User blog:SonictheHedgehogFan24/Mega Man 3 Review

So, it's been a while since I wrote a blog post, but I think it's time I come back to talk about one of my favorite games of all time: Mega Man 3. To me, this is the best Classic Mega Man game out there, with the best soundtrack, (mostly) great weapons, a solid lineup of Robot Masters, and a few other things that this game started the tradition of that carried into subsequent games. Now, sure, the game isn't perfect, but that doesn't stop me from loving it! I'm going to look at each element of Mega Man 3 - story, gameplay, weapons, bosses, level design, and (most importantly, to me anyway) music - and see how it compares to other games in the series like Mega Man 2 or Mega Man 8. But for now, let's get things started!

Story
The story begins after the events of Mega Man 2, with Dr. Wily seeing a turn in his ways. As such, he joins forces with Dr. Light (or Dr. Right in Japan) to produce a peace-keeping robot: Gamma (who looks vaguely similar to Guts Man). They need crystals, or Energy Elements, to power him, so 8 new Robot Masters - Needle Man, Magnet Man, Gemini Man, Hard Man, Top Man, Snake Man, Spark Man, and Shadow Man - are created and sent to 8 different planets to search for said crystals. However, it ends up backfiring, as they started going out of control and attacking everything!

Enter MEGA MAN, Dr. Light's lab assistant turned Super Fighting Robot. Accompanied by his new companion, Rush, his robot dog, he takes off to put a stop to the 8 rogue Robot Masters and retrieve the 8 crystals needed to power up Gamma. Along the way, he gets a visit from a mysterious robot who he has never met before in 4 of the 8 planets. After some quick battles, it mysteriously disappears, opening up another opportunity for Mega Man to carry on.

After defeating the last of the Robot Masters, Mega Man gets a nasty surprise: a creation known as Doc Robot appears in 4 of the 8 planets he last visited before. Once again, Mega Man returns to the 4 planets to find everything changed around, and a shock of terror: the Doc Robot copies the powers of all 8 Robot Masters from Mega Man 2 (Metal Man, Air Man, Bubble Man, Quick Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Heat Man, and Wood Man). Mega Man uses his new set of 8 Robot Masters weapons - Needle Cannon, Magnet Missile, Gemini Laser, Hard Knuckle, Top Spin, Search Snake, Spark Shock, and Shadow Blade - to take out the Doc Robots and return the 8 planets to peace.

After the final Doc Robot was destroyed, and one final battle with the mysterious robot, Mega Man returns to Earth, and upon arriving at Dr. Light's lab, he receives yet another set of bad news: Dr. Wily (or Dr. Wiley, as stated in-game) had run off with Gamma! As such, Mega Man gears up, refills his weapons, and takes off towards Dr. Wily's latest skull fortress. He blasts through the defense forces, and, after once again defeating the 8 rogue Robot Masters from before, he confronts Wily in his latest Wily Machine... or so he thinks.

When the Wily Machine was reduced to nothing but scrap metal, Mega Man stepped up to Wily only to find out what he was fighting was a fake! He then scours the remaining area of the fortress, only to find the real Dr. Wily inside Gamma. The realization suddenly hits Mega Man that he has to destroy Gamma. After a long battle, Gamma is finally destroyed, and Dr. Wily's begging for mercy begins. However, just before Mega Man can reach Wily, the fortress begins to collapse, with debris hitting both Mega Man and Dr. Wily! The mysterious robot from Mega Man's treks on the 8 planets appears once again and teleports Mega Man out of the fortress.

Mega Man later regains consciousness at Dr. Wily's lab, and after talking with Dr. Light, both of them hear a familiar whistle in the distance, and Dr. Light suddenly remembers the creation before Mega Man: Proto Man. As Mega Man runs through the meadows, he looks up into the sky, wondering where his long-lost brother might go next. Dr. Wily's pod, now smoking, lands on top of a tree, which signals the end of Mega Man 3.

Story Score: 8/10
Overall, I think that the story is relatively the standards if you think about a Mega Man game. The story may as well be set aside, as the main focus is on the gameplay. But it's nice to see how we think Dr. Wily has changed, and then  NOPE!  He throws a curveball at Mega Man and Dr. Light and escapes with Gamma. I mean, come on, that's kind of expected from Dr. Wily, considering we've beaten him TWICE already (3 times if you include Dr. Wily's Revenge on the Game Boy). I don't find much to talk about here, so let's move on to the next aspect of Mega Man 3, the gameplay.

