So I got the Mega Man Zero/ZX Collection recently, and I've been absolutely adoring them. However, it made me realize that I never actually got around to playing most of the Mega Man series, so I wanted to change that. I'll be playing every single major Mega Man platformer, in particularly the classic, X, Zero, ZX, and maybe even the Game Boy games, and reviewing them. I'm nearly done with my Zero/ZX review but I happened to finish the classic games (except for MM11, I'll just review that one separately) first so here we are. Since I haven't played most of these games as a kid and wasn't born in the 80s, I don't have any major nostalgia for them or preconceived notions of what a Mega Man game should be. I want to take these games for what they are, and see which ones I enjoy the most. Let's just say I was pretty surprised by which classic Mega Man games I ended up liking and disliking:
Note: So, I'm not a fan of life systems. They're either entirely disposable (like in the recent Kirby and Mario games) or a time-wasting and outdated product of quarter-munching arcade games that only adds fake difficulty onto already challenging games. As a result, I ended up using savestates for pretty much all of these games. While you could say I technically didn't get the "full experience" by doing this (though I wouldn't want to get into that whole debate), trust me when I say that not having to deal with the frustration of replaying these levels over and over again helps me have a much more open mind for these games. Similarly, I'm also aware that most of the NES Mega Man games suffer from slowdown, so I made sure to play the Complete Works/Anniversary Collection versions as well just to ensure that it won't affect how I think about them.
Mega Man: I've actually played the first Mega Man game before, and I've gotten decently far too. I made it up to Wily Castle 2, which combines boss rematches, annoying enemy placements, and resource scarcity to make for the perfect example of just how brutal this first entry can get. Yeah, Mega Man is a tough cookie and not one of the better games in the series, but I still have a soft spot for it. Mega Man does a good job at introducing the copy ability system and its capabilities with a simple but pretty well-balanced lineup of abilities. As a matter of fact, I think the selection is Robot Masters in the first game, despite being two less than in most games, is really well-designed and one of the strongest in the series. Their weakness order feels logical, the abilities all serve their own purpose and are worth using (except the Hyper Bomb), and their designs are memorable and charming. I think the high point of this game is in Fire Man's stage, which may seem like a tough obstacle course unless you happen to have the Ice Slasher, which trivializes a lot of the stage's obstacles and even opens up some new paths. The first Wily Castle stage similarly has you swapping between weapons like mad to get through all the obstacles, it's great... at least when it's not being poorly designed...
The thing is, while Mega Man does have its moments of brilliance, it's also a frustrating, punishing, and unfair game at times, with almost every level containing some infamous mechanic, irritating enemy, or moment of BS. I can list so many elements in Mega Man that I found frustrating, such as the unpredictable Bunby Helis, the absolute tanks that are the Big Eyes, that one screen in Bomb Man's stage with the Sniper Joes, the moving platforms in Guts Man's stage, the disappearing blocks in Ice Man's stage, the propeller platforms that also shoot at you, the Magnet Beam trap, the Yellow Devil (who I admittedly actually really like), and the boss rush. I still enjoyed playing Mega Man and find it to be a fairly replayable game, but you can tell that the series still had a lot of growing pains to get through. Even beyond the hit-or-miss level design, Mega Man is way more slippery than in other games, and the implementation of a point system adds an extra collectible for enemies to drop, making health and energy pickups more scarce than in later games. In addition, the music and visuals, while still pretty solid for an NES game, is a bit basic compared to later entries. Capcom had nailed the series' core mechanic from the get-go, it just needed to be in a more polished and better-crafted game.
2/5 Stars
Mega Man 2: Mega Man 2 was the first Mega Man game I ever played. I discovered the series through Super Smash Bros 4, which had a demo of the game that started at Wily Castle 1. Obviously, I got stuck at the start because I didn't know what Item 3 was, but I thought the music and spritework were already amazing and wanted to play the full game. So, I played the full game... only to once again stop at Wily Castle 1 because it was still too hard. I've played Mega Man 2 more than any other game in the series but I've never actually ended up doing the Wily stages, though I loved the Robot Master stages enough to call this one my favorite out of the ones I've played. In hindsight, maybe it's for the best I didn't play the Wily stages...
Mega Man 2 improves on the original game in a lot of ways, and its first half is pretty great, but it plummets down a cliff in its second half in a way that not even the first game was able to replicate. But let's start with that first half because it is really good. While the levels are still fairly basic, MM2 makes up for it with some really memorable and iconic locations and setpieces, like Metal Man's conveyors, Air Man's Goblins, Wood Man's infamous ostrich room, and of course, Quick Man's lasers. It helps that the visuals are more detailed as well, especially in regards to the backgrounds, and the soundtrack is easily one of the series' best, 8-bit rock at its finest. The game also fixes a lot of issues that the first game had. Mega Man's control is tighter and a bit less slippery, the point system was removed, water lets Mega Man jump high rather than slows him down, E-Tanks were added to help you refill your health, lives and items in general are more plentiful, and you get the special items from bosses rather than having to go out of your way to collect it, meaning no Magnet Beam trap this time. My one big gripe with the first half of the game are the Robot Master weapons, which aren't anywhere near as balanced as they were in the previous game. Let's face it, you will only use the Metal Blade outside of boss fights, it's way too broken and useful for you to want to use any other weapon. And while I like that bosses have multiple weaknesses, the level design doesn't reward coming in with specific weapons as much as the first game did.
When I was a kid, that first half was all I knew of Mega Man 2. Even with the weapon issues and a few quirks in the levels (Heat Man's blocks, for example), if the game was just that first half, I'd probably say it was one of the better entries in the series. But that all changes once you enter that godforsaken Wily Castle, at which point the game goes from fun to utterly abysmal. It feels like the game slowly fell apart the more I played it. Stage 1 looked and sounded great, but it already had issues with painfully tight special item usage and an utter flickerfest of a boss. Stages 2 & 3 fared a bit better but they were super short and looked really gross (I think it was the coloring). But then we have Wily's Castle 4, one of the worst levels I have ever played in a video game and the point where Mega Man 2 plummets off a cliff. It starts by pitting you against fake floors that will send you into insta-death spikes, then you have to spend much of the second half of the stage waiting on several slow moving platforms. Even more, if you decide to hop off any of the ladders in Stage 4 like you will probably be conditioned to do, you will fall into a spike pit and die. But even the stage doesn't stack up to that goddamn boss, the infamous Boobeam Trap, with its impossible-to-dodge attack, beginner's trap arena, obnoxious levels of sprite flicker even in the Complete Works version, and pixel perfect Crash Bomber usage. Things don't get much better though, because for some reason, Capcom thought it would be a good idea to not give you any opportunities to refill your weapons for the rest of the game, meaning most players will be going through the boss rush without Crash Bomber, at the very least. Right after beating the boss rush, you have to fight the Wily Machine, whose second phase has attacks that are literally impossible to avoid. There is a way to beat him in one hit, though. It's the Crash Bomber. Ending things on a crummy note is the pitifully easy and basic final boss who can only be damaged by the Bubble Lead. If you happened to run out during the boss rush, then screw you, I guess. There's no way around it, Mega Man 2's endgame was rushed, and it made for one of the most miserable stretches of stages I've played in any video game, let alone the Mega Man series.
