Quarantine Woman (stage)

5th: Quarantine Woman Make a Good Mega Man Level 2

Overview Creator(s): NaOH Programmer(s): NaOH Artist(s): NaOH, Karakato Composer(s): NaOH, CosmicGem Statistics Scores: 34 47 43 47 47 Total: 43.6 / 50 Rank: 5th Elements: 1 Collectables: 3 Enemies: Batton Blocky Crawler Joe Telly Hazmat Joe Jumbig Specimen A Specimen B Sub-Bosses: Hall Master Bosses: Quarantine Woman

Theme Music Quarantine Woman (exterior), Quarantine Woman (interior), Quarantine Woman (miniboss) Stage Order Location: Tier 10 Previous: Beneath Sand and Rock Next: Neapolitan Man

"the hazmat guys are on your track all the time forever"

―SnoruntPyro, judge comment

Overview

Quarantine Woman is a level focusing primarily on chase scenes and atmospherics. What mysteries lie within the inner workings of this foreboding facility?

Reception

Judge Comments
snoruntpyro  : 34 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 6 / 15 3 / 10 15 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 No It felt like it focused on cinematics more than actually making a level. The first half is completely unassuming and doesn't do much, but I'm pretty sure that was intentional. The transition to the second half definitely scared the heck out of me; and this is where I begin to have issues with the level. I appreciate the effort that went into the AI of the hazmat suit guys (they like go and attack other enemies before attacking you?!?!?) but they are really introduced pretty badly. Your first encounters with them are in extremely cramped areas and they can very quickly gang up on you and kill you, and then later on in the level they just spawn in completely nonthreatening places. The end with the mutants is neat, but it also really feels like enemy spam because the bugs just seem to be randomly pasted everywhere. Also the bugs are kind of nightmare inducing and made me very uncomfortable. The hall hand thing is really creepy and scared the hell out me but poses no threat at all. There's some acid drops that just seem to be placed randomly and will never hit you. Sensing a pattern here? Style over substance. Not a fan of the boss, either, because she does a hell of a lot of damage with everything so it becomes more of a trial and error learning thing than an actual engaging boss. The Noble Nickels are really weird, too. The second one is incredibly frustrating to get since the hazmat guys are on your track all the time forever, and I don't think it's possible to escape the pit the third one is in without dying. I appreciate and respect the huge amount of effort put into the level, but I don't think it turns out to be a fun experience.
JupiHornet  : 47 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 13 / 15 10 / 10 15 / 15 5 / 5 4 / 5 I don't know what I was expecting from a Robot Master called Quarantine Woman, but it wasn't that! That was FANTASTIC, and it really seemed like it was made by professional Mega Man fangame developer. The random music switch, the Hazmat enemies that come from ropes, the mosquitoes, the giant hand miniboss...everything about that was just awesome. My issues with this level were few and far between. First, you forgot to place a ladder collision tile near the beginning of the level. Second, a Jumbig was right next to a screen transition, giving me almost no time to react. Lastly, Quarantine Woman's attacks do a LOT of damage considering how fast they are. The biggest issue is the Noble Nickels, some of them are ridiculously hard to get. Still, this level is great. Awesome job!
Enjl  : 43 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 8 / 15 10 / 10 15 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 No I absolutely love the way this level tells its story and how it transitions every time it throws in a new element. The atmosphere and pacing in this level are amazing and I had a lot of fun playing through it. I feel like this level would've been better off without any Nobel Nickels, though, as they were usually low points in my enjoyment and fairly tricky to get. I still don't know how to get to the second Nickel reliably. After 15 minutes I managed to do a Sakugarne hop on the scientist below, but that feels too precise to be the solution. Aside from that the level frequently suffers from unfair enemy placement, forcing the player to take hits. One example for this is the first time you see the bugs: One of them flies directly where the player will go next. Oh, by the way - GREAT detail how the security guards shoot at the bugs and not just focus down the player. It really helps in making them feel believable. My favourite section of this level was when the huge mutated hand surprises the player in the boss corridor. Overall, fantastic atmosphere, but the gameplay sometimes gets influenced by it to the point where tanking a hit is often a better option compared to using skill in order to get through the level. Definitely my favourite aesthetic and story execution in the contest, though.
Garirry  : 47 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 14 / 15 9 / 10 14 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 Excellent level design. Although there are some cases where I'm not even sure how to get the NN and sometimes there's too many enemies on screen or to spawn, it still reamins solid. It was very extremely fun. I don't think there is anything that is particularly annoying, except maybe getting those Noble Nickels. I really, really appreciate the ideas behind this level. It's simply outstanding. Looks beautiful and music is fantastic! Works just fine. I've gotta say, this level is absolutely amazing! Pretty much everything in it is perfect or close to being perfect. The ideas behind it and the bosses are awesome, the graphics and music are great, and the level design is very solid. I'd say that there are a few times where there is excessive enemy respawning or Noble Nickels that are hard or confusing to get. Regardless, this level is certainly very enjoyable and extremely well-built.
ACESpark  : 47 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 13 / 15 9 / 10 15 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 No I can't say I was expecting anyone to make a stage that would fit in with the Aliens franchise, but there it is. This is another stage I am so thankful there is a Robot Master for. This level takes what is basically an enemy only stage - and makes it work. The custom assets in this stage are incredible, and I can't remember playing a Mega Man stage that gives its enemy set honest to goodness AI. The Hazmat Joes are brillant! The flair and details in this stage make up for the fact the sprite-work can get a little wonky, but there is so much attention to detail though, I can't help but award a full Aesthetics score. The final stretch is a little crowded but it isn't too bad, and some of the Nickels were kind of hard to figure out, the second one having a constant stream of enemies was a little much. As for your Robot Master - it's a really cool fight, and gives me the same feeling as playing a Shoot em Up with the precision required. My biggest issue with the stage is her though. Don't get me wrong, she's great. unique and pretty difficult. But... she's a bit too difficult for her own good. The main cause of this is, with one exception, an almost complete lack of tells during the fight to let you know what shot pattern she's going to use, which leads the player to be unprepared. It took me a while to beat her, and even when I sort of got used to how she worked, the lack of tells means it's very hard to know what exact actions you need to pull off to dodge her next barrage, especially considering the sheer precision required. Overall this stage was brilliant though, and is one of the more unique experiences I've had playing a Mega Man game.