A fun compilation that is now easier to access thanks to NSO and the Genesis Mini. While the new 16-bit visuals aren't nearly as iconic as the 8-bit style, I really like how these games look on the Genesis. The games in this version still feel just as fun to play as their original counterparts. I didn't notice too many gameplay changes, but I noticed they were a bit easier than I remember, particularly Mega Man 1 since I remember that one being one of the harder games. Another change this compilation makes is the inclusion of save states were a great feature to have as a backup in case you lose your progress. Even though it is nice to hear the Genesis versions of each game's soundtrack, most of the songs aren't quite as good as their NES counterparts. Overall I think the NES versions are better, but the different coat of paint and QoL changes make this collection worth checking out, especially if you've beaten the originals.
Pretty solidly weaker than the originals if you ask me. A lot like Super Mario All-Stars in that it looks far uglier, sounds far worse, and doesn't really bother with actually fixing the original games' issues. It just feels to me like lackluster or outright bad ports that were quickly pooped out by Capcom as part of a deal. I suppose Wily Tower is kinda cool, but you have to slog through the bad ports to reach it.
I'm pretty outspoken about my opinions on both this and Super Mario All-Stars, but not many people seem to agree. I don't really get it. I suppose it must have been convenient to own all the games in a bundle at the time, but in both cases nothing is really improved upon, and oftentimes it is actually worsened. In the days of emulation and rerelease compilations, there's no reason not to just play these games in their original forms.
I'm pretty outspoken about my opinions on both this and Super Mario All-Stars, but not many people seem to agree. I don't really get it. I suppose it must have been convenient to own all the games in a bundle at the time, but in both cases nothing is really improved upon, and oftentimes it is actually worsened. In the days of emulation and rerelease compilations, there's no reason not to just play these games in their original forms.
My favorite game on the Genesis and a game I've sunk countless hours into speedrunning. I like some of the more minute changes in the formula that a normie would not appreciate such as the knockback cancelling by pausing or the screen wrapping. The music is pretty good but not as good since the Genesis doesn't have amazing music. The normal cartridge lags a lot as a warning. Playing the retro bit collectors cartridge or the switch online version has 0 lag. It also includes Wily Tower which has 3 new robot masters and unique stages where you pick your own weapons out of everything from MM 1-3. You will then realize how broken the magnet beam is. I love this game to death, its that simple.
Remakes are always a hot topic, aren't they? The Wily Wars is no different-- even if not all that many people have played the damn thing. I've no need to discuss the actual games in this review; if you want to see those, they're all here: (MM1, MM2, MM3). Instead, I'll be focusing on the things that have changed in between the versions.
So, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first: I disagree heavily with the common connotation that the Genesis versions of these games have worse presentation-- they simply don't. All of the games consistently look better than they did on the NES. The music is a lot more mixed, though... there's quite a handful I think are better or equal to their original counterparts but there's also tons of tracks that got ruined. It isn't unlistenable, but it is unfortunate.
No, my issues with the game arise with the various gameplay changes. For example, Mega Man walks like he has to contemplate the idea of going forward every time you want to move from a standstill, and it totally destroys the natural flow of all of these games. There were various times where I wanted to be quick on the draw with my platforming but I couldn't because I physically just can't move. This is totally eliminated by shooting as you walk, but like, why is it even a thing? There's also some other pretty big things, like a damage decrease for many bullets (that look like yours) down to 1 hit point, and a couple of sections where it feels like they didn't account for the game running differently. Flash Man is totally fucked in this game-- it has to be played to be believed.
This isn't to say all of the changes are bad: in fact, most of them are good. A lot of the shittier enemies and bosses in the first 3 games have been seriously toned down to be bearable. Fire Man, Elec Man, Quick Man? All gutted. There's also a few bosses who've been made harder which I appreciated too. Contrary to what I've seen others say there was no slowdown either-- this is apparently not true on console/emulator, but I played the Switch Online version of this game, so I'm reviewing that.
It's why I think the remakes are ultimately decent but not much more. They fix some of the larger issues and other minor bugs (especially in 3) in these games, but they really don't do much else and actively break other things. I can't fully recommend playing them because of the poor controls but most other things are better when you get down to it.
Oh yeah, and the Wily Tower is there too.
It's mid.
So, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first: I disagree heavily with the common connotation that the Genesis versions of these games have worse presentation-- they simply don't. All of the games consistently look better than they did on the NES. The music is a lot more mixed, though... there's quite a handful I think are better or equal to their original counterparts but there's also tons of tracks that got ruined. It isn't unlistenable, but it is unfortunate.
No, my issues with the game arise with the various gameplay changes. For example, Mega Man walks like he has to contemplate the idea of going forward every time you want to move from a standstill, and it totally destroys the natural flow of all of these games. There were various times where I wanted to be quick on the draw with my platforming but I couldn't because I physically just can't move. This is totally eliminated by shooting as you walk, but like, why is it even a thing? There's also some other pretty big things, like a damage decrease for many bullets (that look like yours) down to 1 hit point, and a couple of sections where it feels like they didn't account for the game running differently. Flash Man is totally fucked in this game-- it has to be played to be believed.
This isn't to say all of the changes are bad: in fact, most of them are good. A lot of the shittier enemies and bosses in the first 3 games have been seriously toned down to be bearable. Fire Man, Elec Man, Quick Man? All gutted. There's also a few bosses who've been made harder which I appreciated too. Contrary to what I've seen others say there was no slowdown either-- this is apparently not true on console/emulator, but I played the Switch Online version of this game, so I'm reviewing that.
It's why I think the remakes are ultimately decent but not much more. They fix some of the larger issues and other minor bugs (especially in 3) in these games, but they really don't do much else and actively break other things. I can't fully recommend playing them because of the poor controls but most other things are better when you get down to it.
Oh yeah, and the Wily Tower is there too.
It's mid.
Learning that the MM X3 devs made this one explained why it feels so wrong. If you're gonna play this, you gotta play the modded version that adds faster bullets and sliding to 1 and 2. Helps make an otherwise slow game (on the fucking GENNY???) a bit better.
While I don't know if the physics are vastly different from the originals, for all intents and purposes this seems like the best version of these games at the time this came out.
it's great deal for it's time and an alternative way to play the first trilogy. although i'm not a fan of the genesis version of the ost, the visuals and sprite work are very good and adds more depth. wily tower which is the main reason i played, is short but fun with being able to choose any weapon you want. it's worth it if you want to play first 3 games again.
Four stars but (extremely def comedy jam voice) seriously backloggd folks, patch your roms
An interesting way to replay the original trilogy of NES MegaMan games but not a replacement for them.
