Cossack's Other Citadel

30th: Cossack's Other Citadel Make a Good Mega Man Level 2

Always nice to come home for a visit.

Overview Creator(s): Big Fish Composer(s): Minae Fujii Statistics Scores: 36 27 33 25 36 Total: 31.4 / 50 Rank: 30th Elements: 1 Enemies: Biree Garyoby Imorm Shield Attacker Totem Polen Gimmicks: Auto Scroller Ringman Platform Toad Rain

Theme Music Mega Man 4 - Cossack's Citadel Stages 1 + 2 Stage Order Location: Tier 7 Previous: Cursor Curse Next: Fortified Lab

"It was like a mashup of the 4 Cossack stages, but...it didn't really do anything more than that."

―JupiHornet, summing up the level.

Cossack's Other Citadel is the 30th place entry in Make a Good Mega Man Level 2, created by Big Fish. The setting, as the name suggests, is an abridged version of Dr. Cossack's Citadel from Mega Man 4, combining the tilesets from all four Citadel stages into one level.

Strategy

Cossack 1

The first part of the stage is a vertical climb with ice physics, with only Shield Attackers and Garyobys as obstacles. The second screen can be skipped with Wire Adaptor, which will also net you two Large Bolts, as well as two more on the next screen. About halfway up, the stage replaces those enemies with Imorms. Unlike in the rest of the contest (but exactly like in Mega Man 4) the Imorms are invisible while on the ceiling and only become visible when dropping down, setting them up to ambush you. The first two screens with the Imorms aren't too bad (but, again, be careful of the ice physics fouling up your jumps) but on the third screen an Imorm will drop down atop the ladder upwards, blocking your path. You can easily get rid of it with weapons such as Hornet Chaser or Wheel Cutter, but if you're doing the level Buster Only then the best way to remove the bug safely would be to snipe it from the raised floor on the left with the Small Energy; just be careful of the Imorm above them waiting to ambush you. Get rid of the worms, then time your way past the Garyoby and climb up the ladder.

Cossack 2

Even though this screen still mostly uses Cossack 1's tileset, it also introduces this section's main gimmick: Ring Man bridges. It also adds Totem Polens to the mix. Climb up, grab the Bolts and Weapon Energy refills, then proceed. The next screen has another Totem Polen, as well as a Ring Man bridge over a Garyoby. The bridge recedes from right to left, most likely sending you into the pit with the Garyoby before you reach the ladder, so either eliminate the Garyoby from the side with Slash Claw or time it so it's out of your way when you have to drop down. On the next screen is another Ring Man bridge (going left to right) above a larger pit filled with three Garyobys and a spiked ceiling. Eliminate the Totem Polen at the end, then step on the bridge to disintegrate it, timing it so that it's fully receded while the Garyobys are all going to the left. Jump into the empty side of the pit, jump back onto the partially reformed bridge, then, as the bridge disintegrates once again and the Garyobys all now heading to the right, jump to the left side of the pit, then jump back out. The rest of the section is all about dodging Birees. It's also worth noting that Birees are also destroyed by Slash Claw.

Cossack 3

Apart from the first screen, which holds some Large Bolts as well as winds pushing against you, this section is entirely an auto-scroll segment. The first thing of note is a large Biree snake made of seven Birees, which you should jump over while it's starting to climb up from the pit to where you're standing. After that is a small pit of spikes along with a single platform with a Garyoby. You can slide over the spikes to the floor below, but the Garyoby's platform has an Imorm under it, so don't head forward immediately. Following this a long straightaway in the middle with an offscreen Garyoby that will charge in at you, beyond which is a gap with a Shield Attacker patrolling it, so time your fall to avoid it. Eliminate the Totem Polen and keep advancing until you reach the end, transitioning to Cossack 4.

Cossack 4

The next couple of screens have some Bolts and Weapon Energy refills, as well as some Imorms that are easily disposed of. Dropping down begins another auto-scroll segment, with three or four different lanes separated by Ring Man bridges. The bridges disintegrate quickly, but you'll have an easier time if you stay in a lower lane then jumping into a higher one before the end of the bridge reaches you. Along the way you'll also have to deal with Shield Attackers flying towards you, so dodge them if you can or avoid them by moving into a different lane. Regardless, all the lanes join up again at the end, with only a pair of Totem Polens and a single Biree waiting for you. The final room is a narrow corridor with two trenches in the floor and a Shield Attacker barreling towards you; just stay in the first trench until the Shield Attacker flies off the screen, then head into the next room and collect the Energy Element.

