Mega Man 8 Anniversary Edition

"8 and still going strong"

If your an older gamer or just someone who likes older game series you have probaly played Megaman (the original series not X,Legends,Zero,or Battle Network) I remember when I first got my NES when I was 5 and Megaman 2 I loved that game and still do so I saw Megaman 8 for playstaition decided I should check up on this series (I'm more of a Megaman X fan) from the opening movie which is shown in stunning anime to the ending credits this game is flawless the story begins with 2 strange robots fighting in the deep reaches of space when they injure each other so bad that they crash land into earth and Megaman heads to investigate when he gets there Dr. Wily (for you noobs Megaman's main enemy) is carrying off one of the robots which has very evil very powerful energy Wily is harnesting so Megaman helps the second robot and heads after Wily so the battle begins with your standard 4 bosses Clownman,Grenademan,Frostman, and Tenguman(my personal favorite) and after they are done your next four appear Swordman,Astroman,Searchman, and Aquaman(not to be confused with the DC comics hero) you Megaman veterans already know where this is going even though the game is standard Megaman format that same format is perfect and if it ain't broke don't fix it

Graphics wise the game rules its 2D but very good looking 2D the enemies and backgrounds are very detailed I could just stare at them all day but I won't but anyway you older gamers will admit this is a huge step up from NES and SNES(remember the old square shots that would pass off as bullets in the old games?) Megamans graphics Megas little pellet shots even look good his charge up shots have detail and just the basic movements of running jumping and sliding look pretty good

Sound hows the sound you ask? Great the music for each stage is good and even the voice acting in the cut scences is nicely matched also having the cut scences in anime was a great idea seeing Bass and Megaman duke it out in anime is really great to see it really makes the carnival level more fun when you have carnival music as your background all also when you're going through a labyrinth in Astromans stage the music really sets the mood for how strange the level is these are just some examples as all the music really does a good job of setting the mood for fun

Fun factor is what makes this game so great is that there are so many diverse challenges in levels and ways of getting around such as snowboarding,flying via the Rush Jet and even swinging on vines in a jungle so many robots to destroy so little time also there are added challenges like finding 40 bolts that Roll (once again for you noobs Megaman's sister) will make upgrades for Megaman with and its not as hard as some other Megaman installments so if you're rusty on the series or new to it this would be a good place to start basic Megaman formula still is around if you beat a boss you obtain his power example: if you beat Clownman you get his power the Thunder Claw even though I have beaten the game several times I still find myself playing it

The Bottom line here is that Megaman 8 is another perfect Megaman game that seems to just get better with every installment that needs to be in everyones Playstaition collection 10/10

By the way for those of you who agree with my review lets hope for Megaman 9 soon

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/19/04