Stormy Tower

76th: Stormy Tower Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level

Rain, rain, go away. And take that Joe with you!

Overview Creator(s): God of Hisbiscus Composer(s): Dan Froelich (original) God of Hisbiscus (cover) Statistics Scores: 63 58 35 42 Total: 49.50 / 100 Rank: 76th Elements: 1 Box Items: Apache Joe Mizzile Watcher Bubble Platform Toad Rain Enemies: Apache Joe Mizzile Watcher Gimmicks: Bubble Platform Toad Rain

Theme Music Jill of the Jungle - Ominous Stage Order Location: Tier 4 Previous: Flower Core Next: Mega Man Saves Canada from the Evil Clutches of

Stormy Tower is the 76th place entry in Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level. It is a relatively empty and simplistic level with multiple underwater areas. Bubble Platforms often appear in these areas, even when the water's added jump height renders them unnecessary.

Strategy

The opening areas have practically nothing of note save for some pits, two Mizziles, and a single Apache Joe, the last of which can be taken out from afar using a Charge Shot, the Homing Sniper, or Beat. Watchers debut in a single room with ladders, which leads up to an area with Toad Rain blowing against Mega Man. Once again, however, it is light on enemies, which makes the pits the more dangerous hazard. The next few sections afterwards are entirely underwater, with Bubble Platforms rising up from the floor. However, the third and fourth areas (which also have Watchers) don't require riding them at all, thanks to Mega Man's higher jumps underwater. A checkpoint comes at an open area, with the level continuing on to the left. This time, the Toad Rain blows behind Mega Man, allowing him to cross larger gaps, with only a few Apache Joes as dangerous enemies.

Mega Man then falls into a wide open underwater room; despite the room's size, he can only go left (with the checkpoint lying in the screen below). The rest of the level largely consists of using Bubble Platforms to reach higher platforms while Watchers fly in from the top and bottom of the screen. The Flame Mixer can be used to block their electric bolts, but they can also be triggered into firing them early by using the water's added jump height to reach their current height. At the top is little else of note besides an Apache Joe. A single ladder leads up to the top of the tower and the end of the level, with the Energy Element sitting in place while the sun(?) peeks out from behind the storm clouds.

Judge Comments

Judge Comments
ParmaJon  : 63 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 24 / 35 7 / 15 9 / 10 14 / 25 9 / 15 This level genuinely has one of the worst boxes in the contest. Despite that, you made a competent level, which impresses me. Getting a box where everything works well together is one thing, but getting a box where a judge dislikes basically every asset and still making a fun level out of it is something to be proud of. Apache Joes are annoying in high numbers, but you limited the number per room so it never became unmanageable. Bubbles can get slow and boring, but the rooms were short and relatively quick so it never felt like there was too much waiting. Watchers can be hella annoying, but they are always used tastefully. Their introduction with the slide to the bolts so that you slide through the middle of their shot is REALLY clever. The rain can be dumb and frustrating, but it never felt like it produced unfair deaths (other than the jumping into the Apache Joe in the second half). While this level does really impress me, it often feels bare. There are a lot of rooms where just not enough is going on. I think an extra enemy, probably one that is ground based would've done a lot for the level. It also never really gets challenging at the end. The difficulty curve isn't bad in that it gets progressively harder, but it never gets gripping or really engaging at the end. I think one last set of challenges that were a bit tougher would've brought the level together. Overall I think there is a lot to respect about this level, but it's not quite there yet. Good job.
PKWeegee  : 58 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 17 / 35 7 / 15 10 / 10 14 / 25 10 / 15 This exists. I wish I could say more substantial things, but it's just so inoffensive that nothing really stands out. The music is kinda grating on my ears, but maybe that's just me. All in all, you didn't do anything wrong, but you didn't excel in anything either.
M-Jacq  : 35 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 7 / 35 2 / 15 9 / 10 10 / 25 7 / 15 I can't believe I'm saying this, but: have you considered adding some more Apache Joes? Because wowzers, this level has a heckuva lot of empty space. I'm really struck by how devoid of enemies large chunks of this level are. It's also extremely weird that this level uses Wave Man bubbles, and feints as though there were going to be Wave Man bubble segments, but then lets you jump super high and completely ignore them. Granted, I really hate Wave Man bubbles and think they just lead to boring waiting games, but it's seriously weird that the gimmicks in this level contribute so little to the overall level. The rain in particular doesn't really add anything, because all the outdoors segments play more or less the same. I guess if there is a plus to the level, there is a sense of place to everything: you're in a tower, and it's rainy! I think if the music was less blaring you'd have a really nice atmosphere going on.
Freems  : 42 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 11 / 35 3 / 15 9 / 10 11 / 25 8 / 15 What a surprisingly empty level. So much of this level just felt like... walking or jumping with absolutely no challenge whatsoever. Nothing was really used that poorly, it was just so empty. Most of the Bubble challenges hardly mattered since we were underwater anyway and due to how it was set up you could just bypass most of it. The occasional Apache Joe could be something of a threat. But I sure know the Watchers didn't do much of anything. The level does look pretty nice visually, so it sort of turned more into a sightseeing tour while a level sometimes shows up before you go do some more sightseeing.

Notes

• Stormy Tower's music lacks proper looping, but if played at a reasonable pace without dying or making many mistakes, it is possible to reach the end of the level just as the music reaches its end. Whether this was intentional or a happy accident is unknown.