Kingdom Crisis

Chapter 1: Kingdom Crisis Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero

It's-a me, Zero!

Overview Creator(s): TheRetroDude Composer(s): Koji Kondo, Ippo Yamada (original music) Bulby, Mathew Valente (covers) Statistics Rank: Chapter 1 Collectables: 029: Birdo 054: Thwomp Man 096: SRARA Up n' Down Enemies: Big Eye Hammer Joe Metall β Shellmettaur Gimmicks: ON/OFF Switch Switch Block Thwomp Sub-Bosses: Piranhabiran Bosses: Thwomp Man

Theme Music Super Mario Odyssey - Wooded Kingdom Boss: Mega Man 9 - Boss Battle Stage Order Previous: Mega City Next: Lost Valley

Kingdom Crisis is the fourth/fifth level in Chapter 1 of Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero, and is unlocked simultaneously with Contra Base. After encountering SRARA in Mega City, Zero enters a Super Mario World-themed area once used for the first festival, now overrun with out of control robots and Thwomps. The main gimmicks present are Switch Blocks, and a switch block that toggles them by being jumped into or damaged - either by Zero's weapons, or by the shells of the Koopa-themed Shellmettaur. The leader of the rampaging robots, Thwomp Man, is encountered by Zero at the end of the gauntlet.

Strategy

A path to the right starts the stage, with Metall βs and Hammer Joes acting as the primary obstacles. By using the Z-Saber, they can be easily dispatched even when shielded. Shortly after, Zero will encounter Thwomps that will try to smash into him, forcing him to move carefully around them. The third screen to feature them has numerous Thwomps together, with chained stompdashes being the ideal way to avoid them. After this screen, the ON/OFF Switch is introduced, with a set of Switch Blocks blocking the way until they're deactivated by jumping into the switch from below. By using the switch as a platform, Zero can reach a ledge with two large Bolts; a background vine is also visible from here, and can be climbed to reach a CD in a hidden room. The next few screens revolve around enemies in conjunction with On-Off Blocks, with a Hammer Joe guarding a switch in one screen (while a Metall β lies behind active blocks), while an outside area has Hammer Joes and a Big Eye vying to knock him down into pits opened by activating/deactivating Switch Blocks. Before the first checkpoint lie three screens of avoiding Thwomps, with the last combining them with Switch Blocks and pits.

After grabbing three large Bolts lying out in the open, Zero must face the midboss, Piranhabiran. After defeating it, he drops into the second checkpoint, with two small Health Energy pickups lying atop a yellow pipe. This pipe hides a ladder inside, which leads to a secret room containing another CD. By progressing right, Zero enters an area made up mostly of pipes, with Shellmettaurs being seen for the first time. Careful use of projectiles is recommended for destroying them without hitting their shells, but the Z-Saber can kill them without leaving a shell behind. However, eventually Zero encounters an ON/OFF Switch that can only be triggered by shooting a Shellmettaur shell into it, with two Switch Blocks blocking the way down. In the screens that follow, shells that move on their own plague Zero; either by trying to ram into him, or by bouncing into ON/OFF Switches in unreachable areas, forcing him to time his jumps as Switch Blocks activate/deactivate. The final room of this has a shell turning a switch on, then almost immediately off again, with spikes lining the ground below. Though tricky, a set of well-timed jumps can nab Zero the third and final CD.

In the screen beyond, a Big Eye will jump up a set of top-solid platforms to reach Zero, while a Thwomp tries to drop onto him. The safest course of action is to destroy the Big Eye before it reaches the top, though this can be tricky. After that, a vertical climb faces Zero, with different threats on each screen. The bottom part has two Shellmettaurs and a Thwomp, the second has two Hammer Joes, and the third has three Thwomps and no ground, with the vine upwards requiring an airdash to reach. The only way through this is to lure the Thwomps into falling, despawning them and making it easier to dash across without getting hit. The last obstacle before the boss door is a final Big Eye, after which lies Thwomp Man.

Z-Phone Dialogue

	Contact	Transcript
	Dr. Wily	Kingdom Crisis? Oh boy. That's one of the areas from the first festival. Tribute to some something-or-other brothers. I don't know. But after the festival was over and done with and I left, I think some robots went crazy and took it over. It's not like that place is used for anything now, so I think the government just didn't engage. It's...strange.
	Agent Krantz	Krantz: Kingdom Crisis? Most enemy types in that area consist of Mets and Joes, both of which should be destroyed easily by your Z-Saber. Big Eyes are there too, which might be troublesome, but you should be able to dodge with a well-timed dash. There's also Thwomps, which you can't kill, but they always drop down when close by, so they're easy to predict. Finally, there's On-Off switches, which change when you jump upward into them. Zero: I have to smash my head into the block in order to activate it? That seems needlessly concussive. Krantz: Well, just be grateful you don't have to stick out your tongue to activate it. Actually, you might want to avoid slashing the Shellmettaurs, since their shells can hit the switches too.
	Galaxy Man	(CD #1): Oh, so after you see those weirdo rock creatures, you'll see some bolts on a ledge, right? Well, look a little closer around there! That place might be more interactive than you think! (CD #2): Oh, for this one, be sure to be on the lookout for a YELLOW pipe! There's just one! Real suspicious! After that, you gotta find some way to go down through it... (CD #3): The outgoing CD's in plain sight! Just make sure to time your jump very well to snag it! Otherwise, you'll land on a buncha spikes, and that's not super great for your health.
	Yamato Man	Piranhabiran	Yamato Man: Piranhabiran? It comes out from one of the four pipes and spits out fire in arcs around it. The Z-Burst can dispatch it easily. It's literally just a plant! Zero: Plants do not often spit out fire. Yamato Man: Yours don't?
		Thwomp Man	Yamato Man: Concrete Man? Huh, he sure is looking a little different these days, but I like the new look! Sturdy as a rock! He has completely new abilities, too; he must've been training recently without telling me, the rascal! Zero: ...Somehow, your assessment of identity feels incorrect. Yamato Man: In any case, he's confident in his new strategy of hovering over you and then slamming down. It's quite easy to dodge, but it's more of a defensive strategy, as it leaves him out of range for nearly all of your attacks! If you use the Cutter Chip's Blank Drive, however, you can get some serious damage in!
	Knives	Knives: Ew, stop picking spots with infestation problems! No weird stone creatures! I don't like the noise they make. You know, the "OOGH"?! It's too distracting. I don't think that a spot taken over by weird stone creatures is romantic enough! Zero: ...Maybe they could crush you and that would be it. Knives: Hahaha! Do you think that'll do anything to me? I've already been hit by a car three times! My bones are made of iron, Zero!!

Trivia

• The stage is heavily based on Mega Man World from the original Make a Good Mega Man Level, and reuses that stage's tileset. In fact, the two stages are in the same location, as evidenced by Thwomp Man's CD and Dr. Wily's Z-Phone call.
• Every Hammer Joe's HP in Kingdom Crisis is reduced to 4, making them easier to defeat without the Z-Saber.
• Like every Chapter 1 level, Kingdom Crisis's spikes are Damage Spikes that merely deal 7 damage instead of instant death.
• In the original submission, Kingdom Crisis's third shell-and-ON/OFF Switch room took place over a bottomless pit. The final game added non-lethal spikes to make the level easier.