really good first half with a massively deflating second half, why does Doc Robot exist
Oh! Vast improvements over 1 and 2. The slide is finally here!
The stages are better, most of the weapons are usable (some are not!), the enemy variety is good as well.
The bosses are way more interesting to fight (loved the fight with snake man and gemini man) than the other two and the willy castle alongside the robot masters from 1 and 2 are great additions that complement well the game.
So far, I enjoyed it way more than 1 and 2.
On to 4!
The stages are better, most of the weapons are usable (some are not!), the enemy variety is good as well.
The bosses are way more interesting to fight (loved the fight with snake man and gemini man) than the other two and the willy castle alongside the robot masters from 1 and 2 are great additions that complement well the game.
So far, I enjoyed it way more than 1 and 2.
On to 4!
for a released beta, it’s a pretty cool one. it just… really needed more time.
Pretty sure I enjoyed this way more than Mega Man 2 in some sort of ways.
Rush was the missing piece all along. The items from Mega Man 2 were all good and well, the magnet beam in Mega Man 1 was a neat starting point, but what non-boss, traversal based items needed all along was a bit of personality, something to make you want to see them beam down and hang out with you. Mega Man needed his Mega Man's Best Friend. Rush fills that slot brilliantly, is a good boy, isn't actually named after the band, and is emblematic of the sort of conclusions reached in Mega Man's earliest days, the very end points that make this the best Mega Man to date, and possibly the best Mega Man game of all time.
I've gotten a bit hung up on comparing the initial three games of the series in my previous reviews, and I think ultimately that was done with the wrong motivation. I was trying to work out which one is better, when instead what you should get from comparing the three is a sense of iteration and polish unmatched in any trilogy of games outside of maybe the first three Metroids, and that took three whole systems in comparison. Everything has levelled up game to game, and now we're here with excellent movement, challenging bosses, a greater sense of story, tight-ass level design, better weaponry, and a lovable dog. You couldn't get to this point without the first two games, and as I'm fairly sure I'm going to learn soon enough, you can't go past this point without additions or subtractions that negatively affect the experience.
Something I really appreciate is how challenging getting on the robot master loops can feel. Beating Snake Man with a buster isn't academically hard, I know I just have to occupy the middle pillar and jump over him when he approaches, but in action it's an exercise in timing and pixel-perfect jumps. In earlier games it definitely felt more like any loops required one lame duck master to get on, and that just isn't the case here.
Weapons all feel frequently useful outside of boss battles, especially with the Hammer Joes, who are a fantastic change from the Sniper Joe, especially as you can actually get a feel for their timing. Shadow Man's shuriken is less OP than the Metal Blade, which encourages more experimentation, and the Hard Knuckle's delayed attack leads to some fun scenarios all the way to Wily, where you just kind of chuckle and shake your head for jumping a smidge too early. And boy howdy, that final moment with Top Man's power. Unbeatable.
Proto Man's little theme is great, as is the continuing thread of his appearances and fights throughout the story. The world of Mega Man feels bigger because of it, and I'm glad for it.
Oh, and the slide. The slide is largely a novelty, but there was a moment where it finally clicked for being as brilliant as it is, and that's against the new Yellow Devil. The Yellow Devil sucks in Mega Man 1. It often feels undodgeable when it spawns in brick by brick. Here it's actively fun, because the slide means you get to make DECISIONS. Do you focus on jumps, do you slide under the head height ones, risking a need for split second timing on the next one? It's a small touch but it makes for a way more fun time. I love the slide because of bits like that, and less when it's just a way to pretend a 1-up is harder to get.
Oh, the negatives. I had way too many E-tanks and lives by the end. I don't think Mega Man 3 is easy, but it was making it feel too safe to have these options in the pocket. Sometimes you have to fake insecurity by not feeding the player goodies non-stop.
But that's it. My only criticism. I even like the Doc Robot stuff. Five stars, great game, best in series maybe.
I've gotten a bit hung up on comparing the initial three games of the series in my previous reviews, and I think ultimately that was done with the wrong motivation. I was trying to work out which one is better, when instead what you should get from comparing the three is a sense of iteration and polish unmatched in any trilogy of games outside of maybe the first three Metroids, and that took three whole systems in comparison. Everything has levelled up game to game, and now we're here with excellent movement, challenging bosses, a greater sense of story, tight-ass level design, better weaponry, and a lovable dog. You couldn't get to this point without the first two games, and as I'm fairly sure I'm going to learn soon enough, you can't go past this point without additions or subtractions that negatively affect the experience.
