The Mega Man World games have reached their conclusion with Mega Man World 5, released in 1994.
Even though the original Game Boy would still be getting more games in the years after, with this being the last classic Mega Man game for the console, released at the time that it did, it feels like we're reaching the end of an era.
Classic Mega Man was about to leave the NES with Mega Man 7, and Mega Man X had already kick-started a new take on the Blue Bomber.
It really feels like they went all-out with this one, with the new Robot Masters being the Stardroids, androids from outer space! Each of them are named after one of the planets, and I really liked their designs!
I will admit though, because of their names being the way they are, but most of the designs not conveying their names, like how previous Robot Masters did (ex. Toad Man looks like a Toad), it made the Boss Rush later down the game a bit hard to figure out which robot was who, in order to know what their weakness was. The lack of color doesn't help either.
But that is only a small issue that I have with the game.
The level design is pretty solid all around, having multiple new enemies and gimmicks. I found many of the weapons Mega Man got to be pretty cool and unique, like Pluto's Break Dash or Uranus' Deep Digger.
And Mega Man also has a new weapon himself, the Mega Arm! It replaces the Charge Shot with something that, while it doesn't have the same range, it can come back to you, and potentially deal some damage to enemies along the way.
But what really helps are the upgrades you can buy for the Mega-Arm! One to grab stuff from a distance, and the other to deal damage to enemies multiple times before needing to charge it again. While the second upgrade didn't always work, I highly recommend you getting these upgrades, as they make the Mega-Arm an awesome addition to the Blue Bomber's arsenal!
This game also introduces Tango, a robotic cat that just... kinda spins around and hits enemies. To be honest, I didn't use him much, and I also ended up not using Rush a lot.
It's so odd as, as I progress through these games, I use Rush less and less.
In terms of presentation, it keeps a lot of the same production values as Mega Man World 4, and adds in more dialogue for good measure. It's not a deep plot by any means, but I do appreciate what was added.
The soundtrack is also unique to this game, and while I didn't find many of the songs super memorable, I did like many themes and the fit well with the stages.
Overall, Mega Man World 5 ends the Blue Bomber's Game Boy line of games on a high note, making it one of most solid titles for the original Game Boy and ending the original 8-Bit Mega Man games with a bang.
Even though the original Game Boy would still be getting more games in the years after, with this being the last classic Mega Man game for the console, released at the time that it did, it feels like we're reaching the end of an era.
Classic Mega Man was about to leave the NES with Mega Man 7, and Mega Man X had already kick-started a new take on the Blue Bomber.
It really feels like they went all-out with this one, with the new Robot Masters being the Stardroids, androids from outer space! Each of them are named after one of the planets, and I really liked their designs!
I will admit though, because of their names being the way they are, but most of the designs not conveying their names, like how previous Robot Masters did (ex. Toad Man looks like a Toad), it made the Boss Rush later down the game a bit hard to figure out which robot was who, in order to know what their weakness was. The lack of color doesn't help either.
But that is only a small issue that I have with the game.
The level design is pretty solid all around, having multiple new enemies and gimmicks. I found many of the weapons Mega Man got to be pretty cool and unique, like Pluto's Break Dash or Uranus' Deep Digger.
And Mega Man also has a new weapon himself, the Mega Arm! It replaces the Charge Shot with something that, while it doesn't have the same range, it can come back to you, and potentially deal some damage to enemies along the way.
But what really helps are the upgrades you can buy for the Mega-Arm! One to grab stuff from a distance, and the other to deal damage to enemies multiple times before needing to charge it again. While the second upgrade didn't always work, I highly recommend you getting these upgrades, as they make the Mega-Arm an awesome addition to the Blue Bomber's arsenal!
This game also introduces Tango, a robotic cat that just... kinda spins around and hits enemies. To be honest, I didn't use him much, and I also ended up not using Rush a lot.
It's so odd as, as I progress through these games, I use Rush less and less.
In terms of presentation, it keeps a lot of the same production values as Mega Man World 4, and adds in more dialogue for good measure. It's not a deep plot by any means, but I do appreciate what was added.
The soundtrack is also unique to this game, and while I didn't find many of the songs super memorable, I did like many themes and the fit well with the stages.
Overall, Mega Man World 5 ends the Blue Bomber's Game Boy line of games on a high note, making it one of most solid titles for the original Game Boy and ending the original 8-Bit Mega Man games with a bang.
MMV (Not to be confused with MM5) is probably the BEST mainline spin-off of classic Megaman.
Despite it being on the gameboy and somewhat sharing a name with it's console counterpart, this is the only original portable game on the Gameboy whereas all the others were ports/alternatives.
With the expectations Dr Wily's Revenge (the other kinda OG portable game) set, you'd expect this one to be mediocre/just suffices for portable systems back in the day. But this game is just as good as, or even better than most of the NES games.
The first thing is the game is actually balanced, it feels fair and not bullshit at some points like DWR. The levels are excellently designed and the bosses are challenging and fair.
Speaking of the bosses, you get an all original cast, each robot master being based on a planet in our solar system. This is such a cool fucking concept and it was executed brilliantly.
The weapons you get here aren't as useful as I'd like them to be, they all do the job they need to do. You even have a shop to buy E tanks, lives etc like you do in the later classic titles.
Honestly if you are a fan of classic MM but haven't played this yet, you owe it to yourself to go play this now. You don't wanna miss this game, it is really as good as a mainline title.
Despite it being on the gameboy and somewhat sharing a name with it's console counterpart, this is the only original portable game on the Gameboy whereas all the others were ports/alternatives.
With the expectations Dr Wily's Revenge (the other kinda OG portable game) set, you'd expect this one to be mediocre/just suffices for portable systems back in the day. But this game is just as good as, or even better than most of the NES games.
The first thing is the game is actually balanced, it feels fair and not bullshit at some points like DWR. The levels are excellently designed and the bosses are challenging and fair.
Speaking of the bosses, you get an all original cast, each robot master being based on a planet in our solar system. This is such a cool fucking concept and it was executed brilliantly.
The weapons you get here aren't as useful as I'd like them to be, they all do the job they need to do. You even have a shop to buy E tanks, lives etc like you do in the later classic titles.
Honestly if you are a fan of classic MM but haven't played this yet, you owe it to yourself to go play this now. You don't wanna miss this game, it is really as good as a mainline title.
best 8-bit Mega Man imo. top-notch production quality, few low points and great new bosses. really dig all the mega arm upgrades, and the music some of the best from the classic games. worst i can say about it is that it's got some noticeable slowdown.
The entire project of playing the Gameboy Roman Numeral Megan Mann games in the first place was all leading up to this one. I knew it was 'the one' so to speak. The people who actually played these ones would be like "This is the good one. This one rules." and while I am happy to report that they are correct and I don't think you have to play all the previous games I am glad that I did. This sucker is a victory lap. The team finally had the chance to go all out and make something entirely their own and they did it while also creating a sendoff to the entire MMGB project.
This time around, Mega "The Blue Guy" Man is travelling the solar system to fight a new, original set of bosses themed around the planets (Pluto is still in this is 1994 suckers) and all of the content is original. The music is new and catchy, even if it's not the absolute best soundtrack in the series. The levels do tend to repeat themes of machinery and outer space a lot, but they are now. Keiji Inafune had a hand in the boss designs and they're all a lot of fun. The weapons are all really weird and unique and I gleefully experimented with them, finding lots of uses.
This is helped by the boss weaknesses feeling fairly de-emphasized this time around. There's more than one fight where you just can't have it the first time around no matter what (at least according to what the wiki calls the weaknesses) but some of your other choices will tend to work fairly well.
For plot reasons, the buster itself has been replaced such that the charge shot is now a rocket fist that isn't automatically better than just shooting. This does a TON to improve the combat over a lot of Megas Men with charge shots, and also rocket fists are sweet. You also get a CAT which is only useful in a few places but he's a CAT and listen even if my pfp is not set to my cat as I write this I'm still a cat furry I gotta point out Tango the Cat.
