When Spike Drops Freeze Over
Chapter 2: When Spike Drops Freeze Over | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Can't have a meltdown if you freeze the spikes, can you? Although, if the ice melts... never mind. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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When Spike Drops Freeze Over is the second level on the path to the Icicle Chip in Chapter 2 of Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero. Loosely based on Spiky Meltdown from the original Make a Good Mega Man Level, this mine in an icy cave retains its template's use of death spikes and platforming around them. However, this is often complicated by icy terrain and bulky enemies such as Hammer Joes and Cutting Wheels. It also has an additional gimmick with chutes that periodically fire ice rocks - the same kind carried by Hoohoos.
Strategy[edit]
The first few screens are light on difficulty, instead introducing the basic challenge of the level, Drop Platforms over spikes with enemies nearby. Soon afterwards, a screen introducing Cutting Wheels appears; a slide passage to the left leads to a small room with a CD on a Drop Platform, guarded by three Cutting Wheels and a floor of spikes. After a few light challenges, Zero will come across a two-screen tall spike drop, one that requires him to make an airdash to avoid death. Having the Psycho Chip and/or the Double Jump can help, as the lower gravity/extra jump will slow Zero's descent down and make quick movement corrections easier. At the bottom of the drop is the level's first checkpoint.
The next section is a long corridor covered with ice, which causes Zero to have reduced friction. This, and bulky enemies like Cutting Wheels and a Squidon, make platforming around the deadly spikes difficult. If possible, using weapons that can take them out quickly is recommended; the Zap Chip can also paralyze Cutting Wheels and prevent them from chasing Zero. Ice rock dispensers also debut here, demanding care to avoid both the rocks and the fragments made on impact with the ground. Near the end of the corridor, an Au-Au stands on a high ledge; taking this ledge brings Zero right to another CD, but this requires staying on a Drop Platform. If he falls to the bottom, he will have to redo the entire room to get back up if he lacks the Double Jump. After this corridor are multiple rooms with rock dispensers, some of which shoot them horizontally. As always, care is needed to avoid rock fragments, unless the rocks are destroyed before hitting a wall.
Another Squidon rests on a high platform next to a spike pit, and after destroying it, another spike drop appears, this one requiring even more precise airdashes. Take care, because death here means repeating a large chunk of the level due to the lack of a checkpoint. Mercifully, one appears right after the spike drop. The last few sections of the level are comparatively easy, focusing more on fighting enemies and avoiding ice rocks than on dodging spikes. Eventually, Zero will climb his way out of the ice mine and enter an outdoors area with a few enemies. At the very end is an Energy Element resting atop six seemingly-frozen spikes - these are, in fact, fake, and falling through them will lead to a battle with Blizzard Man, the reward for which is the final CD and a ladder climb back up. However, the fake spikes can be easily crossed with an airdash, completely skipping the boss if one wishes.
Z-Phone Dialogue[edit]
Trivia[edit]
- The fake floor before the Energy Element is, of course, a reference to the spike drop fakeout present at the end of Spiky Meltdown in MaGMML1.
- Seeing as how the Blizzard Man fight can be skipped completely, When Spike Drops Freeze Over is the only standard level in Episode Zero to contain an optional boss battle. All other level bosses either drop/guard an Energy Element or impede level progress in some way and must be defeated to advance.
Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero - Chapter 2 Icicle Path | |
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Stages | |
Frosty Fields • When Spike Drops Freeze Over • Robot Ink Printing Facility • Forgotten Fortress: The Lab • Nocturnal Assault • Springy Scaffolding • BlocBunker • Midnight Aurora • Metropolitan Neapolitan | |
List of Bosses | |
Blizzard Man • Stomp'n • Stomp'n Violet • Hindjoe • Wafer Wagon |