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Mega Man - The Hedgehog Trap

Levels: Good

Graphics: Good

Music: No Change (new music for one stage)

Enemies: Good

Bosses: Good

Weapons: Eh (Shadow Blade is the only weapon that's changed)

Castle: Good

Difficulty: MEDIUM-HARD

Comments: Despite the cute idea of throwing Mega Man into 8-bit Sonic zones, the Hedgehog Trap is, well, a trap. It's a stunningly difficult hack that demands a lot of your patience, as enemies have more health and some of the platforming is very unforgiving (the sawblades in Scrap Brain zone are hellish.) A unique twist that the Hedgehog Trap employs (besides the well-rendered Sonic zones) is that it has you facing off against the Doc Robots first, and then pits you against two "regular" robot masters per stage at the standard Doc Robot section. While a couple of these bosses aren't too bad, you'll run into a lot of resistance here, especially without a checkpoint placed before some of them like the dreaded Top Man (seriously, he's the worst). The good news is that the game gets more merciful towards the end (finally, some E-tanks!) but you'll have to suffer through a lot to get to that point. It's a pretty good challenge and has some clever design at certain sections, but it lacks the balance and elegance found in better hacks.

Honestly, I fell into a trap because of the name.

Let's start with the fact that this hack is good - the graphic part of EVERY SINGLE level. I really enjoyed how the graphic part was transferred from 16 bits to 8 bits. All locations are recognizable and have their own charm.

Even in the Castle - a beautiful and interesting graphic part (despite the fact that this is no longer similar to the graphic approach from the Hedgehog Franchise)

That's the trap. The graphics are beautiful, but the levels are built in many locations - it's bad.

• Pixel jumps? YES
• Do the enemies have a lot of HP? YES
• Are the enemies weak to the blaster? NO!!! MANY ARE NOT WEAK TO IT.
• Do the enemies kill the character's health quickly? Yes.
• Placing enemies? Stirred badly, that having received damage - greet the pit before death.
• Changed bosses? Yes. Honestly changed bosses? NO

If NO, what's the problem?

• The first part of the bosses is the DOC BOTS
• The second part of the game is the corrupted Robot masters.

Honestly, even someone else's patch for speed and a patch for infinite lives (Especially SAVING AND LOADING THE GAME) will not save you from the pain and frustration of this hack.

Graphically, it is beautiful, the playability is damn bad. IT IS DEFINITELY NOT WORTH RECOMMENDING TO ANYONE

1. "Ice Cap" stage. Why was it a good idea to flood the first section with enemies that rain fire (you know...those enemies in Gemini Man's Stage), and have them IMMUNE do damage? Can't get past that first area.

2. WAY too many enemies crammed in areas. Aquatic Ruins first area...TONS of those impossible-to-hit unless jumping enemies?

When you make a ROM hack, test it. I don't mind difficulty, but if you intended it to be KAIZO levels of difficulty, announce it in the description.

I feel that this hack was created with a lot of love and respect for both series it draws inspiration from. Sonic levels and themes are well represented here, as are a plethora of Mega Man enemies and bosses from the original game (good choice picking Mega Man 3 for all of its content to pull from). The robot master levels are pretty well designed, with just the right amount of enemies and obstacles to provide a decent challenge for all players alike. And swapping the Mega Man 3 bosses with the Doc Robot Mega Man 2 bosses for the bosses found at the end of the Robot Master stages was an interesting choice that makes for a fresh experience for Mega Man 3 veterans. However, it's not like this game is without its flaws: the music on the Aquatic Ruins stage is warped and hard on the ears, some of the Dr. Wily stages are unfairly difficult, and the Mega Man 3 robot masters have been swapped out for generic light blue outlines of their former selves. Despite these problems, I still think this hack is recommendable and enjoyable for fans of Mega Man and Sonic alike. Just one question though, where is Sonic himself?

Mega Man - The Hedgehog Trap crosses Mega Man with Sonic. Two great video game franchises, couldn't go wrong, right? Unfortunately, it does go wrong and it isn't evident until you start playing. The game is extremely unbalanced where one level is too easy, where the next is too hard.

The eight robot master stages are from the first three Sonic games. One of the main issues I had with this game is that the sprite placement can be way too unforgiving. For instance, the game flickers a lot in some places because of there being too many sprites. Moreover, the mercy invincibility has been shortened, resulting in you getting hit a lot more often than normal.

One stage I would like to get through is Scrap Brain, which is Metal Man's stage, suffers from very poor level design. Instant death saws are everywhere, and sometimes you have to slide under them. It feels the slide distance was shortened slightly, resulting in cheap deaths because of it. Then Metal Man comes by and is arguably the most difficult boss in the entire hack because it turns into a luck-based mission of where you either get hit or don't.

The Doc Robot stages are even worse because in some sections there's more platforming being demanded. it is also possible to get stuck in the second Marble Zone level in the lava.

The Robotnik-I mean, Wily stages are a mess. The palettes are harsh on one's eyes, particularly the sprites. Yellow Devil mk. 2 can glitch out when he's supposed to use his second attack pattern, forcing you to lose a life.

Overall, this hack is a great idea, but not executed well.

Just like ananda, I tough this will be a great hack. Well I was wrong. The graphics are ok, just like the original zones, but the rest...

The levels are poorly designed, especially in doc robot stages. I like the fact that you fight the 8 doc robots in the 8 stages and the robot masters later, tough.

Speaking about then, their IA is very frustrating. They do too much damage for a hard boss like they are here.

Another level that pisses me off was Scrap Brain, with tons off instant death saws all over the level, sliding under then is hard, mixing with moving platforms, impossible, at least without save-states. Not even the original Scrap Brain zone wasn´t as frustrating as this one.

One thing that I do like in this hack is Snake´s music (Aquatic Ruin). That music is cool. Is different than the original one but with a similar composition, pretty much a new 8-bit mix of the music.

If you want to try it, well, you´ll need a lot of patience. But I suggest pass by.

I played your game and I felt this is interesting for a Mega Man hack. But I've some reasons to complain:

1. The title is : The Hedgehog Trap. Yes, a lot of traps. I mean, unfair traps. Like in many stages, I can't pass them without getting hit.

2. Some colors (not in DocRobot stages) are little messed up for my eyes. And many graphic glitches especially in boss doors.

3. The Bosses' AI are interesting too, but you should take care about the new AI, there is many glitches in remodified Mega Man 3's bosses. Like SparkMan (his steps and the small sparks), TopMan(the little tops), etc.

4. The weapon, very good idea... But, better is more useful than original. I mean, the weapons are annoying except Metal Blade.

5. And my biggest complaint is the music. I very hate the SnakeMan's music, this is just showing up bass and very 'broken' drum. Oh, and why just Snake Man?

Summary: Your idea turn out fine. But will be better if the hack is more, more and more neat. I don't think this is good, this is need more improvements. I recommended it because the good idea. :)