Something I really appreciate is how challenging getting on the robot master loops can feel. Beating Snake Man with a buster isn't academically hard, I know I just have to occupy the middle pillar and jump over him when he approaches, but in action it's an exercise in timing and pixel-perfect jumps. In earlier games it definitely felt more like any loops required one lame duck master to get on, and that just isn't the case here.
Weapons all feel frequently useful outside of boss battles, especially with the Hammer Joes, who are a fantastic change from the Sniper Joe, especially as you can actually get a feel for their timing. Shadow Man's shuriken is less OP than the Metal Blade, which encourages more experimentation, and the Hard Knuckle's delayed attack leads to some fun scenarios all the way to Wily, where you just kind of chuckle and shake your head for jumping a smidge too early. And boy howdy, that final moment with Top Man's power. Unbeatable.
Proto Man's little theme is great, as is the continuing thread of his appearances and fights throughout the story. The world of Mega Man feels bigger because of it, and I'm glad for it.
Oh, and the slide. The slide is largely a novelty, but there was a moment where it finally clicked for being as brilliant as it is, and that's against the new Yellow Devil. The Yellow Devil sucks in Mega Man 1. It often feels undodgeable when it spawns in brick by brick. Here it's actively fun, because the slide means you get to make DECISIONS. Do you focus on jumps, do you slide under the head height ones, risking a need for split second timing on the next one? It's a small touch but it makes for a way more fun time. I love the slide because of bits like that, and less when it's just a way to pretend a 1-up is harder to get.
Oh, the negatives. I had way too many E-tanks and lives by the end. I don't think Mega Man 3 is easy, but it was making it feel too safe to have these options in the pocket. Sometimes you have to fake insecurity by not feeding the player goodies non-stop.
But that's it. My only criticism. I even like the Doc Robot stuff. Five stars, great game, best in series maybe.
Achei que atirava muita mais bullshit para a cara do jogador do que o segundo, tinha ideais muito boas mas acabou por ser um jogo mais para o irritante do que para o divertido.
لها لحظاتها لكن بشكل عام جزء ضعيف
Yk as much as I think that some of the things this game did are great (Mainly proto man, some of the music and the slide as a movement option), it's just not as interesting as the second one. None of the weapons really spoke to me, so I just ended up using the shuriken the most, which is just the megaman 2 metal man weapon but... worse. It was either that or the buster, as they were the only ones that actually helped me.
Rush is... ok I guess? it's a cool dog with some functions, but they were already in old games in some way or the other, so is it really new? not really
So yeah
OH also the boss fights were sooooo boring (sorry not sorry) and there were way too many of them for my liking, I actually had to play this game in more than one sitting cuz I was kinda disconnecting mentally
Tl:DR, It's fine ig
Rush is... ok I guess? it's a cool dog with some functions, but they were already in old games in some way or the other, so is it really new? not really
So yeah
OH also the boss fights were sooooo boring (sorry not sorry) and there were way too many of them for my liking, I actually had to play this game in more than one sitting cuz I was kinda disconnecting mentally
Tl:DR, It's fine ig
not terrible
Robo dog is cool but controls are kind of finnicky and most weapons are sort of weird, I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous ones.
Quite similar to its predecessor, but adds a couple of decent mechanics and weapons that increase the variety in gameplay!
I found this one to be a smidge tougher and I have yet to beat it. It is for sure one that I want to come back to and play again compared to the others.
Visually and mechanically, it’s almost beat for beat the same as 2. Although I think this one had the right amount of difficulty that I enjoy.
It wasn’t too hard, but it’s not easy either! The amount of final boss stages can get tiresome in the back half of the game which is where I decided to take a break in my Mega Man journey, but the fact of the matter is. Mega Man 3 is a slight improvement from 2. Purely on the adjustment in challenge and small inclusions!
I’ll be back for more on this one, without a doubt.
I found this one to be a smidge tougher and I have yet to beat it. It is for sure one that I want to come back to and play again compared to the others.
Visually and mechanically, it’s almost beat for beat the same as 2. Although I think this one had the right amount of difficulty that I enjoy.
