Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge

"Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge is a good but frusterating game overshadowed by the later games in the series"

Game Overview: Mega Man-- Dr. Wily's Revenge, otherwise known as Mega Man 1 for Game Boy, was the first Game Boy Mega Man game. It was released very early in the Game Boy's lifetime, and in some ways it looks it. Even so, it is a Mega Man game so if you know anything about the series, as I think everyone does, some things can be taken for granted, like the fact that it is a action shooting game where killing bosses gives you a new weapon that you must use on other bosses later to be successful. This one has less of the features that the later Mega Man games have, though. While it may be more primitive than later games on the Game Boy in many ways, its still fun, and as the first Game Boy Mega Man game, it sets some standards that the later ones on the system follow. Now, on to the review.

Gameplay: First, the differences between this Mega Man game and most of the rest of the classic Mega Man games. First, Mega Man himself. Unlike most Mega Man games, in this one Mega Man can't charge up the Mega Buster (basic pellet shots are all you get), he can't slide like he can in most Mega Man games, and Rush the dog is absent (Instead, Mega Man can create temporary floating platforms). Second, the game structure and difficulty. There are only 6 stages in Mega Man 1-- four initial levels with bosses, just like all GB Mega Man games, a Dr. Wily's Fortress level, and a final Wily's Space Station level. There is a second set of four bosses, but they are bosses only, no levels, and you play them all at once at the end of Wily's Fortress. However, the basic Mega Man game mechanics of you having to find out what order to play the levels in order to use the right weapons against each is intact, and the game makes up for its short length with a high degree of challenge that makes it feel as long as any other Mega Man game.

Other than that, there are a few things to say. First, the game has good play control-- there is no hesitation between your button press and Mega Man's action. Control could potentially be a little better and more precise, but it has a style that you'll get used to. Overall it's fine, once you get used to the system. There is one annoyance: the main game uses passwords. The passwords are a 5x5 grid with 5 dots in it... a lot easier than later Mega Man games which use a larger grid with every block in it filled with numbers or pictures, but still annoying to copy, as a grid is harder to copy and is larger than a normal letter password like most games. Oh well.
Score: 8/10

Single Player: The single player gameplay is described in the sections above. In the game, you play the first four levels in any order you wish... until you figure out which order is best. Until then, you may get a little frustrated at getting all the way through a level only to be easily killed by the boss because you don't have the weapon that is his weakness. Once beating these four bosses, you get the last password in the game... the last two levels must be done in one sitting. That gets very annoying, but for some reason all Mega Man games do this for the last few levels. In some ways this one is worse, though, for in the first of those levels you will find the second set of four robot masters. In the end of the level, there are four bosses to fight... and like the first four, you must find the best order to fight them in in order to beat them. Once you do, there is yet another boss before the level is done -- and if you get game over before beating all five of them, it's back to the beginning of the stage! After that its just gameplay until you reach and try to beat Dr. Wily, but this should challenge many. Despite being short, this game is not easy.

Mega Man is a fun game, but it has a few problems. One is that because there are so many weapons and so few levels, some of them are really not used because you get them near the end when they only have one use. Another is the lack of a password for the last level. Even so, overall the game is fun, if a little too hard. The challenge level is quite high in this game, as I said before. It may not be the longest game in number of levels, but it makes up for it in challenge. Even without most of the added features from later Mega Man games, the game is fun.
Score: 7/10

Multi Player: Like all Mega Man action games, there is none. Obviously, there is no score for this category.

Graphics: Mega Man has graphics that, while OK at parts, are clearly old for the Game Boy. When you compare its graphics even to other later GB games like Mega Man 4 or 5, it just can't compare. It has low detailed backdrops, for one, and the sprites are not as well done as later games' sprites. They look simpler and less detailed than many other games. Also, once in a while there is a lot of flicker, even on occasion when only one enemy is on the screen. This is sometimes a problem, but its not a game-killing flaw. Between its mediocre graphics and flicker, this game has graphics that are not that good. They clearly are an early effort, and Capcom would greatly improve on them as the series progressed.
Score: 5/10

Sound: The sound in Mega Man 1 is ok. While not as good as some games, the music is fine and the sound effects right-- Mega Man's gun is his gun, etc. Nothing really to complain about here... the music and sound are pretty well done for the Game Boy. Not much to say for this category.
Score: 7/10 (this is comparing it to other original Game Boy games, not any other platforms, as is only fair)

Other Info: This is the first Game Boy Mega Man game. It had four sequels on the Game Boy. Mega Man 2 GB is not worth getting because it can be beaten in under 2 hours flat, at most, and is easy throughout. I know this because I played it for the first time once at a cousin's house and beat it less than two hours... they vastly over-compensated for Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge's challenge level. A disappointing game. Mega Mans 3 through 5 for the Game Boy, however, are great games that any Mega Man fan should own. Four and five particularly are Game Boy classics. The first game holds up well when compared to the innumerable newer Mega Man titles, though, and is still a good game.

Scores:
Gameplay: 8/10
Single Player: 7/10
Multi Player: N/A
Graphics: 5/10
Sound: 7/10

*Final Score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/23/06