The beginning of the second castle section is a major difficulty spike from the first in which the player immediately upon entering encounters a boo, two Bowser statues shooting fireballs, a goomba, and a paragoomba in a relatively small space, which was a little excessive. The random miniboss fights also just didn’t seem to add to the level and a lot of it in general seemed like filler, just to take more time (such as the piranhacus giganticus obstacle). A major issue this level had is conveying certain things to the player, such as the banzai bill in the first castle section and the vertical section with the quickly-rising lava which really surprises the player after they just grab the checkpoint. Both of these obstacles give the player very little time to react and I just barely missed a hit from the banzai bill, probably for no reason other that I was spinjumping and could duck and get to the ground faster. The player should be provided some kind of indication as to these types of obstacles existing so that they don’t take an unfair hit. Aesthetically, this level had background appearance but seemed to be a little too cluttered in the midground with all of the enemies, which sometimes took away from the level. A lot of the decorations (BGOs) were also very dark so at times the level seemed a bit bland and lacking when there weren’t very many enemies in an area. I liked the music choice in the very first section, but didn’t really find the music fitting for the castle sections; something more ominous would have worked quite better. In the end this felt like a pretty basic castle level that had a lot of filler and very few creative ideas.

Spinda (20 | 5 | 9) – 34/100:
This feels a lot like the designer just throwing a bunch of enemies at the wall and seeing what sticks. Most of this level is just avoiding all kinds of enemies, neither of which ever lead to any consistent progression. There’s a part where you have to use throw blocks against giant piranha plant but that’s just… never brought up again afterwards. The vertical section was probably the best one due to how it manages to be different from the rest, but be aware that red exclamation points are not a great way to telegraph danger because they feel unnatural. I recommend placing the Thwomps lower so these are not needed.
The boss felt like it was very much just there for the sake of having a boss, and wasn’t really all that engaging. Using throw blocks to combat SMB3 Bowser takes way too long and, as with most SMB3 Bowser fights where you have to hit him a bunch, it just gets repetitive.
While the graphics were mostly consistent, it was going too far in that regard: Everything just kind of blends together and some enemies don’t really stand out against the background, because everything has similar cholor schemes.

bossedit8 (23 | 12 | 10) – 45/100
Bowser never gets old with his castles even though this one does sure look very old huh? Eitherway, entering Dark Bowser’s Dungeon with a Banzai Bill right in front of my face after the first pit of the level… this was not a good start for Mario and the near impossible 1 player Luigi. The reason why I mention the near impossible Luigi is because you can’t really hit the Luigi Player Block at all when you are anyone else other than Luigi himself which makes it even less sense to be builded up like that. Make sure any characters are available to hit the player blocks so they can switch it during the level rather than outside of the level if you actually designed it this way. Anyway, moving on to these obstacles on this level. They’re on the most part alright as of how they’ve been set it up with but other times it can be a bit too much like a couple Bowser statues next to eachother like that and later on some other NPCs such as Venus Fire Traps with water that contains Bloopers and such is another thing… but well this is Dark Bowser’s Dungeon so it’s not supposed to be that easy. There are however some annoying aspects in level design such as tight spaces on some areas to go through and then once you reach the halfway point, if you hit those 2 questionmark blocks (either of them) a vine comes out but at the same exact time the lava rises with low time to react to it. Why not make it a switch for example? With a switch it would be way better rather than a triggered questionmark block with a vine inside it since if you hit those blocks first and then do anything else, there is a super high chance that the lava will hit you and die for the first time players. Anyway, onto the bosses in this level. Dark Birdo before the halfway point, not too hard at all. Basic Birdo, basic tactics, basic win. Then Dark Mouser before the main Boss of this level. Again, not that hard but since that the Mouser is placed in such a spot where it almost falls off of the cliff but really isn’t and also that the arena is quite tight for his bombs to throw it went into a more weird fight against Mouser like that. At last we have Dark Bowser with a lot of throwable blocks or “ice” blocks as of how they are supposed to be in SMB3. Problem with this fight is that the ceiling is too low which means that the SMB3 Bowser, once he hits the top blocks he immediadly goes down instead of jumping at a full halfway aimed ark, making it in general more challenging. After that the level ends with a SMB3 Star. Overall, a neat Dungeon level including couple flaws thrown about.

