Part 1 can be found here
Mighty No. 5 Battalion
Level Design
Kind of a bitch. This level wants to frustrate you. Have an enemy that you can't shoot right away standing right in your path. Oh, you found a secret path? Have an unavoidable mine shit on you right at the end of it. There's also one part where you have to jump on a box to shoot a barrel, and the timing's pretty precise. I don't have a big problem with it, there's not a lot of punishment for messing this part up, but it does still end up being an annoying puzzle.
Boss Fight
Sucks. You have to guess at what the boss is doing, as it'll at random perform one of 4 actions: jump, shoot bullets, shoot missiles, or shoot bullets in the air. The best way to fight it is to stay behind it. Also halfway through he shoots a missile out that you just jump over. This essentially limits where you can stand to only half of the arena, as he can detonate this missile at will. Shit boss overall.
Power
Second best power in the game, and the best boss-killer. I used this power exclusively when fighting the final boss. The damage output is great, and being able to detonate it at will is a great bonus.
What I learned
Should be obvious: but don't punish the player for doing a good job, and don't throw in unavoidable obstacles and enemies if they don't have a quick way to avoid or dispose of them. Also, it's important that the bosses have some sort of tell. I kinda just hate RNG in general.
Mighty No. 6 Aviator
Level Design
It's not bad at all, but I think the wind's a bit too strong. This level introduces a really cool idea: the updraft. If you dash in an updraft or use Aviator's power, you go upwards. It doesn't get used much here, but it gets used in the last level.
Boss Fight
It's fine too. Though it's a bit long if you don't have Dynatron's or Battalion's powers. It was a good idea to use the updraft as a way to make it a little easier.
Power
I didn't get to use it much outside of the final level. I assume it's good since it makes you fall slower and gives you a higher jump. It gets used a lot in the final levels of the game.
What I learned
Don't make your wind too strong, unless it's going upwards.
Mighty No. 7 Brandish
Level Design
It's shit. The concept is great, but the execution is terrible. The signs that come at you are annoying, hard to see in the rain, and can catch you off-guard tossing you into the road.. The worst part is the enemies that block the air above you when you don't have any attacks that can reach them. You have to jump and take some damage to take them out, and even then they take multiple shots to kill. I used Seismic's power to rush my way past everything, and it worked out fine. Just make sure to stop using the power when you want to hold unto a ledge.
Boss Fight
It's shit too. Use Seismic's ability to beat him quickly, because it is a frustrating boss otherwise. The cross-slash attack's fine, but every other time he seems to just fight using randomized patterns, with little to no tells.
Power
It's useful in the final level when you're dealing with the xel orb things, as it has a tall hitbox. It also seems to do a bit more damage than your pellets, but the risk is really high as it forces you to get really close to you enemies. Normally I'd take that risk, but not when the enemy stays alive until you dash into it or slash it 3 more times. I think it would have been a better idea to have the sword insta-absorb enemies for you, I'd take that over it being able to deflect bullets.
What I learned
Make your close-range attack worth it, and don't block your player with something they have to struggle to kill (again).
Mighty No. 8 Countershade
Level Design
Varied. Some like it, some hate it. I hate the fact that dying makes you start from the beginning, made even worse when one of the room uses instant-kill electricity. Use Seismic's ability to go through the rooms quickly, but watch out for the UFOs that re-arrage your control scheme for a full 5 seconds.
Boss Fight
Also varied. It can be very long and boring, just like the level, if you don't have the right power. Use anything destructive, like Dynatron or Battalion's powers.
Power
Useless. It's strong against Aviator and the first form of the Robot Factory boss, but otherwise it's just a weak move.
What I learned
Like with Cryo, don't overuse a good gimmick. Learn to tell when the player will get sick of it.
Call's Prison Level
Level Design
Pretty boring, but it is a stealth level. There's also some precision gliding, which can be annoying.
Boss Fight
Cruddy, but nothing major. Duck under the robot's face whenever it begins to shoot at you.
Power
Call's gameplay sucks. Beck gets 3 bullets on screen at a time, Call gets 1. Beck can dash at enemies to kill them quickly, Call has to keep shooting at them with her slow-ass weapon.
What I learned
Stealth levels suck. Alt character gameplay shouldn't feel like a gimp.
Robot Factory
Level Design
Pretty good, it gives good reason to everyone who believes this is the only good level in the game. You have to use multiple powers to complete puzzles, and the atmosphere is great as a few of the Mighty no's fight alongside you. My only complaint is that it doesn't use more than 3 of the powers for puzzle solving, and leans on Aviator's and Battalion's powers a lot.
Boss Fight
I hate it. The first robot seems to be weak to Countershade's power, so snipe at it. The second phase though is a real bitch, as rockets drop down on you while you're on a moving conveyer belt with little time to react. Use Seismic's power to get through that, and the rest should be easy-going.
What I learned
Don't drop missiles on a moving floor. Just more about stacking obstacles on a player, it makes the game's design seem like it was put together by a kindergartener. "My level has one thousand goombas!"
CND 1201 Trinity
Level Design
Not too bad overall. You can get past most of it easily by riding the Seismic power, and the xel orbs aren't too hard to get through with Brandish' power. There are some parts where it's really hard to get through without taking damage, getting through the level is mostly just trial and error. Or maybe it was only trial and error for me because this was the only part of the game I didn't look ahead for.
Boss Fight
I have mixed feelings about the game's final boss. It took me a lot of tries to finally beat this thing my first time. Just use Battalion's power to beat it, you don't need any other power. Niether of these fights is particularly difficult after you know what you're doing, but it will take time to learn.Phase 1: Rage-inducing, until you get the hang of it. Just spam her face with Battalion's missiles whenever she's vulnerable. The second I saw her shooting pieces of herself out I was worried it would be as long and boring as a Yellow Devil fight, but it's not nearly that bad.
Phase 2: Pretty on-par with the first phase. When she's walking towards you like a Pokey, shoot 3 missiles and then dash through or jump over. When she's spitting out spores take out her base first, then stand on a ledge and spam her with missiles diagonally. When she's shooting her spiraling energy at you just figure it out, there's a moment that you can jump through it. Lastly, remember not to stand in the center as she may appear suddenly from under you.
What I learned
First I'd say not to include a level before the final boss as you have to run through it every time you want to fight it, but that's subjective. Second, the xel orb enemies can be a bit of a bitch for the fact that they immediately respawn when you're a short distance away. That's not bad when you use Brandish's power, but otherwise it can be as you try to dash through an opening only to have it spawn right on top of you. Overall it's not the worst final boss and level.I beat it on normal mode and tried it on hyper, but I refuse to play through it twice. I'll probably feel a desire to play it again at some point in the future, but I'll try to talk myself out of it. That's my review/ introspective of Mighty No. 9. I give it a 5/10, better than Star Fox Zero. It's not a huge victory, but it's better than nothing.
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