Post by Gfdgsgxgzgdrc on Mar 1, 2021 4:22:40 GMT
So, level 10. That was a thing that happened. I've been meaning to write a forum post about the finale of our second- or third-favorite anime wrestleman platformer, but I've also been kinda dreading it because I have so many thoughts to type up, and I knew it was going to take a while. And it did (although I admit most of that time was spent neglecting to write anything, so it didn't actually take that long). Think of this post kinda like a game review — as an aspiring game developer, I enjoy thinking critically about games, what makes them work and what doesn't, and that's what I decided to do here. So without further ado, here is Gfdgsgxgzgdrc's Stinkoman 20X6 Level 10 Update Review, or "this post" for short.
First impressions
I now understand why this update took so long. This isn't just a level. This is, like... a bunch. This update is just a whole bunch, and I think this is best exemplified by my first moments with it. As soon as I opened the page, I was hit by two massive curveballs right off the bat. (Hey, that's a great combination of metaphors!) First off, before the game even loaded, I was gobsmacked and/or flabbergasted by the sight of that snazzy new navigation bar. But I hardly had time to think about that, because 2.7 milliseconds later, I was caught off guard by the rotatey Videlectrix logo. That was the moment I first thought, "Okay, wow. This... this is a thing." And that thought kept popping up throughout my time with the game. Everything from that first moment onward felt like something new, and over time I came to realize just how much of a thing this was. The incredible intro cinematic, the brand new menu, the redesigned level select screen; every detail felt fresh and new and it was glorious.
New Mode
Before I dared set foot in that finale, I knew I had to play through the previous levels first to get the full experience. That's exactly why I made that playthrough event on Discord a while back. At the time, I figured that I'd need days, weeks, even months to finish the first nine levels, and I didn't want to wait that long to play level 10 when it was released. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how not frustratingly impossible it was, and even entertained the thought of playing it again once level 10 came out. Once I saw the trailer and found out about all the difficulty adjustments, I knew I had to give the game another go. (This decision was also influenced by the cool new level graphics in the trailer, but for some reason those graphical updates weren't present in the actual game. Huh.)
That last playthrough was a lot of fun, but it did get frustrating at times, and felt like more of a time commitment than I would've preferred. But when I played New Mode, I was surprised by how much more fun it was. It was such a relief to not have to worry about redoing entire stages, or immediately dying from a minor stumble off a cliff, or going through the entire second stage again to retry a boss. It was no longer necessary to spend two full days playing from start to finish, now that I could casually finish a playthrough in a couple hours. I also found that these difficulty adjustments indirectly made some parts more difficult, in a good way. When you're punished so severely for a small mishap, you're encouraged to platform slowly and cautiously. But when the game is forgiving, you have more room to try risky maneuvers and throw caution to the wind. I feel like there's a game design lesson to be learned here — if you give your players the tools to succeed, they will create their own challenge, or something like that. Not to mention there's also the option for more experienced players to try it the original way, and options is just objectively good game design. (But still no pausing? Huh.)
Stinkomanual
It would feel wrong not to mention the Stinkomanual somewhere in this review, but honestly I don't have much to say about it. The new entries are all just as hilarious as the previous ones, but listing all the best jokes would just be stating the obvious, and this post is plenty long already. The best names are probably Soup Dib, Thurgood Each, and Val Yancey. Okay, moving on.
Level 10
At first I was just slightly disappointed that the opening cutscene was the same one we had seen on Twitter (although pleasantly surprised by the new cutscene music). This disappointment was soon offset by the fact that I found myself fighting the worst end boss ever. It's a fun and unexpected callback that starts the level with a bang. It also feels appropriate, since that end boss is seemingly the main reason this level even exists. After that Skills of an Artist episode, Strong Bad posted some old level 10 relics, and someone volunteered to program it, and the rest is history. This boss was the start of recent level 10 development, so it makes sense that he'd be start of the level itself as well.
10.1 doesn't really have many memorable setpieces or platforming sequences, but I feel like that almost works in its favor. It feels less like a platforming course and more like an enemy gauntlet. Z Sabre is sending his entire legion of forces at you, and you have no choice but to shoot the several swarms of spooky skeleton soldiers.
