| Judge Comments
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 Mick Galbani : 49 / 100
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| Design
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Fun
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Creativity
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Aesthetics
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Functionality
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| 17 / 35
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7 / 25
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6 / 15
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9 / 15
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10 / 10
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Right from the get-go, this was giving me a mixed impression. On one hand, a Rush Bike level sounds like a really fun concept. On the other hand, the poor volume balancing on the super-quiet music did little for first impressions. For what it's worth, Rush Bike is really fun to use in its element. And as someone who's never used it prior to MaGMML3, I can say the level taught me how to use it well. It doesn't really demonstrate how useful Rush Bike can be as a makeshift shield or a way to cheese spike drops, but that's a consequence of it needing to be infinite for this level to work at all.
Now, to the level's credit, it's not bad at first. The initial three sections do fun things with Camons, truck jumping, and leaping over spikes. Failing to nab the first or third token can be irritating due to the backtracking afterwards, but that's not as big an issue with Rush Bike's speed and/or convenient spikes. Unfortunately, it all goes downhill when Trucker Joe shows up. Sure, Rush Bike is fast, but it's also slippery and your jump height is shot dead. It is not designed for use in combat, nor is it designed for precision platforming, making those sections a chore. The bosses in particular are aggravating, to the point I usually just left Rush in a corner and blew them up on foot. That also applied to the section just after Trucker Joe, which seems to actively punish the player for using Rush.
On a related note, besides the truck jumping, everything in that first truck segment is awkward at best. Their intro does a poor job of conveying where you're supposed to go, the little fade to the right is not visible enough to show you're meant to go left. Additionally, the level all but requires memorising the truck timing to not get blindsided, which can be a problem when they can squash you to death.
In general, while the concept is nice, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. A Rush Bike level should play to the utility's strengths, not aggravate its weaknesses. I can't say I came out of this one with a newfound appreciation for my doggo-cycle.
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 Shinryu : 44 / 100
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| Design
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Fun
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Creativity
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Aesthetics
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Functionality
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| 14 / 35
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8 / 25
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7 / 15
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7 / 15
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8 / 10
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I actually got pretty excited when I first started playing this level. A stage centered around Rush Bike has a ton of potential in it. Unfortunately, the end result with this one was...less than stellar.
The biggest problem here is the platforming. Rush Bike isn't really the type of utility that goes well with precision jumps, and it definitely shows in this level. Some parts aren't too bad, but there's a few (mainly the ones involving springs) that just feel off with the accelerated movement. There's also an issue with bad conveyance on how to proceed in a few spots.
The room with the first truck, despite being a decent introduction to the enemy, has this problem. There's two open paths to the left and right, but going to the right leads to an invisible wall (and you're also likely to be crushed by the truck in the process). There's another part where it looks like you can jump down onto a moving truck from a high platform, but doing so only leads to death. The real way to progress here is to make a jump to another platform, which you can easily miss due to it being at the very edge of the screen.
I think it's pretty telling that I found some of these sections to be a lot more manageable by simply not using Rush Bike. The mini-boss and the section after it in particular become far easier if you just summon Rush, but don't actually get on him. Considering all this, I get the feeling that this stage was made with the intention for you to be on Rush Bike at virtually all times. It would certainly explain why this level's challenge breaks completely in certain spots if you ignore the bike.
However, there was actually a way to even further break this stage: As when I first played this level, there was a bug that allowed the player to easily jump over the barrier that's supposed to lock you into the Rush Bike. Though you can't perform this anymore, it did give me some interesting insight on what the level would be like without the weapon lockouts. Aside from that, the only other technical glitch I encountered was with the music. While I appreciate the song choice...I can't really ignore the fact that it doesn't loop properly (and that it's really quiet).
Honestly, I almost prefer the stage with access to the other weapons. It certainly made the boss a lot easier. While I did get a chuckle out of his intro, I can't say I enjoyed the actual fight as much. He tends to go off-screen a lot, which means a lot of chasing him down. Rush Bike's two-bullet-per-screen limit also makes hitting him a bit of a pain, especially given his frequent jumping. I could easily see him (and the rest of the stage) being more fun with a lot more polish, though.
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 Pachy : 62 / 100
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| Design
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Fun
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Creativity
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Aesthetics
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Functionality
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| 12 / 35
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18 / 25
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13 / 15
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11 / 15
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8 / 10
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I've Been in This Place Before!
Well, we all saw this coming: The obligatory Rush Bike level. Sounds exciting, sure, but the stage definitely has its issues.
Here it emphasizes that you should go fast with its Initial D references, except ironically you really want to play this one slow, and not be on the bike half of the time.
If you just go fast, you can't see the obstacles coming your way. You also take plenty of contact damage from the enemies while doing so, different from normal behavior where you would be invincible while on the bike. There would've probably been more of an incentive to go vroom vroom fast if the enemies take the contact damage instead while the player is going full speed.
Expect platforming through death pits and spikes a lot, as well as the threat of being crushed by oncoming traffic, while also having a weaker jump and less air control while in the bike. Going fast is simply ill-advised, despite it being the literal gimmick of the entry. Kinda counter-intuitive, don't you agree?
