Magnum Man (stage)

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Magnum Man MaGMML3 Judge Application Levels

Obligatory "Wild West" joke goes here.

Overview Creator(s): ACESpark Programmer(s): ACESpark Composer(s): CosmicGem & MiniMacro Statistics Elements: 1 Collectables: 5 Enemies: Bandito Brown "Cactank" Sonic Bill Tondeall [Gun with legs?] Bosses: Magnum Man

Theme Music Stage Order Previous: Universe City V

Magnum Man is the seventh and final of the MaGMML3 Judge Application Levels. ACESpark designed the level as a test to see if judges would be unduly kind to a level that had custom assets; as such, the level had minimal testing, and the result was predictably sloppy. While many people believe the level to be a parody of Sheriff Man—Sheriff having no gimmick at all and Magnum having clunky and overbearing gimmicks—ACE had conceived Magnum Man before the events of MaGMML2, and claims all resemblance is coincidental.

Strategy

Judge Applicants' Comments
Pachy  : 88 / 100
Wow, this is a very aesthetically-pleasing level! Along with well composed music, and custom assets, this feels genuinely like a Megaman level. The stage does an excellent job at introductions, each new enemies are showcased by their own at the beginning in safe environments, the first instance of the magnum gimmick is introduced in a way that allow player to experiment with it freely, before testing them out on actual challenges. It is not entirely about the gimmicks, as there are also normal combat areas in between, which is good to keep each of the challenges diverse and interesting. Later on another new gimmick is brought into the mix, the springboard, while doesn't really fit the whole wild west theme, does make for some unique platforming with its familiar yet very different behavior. The difficulty curve was done right, things begin simple and gradually become more difficult as it should. The extra challenges with the gems are also within' reasonable difficulty from the rest of the level. Magnum Man himself is a very fun boss fight. His attacks are telegraphed and easy to learn, you can find a way to dodge most of his attacks very quickly and consistently except! When right after his upward shots, he sometimes do a short hop instead of leaping all the way into your position, causing you to slide faceplant into him. Otherwise, he's not all too tricky but the battle is still engaging enough. (Also while you can't freeze Magnum Man himself with the Flash Stopper, you can freeze his projectiles, creating amusing results) Though, there are still things I want to nitpick about. The level consists some annoying enemy placements. For example, there's one room with the tank enemy that requires very tight timing to get through unharmed without using special weapons; In the last room just before the boss corridor, there is the little pistol guy that is hard to lure out to shoot it safely. Checkpoints are placed well, but they're not very clearly indicated as most of them put you right at the start of the session, without an extra empty room. Not really a big deal, again, it's just a nitpick of mine. In the end, this is a very solid entry. It wouldn't be out-of-place in an official Megaman game, with how the graphics and music as well as the level design go. A very polished and impressive level overall!
Samario  : 83 / 100
This stage is also a good stage, overall. The stage has taken a custom gimmick, namely the bullet platforms fired from the revolvers, and builds the stage around them. It introduces them in a safe environment, before expanding into using the gimmick to progress in the stage, as well as navigate to collect the diamonds. The overall aesthetic of the stage is wonderful, apart from some small background issues and a slightly unfitting enemy in the form of the tank. The only other issues are the spikes that don't seem to act like spikes, as well as a lack of differentiation between revolvers that fire a different amount of bullets, some slight route confusion, and some very minor collision issues with the extending platforms teleporting pickups.
M-Jacq  : 69 / 100
The Wild West aesthetics are flawless, the new enemies are cute, the gimmicks are cool, the platforming is challenging, the boss is fun, and yet… Well, look at the robo-vaquero. When it was first introduced, I fawned over the cute Colton variant with a poncho and homing shots! When it started showing up in tandem with the other gimmicks, the novelty started to wear off. When it started shooting bullets through a wall and at an angle perpendicular to the muzzle… well, not to get all “grassy knoll” on you, but that’s not how guns work. This is indicative of the stage’s larger problem: the individual assets are cool, but they actually detract from one another when used in tandem. The biggest offender here are the springs, which I don’t think were used well even once in the screen after their introduction. And… what exactly do big springs have to do with cowboys or guns? It’s a shame, because the segments where the level takes one gimmick and runs with it are awesome. I love the room with the three guns right before the boss gate, for instance, and Magnum Man himself is an incredibly fun fight. But whenever the stage tries to use two or more elements at the same time, the quality takes a noticeable drop. A damn shame, given how great the individual pieces are.
PK  : 56 / 100
Holy hello kitty, I knew the wild west was tough, but this is really tough. Now, I can clearly see that a lot of effort was put into original enemies, tilesets, and gimmicks. But all that effort can only carry you so far without a stage that is well designed. Even on the first screen, it becomes apparent that enemies will get thrown at you without any real warning. This can lead to some quite brutal sections, and that combined with the gimmicks can be very overwhelming. But lets talk about the gimmicks, shall we? Firstly we have the giant guns that shoot bullets you can stand on. More often than not, I found myself either getting hit while standing on them, or in one section, I just got outright crushed while they collided with a wall. Then there are these weird bouncy springs. Not only did I clip through the ground once, but they are just not very well thought out in my opinion. Seeing them and immediately after having to do some precise jumps to avoid spikes seems like a harsh spike in difficulty. The fight with Magnum Man is…pretty brutal as well. One of his moves becomes almost impossible to dodge if he manages to corner you even a bit, which happens more than you would like. His attacks generally come out really fast, and don’t give much time to react or even think. Generally, the effort that went into the asthetics of this stage could have been put to better use in the level design department. No matter how good a stage looks, if it is frustrating to play, whats the point?
Flashman85  : / 100