Rocky Blocky Cavern

46th: Rocky Blocky Cavern Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level

Just a normal day in the computer grid caves.

Overview Creator(s): TruffledToad Composer(s): Synvial, MiniMacro, Minae Fujii, Kouji Murata Statistics Scores: 60 77 50 52 Total: 59.75 / 100 Rank: 46th Elements: 1 Box Items: Blocky Bubukan MK-II Parocket Bokazurah Concrete Platform Enemies: Blocky Bubukan MK-II Mecha Pitchan (blue) Parocket Turbo Roader Gimmicks: Bokazurah Concrete Platform Reflect Block Sub-Bosses: Stompy Bosses: Punk

Theme Music Zap Man (original track) Boss: Mega Man III - Mega Man 4 Boss Stage Order Location: Tier 7 Previous: Cossack's Playground Next: Cryonics Lab

Rocky Blocky Cavern is the 46th place entry in Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level. It is a cave-themed level with an unusual computer grid aesthetic in the background, and mostly centres on jumping across Concrete Platforms and using Bokazurahs to clear away bricks in the ground. True to the level's name, Blocky is a common enemy found here, but another prominent enemy are dive bombing Parockets, which tend to appear in clusters.

Strategy

The first rooms of the level feature basic introductions to the level's box assets, including the titular Blocky. Although Blockies are easy to kill, with Charge Shots and Special Weapons able to kill them without scattering their blocks, the Tengu Blade can optionally be used to dash through them without taking damage. In the first long corridor to feature Parockets, a W-Tank is easily visible and obtainable with the Rush Coil or Concrete Shot. After the first checkpoint, a layer of Bokazurah blocks obstruct an upwards Concrete Platform, though to save time a utility can be used to scale the wall instead. If the platform is used, Mega Man should get off as quickly as possible, as Concrete Platforms can crush and kill Mega Man under ceilings. Very shortly afterwards, a Stompy midboss is battled.

Following the midboss is a long section with numerous Parockets. They often try to fly up into Mega Man from alcoves below, where most weapons are unable to reach them, before descending down on parachutes. The Rain Flush can be used to quickly clear the screen of Parockets, although the large explosions they emit after dying will damage Mega Man on contact, so he should stay far away from them when using it. Sending the Flame Mixer upwards can also help protect against any falling Parockets above him. After this hectic Parocket spam, the rest of the stage has comparatively easier enemies (including a trio of Blockies entrapped in a narrow corridor, unable to effectively scatter their blocks), and the level's focus switches to clearing Bokazurah blocks away. The last major threat before the end is a single blue Mecha Pitchan, acting as a turret behind a pair of Reflect Blocks. In the corridor before the boss, Punk, there is a ? Can that gives a random power up, though the Rush Jet is needed to get over the boss door in the floor.

Judge Comments

Judge Comments
ParmaJon  : 60 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 23 / 35 7 / 15 9 / 10 13 / 25 8 / 15 This whole level is really okay. The music and graphics are good, but not incredible. The design is fine. To be concise, the only part of this level that is a challenge is the one long room with Parockets and the room with the baseball thrower. This isn't to say that the level is bad, but it's easy and quick to run through and doesn't really do a lot to stand out. This is not the only level in the contest like this, but I really think it needed to take more chances and try to do more with the two gimmicks together. You show that you know how to use the gimmicks, but what's there is really basic and it seems like you could've gone further.
PKWeegee  : 77 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 27 / 35 12 / 15 10 / 10 19 / 25 9 / 15 That was pretty nice. I enjoyed the combination of the Concrete platforms and the ball shooters. And there were some other memorable sections, like the line of rockets, or the cramped hallway with Blockys. Speaking of Blockys...I just don't like fighting those enemies, which kinda dampened the mood. But that cramped hallway was a bit of stress relief, because I can charge shot through without worrying about the blocks. You did a good.
M-Jacq  : 50 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 17 / 35 5 / 15 10 / 10 10 / 25 8 / 15 Hi Volt Man! This level gets some mileage out of its gimmicks, I suppose, but it's not very inspiring. Part of the reason for that is that so many of the challenges in this level aren't challenges so much as they are waiting games: most of the time, Bokazurahs pose no threat, and just serve to waste your time. Some of the setups are a little busier and thus less boring, although the random caged-off Strike Man enemy probably could have and should have just been a generic turret (I think you can just set up a custom spawner to spawn a homing bullet every X frames). There's also that really bizarre section where the Blockys are put in little pens (for lack of a better word) and you just have to slowly blast through them in spaces where they can't hurt you. It's not a bad level, really. It's just... like a signpost with no message: why is it there?
Freems  : 52 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 14 / 35 7 / 15 10 / 10 15 / 25 6 / 15 What a weird little level. The aesthetics were just... strange to say the least. It never really got a chance to do anything interesting outside of a small handful of interactions with both Concrete Platforms and the breakable blocks (but even then it was really straight forward) and a few stretches with way too many rockets in a row. Other oddities include a set of Blockies near the end of the level that (due to the geometry) have practically no way of dealing damage to you, which makes me wonder why they're even there in the first place because it's certainly not an introduction to the enemy, and the lonesome Mecha Pitchan who just is introduced to the level at the very end for... some reason. I don't know man, it was just a strange little level. One of the classic cases of needing more focus.

Trivia

• An NPC is visible in the boss corridor, but is inaccessible and cannot be talked to. It lacks creation code and thus defaults to Volt Man, but it was intended to be Punk as a lead-in to his boss fight. Punk was also intended to even have dialogue in case the player somehow managed to get to him, where he would question how they even got there.