Doctor Cossack looks like my dad.

Starting off with what can only be called a "previously on Mega Man!" cutscene sequence before the title drops, Mega Man 4 is a game that has fully embraced its Saturday Morning Cartoon nature.

You get more guys to fight, more music to listen to while you make your way to fight them, and two new ways to get around on that way.

Sadly though, the Wire Adaptor is made pretty useless when compared to the already established Rush Coil and Rush Jet. What a shame.

Despite the stumbles it made in the movement department, Mega Man 4 finally gives us the ability to fire a charged buster shot, dealing triple the damage of a regular shot. The charge shot itself looks kind of weird though. It looks slimy and not at all like something that will blast through a robot.

Mega Man 4 also has the most infuriating final boss, because you can't fight it without its weakness. Good luck grinding to fill up that ammo after you already spent it all.

I've beaten Mega Man 4 something like three or four times. It's pretty good, and the new additions are cute and fun, but it doesn't shine, it doesn't sing. It goes by too fast to even hear any singing that could happen. I don't think i could fully recommend this one, but i would certainly recommend checking out the promotional art for it. Skull Man's skull shaped shoulder pads are an excellent design choice.

I typically don't have much to say about Classic Rockman games, as the X series is much more my cup of tea, but this one was cool enough to warrant some comments. The Robot Masters of this one were much more challenging and fun to beat than other games, I loved learning all their patterns. Genuinely takes some skill to beat a lot of these guys if you're not just looping or stalling them with weaknesses like Toad Man or Pharaoh Man. I don't think their weaknesses are particularly obvious, though, and that's half the fun of Rockman for me: seeing the names and designs of all the bosses you'll face, trying to "solve" their weaknesses with logic, and then experimenting to see if you're right. Some made sense, some were completely wack to the point where I was getting frustrated spending time playing through the whole stage, many of which are also very difficult, just to find out I was wrong. Even so, I love all the designs of these Robot Masters, if nothing else.

Dr. Cossack and Kalinka were cute as a subversion of expectations, the first time a "twist" villain was done in one of these games.

The final Wily Capsule fight is absolutely the standout part of the whole game, though. Really awesome and challenging fight.

Mega Man 4? More like Mega Man bore.

I've only liked one Mega Man game so far (MM3) but this is the first game in the series that I think I'd call outright bad. MM1 and 2 may be fundamentally flawed in a way that 4 isn't, but this is a much more soulless experience. Weapons are mostly just slightly altered versions of previous weapons, the music doesn't match up to 2's, and I just hate the level design. The level design in this game is completely barren, basic, and way less intricate than in previous games, with virtually no risk-reward elements. To compensate, there's way more enemy spam throughout, as if that can substitute for challenging difficulty. And the castle levels, my least favourite part of any Mega Man game, are doubled down here, making them feel even more endless than they already were. Yippee...

Two stars because Mega Man controls great as always (the only reason I'm still pushing through these games), the charged shot is a welcome addition, and the visuals and presentation are an awesome step up from the first three games and probably one of the best-looking NES games in general. Still, bad game. Holding out hope that I'll like 5 and 6 because I've made a commitment to finishing these games before I start the X series.

Mega Man shattered Dr. Wily’s plans three times and world peace has been maintained so far… but history repeats itself.

If you couldn’t tell from my journal entries, I am absolutely obliterating Mega Man games this weekend. Mega Man 4 introduces the Mega Buster, thereby rounding out the arsenal that will define these games for years to come. This one just feels great, and it’s also got my favorite group of Robot Masters so far (ESPECIALLY Skull Man). It also seems like Capcom is getting closer and closer to defining the perfect difficulty curve for these games, although I should note that this one drops lives and Energy Tanks like candy. Even with all of that in mind, Mega Man 4 doesn’t have too many new tricks. On to Mega Man 5…

Another great Mega Man game with a soundtrack that's up there with MM2. The addition of charged shots make taking on any robot master without their weakness more viable although I preferred the simplicity without it. I feel the same way about the "secret" paths that lead to the balloon & wire. Now every time there's an odd looking pit or an area that could walk-off to another screen I feel like I have to check it just incase. The length also feels slightly too long again. I'm convinced by this point that the perfect formula is just the robot masters & then Wily. I did however appreciate the increased difficulty.