As a result, I'm left very disappointed with Mega Man 2. This was my favorite Mega Man game for a long time. It's an absolute classic, and I still have a lot of love for the Robot Masters part! But it also takes a massive step back in terms of the weapons, and has what is easily the worst Wily Castle in the whole series, putting a huge black mark on the game for me. Believe or not, I probably had more fun with the first game. Even with its difficulty issues, it felt more complete, satisfying, and thoughtfully-designed by comparison. I'd replay MM1 in a second over MM2, and that's something I just did not expect to say. I came in hoping to give this one five stars, but now, I'm not even sure if it deserves three stars. Mega Man 2 went from being my favorite classic game to probably one of my least favorites.
2/5 Stars
Mega Man 3: To a lot of people, Mega Man 3 is what Mega Man 2 is to me. It has a strong half and falls off in the endgame with the Doc Robot stages and the easy Wily Castle. While I would agree that the first half of Mega Man 3 is better than the second, I'd say that even its lowest points are decently high, and it far surpasses its two predecessors in a lot of ways. Mega Man 3 further expands on the formula to near perfection with all of its gameplay tweaks and additions. The addition of a slide move makes combat more fun and opens the door to new platforming challenges, Rush gives the previously bland special items more of a personality, Mega Man's lack of traction is completely gone, and the E-Tank system is way more generous. The presentation is also phenomenal, with the visuals standing out as some of the most detailed on the NES and the soundtrack being one of my favorites in the classic series. Granted, the visuals may be a bit too detailed, leading to a lot of slowdown in most versions of the game, which is why I'd recommend playing the Complete Works version more than in any other entry in the series, it really helps.
I can't understate how much I love the Robot Masters in this game, there isn't a single bad stage out of the initial eight, and every level is complex and fun to navigate, with Snake Man, Spark Man, and Gemini Man having the most noteworthy stages of the bunch for me. I'd say Mega Man 3 is a good deal harder than the previous game, but nothing feels unfair like in MM1, it's all fully skill-based. The boss fights are pretty fantastic too a lot of the time, with most of the Robot Masters having creative attack patterns that are tough to learn but satisfying to master. The weapon lineup is more in between the previous two games. They still don't quite have the synergy that the first game's roster has, but without a truly game-breaking weapon like the Metal Blade, I found myself varying what I used a lot more often. Even more, the game's lengthier endgame meant I felt like I got a bit more mileage about of these abilities than in 2. Speaking of which...
After beating the Robot Masters, you have to replay through harder versions of all of their stages to fight harder versions of the bosses from Mega Man 2. These are called the Doc Robot stages, and from what I can tell, the Mega Man fandom hates these things. While I do agree that they're hard and pretty blatant padding, I actually kinda liked them! I'd complain more about replaying stages if this game didn't have some of the best stages in the series, and I think Capcom did a lot to make the Doc Robot variants stand out enough, with entirely new gimmicks, harder versions of old gimmicks, and areas that require using weapons now that you're guaranteed to have them all. The best Doc Robot stage for me is Needle Man's stage, since you actually get to fight the Giant Metalls that you can spot when playing the stage for the first time. The Wily Castle that follows is frankly pretty easy, but coming after two brutally tough and almost unfair Wily Castles, this was a breath of fresh air, and most of its bosses remained pretty fun. Overall, Mega Man 3 completely blew my expectations out of the water. The level design is fantastic, the weapons are well-balanced and utilized well, the visuals are beautiful, the soundtrack is top-notch, the bosses are great, and the difficulty struck that perfect balance between hard and fair. It's impressive to hear that MM3 was almost as rushed as its predecessor, if not moreso, because it doesn't show nearly as much for me. This is easily one of the best games in the Mega Man series, and probably one of the best NES games in general.
5/5 Stars (maybe dock a point from the original NES version for the lag, though)
Mega Man 4: Mega Man 3 was such a good game that, at first, Mega Man 4 felt like an almost immediate disappointment. It felt off to me, and I couldn't really pinpoint why. The first thing I noticed is that the game introduced the Charge Shot, which can let Mega Man charge up a more powerful blast. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of Mega Man 4's version of the Charge Shot, it just felt too dinky to me. It took too long to charge, its damage value didn't seem all that worth it, and probably worst of all, it doesn't look powerful. Every future game's version of the Charge Shot makes it look super powerful to convey its impact, but here, it kinda just looks like a wrinkled buster shot. Aside from that though, the visuals are still really nice with some especially slick menu screens. The Robot Master and enemy designs are easily some of the most memorable and colorful so far, and in terms of polish, MM4 has way less slowdown and sprite flicker than its predecessor did on base hardware. Similarly, the soundtrack is also pretty great even if, once again, it doesn't stack up to its direct predecessor.
The level design is also a bit uneven for me, it's so close to surpassing Mega Man 3 but has these niggling issues that really prevent that from happening. Instead of fleshing out its level gimmicks in a single room before tossing it out never to be seen again, Mega Man 4 spends its Robot Master stages slowly developing one or two gimmicks throughout the stage, which I really like. It helps that most of Mega Man 4's big gimmicks are platforming-based, like the balloons in Pharaoh Man's stage, the swings in Bright Man's stage, and the vanishing platforms in Ring Man's stage. Unfortunately, what really prevents Mega Man 4's levels from standing out as the best in the series is the enemy placement. There were so many cases where an enemy was placed right in the middle of my jump arc, knocking me into a pit or some spikes. It definitely doesn't help that MM4 loves putting you in these do-or-die situations, so poor enemy placement can be all the more egregious. The bosses are also pretty uneven, for every fun fight like Dust Man or Drill Man, there's a borderline broken cakewalk like Toad Man or a frustratingly erratic boss like Dive Man. The weapons, on the other hand, are consistently top-notch, with some even coming off as improved versions of other abilities (Pharaoh Shot is a better Atomic Fire, Flash Stopper is a better Time Stopper). There still aren't any Metal Blade level weapons, yet aside from Skull Man's weapon, most of the weapons here are useful and worth using. I'd actually say this is the best lineup in the series to date.
