Melancholia IV
Release date: Sep 07, 2013
Author: FullOfFail
Download: Version 2.0 [UH] (1970 downloads)
Genre: Quick Play [?]
Game: SM
Difficulty: Beginner [?]
Average runtime: 0:46
Average collection: 81%
Read Me: Read Me
Forum Thread: Forum Thread
Rating: Star Star Star Star Star
Awards:
  • T.H.E. Contest
Description
This hack is very casual. No advanced skills are required. Might be a good recommendation for newer players.

I used default tilesets in this, with varying results. Some rooms are inspired by the original, others have my own twist on them. I changed the mechanics slightly, but in ways I felt enhanced game-play, but wouldn't dramatically alter it in ways that would change the default experience. It starts off slow, but after a few upgrades the hack really starts to open up.

I made this in a month, so it's far from perfect, but I'm satisfied with the result. I'm also proud to announce that it won the contest. For the best experience, play alone in the dark. There's a few things in it that are... unexpected.

It's 20 rooms, and this hack is 100% completable.


Screenshots
Screenshot Screenshot
Ratings and Reviews
By MetroidMst on Apr 01, 2015 (Star Star Star Star Star )
71% in 0:31
This hack is fun and easy, but too short. (Thanks to the contest it was made for, allowing only 20 rooms total.) There are a lot of items to collect in the small area, some nifty little secrets, and it looks pretty good. Definitely can be a fun little playthrough for a little bit.
By Vismund Cygnus on Apr 20, 2015 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
By personitis on Sep 24, 2015 (Star Star Star Star Star )
49% in 0:53
Pretty appealing and a good time passer. If you enjoy collecting items and wondering around with little distractions, I would recommend giving this a play.
By Aran;Jaeger on Dec 08, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
100% in 0:33
[Watch Video]  
No animals to be saved.

Quick Summary of the meaning of my SM hack ratings:
5 orbs: SM hacks within the 80% to 100% (90% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; SM hacks for outstanding wholesome playing experiences and at most minor inconveniences.
4 orbs: SM hacks within the 60% to 80% (70% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Well done SM hacks with noticeable design problems.
3 orbs: SM hacks within the 40% to 60% (50% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Normal decent average SM hacks.
2 orbs: SM hacks within the 20% to 40% (30% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Overall messy, confusing, or punishing SM hacks with some upsides.
1 orb : SM hacks within the 00% to 20% (10% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Ruthlessly unplayable, broken, or barely from the original game changed SM hacks.

Judgement parameters summary:
° Creative ideas and features, polished design, how enjoyable and fun the hack can be, lack of hard to find or cryptic required game elements, the difficulty, and if the hack can be finished without major guides or tools.
° Note that the length of a SM hack will not necessarily contribute to my rating of the SM hack, since instead the averaged out experience over the whole hack will be taken into account to get a relative comparison between SM hacks.
° Besides this, lack of impactful changes from the original SM game also went into the evaluation of SM hacks (otherwise one may consider them among the 3 stars hacks) as follows: Ultimately, for my ratings I consider a situation in which an SM enthusiast that already has, knows about and is familiar with the original game and its prominent mechanics could only choose 1 new SM hack to play and thus would really want to make sure he/she will get a fresh and fantastic experience or journey out of his/her 1 choice.

The goal of all these SM hack ratings is so that rather new players have an overview of the whole spectrum of SM hacks and how to sort them in, in relation to each other, where SM hacks that are rated lower might still be enjoyable for more experienced players.

Finally, sometimes for SM hacks it can be relevant that they may be significantly more enjoyable from a player standpoint at which the player is well practiced and familiarized with Super Metroid's game mechanics in general, and that in particular some of the best SM hacks may not be the outright best first SM hack choices to play otherwise because of this, and for beginner SM hack players this typically steers the best first SM hack choices towards some of the SM hacks that I rated with 4 orbs instead of 5.

Rating for some hacks may be off by 1 Star, but arguably not more, and ratings are not attempted to be provided within the precision of ''half orbs''.
By Pixel_Tiger on Jul 24, 2017 (Star Star Star Star Star )
95% in 0:02
Very interesting, short and fun hack! I can recommend it. It doesn't need any fancy tricks. Note that this hack has no save stations but getting through this hack should be easy without using any savestates!
By Sapphron on May 18, 2021 (Star Star Star Star Star )
86% in 1:03
I had to check myself, this hack truly is 20 rooms.
Really fun to play. Liked the dark aesthetic, a lot of good room design piggybacking on that low room count, and many hidden items. Final section's a bit confusing, but everything else is good.
Finished.
Recommend.
By Zincoshine on Jul 14, 2022 (Star Star Star Star Star )
65% in 1:26
I approach every mod I review as if it were its own game and judge them accordingly, ignoring any similarities to super Metroid (for obvious reasons). The idea is to analyze the mod from the perspective of someone who bought it as a game on Steam. With this disclaimer out of the way, here's the review:

Oh man, this came so close to getting a recommendation. Until the end it was a very enjoyable metroidvania albeit lacking in savepoints. The difficulty was very low except for sudden very small spikes. Unfortunately the mod fails the landing with terrible unintuitive level design in the last section. In fact that section can itself only be accessed via a secret passage and that in itself is a bad design decision. It looks like the mod's current problems exist because the creator didn't bother to update it after submitting it for a competition and hence it is in a rushed state.
By RX-78-2 on May 19, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
100% in 0:57
amazing hack, 10/10 would recommend :)

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