CrashMan Simulator

174th: CrashMan Simulator Make a Good Mega Man Level 3

This is getting out of hand! Now there are two of them!

Overview Creator(s): boris225 Composer(s): Takashi Tateishi Statistics Scores: 18 10 40 32 20 Total: 18 / 100 Rank: 174th Elements: 1 Collectables: Bosses: Crash Man (x2) Flash Man Other Information: 25% late penalty.

Theme Music Mega Man 2 - Boss Stage Order Location: Tier 1 Previous: X6Meme Next: Glitched up Beta

"Having to lure around Crash Man (or rather Crash MEN) so he's safe to kill later seems like a neat idea, but in practice? It's actually really frustrating to control..."

―Mick Galbani, judge comment

CrashMan Simulator is the 174th place entry in Make a Good Mega Man Level 3. A very short level, it involves Mega Man attempting to navigate two instances of Crash Man through an obstacle course, to a point later on where both can be destroyed. Flash Man lies at the end, and will occasionally stop time to freeze Mega Man in his tracks.

Strategy

Crash Man will jump up whenever the fire button is pressed, even if Mega Man himself doesn't fire. Mega Man can use this to lure Crash Man (and his doppelganger) to the end of the stage. The floor is rigged to disappear with the destruction of the boss. Meanwhile, an offscreen Flash Man freezes Mega Man in place periodically, but poses little threat otherwise. Eventually, Mega Man will reach a ladder leading up into an open area where Flash Man is, and from there, dispose of the three bosses safely. It is also possible to enter the Crash Men's obstacle course from this area.

However, due to an oversight by the level designer, the floor does not disappear until all the bosses are destroyed. As a result, it is possible for Mega Man to destroy the two Crash Men with a Special Weapon that can reach them (such as Tornado Blow or Spark Chaser), then reach the end of the level and safely defeat Flash Man there. He may also choose to ignore the Crash Men, defeat Flash Man first, then enter the obstacle course and fight the Crash Man then.

A Trickster Token can be seen within the obstacle course, but Crash Man cannot collect it; instead, Mega Man needs to enter the obstacle course and pick it up himself. Getting it requires using either Rush or the Magnet Beam to scale a tall wall.

Judge Comments

Judge Comments
Mick Galbani  : 18 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 6 / 35 2 / 25 0 / 15 4 / 15 6 / 10 Well, this is a familiar-feeling concept, I know I've played it in Mega Man Maker before, multiple times. Having to lure around Crash Man (or rather Crash MEN) so he's safe to kill later seems like a neat idea, but in practice? It's actually really frustrating to control, turning the experience into a chore with how long Crash Man's gauntlet is. Having to lure two at once is just the cherry on top, as they're very rarely synced up. ...But then there's also a Flash Man at the end of the section, and the floor doesn't explode unless you kill all three of them. As a result, you can just use Tornado Blow and Spark Chaser to kill the Crash Men, and then go kill Flash Man to claim the element. I... rather doubt that was the intention, and it breaks the level clean in two. That might be a good thing though, it would've been super annoying otherwise.
Shinryu  : 10 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 1 / 35 1 / 25 2 / 15 1 / 15 5 / 10 I get what you're going for here, but...it doesn't work. It really doesn't. Influencing the movements of a boss to solve a puzzle is a decent idea on paper, but in execution, it leaves a lot to be desired. For as simplistic as this level is, trying to do this the intended way by getting two copies of Crash Man to cooperate with jumps is downright tedious. If you somehow manage to get them to the end, though, you now have the task of dealing with three bosses at the same time. This whole process would be really frustrating...if it weren't so easy to cheat it. The floor doesn't break away until all three bosses are dead, meaning you can just use weapons that can reach the Crash Men from below (like Tornado Blow or Spark Chaser), and then head to the right to deal with Flash Man alone. While I'm thankful that there's a workaround to the frustration this level could cause...I still can't ignore the fact that this is a glaring oversight that breaks the whole point of the stage. Maybe this could've worked out better if it was split into different segments, along with using different bosses that you had to avoid rather than indirectly control. I'm honestly not really sure what else I could suggest here, other than to get more people to play-test your stage next time. You'd be surprised by how many ways any given level, even the most basic of ones, can be broken.
Pachy  : 40 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 4 / 35 14 / 25 9 / 15 6 / 15 7 / 10 Clash of Crashes! Well this was certainly a weird little experience. I find that the concept of manipulating and escorting an enemy through a series of obstacles to be a pretty neat gimmick. As the current stage stands, however, it is kinda more like a proof-of-concept than a fleshed out execution, which is a shame. At least that's what I think the stage was trying to go for anyways. It actually isn't really clear what good it does for sending the Crash Men to the end. If anything, it makes the end fight more difficult, pinning you against both Flash and Crash at the same time, while they kinda just spawn camp you a lot at the little hole you have to get out of. I do notice the platform you start on disappears if any of the Crash Men were to be eliminated, so it's kinda an enforcement mechanism in place? It doesn't work, though, as you can just ignore the Crash Men doing their own thing in their chambers and go about your way to the end.
Flashman85  : 32 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 10 / 35 7 / 25 5 / 15 6 / 15 4 / 10 Pardon me, but I believe you're looking for the Make an Experimental Mega Man Maker Level Contest, which is down the hall. Unconventional escort quest? Actually pretty cool. Blowing up the floor to deter a premature victory? Smart. Communicating the rules to the player up front? Much appreciated. But that's where the questions cease having positive answers, so I'll stop asking them. Visually, this is the level equivalent of paint swatches from a hardware store--decide which MM2 tileset best fits your simulator room! The Bubble Man section is begging to be animated. A patch of unsightly non-solid tiles sticks around after the floor explodes. Some other music after the bosses are defeated might've been nice. Thanks to haphazardly arranged architecture (with invisible slopes, no less), navigating Crash Man through the level is a mostly tedious affair, which reaches peak difficulty right before the easiest part. Without any hazards to you or Crash Man, however, the whole exercise is pointless. It's a time-wasting journey that ends in a sloppy boss teamup. Assuming you play the level as intended, that is. Contrary to what the typo-ridden text box says, the floor only collapses when you've destroyed all *three* bosses. Among other strategies, you can immediately obliterate Crash Man and his flagrantly accidental doppelganger with Tornado Blow, saunter over to the ladder, and hit Flash Man from the ladder with Magnetic Shockwave--thus completing the easiest damage-free run in the contest. I do like the idea of needing to traverse Crash Man's path in reverse to get the token, but aside from checking if the invisible wall is still there after the bosses explode, there's nothing to it (aside from saving a smidge of weapon energy to get back out). Fun concept, dysfunctional execution.
ACESpark  : 20 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 6 / 35 6 / 25 4 / 15 2 / 15 2 / 10

Notes

• CrashMan Simulator is not the first level of its kind. Several Mega Man Maker levels revolving around guiding Crash Man (or other bosses such as Metal Man) through an obstacle course by exploiting their AI have been made in the past; these likely inspired CrashMan Simulator to an extent.