The endgame is also a bit hit or miss. This time around you get two fortresses with four stages each totalling eight post-game levels, which is a structure I'm not really a massive fan of. The first fortress (Cossack Fortress) has a decent amount of crazy setpieces and unique bosses, though an equal amount of BS as well. It doesn't help that I'm just not a huge fan of the "Mega Man fights Russia" plotline, it feels really tacky. The Wily Fortress, on the other hand, is actually pretty fun, easily the best of the bunch so far. I adored that first Met stage and the overall difficulty is solid, but with only four stages and the latter two being the boss rush and final boss respectively, I felt it went by a bit fast. Overall, Mega Man 4 is a solid and polished Mega Man game with some really great stage gimmicks, a fantastic weapon lineup, solid pacing, and a fun finale. However, it definitely suffers from following my favorite game in the series, making its at times poor enemy placement, uneven boss fights, and dinky Charge Shot feel all the more noticeable. I'd put it over the first two games since it actually feels, you know, complete, but it definitely could have been even better.
3/5 Stars
Mega Man 5: Now this is more like it! Apparently, Mega Man 5 is considered to be one of the weakest Mega Man games for its easier difficulty and for not adding anything new to the table. But believe it or not, I didn't just love Mega Man 5, it's easily one of my favorite entries so far! Because while it's true that Mega Man 5 doesn't add too much, it perfects the Mega Man formula and comes out being one of the most polished entries in the series. I found the Charge Shot to be way better in this game, as it's more powerful, charges faster, and gets a clean redesign to make it look more devastating. However, there's also a new mechanic where being hit makes you lose your charge, which I actually kinda like. It adds a risk-reward element to combat and meshes well with the increased damage value of the Charge Shot. The other big change was the addition of Beat, a powerful robotic bird that you can unlock for the fortress stages by collecting hidden and out-of-the-way letters in all of the Robot Master stages. This is such a cool concept as it encourages you to explore and take on harder challenges to be rewarded with being able to get through the endgame a little more easily. Those are pretty much the only additions, but that's not entirely a bad thing when MM5 does pretty much everything else right. For example, the presentation is especially great this time around, with the colorful and detailed visuals continuing to push the limits of the NES and Mari Yamaguchi's soundtrack holding up as another favorite of mine.
The level design in Mega Man 5 is so incredibly fun, with each stage introducing a whole bunch of unique and memorable gimmicks and setpieces, from the bubbles and vehicle segment in Wave Man, to the rising spike platform in Gyro Man, to the falling crystals in Crystal Man, to the gravity shenanigans in Gravity Man and Star Man, to Charge Man giving us an train level (an easy way to my heart). I've seen people call these levels forgettable and uneventful, but I don't feel that way at all, these are some of my favorite stages in the series! While I will admit that Mega Man 5 is the easiest game so far, it's still worth noting that it's only easy by Mega Man standards. Even more, I'd argue that MM5 is as easy as it is because it's almost entirely lacking in BS, unfair deaths, crummy enemy placement, or other instances of archaic level design. This game is just that well-tuned and polished. Similarly, the boss fights are great too, with most of the Robot Masters and especially the Wily Castle bosses getting pretty fun fights. I especially love how Gravity Man's weakness is used to completely transform how you would normally fight a Mega Man boss. The biggest complaint I've seen about Mega Man 5 though is its weapon selection, and I will admit it's one of the weaker ones so far. I'd say it falls in line with MM3's lineup for not having any game-breakers but also not really having any great weapons either. However, while the weapons here do have some clunkers (looking at you, Power Stone), there's still some solid stuff here. Gravity Hold is hilarious, Star Crash and Crystal Eye improve on Skull Barrier and Gemini Laser respectively, and Gyro Attack feels like a more balanced Metal Blade with its large ammo pool and multidirectional attacking. It may be one of the weaker weapon lineups but it's by no means bad.
The endgame is just alright, though. Just like in the previous game, there are two fortresses with four stages each, belong to Proto Man and Wily respectively. While I still don't quite get the need for multiple fortresses, Proto Man Fortress does introduce a bunch of fun new gimmicks like the snake block in Stage 3 and the falling tower in Stage 4, though most of the Dark Man fights are easily the weakest in the game. Wily Castle, on the other hand, might just be the best in the series so far. Unlike in the last two games, it's actually the hardest stage in the game, but it still never tips over the line into unfair. The exclusive boss fights are mostly pretty fun, though the final boss is a slog without Beat, and the music that plays during these final stages is one of my absolute favorite tracks in the franchise. As a whole, though, while I loved playing Mega Man 5 and thought it was a great game, I think I still prefer MM3 for its ambition. MM5 is arguably more well-designed, but it just didn't stick with me as much as that one. Still, Mega Man 5 is an incredibly strong entry in the classic Mega Man series with fun and memorable level design, solid boss fights, beautiful visuals, one of the best soundtracks in the series, and a strong endgame. It's easily the most underrated entry in the series.
4.5/5 Stars (1/2 stars is going to be given with games where I can't decide how many stars it's earned)
Mega Man 6: So this is going to be a very strange comparison but here me out on this. Mega Man 6 is the Kirby Planet Robobot of the series. Both games introduce an entirely new gimmick that's thoughtfully implemented even if they ultimately have some issues. In Mega Man's case, this game introduces the Rush adaptors, where Rush can transform into two entirely new suits for Mega Man. There's the Power suit which lets Mega Man punch enemies and destroy walls at the cost of range, and the Jet suit which lets Mega Man fly. It's a unique concept that MM6 manages to get an impressive amount of mileage out of, with each level including plenty of opportunities to use the two adaptors. The stages here even have alternate routes you can take with the adaptors, which some of the routes leading you to the letters that will earn you Beat, increasing the replayability by a lot. However, the adaptors do have their faults. For starters, you can't slide in either of them, the Jet suit can't do a charge shot, and the Power suit's charge punch deals the exact same damage as its normal punch. I get that Capcom wanted to make sure you still had incentive to use the standard Mega Man suit, but it means you have to repeatedly open the menu and swap between suits, which is a pain since whenever you put a suit on, an animation plays. Every. Single. Time. It also doesn't help that MM6 nerfs a bunch of standard Mega Man's moves, once again likely to encourage you to switch between adaptors. You can't jump out of a slide for some reason, and Beat can't be used on bosses which pretty much removes the point. As a result, I'm left a bit mixed on this mechanic. I really like the concept of the adaptors and the game does a great job of being designed around them, but it leads to all these quirks that feel completely unnecessary for no reason.
