First, it features entirely too many auto-scrolling sequences whose questionable design required the dev team to add visual and voice indicators to guide players (JUMP! JUMP! SLIDE! SLIDE!) - never a good sign. Only two factors drag down this otherwise excellent game. Two decades later, however, it stands as a technical high water mark for the franchise, with the finest hand-drawn animation of any Mega Man game and some pretty solid design ideas. It felt like a relic at the time: a defiantly 2D side-scroller filled with gentle pastel colors released as the entire industry rushed headlong into polygons and angry darkness. Time has been kind to the sole 32-bit entry of the classic Mega Man franchise. Mega Man 8 Capcom 5: Mega Man 8 (Various, 1997) Later games would improve on the foundation Capcom set into place here, sure, but that foundation in and of itself wouldn't really change all that much. Mega Man himself changed very little over the years, and the freedom to play levels in any order and use the weapons you earn by beating each stage's boss remains one of gaming's simplest and most compelling ways to enhance replay value. OK, and the way you can miss the Magnet Beam even though it's required to complete the game isn't ideal.īut still, the fundamental concepts that would carry Mega Man through three decades of sequels and spinoffs debuts here with remarkable clarity of purpose and inspiration. And yes, you only take on six Robot Masters instead of eight. Sure, there are some elements here that would prove to be superfluous (it's the only classic Mega Man with a score tally, complete with enemy drops that exist strictly to award points). The game that started it all got things more or less right directly off the starting blocks. This is all about a blue ’bot and the endless struggle to keep the peace by jumping, shooting and stealing powers from vanquished enemies. Likewise, games featuring Mega Man cameos (e.g. I’ve also limited the list strictly to platform action games - which means none of Mega Man’s board game, adventure, sports, racing, or tactical RPG spinoffs have made the cut. Wily’s mad schemes for world domination in the year 200X. For this list, however, I’ve focused strictly on the original, “classic” Mega Man games: The ones starring a small robot boy, formerly named Rock, who battles against Dr. and which aren’t.Ĭapcom has published more than 50 unique Mega Man games over the years, across half a dozen different spinoffs and sub-franchises. With the franchise approaching one milestone and gearing up for another, now seems like a perfect time to take stock of the 20 different Mega Man platformers to date and ask, once and for all, which are best.
MEGA MAN 11 PC REVIEW SERIES
Although the series sat dormant for the better part of a decade, fans were thrilled to learn the 11th chapter in the Super Fighting Robot’s quest for everlasting peace is on its way next year on every platform under the sun. Capcom’s Mega Man for NES turns 30 years-old this week.