Launch Man & Shuttle Man (stage)

For article on the bosses, see Launch Man & Shuttle Man.

8th: Launch Man & Shuttle Man Make a Good Mega Man Level 2

Get ready for takeoff!

Overview Creator(s): Strife Composer(s): Abo Takeshi Statistics Scores: 41 40 41 40 48 Total: 42.0 / 50 Rank: 8th Elements: 1 Collectables: Enemies: Big Telly Heli Buton Imorm Jet Buton Pandeeta Power Slam Propeller Eye Rackaser Shield Attacker GTR Yaffu Gimmicks: Auto Scroller Daidine Destroyable Block (Mega Buster, Slash Claw, Wheel Cutter) Key Barrier Needle Press Plantman Platform Rocket Sub-Bosses: Air Devil Dennis Turbo Roost Bosses: Launch Man & Shuttle Man Other Information: ACESpark's Favourite

Theme Music Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds - Daigaku Stage Order Location: Tier 10 Previous: Komuso Temple Next: Cyber Man

"Dr. Wily still has not noticed me. Unbeknownst to him, I, the almighty Dennis, have amassed an arsenal of terrifying power. The enemies of my master shall quake in fear at the sight of my numerous transformations, each one more powerful than the last. I am immortal. I am infinite. I am eternal. Wily will notice me. Please notice me, Wily."

―Dennis (the most fearsome enemy of all time), Log Entry, Day 7.

Launch Man & Shuttle Man is the 8th place entry in Make a Good Mega Man Level 2. It is a sky-themed stage with some jungle elements in the first portion.

Strategy

Dropping down after starting the level, Mega Man is greeted with a long room consisting of a Pandeeta, Imorms, a Heli Buton, and a Power Slam. While Mega Man can choose to simply go right to proceed, he can also take an extra path by going down a ladder midway through the room. The extra path begins with a Jet Buton and two Needle Presses. Mega Man can either climb up the ladder to get a Large Screw, or use Wheel Cutter to destroy a Wheel Block and move forward. In the following two rooms, Wheel Cutter must be used to climb up walls. The second of these rooms houses the first/second Noble Nickel on its left side. Climbing up the ladder at the top of this room puts Mega Man next to a Plant Man Platform and a Yaffu.

If Mega Man takes the main path instead, he will face a Needle Press, as well as a single Pandeeta guarding the first/second Noble Nickel. Climbing up leads to a long room with Jet Butons, Plant Man Platforms (the second of which is where Mega Man exits the alternate path from), a Yaffu, an Imorm, Rackasers, a Power Slam, a Big Telly, and for the first time, Rockets. The room after this is a vertical autoscroller, where Mega Man is forced to catch up with an airship heading into the sky, while avoiding being left behind by Jet Butons, Heli Butons, and a Big Telly. Mega Man must jump onto the ship to proceed; if he climbs to the top of the structure on the left before doing so, he will be able to grab the third Noble Nickel.

Once the airship is in the sky, Mega Man must go to the right and battle Turbo Roost. The next room, houses an Imorm, a Shield Attacker GTR, and a 1-Up. Taking the ladder down will lead to a secret room housing Dennis. Defeating Dennis and using the key he holds to unlock the Key Barrier, Mega Man can destroy two Slash Blocks to grab some screws, as well as the fourth Noble Nickel. Taking the main path, the next room has several Imorms, plus a Shield Attacker GTR and a Pandeeta, with the latter standing right in front of a key, which must be used to unlock the Key Barrier blocking the path. The next room requires the player to avoid a Shield Attacker GTR, Big Tellies, a Yaffu, Propeller Eyes, Rockets, and a Power Slam while jumping across Plant Man Platforms. A platform near the start of the room can be accessed using a support weapon, granting Mega Man the final Noble Nickel.

At the end of the room is a Spinning Platform, leading to a single room combining multiple Spinning Platforms with Rockets. After passing this room and taking out the Pandeeta in the room after it, a room with a Key Barrier blocking an E-Tank can be found; the only way to unlock this Key Barrier is to keep the key Mega Man got from Dennis. In the following room, Mega Man must fight the Air Devil. Once defeated, the Air Devil will drop the Energy Element in the next room, seemingly ready to collect...until Launch Man & Shuttle Man snatch it, after which the floor will be destroyed, leading to a room with two large Weapon Energy capsules and a 1-Up. Going into the next room leads to the battle against Launch Man & Shuttle Man.