Not quite sure how to put it into words but this game has this sort of Genesis grit to it when it comes to its visuals that I don't really think fits with the original trilogy's art style/aesthetic (not saying it's necessarily a bad thing, just not fitting). Same goes for the music, it's good but like in a "oh this is a neat different take" on these tracks rather than an improvement due to the Genesis's sound. There's also issues with slow-down at certain points in the game.
All of that may sound bad but this is still a pretty cool collection and a neat way to replay all the games if you've played them all like 100 times before and need a way to spice it up. And its special edition of Wily Tower is one of the coolest features in a MegaMan game.
Not quite sure how to put it into words but this game has this sort of Genesis grit to it when it comes to its visuals that I don't really think fits with the original trilogy's art style/aesthetic (not saying it's necessarily a bad thing, just not fitting). Same goes for the music, it's good but like in a "oh this is a neat different take" on these tracks rather than an improvement due to the Genesis's sound. There's also issues with slow-down at certain points in the game.
All of that may sound bad but this is still a pretty cool collection and a neat way to replay all the games if you've played them all like 100 times before and need a way to spice it up. And its special edition of Wily Tower is one of the coolest features in a MegaMan game.
For what it's worth, it's not a bad remake of the first three Mega Man's. Slightly different in terms of feel, but accurate enough that I don't think you'll feel that something's off. Where I think Wily Wars falters is the necessity of its entire existence in today's age. Back in the 90's, if you didn't own an NES and wanted a way to play Mega Man on the Genesis? Sure, this'll more than fill that sweet spot.
But let's say it's 2023, and you now have access to the NES, Genesis, and all the other classic consoles at the same time. Is... Wily Wars worth playing at that point? And I personally don't think that it is, other than once for the sake of a fan's curiosity. Sure, Mega Man 1's difficulty has been slightly adjusted to be more fair, and there's a new campaign you can play, but none of this is enough to stop me from thinking that Wily Wars could've been a lot better than it turned out to be.
I mean, it's a generational leap. We've gone from 8-bit to 16-bit, and we are now more than 4 years into that period as of 1994. Yet, the remakes of Mega Man 1-3 feel like a 1990 launch title, seemingly content with doing the bare minimum of work to touch up the game. Mega Man himself looks good, but the environments still feel like something out of an NES title. Color choices feel washed out. None of this harms the game too hard admittingly, but then there's the converted music, which took the biggest hit of them all. I dunno how you feel about Genesis twang, but there's something about it here that lessens the energy of the music, losing what I thought made the 8-bit chiptunes special.
I get the feeling that the development team had only a year - maybe a few months less - to make this entire compilation. And that lack of time (and perhaps even experience with the system, seeing as they've been making Gameboy titles up until now) results in a remake that I can't help but feel could've been a lot more ambitious in order to show how far we've come since the older days.
As for the new unlockable campaign, it's... also just okay. I commend it for its unique idea of giving you every weapon from Mega Man 1-3, and letting you select your personal favorites for the stages you complete. This is a concept that needs to come back on a much larger scale. But, for now, it rests only within Wily Wars, a campaign with 3 levels and a Wily Fortress which I do not remember a single thing about, other than the fact it reuses assets and enemies from the remakes, alongside a strange and unfitting soundtrack that's too on the cheery side for what I'm used to with this series.
I come out of Wily Wars a plain person. With little of an impression to go on, only an imagination remains of what could've they done to make this remake better. It's not even about making it the "definitive version," because what's on offer plays just fine. It's about making it the unique one. Something that stands on its own ground. Right now, Wily Wars merely exists, neither better nor worse. The NES titles exist too. And those came first, which means that they get my dibs on what I'd rather play.
But let's say it's 2023, and you now have access to the NES, Genesis, and all the other classic consoles at the same time. Is... Wily Wars worth playing at that point? And I personally don't think that it is, other than once for the sake of a fan's curiosity. Sure, Mega Man 1's difficulty has been slightly adjusted to be more fair, and there's a new campaign you can play, but none of this is enough to stop me from thinking that Wily Wars could've been a lot better than it turned out to be.
I mean, it's a generational leap. We've gone from 8-bit to 16-bit, and we are now more than 4 years into that period as of 1994. Yet, the remakes of Mega Man 1-3 feel like a 1990 launch title, seemingly content with doing the bare minimum of work to touch up the game. Mega Man himself looks good, but the environments still feel like something out of an NES title. Color choices feel washed out. None of this harms the game too hard admittingly, but then there's the converted music, which took the biggest hit of them all. I dunno how you feel about Genesis twang, but there's something about it here that lessens the energy of the music, losing what I thought made the 8-bit chiptunes special.
I get the feeling that the development team had only a year - maybe a few months less - to make this entire compilation. And that lack of time (and perhaps even experience with the system, seeing as they've been making Gameboy titles up until now) results in a remake that I can't help but feel could've been a lot more ambitious in order to show how far we've come since the older days.
As for the new unlockable campaign, it's... also just okay. I commend it for its unique idea of giving you every weapon from Mega Man 1-3, and letting you select your personal favorites for the stages you complete. This is a concept that needs to come back on a much larger scale. But, for now, it rests only within Wily Wars, a campaign with 3 levels and a Wily Fortress which I do not remember a single thing about, other than the fact it reuses assets and enemies from the remakes, alongside a strange and unfitting soundtrack that's too on the cheery side for what I'm used to with this series.
I come out of Wily Wars a plain person. With little of an impression to go on, only an imagination remains of what could've they done to make this remake better. It's not even about making it the "definitive version," because what's on offer plays just fine. It's about making it the unique one. Something that stands on its own ground. Right now, Wily Wars merely exists, neither better nor worse. The NES titles exist too. And those came first, which means that they get my dibs on what I'd rather play.
The soundtrack is a real mixed bag, but the real kicker here is that despite being a major facelift in visuals to the NES games movement is really fucky. If you're familiar with the NES games you'll find yourself taking inexplicable deaths left and right
I'd be interested in hearing from someone who started with this collection over the NES series
I'd be interested in hearing from someone who started with this collection over the NES series
If this game let you keep weapons after beating one, it'd be my favorite in the entire series.
It doesn't though, and that's always gonna feel like a missed opportunity. Oh well.
Prefer this one for MM1, but I mostly stick to the NES originals otherwise.
It doesn't though, and that's always gonna feel like a missed opportunity. Oh well.
Prefer this one for MM1, but I mostly stick to the NES originals otherwise.
