Mega Man 3

"On his third try, the Blue Bomber finally gets everything right and produces a brilliant action game!"

The first game invented a successful concept and started up a whole new era of action games. The second game shaped up all the details, fixed a lot of flaws from the first game and rose the brilliancy of the series by miles. But not until the third game, Capcom managed to get all the pieces in the right place. Their third installment was simply one of the most fabulous, intense and flawless action games the world had ever seen. Welcome on stage: Mega Man III!

I bet most people are aware of the games of the Blue Bomber and how they work, but for the sake of traditions, I will give you the story of the concept: The Mega Man action games set us in a futuristic world where humans live alongside robots. Every now and then (I.E. for every new Mega Man-game released), a few robots go rampart and then it is up to the blue friendly superwarrior Mega Man to stop them. From the beginning, Mega Man can choose to battle any of the renegade robot masters in what order he wishes, and upon defeating them, Mega Man can acquire that robot's weapon. As some weapons work better on certain robots, an element of strategy is implemented, as Mega Man must choose carefully in what order to take on his foes. Eventually, Mega Man will face the criminal mastermind responsible for all the rampart robots, which in 99% of the times turn out to be Dr. Wily.

The formula hasn't changed over the years and all the endless Mega Man-sequels. For most people, the three original NES-games are the ones who still rule the most. For many people, number 3 is seen as the king of the hill, though it can very well be argued that Mega Man II is in a higher position. This author sides with the "Three:ers", for the simple reason of pure perfectionism. It is very true that the third game doesn't really provide anything new that Mega Man II didn't, but if you look at all the separate parts and compare them, Mega Man III is simply so much more. Bigger, fresher and more powerful. In part 3, Capcom got everything right. Let's take a look at it all.

Just as you flip the power switch, you notice the first scent of masterliness. The title song that meets you is a wonderful tune, clearly marking the seriousness and emotion of the game. When you venture into the menu screen where you get to choose your opponent, you see some rather interesting faces. The previous bosses of the two first games are characters we all love, but Mega Man III has truly the most creative and ferocious bosses of them all. While the original game held foes like "Fire Man" and "Ice Man" (which were not bad creations at all, just a little standard), Mega Man III puts us up against creations like Gemini Man, Shadow Man and Snake Man. Gemini Man is easily the coolest Mega Man foe ever made. Imagine a robot with the powers to create a cloned copy of himself, and add to that a fierce laser cannon! Woohoo! Now we're talking! Other nice robot masters are Magnet Man, with the ability to reverse polarity and attract the metal bolts in your robotic body to drag you into him, Snake Man, with his vicious snakes he sends after you and his trademark green snake field stage, and last but not least Shadow Man, who is a super fast ninja robot with giant shurikens and extremely fast slides and jump attacks. I am only a bit disappointed that Shadow Man didn't have any true shadow powers.

Such cool boss characters predict heavy battles, and this is something that Mega Man III gives us plenty of. The levels are all very unique, with their own environmental concept and graphic style, and tons of enemies to battle and constructions to wreck. Snake Man's snake world is undoubtedly the coolest stage, but Spark Man's electric plant with the deadly traps and Gemini Man's cold space world with countless freaky creatures are also an important part. All the levels feel fresh and unique, and they always put you up against something new.

Add to this some beautiful aesthetics. The graphics are crispy and colourful, and all the characters and enemies are detailed and well-animated. With the various graphic concepts of the levels, the NES shows all sides and makes full use of its whole palette. But as good as the graphics are, they still come to a halt when we mention the music. The original Mega Man games have always been known for their fantastic music, but Mega Man III maxes out all the adjectives. The songs of MM3 are wonderful, rushing with adrenaline and suit perfectly for every area they represent. Top Man's ultra-fast hard rock song, Spark Man's industrial techno beat, Magnet Man's happy pop tune and Needle Man's funky city groove are all superhits, and have bounced around inside my mind and my mp3-player for decades after the game was first released. True craftsmanship in its finest form!

When it comes to action games, the gameplay is undoubtedly the most important factor, and here, Mega Man III shines again. The controls have always been great in the MM-games, but in number three, Capcom completes the cycle by adding a wonderful sliding move that can be used to speed up your progress through the levels and help you escape attacks from above in dangerous situations. Mega Man has also got a new sidekick to aid him in the levels: The metal dog Rush! Rush is a handy little puppy who have the ability to work as a spring board, a submarine or a flying machine for Mega Man. As you gather more gadgets to Rush, you can use his new abilities to discover shortcuts and find previously unreachable items. The element of using Rush adds a nice puzzle feature to the game, as well as some new nerve chilling action sequences.

And how about the challenge? Well, the first Mega Man game had the problem that it was a little bit too difficult. It had no password function, and some passages were very harsh. Mega Man II had it the other way around. The game was a little bit too easy. Nothing you would breeze through on an hour, but still not providing any higher challenge. With Mega Man III, Capcom finally gets it all right. The game is a lot longer than the first two, with many new challenges coming in between the first eight bosses and the final stages of Dr. Wily, and the challenge level slowly rises from okay to very challenging in a perfect way. The password feature allows you to continue where you were when you turned off the game, saving us a lot of tears and frustration. With many secret energy tanks (and a developed energy tank system), and the Rush gadgets, the game gives you many alternative ways to play the game. You can progress slowly and locate all energy tanks if you wish to have a good storage, or you could blast right into battle the hard way. Mega Man III has many hours of playing to provide you with, and they are laid up in a well-balanced and entertaining style.

As a final touch, Capcom even added some mysterious parts in the game's plot, and made a more creative storyline than usual in the series. During the game, you will encounter the mysterious Proto Man, who seems to be your long lost brother, and it is unclear whose side he is on. Of course, this is nothing ground breaking when it comes to game scripts, but this little touch spiced up the game even more.

Conclusion:
Yes, the formula from the first game is used again, and yes, Mega Man II was a lot more ground breaking when it was released, but even with these facts, I still feel that the third game is so much superior to the second. There are few games that are this complete, where all the perfect parts are forged together into a genius creation with a shell of excellent programming, aestethics and gameplay, and a core of pure gaming joy. Playing Mega Man III is like drinking a perfect cocktail mixed by the best of bartenders. When you play this game, you are absorbed by its power, and you will long to go back to it again and again. While game number two was an outstanding effort, this state of euphoria was never reached while playing that one. Mega Man III was the peak of the era. After this release, it slowly went down, and the Mega Man games would never retrieve their past glory again. For now, let us cherish one of the best action games ever made to the NES, and to all consoles, for that matter.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/06