Judge Comments
snoruntpyro  : 36 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 12 / 15 7 / 10 8 / 15 4 / 5 5 / 5 No tfw you decide to make imorms visible always to make them more fair and then someone makes them invisible anyways. Very good design in general - the whole level has a nice difficulty curve, and each of its gimmicks are used in good setups and then all combined in the end. I don't really have much to say about the level besides the fact that it's just really well designed. Strongest parts are definitely the autoscroll parts - I adore the unorthodox usage of shield attackers here, and the giant chains of Birees are hilarious. The room with Birees and ladders is also one that I really like - it's just some simple, but well designed setups with a single enemy. Really solid level overall; I like it a lot.
JupiHornet  : 27 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 8 / 15 5 / 10 7 / 15 3 / 5 4 / 5 Welp, that level existed. It was like a mashup of the 4 Cossack stages, but...it didn't really do anything more than that. It was a pretty boring level, to be honest. Also, in that autoscrolling section, there are 2 Shield Attackers that are literally impossible to avoid without the Flash Stopper, and the last room scrolls because a StopScroll object is missing.
Enjl  : 33 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 10 / 15 6 / 10 9 / 15 3 / 5 5 / 5 No I really like the start to this level. It presents all of its challenges one-by-one and builds on top of them through mutation of the setups. Sadly, my enjoyment with this level pretty much stopped as I went into the autoscroll sections. The first one if very easy and leaves a lot of room for interesting things that can be done with enemies, even without making it too cramped. The second one can be rather unfair if you don't see the enemies coming in time. Also where did the snow go?
Garirry  : 25 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 6 / 15 6 / 10 5 / 15 4 / 5 4 / 5 First half is not too bad, enemies are still placed alright, but in the second half it just becomes absolutely irritating. It was kinda boring. Some sections get really annoying. Nothing stands out. It's just not interesting. Too similar to the original and doesn't use the concepts in an interesting way. Looks alright but music is poorly rendered and cut. Has a few bugs. This stage is honestly mediocre. There's really nothing that stands out here and there's a lot of problems. Regarding level design, I actually think the first half is okay, but the second half is just filled with unfair enemy placement everywhere, not to mention the rain which just makes things even more difficult. Also the music choice is fine but it's so low-quality it hurts my ears. Oh, and that last room has the camera not implemented well for some reason.
ACESpark  : 36 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 13 / 15 8 / 10 7 / 15 3 / 5 5 / 5 No The biggest critique of your stage is a lack of challenge, and the first few rooms are a little meh in design (the Imorm enemy does not get used very well here, unfortunately). But for using only some very basic gimmicks, this one worked. The tileset is put together fine, the enemy variety hits the best balance, overall this was quite good. It felt like an official Mega Man stage through and through, and that's what we like to see. Your standout room was the final one, but worth noting is the fact you actually took conveyance into account - everything got introduced, and introduced well, even if I was not aware of these gimmicks and enemies from previous games (I am, but let's get hypothetical) you introduced them in such a fashion that the player could get used to them. And then you used everything in that last room to the best way possible. Even Shield Attackers. My word, you used Shield Attackers well. Good stuff mate. Only things really that could've improved the stage without changing the concept is perhaps a better choice in music, (and looping it correctly for a start) as it's a tad predictable, and maybe give it a bit more bite towards the end. One more, harder room, and I think you'd have NAILED what you were going for. You also gave just enough of a hint that your stage was ending, without making me anticipate a boss fight that would never come, so that is appreciated.

Notes

• There are several instances in the stage where objects were layered on top of each other, such as with the Garyoby on the third screen: using Slash Claw on it reveals that it is actually two Garyobys occupying the same space. Similarly, the "three" small Weapon Energy pickups in the room with the Birees and Shield Attacker are actually eleven small Weapon Energies stacked on top of each other.