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JCF Éminence Grise

Joined: Mar 2001

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Oct 4, 2019, 10:27 AM
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Entries

Astolfo
Well. What can one say, really? To some extent this feels like the unnatural evolution of the days when someone would take a screenshot of their desktop and turn it into a very simple level, but a lot more work was clearly squandered on this creation than any of the desktop levels. Even the background layers contribute carefully and successfully to the unholy aesthetic at work here, but what's most noticeable is that there is a genuine battle layout built around this child's indecency. Loving attention has been given to every centimeter of borderline underage pornography, with ammo pickups delicately caressing the contours of exposed skin. Careful rationing of fly carrots (with their elegant timer animations) lets one thrust in and out of the miniskirt in all directions. The only disappointment, besides the entire level and everything associated with it, is that there is no ludicrously detailed vore sequence.

Bushido
This is the most traditional JJ2 level of the three entries, which I suppose is in keeping with its traditional theme, but that also means it suffers the most from having been made in three days for a contest that lasted a month. Although it uses its obvious tileset to good effect and wisely uses a translucent blue layer to increase wall/background contrast, the most lasting impression I got from Bushido is how hard it is to move around. Innumerable alcoves in walls and ceilings lure you into them for no major reward but make it harder to get wherever you were actually going, tiny cliffs replace slopes in some places for no obvious reason, and there are several places where a spring bounces you just a little bit too low to get somewhere, meaning Spaz is happy but nobody else is. The top right corner doesn't attract any use and the bottom right corner has a jump that's one tile too high for no reason. The full energy area is copied from Distopia. It probably wouldn't take too much work to smooth out all the literal rough edges from this level, but it doesn't seem to have been a priority in development.

Cherry Blossom CTF
This level takes the biggest risk by using a tileset with no direct connection to Japan, but does nonetheless manage to invoke the overwhelming pink fluffiness of Japan's iconic sakura trees. Other elements of the eyecandy veer into incoherence, though, a risky move for a level that must rely so heavily on graphic design to fit into this contest. There's an odd sort of fun associated with the layout, actually, but I think another weapon would have been a better fit than toaster. Once again, a bit more work could have transformed this from a novelty map to a good novelty map... but that work is unlikely to happen, because the level's creator was banned from J2O for sexual harassment and as such the level is disqualified.


Conclusion
With the third level out of the running, the contrast between entries could not be more stark: a traditional JJ2 level dedicated to traditional Japan against... something else. A jagged layout against smooth legs. A red flag and a blue flag against one enormous red flag.

I have spent most of the last two years trying to find someone who will let me foist these Steam keys on them. Seren does not have a Steam account. In terms of punishment for creating Astolfo, I can think of nothing fitter than declaring Seren the winner and making the keys his problem instead.
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