Getting an exact port like SMB is very impressive both to the initiated and the uninitiated. Great Gianna Sisters aside, this SMB port is impressive. To the uninitiated it's impressive because they may have never expected the C64 could do such a thing. But that's fine.
To the initiated this port is impressive because of the level of polish; attention to detail and quality of the gameplay matching the original.
Anybody can carve wood but only a great artist can do it very well.
This is a game not a tech demo. The Shadow of the Beast was a demo even on the Amiga.
The level of polish may be artistically impressive to those familiar with the original game, but it's not particularly technically impressive. It's not a complex game by C64 standards, and to have slowdowns in such a simple game does not feel like it's polished.
I get that this is a port, and that they've more concerned with matching the original as closely as possible and less with optimizing for the C64, and that's of course a valid choice, and praising them for matching the original is not something I take issue with.
I'm just surprised that people find it impressive.
To me, looking at it, I wasn't impressed because I remember the games I played at the time, and it just doesn't compare all that favorably.
To the initiated this port is impressive because of the level of polish; attention to detail and quality of the gameplay matching the original.
Anybody can carve wood but only a great artist can do it very well.
This is a game not a tech demo. The Shadow of the Beast was a demo even on the Amiga.
Where we agree is R-Type. Superb.