Uma ótima coletanea/remake dos jogos classicos do Mega Man. Os graficos não são tão bonitos ou detalhados quanto Mega Man 7 de SNES, mas são bonitos pra um jogo de 16-bits, a jogabilidade classica é gostosinha por demais, apenas senti que o jogo ficou levemente mais facil nessa coletanea/remake(ou tavez seja meus anos de experiencia com os jogos falando), a adição da Wily Tower com novas fases e novos chefes é uma puta adição a série, muito divertido de se jogar. A unica reclamação que tenho a fazer é quanto a trilha sonora que acho que perdeu um pouco o charme ou não foi tão bem feita, as musicas ainda são grudentas e ficam na cabeça, mas seila....não são a mesma coisa que as musicas dos classicos em 8-Bits.
Enfim....resumo da ópera, um puta jogo de plataforma tanto para aqueles amantes do robozinho azul quanto para aqueles que não jogaram nunca um jogo dele. PS: Adorei o visu dos robot masters em 16-bits.
Enfim....resumo da ópera, um puta jogo de plataforma tanto para aqueles amantes do robozinho azul quanto para aqueles que não jogaram nunca um jogo dele. PS: Adorei o visu dos robot masters em 16-bits.
Mega Man: The Wily Wars is a compilation of the first three NES games remade for Sega's 16-bit system. All three games have been rebalanced, everything looks more detailed than its NES counterparts, and re-arranged music to have that Genesis feel. For a while, North Americans had to result to reproduction cartridges and emulation because it was only released on Sega of America's discontinued service, the Sega Channel. This service allowed you to play Genesis games online while also bringing over three Genesis games exclusive to the Sega Channel, and The Wily Wars was one of them. Thankfully that has now been fixed with its re-release on the Sega Genesis Mini (which I played for this review) and more recently in 2022 to the Genesis Nintendo Switch Online service. Now more people than ever can experience this lost classic on modern devices and see how Mega Man was translated on a non-Nintendo console. For this review, I want to talk about my experience with these three games, so I'll try to keep it brief
Mega Man:
I like this one surprisingly enough, coming from a guy whose second least favorite Mega Man game is the first one. I was competent enough into beating the game without using save states, and as someone who has replayed 1-5 this year, I feel proud of myself for this one
Mega Man 2:
I found this to be the hard one out of the three. Robot masters can take many more hits even with their weaknesses. I did struggle near the end of Wily Castle and unfortunately had to use save states to get through Stage 5. Other than that, I had no such issue with the rest
Mega Man 3:
This was another surprise to me because I found this to be the best out of the Genesis trilogy. Out of all three, I found this to have the most changes in its difficulty balance, making the game much smoother for me to play through, unlike its NES counterpart. It's funny how I came from disliking it in the NES version to liking it in the Genesis version
As you can see, I found myself having a solid experience with these three games overall. Though I did find myself having to make some tighter jumps with enemy projectiles like Guts Man's boulder in Mega Man 1, and Wood Man's Leaf Shield in Mega Man 2; don't know what that was all about. I found the music to receive mixed receptions from those who played the game; some people liked it, and some people hate it. As a fan of video game music, I enjoyed listening to the 16-bit renditions of classic songs, and was pleasant to the ears
Each game now has a save feature to mark your progress, which is great for MM1 because there was none in the NES original, so I appreciate that addition. One new addition that they added to The Wily Wars is Wily Tower. After completing the three Mega Man games in the collection, you will unlock a brand-new scenario featuring brand-new levels and three new robot masters to defeat. What's exciting is that we can mix and match weapon and support abilities from Mega Man 1, 2, and 3 to take with us into battle and can be swapped out between stages, allowing a great deal of fun experimentation within these original stages. While I was a bit bummed that this mode was brief and only took about half an hour for me to beat; I can't deny that I had fun while playing this mode and this will be the biggest draw for those who played The Wily Wars before
Mega Man: The Wily Wars is what I consider the Super Mario All-Stars of Mega Man. These are solid remakes, and while by no means replaceable of their respective counterparts, this is more centered for the curious who wants to experience Mega Man's outings on Sega consoles. I recommend this to any Mega Man fan who wants to give this compilation a shot
Mega Man:
I like this one surprisingly enough, coming from a guy whose second least favorite Mega Man game is the first one. I was competent enough into beating the game without using save states, and as someone who has replayed 1-5 this year, I feel proud of myself for this one
Mega Man 2:
I found this to be the hard one out of the three. Robot masters can take many more hits even with their weaknesses. I did struggle near the end of Wily Castle and unfortunately had to use save states to get through Stage 5. Other than that, I had no such issue with the rest
Mega Man 3:
This was another surprise to me because I found this to be the best out of the Genesis trilogy. Out of all three, I found this to have the most changes in its difficulty balance, making the game much smoother for me to play through, unlike its NES counterpart. It's funny how I came from disliking it in the NES version to liking it in the Genesis version
As you can see, I found myself having a solid experience with these three games overall. Though I did find myself having to make some tighter jumps with enemy projectiles like Guts Man's boulder in Mega Man 1, and Wood Man's Leaf Shield in Mega Man 2; don't know what that was all about. I found the music to receive mixed receptions from those who played the game; some people liked it, and some people hate it. As a fan of video game music, I enjoyed listening to the 16-bit renditions of classic songs, and was pleasant to the ears
Each game now has a save feature to mark your progress, which is great for MM1 because there was none in the NES original, so I appreciate that addition. One new addition that they added to The Wily Wars is Wily Tower. After completing the three Mega Man games in the collection, you will unlock a brand-new scenario featuring brand-new levels and three new robot masters to defeat. What's exciting is that we can mix and match weapon and support abilities from Mega Man 1, 2, and 3 to take with us into battle and can be swapped out between stages, allowing a great deal of fun experimentation within these original stages. While I was a bit bummed that this mode was brief and only took about half an hour for me to beat; I can't deny that I had fun while playing this mode and this will be the biggest draw for those who played The Wily Wars before
Mega Man: The Wily Wars is what I consider the Super Mario All-Stars of Mega Man. These are solid remakes, and while by no means replaceable of their respective counterparts, this is more centered for the curious who wants to experience Mega Man's outings on Sega consoles. I recommend this to any Mega Man fan who wants to give this compilation a shot
(in This review I will Only mention Wily Tower, The Three Games I have Already Reviewed)
Well... The Wily Tower is a Good extra Content for The end of The Game 4 Bosses, Fun stages... Honestly Nothing to Complain about The only "Bad" thing is That the Bosses are Very easy You can Defeat them All easily Just using the Buster.
Well... The Wily Tower is a Good extra Content for The end of The Game 4 Bosses, Fun stages... Honestly Nothing to Complain about The only "Bad" thing is That the Bosses are Very easy You can Defeat them All easily Just using the Buster.
