AMAZON

DOT COM.

SO much more of an improvement over "Link at Home"

Though Link at Home was a great first crack at animating, I think this is the first flash where I can really appreciate and trend the work you've completed. What a technically massive improvement you've pulled off.

The three biggest things I noticed:

+THE SOUND SYNCS WITH THE ACTION ON SCREEN. Great job in switching over that Sync/Event issue from last time. I still suggest that you fix that issue in your other .swf and replace the file here (as well as on DA) so when your future fans ultimately want to see what you've made in the past, they can comprehend it.

+The animation quality is even throughout the work. In Link at Home, the level of animation near the end was noticeably better than during the first half, and I think I can only connect that to you learning the fundamentals while you were still making the animation, and not going over the first half again to "even it out" in terms of looks. In this work, the poses, lipsynching, and overall look remained consistent. Great job.

+Really nice sound mixing. That's something I just started to learn to appreciate since I'm still learning it myself. You're working on so many levels, not just with your art, but also with your sound--and there's been dramatic improvements in both. But really, I love the care you made into making the sound file, the music doesn't overpower the voices and the ending theme was a nice touch too and expertly faded in.

Improvement Suggestions/Things You Might Like to Work On:

Now that I've seen multiple of your projects, I'd like to help you out with some things to try out in the future.

+You need to embrace a more dynamic camera. Try to incorporate zooms and slow pans in what you do to make scenes more dramatic. Don't forget changing to other perspectives. Read about the 180 Degree Rule on wikipedia and check out the .fla I sent you before as it should have some good starting examples. Continue to experiment with perspective.

+Add more easing/bounce to your animation; easing is when something accelerates when it starts to move or stop; bouncing is self-explanatory. I think some easing could have been added to Layton's hand-movements with some slight full-body bouncing just to give off more movement to the animation.

I'm flattered that you made this--please continue to experiment with whatever YOU want and continue to spread out as a flash animator.

Let's Talk NG for a bit:

NG is weird compared to a lot of other sites you can host videos on because the judging is done by experienced animators, hobbyists, and talentless cynics alike. The judging is uneven--so numbers and rankings don't matter or equate to squat. Always remember that. Same for the reviews, a detailed thought-provoking critique should never be summed up to a finite numerical amount. And there's plenty of that here. Views are just another number, an empty statistic--real money is in the comments. And not just quantity of comments, but thought that have been put into them. It's really rewarding when someone I've been inspired by drops in to talk about my animations for a bit.

That said, this is a great site for exposure and developing an awareness for the drastically difference audiences you'll grow compared to sites like youtube or deviantart. My advice is that you use DA as a soundboard for what to improve on and build a supportive fanbase (block any dicks instantly--keep that filter strong), make those corrections, and submit to newgrounds (or post in a NG opinion forum for more critique) for the most unbiased critique.

Also, never read any review below an 8.

Never respond to anything that isn't a 10.

Reading enough poison comments can actually make you feel bad. Especially when 80% of the people comment here don't understand the craft. If someone has something very profound to explain to you in order for you to improve, they'll do it via PM (that happens pretty often, and those messages are far more supportive and open to extended conversations). So just skip overy anything that can be potentially abusive to keep this hobby fun.

That's about it.

Did somebody say...

...bananas?

Wonderful time!

Great fun--just what games are supposed to be.

Raaaaaaaggghhh!

I can't believe you uploaded this game on Newgrounds.

I don't have to play it. I've been warning my friends about this game for about a week since I broke me on AG. It dumbfounded me and really made me feel really helpless and sad. It broke my heart on what otherwise would have been a great day. It really connected with me in the worst and most fantastic way possible. I doubt I could bring myself to go through that trauma again, but I must say that any emotional toying you intended from the start hit me harder than I could ever admit.

Damn you and great job!

Wow, I'm almost in love.

This son gis just so peaceful. I love how simple it is. This is certainly one of my most favorite sounds on NG.

HMMM

A heart attack sounds nothing like that. You could have at least found out what they actually sound like...im sure your trying to show E as we call them heart attacks here...

Hehehe

That's hilarious.

I'm in a really good mood!

Thank you for jump starting my new year (which effectively started today since my school vacation ended and I'll be here until next Christmas :< )! But I'm not sad, this really put a great smizile on my face and I'm really sincerely appreciative. I recognize all the characters and love the epicness of it all.

With all the new content that gets added to NG each day, it's surprising just to see a review for my older stuff, especially when I've been so busy with school that I hardly have time to animate. So I really appreciate not just the mention, but the work that went into this too. Did you make this in flash too--that makes it only the awesomer. Also on a side note, I'm glad you drew Uli pushing against the giant TripEx because I wasn't so sure if I properly conveyed that in the animation.

Cheese, Potatoes, Keychains, AA Batteries are all things I don't appreciate nearly as much as this combined. <3

Hahah!

This is so full of awesome!