It wasn’t too hard, but it’s not easy either! The amount of final boss stages can get tiresome in the back half of the game which is where I decided to take a break in my Mega Man journey, but the fact of the matter is. Mega Man 3 is a slight improvement from 2. Purely on the adjustment in challenge and small inclusions!
I’ll be back for more on this one, without a doubt.
The Doc Robot stages ruined this game.
Better than 2 in some ways, worse in others. I don't know if I LIKE Mega Man, which is weird. One of my favorite games is Mibibli's Quest, a pretty obvious MegaMan-type game that clearly takes inspiration from the series. But maybe I just think that game perfected that style of game for me? More than that, Mega Man is just messy, as retro games go. They are ambitious games, and they came out rapid fire, and because of that there are definitely tears here and there.
For Mega Man 3, that's the level design. Some of the levels man, they made me consider dropping. There's more tedium than there needs to be: lots of long hallways with the same enemies spawning over and over, levels that softlock if you run out of Rush, and later in the game bosses that send you back to the beginning of the level, though at least these levels tend to be shorter to account for it. Some of this was definitely present in Mega Man 2, but I remember a lot more escalation in that game, presenting old threats in new contexts, and there's certainly less of that here.
That being said, there's a lot to love here. Mega Man 2's soundtrack is classic, but some stages here I think outshine some of 2's, Spark Man, Needle Man, and Top Man being my personal standouts. Protoman is certifiably cool, and I love his GaoSilver ass whistle entrance. The latter half may feel underwhelming, but I appreciated the copious resources that let me experiment more with the different shots. It makes up for the early difficulty wall, cause holy shit the robot masters cannot stop moving and do like twice as much contact damage as in 2.
The Mans (plural) themselves are like... bad but in a funny way that I like. Some weaknesses are just asinine but I found childish glee in trying to find out each one. (Hard Man HATES snakes dude like he HAS to) And Rush is sick! Yeah the submarine is like... useless other than one level but I'll take this jet dog over the numbered machines anyday.
I come out of this game not thrilled to get into the next title. I feel Mega Man'd out. But I do remember what made the first two so addicting, as it's been awhile, and even if it's not my preferred style of platformer, it certainly deserves its place.
For Mega Man 3, that's the level design. Some of the levels man, they made me consider dropping. There's more tedium than there needs to be: lots of long hallways with the same enemies spawning over and over, levels that softlock if you run out of Rush, and later in the game bosses that send you back to the beginning of the level, though at least these levels tend to be shorter to account for it. Some of this was definitely present in Mega Man 2, but I remember a lot more escalation in that game, presenting old threats in new contexts, and there's certainly less of that here.
That being said, there's a lot to love here. Mega Man 2's soundtrack is classic, but some stages here I think outshine some of 2's, Spark Man, Needle Man, and Top Man being my personal standouts. Protoman is certifiably cool, and I love his GaoSilver ass whistle entrance. The latter half may feel underwhelming, but I appreciated the copious resources that let me experiment more with the different shots. It makes up for the early difficulty wall, cause holy shit the robot masters cannot stop moving and do like twice as much contact damage as in 2.
The Mans (plural) themselves are like... bad but in a funny way that I like. Some weaknesses are just asinine but I found childish glee in trying to find out each one. (Hard Man HATES snakes dude like he HAS to) And Rush is sick! Yeah the submarine is like... useless other than one level but I'll take this jet dog over the numbered machines anyday.
I come out of this game not thrilled to get into the next title. I feel Mega Man'd out. But I do remember what made the first two so addicting, as it's been awhile, and even if it's not my preferred style of platformer, it certainly deserves its place.
En mi opinión el juego de Mega Man mas difícil, pero también el mejor, con buenas mejoras y mas contenido.
Pretty good continuation of Mega Man 2, interesting how they started adding fan service moments even this early in the series.
Oh Mega Man 3. You beautiful mess of a game. You mesmerized me with stronger presentation, the introduction of Rush and a game changing slide mechanic. I want to love you but then you introduced Doc Robot stages and obtuse boss weaknesses. Because of that we are on thin ice. I see you are trying to make up for it with a forgiving Wily Stage and that is a good start. But just know... I've got my eye on you.
solid game but a bit rushed
sliding is too weird
In a similar vein to how Mega Man 2 had caught me by surprise on how competent it was on my revisit, I had forgotten just how unpolished this game was.