The level designs have also been given that crucial bump into being just fully good without any caveats. The boss fights are complex enough and in the right ballpark of difficulty. There is a scrolling shooter segment that absolutely sucks shit and requires rote memorization but you won't get too hung up on it.
This is the one, kids. It clears the bar of being, if not the absolute best game in the OG Megaman series, then still high up. The same goes for its place in original Gameboy games. This one comes highly recommended.
Alright now where can I get a wonderswan
This time around, Mega "The Blue Guy" Man is travelling the solar system to fight a new, original set of bosses themed around the planets (Pluto is still in this is 1994 suckers) and all of the content is original. The music is new and catchy, even if it's not the absolute best soundtrack in the series. The levels do tend to repeat themes of machinery and outer space a lot, but they are now. Keiji Inafune had a hand in the boss designs and they're all a lot of fun. The weapons are all really weird and unique and I gleefully experimented with them, finding lots of uses.
This is helped by the boss weaknesses feeling fairly de-emphasized this time around. There's more than one fight where you just can't have it the first time around no matter what (at least according to what the wiki calls the weaknesses) but some of your other choices will tend to work fairly well.
For plot reasons, the buster itself has been replaced such that the charge shot is now a rocket fist that isn't automatically better than just shooting. This does a TON to improve the combat over a lot of Megas Men with charge shots, and also rocket fists are sweet. You also get a CAT which is only useful in a few places but he's a CAT and listen even if my pfp is not set to my cat as I write this I'm still a cat furry I gotta point out Tango the Cat.
The level designs have also been given that crucial bump into being just fully good without any caveats. The boss fights are complex enough and in the right ballpark of difficulty. There is a scrolling shooter segment that absolutely sucks shit and requires rote memorization but you won't get too hung up on it.
This is the one, kids. It clears the bar of being, if not the absolute best game in the OG Megaman series, then still high up. The same goes for its place in original Gameboy games. This one comes highly recommended.
Alright now where can I get a wonderswan
A culminação de toda a experiência do estúdio Minakuchi Engineering. Pega a estrutura dos Mega Man de GB desde II (4 chefes iniciais > batalha contra chefe especial > 4 chefes finais > Wily fortress ou similar) e as inovações trazidas por Mega Man IV e as coloca num jogo que dessa vez é totalmente original. Nada aqui é remixado ou reaproveitado dos jogos de NES: estágios, músicas, chefes, poderes... Até os inimigos comuns são originais e, mais importante, de ótima qualidade!
Não só um dos melhores jogos de GB, um dos melhores games da franquia.
Não só um dos melhores jogos de GB, um dos melhores games da franquia.
[Mega Man World V] I cannot believe the quality jump on this series, from the lowest of the low to genuinely amazing games. And I cannot believe my favorite so far is the final in the Game Boy series. I loved the robot masters and I like their attempts to give a little more story and character. This game by far has the most interesting stuff going on, the levels are fun, the bosses are cool looking, and the weapons are neat, with a good amount of exploring hidden areas. A great game!
Mega Man V is easily one of the game boy's secret shames, not because it's bad, but because of how ignore this game is compared to the rest of the library. With an original story, good level design, an amazing soundtrack, and great boss, and weapon design; Mega Man V is easily one of the better Mega Man games out there.
Why is this game so unique, Original and Fun? Every other Gameboy mega man was just a retread of the NES games but worse, but this game takes creative liberties and DOES ITS OWN THING. It’s designed to be on the small Gameboy screen, and it works. Te stages, Music, enemies and bosses are all really fun to go through. It’s a must play for any mega man fans, and honestly, it’s the ONLY Gameboy mega man game you need to play.
My pick for best Game Boy title
The best 10 FPS I had the pleasure of play, masterpiece, perfection, Capcom, don't ever touch this game again, not to port or collection, we don't need it, don't fix this, it doesn't need it.
One of the best GB games hands down. The music and controls are great. The shop system returns and is utilized fantastically. The robot masters and story is unique which works great. Tango is a cool companion character and I wish he would return one day. This game deserves its high price tag. Come to think of it, I cant think of a better platformer on the system. Its definitely better than Mario Land 2.
This review contains spoilers
Has the most emotional and thought-provoking ending you could put on a Game Boy. It kills me to think that most people don't even know this game exists, it deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest Mega Man games period.
Ah Mega Man V, I've heard praises of this one for a while and figured it'd be worth it to go through the 5 games just to end it on this one. Unlike its predecessors, this one is completely original in its concepts! It still uses a few concepts from Mega Man 5, but they're so few with the new ones mixed in that it feels like that "mix and match" aspect from Dr. Wily's Revenge that I loved so much.
I'm kind of mixed on the Mega Arm, which feels based on the shot from Mega Man 6. On one hand it's cool for flavor and to balance the Charge Buster, but on the other it feels kinda frustrating to use when wanting to shoot a ton of shots. You can upgrade it to grab things for you or attack multiple times, but I really just want to keep shooting.
The Stardroids and plot are fun, even if all their weapons aren't the most useful (I'd say Venus's weapon carries and Pluto's is very fun, but stuff like Saturn feel pretty useless in comparison. The stages also run a tad long and even on the 5th and final game they never solved that lag problem that is so prevalent in these games, which is a bit of a bummer but it's still playable.
All in all, the Game Boy Mega Man games (ignoring 2) are a great show of progression and improvements, always managing to keep getting better and add little surprises to get the hype going. Perfect game to cap off the quintilogy.;
I'm kind of mixed on the Mega Arm, which feels based on the shot from Mega Man 6. On one hand it's cool for flavor and to balance the Charge Buster, but on the other it feels kinda frustrating to use when wanting to shoot a ton of shots. You can upgrade it to grab things for you or attack multiple times, but I really just want to keep shooting.
The Stardroids and plot are fun, even if all their weapons aren't the most useful (I'd say Venus's weapon carries and Pluto's is very fun, but stuff like Saturn feel pretty useless in comparison. The stages also run a tad long and even on the 5th and final game they never solved that lag problem that is so prevalent in these games, which is a bit of a bummer but it's still playable.
All in all, the Game Boy Mega Man games (ignoring 2) are a great show of progression and improvements, always managing to keep getting better and add little surprises to get the hype going. Perfect game to cap off the quintilogy.;
Deserves one thousand stars for how many astronomical entities it turned into catboys
Mega Man is such a fascinating series. I’ve been on a mission to complete every game in this series, from mainline to the most obscure spin-off titles, and Mega Man V is one of those immensely satisfying payoffs that makes this sort of series completion checklist so fun to do. With Mega Man moreso than most series, you really have absolutely no idea what you’re going to get; the spectrum encompasses everything from “suspiciously poignant in a backstreets alley” bad to “where has this been all my life what the fuck” greatness. Mega Man V is in the latter camp, and after the credits rolled I had to take some time to sort my thoughts on how…this is just straight up one of my favorite Mega Man games now?
The previous four GB entries demonstrated a steady increase in quality as the team’s confidence increased and the focus of the titles became less about emulating their console counterparts but more about capitalizing on their own unique ideas and premises. The difference in quality between GB Mega Man I and GB Mega Man IV is shocking to say the least, but even with IV’s good ideas and more concise design I still found myself more frustrated than not. Mega Man V, on the other hand, is the team who worked on these games reaching the absolute apex of their creativity. Aside from series icons who appear in literally every entry, essentially everything in this game from top to bottom is completely new. It was such a breath of fresh air, especially when considering that the prior 4 GB entries all borrow heavily from the mainline series, and that alone gives Mega Man V a lot of credit in my book. But new elements alone don’t matter at all if said new elements don’t work for whatever reason. Thankfully, Mega Man V nails the execution. Robot Masters this time around are all based on planets which gives the game a really unique identity and a thematic throughline that makes the entire experience feel much more cohesive. I love many of the series’ Robot Masters, but oftentimes it just feels like a random collection of hoodlums (and while that’s part of the charm for sure, I just really like Mega Man V’s unique approach to this). Levels and stage gimmicks are consistent and based around the space theme too, not to mention just generally used pretty meaningfully in most instances. They even trimmed a lot of that “Mega Man stage hazard bullshit” as I’ve come to call it (aka the ‘I fell into a pit of spikes that I never could have possibly known was there/got hit with some bullshit offscreen thing that there was no way to react to’ that was egregiously present in the past 4 GB entries especially).
