ClaireDiviner's Ratings and Reviews
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Junkoid by P. Yoshi, Mindflower [M1 Exploration], rated by ClaireDiviner on Sep 10, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
% in 1:36
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Just like its successor, this hack has tons of visual creativity, including changing a couple of aspects upon entering a specific area. The difficulty is fair, and so too is the difficulty progression. There's a small secret in the game that can also be found, if you know how to go about reaching it (I won't say here, for spoiler reasons).

All in all, this is a solid hack that I highly recommend any NEStroid fan. You can tell this was but a taste of what would later become its sequel, Super Junkoid.
Super Junkoid by P. Yoshi [SM Exploration], rated by ClaireDiviner on Aug 25, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
100% in 3:03
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Easily the most creative hack I've played. Given other hacks that exist, this is saying an awful lot. From all the custom sprite work and assets, to the overall world, and power-ups/progression, this game hits all notes just about as perfectly as one could hope a Metroidvania, rom hack or not, would.

If there's only one nitpick I have, it's one particular attack that isn't very well telegraphed, making it very difficult to avoid, which also makes possible any% runs harder than anything (won't elaborate, because I dare not spoil a single thing). Outside of that, I thoroughly enjoyed this hack, and had the most fun with this since Subversion, and V I T A L I T Y before that, and Escape II before that.

I couldn't recommend this anymore than I already am. If macabre and dark/gory visuals isn't your thing, this MAY not be your cup of tea, however. Easily a 5/5, I'd give it a 6, if I could. Great job on this hack. The work poured into this really shows.
Gaslight, Gate Glitch, Miniboss by Croakomire [SM Unknown], rated by ClaireDiviner on Nov 02, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
9% in 0:38
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Given that this game was released on April Fool's Day 2023, I have to rate it accordingly. This game promises everything that the title advertises, so there's points for that. You need to know some obscure tech to get through several of the game's rooms. Everything else is just execution, really. Only thing preventing me from giving this a perfect 5/5 is the first save room, which commands perfect gate glitching thrice in a row, which sucks.

I only recommend for those who are willing to see how far they can go, and for the novelty of it.
Super Metroid: So Much Hell Apocalypse "Q" by The Monster of Surrealton [SM Challenge], rated by ClaireDiviner on Sep 11, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
98% in 4:39
I've had some time to reflect on this. Initially, I was going to give this a 1/5, like the others, but upon looking back on this game... Yeah, it's a pretty bad hack. It's not without its merits, though.

For starters, this game is what you get when you have most of the bad design ideas in a Mario Maker game slapped into a Super Metroid hack, including spike spam, and rooms that's filled with nothing but lava and/or acid... WITH spikes, because "Ha ha! You died, scrub! lul!" Despite this, there were some parts that I genuinely liked overcoming. Once you get the Daemon Armor (Gravity Suit), the game becomes much easier, until it doesn't anymore, which I'll elaborate more...

SPOILER AHEAD:

For starters, the rooms that are acid-filled, or rooms where acid fills quickly are pretty harsh, to say the least, but can be overcome with proper movement, and shinesparking (in the case of the Pillar Room). However, the Ridley fight, which has no platforms on which to stand, and is a room that is nothing but spikes, with an acid bath at the bottom was just ridiculous. Practically speaking, you will need to find every bit of ammo and E-Tank you can find. The bosses' health has been buffed, so you're looking at way more than 35 Supers to take Rodney down.

You would think that Ridley would be the hardest fight, because it's Ridley, and he has the most health, but no... There's Botwoon, with a room full of acid instead of water, with spikes everywhere, and then Draygon, which is pretty much like Botwoon, except there are turrets that cannot be destroyed. You WILL be hard-required to use well-timed Crystal Flashes throughout the fight to even survive (the ammo provided up to this point allows no more than 4 Crystal Flashes, so use your ammo and CFs wisely).

END SPOILER:

Where I give this a 2/5 instead of a 1 is the challenge that I think is pretty fun, all things considered, with the exception for what I mentioned in the spoiler section. Also, the custom Metroid sprites looked pretty dope too, so those get a point as well.

Clearly not a hack for everyone, so only play this if you're morbidly curious, believe you have the skill to persevere, and/or are purely a masochist.