Don't get me wrong though, I actually still think Mega Man 6 is one of the best NES entries. The level design is fantastic, with almost every stage boasting a unique set of gimmicks and enemies and fleshing them out without feeling too frustrating, basically what MM4's level design should have been. From the oil that can be set on fire in Flame Man's stage, to the explosive platforms in Blizzard Man's stage, to the moving water in Centaur Man's stage, Capcom proves that they can still come up with some creative level ideas six games into the series. And even the levels that aren't anything special in terms of their gameplay (Wind, Yamato) remain memorable thanks to their fantastic visuals. This is hands down the prettiest-looking game so far, and is right up with Kirby's Adventure as one of the nicest looking NES games ever made. The soundtrack is a bit weaker, though, being a bit too slow-paced for my tastes. As for the boss fights, they're pretty solid too. Some of them like Plant Man and Knight Man are way too easy, but others like Flame Man and Centaur Man have some pretty fun and engaging patterns. And then there's the weapon lineup, which might just be my favorite in the series to date. Aside from the Plant Barrier, every single weapon is useful and well-rounded, serving their own special purposes. Flame Blast is short range but a powerhouse, Silver Tomahawk is a great Metal Blade clone, Knight Crush is great for shooting above you, Blizzard Attack can hit enemies directly above you, and hardly any weapon has an oversight or flaw that makes them not worth using (Spark Shock, Power Stone). However, another unfortunate side effect about the adaptors is that since the levels are more built around them, I ended up not using the weapons as much as I usually do, which is a shame given such a fantastic lineup.
The endgame once again uses the two fortresses structure, and I think I finally pieced together why I dislike this structure so much. Aside from overstaying their welcome with a combined eight stages, the first fortress (Mr X, Proto Man, Cossack) is always where all of the crazy gimmicks and setpieces are, making the actual final Wily Fortress stage feel a bit lacking and disappointing. MM5 still has my favorite Wily Castle of the bunch so far, but even that one didn't feel as climactic as it should have felt. Either way, MM6's final batch of levels are solid if a bit unmemorable, with a bunch of fun bosses and probably my favorite final boss so far. Overall, Mega Man 6 was a very pleasant surprise, boasting some creative level design, beautiful visuals, a fantastic weapon lineup, and a unique new gimmick. While the adaptors have their flaws, and the soundtrack is pretty weak, I generally found this to be one of the better entries in the series, if not entirely ground-breaking.
4/5 Stars
Mega Man 7: Mega Man 7 had a lot working against it. Not only was it the first Mega Man game to not be on the SNES, but it had to directly follow Mega Man X. And that's a damn shame because if Mega Man 6 is Planet Robobot, then Mega Man 7 is Kirby's Dream Land 3, a genuinely great game left in the shadow of its direct predecessor. Thankfully, just like with MM4, I've been seeing a lot more people praise it as of late. It may not stack up to Mega Man X but it does push the classic series forward in a lot of aspects. On a gameplay level, Mega Man 7 doesn't make too many ground-breaking changes aside from bringing the Charge Shot back to the MM4 style (though still way less dinky-feeling), but it resembles Mega Man 5 in just how much it polishes everything. We got opening and intermission stages (albeit overly short ones), a shop where you can buy items with bolts you find in each stage, and the return of hidden collectibles from MM5, some of which require breaking away from the usual weakness order to find. There's even a story! Not a great story, mind you, but it's still nice to see the characters interact for once. Roll even manages to get some lines of dialogue, it was about time. Mega Man 7 is the first 16-bit title in the series and it shows, the visuals are very colorful and detailed, especially in the stage designs. Mega Man himself is a bit larger and more animated, but the game is mostly designed around this so I never found it to be a problem even if the 1:1 pixel perfect movement of 3-6 is probably better. The soundtrack is also fantastic. It's not one of my absolute favorites in the series, but there are a lot of great tracks here that are catchy and pleasing to listen to, and the score as a whole has this charming SNES slap bass-y vibe to it.
The level design in Mega Man 7 is really great, once again utilizing the new hardware to create even longer and more complex stages than ever before. All of the Robot Master stages have several fun gimmicks that keep you on your toes, along with plenty of hidden secrets, bonus rooms, and easter eggs. There is so many amazing setpieces, secrets, and surprises that caught me off guard throughout the game, like the Ghosts N Goblins easter egg, the Street Fighter mode, the truck segment in Turbo Man's stage, riding dinosaurs in Slash Man, and coolest of all, the secret room in Shade Man's stage that gives you the ability to fight Proto Man in a genuinely tough rematch and earn his shield. Mega Man 7 kept me guessing throughout, and the sheer unpredictability of the game's stages gave it a lot of charm. In all of the previous games, there's usually just a single weapon that can impact the environment, but in Mega Man 7, these stages utilize almost every single weapon in your arsenal. The boss fights are a bit mixed though. When fighting them normally, they're really great. Once again, the SNES hardware allows for more complex fights with a wider array of attacks. However, MM7 adds in a feature where a special animation will play whenever you use a boss's weakness on them. It's a cool concept, but it leads to situations where you can essentially stun-lock a decent amount of the Robot Masters. The best fights are probably the ones with Bass and Proto Man, no weaknesses, just perfectly challenging face-to-face Mega Buster brawls. The weapon lineup is alright, though not the best in the series. There are some good weapons (Thunder Bolt) as well as the first good shield weapon in the series (Junk Shield) but there are also a few duds as well (Wild Coil). However, I felt like I got the chance to utilize these weapons more than ever since the levels implemented a lot more environmental interaction. For example, the Scorch Wheel can set stuff on fire and light candles, the Freeze Cracker can freeze molten lava, and the Thunder Bolt can electrify certain floors and activate panels. And that's not even adding in the secret unlockable Rush adaptor that combines the Power and Jet adaptors from last game, which manages to be fittingly powerful without overshadowing the rest of the weapons. Seriously, this game is amazing!