Judge Comments
snoruntpyro  : 41 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 10 / 15 7 / 10 14 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 No I think probably my biggest issue with this level is that it's too overwhelming for first time players. There's a LOT of enemies around, especially very bulky ones like Power Slams. I also don't really like the usage of Shield Attackers; they just feel like they were randomly placed and really don't pose that much of a challenge and just seem like they're there to waste your time. And the bosses, while fun and really well done, were definitely very overwhelming and it took a death for each to really figure them out. All that aside though, this level is REALLY neat with its tech, and there was clearly a ton of love poured into this. The missiles, while not being the most original thing ever, are pretty neat, and do help to spice up the gameplay, and once you do master the boss fights they're a ton of fun - except for the Air Devil, which I found to be a bit dull, but that's basically every devil boss ever anyways. The crazy morphing Met guy got a big laugh out of me, and the launch sequence was suuuuper neat. Honestly, this level really just shines in how creative it is, it does a heck ton of neat things. The design isn't particularly strong, though, so I can't really say it's perfect. I still personally really like it, though.
JupiHornet  : 40 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 10 / 15 7 / 10 15 / 15 5 / 5 3 / 5 That was INSANE. I can tell that a lot of love and care was put into this level, especially the "launch" part. However...that boss was just too much, especially after an already long "Air Devil" miniboss. It's a very hectic fight and it's hard to dodge both bosses' attacks at once, especially since the bigger Robot Master (I think it's Shuttle Man) hits like a truck. There seems to be a pattern, but it's very difficult to learn without dying several times because the battle moves so quickly. With the first miniboss, the Air Devil, and Launch Man/Shuttle Man...I think you tried to do a bit too much in one level.
Enjl  : 41 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 10 / 15 8 / 10 13 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 No Really fun stage! I love the little details like Launch & Shuttle Man flying in the background as you make your way through the sky, and I think the takeoff sequence is suuper cool and memorable. The level as a whole is occasionally pretty spammy with its enemies but a lot of fun to play regardless. The midboss barrier is unfortunately already unlocked as you enter the room, but like the other bosses in the stage he's a fun one to fight. Lunch and Shuffle themselves are pretty hectic but after a cycle it's pretty easy to remember their pattern. I like how they team up like that. If the difficulty was less abrupt and more slope-y I'm sure this stage would feel even better to play, but it's already a lot of fun!
Garirry  : 40 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality 10 / 15 8 / 10 13 / 15 5 / 5 4 / 5 Could be a bit better. There's way too much enemies at the time, and many of them require patience and waiting to beat. Other than that the level design is solid and very well built. Aside from the annoying enemies and extremely unfair last boss, I really enjoyed this stage. I liked all the ideas that were used here. Not as good as some others levels, but it's really, really interesting. Excellent. Has a few bugs, but otherwise works fine. This is a great level! The level design is very solid, but does contain a somewhat high concentration of enemies at places. Despite that, it's a very fun stage, and I thought that the ideas behind it were really interesting. However, I did not like the last boss fight considering how easy it is do die while fighting them. There are also a few bugs but it's no big deal. It's an absolutely fantastic level, but I feel that there's quite a few issues that this level could have done without.
ACESpark  : 48 / 50
Design Fun Creativity Aesthetics Functionality Skip Teleporter? 13 / 15 10 / 10 15 / 15 5 / 5 5 / 5 No There are like, two things wrong with this level: The screens can get overcrowded every so often (your combination of enemies towards the end of the stage is fairly questionable), and I think not enough of an effort was put to get the enemy set themed together. Recolouring enemies to match each other, and perhaps replacing a few, would've helped get the stage linking together better. The former, is actually an issue, but the latter is a serious nitpick. Because... let's face it, this stage is great. The gimmicks are simple, but effective. They compliment the level layout, and whilst you don't really do anything that clever with them, you do go beyond the minimum and hit a nice middle ground. If I felt this was a problem though, you make up for it with your boss battles. Are you a Treasure fan by any chance? Because your boss fights take what is an above average stage, and, to excuse the pun, rocket it out of the arena. All 4 of them were great, (I'm counting Dennis. <3), very creative, and... just a whole lot of fun. They hit the perfect balance of challenge, neat attacks and flair. Your Robot Masters? I fell in love. Not only would I want to see this stage in an official Capcom title, I think this actually BEATS most Capcom stages.

Notes

• Launch Man & Shuttle Man is the only entry in MaGMML2 to receive a score of 40 or higher from all five judges.