I feel like an eternal question among Mega Man fans is whether this or Mega Man 3 is better. I’m still a whole replay of a game away from answering that question, but one I didn’t expect to come across was… is this even better than the original?
I’m the sort of game-playing person who loves exploratory first entries in series, warts and all, and as such the original Mega Man really does it for me, from the needless scores to the tight selection of bosses to the frankly impossibly useful elec beam pause glitch. Mega Man 2 still feels like it’s working stuff out, but has bells, whistles, and robot masters galore, a much more polished experience only really let down by a final boss trio that starts annoying and ends boring (hilarious as the final reveal is). But all that polish means I have to take the flaws more seriously (what few there are), and also means it’s just… less exciting.
That said, it still rules, and the things it does better it REALLY does better. I found myself using far more of my abilities outside of boss rooms, especially the new trio of items, all of which feel like what the magnet beam was supposed to be, but without the bullshit of being optional items. Item 1 in particular is kind of amazing, as being able to generate three platforms should be busted as all heck, but it just works and provides a couple of late game challenges. The wood shield… well, it is actually busted, trivialising certain rooms, but that just makes me feel like a certified G and bonafide stud for having obtained it. Also shout out to Flash Man’s power, which can’t even fully kill Quick Man. Miserable.
Having a specific boss rush rather than the original’s way of integrating them into the Wily levels is… better. I want to say better. It feels more video gamey, and is a nice challenge. It seems a shame to have lost that touch of stumbling across an old foe again as you close in on Wily. It’s more purposeful, more deliberate, for good or ill.
Beyond that it’s just the things you already know. Stages look good and are less cheap than the original. The music is genuinely an all-timer soundtrack for 8-bit systems. The little easter egg (ha) of being able to have birds replace the stars when you select a stage shows a sense of fun and attention to detail that would come to define the series for me. It just works. The whole thing just works.
But which would I rather replay? Well, the original, but this is nipping at its heels, and as I go to replay MM3 I feel like a new king is out to pick up his crown. But we’ll see how that plays out.
I’m the sort of game-playing person who loves exploratory first entries in series, warts and all, and as such the original Mega Man really does it for me, from the needless scores to the tight selection of bosses to the frankly impossibly useful elec beam pause glitch. Mega Man 2 still feels like it’s working stuff out, but has bells, whistles, and robot masters galore, a much more polished experience only really let down by a final boss trio that starts annoying and ends boring (hilarious as the final reveal is). But all that polish means I have to take the flaws more seriously (what few there are), and also means it’s just… less exciting.
That said, it still rules, and the things it does better it REALLY does better. I found myself using far more of my abilities outside of boss rooms, especially the new trio of items, all of which feel like what the magnet beam was supposed to be, but without the bullshit of being optional items. Item 1 in particular is kind of amazing, as being able to generate three platforms should be busted as all heck, but it just works and provides a couple of late game challenges. The wood shield… well, it is actually busted, trivialising certain rooms, but that just makes me feel like a certified G and bonafide stud for having obtained it. Also shout out to Flash Man’s power, which can’t even fully kill Quick Man. Miserable.
Having a specific boss rush rather than the original’s way of integrating them into the Wily levels is… better. I want to say better. It feels more video gamey, and is a nice challenge. It seems a shame to have lost that touch of stumbling across an old foe again as you close in on Wily. It’s more purposeful, more deliberate, for good or ill.
Beyond that it’s just the things you already know. Stages look good and are less cheap than the original. The music is genuinely an all-timer soundtrack for 8-bit systems. The little easter egg (ha) of being able to have birds replace the stars when you select a stage shows a sense of fun and attention to detail that would come to define the series for me. It just works. The whole thing just works.
But which would I rather replay? Well, the original, but this is nipping at its heels, and as I go to replay MM3 I feel like a new king is out to pick up his crown. But we’ll see how that plays out.