Mega Man 2

"The Blue Bomber Just Does Everything Right!"

There's nothing better than looking back on a classic series and finding one of the best games of that series. Today I review possibly the best classic Mega Man game ever made. If you've never heard of the Mega Man series, then you need to do some video game research. Let me give you the basic jist of how Mega Man games work. You play as Mega Man, a peace loving robot who must save the word with his creator Dr. Light from the evil Dr. Wily and his corrupt robots (aka The Robot Masters). You must go around to each robot master's respectful level, make your way past several enemies and fight the robot master on their home turf. After defeating them you get to steal their power. An example would be stealing Bubble Man's power to launch giant bubbles at your enemies. These special powers allow you to fight some of the other robot masters with ease. Each robot master has a specific weakness that can be gained from another one. An example would be using the Atomic Fire special power from Heat Man to defeat Wood Man. The best part is you get to pick which robot master you want to go up against next. Upon beating down all the robot masters you must make your way through Dr. Wily's fortress, full of bigger bosses (like a flying dragon) and copies of old ones. You then must face off against Wily himself, and he usually has some nasty surprises for you too! The game also used a password system so you didn't have to beat it all in one sitting. A great game that was an instant classic.


Fun Factor - 10/10

So, was this game fun to play? You bet it was! You get to go around blasting stuff and fighting evil robots, what more do you want? The levels were challenging, as were the bosses. It took me several attempts to beat some of the bosses (darn you crash man!!!). Each level had its own feel to it that corresponds with the boss at the end or it. Metal Man has a stage full of gears, Wood Man's stage is in a forest, Heat Man has lava throughout the stage, Bubble Man's stage takes place on a water fall and under water, etc. These stages were set up in order to challenge the player, but they're still fun to play through. Beating down the bosses at the end of the stage and trying to figure out what each boss' weakness is, is all part of what makes this game fun, not to mention using a wide array of weapons. The password system also allowed for a continuous feel to the game over several days of playing. Instead of starting over and having to replay the stages, you only had to beat it once, and could restart if you wanted to play that level again. Once you beat all eight levels it was time to take on Wily, yes? Wrong, you had to go through several more bosses and levels before you got to face him. This was amazing the first time I played it. I actually expected to fight Wily right after beating the robot masters. After playing through the Wily fortress levels and beating them all, there was still another surprise left at the end of the game too. The game felt like "okay, this should be it, right?" twice, but not in a row, with a few levels in between. All of a sudden your strategies for beating the robot masters could no longer be used because the bosses had to be defeated in special ways. The final boss is one of the hardest bosses ever. If you don't do everything right the first time, it's game over. Once you get to Wily's fortress passwords can only get you back to the beginning, so you still have to fight through a few levels before you can take on Wily again. It's really two games in one - the robot master levels and the Wily fortress levels. Two games for the price of one? Pure genius. This is why Mega Man 2 has been deemed one of the best classic Mega Man games.


Control and Gameplay - 9/10

This is the only part of the game that doesn't receive a perfect score. Why you ask? Simply put, it's because of the Bubble Man and Air Man stages. The Bubble Man stage featured several enemies on the screen at the same time, as well as water physics that would make Mega Man have an unlimited jump a move slowly left to right. Combining these two elements would lead to some slow down in the gameplay. The Air Man stage had platforms in the air that had to be jumped across, but sometimes the platforms would not move close enough to make the jump. Later in the level tiki like heads (these can be seen in the picture below) would show up, but the jumps couldn't be made if you made one show up too soon or too late, the spikes on the sides of the heads would get in the way. Other than these two faults, the controls were east to understand and if you wanted Mega Man to do something that was possible in the game, you could do it rather easily. The D-Pad moved Mega Man, B shoot your weapon and A jumped. With some of the weapons the controls did other things too. Examples would be using the D-Pad to shoot the metal blade weapon in any of the 8 basic directions. With the atomic fire weapon you could charge it by holding down A. With the leaf shield you could blow it in any of the 4 basic directions, or just stand there and let it protect you from enemies. The gameplay was fast paced and the levels and bosses were set up to challenge you. Most of these challenges could be overcome by a little practice, or shear skill. Switching weapons was as easy as hitting the start button and choosing what you wanted. The game even let you know when you were about to face a boss by getting to metal doors with a long hallway after it, followed by another metal door that lead to the boss.


