Part 15: Wily 2
Stage Comments:
This stage tries way too hard to be clever and fails so utterly to do so that it wraps around to be completely unmemorable. It's full of little traps and things that are obviously meant to trip you up, and actually will, but...there's no consequence at all. The very first room is pretty symbolic for what's to come: The top path is obviously the safest, you'll probably take it, and...discover that like five seconds of your time were wasted. Oh no?
Then come scary spikes, which are nothing more than that. Once a cute surprise waits, but even if you die, the level's start is not too far away! The only problem is presented by the two ladybugs, but you've got ample tools to deal with them. And really, I never had one spawn directly under the block, if it did that every time, it would be completely unfair.
A choice of paths presents itself, which is invalidated in that they rejoin after like three meters and both are really easy, so there's no tangible reward for taking either. That's good though, as you can't really know where you'll end up beforehand.
The following section I already forgot again. *looks at the video* oh yeah, Rush Jet/Balloon because why not force you to switch out weapons arbitrarily?
Eddie seems a complete afterthought in a room where he can't even move towards you correctly. The left ladder is just a test of your patience when entering new rooms, and in most cases will simply waste your time. In the following room, I really don't understand the placement of the enemies; seeing as they fall from the ceiling, meant as a surprise...why would you ever put them on platforms above Mega or even so that he'll activate them through a wall, completely destroying the shock factor? Not that I wouldn't bitch if they were placed so that you had to take the hit if you didn't know what's coming...I agree that surprise enemies are hard to place without being cheap or ineffective. I'd rather have the level err on the ineffective side...which this one does all the time.
A gauntlet of mummies is nothing we haven't seen before and requires no comment whatsoever, except...what the hell are the upper platforms except the last one for?
Then three bats in a cramped space. Really? Almost the exact same layout as in Cossack 4. I give them credit though for taking advantage of bat and background colour; you could be surprised, if you're blind or something.
The next choice of pathways still doesn't matter in the slightest. At the end, finally, the level becomes something resembling a challenge; after a room that's a decent trap (which Mono Roaders lend themselves to particularily well), the good old "hard to kill enemy after spike pits" design element gets invoked, but the dispensers are really well suited for the task and provide a tough but fair, and most important of all fun challenge. Sadly, that was the level already.
Can't believe I'm bitching about the nonexistant difficulty of a stage, because I really dislike when a game or just part of it gets flak just for being "not challenging enough"; that's an entirely different beast compared to "too easy", though. One is "hardcore gamers" that don't get their inner masochist tickled, the other is simply boring. The line, of course, is fleeting; what may be easy and boring for me could well have brought you to tears in your youth or even now.
However, I state that there are far worse levels in the game than this one. Just take a look at Bright Man's. And this is the penultimate level, if we want to believe the map. Come on!
Boss Strategy:
This guy is completely out of nowhere, doesn't fit the stage's theme of traps at all and manages to be really awesome nonetheless. The moving platforms are easily reachable and broad enough so that you won't get knocked off all the time (unlike the Room boss's), his two modes of attack require a quick eye and calm fingers, as does actually hitting him. The latter part might get frustrating, but that's what weaknesses are for, eh?
To provide a better description, this guy copies the dispensers' behaviour. He has a high arching shot that homes in surprisingly well, and a fire-and-forget one in front. Both are really big, though, and especially the exploding ball might get you unexpectedly more often than you like. Overall, you can judge by the arc it's fired with fairly well where it's going to land, though, so it's really fair. It's probably best to take this guy slowly and methodically; work out a rhythm, practice dodging the shots in every situation, and don't hesistate to fall down and start over. Don't ever get hectic or frustrated at the small hitbox. I find this boss very rewarding to buster-duel, it's really fun and a great design, simple yet effective. Must have been made by the guys who did the last level.
Have I mentioned though that the Ring Boomerang weakness club is getting fairly ridiculously large?
It's called Tako Trash, by the way.
Enemies:
Battonton: No more creative ways of usage were found.
Docron: Return of the revenge of the RECKONING of the "still coming out far too slowly to be threatening" enemy.Part 3: Come out slowly harder.
Gachappon: Used at their best in this stage, where the terrain is actually threatening to Mega and not directly beneficial like in Bright Man's stage. Can be a credible threat...if you don't know how awesome Drill Bomb is.
Garyoby: Ring Boomerang, Dust Crusher, Dive Missile, Pharaoh Shot, Drill Bomb...only MM1's spine types are more vulnerable, and there it was far harder to hit them. Here, they've become a joke.
Imorm: Wasted potential, an inconsequential enemy here. Skull Man's stage did it far better.
Mono Roader: Really evil right after you climb the ladder, here; the top one will always close up when you're right under and thus deflect a Pharaoh Charge over Mega's head - now that's clever placement! Fortunately, there are lots of ways to conquer them still.
Mummira: They're...there. Pharaoh Man uses them well in conjunction with the moving platforms you're on, they distract you, force tricky jumps and take a while to kill while doing so, provided you're not equipped with Dive Missile. That was good placement. This stage just throws them in a corridor. I think at the end, they were just running out of ideas.
Taketento: Fortunately, only in one room; still among the biggest pains, as far as normal enemies are concerned.Music:
Nothing new!