Moment to moment platforming, enemy placement, and boss design was all very thoughtful and there’s even a pretty fun line up of special weapons thrown into the mix. There’s even this really unique feature where your buster gets powered up substantially at game over benchmarks, creating a really interesting system that gives players struggling a safety blanket and gives experienced veterans a challenge. This dichotomy alone gives the lives system more weight than literally every other game in the series, where the only consequence of lives is a lost stage checkpoint. Mega Man V is the whole package, really, and I’m sad that the team behind it didn’t continue to a 6th entry even if V’s ending does serve as a lovely little sendoff to the GB lineup. What a unique little subseries that, while far from perfect, had a lot of good ideas that inevitably bled into the design philosophy of mainline entries (7’s chip system originated from IV? who knew!)
The previous four GB entries demonstrated a steady increase in quality as the team’s confidence increased and the focus of the titles became less about emulating their console counterparts but more about capitalizing on their own unique ideas and premises. The difference in quality between GB Mega Man I and GB Mega Man IV is shocking to say the least, but even with IV’s good ideas and more concise design I still found myself more frustrated than not. Mega Man V, on the other hand, is the team who worked on these games reaching the absolute apex of their creativity. Aside from series icons who appear in literally every entry, essentially everything in this game from top to bottom is completely new. It was such a breath of fresh air, especially when considering that the prior 4 GB entries all borrow heavily from the mainline series, and that alone gives Mega Man V a lot of credit in my book. But new elements alone don’t matter at all if said new elements don’t work for whatever reason. Thankfully, Mega Man V nails the execution. Robot Masters this time around are all based on planets which gives the game a really unique identity and a thematic throughline that makes the entire experience feel much more cohesive. I love many of the series’ Robot Masters, but oftentimes it just feels like a random collection of hoodlums (and while that’s part of the charm for sure, I just really like Mega Man V’s unique approach to this). Levels and stage gimmicks are consistent and based around the space theme too, not to mention just generally used pretty meaningfully in most instances. They even trimmed a lot of that “Mega Man stage hazard bullshit” as I’ve come to call it (aka the ‘I fell into a pit of spikes that I never could have possibly known was there/got hit with some bullshit offscreen thing that there was no way to react to’ that was egregiously present in the past 4 GB entries especially).
Moment to moment platforming, enemy placement, and boss design was all very thoughtful and there’s even a pretty fun line up of special weapons thrown into the mix. There’s even this really unique feature where your buster gets powered up substantially at game over benchmarks, creating a really interesting system that gives players struggling a safety blanket and gives experienced veterans a challenge. This dichotomy alone gives the lives system more weight than literally every other game in the series, where the only consequence of lives is a lost stage checkpoint. Mega Man V is the whole package, really, and I’m sad that the team behind it didn’t continue to a 6th entry even if V’s ending does serve as a lovely little sendoff to the GB lineup. What a unique little subseries that, while far from perfect, had a lot of good ideas that inevitably bled into the design philosophy of mainline entries (7’s chip system originated from IV? who knew!)
Gamers then: YOOOO Mega Man on Game Boy? Who cares if it drops to 10 FPS every time a single enemy spawns, I'm having fun!
Gamers now: This PC port just dropped to 58 FPS I'm literally pissing my pants :(
Gamers now: This PC port just dropped to 58 FPS I'm literally pissing my pants :(
This game is better than it looks at first glance, although it also has its flaws. Overall, this game is good and is one of the best games out there for the GB.
It starts off normal, just another Mega Man game where you face off against 8 space robots.... eight space robots? Yep, and to make it even better, Mega Man V does not reuse or copy anything from previous games, both the music and the stages are completely new, and look great. The boss and enemy designs are outstanding, although the boss fights this time around were a bit bland compared to other Mega Man games.
Being a GB game, it suffers from constant slowdowns that make the experience a little less enjoyable, although in terms of graphics it looks pretty good.
It will not be the best Mega Man, but the game gives us everything we could ask from a classic Mega Man game (and a little more), ending up being a good portable experience.
I recommend it to all those who enjoyed the other Mega Man games for Game Boy.
It starts off normal, just another Mega Man game where you face off against 8 space robots.... eight space robots? Yep, and to make it even better, Mega Man V does not reuse or copy anything from previous games, both the music and the stages are completely new, and look great. The boss and enemy designs are outstanding, although the boss fights this time around were a bit bland compared to other Mega Man games.
Being a GB game, it suffers from constant slowdowns that make the experience a little less enjoyable, although in terms of graphics it looks pretty good.
It will not be the best Mega Man, but the game gives us everything we could ask from a classic Mega Man game (and a little more), ending up being a good portable experience.
I recommend it to all those who enjoyed the other Mega Man games for Game Boy.
I took a look at some Nintendo Power archives for fun and I'll tell you what, they straight up fuckin lied about the order you're supposed to beat the robots here. Yeah, Mercury first, but then Mars?! Then Neptune, and Venus last? Mercury barely gives you a weapon, it's like an extension of your mega arm that picks up health items. It doesn’t work at all on Mars, Nintendo Power. It doesn't work. They charged a monthly subscription just to show a few rushed maps of the first few levels of a handful of games and now years later I can go on the internet and in seconds look up just some shit some dude wrote out in his spare time that just says yeah, you'll want to make sure you get Salt Water before you fight Mars.
Oh, what's that? The game? It's fine. It's probably the only good Mega Man on the GB.
Oh, what's that? The game? It's fine. It's probably the only good Mega Man on the GB.
Angel_Arle Rockman reviews
Part 1: Rockman for Famicom
Part 2: Rockman 2: Dr. Wily no Nazo for Famicom
Part 3: Rockman 3: Dr. Wily no Saigo!? for Famicom
Part 4: Rockman World for GB
Part 5: Rockman 4: Aratanaru Yabou!! for Famicom
Part 6: Rockman World 2 for GB
Part 7: Rockman 5: Blues no Wana!? for Famicom
Part 8: Rockman World 3 for GB
Part 9: Wily & Right no RockBoard: That's Paradise for Famicom
Part 10: Rockman World 4 for GB
Part 11: Rockman 6: Shijō Saidai no Tatakai!! for Famicom
Part 12: Rockman's Soccer for Super Famicom
Wanted to write an apology. This review should have been done months ago but I was just lacking motivation at the time to finish it. This review will for a lot of it be stuff that was already done but I replayed the game just to keep my mind fresh on it and write the rest of it so enough talk, now with the actual review.
Well we’re here at another finale that I wasn’t expecting to happen already. We are at the end of the Rockman World games, it’s been fun replaying them but it’s now time for Rockman World 5. If people were to tell you to play any of these games, it would most definitely be this title. It’s the only one to be fully unique without having to reuse past Robot Masters. After the many titles on the handheld, it was finally time to see what they have cookin here. Let’s finish these Game Boy games once and for all!
