Mega Man II

"Fight! Mega Man! Or something like that!"

The Mega Man games for Game Boy were always very similar to their NES counterparts. Most combined four bosses from one NES game with four from another, adding a new story to make for a ''new'' gaming experience. Mega Man II, originally released in 1992, is no exception.

The story of Mega Man II isn't necessarily exciting, but it does provide a bit of fun. According to the manual, the dastardly Dr. Wily has broken into the Chronos Institute and stolen the Time Skimmer. Dr. Light has calculated that he jumped approximately 37.426 years into the future, and the player, as Mega Man, must eventually stop him with the help of his dog Rush.

The game's structure is similar to most other Mega Man games, and it, of course, follows the Game Boy method of breaking the boss encounters down to two phases of four stages; each stage, of course, has its own boss. The first bosses, from Mega Man 2, are Clash Man, Metal Man, Wood Man, and Air Man. After annihilating these poorly crafted machines with ease, Mega Man enters Wily's ground fortress; here he encounters four more bosses, this time from Mega Man 3; these bosses are Needle Man, Hard Man, Top Man, and Magnet Man. These bosses all appear as they did in the NES games, and they all bestow upon Mega Man the same weapons they used as well. Three of the first four bosses provide Mega Man with Rush parts; these are Rush Coil, which helps Mega Man jump, Rush Jet, which lets him fly through the air, and Rush Marine, which lets him explore thew few aquatic areas in the game with ease. Like any of the weapons, these Rush parts deplete their own power sources. When the enemies are destroyed, there is an encounter with a very weak new humanoid robot by the name of Quint, who rides an impressive Pogo Stick by the name of Sakugarne (the player eventually gets to use this, too), and there is also a final stage that ultimately leads to a fight with Dr. Wily. Like most other Mega Man games, a password grid system is used to resume from the point at which one previously stopped playing. Although nothing spectacular, the tried and true gameplay of the Mega Man series is one of the series' most loved features.

The graphics in Mega Man II are not much different from the NES games in the series, aside from the fact that the Game Boy is monochromatic. The various levels are easy to navigate because of their clarity and detail. Enemies are unmistakable because of the excellent variation created by Capcom; some are pulled straight from the Mega Man games, and there are a few new ones as well. The bosses appear just as they did in the NES games, which is a good thing as well. When played with a Game Boy Pocket or Game Boy Color, they are quite clear and impressive.

After playing games for the Game Boy, one learns not to expect much from the audio of games. Luckily for ears everywhere, Mega Man II is a welcome exception to this rule. While the sounds are simply various tones, they are distinguishable to what they represent; there aren't many tones, though. The music is simply composed a few layers of different tones put together to make very catchy tunes. The emulation of drums, bass, and guitar was executed perfectly by Capcom. The only song in the game that is anywhere near bad is the password song, which seems so out of tune that it'll hurt the ears of anyone who listens. While nowhere near the caliber of Capcom's music for the NES versions of Mega Man, the title and ending tracks are outstanding.

Mega Man II is not an incredible came, but it is definitely one of the best available for the Game Boy format. With nine small levels and only ten bosses, all of whom may be destroyed with the Mega Buster, difficulty isn't as apparent in this game as it is in others. The graphics and music are great, though, and they work together to make the game a fun way to waste a couple of hours on an unproductive day. As it is a Player's Choice title, Mega Man II should neither be expensive nor hard to find; it's an excellent purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/02/02, Updated 02/02/02