Overview
If you ever played a Mega Man game before, then you probably know what to expect by this point. The game takes you straight to the Stage Select screen with 8 Robot Masters that you must defeat to access the next part of the game. The cool part about this is that you can take them on in any order that you wish, meaning you can either get one of the harder bosses out of the way first, start with an easier stage, or get a weapon that'll make your experience with this game a whole lot better. A lot of people tend to start with Top Man for some reason, but I, personally, would start with Magnet Man, due to him having one of the best weapons in the game.

There is a little bit of a difference this time around compared to the first 2 games when it comes to controlling Mega Man. No, he can't aim his buster in multiple directions, but he can now slide, making it much easier to speedrun the game. This is actually a very well added addition to the gameplay, as the past 2 games felt slow, especially during sections where you're just running in a straight line with nothing on the screen, or during sections where you're supposed to be hurrying, but you're just casually strolling along without a care (looking at YOU, Quick Man!) Thanks to the slide, you can make it through sections much faster than you originally could, and I think it really helps out against some of this game's stages and their Robot Masters. Speaking of which...

The Robot Master Stages
Each of the 8 stages comes with their own gimmicks either specific to the Robot Masters themselves or just fitting the concept of the stage. Snake Man's stage, for instance, is built entirely around snakes, with even the miniboss being a giant version of the snake enemies you see scattered throughout the stage. Shadow Man's has a bunch of sneaky traps, like New Shotmen or the parachuting enemies, and... frogs. I'm not sure WHY frogs are there in the first place, but... okay. In 4 of the 8 stages (Hard Man, Magnet Man, Gemini Man, and Shadow Man), Proto Man will make an appearance, and the game comes to a brief halt as you must fight him to progress on. However, he's relatively easy, so he'll be taken out in no time.

After running and gunning your way through the stages, you eventually come up onto a fight with the Robot Master of that stage. To defeat them, it's best to watch their strategies and find the best place to counterattack. True, while you CAN use the Buster to defeat all 8, a la RoahmMythril, it's likely you're going to have a harder time against Robot Masters like Needle Man or Spark Man, and this is where the weapons come into play. All 8 bosses are weak to the weapon of another Robot Master (i.e. Magnet Missile against Hard Man, Gemini Laser against Needle Man, etc.), and when using a particular weapon on another boss, it'll take off quite a bit of damage and make the battle that much easier. Once you get the first weapon, the rest of the Robot Masters will fall like dominoes.

The Weapons
The 8 weapons are more balanced this time around compared to the likes of Mega Man 2, where the Metal Blade overpowered pretty much EVERY OTHER WEAPON. Each weapon has its ups and downs, and while there's some I don't use except during boss battles, there are some I find helpful in different situations. Magnet Missile, Magnet Man's weapon, can home in on enemies you can't reach with your standard Mega Buster, and as such, it makes sections with enemies appearing above you much easier. The only downside to this weapon is that you can only use it so many times (14) before you run out of ammo, but there's a good alternative to this.

Shadow Blade, Shadow Man's weapon, is like the Metal Blade if it was accurately balanced to match Mega Man 2 ' weapon set. Unlike the 8 directions the Metal Blade can be fired in, the Shadow Blade can only be fired in 5, and after throwing it, the weapon comes back to you, like a boomerang. It may seem like nothing special, but when you take into account that it can also aim at hard-to-reach enemies, just like the Magnet Missile, it all balances out. Have I mentioned that this weapon looks like a shuriken? I guess it all matches up because Shadow Man himself... is a robot ninja.

Mega Man 3's Special Weapons

The other 6 weapons are mainly sort of... there. These weapons I don't normally use outside of a boss fight, as I don't find much use for them. Search Snake can climb up and down walls, but that's about it. Gemini Laser... all it does is just bounce all over the walls before it just disappears off the screen. You can only fire one at a time, and what makes matters worse is that you CAN'T CHANGE WEAPONS while it's onscreen! You have to wait until it either (A) hits the target enemy or (B) wait for it to slowly bounce all over the room and fly offscreen before you can change to another weapon. Hard Knuckle is just another weapon that's, outside of breaking down barriers to retrieving items like E-Tanks, kind of... there (not to mention that it comes from a laughably easy Robot Master, whose name makes it ironic).

