Here are my notes for round 3 of the 1-1 contest. As usual I gave everyone a star and my critiques are primarily based on the idea that these are 1-1 levels.
KirbYuuYuu - GAF World 1-1
Good level, a couple minor gripes, like the first koopa being in a position where its shell will likely bounce back at you, the first jump isn't quite small enough imo, and you can completely blow your shot at the vine by breaking bricks. One aesthetic gripe: The underground section wouldn't be vertically shifted offscreen if it were along the bottom of the canvas.
Dad - Flowering Fields
A lot of attention to aesthetics here, but it also works well as a level. No real complaints here.
MaxwellGT2000 - Oatmeal Plains
Way too advanced for a 1-1.
Lady Siara - Wispy Whims
Hammer Bros are a big no-no in a 1-1 for me, and spinies should be used sparingly if at all.
Sixfortyfive - Neo Super Mario Bros. W1-1
A good 1-1 for the SMB style. Slightly unorthodox, but that's not a bad thing.
DumbNameD - Spin to Win! - When to Spin?
Spin jumps don't seem like a good mechanic for a 1-1, and certainly not to this degree. Too advanced.
Schlomo - 1-1 My First Yoshi
Interesting take on 1-1 with Yoshi. My only complaint is that I managed to lose Yoshi right before the chompers and had to choose whether to go back for the earlier one, get hit on the chompers, or try to jump over them to the next Yoshi.
rockmanjoe - Mario Begins 1-1
Would've felt more like a 1-1 without the spinies, spike tops, and the entire underground section.
Pinky - Mario Enters The Kingdom
Felt unique and creative, some elements were slightly more advanced than I'd expect to see in a 1-1.
cyba89 - The Wonderful 1-1
Good level, but some of the running jumps required were too much for a 1-1.
RagnarokX - Garden Garrison
This level felt like it was made to troll newbies. It was fun, but not exactly baby steps.
jnWake - 1-1 Rescue Mushroom Town
The layout feels overly complex for a 1-1. The main bridge route invites beginners to stay on the bridge, but there's so much other stuff going on, one can't help but try to get to the other areas, which are much less beginner friendly.
Tapion - Level 1-1
Wall jumps, spike tops, parakoopa air bounces, a P-Switch that could potentially trap a new player into time-out/restart. Between the descending wall jumps between spike tops and the wall jumps to vines this felt like baby's first kaizo.
Sephzilla - Simple Beginnings
This is a good level, but it has one catastrophic problem as a 1-1 is concerned IMO. After you get the feather, there is a jump that requires you to either fly or run and jump, but if you go back to the previous block (as most players would) to get a running start, the red parakoopa respawns and you get hit while running toward a bottomless pit you need to get past.
Nocturnowl - Easy Breezy (1-1)
Not bad, but the arrows and letters and paths made of coins everywhere felt a bit too hand-holdy, like the level wasn't teaching me so much as telling me exactly what to do and when.
Christine - World 1-1 Skinny Mario Approved
I like this level, but was there supposed to be a skinny mushroom somewhere? I replayed it and broke every block I could trying to figure out if there was since I thought that would be a neat hook.
Nezumi - Babysteps
Short, simple, nothing seemed too hard. Maybe a little too short.