Here's my commentary on the Group 3 contest levels. My girlfriend assisted me in playing through the levels and giving ratings, as someone less experienced with Mario platforming than me.
KirbYuuYuu - A bit short of a level. It reads quite well as a 1-1 style level though. However, if you take the secret path up, it drops down near the exit of a pipe secret area that you'll end up entering backwards. Either don't overlap secret areas or prevent entering them backwards.
Dad - I really like the artistic effort with the flowers and the bonus room. This might even be too easy for a 1-1 level, and apart from the visual aspect there's not a lot going on.
MaxwellGT2000 - Unfortunately just too hard for a 1-1. More powerups earlier on may have helped.
Lady Siara - I think Hammer Bros are too tricky in this game for an early level, and in a bonus room there's not much room to manuver against one. Giving a fire flower would make these encounters much easier.
Sixfortyfive - Solid 1-1 feel. I liked the plan of the hidden area but it's a bit awkward and too late in the level for the fire flower reward to really mean anything.
DumbNameD - I like the concept of a spin-jump training level, but, as far as I can remember, even the hardest secrets of SMW didn't require spinjumping off enemies, which kind of makes it definitely not 1-1, especially in the latter half which is too dangerous.
Schlomo - Yoshis pretty much always are fun, and this level does a good job introducing them. I thought the "no blocks" concept was really clever as well, and made this level stand out. The secret area is a bit awkward, as it's not really clear at first if you're intended to go over the wall (and ditch Yoshi to do do).
rockmanjoe - (Unfortunately I didn't take notes for this level, so I don't have much to say, sorry!)
Pinky - Cool concept and design, and some satisfying secrets. However, the second half spends too much time over bottomless pits with trickier jumps for a 1-1, in my view.
cyba89 - I made a note about this being a good 1-1 level except for the last jump, unfortunately I don't remember the details.
RagnarokX - Too many enemies, especially the surprise gophers, makes the level feel hectic. The bomb section is clever but is still quite dangerous on a first go.
jnWake - I really liked the concept and design of this level. Unique levels that still maintain the 1-1 feel are tricky for sure. This one does, except for some tough jumps, but nothing overly harsh.
Tapion - The wall jumping plus vines segment and bouncing off flying Koopas over pits both are well out of 1-1 territory. Even with simpler variations earlier on, it's a large step up in difficulty late in the level.
Sephzilla - Good difficulty for a 1-1 level, but a fairly basic design.
Nocturnowl - Good use of coins to guide the player, and fun to play through. Shows the importance of giving the player satisfying feedback.
Christine - There's a lot of open space with nothing going on, and then areas that seem oddly busy in comparison. Needs a bit more to build to the end.
Nezumi - Perfect in terms of 1-1 difficulty, but unfortunately not terribly memorable in design or concept.
I've had a lot of fun playing through the contest levels and seeing how other people approach the 1-1 idea. Some people managed to be really creative inside a really restrictive requirement and I'm impressed. Even where my comments are negative, almost every level got a star, so I think the quality of submission is very high, proving again that GAF is the best source of SMM levels. Looking forward to seeing how people view my level!
people were cheesing 2 (before i fixed it) and thought i would be cruel a bit