Needle Cannon just fires a needle, Spark Shock just fires a spark, which somehow stuns enemies, but also has the same problem as the Gemini Laser: You can't change weapons while the effect is on-screen. Lastly, there's Top Spin... oh, boy, Top Spin. This weapon, out of the original game, is the least effective in the entire game. Its usage is incredibly random, as you could accidentally use all of it on just one single enemy, by just TOUCHING them! If you're not touching them, Mega Man will just infinitely spin around in the air without a care in the world... get what I'm saying?

A lot of the weapons in this game, as well as several others across the Classic Series, got a massive upgrade in the fan-made Mega Man Maker. Top Spin, for example, now can make Mega Man jump off of enemies like Mario, allowing him to reach higher areas, and it makes for great kaizo levels. Hard Knuckle now bounces off of enemies, allowing you to repeatedly attack them, and you can also aim it to make it go to different areas. You can now fire up to 3 Gemini Lasers at a time, which makes it easy to hit a target multiple times at once, and it also splits up, allowing you to hit even more targets! Needle Cannon now temporarily sticks to enemies after being fired, dealing more damage after the initial attack. Sadly, Search Snake, Magnet Missile, and Shadow Blade haven't changed much from their appearance in Mega Man 3, and Spark Shock is just... nowhere to be found. Well, at least it makes the weapons that WERE changed more fun to use now!

Doc Robots
So, picture this: You just defeated the last Robot Master, and you're all ready to take down Wily once again. However, upon returning to the Stage Select screen, there's a shock waiting for you: 4 of the 8 stages have now been taken over by a mysterious Robot that Mega Man has never seen before! You must revisit these stages from before, now shaken up, and defeat this Robot 8 times, twice for each stage. What is this, you may ask? It's none other than...  DOC ROBOT  Okay, it's time for me to be honest here. Truth be told, on paper, I like the idea of the Doc Robots. It's a nice way to bring back nostalgia to anyone who loved Mega Man 2. The battles haven't changed much, except for the fact that Mega Man can now slide, but what I don't like... man, there are 2 specific reasons why. Let's start with the major problem...

Reason 1: Hitboxes
For some reason, the hitboxes on the Doc Robots have been increased, making the battles unnecessarily harder than the originals. Now, since Mega Man 3 adds sliding, you think some of the battles would be made easier, right? Well, in some cases, yes, but in others? NO FREAKIN' WAY!  The main offenders, for this reason, are Doc Wood, found in Shadow Man's stage, and Doc Quick, found in Spark Man's stage. Doc Wood's leaves are much harder to dodge now, while Doc Quick is still as spazzy as the original Quick Man, maybe even more so. As such, if going for a Perfect Run, a la RoahmMythril, prepare to get hit A LOT. Not only that, but the Doc Robots also hit like trucks, too, so be sure to have a good stock of E-Tanks ready! If the hitboxes were the sizes of the original Robot Masters from Mega Man 2, it would not only make the battles much easier, but you wouldn't have to worry so much about surviving the rest of the stage leading up to the 2nd of the Doc Robot fights. And speaking of the stages...

Reason 2: Stages/Energy
I'm not sure why just only 4 of the 8 Robot Master levels are revisited, as opposed to all 8. Maybe it was just too much of a hassle to redesign all 8 stages just so the Doc Robots could appear there, but come on, at least there'd be SOME variety! I just, honestly, think this was a missed opportunity to change up a few things and make it fitting for the Doc Robots.

If it were up to me, I would honestly change things up a good bit. For one, I would scrap the idea of the Doc Robots altogether, and, instead, have Mega Man fight the 8 Mega Man 2 Robot Masters again, alongside that game's boss theme, using the Robot Master weapons from Mega Man 3. Also, I'd put all of the Robot Masters in each of the 8 stages, and would match them up based on where they were first playable in the fangame Mega Man: A Day in the Limelight 2.

