MANGOM1LK
(i played on a 3DS actually :p)
collected all star coins (besides one in the final castle i am currently still missing)
this game is very charming and i think a good deal of that was lost in the sequels. namely the soundtrack - most of the music was not reused (and the tracks which were sort of got butchered). overall i think this game is very solid, with excellent level design. it sort of falls down in the controls though, which was to be expected being built off of sm64ds, a fully 3d game. i'd say SMW still controls much better than this game does. also it really shits the bed here whenever there's a star coin that requires the Mini Mushroom - often it's not provided in the level, so you need to backtrack to 1-4 and finish it every time you die. that's my biggest complaint with the game though. it's very fun and very tightly designed. if i had to rank this with the classics i'd put it below smb3 and smw for the controls, but above all prior games.
collected all star coins (besides one in the final castle i am currently still missing)
this game is very charming and i think a good deal of that was lost in the sequels. namely the soundtrack - most of the music was not reused (and the tracks which were sort of got butchered). overall i think this game is very solid, with excellent level design. it sort of falls down in the controls though, which was to be expected being built off of sm64ds, a fully 3d game. i'd say SMW still controls much better than this game does. also it really shits the bed here whenever there's a star coin that requires the Mini Mushroom - often it's not provided in the level, so you need to backtrack to 1-4 and finish it every time you die. that's my biggest complaint with the game though. it's very fun and very tightly designed. if i had to rank this with the classics i'd put it below smb3 and smw for the controls, but above all prior games.
1987
(via Virtual Console, not Legacy Collection) This was my first time playing the NES version (I'd previously played the Wily Wars remake). This is a weird one because it has a lot of jank not present in later entries, but it also holds up a lot better than many other NES titles. It's quite visually appealing, with a well-defined art style. It's pretty simple, owing to the limitations of the platform, but I find that works well. Really the biggest problem here is the control. There's a bit of a delay when you start moving as well as a deceleration when you stop. This fucked me over kind of a lot and I never felt confident in the controls unlike later entries. Other than that, though, the difficulty design is mostly quite solid; you get unlimited continues (though no password feature like in 2 onward)
Overall a good time, a very good first step and a good game to own if you have a NES. Unfortunately this game has been outshined by pretty much every one of its sequels, however.
Overall a good time, a very good first step and a good game to own if you have a NES. Unfortunately this game has been outshined by pretty much every one of its sequels, however.
1996
A feast for the eyes and ears, this game unfortunately has a lot of gimmicky level design, and there's not too much substance between the gimmicks. Still, the collectible bolts system gives the game a great replay value (even if they're linked to the shop system, something I consider a bad idea), and the special weapons are very fun to use. Worth your time, even if you're missing out on the Saturn-exclusive content. (Just, uh, skip the cutscenes unless you know Japanese and can get your hands on a Rockman copy.)
Did an all-bolts run. Played on a PS2 via backwards compatibility. I have beaten this game before, but this was my first time without rewinds.
Did an all-bolts run. Played on a PS2 via backwards compatibility. I have beaten this game before, but this was my first time without rewinds.
1989
(Refraining from posting a full review until I beat this without rewinds)
1990
They shipped an unfinished game. Who is this, Sega?
Funni aside this game is very important and is usually fun but the doc robot stages kind of kill it for me, and the wily stages are very clearly not finished.
Funni aside this game is very important and is usually fun but the doc robot stages kind of kill it for me, and the wily stages are very clearly not finished.
1991
I've technically beaten this before but it was with rewinds and I barely remember it. Need to play through again
1995
I have beaten this before with rewinds. Have yet to beat the final boss on real hardware but everything else is done.
This game is honestly a treat. A lot of the other titles fail to provide incentive to experiment with weakness order and the like, but on my real-hardware run I decided to do Freeze Man first and Turbo Man after the halfway point, both of these open up alternate paths in the other stages. Great music, solid spritework, fun gameplay. It's Megaman, baby.
This game is honestly a treat. A lot of the other titles fail to provide incentive to experiment with weakness order and the like, but on my real-hardware run I decided to do Freeze Man first and Turbo Man after the halfway point, both of these open up alternate paths in the other stages. Great music, solid spritework, fun gameplay. It's Megaman, baby.
1998
Beaten before, though with rewinds. I have yet to beat the final boss on real hardware but everything else is done, like MM7
I think Mega Man 7 is slowly surpassing this game for me, but MM&B still has a lot going for it on Super Famicom. An interesting new map system for selecting levels, enjoyable level design, and this is also the only other game with the MM7 shop system (it's a lot easier to find here!!) (no MM9 and 10 don't count i haven't played them yet). If you're hungry for more Mega Man after finishing the other mainline games you should give this one a shot.
I think Mega Man 7 is slowly surpassing this game for me, but MM&B still has a lot going for it on Super Famicom. An interesting new map system for selecting levels, enjoyable level design, and this is also the only other game with the MM7 shop system (it's a lot easier to find here!!) (no MM9 and 10 don't count i haven't played them yet). If you're hungry for more Mega Man after finishing the other mainline games you should give this one a shot.
2007
Maybe I'm being a little too generous here (I grew up with this game), but this is an incredibly fun time. If you like platformers and you're ready for a touching story and fun worlds, this is a good one to go for. I know it's something of a black sheep among the Paper Mario series but that doesn't make it bad.
I remember enjoying my time with this one pretty well when I played it in 2017, but I think I need to do another playthrough before giving it a proper ranking. Still, it's well-loved for a reason.
2000
I keep picking this one up and putting it down, having played the first few chapters many times in the past. The furthest I ever got was Forever Forest, though, and then the save on my cart was gone the next time I went to play the game. Hopefully the battery isn't dying
I find this one difficult to recommend because it still has a lot of the same problems as Color Splash and Sticker Star, apparently. They're just hidden better here. One thing I will praise is the aesthetics. The art style is gorgeous, and the music slaps. However, the story can end up sort of one-note at times, and it feels like there were a lot of creative limitations at play with this one. Plus, the battle system is needlessly unfocused. This game is like those previous titles in that it's warring with its own identity; it's not really an RPG, but it's not really an adventure game either.
Never play this.
The only reason it's getting one star instead of just a half is because I actually like the music, even if the instrumentation is awful. Besides that, everything this game is and stands for is atrocious. Stay FAR, FAR away.
The only reason it's getting one star instead of just a half is because I actually like the music, even if the instrumentation is awful. Besides that, everything this game is and stands for is atrocious. Stay FAR, FAR away.
Decent enough. It's a far cry from Episode I, at any rate. Unfortunately, being associated with that game sort of brought it down at points. I'd say this is worth trying if you're curious but don't expect it to blow you away or anything.
2008
PLEASE play this on an Xbox Series system if you want good performance. Most other platforms this version saw release on have awful performance, and it ruins the experience completely.
So, this is something of a controversial title. Personally I really really enjoy it, but I also enjoy the Werehog and would never again touch the first-time experience with a ten-foot pole (if you haven't played this before and you have a good PC and access to Xenia, I will go ahead and plug my own damn mod to pave over these problems: https://gamebanana.com/mods/352055)
So, this is something of a controversial title. Personally I really really enjoy it, but I also enjoy the Werehog and would never again touch the first-time experience with a ten-foot pole (if you haven't played this before and you have a good PC and access to Xenia, I will go ahead and plug my own damn mod to pave over these problems: https://gamebanana.com/mods/352055)