Mega Man

"The game that started it all is among the best - 9.5/10"

NOTE: My score is actually 9.5/10, but GameFAQs only offers a 10-point, not 101-point scale.

Hello, and welcome to my review for the NES classic, Mega Man, the game that started the Mega Man Classic series, which spawned 8 direct sequels (including Mega Man & Bass), 5 Game Boy ports/spinoffs, several remakes/ports and a lot of ridiculous spinoffs (Mega Man Soccer? WTF?). It also spawned the Mega Man meta-series, which included the Classic series (in 20XX (and 200X), the X series (many games, ports and spinoffs there) (in 21XX), Legends (in 5XXX or so), Zero (in 22XX), Battle Network (in 20XX Alternate), ZX (in 23XX) and Star Force (in 21XX Alternate). Most of those suck, except the original six, in my opinion.

Luckily, it was the spawn that sucked, not the roots, and this game is fantastic, and I may just write a FAQ for it yet. In fact, I plan to, so keep an eye out for a very large FAQ feauturing ridiculous amounts of information, including complete ASCII Stage Maps, and much more.

Anyways, this is a review, not an advertisement for a new FAQ...

A Brief Introduction to the game...

Mega Man was released by Capcom in 1987, admist the golden age of both Nintendo and Capcom. With other titles like Ghosts 'n' Goblins coming out that same year, could Mega Man stand? Yes. A big, resounding, "Yes!". It introduced non-linear gameplay to a far greater extent than anything before it. One could, of course, argue, that even Super Mario Bros. offered this, allowing Warp Zones that took Mario to lands in a non-predestined order. However, Mega Man offered six Stages, all of which must be beaten, in any order. There are therefore 720 possible orders (and later games with eight robot masters offer even more-a total of 40320!!), any one of which may be used, and that discounts the fact that this game (some, however, do not) allows you to repeat Stages. The trick is to figure out which order is ideal, because each Robot Master has a weakness that is obtained from a different one. You start with only a generic Mega Buster.

Graphics - 10/10

When this game came out, the graphics were awesome. Though trumped by later games, they were great. They may seem like nothing now but, trust me, they are an impressive feat for 1987.

Sound - 10/10

Mega Man, as well as always be known for good graphics, is also known for fantastic sound qualities. This holds up for most of the Original Six. Including this one. The sound effects are great and classic. The Cut Man Stage in particular is fabulous. This is coming from a guy who has the complete set of Mega Man sounds on his Zune, by the way.

Origininality - 9/10

The design, as has already been noted, is fabulous and fantastic, in that it offered non-linearity. The obtainment of Master Weapons from bosses is great. But several of the gameplay elements are non original. Mega Man is, at its heart, a platformer, with a somewhat good storyline (see below), and moving platforms to leap upon and so on. But whatever. It is still great.

Storyline - 9/10

Deciseivly great. It is actually not, though some futilely argue, unoriginal. The storyline is not just, "Dr. Wily made 6 robots. Kill them. Kill him. Thanks." The backstory is actually in-depth and tells of the betrayal of Dr. Wily to Dr. Light, the creator of Mega Man and the other six Robot Masters (and Proto Man and Roll), and his theft of them and his reprogamming them into evil. If anything, the second game probably has the least original storyline, and the fourth is probably the rest, for the record. It is not 100% original, however, because it is still about a "mad scientist"-esque type character, and his desire for world domination. But the storyline fits and is fine and works well.

Gameplay - 10/10

Ahh, arguably the most important aspect of a given game. Whatever your opinion, Mega Man delivers. It offers a perfect balance of a learning curve that is un-lame. Most games of the time thrust you into the action with everything, that is it. Not so here. You are offered a weapon (the Mega Buster), which is used by pressing B, and a jump, by pressing A, that a clever player can and will use to his advantage (or else it is impossible to beat the game at all). The ideal player, however, will maximize the abilities of the jump by using the buttons well. You can also move left and right. Also, ladders can be asended. There is no slide (Mega Man 3), charge (Mega Man 4) or duck (NEVER!! it is a staple of Mega Man to NOT duck). It is simple, yet great. However, once one obtains a Robot Master's Master Weapon it can be selected and used via a Menu. This offers an additional gameplay challenge, for these new weapons can be used in the stage (to accomplish tasks, in a few cases, some secondary weapons are required), and against a Robot Master (each one is weak to another, for instance, Elec Man to the Rolling Cutter (Cut Man's weapon)). Enemies also recieve damage differently by weapon. Additionally, there are many items to collect, includign 1-ups, and the Magnet Beam, a nessecary Item found in Elec Man's Stage. All in all, the Gameplay is perfect. At least, for the time it was. Because the Mega Man games kept on improving game by game, if this was released AFTER the gem that is Mega Man 6, this would be humiliated beyond control. But it was released 7 years before it, and the gameplay is nothing shy of ideal.

Control - 10/10

It appears Ghosts 'n' Goblins's control-makers were busy with Mega Man, because the stuff here is perfect, and the the Ghosts 'n' Goblins control is notoriously bad. At any rate, this is a Mega Man review, not a Ghosts 'n' Goblins review, so it gets a perfect 10. Mega Man will do what the user tells him to, using the NES controller, and he will do it well and perfectly. This allows for things like advanced jumps and other advanced maunevers that allow the game to be played in incredibly ways.

Replayabililty - 8/10

There is some, to try a different boss order, but there is no real reason to for most people. For the hardcore, they will keep playing to the day that they die. For people writing a FAQ, they may need to play several times to not just write the Walkthrough, but also to obtain data. Additionally, this game is the lone one to offer a score system, and that allows for a challenge of getting the most points (some start with 1,000,000, but this is actually not that hard). Or go for a lower time, or a no-hit game, or a no-shot game, etc. etc. The list goes one.

Robot Master Coolness - 10/10 (can this be 11?) - --not a factor in score, but worthy of note--

Mega Man 1 has the coolest and most awesome Robot Masters in the series, hands down. With classics like Bomb Man and Cut Man, and best-in-elemental-class exemplars Fire Man, Ice Man and Elec Man, and the single coolest video game character ever made, Guts Man, it is clear Mega Man is a winner, because the creators were not out of ideas. Some from later games may be great, but nothing tops the Original Six.

Final Verdict:
+ Excellent graphics
+ Excellent sound all around
+ Perfect control
+ Fantastic idea and well-executed non-linear concept
+ Great in-stage gameplay
+ Well-made story that is both original and suits the game
+ Collection Robot Master Weapons and using them is a fun, great idea
+ Guts Man is in the game
- Limited replayability
- While the story is fine, it is not the most original ever

* FINAL SCORE IS NOT AN AVERAGE

Final Score: 9.5
Excellent, Kevin's Choice, Double Platinum Award

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/07