Here's where I could see each of the Robot Masters going:



Metal Man - Needle Man

Air Man - Snake Man

Bubble Man - Gemini Man

Quick Man - Shadow Man

Crash Man - Hard Man

Flash Man - Top Man

Heat Man - Magnet Man

Wood Man - Spark Man

Other than variety, the main thing I worry about the Doc Robot fights mainly focuses on stage length, and Mega Man's health and weapon energy. It's so aggravating to reach the first or second Doc Robot in the stage with very little health, end up surviving most of the fight, but then end up using all of that Robot's weakness weapon, and die just as your about to beat it, AND get sent back all the way to the start/only checkpoint of the stage! Had all 8 stages been revisited, and a few more checkpoints added in, I think it would not only bring variety, but it would also give plenty more chances to refill your weapon energy and keep your health as full as possible going into the Doc Robot/Robot Master fight.

The Wily Stages
After defeating all 8 Doc Robots and taking on Proto Man once more, who now takes the form of "Break Man", apparently, it's revealed that Dr. Wily had escaped with Gamma. So, what does Mega Man do? Well, he refills his weapons and then chases after Wily, only to run into his latest Skull Castle/Fortress.

This set of Dr. Wily stages has to be the easiest in the entire Classic Series. E-Tanks, Extra Lives, and tons of Energy can be found all over the place in this fortress. Dare I say, this is a much-needed breather after the stress of the Doc Robots, since it's the perfect place to stock up on E-Tanks that you might need later on in the fortress, and the bosses don't really put up much of a threat, except for maybe 1 (more on that boss in a bit). Most of the stages aren't that long, either. They mostly just focus on different gimmicks from the 8 Robot Masters stages, like Wily 2 using Hard Man's bees and the Chompy enemies, and Wily 3 using Shadow Man's illusion-making thing, the New Shotmen (hate those enemies!), and the walking grenades. The 2nd half of stages (4-6) just relatively consist of energy pickups and a boss at the end. That's about it. Speaking of the bosses...

Wily 1-3: Kamegoro Maker, Yellow Devil Mk. II, and the Holograph Mega Men
The boss of Wily 1 is the Kamegoro Maker, and it's pretty much not threatening at all. All it does is fire a turtle that just bounces around the room, and it can easily be taken out with weapons like the Top Spin or the Shadow Blade. Sure, the boss battle tries to make things harder by including water currents, but they don't harm you at all. All they do is push you around the room and into the turtles, but even then, you have the slide, so you can easily avoid the turtles, and take it out to progress to Wily 2.

Wily 2's boss is the Yellow Devil Mk. II. Sure, I bet some people might be thinking, "NO! NOT ANOTHER DEVIL BOSS"! Believe me, I was thinking that the first time, too, but as it turns out, this version of the Yellow Devil is no trouble at all. The eye always appears in the same place, and you can easily slide now to avoid some of these attacks. Besides, you should have plenty of E-Tanks to take on this "Bringer of Bumo". The only attack I worry about is the one where it splits into 5 parts and sends 3 to one side of the room, then the other 2 afterward. Other than that, this boss should be smooth sailing to take out with the Buster or its weakness, the Hard Knuckle, and you should have easy access to Wily 3.

What awaits you at the end of Wily 3? Well, it's time to say hello to... another Mega Man? No, wait, that's the Holographic Mega Men! Again, these guys are no trouble, as all they do is just appear out of a teleporter and just slowly run back and forth on their platform, occasionally firing at Mega Man himself. Be careful, though, only 1 of these is the real thing, so you have to switch between the 3 platforms to find the true faker. However, this boss does not have any invincibility frames, so if you use Turbo Fire, or his weakness, the Search Snake, it'll be a quick and easy battle. Just make sure to watch your health!

Wily 4-6: Boss Rush, Wily Machine 3, and Gamma
Wily 4 doesn't necessarily have a boss at all, but rather, a SET of bosses. Yes, we all knew it had to happen at some point. After refilling your weapons and taking out Junk Golems, you then come across a teleporter that takes you to 8 different teleporters. What awaits you here? Well, it's nothing more than Mega Man 3 's Boss Rush.

In this stage, the 8 Robot Masters from the beginning of the game - Needle Man, Magnet Man, Gemini Man, Hard Man, Top Man, Snake Man, Spark Man, and Shadow Man - are back again and are ready for another fight with Mega Man. However, these guys shouldn't be any more trouble, as you already know their weaknesses, so with knowledge of where to properly deliver the right attack, you can take all 8 out again, refill your weapons, then make your way to Wily 5.

