Void Quest

53rd: Void Quest Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level

Medieval Europe is well known for having Japanese warrior monks as castle guards.

Overview Creator(s): TheRetroDude Composer(s): Mari Yamaguchi, Yuko Takehara Statistics Scores: 68 72 46 46 Total: 58 / 100 Rank: 53rd Elements: 1 Box Items: Ben K Cannon Propeller Eye Galaxy Man Portal Plantman Platform Enemies: Ben K Cannon Propeller Eye Gimmicks: Galaxy Man Portal Key Barrier Plantman Platform Sub-Bosses: Hanabiran Bosses: Plant Man

Theme Music Mega Man 5 - Dark Man Stage Boss: Mega Man 6 - Boss Stage Order Location: Tier 6 Previous: Combustible Alien Variable Events Next: Wily Station

Void Quest is the 53rd place entry in Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level. It has a medieval castle theme and primarily uses Galaxy Man Portals and Plantman Platforms to move across the level. It also has a large number of bulky Ben Ks that stand guard over the level, and the spears they throw can damage Mega Man even while he's in a portal.

Strategy

The first Ben K of the level is placed on a high ledge with a set of Galaxy Man Portals next to and underneath it. Their high HP and tendency to shield themselves makes them annoying to fight, but the most effective way of killing them is to use the Salt Water, which ignores their shields, can hit them multiple times, and does high amounts of damage to them. The rest of the level's box assets are then introduced in quick succession; first Propeller Eyes, then a Cannon and a Plantman Platform. Soon, a large number of the latter float against a black background, with Propeller Eyes appearing in large swarms. The Rain Flush is very useful here, since it opens all onscreen platforms while killing all onscreen enemies. When a Galaxy Man Portal is seen next to a thin wall, be ready to shoot; the exit portal on the other side has a Plantman Platform right next to it, and both hang over spikes. Moving forwards without opening the platform is certain death. After a Ben K surrounded by portals (with it taking up the only solid ground on the screen), a Hanabiran appears as the stage's midboss.

After the checkpoint, there is a corridor divided into two halves, each only accessible with portals, and both populated with Ben Ks. A Key Barrier blocks the path forwards on the bottom, and the key rests on the top section. Once again, the Salt Water is the go-to weapon to quickly kill them and Cannons, though the Concrete Shot has greater DPS if used while Ben K isn't twirling its spear. Be careful when using Galaxy Man Portals, as a Ben K's spear can still damage Mega Man mid-teleport. The screen on the other side of the barrier is filled with enemies and Plantman Platforms, which one Rain Flush will easily clear. The last part of the level is a vertical scrolling area that combines the two gimmicks and throws more Ben Ks at Mega Man, but is otherwise not very difficult. By using the second-highest row of portals as a trampoline, an E-Tank can be collected on the other side of a wall blocking the boss door off. The level itself ends with a vanilla fight against Plant Man.

Judge Comments

Judge Comments
ParmaJon  : 68 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 26 / 35 9 / 15 10 / 10 14 / 25 9 / 15 This level isn't bad, but it's not great. I like the use of the Galaxy Man portals, especially how you mix them with the Plant Man platforms. The room with the key got a bit overwhelming and felt just a tad too hard. Everything could just use some improvement.
PKWeegee  : 72 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 26 / 35 10 / 15 10 / 10 18 / 25 8 / 15 There's not too much to say about this stage. It's designed well and uses its gimmicks in neat ways. The Ben Ks are used a bit too frequently for my liking, considering their bulk and defensive capabilities. This becomes most apparent in the key room, where you are put up against quite the army of them. It's all manageable, but it's a bit draining. Also, put in a background, why don't you. Black is a boring background...
M-Jacq  : 46 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 14 / 35 3 / 15 10 / 10 8 / 25 11 / 15 With a title like "Void Quest" and Plant Man platforms and Galaxy portals in your box, I was worried I'd be in for yet another set of arbitrary gimmick platforms situated over yet another arbitrary abyss. I'm thankful I did not get that. Can't say I'm very enthused with the level I did get, though. The three enemies you rolled are all pretty beefy, and everything seems to take one too many hits. Thank God for Charge Shots - but even that doesn't help you deal with Ben K. Our boy Benjamin is already a real pain to deal with on its own; a room where I have to deal with eight of them is a buzzkill. This level also doesn't seem to take into account that you can be hit by projectiles while you're stuck in a Galaxy portal - it's frustrating getting hit by cannon fire, but it's especially frustrating getting hit while you're a lame duck. The room where there's no floor other than Galaxy platforms so you keep bouncing up and down trying to dodge Ben's fire is a real pain in the butt, too. Not the nightmare scenario I was imagining - but still plenty of room for improvement.
Freems  : 46 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 15 / 35 5 / 15 10 / 10 9 / 25 7 / 15 The real void quest is trying to fill the void that are my thoughts. I certainly prefer a level that plays it super safe to a level actively trying to make me have a terrible time, but it's always so difficult to talk about it afterwards. There were a handful of creative setups, bouncing between teleporters to defeat a shielded enemy and a room that's the same on top and bottom... but the latter especially didn't really accomplish anything. It was there but nothing really interesting was done with it. The rest of the level was just sorta bland and standard Plant Man Platform sections with every once in a blue moon a surprise "shoot one as you pop out of a teleporter" which while a good idea can be a nasty surprise if you have poor reaction time.

Notes

• Void Quest is based on the dungeon of the same name from Persona 4, which is styled after a castle/dungeon from a stereotypical old 8-bit video game.