It’s another day for Rock and Roll as the two are walking outside until suddenly a new threat arrives. He doesn’t look like anyone Rock has seen before but he lets Roll retreat for the rest of the game, seriously she never shows up again after this. Rock becomes Rockman and it’s time to get rid of this mysterious foe. He charges the Super Rock Buster and…it doesn't work! Even charging it did nothing, can Rockman not win? We find him awakened back at home and thanks to Dr. Right, we now have a new buster called the Rock’n Arm! With this new power, no new threat will be able to thwart our blue hero. Now it’s up to him and a new robot cat named Tango that accompanies Rockman to stop this new mysterious threat.
Like the plot showed, we now have a new buster. While buster shots are once again the same as they’ve always been, Rockman can shoot his fist at enemies. Think of it like a faster version of Hard Knuckle but it comes back to you. The move is strong but the one con it has is that Rockman can be offensive less if he misses so try to not miss too much. Otherwise everything is about the same as it was in World 4.
Oh man the stage design in this game. It’s so awesome in this game! There’s so many cool new ideas they put into this one. Since we are now fighting new robots called Space Rulers, a lot of levels feel like they have the inside of something in space or actually in space. You first start with four stages starring the trap ridden floors of Mars’ stage, the long strip of outside before going into a location filled with leaky pipes and water of Neptune’s stage, the bubbly and bounciness of Venus’ stage, and the treadmills that constantly move with many spikes around in Mercury’s stage. They are all a good length and aren’t too easy but nothing too difficult outside of a few months. Really the only issue I had was the bouncy floors being a bit finicky in Venus’ stage. They are all of a good length too. This goes for the other stages you’ll do in the second half of the game. Saturn’s stage has a really cool gimmick where some rooms change the gravity for platforming to make you floatier or heavier depending on the setting. They even have an optional path to get special items that I’ll talk about later. The stages also fixed the issue I have of World 4 where sometimes the level design rinses and repeats things. While not every stage is 100% original as stuff like water is obviously not new, there isn’t a single bad level in this game. Enemies are also well placed and really the only complaint I had with the level design is that there were one or two moments of praying you don’t fall on spikes falling down a long corridor. Otherwise, it’s pretty awesome! The order I went was Mercury -> Mars -> Venus -> Neptune -> Pluto -> Uranus -> Jupiter -> Saturn.
Well I can actually talk about the fights in this one as they’re all unique here. Mercury is pretty simple, his Snatch Buster can steal your items but as long as you hit him then he will rush to the other side as a liquid. Parts of his liquid body move in two different ways but he never changes his pattern so learn how to dodge and you’ll beat him in no time. Venus can be tricky as his jump depends on if you try hitting him or not, reminds me a bit of Clash Man. His Bubble Bombs can be hard to dodge so watch out for those! Mars can shoot Photon Missiles that you can slide or jump over but watch out as he can shoot a very fast projectile that you’ll need to mash the buster button to avoid getting hit. As he rushes to the other side, focus on dodging mines as he’s invincible anyway. Neptune likes to jump a lot so be wary of that and be careful if you’re too far away as he can do a move to drop water from the ceiling and during this you can’t even slide. Pluto is fast and likes to dash around. Watch out for his fast projectiles when he’s up on the ceiling and don’t bother hitting him when he’s dashing around. Uranus has huge defense! You’ll be here for a while without his weakness and worst of all he can crush you when slamming the ceiling down and he hurts like hell. Jupiter is pretty easy since you’ll always have Bubble Bomb for this fight and he’s got a pretty easy pattern anyway. Saturn…uhhh I forgot to actually learn what he does since he dies very fast to his weakness. I’m sorry. Overall they are pretty fun bosses though I wish Uranus was better but some of the more fun fights also to do Buster only or would that be arm only? Totally not doing that cause I’m too lazy to remember all of the weaknesses.
Alright time for the usual special weapon discussion and this will be a good one! Grab Buster from Mercury is really good as it fires a projectile that not only hits hard but also gives you back a small amount of energy to refill on health. Perfect if you are needing it but don’t want to use an E-tank. Bubble Bomb from Venus is pretty good too as it fires upwards in a wavy pattern and hurts anything on contact. It also runs along walls and ceilings. This move is just excellent on a lot of enemies so enjoy using this one a lot even if the aiming can be a bit challenging at first. Photon Missile from Mars is alright, I like the power and multiple missiles you can send out but it’s a little too slow for my liking when you first send it out. It still can be useful at times. Salt Water from Neptune is eh for me. I’m sure it’s good but I never feel the need to bring it out and the only time I ever use it is when seeing the enemy named Birdy. It can be good for walls and ceiling as it splits into three smaller balls of water. Electric Shock from Jupiter is really cool as you can use electricity from your hands, making the range small but perfect for killing enemies in seconds. It feels very satisfying. Black Hole from Saturn sends out a black hole that then shoots out a lot of projectiles expanding as a circle and is very useful for killing enemies but lacks much energy. Deep Digger from Uranus is sadly the worst weapon in the game. It lets you pick up rocks to throw at enemies but they mostly use this to find secrets making the weapon extremely situational and kind of useless. Finally we have Break Dash from Pluto and it’s awesome! They finally did one of these physical attacks right. It’s strong, you can go through enemies no problem, you have i-frames during and after the move, and best of all YOU CAN ACTUALLY SHOOT WITH YOUR BUSTER WHILE HAVING BREAK DASH ON! It’s like everything I wanted from Charge Kick and even more! The only real flaw is it can’t be used in the air and immediately ends if you go off the floor. You also can’t charge your buster since that activates the move but not a big deal. These are a very solid set of weapons and I’d argue they are really underrated!
Rush Coil and Rush Jet are still here and honestly they just feel obligatory at this point so let’s talk about the new cat in town, Tango. Tango will attack enemies by rolling up in a ball and moving around hitting anything it makes contact with. He can be helpful but I find him not that worth using once you get more weapons since he’s a bit slow to get working well. Eddie is also here to sometimes give you items along with Blues too, though sometimes you’ll have to find him in secret areas. Oddly no Beat though which is odd. Dr. Right also has a shop where you once again buy stuff with P-chips. This store even has upgrades for the Rock’n Arm. Sadly this game also does that thing where the 2nd half doesn’t refill your energy and you have to buy an item to refill it everytime. Honestly just purposefully get a game over to refill it for free. You can also buy a special item but I gotta rant real quick.
In Rockman 6, I complained about the game having some poor replayability due to how you get the Beat letters. In the 2nd half of the game, you can collect jewels for Dr. Right since he’ll make an item for free with them. The item is the Power Generator which halves weapon energy consumption. It’s really helpful but you need to find them in secret areas. These areas require Break Dash and Deep Digger. This means you will have to go to them first if you want to beat the game faster. This sucks because the weapons from Jupiter and Saturn are really fun to use but it’s just not optimal to them first. Even worse, Pluto’s stage requires Deep Digger and Uranus’ stage requires Break Dash meaning you have to replay one of those stages anyway which feels like bad design to me. Could they really not find a better way to hide these? At the very least they are optional unlike the Wily letters in World 4 but I don’t think that makes the situation any better. I could see this hurting the game for me whenever I decide to replay the game more which kind of worries me ngl.
I didn’t mention it but halfway you’ll fight a boss named Dark Moon. It’s just another Devil fight and it’s pretty easy this time so just use Photon Missile and you’ll be fine. Once you’re done with all of the eight Space Rulers, you’re off to fight the foe from the very beginning of the game who is Earth by the way. Well the game gives you blocks so just use Deep Digger and it’ll be over before you know it. You’ll get Spark Chaser from Earth and it’s awesome as well. A laser that homes in on enemies and is really powerful. Worth using if you have the chance to in the final part of the game. You think it’s over but nope you learn the Space Rulers were working for sigh Dr. Wily…God they really can’t let go of Wily. So yeah he’s the main threat now so off you go into space some more with Rush and the final act commences.
