manta rays
manta rays dont generate electricity like eels do....
Reviews for "<unfinished.swfs>"
JonBro responds:
This is the best review of all time.
Almost all of it are just mario animations
JonBro responds:
Astute observation. I'm not sure why this is a bad thing
Interesting.
Although I do not have equal experience with animation, I've learned some things outside the boundries of animating along with some things related to the environment of animating. It is unfair to criticize unfinished work because of reasons for the interest to animate to faulter. Heh, I also can't criticize this because I exist in different circumstances than when this was recently uploaded. Regardless, I thank you for this.
At Least One of 'Em Ought to be Finished....
JonBro has joined the sad fraternity of nitwits who figure, for posterity's sake, they should combine all their failed experiments together into a single compilation. This is just asking for a ripping when it comes to reviews. Let's begin:
Galaxy Gags:
Thank God a third gag wasn't devised for this lackluster compilation of parodies. For one thing, Mario gets beaten senseless. Jokes based on games must not focus purely on main characters; otherwise, what's the point? You could feature Mario in a dozen different settings or games and it wouldn't make a difference, until you incorporate everything into the joke. You got to pick on everything, not just Mario. Also, the "Ride the Lightning Manta" thing is kind of obscure, even if a few of its relatives have been known since antiquity to do that. If you wanted to be picky, it doesn't even look like one of the Batoideas that have actual electric properties. Therefore, it might confuse or alienate the folks who know too little or too much. It's unlikely that the first scene would pull the audience's sympathetic attention; the others would never be watched as they click "Zero" and search the Portal for another Flash to Blam.
Sprite Movies:
Randy Solem was right to point out how using sprites from the indigenous game made things far easier to pull off, because there was no need for custom jobs to satisfy cross-over power-ups. However, most of these sprite movies are really just towing the line between homage and ripoff, strictly due to how close JonBro's vision emulates the source material. Sometimes, in the case of the Easter Egg (which I did not find), it is just done poorly. Why bother? The "K I L L I T W I T H F I R E" revisions were tongue-in-cheek, but only in a self-deprecating sense. It made me laugh, but not in a good way. Some of the ideas of parodying Randy's sprite cartoons were sound, but I can understand the lack of motivation in crafting a carbon copy if there weren't incentives toward such precision.
"Madness: Termination" Flash:
Here's where my negative sentiment fades, the Flash that made me look forward to the mid-section of crap that made me wish for a way out of watching this tripe. The secret to a good presentation is to start strong and end strong. In this case, "Madness: Termination" was supposed to contain somewhere near an actual plot, not just an action sequence that satisfies an unknown or oversimplified one. According to JonBro's designer comments, this was about a red bandana faceless man in the world of Madness who discovers the assassination for which his best friend was executed for was one of Tricky the Clown's work. It was meant to be a vengeance-driven action thriller, where the red bandana eliminates both Tricky and his gang of 1337 Crew goons. However, JonBro never got to planning an action sequence or having it make sense. While the pace is melodious at best, he does have the general concept of making a drama. The scene he established is almost a stand-alone story, a short, short film where it culminates to a final heartbreaking moment. If that was done in a universe other than Madness, it would be utterly gut-wrenching.
But if you want gut-wrenching, the beginning elements of the Cave Story "horror" tribute was beginning to look incredible. The only complaint I got here is that it never got finished, because JonBro, despite confessing to knowing little about horror through direct observation, he captures some of the tropes of shock value, as well as the underlying premise of confronting one's own darkness through an exterior, personified force, are solid. Also, when you look at a corpse that was once you, and hear it say something like your dying words... my God! The direction this was going, in conjunction with intrepid source material... to leave this unfinished is inexcusable! How many game-based flashes center around actual horror, anyway?
That's it. JonBro has improved over time and we'll leave it at that. For best viewing "experience", skip the Sprites, stick to Madness and "Cave Story Horror".
JonBro responds:
Good gracious. I'm glad I don't get more reviews from you. You're harsh even when you like something.
I don't mind constructive criticism, or even a low-scoring review, but your pessimism and insults are out of line.
Hello Thar
Soo lets take a closer look:
We have 6 Movies, lets start with the ones i didnt like:
GALAXY GAGS 1___________________________
It sadly wasnt funny at all for me, Mantas don't have electric powers (not in real life and not in the game), the Mario-Is-Clumsy wasnt good. Vote from me if it was a Single Submission: 1/5 for the Effort.
GALAXY GAGS 2___________________________
Again the part where Mario crashes into the "Planet" no chuckle there. The Egg.. Well the title of the flash already gives away what happens, that would need fixing. Also 1/5 from effort, although its better than Number 1
UNTITLED SMB3 MOVIE_____________________
It was OK, the only thing that was funny was the end you wrote two days ago cause of the irony and the zynism 2/5
RISE OF THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM 4.5________
Oh Well it starts alright with the Wall jumping crap, that annoyed everyone in every single Mario game. Something like Camera-Bugs would have fitted in here perfectly. Then suddenly some random Flashbacks that make no sense and the end that i believe you fitted in because you lost interest?! But actually the End (with HE DIDNT EVEN KNOW WHAT HE DID and Triforce) was funny and therefore i give you 3/5
MADNESS TERMINATION_____________________
It was actually pretty decent and if you would have submitted it in this state with even one more day of work at the Madness Day 2009 it would surely have got an Award. Sadly you did not do this and junked it away. It has potential. 3/5
CAVE STORY: THE CORE_____________________
Pretty spooky, i must say that Neophyte-Ronin is right when he says that you should have finished it. its a waste that you didnt. 4/5
All in all cause this is a compilation this makes a marvelous score of 2,333 (5/10) and cause im generous ill vote 3 and i hope that you are happy with it.
PS:
I don't know why but you seem pissed off at Neophyte-Ronin's comment, although he is crucial with your flash, he wrote a very good comment. If someone writes such a long comment, this should be an honor to the submitter, even if he gives you "just" a score of 5 for flashes that you wanted to throw away anyways cause you lost interest. Also he didnt insult you in any way that i can see. (oh my, now im getting the "This is a useless review" thing too...)
Have a nice day and you really should consider completing the Core-Flash.
JonBro responds:
If someone writes such a long comment, half the time that means they're going out of their way to bash something they hate. I don't see the flattery in that. And I'll admit that it bugs me greatly when reviewers split a review into segments and base an overall score on an average of less significant scores.
Hm... and now that I read your review more...
I love how you put "P.S." before the main point of your review to disguise it. I find it pretty obvious that you read Neophyte-Ronin's review and basically piggybacked off of it in order to make a point about it.