Mega Man 7

"A nice change from the last three Mega Man games"

This was the first Mega Man game on the Super Nintendo system,and was a welcome change from the last few Mega Man games as they had gotten a little stale.Better graphics,better sound,good control,....this game meets all standards fairly well at the least.

While the main plot in this game is not all that great (Wily breaks out of prison for another 'I want revenge' rampage) it is different from the last few games.The game itself has several nice elements.It features a shop (with new robot helper 'Auto')to buy things with bolts you sometimes find from defeated enemies.It has a set of armor that lets you fly and use a homing missile,but is balanced by the fact that you can not slide with it on.It also has the best set of secrets in the Mega Man game series ever.Some of the levels have gameplay elements that were so well done they were put in later Mega Man games.Lastly,it introduces two new characters to the Mega Man series:Bass and Treble.

Graphics 8/10
This game was a big jump graphic wise from the old Nintendo system.Very nice detail and the colors are nice and bright.The backgrounds are especially well done.Mega Man himself could have looked a little better though.He looks a little goofy in his facial area.

Sound 7/10
This game has some pretty decent music,though the sound effects for your actions aren't all that great.Like most Mega Man games,sometimes I like the music more then anything else in a level.

Gameplay 7/10
Like most Mega Man games,this game lets you pick the order in which you fight the Robot Master bosses.This lets a player fight the Robot Master he or she has the least amount of trouble with first,and then lets you use that Robot Master's weapon on the Robot Master you find hardest to beat.This Mega Man game follows this formula,but only to a degree.You see,while most Mega Man games lets you choose from all of the Robot Master bosses from the start of the game,this one will normally only let you choose from four of them and when you beat them,give you the other four to beat.While this doesn't effect the challenge level of the Robot Masters too much (as you can still use special weapons on those you have trouble with),I personally find this to cut down on the amount of fun I get from this area of the game,as I like to sometimes see if I can beat the hardest Robot Masters first.

The final boss of this game is one of the hardest Mega Man bosses ever.

Control 9/10
Like always,Mega Man is a breeze to control,with whatever you are doing.No lag time and an easy to understand button lay out.

Replay value 8/10
This game a decent amount of replay value,with the different extra items you can beat the game with.This game has more replay value the most Mega Man games because of one of it's secrets.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/19/01, Updated 08/19/01