PyroWizard's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Rise of the MK: Part 4]

Good! I think...

In order to offer the best constructive criticism, I feel the need to be completely honest, to be fair to you and to myself, so please bear with me.

This movie is good, but it's NOTHING compared to what the ROTMK series used to be. It's somewhat reminiscent of the Matrix series... it starts out at the pinnacle of greatness, then steadily begins to decline in quality as it progresses from sequel to sequel. But hey, Matrix Revolutions was still one HELL of a movie, and so was this.

Where to begin? First of all, the graphics. As always, it is nothing short of excellence. The amount of detail that went into this movie is almost intoxicating. It's nigh impossible for your brain to absorb everything at once, and I found myself pausing from time to time and zooming in to get a look at all the good stuff. (no sexual pun intended) The "Easter Eggs" you strung throughout the film were a very nice touch. My personal favorite was the Graveyard scene; from the lanterns giving off its eerie lightings to the leaves softly blowing against the breeze, everything fit together perfectly. It reminded me of the "Boo's Haunt" stage from Mario 64, a personal favorite of mine; both created an absorbing mood and begged to be explored.

The music and sounds were pretty good. Nothing that really stands out from the crowd, (unlike the "Titanic" theme from the Funeral scene in ROTMK1 that still clings to my head like a pervert to a naked woman), but it all fits. The classic Donkey Kong theme/sounds especially were used to phenomenal effect.

Now that we have all the technical stuff out of the way, let's get to the real deal. What I want to know from you Randy, is this; what ever happened to the RISE of the MUSHROOM KINGDOM? No, I'm not referring to the series. Wasn't ROTMK supposed to be about the "Fall of a Hero, and the Rise of a Nation"? This theme was prevalent throughout the first two films, then was inexplicably lost in the latter two movies. What started out as an original plotline gave way to the hopelessly cliched and excruciatingly overdone "Luigi dies, Mario goes to get revenge" story. Yeah, been there and done that. I wanted to see more of the conflicts faced by the Mushroom Kingdom as a whole at the hands of Bowser's and Wart's respective empires, and less of the "lone intruder infiltrating enemy encampment". Unfortunately, the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom got lost somewhere, and the series quickly lost the very element that made it unique in the first place. *SIGH*

ROTMK1 and ROTMK2 were undoubtedly very emotional movies. Especially the former. Luigi's grief and anger at Mario's death can be clearly felt, and I'll admit that it almost brought a tear to my eye. Yet, the emotional scale in ROTMK4 is laughable. (kind of like Trinity's death in Revolutions) Remember that brief moment when Mario has flashbacks of his life with Luigi? Were we supposed to feel something there? Funny, because I almost found myself laughing at that particular segment, which was far from the intended effect it was supposed to have upon viewers I'm sure. "Emotion" has always been the big part of the ROTMK series, not its flashy action sequences and violence. But this movie tends to focus solely on the latter elements, which ultimately makes the whole film a bit bland. I did however, enjoy the final celebration scene very much. Very moving and energetic, an excellent way to end any series.

I won't even get started on the humor. All I can say is this; bathroom and penis jokes are far from being funny. It only makes the author come off as immature, and frankly, takes away from the quality of the movie as a whole.

Don't get me wrong... this movie was great. Not the "sprite movie to end all sprite movies" I was hoping for, but still very good stuff. However, I couldn't help but feel somewhat let down after watching this film. This movie has many terrible flaws, and I just hope you and everyone else recognizes that.

[Pulsatilla (Teaser)]

Speechless...

I usually avoid these types of animations, but this one just blew me away. Totally. I honestly don't think I've ever seen a another feature on Newgrounds that's capable of evoking such powerful emotion. No high words of mine can truly do this movie justice. I don't know how you managed to pull this off, but EXCELLENT work! ^_^

Your animating skills are well-refined... admittedly, there is always room for improvement, but your style is unparalleled anywhere else. Gorgeous graphics and scenery combined with an equally beautiful and soothing melody put forth such a strong melancholic mood that it almost drove me to tears. I especially liked the scenery; it had a surreal, dream-like feel that was very captivating. I found myself lost in this ethereal world that you so perfectly fabricated.

Amazing stuff. You, my friend, have potential. Lots of it. This goes straight to the top of my list of movies to look forward to next year. In fact, I think I'm looking more forward to this then even ROTMK4! :D

---
Pulsatilla (Teaser)

"No words of mine can truly express the sheer emotional impact this movie had on me. Definately one of THE movies to look forward to next year!"

~PyroWizard~

[Super Luigi World Part 2]

Excellent Flash!

This is one of the closest Mario flashes I have seen to the ROTMK series in terms of potential. If your flash was a little bit more refined, then this could be a real winner. The main problem is that you lack a "Play" button, which probably put off a lot of people who didn't know how to Right Click -> Play. That's probably the reason why your score sits at a 3.15 at the time of this review, which is a very indecent score for this very decent piece of flash. :)

I really like how you play with your camera angles all throughout the movie, which is a very refreshing change from the simple side scrolling angle you see in most sprite movies. I liked your choice of music too.. it's very catchy and sets the mood for your movie quite nicely; however, I don't know if it was intentional or not, but the music starts to overlap as the movie advances to the final castle scene... you might want to look into that.

The plot was interesting, but the classic "Luigi gets tired of Mario getting all the attention and decides to go on a rampage" plot has been done to death. However, it's not that big of a deal, as you make up for it in other ways.

Overall, good stuff! I HIGHLY recommend you fix the major bugs (especially the PLAY button) and re-submit your movie... a mediocre score for this excellent piece of Flash is something you shouldn't stand for. Give this movie a chance to receive the attention it rightfully deserves. ;)

---
Super Luigi World Part 2

"Excellent Mario flash, definately one of the better ones on Newgrounds. If only the author had taken the time to add a "Play" button!"