(Part 4 of 4)
Y’all ever heard of this weird-ass thing called the Sega Channel? It was apparently this service that was around in the mid-90s that allowed owners of the Sega Genesis to play games on an online service for a monthly fee, which eliminated the need to go out and get the game for yourself if you don’t want to pay a full $60 for a game that was complete trash. It was a neat little idea, and it did last for a good while before shutting down, but while it did have plenty of benefits for owners of a Genesis, it also had plenty of costs as well. On one hand, you do get access to plenty of new Sega Genesis games and demos to play to your heart's content, but on the other hand, there were certain games that were made for the Sega Genesis that were released EXCLUSIVELY for the Sega Channel… for us Americans, anyway. This made it so that, once the Sega Channel was ultimately shut down in 1998, you could never play these games anymore, unless you wanted to go out of your way to buy a foreign copy of the game along with a Mega Drive, but who has the time, patience, and money for that? This meant that plenty of people would miss out on some truly great Genesis titles for the longest time, including today’s subject, Mega Man: The Wily Wars.
Nowadays, there have been several re-releases of this game to where you can easily play the game if you have access to it, but for the longest time, fans in America wouldn’t be able to officially play this game for the longest time, and I remember that this KILLED me inside back in the day. Knowing what this game was, I desperately wanted to get my hands on it for the longest time back then, but I couldn’t, seeing how it was only available in a completely different part of the world. It was only around when I was 15-16, I wanna say, and I went to a video game convention happening in my town where I found someone was selling bootleg cartridges of The Wily Wars that I finally managed to snag a copy for myself, and all was right with the world. It was worth it too, because even after so many years, The Wily Wars is still a pretty great game, one that gives plenty for fans of the series to play through and appreciate, while also providing new content and ideas that were great to see in action.
For those of you who are unaware, this game is pretty much the Mega Man equivalent of Super Mario All-Stars, where it takes the original trilogy of Mega Man games from the NES and completely remakes them for the Sega Genesis, featuring a new coat of 16-bit graphics and music right alongside it, as well as save points, which are not only pretty helpful, but they also make those dumbass grid passwords obsolete (and the whole world cheered). All of the games present here work pretty much exactly like they did back on the NES: they are all still 2D platformers where you run, jump, and shoot your way through plenty of different foes, obstacles, and bosses, gather plenty of different special weapons and upgrades to assist you on your journey, and question how this super-powered fighting robot is somehow unable to stop this crotchety old man from doing evil things. So, needless to say, if you enjoyed your time with any of the original NES versions of these games, then you will most likely enjoy these versions as well.
Really though, there’s not much else I can say in terms of the improvements between these versions of these games and the originals. Unlike with Mario All-Stars, The Wily Wars doesn’t really change anything too drastic about the games themselves in terms of save points, win conditions, or the content that is present, which isn’t a bad thing at all, but for those that are looking for more stuff to mess around with in these three original games, they aren’t going to get that here. They are just 16-bit versions of those original games, which, in my opinion, is still pretty great, because not only can I still enjoy these games in the way that they are supposed to be, but now they look much nicer than before, and looking at all the different sprites for all the characters, enemies, and bosses is nice to day the least, even if some… aren’t quite as good as others (Rock should really put sunscreen on before going out in the sun for that long).
However, despite how much I still enjoyed these renditions of the classic games, I can’t say they are perfect, as there are several issues that do hold them back from being the definitive version of these games, such as the music. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily say that a lot of the music remixed in this game is bad, and there are some pretty great tracks to be heard in this game, but since they are on the Genesis, most of them are accompanied by that good ol’ Genesis twang, so if you aren’t a fan of that, then you will hate listening to this game. Secondly, there is the issue with slowdown, which has been a recurring issue ever since the original Mega Man, to be fair, but here I think is where it is the absolute worst. There are plenty of sections in these remakes where it will slow down where it was never meant to, and while in some instances like with the Yellow Devil fight, it makes things easier, most of the time it isn’t pleasant to look at. Not to mention, there are also some little things that bug me as well, such as there being no difficulty option for Mega Man 2, and whenever you beat any boss, after the jingle plays, Mega Man stands there like an idiot for a good 10 seconds before teleporting out of the stage, almost as if he is waiting for his cue card.
Of course though, for those of you who know The Wily Wars by heart, then you would know that these remakes aren't all that this collection has to offer. Right alongside the remakes of Mega Man 1-3, there is also a new game mode known as Wily Tower, which can only be accessed after you have beaten the main three games. Let me tell you right now, THIS right here is the main reason why anyone should play this version of these games, as Wily Tower is the best part of the entire package. It is essentially a smaller Mega Man title bundled in with the other three, as it features its own entirely new story (and by that, I mean Wily is a dick, and you gotta stop him again), new stages, new challenges, and new bosses that you won’t find in any other game in the series. All on its own, it is really fun, not only because of all the different challenges you take on and the gameplay still being as tight as ever, but seeing all the different enemies and hazards of the main three games clashed together in this mode is pretty neat to see. Not to mention, since this mode was specifically made for the Genesis, the music doesn’t suffer from the same issues that the main games suffer from… at least, not by much, anyway.
But none of that even comes close to what is the main draw of this mode, and that would be how weapons and special items are handled. From the beginning of the mode, you are given access to all of the weapons and special items from Mega Man 1-3, but of course, since there are so many, you aren’t given the ability to carry all of them at once. Instead, before each stage, you are given the option to customize your loadout, choosing which weapons and special items that you can take into a stage, while also being able to swap out your options for whatever stage comes next. This, in my opinion, is a GENIUS mechanic, because not only does it give the player plenty of opportunities to experiment with the items they have access to, seeing what loadout is best for them, but it also allows for plenty of replayability, just to see what works best in what stages. It really does suck that this kind of feature never returns for any of the other games in the series, because it is that good, and I would say that I hope they bring this feature back for a future game in the series… but that would imply that Capcom would make another game in the series at all.
Overall, despite some issues with the music, some instances of slowdown getting in the way, and how I wouldn’t say these are the definitive versions of the classic three games, this is a fantastic collection of remakes of the original trilogy, one that any Mega Man fanatic like myself would love to play not just because of how well these games still hold up, but also because of the equally fantastic Wily Tower mode, not only providing a fresh, new experience for fans of the series, but also by doing things that the series had never done before and since this game. I would absolutely recommend it for those who are fans of the Mega Man series, or even for those who couldn’t really get into the original versions of these classic games, because while the games themselves remain mostly unchanged, the new 16-bit coat of paint and the inclusion of saving may just be all you need to give these games another proper shot. It’s just a shame though that this was initially locked into a subscription service for us Americans for so long… but hey, they at least brought it back!.... and locked it behind another subscription service……. but hey, it’s on the Sega Genesis Mini!...... that is only available in limited quantities…………………. I hate video games.
