Spiky Situation

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28th: Spiky Situation Make a Good Mega Man Level 2

Oh dear.

Overview Creator(s): 128-Up Composer(s): Ryo Kawakami, Tsukikuro, ICE Statistics Scores: 35 24 34 38 28 Total: 31.8 / 50 Rank: 28th Elements: 1 Collectables: 1 Enemies: Metall Dance Komasaburo Biree Shield Attacker Bosses: The Kid, Avoidance Cherry

Theme Music Mega Man 4 - Wily Stage 2, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Boss, Cytus - Entrance Stage Order Location: Tier 7 Previous: Fortified Lab Next: Ruined Lab

""Welcome to Needle Castle! Enjoy your stay! We are not responsible for any casualties from impaling.""

―The sign, before the Needle Castle segment.

Overview

Spiky Situation is the entry level in Make a Good Mega Man Level 2, made by 128-Up and placed 28th. It is mostly known for I Wanna Be the Guy theme with its abundance of Needle Presses and instant death spikes, and for its bonus boss, Avoidance Cherry.

Strategy

Judge Comments
snoruntpyro  : 35 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 12 / 15 4 / 10 11 / 15 3 / 5 5 / 5 No GEE, I WONDER WHO MADE THIS LEVEL...I CAN'T TELL!!!!! I really like the setups in general here, and the usage of the needles and your custom platforms were pretty clever, but I think the level was just too instant death happy. I understand that that's the point of the stage, but it doesn't stop the latter half of the level from being frustrating. Once the more dangerous setups with the platforms came in it felt like I just kept dying to the spikes over and over just because I hadn't really learned the setup yet, and that lead to me redoing the previous setups over and over, and it was just bleh. The first half of the level is really good though, again, I really like your usage of the needles. The boss fight with The Kid is pretty fun, if a bit basic, and the extra challenge with the white fruit thing is really really neat. I haven't seen true bullet hell in Mega Man ever before. Overall I still like the level, I just really think the second half could have used some more room for error.
JupiHornet  : 24 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 5 / 15 4 / 10 10 / 15 2 / 5 3 / 5 Very inconsistent level. The first section was a fairly easy and fun stroll with some enemies and spikes, but the castle was a ridiculously hard platforming challenge that wasn't fun at all. I kind of enjoyed the first boss, but that secret boss was awesome! It was very creative for this contest and it felt like something straight out of Soundodger. However...that boss was pretty extreme without access to E-Tanks.
Enjl  : 34 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 7 / 15 5 / 10 13 / 15 4 / 5 5 / 5 No Pretty cool iwbtg aesthetic. While I'm... really not a fan of the spritework and think adhering to the source material solely through the needle theming and cherry references would've been enough, I enjoy the platforming this level has to offer. Having never played the source material myself I can hardly judge how closely the challenges presented here adhere to a proper curve from said source. However, what I can say is that the level provided fair and exciting platforming challenges throughout, until it got to the segment with Crash Man platfroms, which put a spike (ha) in the difficulty to the point where it's really easy to mistime a jump and be forced to redo the entire section over. Two sections, if you're not smart enough to actually activate the save station (a feature which I think wasn't a needed addition, since placing them in a way where they're unavoidable would've made idiots like me less likely to miss out on a checkpoint). The first boss of this stage is rather boring, but I found the optional touhou boss to be pretty fun to fight, probably due to the music. I wish it had less rng-based unavoidable sudden hits, though. Overall, fun stage for the most part! I just wish it had a more slope-y difficulty curve and stuck to its platforming roots.
Garirry  : 38 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality / 15 / 10 / 15 / 5 / 5
ACESpark  : 28 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 7 / 15 7 / 10 9 / 15 2 / 5 3 / 5 No idea ... I was expecting to hate this, if only due to it's clear inspiration. I mean, it's not exactly GOOD, but the challenge is.. interesting to play. You actually introduce mechanics well, conveyance was good, there is some interesting setups, if a bit finicky, and your checkpoint placement is pretty good overall... (well I think one more in the final stretch would help lessen the frustration.) I was expecting spikes to be flying everywhere, and am thankful they weren't - for the most part this level just requires timing and precision, and neither to overly fine degrees. I only really take exception to a single room, actually: The second Crash Platform room. What-ever it's requirements are - they're insane. Either a pixel perfect jump or sliding underneath the spikes atop the moving platform, which is weird, because the rest of the segments give a very clear idea of what they expect from the player. I cannot under any circumstances get through the second Crash Platform room properly, because of either the glitchy nature of the platforms, being unable to time it, or my own loathing for pixel perfect jumps. The bosses were.. interesting? I get the reference, sure, but they are pretty odd, and very luck based. The first one does seem to get easier the longer the fight lasts... and the second one throws maybe a few too many projectiles your way, which if the RNG gods decided to not be in your favour, will lead to deaths, more so than just a lack of skill. I beat it the first time I fought it, took a few attempts the second time. As an aside... getting it to sync with the music? Brilliant. That room I mentioned bothered me a fair bit, but this stage wasn't as bad as first appearances suggest. I'm sure you're well aware of the ugly nature of the artwork, given what you're referencing, but even if it is a reference, it IS still ugly to look at.

Trivia

• This is the only entry level that has checkpoints that function differently.
• The bonus boss is an easier, less insane version of its namesake from "I Wanna Touch The Entrance", an avoidance fangame.
• When RoahmMythril uploaded his playthrough of the stage, 128-Up provided his dev commentary of it, which can be viewed here.