Damp Ruins

165th: Damp Ruins Make a Good Mega Man Level 3

Flooded pyramids may lead to Mole infestations.

Overview Creator(s): Lazer Chicken Composer(s): Yasuaki Fujita, Yu Shimoda (originals) Mathew Valente (covers) Statistics Scores: 41 23 64 44 34 Total: 30.90 / 100 Rank: 165th Elements: 1 Collectables: Enemies: Ace Manbow Caricarry Graviton Molmole Morning Joe Shaboan Twin Shooter S Gimmicks: Uranus Platform Water Block Sub-Bosses: Knuckle Duster Bosses: Mega Mech Shark Other Information: 25% late penalty

Theme Music Mega Man 5 - Crystal Man Boss: Mega Man 9 - Boss Stage Order Location: Tier 2 Previous: Ultimate Level Next: Temple of Light and Dark

Damp Ruins is the 165th place entry in Make a Good Mega Man Level 3. This is a fairly short level that primarily uses the Uranus Platform and Water Block gimmicks. Aesthetically, it draws heavily on Pharaoh Man's stage, but adds a few underwater areas, hence the level's name.

Strategy

The level is fairly basic, starting with showing how the Uranus Platforms and Water Blocks work in unison with some simple enemy layouts sprinkled in. After the first few screens, there is a falling vertical section that involves multiple split paths sectioned off by Uranus platforms with Molmoles drilling around the screen. The first Trickster Token can be found on one of the right paths in a narrow spiked corridor, so care must be taken when dropping down to get it. Alternatively, Mega Man can bypass the spikes using invincibility frames, either from the Rush Bike or from taking damage from an enemy, allowing for easier access to the token.

The next section after the drop involves a short underwater section. The second Trickster Token can be found on the upper path, requiring either utilities to reach the upper level or an accurate ledge jump from a block directly below the upper path. After dropping down the second free scrolling vertical section with multiple Ace Manbows, Mega Man encounters a Knuckle Duster, then finally, the Mega Mech Shark.