I was also pretty blown away by the endgame too. The two fortress structure has been eschewed for a single Wily Fortress, and that was very much for the better. The Wily Fortress stages in Mega Man 7 were fantastic, bringing back mechanics from previous levels, introducing some new stuff, and most importantly, being hard without being BS. Ever since the dumpster fire that was MM2's Wily Castle, it was as if Capcom was scared of their final level being difficult, so I'm so glad Mega Man 7's Wily Castle was actually challenging this time. The bosses were also really good here, like the Bass & Treble, Turtle Robot, and Japanese Mask Robot fights. However, and I'm sure you know where this is going, Mega Man 7's final boss is... rough. The first phase is actually a ton of fun, but once Wily starts to fight you in his capsule, the difficulty skyrockets for no reason. I still managed to learn Wily's patterns in this phase somewhat reliably, but between the massive amounts of damage he can deal and the sheer length of the fight, I needed several E-Tanks to get through this one. On the bright side, though, it's nice to finally have a final boss that isn't piss easy. Overall, I initially went into Mega Man 7 with a bit of skepticism due to how different it looked, but I ended up absolutely adoring it! Once you get past the different graphics and controls, you'll find that Mega Man 7 is one of the best entries in the series so far. There's so much attention to detail throughout, between the charming and polished artstyle, catchy soundtrack, varied and creative level design, environmental interaction, and ridiculous amounts of hidden secrets and easter eggs. It feels like the definitive classic Mega Man game, a love letter to the series and Capcom as a whole, and not even a brutally hard final boss is enough to stop me from ranking it as one of my favorites.
Also, this game was made in less than half a year. How it ended up being so good, I'll never know.
4.5/5 Stars
Mega Man 8: Mega Man 8 is the black sheep of the classic series, and it's not hard to see why. This is a weird Mega Man game, and a very inconsistent one too. Its low are some of the lowest in the series, but the heights it can reach can rival that of the best games in the series. The thing that Mega Man 8 is probably most known for is its unique artstyle, which does look really great. It's bright and colorful, smoothly-animated, and generally just really pleasing to the eye. However, because everything is so animated, Mega Man moves fairly slow compared to the rest of the games in the series, which means the gameplay just isn't as good-feeling this time around. As a result, this new visual style is a bit of a double-edged sword, it looks absolutely stunning, but if it ends up hurting the gameplay, I'm not sure if it was all worth it. (edit: I don't know what I was talking about here, of course it's worth it! Every game should look as good as MM8!) We also have animated cutscenes with full-on voice acting this time, but while the cutscenes look alright, that English dub is not good in the slightest. It's genuinely some of the most amateurish voice acting I've ever heard in a video game, truly awful. I do love the soundtrack unconditionally though, the way it blends house, DnB, and just plain weird tunes makes for one of my favorites in the series. MM8 does still have a bunch of strong quality of life improvements and gameplay changes to call its own. The collectibles this time are the Bolts, which are scattered in every level and can be used to get upgrades for Mega Man. While I think Mega Man 7's secrets are more charming, I do still like the Bolt system. In addition, for the first and only time, you can use the Mega Buster and your chosen weapon at the same time. It's such a great addition that limits downtime, and it allows for boss fights where you have to remove the boss's shield with the weapon and then deal damage with the buster, I kinda wish more games had this mechanic. Mega Man can also swim this time, but while I usually hate swimming controls, Mega Man is a fast enough swimmer that it's not a super big issue here. On the negative side though, we don't have E-Tanks for some reason, being replaced by a single first-aid kit from Rush, who also got nerfed here. It's like two steps forward and two steps back, unfortunately.
The level design is where Mega Man 8 gets a bit more uneven though. Mega Man 8's levels are pretty much all long and gimmick-y, which leads to a wide range of level quality. Most people's mileage will vary on this, but I found most of the gimmicks to be pretty fun. I love the side-scroller shooter segment in Tengu Man's stage, the puzzles in Sword Man's stage, the falling tower in Astro Man's stage, and I even like the infamous boarding segments in Frost Man's stage. They give me Donkey Kong Country minecart vibes. However, there are also plenty of dud gimmicks, particularly the disappearing platforms in Astro Man's stages and those awful blocks in Clown Man's stage. I admire that Mega Man 8's levels are varied, as we get some very high highs, but it also means that we get some pretty low lows as well. The boss fights are pretty much all fantastic though. Where Mega Man 7's fights were easily cheesable, Mega Man 8 keeps the charming weakness animations and complex attack patterns while removing the ability to stun-lock the bosses (for most of them at least), making for one of the better lineups in the series. Some bosses even utilize the environment a bit, like Clown Man swinging on a hook, Frost Man using an ice-block conveyor to attack, and Search Man hiding in bushes. I actually don't have too much to say about the weapon lineup for this one, probably since I'm so far into the series at this point. Like any game, MM8 has some pretty solid weapons like the Flame Sword and some pretty weak weapons like the Water Balloons. One thing I do like about MM8, though, is the addition of weapons based more about mobility like the Thunder Claw and Tornado Hold. Mega Man 8 has a 4X4 structure just like its predecessor but I think it's a lot better executed here. The intro and intermission stages have some more meat on their bones, there are two weakness chains rather than just one, and all of the abilities you get from the first four Robot Masters are implemented into the level design for the next four Robot Masters. MM8 also introduces the Mega Ball, an extra weapon that you get at the start of the game. I know a lot of fans hate this one and while it does suck for combat, the Mega Ball is fantastic for traversal since you can detonate a ball in mid-air to give you a boost upwards, so I didn't mind it.
The final Wily Castle was pretty great too, not quite as good as Mega Man 7's but really close behind. The first two stages bring back the aforementioned snowboarding and shoot-em-up mechanics, which I personally loved, and the third stage was a solid final test of your platforming skills that even brings back Bass and the Yellow (now Green) Devil for some pretty good boss fights. It's not a perfect finale by any means, that Mega Ball boss fight was a bit annoying and Bass & Treble kinda just appear out of nowhere, but it's otherwise a pretty solid ending. Just like in MM7, the final stages were difficult but mostly lacking in bad design, as a good final castle should be. The final boss was also really solid and probably the best one so far (which isn't saying much). It took a lot of cues from the MM7 final boss but slowed Wily down a bit, made his attacks deal less damage, gave him more noticeable weaknesses, shortened his health bar, and even gave him a bunch of new attacks. Not to say it wasn't a challenging fight though, the resource starvation caused by a lack of E-Tanks really showed here, but generally, I think Mega Man 8 is the rare entry in the series to have ended on an unequivocally good note for me. Overall, Mega Man 8 is a bit of mixed bag, but I admire the developers' attempt to swing for the fences with this one. The majority of stages are incredibly fun and inventive, and the fantastic boss fights, strong endgame, beautiful artstyle, solid weapon lineup, and top-notch soundtrack still makes for a great entry in the series. However, there are also a few rough levels here and there, and the lack of E-Tanks, nerfing of Rush, and awful voice acting prevent this from being one of my absolute favorite entries. I still really liked Mega Man 8 though, and the things it did well ultimately managed to stick in my mind more than the things that didn't.
