New Super Marisa Land - World 8, Final Boss, Ending
53The way back to the shop is sealed off. There's no turning back now...
World 8 only consists of one stage and a boss fight. Hakurei Shrine, as of v1.10, is accessible through completing all the extra stages, but is not accessible from this route. No red stars to collect, just (arguably) the hardest level and boss left in the game. The stage is the hardest autoscroller in the game, if only because it goes about twice as fast as all the other ones. As long as you stay towards the front of the screen, though, you'll have plenty of time to get around obstacles, but make sure you leave enough room to avoid incoming enemies. The "boss fight" at the end here isn't really a boss fight; just 3 normal fairies.
The *REAL* boss fight is somewhat more difficult than the other boss fights, but still not terribly challenging. You do have a fair amount to keep track of, though. After knocking one fairy out, the platforms start to move up and down, and after two, the mushroom will occasionally lunge the entire screen length. Just keep chucking those spores, watching for more incoming spores and falling platforms, and this boss is fairly simple.
After beating it, you're warped back to Marisa's house, which you can now enter and pick up a free mushroom, Yukkuri mushroom (if you want a challenge), or mega mushroom (if you just want to crush everything at the beginning of a stage).
And that's a wrap for New Super Marisa Land. To give a quick review/summary...
This is actually a very well-made Mario type fangame. The vast majority of Mario type games seem to suffer from at least one of many problems, mainly being either slippery controls, poorly constructed difficulty curves, or unimaginative level design. This game manages to avoid ALL of these issues. The difficulty ramps up at a good pace, the controls are mostly crisp, and the levels are enjoyable to play through. The red star thing also offers an extra challenge for those (like me) who want one, but the game's plenty enjoyable for those who just want to grind through the levels without seeking out secrets.
The only issue I have is with the boss fights. They are ALL too easy. The only exception is the final boss, which is significantly harder than the rest (as it should be), but I'm pretty sure I beat all the other bosses on my first time reaching them.
Overall, I'll give this game a 9/10. Definitely worth checking out, regardless of whether you're a fan of the Touhou series or not.