The crumbling floors and timed platforms are excellent mechanics, and I like how they're developed over the course of the level before reaching a climax. For the crumbling floors, it's that part with the Growtans — I love how these two mechanics are introduced separately, then combined to create something even more interesting than either of them on their own. For the timed platforms, its climax is the sequence near the end with a bunch of them in a row, a sequence made all the less frustrating by the edge-fall respawn. And Bubs himself shows up to torment you throughout the level, which is a really nice touch.
10.2 takes more of a platforming approach than the previous stage, with each section being based on a previous level. I feel like this is the best approach they could have taken for a final stage. Each section feels like one last farewell to each of these beloved levels, and I love that they all got a chance to shine in the finale. I also like that this stage has several optional challenges and sequences that lead to a capsule, and that they get more difficult and elaborate toward the end.
My one criticism is that levels 3 and 9 never got a chance to say their farewells. For level 3, I would add another level 1-esque section, except this one would be based around jumping over and navigating around walls. I assume Clowder and Mr. Ubbers couldn't be added due to not being conventional enemies, so I'd instead take existing enemies and give them Clowder and Mr. Ubbers skins. Clowder would behave like a Chorch, moving back and forth, and Mr. Ubbers would behave like a Bendini Sister, falling from above when you least expect it. For level 9, use the green and gray stuff (you know what I mean) as sprites for the walls and floor. I know from my Stinkoman level editing experience that most level 9 enemies do work on land, and can be fought as Stinkoman, so no editing will be needed for those enemies.
Visuals
The setting is wonderful, juxtaposing "medieval castle" and "futuristic base" so seamlessly. The light shining in from those stained-glass windows adds so much to the atmosphere. You can definitely tell the difference between this level and previous ones based on the graphical quality. This level has come so far — remember that GIF we got a while back where it was basically just a castle background with brick platforms? That's basically how previous levels look, and yet they went further. They didn't need to add cool windows or futuristic pillars or medieval-looking drapery or columns of skullheads or cool bony ladders or large pillars with futuristic skullhead platforms at the top, but they added all of those things, and I commend them for it. Commend them I say!
Music
The music for this game has always been just about my favorite on the site, so I had high hopes going in. My biggest concern was that the music would be the same track used in the 2019 delay trailer. I was delighted to find that it doesn't just live up to the original music, it surpasses it. So, so much. THIS MUSIC IS SO GOOD. Another concern was that the music would sound too dissimilar from the originals — I was hoping it would use the same chiptune samples so it wouldn't seem too out of place. Well, it does sound different, and it doesn't use the exact same samples, but that's fine because it's going for such a drastically different tone. I don't know what kind of distortiony effects are going on at the 1:00 mark, but I love it. It really gives the song an emotional edge, which isn't something I expected to say about a Stinkoman song. It gives off the impression of loud, strained singing, and you can almost hear the gasps for breath between notes.
Then there's the boss music. Z Sabre's theme is an intense remix of the usual boss theme (I think in a different key or something), and it sounds awesome. My only complaint is that it's so short, and also there's a brief pause before it loops, which throws off the timing. But Mecha-Trogador's theme is even better, mashing together Trogdor's and Stinkoman's themes. It is a bit unfortunate that all three themes are remixes (originality is one of the things I like about the other level themes), but I can't really complain when the soundtrack is this good. Toby Fox did a fantastic job. (That's right, I know it's you. You can't fool me, "U.Z. Inu".)
The ending
It was a tiny bit disappointing that Stinkoman's plan for revenge against 1-Up and Pan Pan for seemingly red-buttoning him was never acknowledged, but that's hardly a complaint. I also found Z Sabre's reveal to be kind of anticlimactic. If this level was released in 2005 as presumably planned, it would have made more sense, but this is a mystery that has been built up for over 15 years. Mecha-Trogador's reveal, on the other hand, is perfect. The foot stomping down, then the slow pan up a familiar more different S as Trogdor's theme kicks in... so great. Both boss battles are incredibly fun and challenging, and I like how different they feel from each other. Z Sabre's fight is quick and intense, with an emphasis on quick reaction time, and Trogador's long and slow, with an emphasis on timing and positioning. Anywho, not to brag or anything (but also yes, totally to brag), when I replayed the level for this post, I beat Z Sabre without losing a life on Classic Mode. Then I was humbled a bit by Mecha-Trogdor, who burninated all of my lives twice.
