Good Game Design - Invictus (Kaizo Mario ROM Hack) 

Thank you for putting the time into analysing this hack. Important to note that I had friends make the bosses for me and help me figure out a lot of the hurdles involved in using custom stuff early on as I didn't know what I was doing at the time. This was certainly a huge learning curve but I'm better prepared now for future projects :)

"It's not nearly as easy as it looks" That part looked like living hell, so I'm going to assume that the romhack would actually kill me

Mario according to Nintendo: A cool funny and happy plumber. Mario according to kaizo players: "Death is just another small step for this long road full of pain and chaos, and is nothing compared to me!" Mario according to speedrunners: "I'm a reality-bender, everything is possible with just a jump"

Original super mario world: *This game is easy because of spin jumps* Hacked super mario world: *This game a is hard because of... spin jumps?*

"That's right, there are NO Kaizo blocks in this game...y'know, if it were me, I'd *say* that, and then I'd put *one* kaizo block right at the end." - GrandPOObear

This game reminds me so much about celeste, getting a second jump at the near end. And having kamick going left to right reminded me of chapter 3 a lot. And the fact that in both games the design is amazing. Really shows what indie games can do.

While I haven't played Invictus very far (and kind of lost interest in Kaizo Hacks), one of the strengths I saw in this one was communicating gameplay to the player; something I often found somewhat lacking in many hacks. A good example is the beginning of Biohazard (6:35) - the first time you are meant to “use“ the scrolling mechanic is by jumping on that green block (which seems to be the most logical thing to do) and coming out of the bottom of the screen, instead of expecting the player to jump into a hole in the ground, which would be counter-intuitive and possibly frustrating. (Unless, of course, you read the hint block at the beginning, but let's be real here, who actually reads the instructions?) You get to discover the mechanic, instead of thinking “Oh, that's what I'm supposed to do? Huh.“ Surely it's not huge, but it's a little detail that makes the game more intuitive and enjoyable to play. There are other examples, as well, but I'm typing on my phone right now, which is annoying, so I'm just gonna

Absolutely loved the video, but I was a bit confused when I was listening to it. You say "vertical scrolling" when I think you mean "horizontal screen wrap," where items that go off the left/right appear on the other side, and "horizontal scrolling" when I think you mean "vertical screen wrap," where items that go off the top/bottom appear on the other side.

Holy shit I wasn’t expecting this! Invictus really is just as good as a lot of major games that have come out in the past few years

As someone who's grew up with those old Mario Rom hacks and fondly remember youtubers raging this hits me straight at home.

one of the best parts of the Mario community, both SMM and romhacks, is that good creators WANT you to beat their level. even if its brutally hard, or troll-y "gotcha!" design, they WANT you to win, they GIVE you the answers. all you gotta do, is try again.

10:56 "You don't need a big studio or years of experience to make sure your project is intuitive" eehhhhh kinda true, but getting a hold of how to make intuitive designs while also making them intricate, engaging, and challenging, is something that I feel takes years of learning, whether that learning be making stages, or analyzing other stages and noting what works and what doesn't. Congrats on conquering Invictus man!

zelda 2 kaizo when?

This isn’t specific to this video, but I felt like it was the best way to show my appreciation for this channel. Every time you make a video about good game design, I think about what I could do with that if I ever made a game myself. (don't get your hopes up) Like with your video on The Messenger: (about defying expectations) I'd go for characters that aren't what you expect, and I have some ideas for unexpected boss encounters. As an example: going into a volcano, realising it's the boss of the world and fighting it while you're inside! With this video, I learned a lot about pacing new elements so that they lets you learn their quirks, while not holding the player’s hand at all. (also lots of other things about level design, but it would be boring to list them all here)

Invictus is one of the best medium Kaizo hacks. And this video sums it up perfectly.

