Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Level Up: Mega Man



So November is now here, and like any Nintendo fan, I’m excited for Super Smash Bros. on WiiU. Sure, I’m still enjoying the 3DS version, but Smash Bros. just works so much better on home consoles (plus the 50 facts video did get my hyped). But whether it’s on WiiU or 3DS, there’s a new character to Smash that people have been requesting for a while: Mega Man. And why not? He’s just as recognizable as most of the cast and probably more so than the first 3rd party character introduced: Snake. Plus, he got his start on a Nintendo console, which is what we’ll be looking at today. Here’s Mega Man, originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but I’ll be playing it on the Mega Man Anniversary Collection.
To get this out of the way, the biggest down point to the first Mega Man is that it’s missing a lot of things that later becomes standard in the series: no Rush, no password, no charge shot and a bunch of other things. As a matter of fact, this game only has 6 Robot Masters, 2 less than the other games.
That being said, since this is the first game, it has established more than any other single game from the series. Things like the run and gun platform game style, the Rock-Paper-Scissors motif, the ability to select any stage, the Wily level after beating the others, etc… Really, all of the other standard things add to it, but putting this game into perspective, you don’t feel like you’re missing out at all.
This even applies to the Robot Masters, as despite there only being 6, they are overall the most recognizable group. This might have to do with the fact that they were first, but Gutsman alone was brought back at least 2 more times, Cutman is always a favorite and Elecman is an assist trophy in the new Smash Bros, that’s already half of them. They’re all well designed for both powers and look, and just that right level of challenge (expect for Iceman, he’s a pushover).
It should go without saying that this game did establish the basic look for Mega Man, along with how robots look in this world, Dr. Wily and a few other aspects. That being said, remember how I said in another Mega Man review that some of the graphics looked like they were too soft, or full of air? Well this game seems to be on the other side of that spectrum: some things seem too small or scrawny. Perhaps I’m spoiled by future games with half screen wide sub-bosses and other bigger enemies to that identify themselves as being tougher. I also got to mention some of the coloring: yeeesh. I don’t know what you’d call the color of Cutman’s stage, but “nauseating blue-green” comes to mind. But these are just nit picks for the graphics. As a matter of fact, I have no nit-picks I can think of for the sound: it’s all well placed, good and the sound effects have become iconic.
I guess at this point you’re wondering what the plot of Mega Man is. I mean, the series is so big that the first game has to have started an amazing plot, right? Well the story actually goes that that Dr. Light and his assistant had created a total of 7 humanoid robots together, all to serve different functions in society. However, Dr. Lights’ assistant, the now infamous Dr. Wily, grew disloyal and reprogrammed 6 robots to help him, you guessed it, take over the world *OF COURSE*. The 7th Robot, originally called Rock Man, but localized as Mega Man, was sent in to take care of the situation. That’s right, Dr. Wily and the Robot Masters started about working for Dr. Light. A twist for anyone who thought the Robot Masters were always evil, but other than that the game is a simple “Villain trying to take over the world” story.
The original Mega Man did exactly what it needed to do: be a great game and set up the ground work for a series. It’s always been fun to play, with the platform gunning style, and the weapon copy and Rock-Paper-Scissors Robot Masters makes it easy to see why this would catch on and why a another game would soon follow. However, playing it now a days, it feels quite lacking. It might be unfair to the first game, but I can’t help but wish I had a couple more Robot Masters, the ability to continue via password or a charge shot. It’s just so ingrained into how we play Mega Man now. That being said, don’t think I’m holding anything against this game, because I am NOT. This is one of those must play games of the NES and one of those series starters that still holds up today. I give Mega Man originally for the NES 9 levels out of 10.

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