To make a Rush Bike-only stage work, you'd probably have to change the fundamentals of the level design more, not just build it like a regular Mega Man level and slap an arbitrary "use only this" challenge over it.
The slippery control on the bike also made the boss fight not that great of a time, so that I had to resort to doing it on foot as well, where then the dynamic of the fight becomes not accidentally getting on Rush while dodging Fake Man's attacks. Either way you go about fighting the boss, it is definitely maximum awkwardness.
Music is also too quiet during the boss compared to the stage, making for a slight annoyance adjusting the music volume in between.
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 Flashman85 : 57 / 100
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| Design
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Fun
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Creativity
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Aesthetics
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Functionality
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| 20 / 35
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9 / 25
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9 / 15
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10 / 15
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9 / 10
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I'm glad someone made a level emphasizing Rush Bike. I'm sad it turned out like this.
Races, chases, escape sequences--these are what I want to see. I want rhythm-based platforming where pattern memorization is more important than lightning reflexes. I want forgiving challenges that train the player to be an expert cyclist *before* demanding do-or-die precision. The intro section and the parts where you jump onto a hilariously bouncy bus *sort of* deliver what I want, but the level as a whole doesn't feel like a carefully crafted celebration of this unique utility; it feels like a normal level where you're stuck with Rush Bike.
Only two parts of the entire level require Rush Bike to proceed; it's possible and even preferable to tackle everything else on foot, awkwardly summoning Rush while trying to shoot. The miniboss, for example, is the perfect height to be hit from a standing position, which makes for a fun and strategic fight; on Rush Bike, you need to jump to reach the weak spot, and that gets messy quickly. A lot of fiddly platforming is easier and more fun without the bike, too, such as the outdoor springs + bombs section.
I do like the sense of structure in the level's lengthy layout, and it's good that you can't possibly skip the weapon pickups after teleporting in. I appreciate the tutorial sign at the beginning. I wish there were health refills *between* checkpoints. Some speed limit signs in the background earlier would've heightened the comedic impact of the boss intro (quality sound clip choice, BTW).
Oh, and the boss. Too fast, too furious for Rush Bike to handle. Hiding under a ledge the whole time and having a stockpile of E-Tanks seems like the only viable strategy.
Exhausting gameplay, obnoxious tokens, good music with improperly balanced volume, nice graphics.
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 ACESpark : 68 / 100
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| Design
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Fun
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Creativity
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Aesthetics
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Functionality
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| 23 / 35
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15 / 25
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10 / 15
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12 / 15
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8 / 10
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When this stage clicks, it really clicks. When it all plays smoothly, and the player and bike become one - it rules. And I think it has some genuinely well-designed and fun challenging segments, even if a tad on the difficult side.
I also think it does a really good job utilising Nitro Man's tileset: It's all rather pretty, and proof you can make Dev-kit tilesets look great.
Tiles that get used in new ways, such as the jump-through platforms, are understood by the player almost immediately thanks to clever introductions. And even though this is a rather minor thing, I really appreciate how well-constructed the checkpoints are: you are not skipping stage gimmick, no sir.
I also didn't mind most of the trickster tokens, they're hard, sure, but mostly fair. I think the first one is a bit too hard and precise, thanks to the control issues I'll mention shortly.
Because there are quite a few issues that hold me back from truly enjoying this level.
For example, there's some weird interactions with the Nitro Man trucks, often resulting in inexplicable instant death as it crushes you against a wall, ceiling or floor.
It makes sense in a vacuum, but given how Nitro Man trucks usually act, it seems off to a Mega Man player.
This unfortunately affects the introduction to the fact that trucks combine with springs, making it a very deadly way to introduce the gimmick of the stage.
The devkit does feature a soft crushing feature, which could've been enabled for these custom trucks.
But a lot of my issues really stem from just how awkward Rush Bike is to control, combined with the sheer precision this stage requires.
The stage introduces the player to the Rush Bikes boost function right at the start, but I always found that trying to use it was somewhat suicidal thanks to Rush Bike's hitbox dissonance (which, granted, is the fault of the Dev Team), still means the player will occasionally not make jumps it looks like they should, as they clip through.
If the stage used less precision in its platforming to account for Rush Bike, I think the feeling that you get when the stage DOES gel could've been throughout.
The absolute low point of the stage for me was the boss fight against Fake Man. Rush Bike does not a fun boss make.
Its impaired jump, delayed turn and movement, combined with just how fast the boss moves and its predictable but very erratic pattern makes dodging a crapshoot.
In the end, I found this boss so frustrating thanks to Rush Bike. Outside of tanking hits and damage racing him, I found the only real way to best him was to pattern lock his AI and get Fake Man to bonk on the wall repeatedly on the right.
I think the music choice to the fight suggested a much better alternative to me: Why not go full-on Sonic CD and just make it a race?
Boss battles do not always have to be a literal battle!
Work to your stage's core strengths rather than forcing in the Mega Man tropes that will ultimately hurt it.
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I'll beam you out after I finish my soap opera.
Mick Galbani 
Shinryu 
Pachy 
Flashman85 
ACESpark 