Published February 14th, 2019 // Requires SMBX 1.3 or higher

Dark Bowser’s Dungeon of Despair (Original)

Dark Bowser’s Dungeon of Despair (Update)

Bowser’s Castle

This level has been made for a collaboration project on discord that was cancelled due to a lack of submissions.

Published February 14th, 2019 // Requires SMBX2 Beta 3 or higher

Bowser’s Castle

Probably the worst level of all time…

Published July 26th, 2020 // Requires SMBX-38A 1.4.4

Probably the worst level of all time…

Magma Mountain Zone

This level is my submission to the Third SMBX38A Contest. It got third place with an average score of 6.25/10.

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Mario Kirby:
Design: 2/4
Aesthetics: 1.5/3
Creativity: 1.5/3
Overall: 5/10

The level is honestly not a terrible level, especially for a Captain Toad level (seriously those are hard as hell to do good) but there are some glaring issues that I do have some problems with. The part where you have to dig up sand near the Snifit requires some rather fast reflexes, the part with the lift can glitch you into an earlier part of the stage, and Ghost Mouser phase 2 is just too hard to hit with Captain Toad (between no jumping, making it hard to throw the bombs at him and it being really hard to catch the bombs, especially on what are essentially Donut Blocks). The stage looks great, and has a cool concept behind it, but those key issues are just a bit too much for me to overlook.

Greendan:
Design: 2/4 points
Aesthetics: 3/3 points
Creativity: 2.5/3 points
Overall: 7.5/10

This level had a very unique approach with the no-jump mechanic and it was well designed around that, even though I found myself dying a few times while trying to jump because I am so used to it. This level introduces you to the obstacles very well, while also teaching you the main mechanics. But one major issue I had with this level was the length. The challenges were so interesting, the level left me wanting more. This mechanic opens up so many doors of possibilities and ideas that it’s a shame it was so short.
One thing that this level nails though, are the visuals. I like the style very much and the amount of detail put into it makes it look stunning. Even though the boss battle was just one default smbx boss, the no-jump mechanic gave a different flair to it and made it fun. The second phase was even more original but it felt a bit too short and easy. Overall, this levels succeeds in being creative and fun, but it doesn’t last long enough.

Published January 4th, 2022 // Requires SMBX-38A 1.4.4

Magma Mountain Zone (Original)

Magma Mountain Zone (Update)

Villa Ultima

My main submission to the Nova Level Contest 2. The level got 12th place with an average of 77.75/100.

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Dawn:
Level Design: (30/50)
Creativity: (18/30)
Aesthetics: (16/20)
Overall: (64/100)

This level was a vanilla ghost house levels where there were different areas to explore throughout
it.
The best way to describe this level design is Old Tower of Biased Top 10 Levels but significantly
shorter.
Something that I do appreciate is that the author tried to make each section distinct in the level
and
Another thing that was neat was that the author tried to make the backtracking feel different or
short.
Graphically, it’s just a mostly vanilla aesthetic and the music choice complements the level well.

SetaYoshi:
Level Design: (45/50)
Creativity: (28.5/30)
Aesthetics: (18/20)
Overall: (91.5/100)

A very fun level. The level stays simple yet it never feels boring. I really like the presentation of
this level, Good Job!

Published January 4th, 2022 // Requires SMBX2 Beta 4

Villa Ultima

The Void

A joke submission to the Nova Level Contest 2. The level was not included in the contest, probably because it is too good.

Published January 4th, 2022 // Requires SMBX 1.3 or higher

The Void

Welcome to hell!

This was my first try at making a kaizo-esque level. Just playing it to take some screenshots made me realise again just how much I despise kaizo levels. Was I supposed to advertise my level? Well… if you like unnecessarily frustrating levels, I think I may have one for you.
I can not provide an unencrypted version of this level.

Published January 5th, 2022 // Requires SMBX-38A 1.4.4

Welcome to hell!