Footloose

40th: Footloose Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level

Where's Kevin Bacon to bust a move when you need him?

Overview Creator(s): Squatch Composer(s): Ippo Yamada, Yuko Takehara (originals) Mathew Valente (cover) Statistics Scores: 52 68 63 73 Total: 64 / 100 Rank: 40th Elements: 1 Box Items: Hari Harry Hell Metall DX Palm Hopper Auto Scroller Hornet Roll Enemies: Hari Harry Hell Metall DX Palm Hopper Gimmicks: Auto Scroller Hornet Roll Bosses: Power Piston Other Information: -2 Functionality Penalty

Theme Music Mega Man 9 - Overdrive Scramble Boss: Mega Man 6 - Boss Stage Order Location: Tier 7 Previous: Twilight Fortress Next: The End of Needle Man?!

Footloose is the 40th place entry in Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level. This rather short level revolves around using Hornet Rolls to reach high places and cross over dangerous spikes, with two autoscrolling sections that will punish players who shoot a Hornet Roll too early.

Strategy

A safe introduction to Hornet Rolls, Hell Metall DX, and Hari Harry starts the stage off, and it isn't long until the first Auto Scroller section appears. Devoid of Hornet Rolls, it consists of platforming over a chasm while fighting enemies, with little challenge to speak of (although staying on the highest platforms presents an opportunity to grab an E-Tank). Afterwards, Hornet Rolls return over a large spike floor, with Palm Hoppers and Hari Harrys roosting on a few. The key here is to only shoot a Hornet Roll when necessary, then move as quickly as possible along it before it curls back up, dropping Mega Man to the ground.

The second and final Auto Scroller once again happens over a bottomless pit, though this time Hornet Rolls are the only available platforms. This section is considerably harder than the first, as the fixed speed means that going fast isn't possible, and a stray shot could mean falling down as the roll suddenly curls back. As a general rule of thumb, Mega Man should wait until the next platform is visible before shooting a Hornet Roll – except for a pair positioned alongide a spike shaft, in which case the top one needs to fully curl back before Mega Man can drop to the one below. At the end of this section (and the stage) is a fight against Power Piston.

Judge Comments

Judge Comments
ParmaJon  : 52 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 20 / 35 6 / 15 10 / 10 12 / 25 6 / 15 I don't mind short levels, but this one feels incomplete to me. The first half of the level is fine; it doesn't shatter new ground, but it's a solid start. You show the player the gimmicks and the enemies (which is great) and you get a solid feel for what's going on. Having the checkpoint at the first autoscroller is really good so that the level doesn't become tedious. I say this because that's exactly what happens in the second half. The room with the rollers is pretty good the first few times, but having it followed by a long and challenging autoscroller was a genuinely bad choice. It turns that room into a tedious slog as you work your way through the autoscroller and die three fourths of the way through. Having the roller room and then more level before the autoscroller would've done the level a lot of good so that the autoscroller had its own checkpoint. The challenges in there are a mix of clever and unforgiving, which makes the final experience of the level not great. Then it just sorta ends. This level is definitely fixable, but in the end the product you showed us is too short and frustrating.
PKWeegee  : 68 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 23 / 35 10 / 15 7 / 10 18 / 25 10 / 15 Ah, yes, good autoscroller usage. What is this sorcery? Jokes aside, I'm happy with how nicely paced the autoscrollers were. It's always nice to have constant action, without it being too fast, and without it feeling like you are just waiting around while nothing happens. Another good thing was how the Hornet platforms were used. Not only did the extending mechanic get used well, but the retracting was also put to nice use.
M-Jacq  : 63 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 24 / 35 4 / 15 10 / 10 15 / 25 10 / 15 Man, I hate that the word "romp" has been ruined forever in the context of these contests, because that's exactly what this level is. A "romp." "Rompy," even. A nice, pleasant trip from point A to point B, albeit not a very inspired one. The perfect sort of level for a thought-terminated cliche to come in. "Romp." Ok, uh, what did I not like here? I didn't love the introduction of the Hari Haris, where its needles are juuust close enough to the platform edge that you're not out of their line of fire even though it looks like you are. But on the other hand, I thought it was good that you could leave the Hell Mets alone and get through the level, since they're an awkward enemy type, and it's also kind of fun that some of the Hornet Rolls stretch out super far. And, uh... yeah. R-r-rompy.
Freems  : 73 / 100
Design Creativity Function Fun Aesthetic 24 / 35 10 / 15 9 / 10 19 / 25 11 / 15 This was a cute little level. Makes good use of the gimmicks and enemies (for the most part) and I had a pretty good time playing through it. Though there were a few smaller things holding it back. The enemy placement was really strange at times. The first autoscroller would go from feeling empty to super crowded to empty again in a short period of time. Putting enemies on the Hornet Rolls is nice in theory but when they fall off, they become a little more useless (mostly referring to the last spike room and the final autoscroller on that one) Speaking of the last autoscroller, there are a few unfortunate things going on there. It's really easy to set off a Hornet Roll too early which given the autoscroller is basically a death sentence. This isn't too bad on its own but there is exactly one part of the auto scroller where you have to start shooting the Hornet Rolls quickly so you have time to get through. It's just a bit of whiplash having the game basically teach you to take it slow (especially the rolls right before the part you have to go faster being set up in a way where it's really easy to shoot them too soon) and then make you do it quickly can easily take people off guard and lead to people not realizing what's going on until it's too late. However, despite these problems here and there, I did enjoy the level overall!

Notes

• When originally submitted, the player's default spawn point was accidentally placed near the end of the stage. It was moved to the start, but earned the level a -2 functionality penalty.