Collection #2/Game #536
Y’all ever heard of this weird-ass thing called the Sega Channel? It was apparently this service that was around in the mid-90s that allowed owners of the Sega Genesis to play games on an online service for a monthly fee, which eliminated the need to go out and get the game for yourself if you don’t want to pay a full $60 for a game that was complete trash. It was a neat little idea, and it did last for a good while before shutting down, but while it did have plenty of benefits for owners of a Genesis, it also had plenty of costs as well. On one hand, you do get access to plenty of new Sega Genesis games and demos to play to your heart's content, but on the other hand, there were certain games that were made for the Sega Genesis that were released EXCLUSIVELY for the Sega Channel… for us Americans, anyway. This made it so that, once the Sega Channel was ultimately shut down in 1998, you could never play these games anymore, unless you wanted to go out of your way to buy a foreign copy of the game along with a Mega Drive, but who has the time, patience, and money for that? This meant that plenty of people would miss out on some truly great Genesis titles for the longest time, including today’s subject, Mega Man: The Wily Wars.
Nowadays, there have been several re-releases of this game to where you can easily play the game if you have access to it, but for the longest time, fans in America wouldn’t be able to officially play this game for the longest time, and I remember that this KILLED me inside back in the day. Knowing what this game was, I desperately wanted to get my hands on it for the longest time back then, but I couldn’t, seeing how it was only available in a completely different part of the world. It was only around when I was 15-16, I wanna say, and I went to a video game convention happening in my town where I found someone was selling bootleg cartridges of The Wily Wars that I finally managed to snag a copy for myself, and all was right with the world. It was worth it too, because even after so many years, The Wily Wars is still a pretty great game, one that gives plenty for fans of the series to play through and appreciate, while also providing new content and ideas that were great to see in action.
For those of you who are unaware, this game is pretty much the Mega Man equivalent of Super Mario All-Stars, where it takes the original trilogy of Mega Man games from the NES and completely remakes them for the Sega Genesis, featuring a new coat of 16-bit graphics and music right alongside it, as well as save points, which are not only pretty helpful, but they also make those dumbass grid passwords obsolete (and the whole world cheered). All of the games present here work pretty much exactly like they did back on the NES: they are all still 2D platformers where you run, jump, and shoot your way through plenty of different foes, obstacles, and bosses, gather plenty of different special weapons and upgrades to assist you on your journey, and question how this super-powered fighting robot is somehow unable to stop this crotchety old man from doing evil things. So, needless to say, if you enjoyed your time with any of the original NES versions of these games, then you will most likely enjoy these versions as well.
Really though, there’s not much else I can say in terms of the improvements between these versions of these games and the originals. Unlike with Mario All-Stars, The Wily Wars doesn’t really change anything too drastic about the games themselves in terms of save points, win conditions, or the content that is present, which isn’t a bad thing at all, but for those that are looking for more stuff to mess around with in these three original games, they aren’t going to get that here. They are just 16-bit versions of those original games, which, in my opinion, is still pretty great, because not only can I still enjoy these games in the way that they are supposed to be, but now they look much nicer than before, and looking at all the different sprites for all the characters, enemies, and bosses is nice to day the least, even if some… aren’t quite as good as others (Rock should really put sunscreen on before going out in the sun for that long).
However, despite how much I still enjoyed these renditions of the classic games, I can’t say they are perfect, as there are several issues that do hold them back from being the definitive version of these games, such as the music. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily say that a lot of the music remixed in this game is bad, and there are some pretty great tracks to be heard in this game, but since they are on the Genesis, most of them are accompanied by that good ol’ Genesis twang, so if you aren’t a fan of that, then you will hate listening to this game. Secondly, there is the issue with slowdown, which has been a recurring issue ever since the original Mega Man, to be fair, but here I think is where it is the absolute worst. There are plenty of sections in these remakes where it will slow down where it was never meant to, and while in some instances like with the Yellow Devil fight, it makes things easier, most of the time it isn’t pleasant to look at. Not to mention, there are also some little things that bug me as well, such as there being no difficulty option for Mega Man 2, and whenever you beat any boss, after the jingle plays, Mega Man stands there like an idiot for a good 10 seconds before teleporting out of the stage, almost as if he is waiting for his cue card.
Of course though, for those of you who know The Wily Wars by heart, then you would know that these remakes aren't all that this collection has to offer. Right alongside the remakes of Mega Man 1-3, there is also a new game mode known as Wily Tower, which can only be accessed after you have beaten the main three games. Let me tell you right now, THIS right here is the main reason why anyone should play this version of these games, as Wily Tower is the best part of the entire package. It is essentially a smaller Mega Man title bundled in with the other three, as it features its own entirely new story (and by that, I mean Wily is a dick, and you gotta stop him again), new stages, new challenges, and new bosses that you won’t find in any other game in the series. All on its own, it is really fun, not only because of all the different challenges you take on and the gameplay still being as tight as ever, but seeing all the different enemies and hazards of the main three games clashed together in this mode is pretty neat to see. Not to mention, since this mode was specifically made for the Genesis, the music doesn’t suffer from the same issues that the main games suffer from… at least, not by much, anyway.
But none of that even comes close to what is the main draw of this mode, and that would be how weapons and special items are handled. From the beginning of the mode, you are given access to all of the weapons and special items from Mega Man 1-3, but of course, since there are so many, you aren’t given the ability to carry all of them at once. Instead, before each stage, you are given the option to customize your loadout, choosing which weapons and special items that you can take into a stage, while also being able to swap out your options for whatever stage comes next. This, in my opinion, is a GENIUS mechanic, because not only does it give the player plenty of opportunities to experiment with the items they have access to, seeing what loadout is best for them, but it also allows for plenty of replayability, just to see what works best in what stages. It really does suck that this kind of feature never returns for any of the other games in the series, because it is that good, and I would say that I hope they bring this feature back for a future game in the series… but that would imply that Capcom would make another game in the series at all.
Overall, despite some issues with the music, some instances of slowdown getting in the way, and how I wouldn’t say these are the definitive versions of the classic three games, this is a fantastic collection of remakes of the original trilogy, one that any Mega Man fanatic like myself would love to play not just because of how well these games still hold up, but also because of the equally fantastic Wily Tower mode, not only providing a fresh, new experience for fans of the series, but also by doing things that the series had never done before and since this game. I would absolutely recommend it for those who are fans of the Mega Man series, or even for those who couldn’t really get into the original versions of these classic games, because while the games themselves remain mostly unchanged, the new 16-bit coat of paint and the inclusion of saving may just be all you need to give these games another proper shot. It’s just a shame though that this was initially locked into a subscription service for us Americans for so long… but hey, they at least brought it back!.... and locked it behind another subscription service……. but hey, it’s on the Sega Genesis Mini!...... that is only available in limited quantities…………………. I hate video games.
