Out of Order

Chapter 2: Out of Order Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero

We apologise for the inconvenience, particularly where durgons are concerned.

Overview Creator(s): Cheez Composer(s): Yuzo Koshiro Statistics Rank: Chapter 2 Collectables: 072: War Blur Enemies: Darkkaw Piledan (Normal, Turret, Bomber) Gimmicks: Auto Scroller Glass Platform Reflect Block War Blur Bosses: War Blur

Theme Music Etrian Odyssey II - Shiver Stage Order Previous: Shocking Wacko Stage Next: Stormy Spire

"I just took "what if one of the energy elements powering a simulation was full of evil/bird energy and started corrupting it" as a starting point and let things happen [...] Evil energy and bird energy are pretty much the same thing probably"

―Cheez, revealing the origin of the madness

Out of Order is the eighth level on the path to the Zap Chip in Chapter 2 of Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero. Somehow, Zero stumbles upon a teleporter in the middle of nowhere, which brings him into a corrupted and unstable simulation prone to visual errors and glitchy objects. Oh, and birds. Lots and lots of buggy, shapeshifting, evil birds that want him dead, particularly the terrain-destroying War Blur, who holds the Energy Element powering/corrupting the simulation.

Strategy

The first few screens are very simple and contain little hazards. However, they introduce the only two enemies in the stage; Piledans that can control turrets and bombers, and Darkkaws that will fly after Zero relentlessly. War Blur can be briefly glimpsed in one of these screens, and on another is a Piledan that glitches out and becomes a Darkkaw. Shortly before the first checkpoint, War Blur appears before Zero and glitches out, warping to his right and following his every move, but posing no threat. After the checkpoint, the evil bird's true danger is shown as it starts flying up and down the screen, destroying all solids and enemies in its path and carving huge holes in the terrain. If Zero falls offscreen, he will perish. An arrow dictates what direction it will fly in, and it alternates directions with each pass. However, the level geometry often blocks the path forward, and so War Blur must be lured into destroying these areas to move on.

After two long sections of outrunning War Blur, it seems to stop still, before it glitches and is revealed as another Darkkaw. The real War Blur continues its fly-by tactics, but now Reflect Blocks lie within the terrain. When War Blur hits these, it is sent back in the direction it came, and cannot appear on the opposite end of the screen. A CD lies on the bottom half of the screen, but to access it, Zero needs to lure War Blur into flying through a gap between Reflect Blocks so that it may fly in from the bottom. Once it destroys the solids beneath a raised row of six Reflect Blocks, Zero can airdash into a pathway leading to the CD, but with no Reflect Blocks to stop War Blur, he needs to move quickly to the second checkpoint before it sends him falling down.

From here, an Auto Scroller section populated with Darkkaws and Piledans ensues, with War Blur swooping up and down constantly. As such, staying on the right side of the screen would not be a wise choice to make. Some parts of the ground have Reflect Blocks within, providing a small area of respite where War Blur cannot create a hole. Eventually Zero comes across dead ends he needs War Blur to break apart, but with two rows of Reflect Blocks close to both sides of the screen, standing in the wrong spot could send War Blur backwards to repeat its routine, wasting precious time as the screen keeps scrolling. After the auto scroller, a large Health Energy pickup glitches out and becomes a Darkkaw; destroying it will always drop a large (non-bugged) Health Energy. Past this screen, War Blur flies down and begins attacking conventionally, with Zero needing to defeat it to reclaim the broken simulation's Energy Element.

Z-Phone Dialogue

	Contact	Transcript
	Dr. Wily	Dr. Wily: Out of Order? What? I can't track your position. Where did you go?! Zero: I wandered into a teleporter. Dr. Wily: Don't tell me... You somehow entered a simulation, didn't you? ALL the way out there? Must have been thrown out for a reason. Find that Energy Element and make a break for it!
	Agent Krantz	Krantz: Out of Order? I'm having trouble getting an idea where you are, the signal keeps getting jammed. Enemies around you may not necessarily be what they seem. Bird...strong enough...break solids.... Zero: Hello? [Static] Zero: Bother, the signal is jammed!
	Galaxy Man	This one should be blocked by a buncha random blocks! Gotta break them to get to the CD! Maybe try luring that weird bird thing in such a way that it swaps its position and breaks the lower path...
	Yamato Man	Yamato Man: War Blur? I barely even met 'ur! Hahahahahahah!!! Ohohoho...! My comedic genius surprises even myself sometimes! Zero: That was really not that funny. Yamato Man: Oh yeah? What do you consider funny, then?! Tell me your finest joke! Zero: Uh... Okay, I shall try my best... Knock knock. Yamato Man: Who's there? Zero: Updog. Yamato Man: ...What does that even mean? Zero: ...You... You were supposed to respond... N-Nevermind. Please, supply me with advice. Yamato Man: It's a simple fight! Just take out the tiny birds it spawns, keep the boomerang sawblades in mind, and stay off the center, if you can. Zero: ...Not much, what is up with you... Yamato Man: Huh? Zero: Nothing.
	Knives	Knives: Whaaaa? I'm not going into an evil bird simulation! Those birds'll steal all the love! Snatch it all away, blissfully flying away into the sky... The feathered fiends! Zero: What are you talking about? Knives: Oh, I see you don't have the same knowledge of birds as I do. Birds evolved from dinosaurs, you know, so they're, by default, the strongest animal! And this simulation is all about EVIL birds. That's bad news waiting to happen!

Trivia

• Out of Order is the only level in MaGMML: Episode Zero to be a simulation like Make a Good Mega Man Level 2's levels are, instead of a real place.
• Despite being a mere simulation, Out of Order is depicted on the overworld as a rocket-like structure. Given the vague resemblance the first few screens have to a large aircraft in flight, it's possible this is a representation of what the simulation is supposed to depict, before it became corrupted and altered.
• Prior to v1.12 of MaGMML: Episode Zero, the frequency at which War Blur attacks in the Auto Scroller section was lower, making it harder to lure it to specific areas before being killed by the scrolling screen.