If I was rating only the 8 first stages, and ONLY their level design, this would probably be a 7 or an 8, but that would require one to ignore just how baffling the hitboxes are, how the game sometimes eats your inputs, the massive amount of lag this game has even for NES standards, the lack of actual patterns on certain bosses, and the absolute nonsensically designed second half of the game that genuinely is on the running for some of the worst this franchise can provide.
If this game HAD the time to be developed it could've been great, there's clearly a lot of potential here and a lot of passion by the development team, but as you can clearly see by the stage select visual glitch that has never been fixed in any version of this game, it seems that Capcom didn't and doesn't care, after all, we still have people to this day arguing if this hot mess of a game (that unironically can be compared to Sonic 06 at times) is the best Mega Man up there with Mega Man 2.
If I was rating only the 8 first stages, and ONLY their level design, this would probably be a 7 or an 8, but that would require one to ignore just how baffling the hitboxes are, how the game sometimes eats your inputs, the massive amount of lag this game has even for NES standards, the lack of actual patterns on certain bosses, and the absolute nonsensically designed second half of the game that genuinely is on the running for some of the worst this franchise can provide.
If this game HAD the time to be developed it could've been great, there's clearly a lot of potential here and a lot of passion by the development team, but as you can clearly see by the stage select visual glitch that has never been fixed in any version of this game, it seems that Capcom didn't and doesn't care, after all, we still have people to this day arguing if this hot mess of a game (that unironically can be compared to Sonic 06 at times) is the best Mega Man up there with Mega Man 2.
Classic Mega Man at its finest. It’s got that dog in it.
If Mega Man 2 improved on its predecessor by adding fun levels for the player to jump around in, Mega Man 3 improves on its predecessor by adding more things to do in new fun levels. The most noteworthy of these mechanical additions is Mega Man’s doggy friend Rush letting you jump and fly and occasionally swim. He’s a good boy.
That being said, I don’t want attention taken away from the slide, which I consider to be a huge step forward for Mega Man’s toolkit. Press down and jump and you briefly zip forward at half your height. It’s a little awkward to pull off but it’s satisfying and (with the right amount of skill) can be used for quick evasions and (with even more skill) extended jump distance.
The Robot Masters have fun designs, their stages have great music, you get to fight the bosses from MM2 again via the morbid Doc Robot (some kind of translation of its original name, Dokurobotto K-176), you get a ton of levels to play, Mega Man 3 has just about all you could ask of a Mega Man game. Except a charged shot, but I’m not docking points for that, they hadn’t thought of it yet at the time.
Mega Man 3 is on hardware that can struggle to allow for in-depth storytelling, and it was made in a time where the tricks to do that storytelling on that hardware hadn’t been discovered yet. As such, the Proto Man plotline, a fan favorite story beat, is left entirely to the ending, where the player is also left to infer a lot of the meat of this story. I’m a certified Mega Man Freak, so after hours of poring over manuals and comics, I can appreciate the story of Mega Man 3, but it would be nice to be able to just turn the game on and get the full experience. But that’s a discussion for old games as a whole, and not just Mega Man 3.
Something that bothers me is that the times that Proto Man is a mini boss, he is just regular ol Proto Man. But when we have our final showdown, he’s wearing his full mask with the Sniper Joe eye as Break Man. Those looks should have been switched around so that the player could assume they’ve been fighting an elite sniper joe. Then, we get the twist that he’s a guy like Mega Mn, and then at the end Dr. Light reveals he’s Mega Man’s long lost brother.
I’ve beaten Mega Man 3 about four or five times. It’s length and trickiness detract from its replayability, but I think it also adds to the substantialness of the experience. I recommend it to any video game enjoyer. It’s the best NES Mega Man game. No empty calories.
This is a pipe dream and a half but I fully welcome a Powered Up-style remake, just to get some cutscenes and dialogue to give us the angst and drama that this game deserves.
If Mega Man 2 improved on its predecessor by adding fun levels for the player to jump around in, Mega Man 3 improves on its predecessor by adding more things to do in new fun levels. The most noteworthy of these mechanical additions is Mega Man’s doggy friend Rush letting you jump and fly and occasionally swim. He’s a good boy.