Collection #2/Game #536
This trilogy of games remastered for the Sega Genesis has been a very enjoyable experience.
The first thing you may notice is that the gameplay doesn't feel as good, it feels strange to jump and shoot, this is even more noticeable since the level design is the same as the original games. The slowdowns it suffers sometimes don't help either, but after a while you get used to it all.
But well, let's go to what stands out mainly in these games: the graphics. I liked them a lot, the art style here I feel has not been seen in another 16-bit Mega Man game or similar, as the color palette used instead of being colorful as in other Mega Man games tends to be more "realistic" (taking into account that it is a game for Genesis in pixel art, of course). There are some stages that were drastically improved and really give a different feeling when playing them, the enemies look good, and the robot masters even better. What did leave me disappointed is how characters like Dr. Light, Roll and Proto Man look, I feel they could have done a better job considering how the rest of the characters do look good.And the music, some arrangements sound good, others didn't sound as good to me, but all the songs in Mega Man 3 sound great.
Additionally, this game after beating the first 3 Mega Man, unlocks an additional Mega Man game, although it is not a complete game as such, since it only consists of 3 Robot Masters (with totally new designs, stages and music) and a new Wily Fortress, also with new bosses. I really liked this add-on, the stages and music are good.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it has been an interesting way to revisit these 3 games, certainly the gameplay could have been polished a bit, but it is still enjoyable.
I recommend it to anyone who wants to play Mega Man, Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 with a different look.
The first thing you may notice is that the gameplay doesn't feel as good, it feels strange to jump and shoot, this is even more noticeable since the level design is the same as the original games. The slowdowns it suffers sometimes don't help either, but after a while you get used to it all.
But well, let's go to what stands out mainly in these games: the graphics. I liked them a lot, the art style here I feel has not been seen in another 16-bit Mega Man game or similar, as the color palette used instead of being colorful as in other Mega Man games tends to be more "realistic" (taking into account that it is a game for Genesis in pixel art, of course). There are some stages that were drastically improved and really give a different feeling when playing them, the enemies look good, and the robot masters even better. What did leave me disappointed is how characters like Dr. Light, Roll and Proto Man look, I feel they could have done a better job considering how the rest of the characters do look good.And the music, some arrangements sound good, others didn't sound as good to me, but all the songs in Mega Man 3 sound great.
Additionally, this game after beating the first 3 Mega Man, unlocks an additional Mega Man game, although it is not a complete game as such, since it only consists of 3 Robot Masters (with totally new designs, stages and music) and a new Wily Fortress, also with new bosses. I really liked this add-on, the stages and music are good.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it has been an interesting way to revisit these 3 games, certainly the gameplay could have been polished a bit, but it is still enjoyable.
I recommend it to anyone who wants to play Mega Man, Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 with a different look.
If we were to judge this game as a port, I would say that artistically, it exceeds the NES versions, but music wise, it's hit-or-miss. Ultimately, if you had to choose between NES or Genesis, I would lean towards NES, but these versions don't slouch.
Mega Man 1, 2, and 3 are fine games, but I find that the extra Wily levels are nothing to truly write home about, just neat additional tidbits, that do in fact have neat music accompanying them, at the very least. If you are in the mood to replay the NES originals and are all too familiar with them, I recommend the Wily Wars for a change of pace.
At the end of the day, this game is a nice coat of paint for games that already aged well without it.
Mega Man 1, 2, and 3 are fine games, but I find that the extra Wily levels are nothing to truly write home about, just neat additional tidbits, that do in fact have neat music accompanying them, at the very least. If you are in the mood to replay the NES originals and are all too familiar with them, I recommend the Wily Wars for a change of pace.
At the end of the day, this game is a nice coat of paint for games that already aged well without it.
THEY DID IT. THEY MADE THE YELLOW DEVIL ACTUALLY BEATABLE
I’m gonna say it: this is, in my opinion, the best way to play Mega Man 1. The game looks better (especially with the super detailed backgrounds) and is way more balanced. I could fight Yellow Devil fairly without the need to resort to the pause glitch present in the NES version, which is the only way I fight this thing there.
About the other two games… well, they definitely took a hit. The physics are not quite what they should be, and the soundtrack sounds way more exciting in the originals, even if they sound neat enough on the Genesis. I’d say Mega Man 3 was good, and I truly believe this is a genuinely great way to play it, but the definitive Mega Man 2 experience still lies in the original NES version. Quick Man will annoy you to death, and so will other minor things.
I believe that’s basically what is keeping me from giving it a higher score, but I have to say it still was a good time. This isn’t simply one Mega Man game, but three of them in a single package, completely remade on a 16-bit console with quirks like battery saves that render the old password system obsolete, and a nice bonus in the shape of Wily’s Tower, a short new campaign. It wasn’t that difficult, but I loved to be able to pick my own set of weapons to create an overly powerful arsenal, so despite the thing being short and not that difficult, it was still fun to play and worthy to be played in the end. I’d love to see more of it.
So, the remakes are generally not as great as the NES originals, but this here is definitely a cool piece in Mega Man’s catalog. I’d love to see the other three NES games remade in this way, which is currently being done by fans, so I hope I can soon come back to this experience with, hopefully, nicer controls and music.
About the other two games… well, they definitely took a hit. The physics are not quite what they should be, and the soundtrack sounds way more exciting in the originals, even if they sound neat enough on the Genesis. I’d say Mega Man 3 was good, and I truly believe this is a genuinely great way to play it, but the definitive Mega Man 2 experience still lies in the original NES version. Quick Man will annoy you to death, and so will other minor things.
I believe that’s basically what is keeping me from giving it a higher score, but I have to say it still was a good time. This isn’t simply one Mega Man game, but three of them in a single package, completely remade on a 16-bit console with quirks like battery saves that render the old password system obsolete, and a nice bonus in the shape of Wily’s Tower, a short new campaign. It wasn’t that difficult, but I loved to be able to pick my own set of weapons to create an overly powerful arsenal, so despite the thing being short and not that difficult, it was still fun to play and worthy to be played in the end. I’d love to see more of it.
So, the remakes are generally not as great as the NES originals, but this here is definitely a cool piece in Mega Man’s catalog. I’d love to see the other three NES games remade in this way, which is currently being done by fans, so I hope I can soon come back to this experience with, hopefully, nicer controls and music.
A solid remake of the first 3 Mega Man titles, considering the context of the time. The Mega Drive Soundtrack really slaps, while not taking to much of the identity of the NES versions. Performance was improved in all titles, which is especially awesome for MM 3. The power of the 16-Bit Mega Drive also gave the opportunity to overhaul nearly all graphics from the original. Stages have way more background details and replaces a lot of the black spaces form the originals. Mega Man himself looks closer to his actual artwork and less like little Timmy's first pixelart.
