Spike Man Stage Thoughts

I was quite pleasantly surprised by this level, seeing as it's NOT the spike hell it could be. Most of the spikes are more decorative than anything, and I wonder why - I think the pits at least could be coated with them instead, would make no difference but fit. Unless it was tried and would look stupid in practice.
The first part is all about navigating small platforms with tricky enemy placement, especially those Mega Man 1 assholes. I kind of dislike how they're so all-or-nothing; if you fuck up hitting them immediately as they swoop in, you're pretty much dead. They're so fast and immediately on your ass again that there's little you can do, even with special weapons (unless you had a shield). It's like how Mets will get a chance to fire if you don't charge shot them immediately after opening up, but the shots kill you instead instantly and are a screen wide. Okay, I'm exaggerating, and it's not too huge a concern as they certainly aren't spammed in the level; just something I wouldn't really regard as fun if overused. Joes are more of a challenge to quickly take out without losing steam; as they are designed to be taken out relatively rapidly, it becomes a game of being ever more efficient and, again, choosing the path most suited to you. This is mostly fine and well-done, and the first part is very solid because of it.

I don't think I need to lose more words about my opinion on the wind, except again: wind in your back is a lot of fun, in your face it's a tedious chore.

Spike drop - just close to being unfair, but the wind support is enough to not make it cross the line, what screen transitions were doing in the classic games. With the added checkpoint, this is absolutely okay.
The final section, as I've mentioned, is paradoxically the easiest. Up until the ladder part which is just shit. I'm sorry, but I think it needs to be cut completely, it's just too frustrating to die because their physics aren't good at all, this is really not often the player's fault, especially in how it feels.

But generally, the level again shows great skill in level design. As "spikes" are not much of a gimmick, the desert setting helps pull it together, gives the entire thing a great atmosphere and with desert winds a fitting (if, as said, a little annoying) way to shake up the basic platforming a little. Really funny, again, how "spike spam" is bascially what makes shitty romhacks so bad but how elegantly it's avoided here in a stage built around them, by name at least.