Abandoned Lab

Chapter 1: Abandoned Lab Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero

It's an abandoned lab for a reason...

Overview Creator(s): Scatman's World Composer(s): Jun Ishikawa, Kouji Murata, Naoto Tanaka (original music) RushJet1 (covers) Statistics Rank: Chapter 1 Collectables: 003: Mega Man 057: Doc Robot Enemies: Cannon Chibee Mag Fly New Shotman Peterchy Yambow Gimmicks: Junk Block Wanaan Bosses: Doc Robot Overloaded

Theme Music Intro: Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Ominous Wind Mega Man III - Wily Marine Base Boss: Mega Man X5 - Sigma 1st Stage Order Previous: Twilight Terrace/Skyhigh Ridge Next: Subterranean Stronghold

Abandoned Lab is the ninth level in Chapter 1 of Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero. En route to Dr. Wily's Secret Bunker, Zero is tasked with going through an old Wily Castle, specifically the one from Mega Man 3, which is surprisingly still intact and populated by online robots. The level primarily revolves around using invincible Mag Flies to traverse spiked hallways, culminating in a boss fight against a powered-up Doc Robot.

Strategy

The stage begins outside the castle, with a prerecorded message from Dr. Wily and a giant wall blocking the way. Moving to the left, however, will reveal a ladder that leads to a high platform, with a Mag Fly passing by. Using the Mag Fly, Zero can bypass the wall, finding a door into the castle on the other side. If held by the Mag Fly long enough, a CD can be reached on a high platform some distance from the door. Once inside the castle's pipe-filled brick basement, Zero is assaulted by Cannons, Peterchies, and Chibees, all of whom try to knock Zero into pits. By dashjumping across platforms high in the air, he can avoid most of the danger and reach two large Bolts at the end, but New Shotmen are present to knock him down. The next room over forces Zero to use another Mag Fly to carry him over a floor of spikes, over to a ladder leading to a room with a Cannon - as well as an indestructible beehive on the ceiling that infinitely spawns Chibees, which is a recurring threat across the stage.

The screen above this introduces Junk Blocks into the level, with Zero needing to bypass a stack of them before more fall from above. From here, he is tasked with crossing a large chasm by dashjumping across small platforms, while avoiding Junk Blocks that fall from chutes in the ceiling. Climbing up the ladder at the end takes Zero to a long hallway with spikes lining the floor, with a trio of invincible Mag Flies enabling him to cross it. However, a swarm of invincible Chibees are encountered over the spikes, with Yambows acting as their support in damaging Zero. Towards the end, another swarm of Chibees rush after Zero in an attempt to hurt him, but they can be destroyed with any weapon. On the other side of the spiked floor, a ladder leads to a vertical scrolling section where Zero must climb upwards by jumping on Wanaan vents, eventually reaching the first "proper" checkpoint (not counting the one reached when entering the castle). Another Mag Fly flight ensues; this time with only one, and with more emphasis placed on Zero moving up and down the Mag Fly's pull to avoid hazards and getting stuck on walls. By staying in the Mag Fly's magnetic field until the end, he can reach a high platform with some Bolts and an E-Tank.

To the right is another platforming section, combining the Wanaans and falling Junk Blocks together for challenges that keep Zero jumping while waiting for a safe time to cross over a pit. Halfway across the hallway, the stone brick of the castle gives way to the metallic texture of the laboratory within. After a screen with a Cannon and two Wanaans, Zero reaches the final Mag Fly flight of the stage, which once again gives him three Mag Flies to work with. Alongside more Chibees and Yambows, Junk Blocks frequently block his path, and need to be quickly destroyed; an effective method of doing so is by equipping the Cutter Chip and using the Z-Saber, putting Zero in a perpetual Rolling Slash as long as he stays in a Mag Fly's pull. Alternatively, Yambows can be lured into flying straight into Junk Blocks, which they can also destroy. By staying with the Mag Fly trio the entire way over the spikes, Zero can be carried over a high wall into a secret room, containing two large Bolts and a CD. The ladder below leads to a small room packed with Peterchys and Chibees, and a door leading to Doc Robot Overloaded's lair in the deepest part of the lab.

Z-Phone Dialogue

	Contact	Transcript
	Dr. Wily	Dr. Wily: Abandoned Lab? Oh, that's one of my older castles. I should have left a prerecorded message there, right? You had to have passed here to get to my bunker, so something tells me you didn't listen to its directions. Well, whatever. It's an abandoned lab for a reason. Nothing there nowadays. Zero: Was there not a skull robot there? Dr. Wily: WHAT?! How did it get there?! Please tell me you took care of it...
	Agent Krantz	Krantz: Abandoned Lab? I remember it took us a while to finally get a chance to investigate that place, but from what I remember... There should be some leftover Mag Flies in that area. The investigation crew couldn't destroy them, so they just let them roam. They also got run out of the area, so they could only progress so far inside. Zero: What caused them to get run out? Krantz: Bees. Or rather, Chibees. They're bee-like robots that chase after you. They attack in groups, and according to the team that got driven out, the ones there are relentless. The entire area was sanctioned off as a result, so we barely even got anything. If there's an Element there like you said, there's no telling what might be guarding it, given their former rarity. Be prepared for anything!
	Galaxy Man	(CD #1): Seems you missed one way up in the sky, right at the entrance! Just hang on to that flying magnet guy as long and high as you can! (CD #2): Careful, this one might catch you! At the deepest part of the lab, make sure to KEEP riding the magnets! They'll help you get over a suuuper tall ledge on the left at the very end. Then, the prize'll be yours!
	Yamato Man	Doc Robot Overloaded? Quite a mouthful... People don't know when to step back a little when they're given all these tools, do they? It's got way too many weapons at its disposal! Stay at mid-range when it throws a giant sawblade, or else you'll get hit by it when it starts bouncing back towards him! When he loses his arms, he'll create a fake clone that blocks attacks, so keep your positioning in mind, especially when they mimic Crash Man and start jumping when you shoot! When that happens, keep in mind one of them'll jump higher than the other, so it might be better to just airdash over them if you're cornered.
	Knives	Knives: Hmm... this IS some nice solitude, and the cobwebs and desolation make for a great atmosphere... And I DO love a constant sense of existential dread every waking second! But it's too old. Pick a newer horrible area! We need to make our date original. Zero: I would rather it just be over with. Knives: Hahaha! Noooo! Our date will be the greatest date to ever date!!

Trivia

• Appropriately enough for a level set in the ruins of that game's Wily Castle, all of the level's enemies and gimmicks are exclusively ones from Mega Man 3.
• On the world map, the skull centerpiece on the Wily Castle is crying.
• The level seems to play on the fact that while the fortress began to crumble at the end of Mega Man 3, it didn't explicitly self-destruct like many of Dr. Wily's later bases. Indeed, its graphic on the map appears to be derived from its damaged but structurally-intact state at the end of issue #48 of the Archie Mega Man comic.
• Like many levels in Chapter 1, Abandoned Lab's spikes are Damage Spikes that merely cause 7 points of damage rather than instant death.