Graphics - 10/10

By today's standards you might look at this game and think "what were they thinking?" Of course I'm basing my score on the graphics on graphics against other NES games. The backgrounds for most of the worlds are amazing. They give a real feel for the robot master that controls that area. The enemies are well animated and everything runs very smooth. Just looking at frames from this game makes me feel like I'm looking at a piece of art. In stages like the Heat Man stage there is lava that is constantly moving underground and the whole area just looks hot. While later parts of the Bubble Man stage are not that impressive, the beginning with the water fall is simply stunning. The Air Man stage supports cloud cover that blocks the view of several parts of the level, as well as some hidden enemies too. When this game first came out it definitely had the best graphics of any NES game out there.


Sound - 10/10

So what exactly goes with the perfect level design for each robot master? Nothing other than the perfect music to go with it! The music to this game is one of the most memorable. Which music was the best? Well, that's really a personal opinion question. This game has many different music styles that really bring the levels alive. I find myself replaying levels all the time, not to beat the robot master again, but to listen to the great music and see how it really brings the level to life. Two of the most popular stage themes are from the Bubble Man and Crash Man stages. If you look on a game remix site you can find these songs the most. Not only does the music go perfectly with every level, but so do the sound effects. The buster canon just gets the little *pow* sound that is found in most Mega Man games. The enemies (like the hopper in the picture below) also make sounds that actually sound like they might in real life. The hoppers have a metal sound to them whenever they hop. The copter enemies in the Crash Man and Heat Man stages sound look and sound like they have suction cups on the bottom of them. Any time an enemy (or Mega Man for that matter) uses some sort of fire, you get that typical video game fire sound (think Bowser in Super Mario Bros.). Although many of the weapons Mega Man uses have similar sounds, each one has a distinctive sound effect. The metal blades sound like a short burst from a saw. Every sound effect and musical effect fits perfectly with everything that's on the screen.

Replay Ability - 10/10

If there's one thing Mega Man 2 offers, its replay ability. With the 8 robot masters and the ability to take them on in any order you want, you can choose hundreds of different paths to take. One time you might start by taking down Bubble Man and leaving Crash Man for last. Another time you might start with Flash Man and finish things up with Quick Man. As you go through the game you can figure out what bosses are weak to which weapons. This takes over one play through because no matter which robot master you face first, you will not have its weakness weapon. With the password system you can start wherever you want and it you crack the codes you can do pretty much whatever you want. Of course the game is really set up into two different parts. The first part of just defeating the robot masters is fun enough in itself. The second part is all about using your skills and coming up with new strategies for defeating enemies you have not faced. You can start at the beginning of Wily's castle, but you have to play through all the levels before you can face Wily every time you play. There's no shortcut to getting to him. So you beat all the robot masters and figured out their weaknesses. Try playing through the game using only the buster canon to defeat all the bosses (except the final boss, of course). So you beat the game using only the buster canon? Now try playing the game on the difficult mode. Not only are there more enemies in the levels, but also key parts on the levels are changed making it near impossible to get through them, much less defeating the robot master at the end. There are many ways to play through this game, including not using any energy tanks as one example. The game never really gets boring, and you can always go back and listen to that awesome music that gets played in the background.


Closing Statements

I think that it's pretty easy to see way Mega Man 2 is so good. When it came out it had the best graphics of any NES game out there. The music is very memorable and fits every level well. There are many different paths that you can take to get through the first half of the game, and it has a few surprises in the second half. Of course some of the levels had one or two problems in them, but other than that the gameplay was excellent. The weapon system is easy to use, but to master each individual weapon takes some practice. East enough for a kid to play, but hard enough to make even a seasoned gamer sweat at some of the tough spots.

Score Recap:

Fun Factor - 10/10
Control and Gameplay - 9/10
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 10/10
Replay Ability - 10/10

Final Score - 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/21/06