And then you defeat Mecha-Trogador and... THERE'S MORE?! That was my joyful reaction as I was met with the sight of the crumbling castle. I was hoping that this level would be packed with content to justify the long wait, and it exceeded my expectations in this regard. This was the moment it truly set in how much this level has to offer, and I was overjoyed to still be playing past both brutal boss battles. The escape sequence isn't too difficult, especially after those bosses, but it's the cherry atop an already plenty delicious pie.
After the satisfying end cutscene comes the satisfying end credits, and the fact that there's so much to love about the credits shows how much care was put into this level. There's the gorgeous sunset backdrop, the Harvax XVII joke, Bubs, and of course Sticklyman, who did end up becoming the secret boss of level 10.5 after all! I always love when credits are playable, and letting the player battle Sticklyman just for the fun of it is an excellent way to cap off this adventure.
Conclusion
Overall, this level was way cooler than it had any right to be. Stinkoman 20X6 was already a good game, but this update and finale turned it into a great game. A finale is supposed to conclude a project in an appropriately satisfying way, but this finale ended up being significantly better than the game it's concluding, which is kinda funny. It's like if Secret Collect was left unfinished, and they made the final level into, like, a massive open-world adventure game with bosses and cinematic cutscenes or something. It's the kind of finale that almost feels undeserved, but I am sure glad it's as cool as it is. (This applies to the music especially. Stinkoman music has always been great, but did they really need to conclude it with music this amazing?) They could have gotten away with so much less, and yet they decided to give this game the best send-off they could give. And it all feels appropriate, not just because of the 15-year wait, but because this is not merely a send-off for a not-all-that-great Mega Man fangame. This is a send-off for Flash, and it could not have been more appropriate. Homestar Runner is likely the most well-known and appreciated Flash thing, so releasing the long-awaited final level of one of its best games mere days before the format dies feels beautifully poetic. Trogdor, arguably among the Internet's most popular icons, is the final boss of Flash, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Phew. That was a lot. I'm done.
First impressions
I now understand why this update took so long. This isn't just a level. This is, like... a bunch. This update is just a whole bunch, and I think this is best exemplified by my first moments with it. As soon as I opened the page, I was hit by two massive curveballs right off the bat. (Hey, that's a great combination of metaphors!) First off, before the game even loaded, I was gobsmacked and/or flabbergasted by the sight of that snazzy new navigation bar. But I hardly had time to think about that, because 2.7 milliseconds later, I was caught off guard by the rotatey Videlectrix logo. That was the moment I first thought, "Okay, wow. This... this is a thing." And that thought kept popping up throughout my time with the game. Everything from that first moment onward felt like something new, and over time I came to realize just how much of a thing this was. The incredible intro cinematic, the brand new menu, the redesigned level select screen; every detail felt fresh and new and it was glorious.
New Mode
Before I dared set foot in that finale, I knew I had to play through the previous levels first to get the full experience. That's exactly why I made that playthrough event on Discord a while back. At the time, I figured that I'd need days, weeks, even months to finish the first nine levels, and I didn't want to wait that long to play level 10 when it was released. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how not frustratingly impossible it was, and even entertained the thought of playing it again once level 10 came out. Once I saw the trailer and found out about all the difficulty adjustments, I knew I had to give the game another go. (This decision was also influenced by the cool new level graphics in the trailer, but for some reason those graphical updates weren't present in the actual game. Huh.)
