Dev Commentary Time! Watermelon Walls Was Another Of The Very Earliest Levels From The First Demo Nine

dev commentary time! Watermelon Walls was another of the very earliest levels from the first demo nine years ago. but unlike Pineapple Pipeline, this one's had some substantial improvements over the years!

the most obvious change is the color palette, which tones down the red and adds a splash of green to fit the watermelon theming. i swear, you could barely even see Mario or the enemies in the old version...!

and speaking of colors, before this area was two-tone... the bricks were instead invisible, and you had to feel your way around with the portal gun. while spinies were piling up around you! how did i think this was okay!!

in fact, pretty much the entire second half of the level was similarly reworked. like, this jump required perfect precision JUST to get barely saved by the blue gel??? i like the new version much better, Thank You Very Much!

so between reworking so much of the nonsense and running out of steam getting that first demo out the door nine years ago... this level is weirdly short? i think that's fine, it doesn't overstay its welcome.

a lot of the level's mechanics are based around the consequences of slowing down. the lakitus have a long wind-up on throwing spinies, so they don't show up as much if you're running. the koopas here destroy the bridges, but only if you slow down and kick them.

remember how i said there used to be mushrooms and flowers in early versions of retrush? of all the early levels, i think the slower pace of this level's mechanics makes it uniquely suited to having power-ups.

which makes it weird that there were only, like, two mushrooms. instead, oddly, this level had more 1-ups in it than mushrooms?? even though the mappack has infinite lives???

…as it happens, infinite lives were a last minute decision for the first demo, and i didn't have time to remove all the 1-ups! you can tell i was in a rush… a RETrush [roll credits]

most of the 1-ups were buried in hidden blocks and random bricks that probably nobody ever found. several of them got converted to stars for the final release, and given a bit more visibility so they'd actually be of some use!

finally, i'd like to touch on the music choice - my partner @harmonyfriends picked this one out! i think it's a fantastic fit that i wouldn't have found otherwise. i just wish the stage wasn't so short, so you could hear more of the song...

Watermelon Walls (2-3) | Retrush

This rooftop run tests your confidence, with lots of quick tricks backed up by safer, slower strats for casual players. Just don't take it too slow, or the Lakitus will swarm the area with enemies!

Saltine Sewer (1-2) | Retrush

This vertical passage is hardly a straightforward drop - the narrow, winding corridors leave little room to navigate around the enemies on patrol. But it's a great level to get the hang of using the portal gun to zip around!

Oregano Oak (3-3) | Retrush

A classic athletic style level with a fresh coat of paint! The flying enemies provide lots of opportunities for bouncing to shortcuts on higher platforms... and with good timing, some of the falling enemies do too!

Gelato Grasslands (1-1) | Retrush

Welcome back to familiar plains of bricks and pipes! This is a great place to get reacquainted with SMB1's physics and sense of momentum. With well-timed jumps, you can clear even the tallest pipes at full speed!

Cinnamon Cavern (3-2) | Retrush

Danger lurks in every crevice of this blistering cave! The sparse enemies are hardly a threat compared to the crisscrossed veins of molten magma – watch your feet as you hot-foot it to the flag!

Toffee Tracks (2-1) | Retrush

A race to the caboose! Find the right keys to get in and out of each train car. Once you find the key, use portals to skip the trek back to the door! Just don't disturb the passengers along the way...