Mega Man 2

"Introducing: energy tanks, great music and passwords!"

While the original Megaman was an excellent game, full of unique details that made it a definitive classic, much ground was still left unexplored by our charming little blue robot. Also, the success of the first game was more than reason for Capcom to release another Magaman title and that’s exactly what they did. In true Capcom fashion, however, the game didn’t offer much change upon the last game. Instead, the same basic gameplay was kept and some small changes were done to make the game more exciting to play. The changes made from the first to the second game were quite significant, resulting in a much more well-rounded and overall fun game than the first game, for many players one of the best (if not the best) game in the whole Megaman saga.

This time around, you guessed it, Megaman has to stop Dr. Wily from taking over the world! Wow, that’s a change. This time around, however, Wily has built eight robots himself (Bubbleman, Airman, Quickman, Heatman, Woodman, Metalman, Flashman and Crashman) and they’re out to destroy Megaman or at least cause a little bit of ol’ good havoc. So, our hero sets out to stop them, mysteriously missing all of the weapons he collected in the previous game (maybe he returned them, because the robots were built by Dr. Light, or maybe he just likes to live dangerously). Anyway, after he gets rid of all eight robot master, it’s time to pay a visit to Wily and stop his evil plans. Just the traditional old good Megaman story of every game.

The basic Megaman gameplay was kept untouched here. Megaman has no new special abilities and all he can do is jump or fire his cannons. You start by choosing one of eight stages, guiding the robot through these locations while killing everything in your path, battling bosses in the end of each one and then getting their weapons for yourself, which you will (probably) have to use against the next boss. After beating some bosses, you also get special items from Dr. Light, like flying or wall-climbing platforms to reach previously not accessible areas. The gameplay and controls are pretty much the same and it’s still a lot of fun to play as Megaman.

As is obvious from the number of stages, the game is larger this time around. There’s much more variety, not only in the number of levels, but also in enemy, boss and level designs, which all add a nice touch to the game as a whole. Something that should be noted here is that some weapons in this game are pretty much useless, while some (like Metalman’s weapon) will be used all the time and not only to beat bosses. Also, our hero can now collect energy tanks (up to nine), which he can keep to use at any time he wishes and that will replenish his whole energy bar. A great addition, that would appear in every subsequent game in the series, and essential to get through the game, specially for beginners. Also, this time around, since the game is pretty bigger than the original, the developers included a password engine that made the players’ lives much easier. The game still offers infinite continues, but the password allow players to play the game in many sittings, which is really much better than what we had in the first game.

This didn’t make the game any easier, however. Megaman 2 isn’t an incredibly hard game, but it’s probably harder than the first, even if you don’t have to play the whole game at once. While most of the normal stages aren’t all that hard, Wily’s fortress presents us with a good deal of challenge, taking everything that was annoying from the normal stages (like Heatman’s disappearing platforms or Quickman’s horizontal lasers) and making them much more annoying. The bosses also give players a good deal of challenge, and can be frustrating, specially when you finally reach them with you last life and you die and you have to return to the beginning of the stage and do it all over again. However, it’s nothing impossible, really.

In terms of graphics, Megaman 2 is a vast improvement upon the first game. If the main character retains his original designs and all animations, level, enemy and boss designs are much more inspired, giving this game a much better overall graphical quality. Even the items Megaman collects through the stages have received new, and much better visuals. Level design quality increases dramatically, with very well suited designs and the bosses are much more varied, a good example being the dragon you fight in the first area of Dr. Wily’s fortress. In a general view, the visual quality improved quite a lot from the previous game, not only in overall design but also in detail and general quality.

If the graphics were improved, the sounds in Megaman 2 are miles ahead of those from the first game. First of all, and most important, is the quality of the music, that developed to a totally new level. The music of Megaman 2 is, as a whole, excellent, with most tunes being catchy as hell and fitting the mood of the game perfectly. Most of these songs will certainly stick to your mind and take a lot of time to leave. All of the stages get great music as practically every situation in the game (like the stage select screen) and the arrangements also improve a lot, showing a lot of effort from the developers to get the maximum out of the NES sound system, resulting in one of the best soundtracks for a NES game ever. Also, most of the annoying sound effects from the first game were eliminated and the overall result is a really exciting game in terms of sound.

In terms of gameplay, Megaman 2 doesn’t offer many new additions in relation to what we have seen in the original game, but every new detail added resulted in an effective change and the whole game reflects a yet unseen quality in the series (well, it’s only the second game). The fact is that this game is a much more enjoyable product than the first title. The good difficulty level, good graphical design, exceptional music and the addictiveness of the classic Megaman gameplay make this game into an essential NES title and quite possibly the best Megaman for the system. Well, maybe the best Megaman ever!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/22/03, Updated 05/22/03