3/5 Stars
Mega Man & Bass: Now, let's take a detour and check out that one Mega Man game everyone forgets because it doesn't have a number attached to it: Mega Man & Bass. Actually, maybe Mega Man 8: The Lost Levels sounds more correct here. MM&B takes a lot of the assets from Mega Man 8 along with a bunch of new stuff and crafts a much harder game than its direct predecessor. While I initially found the asset reuse off-putting and lazy (pretty much all of the enemies from 8 as well as some Robot Masters were reused), I eventually came out to appreciate MM&B's aesthetic because this game was made for the Super Famicon. The fact that this game managed to transfer the artstyle of a PS1 game to the SNES while still looking visually appealing is very impressive, and I'd easily call it one of the best-looking games on the console. Not to mention how stylish the UI is, from the Windows-esque Stage Select, to the bullet holes in the title screen, to the freeze frames of Mega Man and Bass. As a whole, this game's presentation is top-notch. The story is probably my favorite in the classic series, doing a bit more world-building with the Robot Museum and giving Bass some development. The "Bass trilogy" of MM7, MM8, and MM&B is probably the peak of classic Mega Man stories for me, fleshing out the series' world while maintaining the Saturday Morning Cartoon feel. MM&B also has a lot of CDs to collect in every level, letting you read up on all of the Robot Masters and characters from every game, which is a nice touch. And while the soundtrack is one of the weakest, I do really like its groovy 90s SNES style.
However, presentation means nothing if the gameplay isn't good, and unfortunately, Mega Man & Bass's gameplay isn't very good. The game plays perfectly fine, as smoothly as any other Mega Man game, but the design around the core gameplay is incredibly flawed. As mentioned above, Mega Man & Bass is easily the hardest classic Mega Man game, but it's not in a good way. Both the level design and boss fights are frustrating and cheap, made even worse by the game's central mechanic of playing as Bass and Mega Man. Bass is better with the levels since he has more movement options at the cost of weaker damage output, making Mega Man a better pick for the bosses. It's a novel idea, but this means that as Mega Man, the levels are nearly impossible at times and feel like they're designed around Bass, and as Bass, the already annoying bosses can become downright damage sponges. But even regardless of who you pick, the level design is so full of spikes and cheap enemy placement that would make Mega Man 4 blush, and the whole game is filled to the brim with irritating gimmicks in both the stages and boss fights. But wait, it gets worse. There still aren't any E-Tanks. To illustrate just how frustrating Mega Man & Bass is, I wanted to quickly go through my struggles with the game. Keep in mind that I played with Bass, who's supposed to be the easier character:
Opening Stage: Setting the tone for the game right off the bat, you get a first level filled with insta-death spikes, wind, and drill hallways, ending with a rematch against the penultimate boss of Mega Man 8. Otherwise, this is actually one of the better levels.
Cold Man: I originally played as Mega Man until I got to that part with the breakable platforms suspended over and below rows of spikes. It was still an awful bit of level design as Bass, but it meant that Cold Man was an unbalanced slog that took nearly five minutes to defeat. Fun.
Burner Man: Funny how this Robot Master is called Burner Man because this whole stage is a dumpster fire! Fake floors, that awful fire gimmick, and lots of tank-y enemies in tight hallways that taught me that Ice Wall is my friend. It all caps off by the awful Burner Man fight that only took as long as it did because he had so many invincibility frames.
Pirate Man: This stage wasn't too bad, honestly. It's mostly your run of the mill water level, but whoever made this one really likes their floating spike balls. Pirate Man is easily one of the best fights in the game, with patterns that are tricky but ultimately still readable.
Ground Man: This stage used too many boss doors, there were so many times when I thought it would end when it never did. Ground Man's stage has you deal with quicksand, obscured spikes, hallways of the same annoying worm enemy, an overlong mini boss, and puzzles where failing means instant death, making for another pretty cluttered stage. At least the music was a banger, and Ground Man would've been a fun boss if the Remote Mine wasn't so slow to use.
Tengu Man: I'm sure a lot has been said about how awful the autoscroller segment in this stage is, because it's so awful that it overshadows the pretty dull rest of the stage. The fight with Tengu Man was actually fairly easy with his weakness, probably one of the more cheesable fights of the game.
Magic Man: So, Clown Man's level from Mega Man 8 was probably the worst one in that game. So how about we do that again, but now the trains are suspended above bottomless pits, the mini-boss is just a normal enemy, the skull elevators are suspended above and below spikes, the bells control rotating blocks with spikes on them, and those irritating tiny enemies now steal your bolts? And even more, Magic Man is one of the worst bosses in the game because you have to stay close to him or else he'll use a nearly impossible to dodge swarm attack.
Astro Man: Astro Man's stage has enemies that pop out of the wall at random, floor tiles that will quickly push you up into spikes, and one of the worst disappearing block patterns in the whole series. The fight is even worse though, just non-stop bullet spam from Astro Man and his clones.
Dynamo Man: So, I actually thought Dynamo Man's stage was alright. Aside from another overlong mini boss, I thought it was a fun lite version of Grenade Man's stage (my favorite in MM8). The boss, on the other hand, by far the worst Robot Master. His attacks fly fast and deal a ton of damage, and it took me a very long time to not die to that lightning bolt attack, but Dynamo Man's cardinal sin: He heals. Bosses that heal is one of my least favorite video game tropes, in any game. Not even Touhou is immune to it, I still hate Yoshika's fight!
King/Wily Castle: Oh boy, where do I begin? The endgame actually got off to a solid start. The Crystal Gate puzzles were pretty fun, and barring a few moments of bad design, King Stage 1 was solid too. However, the moment you get to the first boss and its Kaizo trap ending, the game falls off a cliff. King Stage 2 is an awful stage, a brutal gauntlet of a whopping five bosses, many of which rank as the hardest in the game. A lot of people hate the Fighter Carrier the most since it takes place on destructible moving platforms above bottomless pits, and I'm sure it's horrible as Mega Man. But since I played as Bass, the Mega King was what really made me want to give up. Capcom removed a platform that Mega Man could use to hit the Mega King's weakspot, meaning you have to make these incredibly tight diagonal jumps just to land a single hit, it's agonizing! And after all that, you need to do a boss rush of this game's awful boss lineup, and each boss is broken up by platforming segments making for one of the longest stages in the entire series. The only saving grace is that the Wily fight was admittedly pretty fun, but even that suffered from the lack of E-Tanks! I still think MM2's Wily Castle is worse due to its lack of polish, but my god did this endgame completely kill any semblance of enjoyment I had with this game!
