Mega Man 6 ended up being my favorite NES Mega Man title.

I love the Robot Master designs in this one, and I think that most bosses have a good level of challenge without them feeling unfair even without using the weapon they're weak against. The Wily bosses in Mega Man 6 are the easiest ones so far, but I prefer easy bosses over ones where you're forced to play the waiting game until a small window of opportunity presents itself where you only get to deal a miniscule amount of damage.

I found myself using more of Mega Man's arsenal this time around compared to 5, which I think is great. Beat is once again an optional unlock, but I never found a good use for him this time around either, which is unfortunate.
I liked the new adapter upgrades, as the usual Rush upgrades had started getting stale. The Rush Power Adapter has its few use cases, however this is the most uninteresting of the pair. The Rush Jet Adapter meanwhile is busted and I honestly love it for it. Having a jet pack is simply awesome. I unfortunately missed the Energy Balancer, but I love that it's there. Not having to go into the pause menu before picking up a weapon charge pickup in order to switch to a weapon that needs charging is a godsend. I wish that this feature would come pre-unlocked in all games, as this merely has an effect on the player's convenience, and doesn't make the game necessarily easier.

The music is fine this time around. No particular bangers come to mind, but the game has a generally nice aesthetic. I loved the stage theming, and the game features some really nice sprite work.

The quality of the NES Mega Man titles have gone up significantly since the first release. While the road has been pretty bumpy up to 6 with some questionable design choices, I ultimately think that the general quality has steadily been going up. Mega Man 6 was surprisingly good, and if I were to pick one title to revisit in the future purely for the fun of it, I would most definitely pick 6 any day of the week.

Now it's time for the next generation of Mega Man with Mega Man 7 on the SNES!

Not sure if I'm getting better at Mega Man or if Mega Man 5 is the easiest game in the series as of its release.
The game is surprisingly generous with its 1-Up drops, and a majority of the bosses are a complete joke. Like, why is there a post-Robot Masters boss whose only attack pattern is walking back and forth? Mega Man 5 also has the easiest set of Robot Masters as of yet, with only a few of them posing a considerable challenge, at least when you understand their attack pattern.

The game has a few cheap "gotcha"-moments within its levels, but I honestly thought that the level designs were all-around pretty good in this one. A bit on the simpler side perhaps, but they were nice to plow through. Gravity Man's stage was a real highlight with the gravity flipping mechanic.

There was only one optional upgrade this time around in the form of Beat the bird. Collecting letters in each stage in order to unlock him was not as compelling as trying to find hidden routes like in Mega Man 4. Most of the letters are placed in plain sight, while the one in Stone Man's stage was hidden behind a breakable wall. I honestly wish that all of the letters were hidden in a similar manner, but oh well.
However, I didn't find much utility in using Beat -- or any of the unlockable weapons for that matter -- which was a bit disappointing. One of the great joys of a Mega Man game for me is discovering how the weapons and upgrades can make my life easier during a stage or a boss. I tried to experiment with my new weapons, but ultimately came to the conclusion that they were more effort than they were worth, and that the Mega Buster is simply better 90% of the time.

Mega Man 5 is simply more Mega Man, for better or for worse. Nothing major is added, but nothing major is lost either. It's a fine game, and I think I would recommend this one as an entry point for people who are curious about the classic Mega Man games. However, I personally prefer 4 over this one.

The Mega Buster is an immensely appreciated addition to the series. This title also adds some optional branching paths within the stages. Some contain goodies such as E-tanks and extra lives, while others reward you with entirely new tools for your arsenal. Stumbling upon the Balloon upgrade by complete accident, and gaining the option to utilize it during the final stages during the game to make some platforming challenges easier felt incredibly rewarding.

Mega Man 4 contains both some of the easiest and the toughest Robot Masters I've fought as of yet. Toad Man for example is a complete joke, while Ring Man was a tough nut to crack, even with the weapon he's weak to.
Once again, I feel like the conclusion of Mega Man 4 falls flat due to some incredibly poor boss designs. Wily phase 2 almost made me rage quit until I found out that you can detonate the Drill Bombs on command. This made the fight much easier, but you are still forced to play the waiting game due to the boss's movements being random, and you have to wait for the optimal opportunity to strike if you can't afford to take any hits. Meanwhile, Wily's final phase was so easy that I question why it even was there to begin with.

With the ability to both slide and charge shots, I feel like Mega Man is starting to resemble Mega Man X, which I think is a great thing to see. Experiencing the progression of the series myself is a great time, and I can't wait to see what Mega Man 5 has to offer.