Wily 5 contains nothing more than a refill room, and then... it's boss time. What's in your way this time? It's none other than Wily's greatest creation, Wily Machine 3! Well... it's actually not so great, as, like the Holographic Mega Men, this boss doesn't have any invincibility frames, so using the Buster, or the weakness weapons, Hard Knuckle and Spark Shock, this Machine should be no trouble at all. Besides, you can jump on the Rush Jet and cheese the 2nd phase, making an already easy battle... even easier. After the battle, it's been discovered that a fake Dr. Wily is controlling the Wily Machine. (Now, THAT'S what you call a Doc Robot, Capcom!) But... where's the real Dr. Wily? Well, he's waiting for you in Wily 6.

After another refill room, you then come across the boss of Wily 6, and the final boss of the entire game, Gamma. The battle's split into 2 parts, and it should be noted that the Mega Buster doesn't work here, so you have to use the Robot Master weapons here. The first phase should be no trouble at all, as you can basically stand underneath the weak point and just use Shadow Blade to repeatedly hit it and move on to Phase 2. This phase can be taken out using the Search Snake, or by another method. You have to take damage for this, but you can one-shot the 2nd phase by using the Top Spin. Either way, Wily flies out of the destroyed Gamma, and the begging for mercy commences, and Mega Man 3 is completed!

Gameplay Score: 9/10
I think if you compare Mega Man 3 to the likes of the original Mega Man or Mega Man 2, the third game delivers a better experience. The additions of Rush and the slide make the game a lot more fun, and, in some ways, makes the game feel much, much faster than the previous two. Add that up with a mostly solid set of Robot Masters, balanced weapons, and interesting level design, I think Mega Man 3 gets a 9 out of 10 in terms of gameplay. The only reason it doesn't score a perfect 10 in this category is because of the 4 Doc Robot stages, but even then, they're just redesigned versions of 4 of the Robot Master stages, so... yeah. There's that. But, now it's time to talk about my favorite part of any video game, that being... the music.

Music
When it comes to me, music is one of the best and most important parts of any video game I play. If the game is bad as a whole (Looking at YOU, Sonic '06), but the music is pretty good, then the chances are that I might play it just for the music itself... or I could just find the soundtrack online and listen to the music that way. Mega Man 3, like many other games that I play, is no exception to the rule. And for NES standards at the time, despite having only 4 channels to work with - 2 Squares (Lead and Harmony), Triangle (Bass), and Noise (Percussion) - the music manages to stand out in its own right. Each track is composed amazingly, and leaves me humming the basslines to some even long after I complete the game. The music for Shadow Man, Gemini Man, Top Man (for some reason), Wily 3-4, and even the Stage Select are some of the highlights of this game's soundtrack for me. Whether it's the instrumentation, the melody, or even something like the mood of each track, these are some of the tracks that make Mega Man 3 have one of my favorite soundtracks in the entire Classic Series, definitely up there with the likes of Mega Man 2 or Mega Man 6.

Yet, although it's legendary, at times, because of the NES limitations, the soundtrack feels... empty in some places. A good example of this Needle Man's theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDJbOB1h2EU), where it feels like there should be a lot going on, yet... nothing's happening. The intro especially feels this pain, as the triangle and one of the square channels are all that's playing, other than some very subtle percussion. Then the melody and countermelody kick in, leaving the triangle all on its own to deliver that bassline. How do I make this soundtrack sound... better? Simple! I turn to 2 other arrangers, those being RushJet1, and Krzysztof Słowikowski (hope I spelled that right). These 2 gentlemen bring their own takes on the legendary soundtrack and bring new light onto Mega Man 3. What does each version have to offer? Let's take a closer look:

RushJet1: The Fuller Sound
When it comes to RushJet1's arrangements, he makes each of the songs sound like the NES had access to the full hardware capabilities, instead of just being limited to 4 channels. This is thanks to a hardware piece called the VRC6, which allows for fuller sounds than what was originally capable at the time. With these instruments, it sounds like Mega Man 3 's soundtrack has been reborn, and it brings out the best in EACH. INDIVIDUAL. SONG. Good examples of this are Gemini Man's theme, Magnet Man's theme, Needle Man's theme, and even Spark Man's theme!

