CAPCATHON, GAME 14: Mega Man 4 (NES, 1991)
[Note that I played this game on the PS1, as part of the Rockman Complete Works series.]
Compared to its immediate predecessors, Mega Man 4 doesn't seem to have many immediate, "core" improvements to the series' formula. It instead chooses to refine the level designs in order to give the player a much smoother experience- however, it doesn't always succeed, and while still being a great time, in some ways it's lesser than MM2 or 3.
Mega Man controls just as well as he did in the previous game. He retains his slide, as well, but he has a new trick up his sleeve, the Charge Shot: by holding down the shoot button, Mega Man will begin charging his Mega Buster, and by releasing it he will fire a larger energy shot. There are two variations of it; a smaller spherical bullet and a longer blast. It's a great change, and the single greatest innovation the game brings. It's great to have a powerful offensive tool always at the ready even when other Special Weapons may be unavailable.
Speaking of the Special Weapons, I found them to be just as situational as the ones from 3. Some of them do have utility in certain situations, like with the walls that can be broken with the Drill Bomb, or with the Rain Flush's screen-clearing capabilities, but for most of the game I found myself mostly using the Mega Buster.
Rush returns (as do Rush Jet, Rush Coil and Rush Marine), but by going through some secret pathways in two Robot Master stages, you can find two extra "transport items": the Balloon, that can be used to create floating platforms to jump on, and the Wire, an awesome grappling hook that extends to the entire vertical height of the screen and allows Mega Man to hang from ceilings. They're well hidden and hard to find, but it's worth it to get them.
Most levels are well-designed and smooth to navigate; like the previous games I felt like the mistakes I made were my fault and not cheap shots. The levels and bosses that inhabit them are just as cute and colorful as always, so I'm satisfied on that front.
What I appreciate less is the second half of the game's habit of peppering a lot of spikes about the levels, which is never great considering that coming in contact with them means instant death- even a minor slip up means starting from the checkpoint. While not the end of the world, I feel like this cheapens the levels a bit and detracts from the levels' appeal, especially contrasting them with the much easier bosses.
I think that this is about when series fatigue sets in for the classic Mega Man games. While it's still a fun and well-made game, you couldn't be faulted for thinking it's a bit boring. I'd still recommend it, but less enthusiastically than 2 or 3.
[Note that I played this game on the PS1, as part of the Rockman Complete Works series.]
Compared to its immediate predecessors, Mega Man 4 doesn't seem to have many immediate, "core" improvements to the series' formula. It instead chooses to refine the level designs in order to give the player a much smoother experience- however, it doesn't always succeed, and while still being a great time, in some ways it's lesser than MM2 or 3.
Mega Man controls just as well as he did in the previous game. He retains his slide, as well, but he has a new trick up his sleeve, the Charge Shot: by holding down the shoot button, Mega Man will begin charging his Mega Buster, and by releasing it he will fire a larger energy shot. There are two variations of it; a smaller spherical bullet and a longer blast. It's a great change, and the single greatest innovation the game brings. It's great to have a powerful offensive tool always at the ready even when other Special Weapons may be unavailable.
Speaking of the Special Weapons, I found them to be just as situational as the ones from 3. Some of them do have utility in certain situations, like with the walls that can be broken with the Drill Bomb, or with the Rain Flush's screen-clearing capabilities, but for most of the game I found myself mostly using the Mega Buster.
Rush returns (as do Rush Jet, Rush Coil and Rush Marine), but by going through some secret pathways in two Robot Master stages, you can find two extra "transport items": the Balloon, that can be used to create floating platforms to jump on, and the Wire, an awesome grappling hook that extends to the entire vertical height of the screen and allows Mega Man to hang from ceilings. They're well hidden and hard to find, but it's worth it to get them.
Most levels are well-designed and smooth to navigate; like the previous games I felt like the mistakes I made were my fault and not cheap shots. The levels and bosses that inhabit them are just as cute and colorful as always, so I'm satisfied on that front.
What I appreciate less is the second half of the game's habit of peppering a lot of spikes about the levels, which is never great considering that coming in contact with them means instant death- even a minor slip up means starting from the checkpoint. While not the end of the world, I feel like this cheapens the levels a bit and detracts from the levels' appeal, especially contrasting them with the much easier bosses.
I think that this is about when series fatigue sets in for the classic Mega Man games. While it's still a fun and well-made game, you couldn't be faulted for thinking it's a bit boring. I'd still recommend it, but less enthusiastically than 2 or 3.