While okay, Mega Man 5 for me is the weakest one so far. While there is some creative stuff like the jetski in Wave Man, the Gravity in Gravity Man and the snake block esque section in Darkman Stage 3, the majority of the game just feels so "been there done that". It just kinda exists. Oh and the weapon selection is the worst one so far containing trash like Power Stone, Charge Kick and Water Wave. That being said, it's still mostly alright and is definitely not painful to play but there are much better classic games out there for me, including the gameboy version of this one that we'll get to much later.

In my opinion, this trumps the original trilogy for me. It's not perfect, I'll admit. I'm a bit iffy on the Wily stages, the music, while good, isn't as good as 2 or 3, and the Robot Master battles aren't at their prime yet. But that's all the problems I have with this game. The best way I can describe this game is that it's just so consistently fun. Most of the levels have some interesting setpiece and gimmick that makes it unique and enjoyable. And for the first time in Mega Man history, this is where I actually give a shit about the weapons! The Pharaoh Shot especially is one of my favourite weapons in the series. While it has enough bumps keeping it from a 10, Mega Man 4 is still an amazing game and doesn't deserve to be left in the dust.

Rushed development can seriously hold a game back from reaching it's true peak, and Mega Man 3 is kind of an example of this. I like this game still, as shown by it's rating I gave, but it suffers from being rushed. The first 8 Robot Master Stages, barring Hard Man (what kind of name is that), are really good. They have a nice sense of progression and have interesting gimmicks to keep you on your toes, not to mention great setpieces as well. Oh and the music for the game is great but that's a no-brainer. However after the 8 Robot Master stages, this game kind of falls apart. The Doc Robot Stages, aside from being annoying, feel like padding to a game that doesn't need it. And the Wily Stages? Ha. They are a complete joke. The game also suffers from mostly subpar to awful weapons (The Spark Shock is particular sucks the big one), lagging like crazy at certain points (Gemini Laser is the most guilty of this), and weakness chains being convoluted (3 WEAKNESS CHAINS). If the game was given more proper time in the oven, I would've bumped the rating up to a 9/10-ish rating, but as it is, due to the flaws I mentioned, I only give this one a 7/10. This is still a good game, but not one of my personal favourites.

I'm sorry if this review is so long, I had a lot to say about this game