~PyroWizard~

[Final Fantasy III: Link 1]

Great! Much improved.

Compared to your first "preview", this is a vast improvement! I must say, your series is shaping up quite nicely. I throughly enjoyed watching this. :)

Glad to see the battle scenes are now more lively and animated then before... however, the spell animations could use a little more work and the background image is still annoyingly distorted. Also, work out a better way to showcase the various combatant's HPs... it's rather hard to keep track. The castle scene is still much too small to hold those rather oversized men... resizing would be a good idea.

The story is pretty interesting, though there's still many questions to be answered, but I suppose that will come later. The voice acting was good and really sets the tone and flow of the movie. One thing that puzzled me... in the end, the soldier states "Link must be warned!".. but in the beginning, Link has already been warned. What gives? Is the movie going backwards? =P

Someday, when you have become one of the most renowned sprite artists on NG, you'll back at these little gems and say "Wow, I've really improved from those days!" Kudos to you, and I'll be sure to keep a lookout for the next one in this series. ^_^

**
Final Fantasy III: Link 1

"Vast improvement from the first "preview". Looks very promising!"

~PyroWizard~

RebelliousStudios responds:

You sound like the newspapers and critics on the back of movie cases.

"Vast improvement from the first preview" "Looks very Promising" Thanks!


~RS~

[Vince Trigger 2]

Interesting, but...

I usually enjoy watching all sorts of sprite movies, regardless of its quality. However, for some unbeknown reason, this one just didn't quite appeal to me. I was constantly compelled to X out of the window all throughout the movie, and only the promise of a well-implemented final fight sequence kept me forcefully watching. However, I was disappointed.

First and foremost, the movie is SLOOWWWW beyond all human reasoning. The entire feature was cram-packed with moments when I would sit there idly, contemplating the meaning of life while waiting for the next set of dialogue to appear. You definately need to increase the overall speed of the movie... it's almost as if it's playing in Matrix bullet-time all throughout, and I mean that in a most negative way.

The story was interesting enough, although I found it a bit odd. The fight sequences were mildly compelling, but "nothing too new or interesting". The humor in this movie seems to be well admired by many viewers, but I found it all somewhat cheesy and repetetive. Overall, the movie was just OKAY... a tad bit boring for my taste, but most people seem to like it, and I suppose that's all that matters. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a terrible movie... I just think that with a little more effort, you could improve on this by leaps and bounds.

Kudos to you! :)

**
Vince Trigger 2

"Interesting, but excruciatingly slow and boring for some. Shows some potential."

~PyroWizard~

Vinstigator responds:

Fair review. I was going for humor with this movie. But don't worry, future movies will be much faster!

[The Mario War part 2]

Great!

As of the time of this review, your score sits at a 2.12... which is just wrong. I gave you a 5 because it seems like nobody else has... I only regret that I have such a tiny voting power. ^_^;;

Don't let it get you down, this is excellent stuff. You drew everything yourself and the battle scenes were well-coordinated, so I can see you put lots of effort into this. You might want to refine your drawing a little bit (I admit, I laughed when I first saw the "Golden Knights"), but for the most part, they're not that bad. Fix your typos for the character dialogues also... you can't afford to downgrade your movies with silly grammar mistakes.

I enjoyed the battle scenes... it really seems like it's an all out war. I much preferred the first battle with the Toads & Koopas as opposed to the Golden & Black Knights though. My suggestion to you is to simply stick to the Mario universe. I also liked your choice of sounds/music; I think it sets the mood for your scenes quite nicely.

Overall, this is a good solid movie with exciting battle scenes and sword-fighting action. Good stuff! You've got definite potential, and I'll look forward to part 3! :)

[Rise of the MK:Part 3]

Good, but Disappointing

I wanted to like this. I really did. I've always been a fan of your work; after looking at your site almost a year ago, it motivated me to become a Flash artist myself. ROTMK1 and 2 were absolutely priceless.. I loved it. When I heard that ROTMK3 was in production, I eagerly anticipated it for many months, checking the VGDC site almost everyday in hopes of seeing the big "ROTMK3 Released!" headline on the front page. I could hardly contain my excitement as the movie was loading... right from the beginning of the movie though, I somehow felt a little uneasy. It felt too... happy. ROTMK have always been a dramatic, emotional, and dark series.. but the opening scene felt a little cheesy. But I just told myself "It'll get better later on. There HAS to be some amazing battle scene or heart-scorching dramatic scene!" When the movie ended though, I literally said aloud, "That's IT? The grand total?" Needless to say, I was disappointed.

One thing I DID like was the amazing graphics. I can tell that you took your time putting in little details to perfect your scenes. You really brought it to life. I loved that. I wish I could say the same about the plot. It was.. well, bad. Not only did it considerably downgrade the first two movies, it was a tad bit confusing. I got the point, but it left my friends, along with many more people I suspect, saying "WTF?" The whole "dream" concept was just too much. You should have stuck to the basic "Luigi now goes after Wart" plotline like most everyone was expecting. Even so, I suppose you might have pulled this off.. except that nothing really happens in this movie. It just consists of a brief Luigi death scene that fails to capture the emotion of Mario's death in the first two, and a ridiculous battle scene with a Mouse. Nothing heart-pounding or adrenaline-rushing. And yes, it WAS too short. Sure, you claim it was longer then the first, but much of the length of the movie is wasted on scenes with Peach flying through pointless areas or Mario bopping along Wart's Castle.

The conclusion? Well, compared to the other sprite movies out there, it certainly does hold its own. Compared to your first two, it's a downright shame. You are an excellent Flash artist, and undoubtedly you have talent. I just hope you can utilize your full potential and savor the series with ROTMK4.