Midnight Man

I'll beam you out after I finish my soap opera.

This article is missing information on strategies. Please help out the wiki by adding these strategies to it!

Midnight Man Make a Good Mega Man Level 3 Judge Application Levels

Hey, where's my city backdrop?

Overview Creator(s): Mick Galbani Composer(s): Kevvviiinnn Statistics Elements: 1 Collectables: 1 Enemies: Battonton Beak Big Eye Brain Break Cannon Crazy Cannon Haehaey Rembakun Twin Roader Sub-Bosses: Hot Dog

Theme Music Stage 34 (Free Song) Stage Order Next: Coptar Man

Midnight Man is the first level in the MaGMML3 Judge Application Levels. Mick Galbani designed the level as a "pretty nothing" level--a level with sound aesthetics, but uninteresting design. As such, it is characterized by its large variety of weak enemies, most of which can be dispatched by a single charged shot from the buster.

Strategy

Use the charged shot and everything dies.

Judge Reviews

Judge Applicants' Comments
Pachy  : 33 / 100
I have to say, this level is, unfortunately, kinda boring and forgettable... The music feels like it'd fit more for a Wily Stage, or something more dynamic and action-packed. Although the visual and the settings are overall not bad, it's just a bit heavy on the blue side, it would definitely benefit from having more diverse palette choices. Another problem arises that the spikes are also the same color as everything else, making it blend in, which you don't want for a deadly hazard like that. The stage itself seems a bit lackluster as there are minimal platforming challenges, and the enemies don't really pose a threat in most rooms, there is only one room in the entire level that is moderately challenging. I do like that the enemy choices were kept consistent throughout, however. The room holding the gem is rather cleverly hidden, but the Hot Dog can be tricky to kill without using weapons. You're also very likely to get hit by the Crazy Cannon on your way back, which can be annoying since it can knock you right back into the secret room. The lack of boss at the end makes the whole level feel even shorter and unfinished. Having a boss, even a default devkit one, would've made the level less lackluster, at the very least. Overall, it's a rather weak entry. Not terrible, it's functional, but there could've been much more done to it. Adding some sort of platforming gimmick would really help keep the level from feeling too empty.
Samario  : 65 / 100
So. The level has rather good pallete and good usage of tilesets, and is *mostly* fair. The really big issue is that it... doesn't really have a focused gimmick? Nothing to build a stage around. Other minor flaws crop up in what would be "polish" - the diamond path has an enemy that I'm not sure you can actually avoid without using special weapons on the exit, collision errors that allow you to get out of bounds, and a boss corridor that doesn't have a boss associated with it. Overall it's rather decent.
M-Jacq  : 43 / 100
Logic would dictate that an enemy named “Brain Break” should get *dumber* when you crush its cranium. But only after it’s been stripped of its graduation cap and nerdy spectacles does the Brain Break display any rudimentary AI. Otherwise, the Brain Break is all too happy to plunge to its death, academic credentials in tow: a Roader with a diploma. I’m guessing you didn’t put Roaders and Brain Breaks in the same stage as a dig at academia, though. In which case, why have two enemies here that fulfill the exact same role? I also don’t know why you have Battons in an open-air environment so they can hit you and then fly up into the stratosphere, or why there’s a miniboss which you can safely snipe from the left end of the screen. Most of the enemies here feel like they were picked at random. The level’s architecture, on the other hand, is wonderful. You hop from rooftop to rooftop, scale the side of a building, enter that building through the roof, and descend through the inside of the building until you reach the exit. There’s a real contrast between the wide-open outdoors segments and the cramped corridors of the building interior. If the enemy placement here was as deliberate as the platforming, you’d have a pretty good level. As is, though, it’s just OK.
PK  : 46 / 100
It starts off kinda weirdly, as enemies are just thrown at you without any proper introduction. After you climb the ladder, you have the chance to get a Emerald behind a shotman. This isn’t too bad in itself, but if you go back to the other screen after collecting it, you pretty much get hit by the shotman. After a miniboss fight with a hotdog on the roof, you drop down and finally get a chance to evaluate the situation of a room in peace (sort of, since the bat will fly at you eventually). After that follow 2 more rooms that give you a chance to see what you have to deal with. Lastly, a nicely introduced Big Eye. The design is pretty decent in places, but in others, it feels kinda disorganized. Creativity wasn’t really a high point here, as it is just rooms of basic enemy challenges. While the graphics fit the midnight theme, they aren’t anything groundbreaking. In general, I can say that I had moderate fun in this stage. It’s not something I would want to come back to, but its nothing offensive.
Flashman85  : 54 / 100
This is—and I think we can all agree on this—a level. The name “Midnight Man” conjures up images of what might be in store for the player—at the very least, a boss at the end named Midnight Man. Will there be werewolves to fight under a full moon at midnight? Some darkness- or shadow-oriented gimmick, given how dark it is at midnight? Perhaps a battle on a clock tower as the clock strikes midnight? The heart of a lion and the wings of a bat, BECAUSE IT’S MIDNITE? Why, the possibilities are...not really fleshed out here at all. The background of the first half of the stage suggests that it is nighttime, and there are bats. This is a good start. In general, the graphics are pretty good; there’s some nice detail in the foregrounds, and the damage-ridden background for the indoors portion (despite being a bit too close in color to the foreground) suggests there might be an interesting story behind this level—especially on the last screen; I want to know what that cool-looking capsule thing is. Unfortunately, the challenges do nothing to bring that story to life. I applaud that the enemy roster is a reasonable size and that the enemies aren’t placed all willy-nilly. I like the one screen where the dense starfield in the background makes it harder to see the Haehay’s bullets (I hope that was intentional), and I like that the Battons blend into the background for a similar sneakiness (which I also hope was intentional). But that’s about all that stands out as particularly positive about the challenges. There’s no sense of theme to the enemies, and their placement is often less than ideal—the first Beak you meet should not be on top of the first ladder you find, nor should you hide Beaks behind the health bar. The Shotman guarding the entrance to the secret room (which is satisfyingly well hidden) is all well and good until you realize you’ll practically walk right into him on the way back out. Many enemies can be avoided or dispatched with no risk to the player whatsoever, like the useless Hot Dog near the halfway point. And I’m not sure it’s even possible to avoid damage while fighting the secret Hot Dog with the buster; that is a looooooong string of fireballs. The lack of gimmicks is a letdown, too. The level needs something to make it stand out, and the enemy challenges aren’t novel or complex enough to compensate. The music is fine; I found it a bit abrasive at first and I’ve already forgotten what it actually sounds like, but it fills the noise void well enough. I didn’t find any technical issues; there was one screen transition at the top of a ladder that could’ve been a little smoother, but that’s a minor thing. Otherwise, there’s not much to say. This level needs a stronger theme and an actual MIDNIGHT MAN to live up to its name.