The Wily Tower is really fun as a post game reward and adds a lot of replay value.
My only gripe would be the controls. They aren't really sloppy or anything but Mega Man seems to stick to the ground a bit to much while changing directions. The best desrciption would be "Sticky Feet". But you can adjust to that over time, but some sections in MM1 and MM2 are definietly made tougher because of it. I think Quick Man's Stage is nearly impossible without using Flash Man's ability, which makes the boss fight against the bot himself really painful.
But other than that: Really solid for 1994.
The Wily Tower is really fun as a post game reward and adds a lot of replay value.
My only gripe would be the controls. They aren't really sloppy or anything but Mega Man seems to stick to the ground a bit to much while changing directions. The best desrciption would be "Sticky Feet". But you can adjust to that over time, but some sections in MM1 and MM2 are definietly made tougher because of it. I think Quick Man's Stage is nearly impossible without using Flash Man's ability, which makes the boss fight against the bot himself really painful.
But other than that: Really solid for 1994.
it makes mega man 1 enjoyable and even the tracks that don't sound 'better' (i think a lot of them do) lose that one instrument that half of the nes version osts had that made my ears bleed, so thats worth making 2 and 3 a little bit worse maybe. probably not actually, but i still have fun
What’s gained in visual fidelity is lost in preciseness. Areas of the game that were no issue for me in the NES versions were a problem in these 16-bit remakes. The Wily Wars is still worth checking out for diehard Mega Man fans, but everyone else should stick to the originals.
Decent port of the first 3 Mega Man games to the Genesis. Music is definitely worse, but some minor changes here and there are nice improvements. Visually it looks great too, and you get some bonus levels after beating the remakes which is neat.
Um remake inferior aos jogos que refaz já falha em sua concepção. Nem na estética audiovisual, aspecto que mesmo remakes polêmicos costumam se sair satisfatoriamente, ele supera o material original: a música é decididamente melhor no NES e a reimaginação da maioria dos estágios não me agradou muito. Apenas Mega Man 3 ficou mais ou menos consistentemente bom no áudio e vídeo, e ainda assim com exceções.
Os controles sofreram um downgrade ainda maior. O input lag é notável e a física do Mega Man inconsistente. Se você jogar a versão europeia, que era a única disponível no ocidente até pouco tempo, vai sofrer ainda mais, já que não ajustaram o game à refresh rate menor do padrão PAL (que era 50hz, contra 60hz dos EUA), fazendo com que o game fique bem lento. Mas mesmo rodando na velocidade correta (algo que pode ser resolvido em emuladores modernos, que podem forçar o jogo a rodar no padrão NTSC) há outros problemas, como o rebalanceamento da dificuldade que achei completamente desnecessário.
Mesmo com tantos problemas, ainda é Mega Man, e três deles. Mesmo um Mega Man com problemas é melhor que muito jogo por aí.
Ah, e depois que você zera os três jogos, tem um pós-game exclusivo com novos estágios e chefes, chamado Wily's Tower. É um remix interessante, utilizando inimigos de toda a trilogia e permitindo você escolher escolher 8 armas dentre todas as 24 de MM1, MM2 e MM3. Não é muito desafiador - afinal, você pode selecionar combinações roubadas como Metal Man + Elec Man + Rush Jet - mas é legalzinho.
Os controles sofreram um downgrade ainda maior. O input lag é notável e a física do Mega Man inconsistente. Se você jogar a versão europeia, que era a única disponível no ocidente até pouco tempo, vai sofrer ainda mais, já que não ajustaram o game à refresh rate menor do padrão PAL (que era 50hz, contra 60hz dos EUA), fazendo com que o game fique bem lento. Mas mesmo rodando na velocidade correta (algo que pode ser resolvido em emuladores modernos, que podem forçar o jogo a rodar no padrão NTSC) há outros problemas, como o rebalanceamento da dificuldade que achei completamente desnecessário.
Mesmo com tantos problemas, ainda é Mega Man, e três deles. Mesmo um Mega Man com problemas é melhor que muito jogo por aí.
Ah, e depois que você zera os três jogos, tem um pós-game exclusivo com novos estágios e chefes, chamado Wily's Tower. É um remix interessante, utilizando inimigos de toda a trilogia e permitindo você escolher escolher 8 armas dentre todas as 24 de MM1, MM2 e MM3. Não é muito desafiador - afinal, você pode selecionar combinações roubadas como Metal Man + Elec Man + Rush Jet - mas é legalzinho.
Bootleg versions of the originals. Wily tower is very cool though and should have been unlocked from the start. Fast enough to get to the part worth playing. Way more excited for sequel wars whenever it is finished.
Literally the best mega man experience. Why has nobody put the 50hz tracks on youtube yet
Megaman the Wily Wars is quite an interesting title. To put it simply, it's essentially a remaster of the original trilogy of the classic megaman games on the nes. Individually as games these all have their own quirks and such inherently built into their original design so they naturally vary in quality, but this is down to how they were originally created.
I don't think it would be worth discussing the problems of the games themselves, because those flaws are tied to the game's original design that's been maintained here, so I don't feel the need to outline the good and the bad of those games but rather the changes that the Wily Wars provides.
In terms of how the remaster itself is handled for these games, I don't think it's solid, but it's passable. For reference, I personally played this through the Sega Mega Drive online that is packaged with the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass. I know that if you play the version on original hardware (I believe the PAL one, but this could be wrong), it suffered a lot of performance issues and slowed down a lot, but I personally didn't go through any of that. I'm going to assume that the version provided to me was the version of the game that was apart of the Sega Channel service that was provided to North American users.
To further go into detail about the remasters themselves, I don't believe these are the optimal ways to play the game. Whilst there weren't many I encountered some technical errors that weren't present in the original version of the game (at least to my recollection) one of the big ones I dealt with was the speed of wood man was way faster than it originally was when I played it on the original and felt almost impossible without using rewind for me. Another thing is the removal of preset pickups which seems like a deliberate design choice, which would in theory be fine if it didn't potentially soft lock your game until you die. Whilst this didn't affect me personally, there is a section in the original megaman where it is required to make use of the optional, but not so optional item the magnet beam to create platforms to reach the ladder before the yellow devil. Fortunately, if your weapon energy is low there are two pickups on the screen below and you can constantly switch between screens in the original to reobtain the energy if necessary. This isn't possible in Wily Wars so you can only make a finite amount of mistakes here. Additionally, I found the physics to not be accurate to the NES originals and they felt a lot heavier compared to the relatively floatier jump that the classics typically had. It wasn't too difficult to adjust to but it can throw you off sometimes.