Not only did he remake each track, but he also reMIXED them as well! In the part of the game where the 8 Doc Robots appear in Spark Man's, Shadow Man's, Gemini Man's, and Needle Man's stages, he took each of those 4 Robot Master themes and shook them all up, making it sound like these 4 stages were ruined by the Doc Robots. Yet again, I find the best examples to be the themes for Gemini Man and Spark Man. Gemini Man's stage, which was once vibrant and colorful, emphasized by a fast-paced, upbeat tune, now sounds very barren, as pointed out by the bassline that opens the track, and the overall slower pace of the song. Spark Man's theme, once in a major key, signalizing a power station hard at work, now sounds completely out of control, almost on the verge of falling apart, and there's an urgent call for help. You can hear these final pleas in the chord progression, which starts on an F#m chord, then makes a way to G, while including Bm and A inside the "chorus".

RushJet1's Mega Man 3 remix

Now, after all these remixes and rearrangements, do you think that RushJet1 would stop there? NOPE!  He goes an even further mile and remixes the different boss themes as well! He starts with the standard boss theme for the first time the Robot Masters are faced, nothing more, nothing less. But now, he plays another card on the table and remixes again for the 8 Doc Robot fights. Then, he decides to take the Wily boss theme and mix it up with another boss theme from the very first Mega Man. I think this was a great reference, as the Yellow Devil boss theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNZE5zZ0Wc8) from the Mega Man 1 Remade included Mega Man 3 's  boss theme, so... wow. It's like the references never stop! Yet they just keep on coming...

Of course, now the Wily stages come into the picture, and just like with all the other tracks, there are a ton epic remixes for these themes, too! The best out of all of them has to be the remix for Wily 3, as I can't think of any way to make such an already great song even better!

Now, as for the references... they come during Wily Stage 2, where you can here a Wily Stage theme from Mega Man 3... ON THE GAME BOY !? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SH-WHO_WiQ)  Yep, RushJet1 amazes us with his skills yet again, as the Wily Marine Base theme from Mega Man 3 GB makes its cameo... and it's pretty darn amazing! Though, I'm a bit unsure why it's in Wily Stage 2 when it could fit for the underwater in Wily Stage 1. Oh, well, it is what it is.

Now, time for the best part of this version of Mega Man 3 remix.

Now, of course, everybody knows that before the final boss is conquered in Mega Man 3, they must first clear the dreaded Boss Rush. RushJet1 knew this, and he decided to create the perfect remedy, which became my personal favorite track on this album. He mixed the Robot Master/Doc Robot boss theme... with  ALL 8 ROBOT MASTER THEMES . (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhkDJ7Kj-Q4) I love how he remixes each of the themes and makes it sounds like the Robot Masters want another shot at taking down Mega Man. While some "fight themes" aren't really changed all that much, like Gemini Man or Hard Man, there are some that have been completely mixed up to fit the Robot Master themes, like Magnet Man, Top Man, and (possibly?) Snake Man. Now, you see, THIS is how you make a Boss Rush interesting! Take notes, CAPCOM!

RushJet1 brings the perfect way to end this album by remixing the Wily boss theme to make it sound very climactic like Mega Man's just reaching the end as he's fighting the Wily Machine. Yet, that's NOT the end, as he has only one more machine to take out: Gamma. And, instead of remixing the Wily boss theme yet again, RushJet1 decides to go the ultimate mile by remixing Wily Stage 5-6's theme instead, and using that as the boss theme! Just how does he make THAT work?! Regardless, however... there's a perfect closer in the form of a very emotional, yet beautifully crafted arrangement of Proto Man's theme. I like how in this version, the main melody, that being Proto Man's whistle, is brought down an octave, that way it isn't too overbearing and it fits in perfectly.

Krzysztof Słowikowski: The "Rock" in Rockman
Have you ever listened to a Mega Man soundtrack and wondered why it sounded like it could be rock music? Well, I think one of the reasons is not that Mega Man's Japanese name is ROCKman, and the whole series is based on musical terms (Rock & Roll, Blues, Bass, Treble, Punk, Ballade, etc.), but it also could actually be composed just like rock music! However, due to the limitations of the NES, they couldn't make it sound like so. That is... until you play the music on guitar. That's where Krzysztof Słowikowski comes into play.