The first level is a shmup section and like many games that aren’t shmups, this shmup section sucks. Starts off with asteroids you can’t hit, one single type of enemy and giant ass lasers you cannot predict and do a ton of damage. The boss is also very easy and boring. Probably the worst level in the game. The last level in the game is long and you’ll be going through a level with multiple paths and you’ll even rematch all of the Rockman killers and Quint. It’s a pretty cool callback to the previous entries. Though whoever thought the rooms after them should all end with spikes on the right side every time needs to be told they’re not funny. Otherwise the level is pretty solid but nothing too amazing. By the end you’ll be doing a…boss rush. Goddamnit. Beaten, destroyed, bye bye, dead, go away, wait why is Neptune weak to Spark Chaser, boom, and bam. Ok off to the final boss which is Dr. Wily. First you get a ton of weapon energy refills and then it’s off to fight the left and right knuckle of Wily’s Machine. They’re pretty easy to dodge and just a little bit of aim of Salt Water will knock them both easily. Now you’re fighting the main thing, Dr. Wily’s Brain Crusher. The first phase is easy as you just need to dodge and bounce the bomb back with your shots and when the enemy that changes gravity shows up, I just use Spark Chaser. With enough explosions the first phase is done. The second and final phase is even easier as with enough uses of Spark Chaser, he goes down fast and his shots are pretty easy to dodge. Congratulations you have beaten-wait there’s more? Wily isn’t the final boss? Nope you still have one more opponent. You must now fight Sungod. He is strong and he moves fast. You even at times have to deal with different gravity with your jumps. He’s easily the hardest fight in the game. Though if you can still use Spark Chaser, it can make it a bit easier for you even though Sungod has zero weaknesses surprisingly. Once he’s down, he barely lives but it’s too late for him as Rockman has to book it out of there with Rush after a bit of small talk. The base explodes with Sungod still inside, ending his life for good. Once Rockman gets back on Earth, he sits down and thinks about the journey he had. Sadly it’s cut short as Dr. Wily continues to fight Rockman until his saucer breaks leaving him defenseless. With no other choice, he flees with Rockman giving chase, ending Rockman World 5.
When it comes to the graphics, they’re pretty nice. This game actually has SGB support this time though the colors are nothing amazing. I wish there was a full color version but there isn’t. The border is at least nice. The framerate issues are also still here but honestly I didn’t even notice it that much when playing. All the sprites and stuff are of good quality as expected. Really love all the new boss designs. My only real issue with the graphics is the lack of cool cutscenes that World 4 had. At least the weapon get screen is still very cool and awesome. I also love how they still give stuff like the level select screen such a cool look and not do the same old design of bosses in Squares. The music is some really good stuff too, it’s impressive they could make so many good songs on their own. Though I’m not sure who composed it sadly. My favorites have to be Mercury’s stage theme, Pluto’s stage theme, and the ending. God the ending feels like an amazing way to end this series of games on the GB. I think it’s about time to wrap things up.
So, there you have it people. Every World game is finally done and in the end, I love World 5. This game is so far my favorite Rockman game I’ve reviewed so far. So much of the game is just so fun to play. The level design is really good, the bosses are fun for the most part, and there’s not even really a bad level besides the shmup one. We have seen the highs and lows of these GB games and it’s great to see it end on a high note. I’d be surprised if any Rockman game surpasses this one for me. I’d strongly recommend playing it if you have the chance to. Sadly it’s gone on 3DS VC so you’ll have to get an original cart unless one day Capcom decides to put the World games on NSO. Rockman will also never be seen again on a Nintendo handheld after this unless you want to count Rockman & Forte on GBA. I had a great time reviewing these, yes even World 2. I hope you enjoyed this and I hope it can even motivate you to give this great game a go! Next time on the Rockman reviews, I’ll be moving to the Mega Drive with Rockman: Mega World. I’ll see you then!
Part 1: Rockman for Famicom
Part 2: Rockman 2: Dr. Wily no Nazo for Famicom
Part 3: Rockman 3: Dr. Wily no Saigo!? for Famicom
Part 4: Rockman World for GB
Part 5: Rockman 4: Aratanaru Yabou!! for Famicom
Part 6: Rockman World 2 for GB
Part 7: Rockman 5: Blues no Wana!? for Famicom
Part 8: Rockman World 3 for GB
Part 9: Wily & Right no RockBoard: That's Paradise for Famicom
Part 10: Rockman World 4 for GB
Part 11: Rockman 6: Shijō Saidai no Tatakai!! for Famicom
Part 12: Rockman's Soccer for Super Famicom
Wanted to write an apology. This review should have been done months ago but I was just lacking motivation at the time to finish it. This review will for a lot of it be stuff that was already done but I replayed the game just to keep my mind fresh on it and write the rest of it so enough talk, now with the actual review.
Well we’re here at another finale that I wasn’t expecting to happen already. We are at the end of the Rockman World games, it’s been fun replaying them but it’s now time for Rockman World 5. If people were to tell you to play any of these games, it would most definitely be this title. It’s the only one to be fully unique without having to reuse past Robot Masters. After the many titles on the handheld, it was finally time to see what they have cookin here. Let’s finish these Game Boy games once and for all!
It’s another day for Rock and Roll as the two are walking outside until suddenly a new threat arrives. He doesn’t look like anyone Rock has seen before but he lets Roll retreat for the rest of the game, seriously she never shows up again after this. Rock becomes Rockman and it’s time to get rid of this mysterious foe. He charges the Super Rock Buster and…it doesn't work! Even charging it did nothing, can Rockman not win? We find him awakened back at home and thanks to Dr. Right, we now have a new buster called the Rock’n Arm! With this new power, no new threat will be able to thwart our blue hero. Now it’s up to him and a new robot cat named Tango that accompanies Rockman to stop this new mysterious threat.
Like the plot showed, we now have a new buster. While buster shots are once again the same as they’ve always been, Rockman can shoot his fist at enemies. Think of it like a faster version of Hard Knuckle but it comes back to you. The move is strong but the one con it has is that Rockman can be offensive less if he misses so try to not miss too much. Otherwise everything is about the same as it was in World 4.
Oh man the stage design in this game. It’s so awesome in this game! There’s so many cool new ideas they put into this one. Since we are now fighting new robots called Space Rulers, a lot of levels feel like they have the inside of something in space or actually in space. You first start with four stages starring the trap ridden floors of Mars’ stage, the long strip of outside before going into a location filled with leaky pipes and water of Neptune’s stage, the bubbly and bounciness of Venus’ stage, and the treadmills that constantly move with many spikes around in Mercury’s stage. They are all a good length and aren’t too easy but nothing too difficult outside of a few months. Really the only issue I had was the bouncy floors being a bit finicky in Venus’ stage. They are all of a good length too. This goes for the other stages you’ll do in the second half of the game. Saturn’s stage has a really cool gimmick where some rooms change the gravity for platforming to make you floatier or heavier depending on the setting. They even have an optional path to get special items that I’ll talk about later. The stages also fixed the issue I have of World 4 where sometimes the level design rinses and repeats things. While not every stage is 100% original as stuff like water is obviously not new, there isn’t a single bad level in this game. Enemies are also well placed and really the only complaint I had with the level design is that there were one or two moments of praying you don’t fall on spikes falling down a long corridor. Otherwise, it’s pretty awesome! The order I went was Mercury -> Mars -> Venus -> Neptune -> Pluto -> Uranus -> Jupiter -> Saturn.