Gaming Industry: Releases Last of Us Part 2 Snoman: *TIME TO COVER THE REAL CONTENT*

Man I remember being obsessed with SMW hacking for a few years in my childhood (2008-2011??) and even though it was such a small chapter in my life I remember those years fondly. I don't think its something I'll ever be able to come back to, the scene has evolved a lot those last few years..

That troll with the spikes and pipes is the meanest thing I've seen in a Mario hack

Really cool vid! Loved how fresh this rom hack is. Would love to see you stream this! Also, feels good to see a new Snoman Gaming!

Am I the only weirdo that thought of a Baby in a Bane mask saying "Time to go Mobile" when he said he has a baby that's becoming increasingly mobile?

There's a good reason that Super Mario Makers include indicators in their difficult levels, and that's because most people that are going to play it aren't going to stick around after a few deaths just to figure out what to do. There's no incentive to learn to play a single hard level out of thousands of hard levels when they can just skip it, and even less so if they're doing an endless run with a limit on the amount of lives they have.

I love your intro music. It’s so soothing.

I've been playing a lot of Mario 64 mods, but I think it's time for me to look into the Mario World modding scenes. This one looks really well made!

You're now ready for Grand Poo World 1 and 2!

some amazing custom SMW music throughout this vid

Literally insanity to my eyes, also legendary skills, I'm glad a snowman has some boons and muses

6:36 Is that a remixed version of The Warp Zone in VVVVVV? It sounds awesome!

This was a really cool explanation, I had felt a lot of the things you pointed out but not really consciously acknowledged them.

It's always a treat to see your videos, but it's totally understandable to prioritize other things. Loved this one, I'll be happy to see the next whenever you have time :)

Snoman: 10:30 "But if I can do it, anyone can." Also Snoman: 0:17 *mentions he's been playing lots of kaizo hacks in his free-time. lol nope.

Wow, truly some amazing Mario gameplay. GD... well done 👏👏👏

Great, informative video. Love the way you talk about game design, always makes me think harder about my own game design, thanks!

What's that music at the end during the wrap up? It's very triumphant and I like it

You're amazing at Kaizo man. Congrats again on the kid and best of luck!

The fact that this is a kaizo hack that isn't designed to fuck you over in every possible way makes this really interesting

Wow I've never been this early before I like watching this videos to improve my projects

I was wondering were you where thanks for the great video!

I have this idea for a game that’s inspired by Kaizo Mario, but it’s less messy and more simple. Plus, it’s action-packed, and includes many Kaizo-like actions that are good for speedrunning. It’s also inspired by AdventNEON, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Meat Boy,, and many others. Maybe once I make that idea a reality, I could maybe let you help with level design!

you re a hero for playing this not only for yourself, but for this entertainning channel

8:45 "It looks MUCH easier than it actually is." *shows a level section that looks like something straight out of the deepest depths of the Panga pit*

12:02 This is exactly why I love well-done software updates: You can improve your software after it had already been published. If the original _Snoman's Land_ had been distributed on actual cartridges (which had no way to be updated afterwards), Snoman couldn't upgrade that game into today's good version without making it basically a sequel such as _Snoman's Land Championship Edition Turbo._ Some publishers and software development teams use this tool of software updates poorly, resulting in their software actually getting worse or the installation interrupting your usage at the most inconvenient times, creating the stigma that software updates are bad. But more often than not, Software Updates are actually Great.

Invictus was my first hack played without savestates, I did beat it, took me a lot of time, but it is possible to kaizo beginners, it is hard, but it is fair and doesn't have a lot of jankyness (oi, janky hack m8), that is expected in SMW hacks in general, great hack, by far the best hack ever made.

Cool vid to come back on! Somehow wasn’t subbed anymore but made sure to sub again. Take your time with the family!!

The qualitylevel of this Romhack is astonishing. I hope one day we get an Ocarina of Time romhack with the quality of the original.