That last playthrough was a lot of fun, but it did get frustrating at times, and felt like more of a time commitment than I would've preferred. But when I played New Mode, I was surprised by how much more fun it was. It was such a relief to not have to worry about redoing entire stages, or immediately dying from a minor stumble off a cliff, or going through the entire second stage again to retry a boss. It was no longer necessary to spend two full days playing from start to finish, now that I could casually finish a playthrough in a couple hours. I also found that these difficulty adjustments indirectly made some parts more difficult, in a good way. When you're punished so severely for a small mishap, you're encouraged to platform slowly and cautiously. But when the game is forgiving, you have more room to try risky maneuvers and throw caution to the wind. I feel like there's a game design lesson to be learned here — if you give your players the tools to succeed, they will create their own challenge, or something like that. Not to mention there's also the option for more experienced players to try it the original way, and options is just objectively good game design. (But still no pausing? Huh.)
Stinkomanual
It would feel wrong not to mention the Stinkomanual somewhere in this review, but honestly I don't have much to say about it. The new entries are all just as hilarious as the previous ones, but listing all the best jokes would just be stating the obvious, and this post is plenty long already. The best names are probably Soup Dib, Thurgood Each, and Val Yancey. Okay, moving on.
Level 10
At first I was just slightly disappointed that the opening cutscene was the same one we had seen on Twitter (although pleasantly surprised by the new cutscene music). This disappointment was soon offset by the fact that I found myself fighting the worst end boss ever. It's a fun and unexpected callback that starts the level with a bang. It also feels appropriate, since that end boss is seemingly the main reason this level even exists. After that Skills of an Artist episode, Strong Bad posted some old level 10 relics, and someone volunteered to program it, and the rest is history. This boss was the start of recent level 10 development, so it makes sense that he'd be start of the level itself as well.
10.1 doesn't really have many memorable setpieces or platforming sequences, but I feel like that almost works in its favor. It feels less like a platforming course and more like an enemy gauntlet. Z Sabre is sending his entire legion of forces at you, and you have no choice but to shoot the several swarms of spooky skeleton soldiers.
The crumbling floors and timed platforms are excellent mechanics, and I like how they're developed over the course of the level before reaching a climax. For the crumbling floors, it's that part with the Growtans — I love how these two mechanics are introduced separately, then combined to create something even more interesting than either of them on their own. For the timed platforms, its climax is the sequence near the end with a bunch of them in a row, a sequence made all the less frustrating by the edge-fall respawn. And Bubs himself shows up to torment you throughout the level, which is a really nice touch.
10.2 takes more of a platforming approach than the previous stage, with each section being based on a previous level. I feel like this is the best approach they could have taken for a final stage. Each section feels like one last farewell to each of these beloved levels, and I love that they all got a chance to shine in the finale. I also like that this stage has several optional challenges and sequences that lead to a capsule, and that they get more difficult and elaborate toward the end.
My one criticism is that levels 3 and 9 never got a chance to say their farewells. For level 3, I would add another level 1-esque section, except this one would be based around jumping over and navigating around walls. I assume Clowder and Mr. Ubbers couldn't be added due to not being conventional enemies, so I'd instead take existing enemies and give them Clowder and Mr. Ubbers skins. Clowder would behave like a Chorch, moving back and forth, and Mr. Ubbers would behave like a Bendini Sister, falling from above when you least expect it. For level 9, use the green and gray stuff (you know what I mean) as sprites for the walls and floor. I know from my Stinkoman level editing experience that most level 9 enemies do work on land, and can be fought as Stinkoman, so no editing will be needed for those enemies.
Visuals
The setting is wonderful, juxtaposing "medieval castle" and "futuristic base" so seamlessly. The light shining in from those stained-glass windows adds so much to the atmosphere. You can definitely tell the difference between this level and previous ones based on the graphical quality. This level has come so far — remember that GIF we got a while back where it was basically just a castle background with brick platforms? That's basically how previous levels look, and yet they went further. They didn't need to add cool windows or futuristic pillars or medieval-looking drapery or columns of skullheads or cool bony ladders or large pillars with futuristic skullhead platforms at the top, but they added all of those things, and I commend them for it. Commend them I say!
