This hack took me two different attempts at playing it before I could form a proper opinion.
First time trying to play it, I was fresh off of a Super Metroid playthrough after not playing the game for years. Still shaking off the rust, still not able to pull off tech like mid-air morphs or CWJs. And completely unfamiliar with Project BASE mechanics. I couldn't get through more than a couple of rooms before I got frustrated and gave up.
Last night I revisited Eleven. This time, I had finished a few romhacks, done a few SM randomizers, and gotten my completion time down to sub-2hr RTA for Super Metroid after about 4-5 runs. I was ready for a more challenging game. Right away I discovered that there is a gimmick to this hack. I'm not gonna spoil it, but it's similar to a gimmick utilized in one section of V I T A L I T Y. Once I figured that out, I was able to access a different part of the map and everything started flowing nicely.
It took me a bit to understand the Project BASE mechanics, but it felt very satisfying when I was able to pull off some of the harder speed booster tricks. It turns out that most of the speed booster / shinespark puzzles can just be solved if you know how to get bombs early, but I wasn't aware at the time. I still think that it's more rewarding to attempt all of those puzzles with speed booster instead.
The puzzles are a nice difficulty, I'd say Veteran is an appropriate category. It was too challenging for me when I was a bit rusty, but the perfect amount of challenge for me now that I've warmed up with some okay-ish speedruns of SM. The new beam weapon that was implemented is cool, and figuring out how it works and where to use it is a nice little puzzle in and of itself. And the underwater (under-fuel?) section with the funky music is cool, kinda reminded me of Dark Aether from MP2.
Artwork and overall visual direction is very good. Plenty of new assets that give this hack a fresh look while still fitting the style of the base game's pixel art. Some of the most impressive spritework isn't seen until closer to the end of this hack, and it looks great.
Definitely give this one a shot if you're up for a short but challenging hack that's very polished. It's absolutely worth it to go in blind and avoid spoilers, as most of the fun in this hack comes from getting stumped and having to come up with creative solutions to navigate the star base.
Super Junkoid by P. Yoshi [ Exploration],
rated by GACKUROTAS on Aug 04, 2024 ()
So far, this is my favorite Super Metroid hack I've ever played. The custom artwork is incredible, along with the varying palettes in different areas. A few new abilities are introduced, changing up the gameplay somewhat without straying too far from the source material. Difficulty is just about equal to vanilla SM, with some mandatory "heat runs" (underwater segments) and tricky platforming. But it's evened out by always having spring ball once you unlock this game's equivalent of morph ball.
This hack feels like it was made with love, and the amount of attention to detail is astonishing. It makes me want to try more total conversion mods of SM, but I haven't found any full-length ones that are as original as this. Now it's time to wait for Junkoid Prime, I guess.
Quick Play],
rated by GACKUROTAS on Aug 04, 2024 (
