Difference between revisions of "Maria Sister"
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'''Author:''' [[Maria Software]]<br /> | '''Author:''' [[Maria Software]]<br /> | ||
'''Related games:''' ''[[Blork Carnage]]'', ''[[Martin Bros.]]'', ''[[Badman]]'' | '''Related games:''' ''[[Blork Carnage]]'', ''[[Martin Bros.]]'', ''[[Badman]]'' | ||
| − | }}[[ | + | }}''Maria Sister'' is a side-scrolling platformer designed by Maria Martin, sister to Pierre and Sylvain of [[PPP Team]]. Maria must spurn the advances of endless male followers, collect beauty items, and search for an escape. |
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| + | [[File:Maria.gif|center]] | ||
| + | The game reuses sprites from several PPP Team games, including the protagonists from the now-lost ''[[Martin Bros.]]'', Jack Boost from ''[[Blork Carnage]]'', and various enemies from ''[[Badman]]''. Beyond the sprites, the music is drawn from the same archives as most PPP Team games (largely Dan Froelich's early material for Epic Megagames), the menus have a similar style, and the controls have the familiar PPP Team layout. | ||
| + | Despite the title, there is little real similarity to ''[[:Category:Tributes|Super Mario Bros.]]''. Rather, the title and premise are sort of a three-way pun. For one there is Maria Martin, sister to the usual designers. For another there is Time Warp Productions' infamous ''Super Mario'' knock-off ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Giana_Sisters The Great Giana Sisters]'', which found immense popularity in Europe. In that game, Maria is the Luigi to Giana's Mario. Building off of those two points, one can see ''Maria Sister'' as a spin-off of or an answer to PPP Team's ''Martin Bros.'' | ||
| + | The game bears more similarity to Tom Hall's ''[[Commander Xeen|Commander Keen]]'' series (which itself started life as a failed pitch for an official PC version of ''Super Mario Bros. 3''), including a strong thematic focus on collecting and a structural focus on careful platform-jumping in a large enclosed space. | ||
| + | The jumping mechanics, combined with the solidity and placement of platforms, can cause some problems. Whereas the floor has a 3/4 slope to it, reminiscent of [[Tony & Me|brawlers]] like ''Double Dragon'' and ''Final Fight'', the only way for Maria to move down that slope is to leap high into the air and to allow gravity to pull her down until she hits the opposite wall. Likewise to move up the slope she can only make small jumps. | ||
| + | [[File:Maria.png|thumb|320px|No time for love in ''Maria Sister'']] | ||
| + | Floating platforms appear to be solid only on the top surface, yet have a large collision box that can make it trickier than necessary to climb background structures. Adding to the difficulty are the specifics of Maria's jumping movement, in which her 45-degree jumps are both faster and much stronger than her vertical leaps, which can lead to a loss of control on the player's end. Furthermore some platforms seem to be placed with all of these disadvantages in mind, specifically to frustrate the player. | ||
| − | + | Regardless of the issues, ''Maria Sister'' is a very appealing game. Brief, as with many PPP Team games, but refined. | |
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| − | Maria | ||
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== Story == | == Story == | ||
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The goal is to collect all the beautiful little combs to open the exit ... | The goal is to collect all the beautiful little combs to open the exit ... | ||
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* '''''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/downloads/maria.zip Maria Sister]''''' (779.2 kB) | * '''''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/downloads/maria.zip Maria Sister]''''' (779.2 kB) | ||
| + | [[Category: Game-Maker games]] | ||
[[Category: Freeware]] | [[Category: Freeware]] | ||
[[Category: Maria Software]] | [[Category: Maria Software]] | ||
Revision as of 08:37, 3 October 2011
Release type: Freeware
Release date: August 2, 1995
Levels: 1
Author: Maria Software
Related games: Blork Carnage, Martin Bros., Badman
Maria Sister is a side-scrolling platformer designed by Maria Martin, sister to Pierre and Sylvain of PPP Team. Maria must spurn the advances of endless male followers, collect beauty items, and search for an escape.
The game reuses sprites from several PPP Team games, including the protagonists from the now-lost Martin Bros., Jack Boost from Blork Carnage, and various enemies from Badman. Beyond the sprites, the music is drawn from the same archives as most PPP Team games (largely Dan Froelich's early material for Epic Megagames), the menus have a similar style, and the controls have the familiar PPP Team layout.
Despite the title, there is little real similarity to Super Mario Bros.. Rather, the title and premise are sort of a three-way pun. For one there is Maria Martin, sister to the usual designers. For another there is Time Warp Productions' infamous Super Mario knock-off The Great Giana Sisters, which found immense popularity in Europe. In that game, Maria is the Luigi to Giana's Mario. Building off of those two points, one can see Maria Sister as a spin-off of or an answer to PPP Team's Martin Bros.
The game bears more similarity to Tom Hall's Commander Keen series (which itself started life as a failed pitch for an official PC version of Super Mario Bros. 3), including a strong thematic focus on collecting and a structural focus on careful platform-jumping in a large enclosed space.
The jumping mechanics, combined with the solidity and placement of platforms, can cause some problems. Whereas the floor has a 3/4 slope to it, reminiscent of brawlers like Double Dragon and Final Fight, the only way for Maria to move down that slope is to leap high into the air and to allow gravity to pull her down until she hits the opposite wall. Likewise to move up the slope she can only make small jumps.
Floating platforms appear to be solid only on the top surface, yet have a large collision box that can make it trickier than necessary to climb background structures. Adding to the difficulty are the specifics of Maria's jumping movement, in which her 45-degree jumps are both faster and much stronger than her vertical leaps, which can lead to a loss of control on the player's end. Furthermore some platforms seem to be placed with all of these disadvantages in mind, specifically to frustrate the player.
Regardless of the issues, Maria Sister is a very appealing game. Brief, as with many PPP Team games, but refined.
Contents
Story
The goal is to collect all the beautiful little combs to open the exit ...
Instructions
On the numerical keypad:
- 4, 6: Walk left, right
- 7, 8, 9: Jump left, up, right
- /, -: Project broken heart left, right
Credits
Maria is a game by Mary Martin of Maria Software
Links
Downloads
- Maria Sister (779.2 kB)
