Toxic Tunnels

Chapter 3: Toxic Tunnels Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero

There'd better not be a crazy acid robot swimming around down here...

Overview Creator(s): InUniverse Composer(s): Alexander Brandon (original) worldpeace (cover) Statistics Rank: Chapter 3 Collectables: 035: Quarantine Woman 086: Amoeba Droid Enemies: Baby Flies Colton Kerone M-422A M-445 Metall Swim Subeil Tadahou V Yambow Gimmicks: Acid Wave Destroyable Block (Cutter Chip) Key Barrier Pontoon Platform Saw Blade Switch Ball Switch Water Sub-Bosses: Amoeba Droid

Theme Music Jazz Jackrabbit 2 - Medivo Stage Order

Toxic Tunnels is a level in Chapter 3 of Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero. While in Tier X, Zero encounters an area very similar to Water Ducts from Make a Good Mega Man Level 2; however, instead of smashing water are Acid Waves that move at varying heights. This acid can't immediately kill Zero, but it will bounce him away on contact. Additionally, many areas completely submerge themselves in water after a certain trigger; usually, this happens by shooting a switch, but some areas have the water automatically turning itself on or off after a small delay. A number of possible pathways depend on whether or not the level is submerged.

Strategy

Two Kerones and three Tadahous start off the level, before Zero drops into a hallway with acid on the bottom and a number of platforms/enemies floating above it. A checkpoint is reached not long after, with the adjacent screen having a Switch Ball and a wide Pontoon Platform blocking the way down. By shooting the switch, the level will be instantly filled with water, causing the Pontoon to float upwards. Underneath, a swarm of Metall Swims and M-445s float in a submerged corridor filled with stationary Saw Blades, before eventually reaching a split path, with a Switch Ball lying underneath a Destroyable Block weak to the Cutter Chip.

By going left, M-445s will drop from the top of the screen while enemies attack Zero. The water is used as an obstacle here, as floating Pontoon Platforms will prevent progress unless the water is turned off. Down below, the water is permanently turned off while Acid Waves move along the bottom, now overlapping the terrain itself and forcing Zero to keep moving with the waves to evade damage. One particularly large and fast wave of acid requires constant dashing to stay ahead of, and to unlock a Key Barrier, Zero has to go back past this wave to obtain the key.

Alternatively, destroying the Cutter Block leads to a room with a tall wall, which is too high to jump over without the Double Jump upgrade. Additionally, a Pontoon Platform will block the way forward if the water isn't turned off in the previous room. Despite the hassle in accessing it, this path is the shorter of the two, with the water now turning itself on or off periodically (indicated by a set of "dings"), although Switch Balls scattered throughout the corridor will still manually control it, resetting the timer. Coltons and M-422As also appear for the first time, while Pontoon Platforms serve as either help or hindrances depending on the water level. At the end of the path is a CD, as well as the point where both paths meet up.

After a battle with the Amoeba Droid, a single Switch Ball can be used to turn the water on or off allowing Zero to proceed how he wishes. To the right of a drop down is another Cutter Block. Behind it is a tall room with two Pontoon Platforms, one of which is immobile and parked above a CD. To collect it, Zero must ride the other Pontoon upwards after filling the level with water, while being sure to avoid Saw Blades and Baby Flies. At the very top is a long drop to the bottom, beneath the immobile Pontoon. On the main path, the current state of the water affects what path is available; if the water is active, the Pontoon on the right floats offscreen, leading to a section with slow Acid Waves on the ceiling. If the water is inactive, the left path will be open, leading to a long corridor with Acid Waves moving towards the left. Yambows will fly in and attempt to attack Zero while he jumps past the waves.

The final area of the level is a long corridor filled with tall Acid Waves on the bottom that travel left. The timer trigger for the water returns, now ticking down quicker than the timer on the CD shortcut. Tall walls are a common obstacle, many of which can only be jumped over while the water is active, though some can still be scaled with the Double Jump. The most common enemy in this last stretch are Metall Swims, with some being positioned in a way that makes avoiding them and the acid tricky (notably, one Metall Swim lies inside a slide passage). At the end of this long, acid-filled corridor, however, is a room containing the Energy Element.

Z-Phone Dialogue

	Contact	Transcript
	Dr. Wily	Dr. Wily: Toxic Tunnels? Hold on... all of that data lines up with some data I'm using for testing! How did you access that? Zero: I just came across it up here, I suppose. Dr. Wily: Up here? What do you mean? ...Is some place receiving simulation data like some lost radio wave?!
	Agent Krantz	Toxic Tunnels? It looks like that area has a giant pool of toxic sludge, thicker than syrup. It's not instant-death, but if you're hurt by it you'll bounce up from the acidic reaction. There's also switches that can instantly transform the free oxygen around you into water, and vice versa. This will raise and lower certain obstacles, and possibly ice if you have any to hold onto.
	Galaxy Man	(CD #1): For this one, you'll see a block marked with a little scissor icon blocking a tiny passage! Break through it, and after that, you're gonna need to have the water OFF. AND be able to get over a ledge. Maybe you'll need some midair boost thingy? But once you get over it, you're on your way to the CD! (CD #2): So there's a guard robot somewhere around there. Right after you deal with it, be on the lookout! There'll be a scissor block thingy you gotta break through, and that's CD territory!
	Yamato Man	Yamato Man: Amoeba Droid? Reminds me of this guy I met once while on a trip to Mecha-Chuchets. Really stuck-up obnoxious guy, let me tell you. Zero: ... Yamato Man: What is it? Zero: Huh? Oh. I was mentally preparing myself for a long tangent. Yamato Man: Why, I would never! Do you really think I talk that much?! Zero: A little, yes. Yamato Man: Hmph! Fine, here's your straight-to-the-point advice, mister: Invincible when covered in acid, break the shield of tiny orbs. How's that?! Zero: Honestly, that is more than sufficient.
	Knives	Knives: Ooh, the toxic sewage everywhere's a big plus for the atmosphere, but that smell! Plus, the water keeps switching on and off! You might float away when it randomly switches on or something. Zero: I sink in water, though. Knives: You never know! Maybe that'll suddenly change! You gotta be prepared for every situation!! Always be prepared for every date-ruining situation.

Trivia

• The level's rippling water background uses a shader that requires DirectX9 to work, meaning it won't run by default on most newer computers. The level would crash in v1.0 of Episode Zero as a result (rendering it unbeatable), but in v1.1 onwards, the level works regardless, though it is more difficult to tell when water is in effect or not. Additionally, an Acid Man NPC appears at the start with a download link to DirectX9 if the player's machine lacks it.
• On the left of the first Acid Wave hallway is a secret room, which contains nothing but an infinitely-splitting Baby Flies enemy.
• The Metall Swims in this level are custom variants that play the Mega Man 6 enemy shot sound effect when shooting, as they did in MaGMML2.
• InUniverse initially programmed the chip-sensitive Destroyable Blocks for this level, before making it a free asset for other level makers to use in their levels.
• Toxic Tunnels was originally planned to appear in Chapter 2, as a level on the path to the Psycho Chip. When the list of submitted levels was finalized, it was moved to Chapter 3 to keep the number of chip path levels at an even nine.
• This is the only stage in MaGMML: Episode Zero to be based on a Wily Star II level.