Iceburn Man Stage Thoughts

So, this stage is basically amazing. The gimmick is incredibly well-done, both in concept and execution; it's simply the perfect one to build an entire stage around. Why? Well, I always state that the best gimmicks are those that enhance the experience and don't take the stage they are in over completely. As this level shows, this is more than true. Most of the obstacles would work in any old stage, the ice shooters, fire shooters, penguin enemies, in a vacuum; no problem. Taken together, with one of them not hurting you, the other definitely so, Ikaruga-style, it's a thing of beauty. Requires a totally new skillset for Mega Man, and the best part of that: It's absolutely intuitive. Fire pill, immune to fire. You see it, you understand.
A single room at the start of the level, and you know everything you need to know. The rest is platforming goodness, enemy placement, a fine, fine example of why we play these games in the first place.
Even better? It's a choose your own adventure. It's the entire Mega Man concept in a microcosmos. Having problem with a stage? Try another. Applied to paths within a single level. Great, great stuff.

However, I did have a few complaints. At times, I feel that it's simply a little [I]too[/I] difficult. Too, for lack of a better word, unfair. The ice shooters are already far harder to dodge than the fire one, in my opinion, especially as they cover far more ground and fire is always restricted to a relatively tiny and vertical area. But as an added problem, you always have ice floor in the segments with them, too, which makes dodging even harder.
I think they need a little tweaking. Especially as the position where the ice bullet explodes seems slightly random, or depending on an arcane variable - not intuitive. Not fun.

Boss also needs to lose the instantkill, I think. That's just mean. But again, take that with a grain of salt, casual perspective and all that...