Well I can actually talk about the fights in this one as they’re all unique here. Mercury is pretty simple, his Snatch Buster can steal your items but as long as you hit him then he will rush to the other side as a liquid. Parts of his liquid body move in two different ways but he never changes his pattern so learn how to dodge and you’ll beat him in no time. Venus can be tricky as his jump depends on if you try hitting him or not, reminds me a bit of Clash Man. His Bubble Bombs can be hard to dodge so watch out for those! Mars can shoot Photon Missiles that you can slide or jump over but watch out as he can shoot a very fast projectile that you’ll need to mash the buster button to avoid getting hit. As he rushes to the other side, focus on dodging mines as he’s invincible anyway. Neptune likes to jump a lot so be wary of that and be careful if you’re too far away as he can do a move to drop water from the ceiling and during this you can’t even slide. Pluto is fast and likes to dash around. Watch out for his fast projectiles when he’s up on the ceiling and don’t bother hitting him when he’s dashing around. Uranus has huge defense! You’ll be here for a while without his weakness and worst of all he can crush you when slamming the ceiling down and he hurts like hell. Jupiter is pretty easy since you’ll always have Bubble Bomb for this fight and he’s got a pretty easy pattern anyway. Saturn…uhhh I forgot to actually learn what he does since he dies very fast to his weakness. I’m sorry. Overall they are pretty fun bosses though I wish Uranus was better but some of the more fun fights also to do Buster only or would that be arm only? Totally not doing that cause I’m too lazy to remember all of the weaknesses.
Alright time for the usual special weapon discussion and this will be a good one! Grab Buster from Mercury is really good as it fires a projectile that not only hits hard but also gives you back a small amount of energy to refill on health. Perfect if you are needing it but don’t want to use an E-tank. Bubble Bomb from Venus is pretty good too as it fires upwards in a wavy pattern and hurts anything on contact. It also runs along walls and ceilings. This move is just excellent on a lot of enemies so enjoy using this one a lot even if the aiming can be a bit challenging at first. Photon Missile from Mars is alright, I like the power and multiple missiles you can send out but it’s a little too slow for my liking when you first send it out. It still can be useful at times. Salt Water from Neptune is eh for me. I’m sure it’s good but I never feel the need to bring it out and the only time I ever use it is when seeing the enemy named Birdy. It can be good for walls and ceiling as it splits into three smaller balls of water. Electric Shock from Jupiter is really cool as you can use electricity from your hands, making the range small but perfect for killing enemies in seconds. It feels very satisfying. Black Hole from Saturn sends out a black hole that then shoots out a lot of projectiles expanding as a circle and is very useful for killing enemies but lacks much energy. Deep Digger from Uranus is sadly the worst weapon in the game. It lets you pick up rocks to throw at enemies but they mostly use this to find secrets making the weapon extremely situational and kind of useless. Finally we have Break Dash from Pluto and it’s awesome! They finally did one of these physical attacks right. It’s strong, you can go through enemies no problem, you have i-frames during and after the move, and best of all YOU CAN ACTUALLY SHOOT WITH YOUR BUSTER WHILE HAVING BREAK DASH ON! It’s like everything I wanted from Charge Kick and even more! The only real flaw is it can’t be used in the air and immediately ends if you go off the floor. You also can’t charge your buster since that activates the move but not a big deal. These are a very solid set of weapons and I’d argue they are really underrated!
Rush Coil and Rush Jet are still here and honestly they just feel obligatory at this point so let’s talk about the new cat in town, Tango. Tango will attack enemies by rolling up in a ball and moving around hitting anything it makes contact with. He can be helpful but I find him not that worth using once you get more weapons since he’s a bit slow to get working well. Eddie is also here to sometimes give you items along with Blues too, though sometimes you’ll have to find him in secret areas. Oddly no Beat though which is odd. Dr. Right also has a shop where you once again buy stuff with P-chips. This store even has upgrades for the Rock’n Arm. Sadly this game also does that thing where the 2nd half doesn’t refill your energy and you have to buy an item to refill it everytime. Honestly just purposefully get a game over to refill it for free. You can also buy a special item but I gotta rant real quick.
In Rockman 6, I complained about the game having some poor replayability due to how you get the Beat letters. In the 2nd half of the game, you can collect jewels for Dr. Right since he’ll make an item for free with them. The item is the Power Generator which halves weapon energy consumption. It’s really helpful but you need to find them in secret areas. These areas require Break Dash and Deep Digger. This means you will have to go to them first if you want to beat the game faster. This sucks because the weapons from Jupiter and Saturn are really fun to use but it’s just not optimal to them first. Even worse, Pluto’s stage requires Deep Digger and Uranus’ stage requires Break Dash meaning you have to replay one of those stages anyway which feels like bad design to me. Could they really not find a better way to hide these? At the very least they are optional unlike the Wily letters in World 4 but I don’t think that makes the situation any better. I could see this hurting the game for me whenever I decide to replay the game more which kind of worries me ngl.
I didn’t mention it but halfway you’ll fight a boss named Dark Moon. It’s just another Devil fight and it’s pretty easy this time so just use Photon Missile and you’ll be fine. Once you’re done with all of the eight Space Rulers, you’re off to fight the foe from the very beginning of the game who is Earth by the way. Well the game gives you blocks so just use Deep Digger and it’ll be over before you know it. You’ll get Spark Chaser from Earth and it’s awesome as well. A laser that homes in on enemies and is really powerful. Worth using if you have the chance to in the final part of the game. You think it’s over but nope you learn the Space Rulers were working for sigh Dr. Wily…God they really can’t let go of Wily. So yeah he’s the main threat now so off you go into space some more with Rush and the final act commences.
The first level is a shmup section and like many games that aren’t shmups, this shmup section sucks. Starts off with asteroids you can’t hit, one single type of enemy and giant ass lasers you cannot predict and do a ton of damage. The boss is also very easy and boring. Probably the worst level in the game. The last level in the game is long and you’ll be going through a level with multiple paths and you’ll even rematch all of the Rockman killers and Quint. It’s a pretty cool callback to the previous entries. Though whoever thought the rooms after them should all end with spikes on the right side every time needs to be told they’re not funny. Otherwise the level is pretty solid but nothing too amazing. By the end you’ll be doing a…boss rush. Goddamnit. Beaten, destroyed, bye bye, dead, go away, wait why is Neptune weak to Spark Chaser, boom, and bam. Ok off to the final boss which is Dr. Wily. First you get a ton of weapon energy refills and then it’s off to fight the left and right knuckle of Wily’s Machine. They’re pretty easy to dodge and just a little bit of aim of Salt Water will knock them both easily. Now you’re fighting the main thing, Dr. Wily’s Brain Crusher. The first phase is easy as you just need to dodge and bounce the bomb back with your shots and when the enemy that changes gravity shows up, I just use Spark Chaser. With enough explosions the first phase is done. The second and final phase is even easier as with enough uses of Spark Chaser, he goes down fast and his shots are pretty easy to dodge. Congratulations you have beaten-wait there’s more? Wily isn’t the final boss? Nope you still have one more opponent. You must now fight Sungod. He is strong and he moves fast. You even at times have to deal with different gravity with your jumps. He’s easily the hardest fight in the game. Though if you can still use Spark Chaser, it can make it a bit easier for you even though Sungod has zero weaknesses surprisingly. Once he’s down, he barely lives but it’s too late for him as Rockman has to book it out of there with Rush after a bit of small talk. The base explodes with Sungod still inside, ending his life for good. Once Rockman gets back on Earth, he sits down and thinks about the journey he had. Sadly it’s cut short as Dr. Wily continues to fight Rockman until his saucer breaks leaving him defenseless. With no other choice, he flees with Rockman giving chase, ending Rockman World 5.
When it comes to the graphics, they’re pretty nice. This game actually has SGB support this time though the colors are nothing amazing. I wish there was a full color version but there isn’t. The border is at least nice. The framerate issues are also still here but honestly I didn’t even notice it that much when playing. All the sprites and stuff are of good quality as expected. Really love all the new boss designs. My only real issue with the graphics is the lack of cool cutscenes that World 4 had. At least the weapon get screen is still very cool and awesome. I also love how they still give stuff like the level select screen such a cool look and not do the same old design of bosses in Squares. The music is some really good stuff too, it’s impressive they could make so many good songs on their own. Though I’m not sure who composed it sadly. My favorites have to be Mercury’s stage theme, Pluto’s stage theme, and the ending. God the ending feels like an amazing way to end this series of games on the GB. I think it’s about time to wrap things up.
