Okay, I’m thoroughly convinced. I’m on board with a new truth, an idea not enough people come to: it isn’t the case that Mega Man 4-6 is a bad trilogy, it’s just that Mega Man 4 is bad. 5 was an eager course correction, one that gave me hope despite a few of its failings, and 6… well… Mega Man 6 is about as good as Mega Man 2, honestly.
A lot of it is because of Rush. Since his debut, Rush was progressively getting worse, to the point of just being an irritant partner in 5. A solution was needed to make the broader cast work, and we got it in the adapters, where Man and Dog combine to become their own best friend, available in two flavours, Jet and Power. Literal game changers.
The Jet Adapter allows Mega Man the power of flight, for a very limited period of time, a frankly broken level of platforming freedom that would have destroyed any earlier entry, but here inspired better level design, and often has you needing to use the Jet form to access power-ups or correct pathways (more on that in a bit), encouraging a bit of movement off the beaten path.
The Power Adapter is also this, but insanely destructive. Short range blasts of energy that can be charged for an even shorter range hit capable of destroying guarding enemies in a single hit, or even the suspiciously cracked blocks that hide power-ups or correct pathways (more on that in a- oh I said that already). The comical way some enemies speedily bounce off screen when hit with a charged shot is ridiculously satisfying, and I think this may rank among my favourite power-ups in the franchise. It helps that there’s a (skippable) little cutscene that shows our daring duo fuse together each time you select these costumes. Camp brilliance.
Both of these suits add a lot to the game, but take away Mega Man’s slide, so they don’t feel like a guaranteed optimum strategy as much as part of a three-pronged trident in Mega Man’s arsenal now. All three ways of being are necessary, and bring something to the party.
Another new, underrated feature is the Energy Balancer, a simple addition that stops you needing to change weapon when picking up energy, instead refilling the most empty one in your arsenal, which is just… that’s how it should be. It’s mad that this hasn’t always been the case. The only downside is that it’s hidden away on a different route to the correct pathway in the stage it’s on, and as such easy to miss.
Oh, the correct pathways, yeah. So often in robot master stages there’ll be two possible routes to take, and whichever one is harder to reach will inevitably turn out to be the better path to take, and rewards you with either some items or, upon beating the robot master, one of four BEAT letters to bring everyone’s favourite bird back into your arsenal. It’s a small bit of diversity in level design that makes the game feel bigger, even if you’re unlikely to ever take the wrong route once you’re aware of the feature.
The robot masters themselves are the most Kinnikuman they’ve ever been (and they have, by nature, always felt a bit like Kinnikuman characters). By virtue of an international competition we are graced by a range of characters that feature casual regional stereotyping, yes, but not offensively so, allowing for a greater sense of cartoon silliness to what are honestly the smallest obstacles in these games at this point. I like… most of them, design-wise, and gameplay wise the balance between challenge and gleeful destroying with the correct weapon feels pretty satisfying, shout-out to Centaur Man, who poses almost no threat, but whose gimmick makes the fight feel bigger than it is.
The final run (once again in two distinct parts, for the least convincing story reasons ever) was pretty good. I had taken some night nurse before going in, so my memory is pretty fuzzy, but it flew by without frustrating me or dragging itself out, and had me chuckling at some of the boss designs, which were either silly or I was just that out of it. At one point Wily is in a big shoe. It’s not a shoe, it’s a big UFO with spikes on the bottom, but it makes me think of a shoe, and does what shoes do. That’s great. How could anyone not love that. And there’s a dinosaur, I think! And a shitty Metal Slug! How did I finish the game in this state?!
I was going to take a break after 6, expecting to feel deflated, but this slapped, I’m energised again. Time to move onto the SNES, and see what 7 brings to the table. I’m not 100% sure I ever finished it as a kid/teen. Should be fun.
A lot of it is because of Rush. Since his debut, Rush was progressively getting worse, to the point of just being an irritant partner in 5. A solution was needed to make the broader cast work, and we got it in the adapters, where Man and Dog combine to become their own best friend, available in two flavours, Jet and Power. Literal game changers.
The Jet Adapter allows Mega Man the power of flight, for a very limited period of time, a frankly broken level of platforming freedom that would have destroyed any earlier entry, but here inspired better level design, and often has you needing to use the Jet form to access power-ups or correct pathways (more on that in a bit), encouraging a bit of movement off the beaten path.
The Power Adapter is also this, but insanely destructive. Short range blasts of energy that can be charged for an even shorter range hit capable of destroying guarding enemies in a single hit, or even the suspiciously cracked blocks that hide power-ups or correct pathways (more on that in a- oh I said that already). The comical way some enemies speedily bounce off screen when hit with a charged shot is ridiculously satisfying, and I think this may rank among my favourite power-ups in the franchise. It helps that there’s a (skippable) little cutscene that shows our daring duo fuse together each time you select these costumes. Camp brilliance.
Both of these suits add a lot to the game, but take away Mega Man’s slide, so they don’t feel like a guaranteed optimum strategy as much as part of a three-pronged trident in Mega Man’s arsenal now. All three ways of being are necessary, and bring something to the party.
Another new, underrated feature is the Energy Balancer, a simple addition that stops you needing to change weapon when picking up energy, instead refilling the most empty one in your arsenal, which is just… that’s how it should be. It’s mad that this hasn’t always been the case. The only downside is that it’s hidden away on a different route to the correct pathway in the stage it’s on, and as such easy to miss.
Oh, the correct pathways, yeah. So often in robot master stages there’ll be two possible routes to take, and whichever one is harder to reach will inevitably turn out to be the better path to take, and rewards you with either some items or, upon beating the robot master, one of four BEAT letters to bring everyone’s favourite bird back into your arsenal. It’s a small bit of diversity in level design that makes the game feel bigger, even if you’re unlikely to ever take the wrong route once you’re aware of the feature.
The robot masters themselves are the most Kinnikuman they’ve ever been (and they have, by nature, always felt a bit like Kinnikuman characters). By virtue of an international competition we are graced by a range of characters that feature casual regional stereotyping, yes, but not offensively so, allowing for a greater sense of cartoon silliness to what are honestly the smallest obstacles in these games at this point. I like… most of them, design-wise, and gameplay wise the balance between challenge and gleeful destroying with the correct weapon feels pretty satisfying, shout-out to Centaur Man, who poses almost no threat, but whose gimmick makes the fight feel bigger than it is.
The final run (once again in two distinct parts, for the least convincing story reasons ever) was pretty good. I had taken some night nurse before going in, so my memory is pretty fuzzy, but it flew by without frustrating me or dragging itself out, and had me chuckling at some of the boss designs, which were either silly or I was just that out of it. At one point Wily is in a big shoe. It’s not a shoe, it’s a big UFO with spikes on the bottom, but it makes me think of a shoe, and does what shoes do. That’s great. How could anyone not love that. And there’s a dinosaur, I think! And a shitty Metal Slug! How did I finish the game in this state?!
I was going to take a break after 6, expecting to feel deflated, but this slapped, I’m energised again. Time to move onto the SNES, and see what 7 brings to the table. I’m not 100% sure I ever finished it as a kid/teen. Should be fun.