"Just one more dungeon..."

This game is flawless, at least in my eyes I believe so. The execution of the game, the challenges of each dungeon and boss presents its own unique way of being defeated. There are some aspects of the game that may make this diamond turn to coal, but they are so minor, I overlook them to see the overall flow of this game. The only thing that I found to make this gem dull was the dullness of the AI minions. Being flooded with reaverbots can get on ones nerves, but you'll be too busy doing everything else to notice this.

Now that I've said my two cents, it's time to give you the first 5 minutes of this incredible game. The game starts you off in a tutorial dungeon which I won't go through in detail. The designers were smart in doing this rather than flooding you with screens of info before you start the game. The tutorial lets you get a feel for the game, the controls, and the personality of the main characters. You are Megaman, the Digger, who is with his grandfather, Dr. Barrel, his sister, Roll, and your adorable pet robotic, diaper-wearing monkey Data who dances....THE MONKEY!!!

Your goal is to search for the Mother Lode, a treasure that would provide power for eternity.

Later on, your ship, the Flutter has an engine failure and your forced to crash land on the island of Kattelox. Because of the landing, your forced to stay on the island and have to rebuild your ship. Throughout the game, you'll be collecting refractor shards, gems that provide developing civilizations power and also happen to be used as currency. Also, you'll be collecting parts to upgrade your buster, items that'll help you progress through the game, parts for your armor, and even items to build special weapons which will also help you through the game.

Being a port of the Sony PlayStation version, this game has gotten some bad rap. I believe that this doesn't hinder the game in any way at all. I'll explain in detail later. For now, this game is a flawless creation that will have you playing for just five more minutes. I have been playing for 50+ hours and still don't have everything, this game is just that big.

Now, let's break the game down and see what makes this game pop up on shelves.

Story 10/10
The introduction story and the bits of story you get through cutscenes really add up. I can tell the backstory of each and every single one of the major characters you meet along the way. I even know a good amount of story behind the island of Kattelox itself, that's how well developed the story is. Another great aspect of the story is it doesn't hinder the gaming experience at all. Except for the intro story, the cutscenes are long enough to tell you what is going on, but not long enough where you could cook a burrito, eat it, go to the bathroom, and come back to them still talking. The flow of the story is also very good and, being an English Major myself, found that the character development was somewhat realistic.

Sound 9/10
Oh for the love of all that is Holy! This game is one of the few that actually have voice actors. I though that the characters talking were too quiet, which is a shame really. I have to turn up the volume just to hear what's being said. The music was loud, but it's not a bad thing, and each area has it's own distinct soundtrack. It's slightly repetitive, but you can probably listen to it for hours before you get bored of it.

Graphics 10/10
Alright you whiny babies, I know this is a 64-bit game, but the graphics of this game are phenomenal. The explosions look cool, the rocks look like rocks, but wait! The characters mouths are moving!!! Can you say that many games of it's time had actual moving mouths? The only other games I can think of having moving mouths, at the time, are Gex 64: Enter the Gecko and South Park. For it's time, though, this game simply gives what it can and it looks awesome, better than what I can draw.

Playability 9/10
While this is the most fun part of my review, I got to admit that there are some scratches on this piece of crystal-clear glass. The only things I found wrong with it were the slight repetitiveness of the dungeons and the flood of average-AI reaverbots. Each dungeon is unique, but some may seem like Deja vu. It's not too bad, I found each one presenting it's own challenges and obstacles, with some minor exceptions. The reaverbots were kind of dumb. I found that they were more like fodder than they were actual threats. The bosses, however actually took some skill. It wasn't like stand back and shoot till they're dead. You actually have to dodge, change buster parts, or use special weapons that you collect through the game.\

Gameplay 10/10
I found this game to keep my attention very well. I would play for hours without stopping. I beat the game in 23 hours, but I didn't save a lot because I made a ton of mistakes. This game gives you room for error, but there are some that actually test the player. This is a game for more experienced players as well as newcomers. The learning curve is excellent for everyone, some are challenging, but in between challenges is just getting used to the controls and practicing for the next boss fight. If you could compare this to Pokemon, that's what it would be like. Capcom did their homework when designing this game. The flow of the game is like the current of a river, smooth, calm, and focused. This game does not stray too far from the main quest by padding with a hundred kinds of side-quests which is the bane of Legend of Zelda games.

Controls 9/10
The controls take some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you will be having no problems taking out reaverbots by the dozen. The only thing wrong with the controls is that they tend to divert sometimes. This is so rare, I think it may be just human error, as well as the responsiveness seems a tad bit jerky. These are so minor, I hate to score this low, but they're enough for me to think this is a problem. It may be human error, but I'll just have to keep playing.

Replayability 10/10
There is just so much to do, to see, people to talk to, so much stuff collect, you'll be playing well into the night and still be missing a cartload of hidden items or spare parts. There are other modes you can play, but you'll just have to play to find out, but let me assure you that Capcom delivers its full potential when they made Mega Man 64. In fact, I'm considering playing it another half dozen times after I write this review. As one of my favorite commercial says, "Your games still go on and on and on..."

All in all, there may be some problems with this game, but I fully think that this game deserves a full score. If I compared this to any game that came out today, I would be heartbroken to have to give this game a two out of ten. This game may not compare with games of today, but there are two things this game has that new games don't: Love and caring programming. Games today are shovelware and can be creating using simple tools, this game was crafted with careful eyes and programmed to be fun, not just to be another quick-sell, online, and weak game that gunk our community in the new millennium. This is a must in any die-hard true gamer, even though it's a decade old.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/20/10

Game Release: Mega Man 64 (US, 01/10/01)