So, there you have it people. Every World game is finally done and in the end, I love World 5. This game is so far my favorite Rockman game I’ve reviewed so far. So much of the game is just so fun to play. The level design is really good, the bosses are fun for the most part, and there’s not even really a bad level besides the shmup one. We have seen the highs and lows of these GB games and it’s great to see it end on a high note. I’d be surprised if any Rockman game surpasses this one for me. I’d strongly recommend playing it if you have the chance to. Sadly it’s gone on 3DS VC so you’ll have to get an original cart unless one day Capcom decides to put the World games on NSO. Rockman will also never be seen again on a Nintendo handheld after this unless you want to count Rockman & Forte on GBA. I had a great time reviewing these, yes even World 2. I hope you enjoyed this and I hope it can even motivate you to give this great game a go! Next time on the Rockman reviews, I’ll be moving to the Mega Drive with Rockman: Mega World. I’ll see you then!
Definitely was unlucky with my 1st stage pick because venus easily has the most slowdown. It's a pretty great game with almost everything being new but somehow it just didn't amaze me. Feels like the difficulty is such a joke in this one... kinda bummed me out. Charged shot is completely broken and I still had fun. It's up there but I think MM IV is just better.
Another great classic mega man game I went into this one expecting a mix of mega man 5 and 6 and got a entirely different game I liked the space theme and the new bosses.
After over four Gameboy games that spent their time regurtitating level themes from the NES Mega Mans, the final fifth Gameboy game throws in a surprise: it's a fully original title! Hey, whoever gave up on the Gameboy games after two or three of them, did you hear me?! THIS ONE'S ORIGINAL! COME BACK!
They had the opportunity to throw in some levels from Mega Man 5 & 6, and call it a day. Instead, Mega Man V chose to create its own robot masters and its own set of stages, centered around cosmic planetary themes. One boss is called Venus, the other is Jupiter, and so on, and so forth. Levels are imbued with newly-created mechanics to spice things up here and there, and I've found the arsenal of weapons to be more interesting this time around, such as a weapon that saps enemy health and gives it to you.
The game feels like it's trying to do some creative things from a team that wanted to push the boundaries of what was expected from them, to create a Mega Man title that they could call their own. There's a sincerity to it, a much greater sincerity than some of the more recent Mega Man games that seem to exist just for the sake of sucking out all the honey from the formula. Of course, the gameplay here isn't anything new, it's still Mega Man, you still platform and shoot things to death... it's the aesthetic that shines brighter, it's the music that hits harder (I love the Venus theme, it feels so unconventional for a Mega Man title but it gets stuck in your head so easily), it's the level design that's more enjoyable. It's the same, yet it feels so much fresher in all the subtle ways.
Overall, an underrated title. It only took them 5 tries, but Capcom finally landed on a Gameboy Mega Man that's memorable, and would be likely to make you come back for more, especially as a Mega Man fan. Highly recommended.
They had the opportunity to throw in some levels from Mega Man 5 & 6, and call it a day. Instead, Mega Man V chose to create its own robot masters and its own set of stages, centered around cosmic planetary themes. One boss is called Venus, the other is Jupiter, and so on, and so forth. Levels are imbued with newly-created mechanics to spice things up here and there, and I've found the arsenal of weapons to be more interesting this time around, such as a weapon that saps enemy health and gives it to you.
The game feels like it's trying to do some creative things from a team that wanted to push the boundaries of what was expected from them, to create a Mega Man title that they could call their own. There's a sincerity to it, a much greater sincerity than some of the more recent Mega Man games that seem to exist just for the sake of sucking out all the honey from the formula. Of course, the gameplay here isn't anything new, it's still Mega Man, you still platform and shoot things to death... it's the aesthetic that shines brighter, it's the music that hits harder (I love the Venus theme, it feels so unconventional for a Mega Man title but it gets stuck in your head so easily), it's the level design that's more enjoyable. It's the same, yet it feels so much fresher in all the subtle ways.
Overall, an underrated title. It only took them 5 tries, but Capcom finally landed on a Gameboy Mega Man that's memorable, and would be likely to make you come back for more, especially as a Mega Man fan. Highly recommended.
the quality curve of this game is the opposite of that of most mega man games. other games in this franchise often start strong and get weaker as the game progresses, this game starts off kinda irritating and gets better as the game progresses, although I will say the Wily Star kinda drags a bit.
EDIT: Half a star added because the weapon you get from Uranus is called the Deep Digger
EDIT: Half a star added because the weapon you get from Uranus is called the Deep Digger
Best mega man game on gameboy and this is only gb mega man game with final boss theme
One of the best games on the Gameboy. Has every excuse to just be a port of old NES content like the other GB Megaman games, but the team who worked on this must have been trying to prove something to somebody somewhere, because this is a well-made, wholly original game that feels every bit as luxurious as Mega Man 7 on the SNES.
This is not a port of Mega Man 5 for NES (In Japan it's called "Rockman World 5"). It is one of the best Game Boy games and one of the best Mega Man games too. The level design puts most of the NES Mega Man games to shame.
Ok actually really good tbh
I was ready to agree this was the best of the GB Mega Man series, the main levels and weapons were really solid and the level design was decent up to that point. There's great weapon variety, unique level gimmicks, a new original line-up of bosses and some nice detail in the environments and backgrounds.
If it wasn't for the last few levels I would rank it with the very best of the classic series.
The typical forced Mega Man boss rushes are usually the low point of any Mega/Rock Man game for me but here it was more tedious than usual, it's very easy to get a game over and have to do the entire 20+ minute marathon again, and there's some really badly placed spike traps right after a falling screen transition in several spots.
Every secret is blocked behind the same two weapons, and one of those is a charged tackle move, you have to collide with the enemy to damage with it, why does this get a pass when the Spin move in Nes 3 and charge kick from Nes 5 are heavily criticized for the same thing?
I'd heard about a flying shooting section near the end is, but it's so simple and repetitive and ends with giant lasers that just blast by the screen with no indication where they are going to be, dying means starting the boring slow level again.
The checkpoints in most of the game were placed badly in that they were too far into the level, most bosses and enemies have very annoying invincibility states, and the rocket punch upgrade often gets blocked or can't to extra damage because of this, it just didn't work most of the time and takes too long to travel across the screen.
The things that annoyed me about this game are very reminiscent of Mega Man X3 like the upgrade being worse than the normal charge shot and invincibility states being overused.
Wily was not just super slow, it was also really boring to fight. There's so much unnecessary waiting around for a chance to attack and most special weapons were useless against him, it was unique but I did not enjoy it. Also Mercury stole all my W and E tanks I spent all my chips on in the refight, that's just obnoxious.
It's alright. IV while more challenging and suffering from it's own specific problems felt like it had more thought put into the level design and didn't have all the bosses and enemies put up shields or force fields that block everything. It was still worth the time I spent on it and fun to replay and I'd still rather return to this than some of the Nes titles.
If it wasn't for the last few levels I would rank it with the very best of the classic series.
The typical forced Mega Man boss rushes are usually the low point of any Mega/Rock Man game for me but here it was more tedious than usual, it's very easy to get a game over and have to do the entire 20+ minute marathon again, and there's some really badly placed spike traps right after a falling screen transition in several spots.
Every secret is blocked behind the same two weapons, and one of those is a charged tackle move, you have to collide with the enemy to damage with it, why does this get a pass when the Spin move in Nes 3 and charge kick from Nes 5 are heavily criticized for the same thing?
I'd heard about a flying shooting section near the end is, but it's so simple and repetitive and ends with giant lasers that just blast by the screen with no indication where they are going to be, dying means starting the boring slow level again.