So yeah, Mega Man & Bass was not a very well-designed game. While I think the presentation is absolutely fantastic, and I do like some of the weapons and boss fights, the poor and cheap level design, mostly awful boss fights, unbalanced character system, and dreadful final act makes this easily my least favorite of the classic series. Although, it could still be worse. It could have been the GBA version.
SFC Version: 1.5/5 Stars
GBA Version: 1/5 Stars
Mega Man 9: After years of not getting any new games, the classic Mega Man series got a surprise revival with Mega Man 9, which was based off of the NES games, more specifically Mega Man 2. The charge shot and slide are removed, the soundtrack is based to that classic 8-bit rock, and the graphics are perfect recreations of the NES era. I feel like I should hate Mega Man 9. Between my disappointment with the endgame of MM2, the fact that I loved most of the improvements made throughout 3-8 (and find that pretty much every single one of those games are better than MM2), and the fact that MM9 pretty much kickstarted the trend of nostalgia pandering in gaming, I had a lot of reasons to despise this one right then and there. However, I made sure to give it a fair chance, and goddamn it, I absolutely loved it. Regression or not, this is one of the best games in the series. For starters, Mega Man 9 didn't get rid of everything. Rush is still there, the shop is back with Auto in tow, we have a story with cutscenes (albeit once again a not very good one), and the many references to the Mega Man franchise as a whole showed that Capcom and Inti Creates (aka the Zero/ZX developers) didn't want to only stick to replicating Mega Man 2. Anyone notice how Tornado Man looks like Harpuia? However, there are still some regressions I found a bit frustrating. I could live without the Charge Shot but the absence of the slide still baffles me, even if most of the game felt designed around it. In addition, Inti Creates put a lot of effort into making Mega Man 9 feel exactly like an NES game... for better or for worse. On one hand, we got some sweet pixel art graphics and another great chiptune soundtrack... but on the other hand, the game uses a limited amount of sound channels so the music gets cut off by sound effects, the backgrounds are pitch-black despite the fact that MM6 shows Mega Man games can have really pretty backgrounds, and Inti Creates created an option to turn on sprite flicker. Like, I get people are nostalgic for the NES but who would even use this?! I can't help but compare Mega Man 9 to Shovel Knight, which felt like it captured a heightened NES style. It had the same aesthetic and music, but it also had widescreen, crystal-clear audio, no lag or sprite flicker, and a ridiculous amount of polish. It's admirable that Inti Creates tried to make a game so accurate to the NES, but I'd personally prefer that extra quality of life over the authenticity.
Mega Man 9 is one of the hardest Mega Man games, right alongside Mega Man & Bass and Mega Man 4 for me. Unlike those games, however, Mega Man 9's brutal difficulty felt a lot more fair and well-designed. While there are a few rooms of BS enemy placements and awkward jumps, they are more of the exception rather than the rule. The majority of Mega Man 9's design feels purposeful, introducing gimmicks, mechanics, and enemies in a safe area, fleshing them out throughout the stage, and tossing a few curveballs that will test your understanding of these mechanics. Like how Jewel Man's stage teaches you how to use the swings, and then makes you push the swing out of the way and purposefully fall through (I know that room's kinda infamous, I thought it was just genius). While I ended up dying a lot, the majority of the time it felt like my fault. The times it wasn't, it was usually because of a cute joke on the part of the developers that still felt confident and clever rather than unfair. At its best, Mega Man 9 has some of the best-designed levels in the series, particularly Galaxy Man, Jewel Man, Hornet Man, and Splash Woman. There were a few cases where Mega Man 9 brought back some older mechanics like wind and disappearing blocks that I never really liked, but even they were executed pretty well. I was even surprised at how much I ended up liking Concrete Man's fake block gimmick given my many criticisms of the trope in past entries. The boss fights are also pretty much all fantastic, easily one of the best lineups in the series. Each boss is unique and memorable with fun and engaging patterns to dodge, and the weaknesses make the fights easier without letting you outright cheese them (aside from Magma Man, of course). I love how each boss's weakness can perfectly combat the boss's main attack, like how Hornet Chaser can target the perpetually swimming Splash Woman, a perfectly aimed Magma Bazooka can take out Hornet Man's three hornets, and the downward-moving Plug Ball can destroy Tornado Man's upward-moving tornados. Just genius stuff. The weapon lineup is also absolutely fantastic, quite possibly the best in the series. From the Black Hole Bomb, to the Jewel Satellite, to the Tornado Hold, to the Hornet Chaser, pretty much every single weapon is not only useful but fun to use.
And then there's the Wily Castle, which is absolutely fantastic and easily the best one yet... with an asterisk. In terms of its level design, Mega Man 9 has my favorite Wily Castle to date. There's a great mix of exploring mechanics introduced in previous levels and introducing entirely new mechanics, the level design encourages you to use every single one of your abilities on a level I haven't seen since the first game, and the entire sequence manages to feel climactic and fittingly difficult, while once again being entirely fair. However, if you lose all your lives, you have to start over from the very beginning of this gauntlet, which took me about 45 minutes to an hour to beat. As mentioned above, I use savestates so this isn't really a problem for me, but I can't imagine having to go through all that again! Once again, Mega Man 9 is a great game but it's these archaic design elements that bring the whole thing down. You can still pay homage to the NES while having the foresight to know no one's going to want to replay the entire Wily Castle upon getting a game over. I also found the final boss to be a bit mixed, with that first phase with the eggs being a bit tedious, but I generally thought it was still one of the better ones. Mega Man 9 also has a decent amount of replay value with the special items in the shop, the Time Attack and Endless modes, and a full-on achievement list, which is nice to see. As a whole, Mega Man 9 is definitely one of the best games in the series, with the strongest level design, bosses, Robot Masters, weapons, difficulty curve, and Wily Castle of any classic entry. However, between the lack of a slide, purposeful graphical compromises, and awful game over system for the Wily Castle, Mega Man 9's devotion to the NES era ends up holding it back from being my absolute favorite.