Music
The music for this game has always been just about my favorite on the site, so I had high hopes going in. My biggest concern was that the music would be the same track used in the 2019 delay trailer. I was delighted to find that it doesn't just live up to the original music, it surpasses it. So, so much. THIS MUSIC IS SO GOOD. Another concern was that the music would sound too dissimilar from the originals — I was hoping it would use the same chiptune samples so it wouldn't seem too out of place. Well, it does sound different, and it doesn't use the exact same samples, but that's fine because it's going for such a drastically different tone. I don't know what kind of distortiony effects are going on at the 1:00 mark, but I love it. It really gives the song an emotional edge, which isn't something I expected to say about a Stinkoman song. It gives off the impression of loud, strained singing, and you can almost hear the gasps for breath between notes.
Then there's the boss music. Z Sabre's theme is an intense remix of the usual boss theme (I think in a different key or something), and it sounds awesome. My only complaint is that it's so short, and also there's a brief pause before it loops, which throws off the timing. But Mecha-Trogador's theme is even better, mashing together Trogdor's and Stinkoman's themes. It is a bit unfortunate that all three themes are remixes (originality is one of the things I like about the other level themes), but I can't really complain when the soundtrack is this good. Toby Fox did a fantastic job. (That's right, I know it's you. You can't fool me, "U.Z. Inu".)
The ending
It was a tiny bit disappointing that Stinkoman's plan for revenge against 1-Up and Pan Pan for seemingly red-buttoning him was never acknowledged, but that's hardly a complaint. I also found Z Sabre's reveal to be kind of anticlimactic. If this level was released in 2005 as presumably planned, it would have made more sense, but this is a mystery that has been built up for over 15 years. Mecha-Trogador's reveal, on the other hand, is perfect. The foot stomping down, then the slow pan up a familiar more different S as Trogdor's theme kicks in... so great. Both boss battles are incredibly fun and challenging, and I like how different they feel from each other. Z Sabre's fight is quick and intense, with an emphasis on quick reaction time, and Trogador's long and slow, with an emphasis on timing and positioning. Anywho, not to brag or anything (but also yes, totally to brag), when I replayed the level for this post, I beat Z Sabre without losing a life on Classic Mode. Then I was humbled a bit by Mecha-Trogdor, who burninated all of my lives twice.
And then you defeat Mecha-Trogador and... THERE'S MORE?! That was my joyful reaction as I was met with the sight of the crumbling castle. I was hoping that this level would be packed with content to justify the long wait, and it exceeded my expectations in this regard. This was the moment it truly set in how much this level has to offer, and I was overjoyed to still be playing past both brutal boss battles. The escape sequence isn't too difficult, especially after those bosses, but it's the cherry atop an already plenty delicious pie.
After the satisfying end cutscene comes the satisfying end credits, and the fact that there's so much to love about the credits shows how much care was put into this level. There's the gorgeous sunset backdrop, the Harvax XVII joke, Bubs, and of course Sticklyman, who did end up becoming the secret boss of level 10.5 after all! I always love when credits are playable, and letting the player battle Sticklyman just for the fun of it is an excellent way to cap off this adventure.
Conclusion
Overall, this level was way cooler than it had any right to be. Stinkoman 20X6 was already a good game, but this update and finale turned it into a great game. A finale is supposed to conclude a project in an appropriately satisfying way, but this finale ended up being significantly better than the game it's concluding, which is kinda funny. It's like if Secret Collect was left unfinished, and they made the final level into, like, a massive open-world adventure game with bosses and cinematic cutscenes or something. It's the kind of finale that almost feels undeserved, but I am sure glad it's as cool as it is. (This applies to the music especially. Stinkoman music has always been great, but did they really need to conclude it with music this amazing?) They could have gotten away with so much less, and yet they decided to give this game the best send-off they could give. And it all feels appropriate, not just because of the 15-year wait, but because this is not merely a send-off for a not-all-that-great Mega Man fangame. This is a send-off for Flash, and it could not have been more appropriate. Homestar Runner is likely the most well-known and appreciated Flash thing, so releasing the long-awaited final level of one of its best games mere days before the format dies feels beautifully poetic. Trogdor, arguably among the Internet's most popular icons, is the final boss of Flash, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Phew. That was a lot. I'm done.