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Bright Man

Nov 6th, 2011
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  1. Let it be said that I am not a fan of vision-based gimmicks. Rarely can they be put to any use that services or evolves the platforming itself more than obscure or force jittered progression through what would have been the same obstacles either way. Now, that stated, if you do like vision gimmicks, this is one of the more creative ones I've seen. Rather than being the on and off switch they were in the original Bright Man's stage, this time the light-controlling enemies modify the amount of enemies, projectiles and pickups visible to you onscreen. That band of shimmering light centered around Mega Man grows and diminishes by set amounts with each specific enemy you kill, and it can get pretty small. It's an interesting concept for sure, and I can't argue against the fact that, for what it is, it's used creatively enough here. It's also interesting in that it solely renders sprites visible or invisible. The terrain and background stay clear, which I appreciate. The enemies service this gimmick deviously well, firing projectiles or completing electrical arcs completely under your nose. Also notice the cute Game Boy style health bar unique to this level to avoid complications with the original's visuals/because PureSabe felt like it. Those two gifts at the top of the climb are not-so-subtle indications that a miniboss is on the horizon. And so he is.
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  3. Shadow Man's quite a nightmare at immediate glance this time around, going through 3 distinct phases at each third of his life and playing off the compromised vision perfectly, looking for all the world like a regular boss in his own right. However, like Crash Man before him, he's all bluff. Three distinct phases is a fancy way of saying three dinstinct patterns, and they are some strong patterns. As we should be well aware by now, strong patterns means strong exploits. The first doesn't even need to be explained because before you can try to figure it out, the game figures it out for you. Stay on the ground and all Shadow Man will be prompted to do is launch his Shadow Blades directly above you like an even less threatening Proto Man. When you knock him down a third, he gets a little smarter. Sliding like his original namesake, he nonetheless travels a set distance and slides at set intervals, so you still have nothing to worry about as long as you keep your placement thoughtful. Concluding these slides he will jump either low or high and throw an easily manageable Shadow Blade loosely toward Mega Man's position. His last somewhat minor adjustment will be to start doubling his jump height after two thirds, which simply alters where you should adjust yourself for his slide and Shadow Blade. He's off before you know it, and so are we.
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  5. The second half of Bright Man's stage is strictly puzzle-based and ambitious to say the least, especially when three levels of block enter the fray, and I quite like it in concept, but the execution has a few significant holes. I wouldn't say they devaluate its worth entirely, but some individual moments sure push it. The gist of this is an evolution of the classic block puzzle concept and a rather ingenious example of how it might be done properly, because every bit of it is telegraphed by graphics in the background. It also works with more of a rhythm-based system than a memorization one, and you can quickly assess the necessary steps for the bulk of the layout here, which is the notion of puzzles in platformers taken to a reasonable degree. It asks you to pause without becoming the antithesis of an action game's point, enough to provide flavor without overstepping into aggravation. For a chief demonstration of the opposite, please refer to Ice Man's stage. Also, again, notice the gradual complexification of this gimmick, as opposed to dumping you into hell at the starting gates.
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  7. The chinks lie in the physics. The gradual 'phasing' of these blocks visually services the rhythmic aspect, but the uncertain timing to their physical presence becomes a serious problem when concerning more elaborate configurations, especially above hazards, and especially when ladders and spikes start phasing too. In particular the spikes are a bad idea altogether, because the moment they materialize, you die, and this not at all properly hinted by the animation you're watching. Instead of simply uselessly appearing and then disappearing around you as they should have been programmed to do, the blocks will instead hurt Mega Man if they phase around his hitbox in any way, which is pointless and annoying. Finally, the elaborate nature of the puzzles eventually oversteps into the territory it was trying to avoid and in the last screen becomes just another aggravating eye bleeder like Ice Man's. Another concerning the red semi-circle platforms from the original stage isn't tricky but outstays its welcome. It's not as if complex can't be done well, as the rooms leading up to the last one are quite clever, and not too terrible to figure out. You're only facing a small kick to the seat if you botch them, anyway.
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  9. Bright Man himself helps us all forget about Dust Man by being incredibly satisfying to fight, with the widest arrangement of moves of any Robot Master, and yet oddly the easiest one, barring maybe Drill Man. Bright Man has nine, count 'em, nine moves to play with. Five before he enrages, and four after. Let's run it down. He can fire a slow moving lightbulb (gee, that makes a lot of sense, doesn't it, Capcom?) that will explode when at Mega Man's position and continue traveling forward. He will shoot two of these once a third of his health has been taken. He has a short-range electrical whip he can pull out to block shots and catch Mega Man off guard. He has what's probably the trickiest one to avoid in the early fight, four homing projectiles that fire fast at Mega Man's last position. Finally, he has a rarely encountered move where he sends three charges into the floor that surface at set intervals away from him.
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  11. When he enrages, things get even cooler. He can now fake you out by tossing three lightbulbs as if they were grenades, which uses the same visual cue as the slow, straight launch, so keep your wits about you. He now has a larger, encircling discharge to replace his whip, and causes a small shockwave when landing a jump. His coolest attack involves setting off a room-filling blast of light that requires you to wait in Bright Man's umbra to avoid it. This entire battle oozes personality, and it's very fun to prolong just by measure of how much he can do and how neatly each attack is animated. This is the perfect example of complex and elaborate done without overstepping into a clusterfuck. It's an impressive effort.
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