PERFECT! I watched his videos about kaizo yesterday!

i haven't been this early since havoc gaming uploaded a month or two ago also snoman now has a stack of likes

Hey Snoman, just a heads-up: if you ever want to do a Good Game Design on a Doom "hack", you'd have a ball covering Sunlust. The gameplay design in it is, *bar none,* THE best in the community before or since.

This Kaizo hack looks like Celeste to me! Every level having a unique ability/game mechanic that makes it feel unique, and the last level throwing everything you've learned at you. Also, the level difficulty does seem to be comparable to that of the C-Sides, or maybe even the fan-made D-Sides. I've spent hours on a single D-Side level and this hack seems to be just like that game I absolute LOVE!!

The reason people use indicators is because of the endless challenge and the fact that if someone dies once, they give up

I noticed in your edits you got trolled a lot. Juzcook does have a compilation video of peoples' blind playthrough mostly of the community getting trolled.

Well, logically, you have to play Grand Poo World 2 next! An incredible hack, unless you want to wait for Barb to finish GPW3. Anyway, incredible video

Invictus is just perfection. There really is nothing to criticize. I play it quite often and it never gets boring!

I remember when hacks used to be about everyone getting a shot. Hell even Mario Maker though seems less about the creative and more just about insanity everywhere.

This video has just inspired me to make challenging mario levels of my own

"Speedrunners When?" I hope soon, this game seems to deserve it.

You need to play Grand Poo World 2 then. It is the greatest Kaizo ROM hack made yet. I only wish it hadn't come out so soon after Invictus. Always felt like GPW2 robbed Invictus a bit. There was only a couple months between the two. So most of the bigtime speed runners moved to it only a little bit afterwards. Luckily there is a pretty significant Speed Running Community built around it.

The level design is so clever that it made me laugh out of joy!

Great video! Now, looking forward to the GPW3 vid next year! :D

I love how the grand finale is implemented. Every mechanic that you learned all in one level.

One thing I want to note about your statement about super mario maker rely more on arrows and messaging of some sort than this hack In this hack you play each level and you learn the layout design from playing through the hack. There can be different themes mechanics in the levels but you learn the general design of levels and thus it doesn't have to rely on messaging in the levels. But in Super Mario Maker you have to design your levels as if this is the only level a player will play of your levels. You can have interconnected themes and ideas for a world you make but in a level if you just assume a player will know the concepts you throw out you hinder the players that got your levels individually and not in the world.

Oh, congrats for the baby :) Have fun, and don't worry, your free time for gaming will slowly but surely come back. Until of course you decide to have a second one :D

Invictus is seriously one of the best rom hacks ever. It totally changed the game for SMW rom hacks. Everyone should see this game played

I finally finished this video and I can't wait to get home from work so I can check out your Hack! Cheers!

You should do a good design/bad design video on Bug Fables compared to the modern Paper Mario games, going over what makes old PM fans go to Bug Fables and how modern PM can improve.

I never thought a Kaizo Game could have good game design. But then again, I never played the B-Side levels in Celeste.

Great seeing a Super Mario World ROM hack in a "Good Game Design" video. It's inspiring considering I'm making my first Super Mario World ROM hack myself.

This is so cool! I recently found your channel through an Undertale video, and I never thought I'd see an SMW ROM Hack on here. Respect! Hopefully you've played Grand Poo World 2!

I just finished this hack so I can be ready for GPW3 this Friday and you put to words a lot of what I felt while I played it. Extremely fun hack!

Another great video! I rely on you for things that are typically out of my taste so I can discover new awesome stuff!

The long con Kaizo block may just be the greatest troll in SMW romhack history

This is going to sound really dumb since this comparison is overused, but I enjoy Kaizo hacks the same way I enjoy Dark Souls. I wouldn't ever play them as I get frustrated easily, but I love watching them be played.

He’s doing invictus? Heck yea!