That being said, I don’t want attention taken away from the slide, which I consider to be a huge step forward for Mega Man’s toolkit. Press down and jump and you briefly zip forward at half your height. It’s a little awkward to pull off but it’s satisfying and (with the right amount of skill) can be used for quick evasions and (with even more skill) extended jump distance.
The Robot Masters have fun designs, their stages have great music, you get to fight the bosses from MM2 again via the morbid Doc Robot (some kind of translation of its original name, Dokurobotto K-176), you get a ton of levels to play, Mega Man 3 has just about all you could ask of a Mega Man game. Except a charged shot, but I’m not docking points for that, they hadn’t thought of it yet at the time.
Mega Man 3 is on hardware that can struggle to allow for in-depth storytelling, and it was made in a time where the tricks to do that storytelling on that hardware hadn’t been discovered yet. As such, the Proto Man plotline, a fan favorite story beat, is left entirely to the ending, where the player is also left to infer a lot of the meat of this story. I’m a certified Mega Man Freak, so after hours of poring over manuals and comics, I can appreciate the story of Mega Man 3, but it would be nice to be able to just turn the game on and get the full experience. But that’s a discussion for old games as a whole, and not just Mega Man 3.
Something that bothers me is that the times that Proto Man is a mini boss, he is just regular ol Proto Man. But when we have our final showdown, he’s wearing his full mask with the Sniper Joe eye as Break Man. Those looks should have been switched around so that the player could assume they’ve been fighting an elite sniper joe. Then, we get the twist that he’s a guy like Mega Mn, and then at the end Dr. Light reveals he’s Mega Man’s long lost brother.
I’ve beaten Mega Man 3 about four or five times. It’s length and trickiness detract from its replayability, but I think it also adds to the substantialness of the experience. I recommend it to any video game enjoyer. It’s the best NES Mega Man game. No empty calories.
This is a pipe dream and a half but I fully welcome a Powered Up-style remake, just to get some cutscenes and dialogue to give us the angst and drama that this game deserves.
Hard to follow up Mega Man 2, but this actually does a great job. The weapons and stages remain fun as hell
Peak megaman until you get to the doc robot stages
this one had a little bit more interesting mechanics and stories like protoman, but some levels were really annoying and u could feel they were tryna stretch out this game a little bit. legacy collection rewind ON TOP
The first classic Mega Man game I thought was alright. Some people say the endgame is horrible but I don't think it's so bad. The weapons, bosses, and stages are all designed way better than the first two games for the most part. Still nothing too crazy though.
Jay Eazy Ain't Drop Yet Bruh !!
cine
New levels were fun, the inclusion of sliding was very much welcome, and while I wasn't too big on (some of) this game's weapons, the inclusion of Rush made up for it.
This whistle... It must belong to Proto Man!
Capcom seems to have taken the criticisms of Mega Man 2's low difficulty to heart. Between the tough new Robot Masters, Proto Man, the Doc Robots, and some tricky new levels, this game is BRUTAL. Luckily, it isn't as thankless as the first game—this one is a whole lot more fulfilling. I also laughed a bit when I got to Wily's Castle and I was subsequently showered with Energy Tanks and extra lives. You can almost hear Capcom begging for forgiveness.
Capcom seems to have taken the criticisms of Mega Man 2's low difficulty to heart. Between the tough new Robot Masters, Proto Man, the Doc Robots, and some tricky new levels, this game is BRUTAL. Luckily, it isn't as thankless as the first game—this one is a whole lot more fulfilling. I also laughed a bit when I got to Wily's Castle and I was subsequently showered with Energy Tanks and extra lives. You can almost hear Capcom begging for forgiveness.
A game that is certainly better than the first but noticeably worst than the second. It doesn't really do anything particularly new or great and feels more like a "here we go again" from Mega Man 2. Many others have said this here, but the game feels a bit too long for its own good and doesn't have any particularly iconic or remarkable levels or bosses. I had to replay this game to remember even the slightest detail about it after finishing it only a couple of years ago. The game is solid but highly forgettable.
i could go on for hours about why i hate this game and how it does basically everything wrong from weapons to bosses to levels to game structure and how much it recycles from the previous 2 games, but i don't have the energy to so just take this 1/10 review as it is