It’s the most iconic mega man game for a reason. Everything takes a big step up. The level design is tremendous; they clearly have learned how to create and use platforming gimmicks. The music is, obviously, top notch. The graphics are given much more detail than MM1. And this is the best grouping of 8 robot master boss fights.
Here, the key is variety. The Wood Man fight is completely scripted, all you have to do is survive it and get damage in when possible to cut it short. Crash Man only responds to your inputs (only running back and forth if you don’t do anything). Quick Man seems to be completely random in his actions, making it impossible to really learn a pattern. And the others all fall somewhere on that spectrum of randomness between Wood Man and Quick Man. So too, does variety play into what makes the levels so good. Quick Man’s stage is famous for its instant death laser beams, making the challenge in that stage purely about platforming, and, crucially, quick platforming. Wood Man, on the other hand, doesn’t really have a stage gimmick, and bottomless pits are never really a threat. Rather, his stage is made difficult by the presence of the different meaty enemies in his stage. You need to go slowly and take your time to fight the enemies. Both stages are difficult, but in different ways and that’s what elevates this game.
The negatives in this game are the weapon selection and the late game. While I don’t really think any of the NES games have a GOOD selection of weapons, the overpoweredness of the metal blade just gives the excuse to never think about their weapons beyond trying to figure out boss weaknesses. In fact, so many stage enemies are impervious to the RM weapons, that you’re kinda punished for even experimenting. And for the late game, the first Wily Stage is iconic for all the obvious reasons. All-time great music, you genuinely feel like you’re invading a castle exterior, and an iconic boss with a fantastic introduction. Unfortunately, the rest of the game after that kinda sucks. The Boobeam Trap is probably the worst mega man boss fight ever. MM 1-3 all suffered through a tight development schedule that forced them to have to cut some corners, and that always shows in the late game.
Here, the key is variety. The Wood Man fight is completely scripted, all you have to do is survive it and get damage in when possible to cut it short. Crash Man only responds to your inputs (only running back and forth if you don’t do anything). Quick Man seems to be completely random in his actions, making it impossible to really learn a pattern. And the others all fall somewhere on that spectrum of randomness between Wood Man and Quick Man. So too, does variety play into what makes the levels so good. Quick Man’s stage is famous for its instant death laser beams, making the challenge in that stage purely about platforming, and, crucially, quick platforming. Wood Man, on the other hand, doesn’t really have a stage gimmick, and bottomless pits are never really a threat. Rather, his stage is made difficult by the presence of the different meaty enemies in his stage. You need to go slowly and take your time to fight the enemies. Both stages are difficult, but in different ways and that’s what elevates this game.
The negatives in this game are the weapon selection and the late game. While I don’t really think any of the NES games have a GOOD selection of weapons, the overpoweredness of the metal blade just gives the excuse to never think about their weapons beyond trying to figure out boss weaknesses. In fact, so many stage enemies are impervious to the RM weapons, that you’re kinda punished for even experimenting. And for the late game, the first Wily Stage is iconic for all the obvious reasons. All-time great music, you genuinely feel like you’re invading a castle exterior, and an iconic boss with a fantastic introduction. Unfortunately, the rest of the game after that kinda sucks. The Boobeam Trap is probably the worst mega man boss fight ever. MM 1-3 all suffered through a tight development schedule that forced them to have to cut some corners, and that always shows in the late game.