Woah is this the man who needed save states to get through Mario 3 just a few years ago? You've grown

This hack is how I found the nerd himself that made Invictus and I've been watching him ever since. Juz's Hack is the one hack where I don't have any complaints about any of the levels, the music is FANTASTIC, every level is unique/challenging and it's so fun to plan. This is one of my favorite hacks; it's one of the hacks that I end up revisiting the most. Certainly greater than 3/10 juzSmug

You could look into geometry dash at some point too as its also a super challenging game once you get into the harder online levels and for the top levels can require hundreds of thousands of attempts to get consistent enough for them. the skill cap is incredibly high but there are steps to it everywhere and you can climb in skill really fast if youre dedicated enough.

If you're open to suggestions, maybe you could have a look at "Them's Fightin' Herds"? It's a game that started as a My Little Pony fighting fangame and eventually became its own thing and ended up in EVO's current lineup. From what I have heard, the mechanics are solid and the game apparently have a good tutorial.

This and Grand Poo World 2 are two of my favorite _games_, let alone ROM hacks. I hope you like GPW2 too!

Nice to see you back! Have you try out some celeste mods? There is a lot of great community made maps out there

As someone who really was into SMW hacking back in the days, I have to says it amazes me the stuff people can put into their romhacks nowadays

As someone who just played through all the DKC games and has played Super Mario World to death, this looks fun as hell lol. Like a Mario game full of Bopopolis's.

Awww an increasingly mobile baby!!! Hope you and your family are doing well :)

These looks like Celeste b and c side levels, dope

"Is harder than it looks", wtf did I just watch o.O

Those "penguins" are called "Bumpty's" lol

Invictus has awesome music. What was the song at 12:00? It sounds like a Red&Green song but not one I've heard before.

Invictus means unconquerable. Appropriate.

10:48 This is by far the most important part of the video

Lol I hear a SNES version of VVVVVV’s pressure cooker.

Omg, this looks like the stuff my nightmares are made from.

I would either break my hands or break my computer before I beat this game.

Since you like Kaizo Rom hacks so much, I'd HIGHLY reccomend you try out IWBTG fangames. The original IWBTG was known for being pretty hard and it inspired a lot of fangames. Most are pretty bs and unfair, but quite a few have a lot of care and effort put into them (and some are even kinda easy!) I would post links to how you can find your way around IWBTG fangames but if you do enough research and just try some out you should eventually find what you want (similar to Kaizo hacks) Personally I would reccomend the original I Wanna Be The Guy and I Wanna Be The Fangame to start, not cause they are the easiest but cause they are the most "classic" and are generally well designed in a basic way (tho a lot of the fanbase ironically doesn't think the original holds up well) If you want one that's really easy then try I Wanna Run The Marathon. There's like other easy ones but I sadly don't have THAT many memorized so I'm sure you can find them on your own. Just felt the need to advertise these games cause I wish more people knew about them. They aren't perfect at all but man do they hit really hard when they are designed well! (Bonus reccomendation...I Wanna Be The Boshy...one of the most popular ones and for good reason, very very hard bosses but they are EXTREMELY over the top! Artstyle is really good too! Also a classic but in a different way than the first 2 I reccomended you...)

GrandPooWorld 2 is the Bowser of rom hacks, Invictus is the Kamek of rom hacks.

If your entire channel was super Mario world rom hack reviews, I would be totally down

awesome video! great work

Now I just need a list of the music used in this video. Be good to listen to. :)

Really looking forward to the Origami King episode of Game Design

I've yet to play kaizo, but what i've always found so enamoring about it is that its made by people who saw the potential of insane difficulty in the mechanics of a game that nintendo would never make that hard.

Pway my wom hack! But seriously you should try Cool Zone. I made it sure but I incidentally made it with the same vibe as Invictus. I say incidentally because Juz was developing it while I was making my own. :P

This feels like it's on celeste levels of good game design

Still listening to Radix Fire and Ice all the time : D