4.5/5 Stars
Mega Man 10: So... Mega Man 10. I don't know, this one kinda disappointed me. I came away from the game having so many different issues with it, and it felt like a pretty big let-down coming off of Mega Man 9. Frankly, MM10 just made that game look even better. For starters, Mega Man 10 doesn't really add anything new to the table. You can quick-select weapons again, which should've been in MM9 to begin with Bass is a DLC character, and we get some neat special stages featured some characters from the Game Boy games. I also like the story a bit more, the roboenza premise is goofy yet the game takes itself seriously just enough. But that's really it, the jump between MM9 and MM10 is pretty much identical. I can at least understand MM9's removal of the slide since Capcom wanted a back to basics approach, but the circumstances are different here. MM9 was a success, and still not giving Mega Man the ability to slide is less excusable here. In addition, the game's presentation is pretty much exactly the same as in MM9, the menus are basically identical, and it continues to feels like Inti Creates is solely trying to replicate the NES style rather than improve upon it. I'm sure you can tell where my frustration is here. It's one thing to take a back-to-basics approach to revitalize the series, I'm sure that's what Mega Man needed at the time. It's another thing to not make any changes between that back-to-basics game and its sequel, because that's where you start to hit stagnation. One thing I can say feels fresh though is the soundtrack, as Capcom had the composers for every single Mega Man game make at least one track for this one. While it's not as consistent as MM9's score, the high points are so much higher since so many of the great musical voices behind classic Mega Man got to show off their signature styles, to predictably fantastic results.
Mega Man 9's design was consistently strong across the board, everything felt purposeful and well thought-out. Mega Man 10, on the other hand, felt incredibly uneven. To start on a positive note, though, I said I wanted more creative biomes and mechanics for MM10 and wasn't let down on that front at all. Sheep Man's stage taking place in a computer, the moving trucks in Nitro Man's stage, and literally everything about Strike Man's stage. However, while the ideas at play were awesome, the level design didn't always land for me. It felt a lot like MM4 where otherwise great stages would have one or two crippling flaws, whether it was an irritating mechanic or a crummy bit of enemy placement. I don't even think Mega Man 10 is harder than its predecessor per se, but it felt more unfair and all over the place in its difficulty. And while I said MM9 felt like it was built around not having the slide, that is not the case in Mega Man 10. There were way more moments where I felt like I should've had the slide, with even enemies from post-slide games showing up at points. The boss fights were also a bit weaker than in MM9, though not because of how the fights were necessarily designed. Rather, the problem with the boss fights lies in the weapons that you have to use to defeat them. So many of the weapons in MM10 are cumbersome to use, like the Thunder Wool, Solar Blaze, and..., making for probably my least favorite lineup in the whole series. It not only makes them less useful for tackling the stages like in MM9, but it also makes the boss fights more annoying.
However, one thing that genuinely surprised me about Mega Man 10 is that the Wily Castle segment was actually really good, like it was far and away the best part of the game. While it had some annoying parts and the level design still didn't stack up to MM7 or MM9's final stages, Mega Man 10's endgame felt climactic in a way no other entry in the series did. From that atmospheric opening, to the maze-like first stage, to the Weapons Archive bringing back old bosses from every game (even 7 and 8!), to the awesome crab boss, to the mini-boss reprisals, to the cool elevator sequence, MM10's Wily Castle felt like the ultimate Wily Castle, filled with creative ideas, cool call-backs, and tough final platforming tests. And that final stage was especially cool, with Mega Man being flipped upside down so all the enemies are on the ceiling and the W-Tanks look like M-Tanks. The final boss isn't one of the series' best (and may even feel a bit anti-climactic), but even it was creative and fun. While I have my problems with Mega Man 10, I can't say it didn't end on a high note. As a whole, I didn't love Mega Man 10. It suffers from weak and at times irritating level design, one of the worst weapon sets in the series, and a general lack of innovation. However, I also can't say it's a bad game either. It has some really creative stages, a lot of content, a fantastic soundtrack, and a final stretch so good it kinda redeemed the game a lot in my eyes. While I wish I didn't end my classic Mega Man playthrough with such a disappointing game, I can't deny that MM10 is also a love letter to the series and the love put into it still shines through, even if the product isn't as good as it could have or should have been.
2.5/5 Stars
Overall, playing all these Mega Man games back to back made me realize a few things. First, the Mega Man series is awesome! While plenty of these games had their flaws, I found myself enjoying the majority of them quite a lot, and was able to find something to love about pretty much every single game I played, even Mega Man & Bass. But even more, I realized that there is so much more to the series than just Mega Man 2. That was the only game I played as a kid because I heard that was the peak of Mega Man and you couldn't get any better than that one, but that's just wrong. I ended up liking a large chunk of the classic Mega Man games more than MM2, which I think goes to show that you shouldn't just believe the "general consensus" and come to the conclusion yourself. I think the cool thing about the classic Mega Man games being so close in quality is that everyone's ranking is going to be vastly different. So would I recommend playing every single Mega Man game? Maybe not back-to-back like I did, but totally! You may end up finding a few surprise gems of your own.
Here's my final ranking:
- Mega Man 3 - Perfect tough but fair difficulty, fantastic balletic boss fights, beautiful visuals and music, quite possible the best game on the NES
- Mega Man 7 - Instead of transforming the classic series, MM7 uses the new hardware to polish the series' mechanics, improve on the level design, and add so many charming details that the other games just lack
- Mega Man 9 - Amazingly designed game with great levels, bosses, and weapons, but is held back from being the best by regressive game design choices
- Mega Man 5 - Pretty much a perfect Mega Man, zero BS, super creative and fun levels, great exploration, probably would've been higher if it was just a little more ambitious
- Mega Man 8 - It has some rough edges, but the varied stages, strong bosses, balanced weapons, fantastic presentation, and actually good Wily Castle make for a Mega Man game I still really like
- Mega Man 6 - The Rush Adaptors may be flawed but they're still a cool concept, and the beautiful and creative levels really elevate this one for me. It's really solid, but ultimately a bit forgettable.
- Mega Man 4 - While it suffers from occassional bits of bad level design and at times broken boss fights, the fun level gimmicks, strong weapon lineup, and great level of polish still made for a solid game
- Mega Man 10 - Uneven levels, awful weapons, and a lack of innovation could've dragged MM10 a lot lower but that endgame was absolutely fantastic
- Mega Man - Solid introduction to Mega Man's core mechanics but suffers from BS difficulty and simplicity
- Mega Man 2 - Don't get me wrong, the first half is iconic and a ton of fun, but the lack of polish really shows and gets worse as the game goes on, from the bad weapons to the incredibly awful endgame.
- Mega Man & Bass - This should be obvious by now. Mega Man & Bass may look pretty but it's unbalanced, unfair, brutally difficult, and is the only entry where I nearly quit multiple times.
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