Visually, I don't think the game really makes use of the 16 bit upgrade that it was given to enhance the visuals. It feels like they just took the original sprites and added more colour to them, rather than just make more detailed looking sprites and I think that this could've definitely better made use of the upgraded hardware of the mega drive but unfortunately I generally prefer the way it looked originally.
Even with the music, none of it is necessarily bad but the remixes I don't think are always as good as they used to be except most of Megaman 3, I think that one had the most effort put into it overall.
In terms of additions that the game has that I think are pretty neat, the game comes with a save feature with multiple save slots for all 3 games, but other than that there aren't really many other quality of life upgrades, as most the games are left untouched. Although one thing to note is that Megaman 2 in this is based off of the Famicom version and therefore there is no difficulty option and by default you're playing the North American equivalent of "Difficult" mode, as an easier difficulty was only later added in the western release.
After going through all 3 games, you unlock "Wily Tower". Essentially a bonus chapter to cap of the collection and tie it to the loose story the collection had of Dr Wily creating a time machine to make you go through the 3 adventures again.
Wily Tower is one of the most fun additions to the classic series and honestly I wish it was longer because of just how fun it is. The gimmick is that you have 8 weapon slots and 3 item slots. You have access to the entire arsenal of tools from all 3 games to pick from to decide on using with your given slots. I love this idea so much and I love that it allows you to experiment with whichever weapons you like having. You want metal blades, elec beam, magnet missile, rush jet and all the best weapons in the series then just use them. I love that if you pick certain items they can also be used for alternate paths and the music and visuals work so much better here. The level design also makes use of any sort of level obstacle or enemies in the three games. Along with completely original stage designs and bosses. Personally I would love if there was more of this and I would be happy to play a longer wily tower because I think this is a great concept and I would really like this game if it was more like Wily Tower.
Overall, the reason I rated this relatively highly is because I really love the Wily Tower segment. Otherwise the game is relatively okay, and definitely an interesting play experience, but in no way make the originals obsolete. I think this is something definitely worth trying but because it requires beating 3 games to get to the best part I wouldn't recommend regularly replaying the game. I would definitely have been interested to see an idea like Wily Wars extend to the other megaman games, but unfortunately we can't all have nice things. Definitely play this if you're a big classic series fan, but otherwise it's not mandatory even if Wily Tower is very fun.
I don't think it would be worth discussing the problems of the games themselves, because those flaws are tied to the game's original design that's been maintained here, so I don't feel the need to outline the good and the bad of those games but rather the changes that the Wily Wars provides.
In terms of how the remaster itself is handled for these games, I don't think it's solid, but it's passable. For reference, I personally played this through the Sega Mega Drive online that is packaged with the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass. I know that if you play the version on original hardware (I believe the PAL one, but this could be wrong), it suffered a lot of performance issues and slowed down a lot, but I personally didn't go through any of that. I'm going to assume that the version provided to me was the version of the game that was apart of the Sega Channel service that was provided to North American users.
To further go into detail about the remasters themselves, I don't believe these are the optimal ways to play the game. Whilst there weren't many I encountered some technical errors that weren't present in the original version of the game (at least to my recollection) one of the big ones I dealt with was the speed of wood man was way faster than it originally was when I played it on the original and felt almost impossible without using rewind for me. Another thing is the removal of preset pickups which seems like a deliberate design choice, which would in theory be fine if it didn't potentially soft lock your game until you die. Whilst this didn't affect me personally, there is a section in the original megaman where it is required to make use of the optional, but not so optional item the magnet beam to create platforms to reach the ladder before the yellow devil. Fortunately, if your weapon energy is low there are two pickups on the screen below and you can constantly switch between screens in the original to reobtain the energy if necessary. This isn't possible in Wily Wars so you can only make a finite amount of mistakes here. Additionally, I found the physics to not be accurate to the NES originals and they felt a lot heavier compared to the relatively floatier jump that the classics typically had. It wasn't too difficult to adjust to but it can throw you off sometimes.
Visually, I don't think the game really makes use of the 16 bit upgrade that it was given to enhance the visuals. It feels like they just took the original sprites and added more colour to them, rather than just make more detailed looking sprites and I think that this could've definitely better made use of the upgraded hardware of the mega drive but unfortunately I generally prefer the way it looked originally.
Even with the music, none of it is necessarily bad but the remixes I don't think are always as good as they used to be except most of Megaman 3, I think that one had the most effort put into it overall.
In terms of additions that the game has that I think are pretty neat, the game comes with a save feature with multiple save slots for all 3 games, but other than that there aren't really many other quality of life upgrades, as most the games are left untouched. Although one thing to note is that Megaman 2 in this is based off of the Famicom version and therefore there is no difficulty option and by default you're playing the North American equivalent of "Difficult" mode, as an easier difficulty was only later added in the western release.
After going through all 3 games, you unlock "Wily Tower". Essentially a bonus chapter to cap of the collection and tie it to the loose story the collection had of Dr Wily creating a time machine to make you go through the 3 adventures again.
Wily Tower is one of the most fun additions to the classic series and honestly I wish it was longer because of just how fun it is. The gimmick is that you have 8 weapon slots and 3 item slots. You have access to the entire arsenal of tools from all 3 games to pick from to decide on using with your given slots. I love this idea so much and I love that it allows you to experiment with whichever weapons you like having. You want metal blades, elec beam, magnet missile, rush jet and all the best weapons in the series then just use them. I love that if you pick certain items they can also be used for alternate paths and the music and visuals work so much better here. The level design also makes use of any sort of level obstacle or enemies in the three games. Along with completely original stage designs and bosses. Personally I would love if there was more of this and I would be happy to play a longer wily tower because I think this is a great concept and I would really like this game if it was more like Wily Tower.
Overall, the reason I rated this relatively highly is because I really love the Wily Tower segment. Otherwise the game is relatively okay, and definitely an interesting play experience, but in no way make the originals obsolete. I think this is something definitely worth trying but because it requires beating 3 games to get to the best part I wouldn't recommend regularly replaying the game. I would definitely have been interested to see an idea like Wily Wars extend to the other megaman games, but unfortunately we can't all have nice things. Definitely play this if you're a big classic series fan, but otherwise it's not mandatory even if Wily Tower is very fun.
Mostly a shoddy port of three games of varying quality. Physics and controls are completely busted, and it drops more frames than a bowler with Parkinson's, and on more powerful hardware no less. The rest of it, the unlockable Wily Tower, is a cool concept but the actual levels and bosses are nothing to write home about. Just play the NES games, you're not missing anything here.
The one where MegaMan got Kirby muricanized