Haunt Man (stage)

For article on the boss, see Haunt Man.

3rd: Haunt Man Make a Good Mega Man Level 2

Something lurks in the shadows...

Overview Creator(s): Korby and Freeman Composer(s): Kackebango, Freeman Statistics Scores: 47 48 47 39 44 Total: 45.0 / 50 Rank: 3rd Elements: 1 Collectables: Enemies: Medusa Shield Attacker Skeleton Joe Skull Walker Skelefellow Gimmicks: Ghosty Shadow Gimmick Bosses: Haunt Man

Theme Music Scythe Man Boss: MaGMML2 - Haunt Man (Boss) Stage Order Location: Tier 10 Previous: Neapolitan Man Next: The Stage Nobody Asked For

"I'd say that Halloween-themed stages often feel generic and uninteresting, but this one is an exception, as I liked the custom enemies and the main gimmick used."

―Garirry, excerpt from judge comment.

Haunt Man is the 3rd place entry in Make a Good Mega Man Level 2. It is a horror-themed stage, with the primary gimmick being sections where Mega Man must rely on shadows in the background to see the terrain, and a secondary gimmick being the Ghosties, which force additional caution with certain platforms.

Strategy

At the start of the level is a pair of rooms wtih a Medusa and two Skele Fellows, as well as a Skull Walker. The following room has the first set of Ghosties, which can be skipped with a platform that is being patrolled by a Shield Attacker. Going down, the room after this is the first instance of the Shadow Gimmick, used in a room with a simple layout that includes two Skull Walkers, a Skeleton Joe, and a Skele Fellow. The room above this includes a Skull Walker and a Skele Fellow, as well as a constantly-spawning line of Medusas, and the next room combines these same groups of Medusas with a Skeleton Joe and a floor with Ghosties. Going to the left in the latter room leads to a Noble Nickel, guarded by two groups of Ghosties and one group of Medusas. Going up instead will lead to a long room, once again utilizing the trio of Skull Walkers, Skeleton Joes, and Skele Fellows.

Going down leads to three rooms using Ghosties, with the first and third rooms adding a Shield Attacker, and the second room adding a Skull Walker. Climbing up the ladder in the third room leads to a pair of Skele Fellows, and two groups of Medusas. Going up leads to another room utilizing the shadow gimmick in conjunction with Skull Walkers, Skeleton Joes, and Skele Fellows, as well as Ghosties. Near the end of the room, the second Noble Nickel can be obtained using a well-timed jump from a ledge. After this room is the boss gate, with the fight against Haunt Man at the end.

Judge Comments

Judge Comments
snoruntpyro  : 47 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 14 / 15 10 / 10 13 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 No OMG I LOVE THIS LEVEL!!!!!!! The gimmicks and assets used here are sooooo cool. They're not necessarily the most original thing (shadow gimmicks have been around for a long time) but they're used extremely well, and I really love how the gimmicks are combined with engine assets. The setups with the Shield Attackers and ground devils are really good, and they're probably one of the few good usages of shield attackers I've ever seen. I also really love the final shadow section too, because it goes out of its way to try and disorient you by placing 'fake' enemies on the real shadows while the real enemies are above them. Difficulty curve is great, the challenges are designed really well, overall it's just a fantastic level. Boss fight is really neat, even if again the concept has been done before. I like phase 3 ;p. This whole level is just reeally good, super great job!!!!!
JupiHornet  : 48 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 14 / 15 10 / 10 15 / 15 4 / 5 5 / 5 This was a VERY strong contender for my favorite level. Call it my second favorite level. It was super creative and fun, and felt like something straight out of a really, REALLY good fangame! That VR gimmick was INSANE, and I would love to see an entire stage based off of it! Haunt Man was especially cool, with the boss 'haunting' two different bodies and attacking you with them. The battle was fair and easy to learn. My only real issues were a few blocks that blended in too well with the background. Overall though, fantastic job!
Enjl  : 47 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 13 / 15 10 / 10 15 / 15 4 / 5 5 / 5 No A really nice level that does so many things right that my complains here will seem more like nitpicking than anything, but before I get to those I just want to compliment it on its really creative gimmicks and super fun boss! As for the problems I had with the level... I felt like sometimes the enemies were placed in rather trivial locations where they don't pose much of a threat at all (long after they've been introduced), and there is a log graphic in this level which I consistently considered part of the background, which ended up causing me to take a hit almost every time I reached that section. Aside from that though this is a really fun and well-made stage!
Garirry  : 39 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 12 / 15 8 / 10 9 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 Good level design. I think that it has some rough edges, I think a few times the enemies were placed a bit poorly, but otherwise it's good. It was very fun. Granted, I think it's more boring than other top-tier levels, but it's good nonetheless. Hmm. Nothing stood out in particular here. Halloween theme isn't something new, but I admit the enemies are cool. Great. Works just fine. I'm quite impressed. Level design is very solid though it has a few rough edges at times, but it's still a very enjoyable level. I'd say that Halloween-themed stages often feel generic and uninteresting, but this one is an exception, as I liked the custom enemies and the main gimmick used. The boss is a bit too easy though.
ACESpark  : 44 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 12 / 15 8 / 10 14 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 No Very solid stage. Your new gimmick is a wonderful idea, even if gameplay wise it's simple, the flair is what takes a standard platforming and enemy segment and turns it into something original. Sometimes that is all that is required! Your primary gimmick is introduced very, very well, and the follow up at the end of the stage is perfect, combining all the elements of the stage into an interesting challenge, that plays with player's perspective, usually to draw their eye to the wrong place at the wrong time. I am also rather happy that it is very easy to tell what is and isn't a put in this stage. The new enemies are great too! There is an issue with the introduction of the Super Mario Brothers 3 inspired Devil-Boo floors, you can just skip it outright thanks to the platform above. The second outside area is pretty dull. The first such area is fine, since it is introducing the player to the new enemy types, the second one? No such excuse, so it's just a bit of a random tiny-slog partway through the stage. It's no bad by any means, but it was a pretty dull segment to have in the middle of your stage. The Robot Master is very clever, and I love how he looks, but I think there is a bit too much RNG here. The Knight form is able to corner the player very easily, since his fireball attack requires a fair amount of room to actually dodge, but I appreciated how much damage he actually deals, making him feel like a threat! The Mage form is a bit...weird. The first time I fought him, I did not see his Lightning blast attack, only his ice sharks, making the fight a total cakewalk. Having a cap to the amount of times he can pull off attacks in a row would've improved this boss fight immensely. The Ghost form gave Gradius final boss flashbacks, the ones that don't fight back. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not. I would've liked to have seen the last form actually DO something, but it's no big deal, the other two forms were fine. This was absolutely a great stage overall, I think you got some great use out of your new assets here. Good stuff.

Notes

• Haunt Man is the only entry level in MaGMML2 to be a collaboration, being credited to both Korby and Freeman.