Judge Comments

Judge Comments
Mick Galbani  : 41 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 16 / 35 7 / 25 3 / 15 6 / 15 9 / 10 Wow... this ended as soon as it started. While it has a good selection of pieces, the end result doesn't capitalise on any of it. Of particular note are Caricarry, Shaboan, and Ace Manbow: Caricarry only appears once and only barely does anything. Ace Manbow never gets to do anything unless you don't drop straight down. And Shaboan only really matters when it spawns right next to you. There are moments I enjoyed, the Uranus Mole room and Knuckle Duster's layout come to mind. And I will grant, I don't know if I've seen Powered Up Geysers and Uranus Blocks combined before-offering some creativity. Otherwise, this feels unfinished, especially with torches and pools that don't animate, and overall doesn't give me a whole lot to work with. It has more interesting stuff than the usual Mets and Joes, but there's not enough going on to be anything other than lacklustre. I wish this level tried to do more.
Shinryu  : 23 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 4 / 35 2 / 25 3 / 15 4 / 15 10 / 10 If there's anything I can say in favor of this stage, it's that the combination of the rotating platforms and water jets is a neat idea. While it's not used anywhere close to its fullest potential here, I think it could work if there was more done with it. Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on here. Even with the use of the rotating platforms everywhere, this stage still feels really basic. There's very few instances where the gimmicks are taken advantage of to make things engaging (with the first token being one of the only examples). What really hurts is that it's easy to see how it could have been improved. Some of the enemies (especially the Morning Joes) would be far more threatening if they were placed in a way that forced you to interact with the platforms or water jets in some way, either by avoiding them or getting to a certain height to actually hit them. The only ones that offer any kind of engagement are the Molmoles, which only show up for that one token room. That aside, the last notable thing about this level is that there's no checkpoints until the boss corridor. Honestly though, given how short and easy this stage is? That doesn't really have as much of an impact here as it would in almost any other given level. I still wouldn't necessarily call that a good thing, though. All that being said, I'd still love to see a more well realized version of this stage. There's a lot of potential in the two chosen gimmicks here. It just needs to be fleshed out over the course of a full level, is all.
Pachy  : 64 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 19 / 35 14 / 25 12 / 15 9 / 15 10 / 10 Damped and Compact! It's a fine stage. It's just kinda a bit too short. Really solid choices of gimmicks, I really like some of the setups here like the water pump sending the player straight through the rotating platform, and the part where you need to descend through the platforms while dodging Moles. The aesthetics here are also pretty unique. Pharaoh Man and Pump Man tilesets together isn't something you see everyday, yet they blend quite nicely. Mega Mech Shark as the end boss seems rather unfitting? It seems like he's there to pad out the play time a bit, because the fight takes almost as long as going through the stage alone. If you try to only buster it, anyway. This is probably someone's first stage, and it's quite a good start if it is. I can see the potential of a good level designer here, so do keep at it!
Flashman85  : 44 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 17 / 35 11 / 25 5 / 15 11 / 15 0 / 10 We need to talk about playtesting, because the room before the boss cost you about 25% of the score I was going to give. Until the devteam intervened, it was physically impossible to enter the boss chamber. If you die at the boss, you're taken back to a checkpoint in the ceiling, where you'll be stuck forever. Don't let your level be ruined by incredibly avoidable boo-boos. Aside from being unbeatable, the level is inoffensive. The best and worst parts are equally mild. I dig the atmosphere; water + ruins is a pleasant combination, and the music choice sets it off nicely. Some animation (torches especially) would be even better. Fixing the suspicious collision-free ceiling would be good. Despite a slight gradual increase in difficulty, challenges feel underdeveloped. The enemy roster is a bit big for the screen count; Caricarry could've had the day off. Water spouts offer possibilities that aren't really explored. It's easy to pick off enemies from a distance before they become a threat. The last vertical area needs work - the sudden absence of water tiles is odd, and there's no clear path to safety (a few descending Uranus platforms would've worked). New elements are introduced gently enough, though most of the early screens have too much going on at once. Graviton challenges are decent. The miniboss fight is good. The Uranus platforms have their moments - the Molmole room, including the tricky token challenge, is easily the highlight of the level. Mecha Shark fits thematically, but it needs spice - water physics, water spouts, or even just reversing it to fight the head first. An E-Tank (or any power-ups at all) would've been appreciated in a level with a multi-phase boss, no middle checkpoint, and effectively no final checkpoint. The level's shortness is a boon; the same negatives would outweigh the same positives in a longer level.
ACESpark  : 34 / 100
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 11 / 35 7 / 25 4 / 15 6 / 15 6 / 10 One of the big takeaways from this level is the combination of the water spouts and the Uranus platforms is a really cool idea, and I just wish that the level had made more use of it. Unfortunately a lot of the other elements of the level have fairly basic placement and do not offer any sort of meaningful challenge, and the level feels very much like a first draft. This "first draft" nature extends throughout; the themes within the stage are quite unfocused and unpolished. It is just vaguely watery and somehow "temple-y" with assets mixed in such a way that it does not make sense. The level foreground is a good example of having a lack of polish - for one example, if this were an actual location, the bricks the stage is made out of would be staggered, and not just stacked atop of each other. There are a couple of rooms that stand out as being particularly out of place. The fish drop felt out of nowhere, and the miniboss had nothing to do with the rest of the stage. The (single) checkpoint softlocks the player in the judging build, forcing you to manually quit the stage, and there is one screen transition that can kill the player. The miniboss, which occurs just before the checkpoint, also has instant death involved. I quite liked the room with the Uranus platforms and mole enemies, especially the spike drop, which looks dangerous but the graphics of the Uranus platform allow the player to line up quite nicely. Again, the gimmick combination might have been interesting, but the stage is too short to explore the ideas behind this, which makes the issues stand out more. The sheer brevity of this stage is really the true detriment of this level, as none of its good ideas ever get explored... The fact the devkit boss takes longer than the rest of the stage combined is just the cherry on top.

Notes

• When initially submitted, the checkpoint outside the boss was misplaced inside the left wall, and would cause a softlock by trapping respawning players. The checkpoint was later moved by the devteam, but the final game includes a sign disclosing this fact.