Mega Man 2

"Get your weapons ready!"

Ah, Megaman 2....one of the best games in the Megaman series, and probably one of the best games on the NES. It's the game that really launched Megaman's popularity. It's also the first game in the series to contain many of the features commonly seen in Megaman games today (well, except passwords).

The game itself doesn't really have much of a storyline; it can pretty much be summed up in two sentences: ''Oh no! Dr. Wily has created eight new robots to destroy Megaman! Fight them, Megaman, for everlasting peace!''

But forget the storyline. It's not what makes this game great. What makes this game great is its kick-ass gameplay. Here is my review for Megaman 2....

Wowie-Zowie Graphics on the NES!
Well, as far as this game's graphics goes, they're pretty good, considering the power of NES. Megaman himself defies the laws of NES graphics by having five colors on his sprite (as well as some of the bosses), and his enemies don't look too bad either. Even the backgrounds, some of which are animated, are pretty good. But, ya know, there really isn't a whole lot I can say about the game's graphics. Just that they're good.

NES Audio at it's Best!
There's not much to be said about the game's audio either, other than the fact it contains some of the best dang music that ever got pumped out of that gray box. Whenever you're going through the bowels of Wood Man's forest or that mess of lasers that is Quick Man's level, the game's music doesn't let up.

Look at This Game! It's Easier Than my Sister!
In case you've never played a Megaman game before, here's how the game works. You essentially fight your way through eight stages of platforming/shooting action with a funky-looking evil robot at the end of each one (you choose the order in which you fight them in, by the way). Defeating said robot earns you one of his special weapons, which another funky robot is vulnerable to, and so on. Eventually, you'll make it to the evil Dr. Wily's fortress, where you'll go through some more levels, fight some more evil bosses, fight all eight of those funky-looking evil robots again, and go mano-a-mano with the evil Dr. Wily himself, with the ultimate result of you kicking his evil behind and bringing peace to the world. It doesn't take very long (last time I played it, it took me an hour and a half) and it probably won't give you much trouble either.
Still, this game gets kudos for introducing some nifty features that helped make all the games in the series so much easier. For example, this is the first game in the series to have a password feature. Imagine that. Of course, you probably won't need it because the game's so short anyway, but just in case, right?
This is also the first game in the series that introduced Energy Tanks. Whenever you're in a tight spot and there's no life energy to be found for the next five miles, just enter your sub-screen, click on the ''E'', and wah-lah! Your energy is refilled! Really handy in boss fights, to say to the least. What's more, those same Energy Tanks are even saved by those previously mentioned passwords! It's technology at it's very best!!....of 1989.
And contributing to the ease of the game is its open ended ''stage-selection feature''. Normally in Megaman games, you follow a strict order of ''Use this weapon on this robot, and then use that weapon on that robot, and so on and so on''. However, in this game, you can actually go in any order you want and still have the weapon you need to fight the next boss you choose. This makes Megaman 2 a great game for beginners to the series, because you don't have to worry about memorizing needless orders of boss fights.
Speaking of weapons, this game has some of the most useful weapons in the series. In particular: the Metal Blade. It's a multi-directional weapon that can be used sixty times before it runs out of energy, and the energy power-ups you'll find throughout the levels means that you won't be running out of Metal Blade energy anytime soon. What's more, the Metal Blade is the ideal weapon for taking out four of the eight bosses. This not only makes the weapon immensely useful, but a complete replacement for your ''P-Shooter'' (your default weapon). On top of that, you have the ''platform-makers'' you get from some of the bosses, which make getting around the levels easy.
The controls are easy to master. One button makes you jump, and the other one makes you shoot your currently selected weapon. Pressing start opens up your weapon-select menu. Unfortunately, you have no hot-keys for selecting weapons, which means you have to pause the action every time you want to pick a new one. It's annoying at first, but you get used to it.
And finally, there is a difficulty select. Megaman 2 is the only game to have such a feature. Basically, there are two difficulties: Difficult (which is actually the mode the game is always in in the Japanese game) and Normal (which reduces the amount of damage needed to defeat the bosses, or increases the power of your own weapons, whichever way you want to look at it).
In case you haven't picked it up yet, this is the easiest game in the series. All those nifty new features add up to make Megaman 2 an enjoyable experience. If you have never played a Megaman game before, make this your first one.

And Now, the Final Verdict:
Graphics: Pretty good, considering the power of the system.
Sound: Some of the best music you'll ever hear on the NES.
Gameplay: The easiest game in the series, which makes it a great game to start with.

Buy, or Rent? Buy it, if you can. This game's a classic.

Megaman 2. One of the best games in the Megaman series. Possibly one of the best games on the NES. Get your weapons ready.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/03