The checkpoints in most of the game were placed badly in that they were too far into the level, most bosses and enemies have very annoying invincibility states, and the rocket punch upgrade often gets blocked or can't to extra damage because of this, it just didn't work most of the time and takes too long to travel across the screen.
The things that annoyed me about this game are very reminiscent of Mega Man X3 like the upgrade being worse than the normal charge shot and invincibility states being overused.
Wily was not just super slow, it was also really boring to fight. There's so much unnecessary waiting around for a chance to attack and most special weapons were useless against him, it was unique but I did not enjoy it. Also Mercury stole all my W and E tanks I spent all my chips on in the refight, that's just obnoxious.
It's alright. IV while more challenging and suffering from it's own specific problems felt like it had more thought put into the level design and didn't have all the bosses and enemies put up shields or force fields that block everything. It was still worth the time I spent on it and fun to replay and I'd still rather return to this than some of the Nes titles.
Fifth time's the charm, Minakuchi Engineering finally made an actually good game, and all it too was finally getting a budget and original ideas!
It's not perfect, with a few annoying trappings in the final stages especially; the "drop down into freefalls of moving spikes" got under my ass a bit, and I didn't really jive with some of the weapons, but between the high production values, entirely original levels and bosses, and pretty good bosses? Yeah, this is the only Mega Man GB title that I'd say is really all that worth playing. Though, it actually kind of rewards you for playing them, with the final boss gauntlet actually pitting you against Enker, Punk, Ballade and even that fuckass Quint, blud thought he was on the team. If you want V to be your rite of passage for suffering through a lot of mid, be my guest!
Just don't shotgun II-V in a single day like I did, I think I would've died from mid if V wasn't as solid as it is.
It's not perfect, with a few annoying trappings in the final stages especially; the "drop down into freefalls of moving spikes" got under my ass a bit, and I didn't really jive with some of the weapons, but between the high production values, entirely original levels and bosses, and pretty good bosses? Yeah, this is the only Mega Man GB title that I'd say is really all that worth playing. Though, it actually kind of rewards you for playing them, with the final boss gauntlet actually pitting you against Enker, Punk, Ballade and even that fuckass Quint, blud thought he was on the team. If you want V to be your rite of passage for suffering through a lot of mid, be my guest!
Just don't shotgun II-V in a single day like I did, I think I would've died from mid if V wasn't as solid as it is.
This review contains spoilers
Since this game is now free for anyone with Nintendo Switch Online, and since I had a great time with my first playthrough of the game, I figured now would be a better time than ever to replay Mega Man V GB. I only played the Robot Master (if you can call them that) stages before dropping the game and moving onto something else, so why not take the opportunity to completely finish it, you know?
A couple of years ago I bought Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge for my GameBoy Advance. Not a perfect game by any means, but it was pretty cool! There were some very clear limitations they had to give it as a GameBoy game but it was a fun time. Hearing that people didn't like this game was kind of a shock to me, but hearing that people DID like the fifth game in its little mini series was an even bigger one. Surely I would absolutely love it at that rate, right?
The game's basic setup is that there's a group of robots called the Stardroids that are threatening humanity and Mega Man needs to stop them. Huh. The rest of the GameBoy games here based their basic level themes and boss fights off of main series stuff and this completely strays from that. It's definitely for the better, as this is basically an invitation for the series to make completely unique levels and boss fights instead.
When you actually start the game, if you've only been playing the main series up until this point, you'll notice Mega Man is a lot floatier and moves more slowly in general. This is an unfortunate limitation of the GameBoy not having much screen estate, but the developers were very cautious about this when making the game. Everything needs to be put more tightly together so it can feel like a classic Mega Man game where you have time to think about most situations the game throws at you. To compensate, they made Mega Man slower, but they also made all of the enemies and stage gimmicks slower as well. You don't really end up feeling the difference for the most part.
Another thing about the game speed. This game will sometimes lag because of how ambitious it was for its console. I played a little bit of Mega Man IV GB and it was substantially worse there but it's still very noticeable here as well. I did have a death or two that was caused entirely by the game stuttering at just the wrong time for me but it would have been a frustrating problem even had I not.
Overall the level and enemy design both are very fun and the stages themselves are pretty long which is great for a game like this. You could argue that there are too many levels with low gravity gimmicks but it wasn't enough to bother me personally. They present a lot of pretty creative ideas here and if it weren't for the changes to the game speed and screen crunch, this would fit right in with the main series games. There are a few spike pits and things you can't react to super well but it's probably just a skill issue for the most part since I played this while pretty tired. I'd actually go as far as saying I prefer this game's overall design to any main series one which is a pretty big feat considering the limitations they were working with.
The boss fights are very good as well. Jupiter is one of the most unreasonably easy boss fights in the franchise and there are a few in the endgame that I have some gripes with, but it's a very good package altogether. This game actually manages to have a pretty fun and interesting set of minibosses too which is pretty rare for me with this series.
This game is actually one of the single easiest Mega Man games I've played so far. Maybe not the absolute easiest but it's definitely up there. The game being slower makes it much easier to react to what the game throws at you. Instead of counterbalancing this, the game actually buffs your Mega Buster by quite a lot.
In place of your Charge Shot is the Mega Arm, a new upgrade from Dr. Light you get at the start of the game that fires your arm in a punch when you charge it. This does prevent you from firing until the arm returns to you, but it gives you access to an upgrade that lets you deal repeated chip damage to enemies. None of this damages the game for me at all except for a few boss fights that would be tough, but became total jokes because of this. If anything though this makes this a good game for me to recommend to friends who are looking to get into the series.
On a similar note as the Mega Arm, the new weapons in this game seem really cool. I'm not going to pretend like I use Robot Master weapons often in the first place but I did use them a handful here and I liked them a lot. The Grab Buster is basically just a buster shot that drains health which is awesome, the Electric Shock is a melee weapon which are rare for these games and always fun, and the Break Dash is like Mega Man 5's Charge Kick but you can use it in the air. I could go on about most of these but the only huge duds for me are Bubble Bomb seeming very situational and Deep Digger literally just being a rehashed Super Arm, which most would argue isn't the best.
Another cool weapon is the Spark Chaser, a tracking weapon like Hornet Chaser or Dive Missile that can target multiple enemies on screen. I didn't use it but it seemed fun...until I realized I had exactly one stage to use it. And if the Break Dash or Deep Digger sounded cool to you then you can't use those for any of the first four stages as well. This game is divided into two sets of four and then the endgame levels just like Mega Man 7 and 8 which I'm not a huge fan of. A lot of the appeal of a game like this can come from choosing the main levels in whatever order you want and limiting that is kinda lame.
That's not even the only pacing-related issue I have with the game! The endgame itself is kinda awful. You have a boss fight with Terra, the last major Stardroid. Cool. Then you have a space shooter level that was honestly kinda lame followed by a boss fight with the side of a fortress. Then you go through the only Wily Stage in the game. Within it there are fights with the three Mega Man killers and Quint sprinkled about, which is all pretty cool. Then you do the refights with the 8 main Stardroids, which I've never been a huge fan of but it's par for the course at this point.
Then the final gate opens in the refights room, all of the buildup as you go to face Dr. Wily, only for there to be a climactic fight against...a robotic arm. Okay, so I imagine this is just part of a mech and you fight the head next. No, you have to fight another arm after the first one. Then you fight what looks like a trash compactor, then it sinks a little and you fight the Wily Capsule. Only after that does Wily escape and you have to fight Sunstar, the true final boss of the game.
But let's get this straight for a moment. There are two stages in this endgame sequence. The first is a space shooter level but otherwise is fairly straightforward. In the second, you fight SEVENTEEN different boss battles. This is the worst part of the game for me. By the time I was onto the second arm I just wanted the game to end. There was so much buildup, followed by buildup, followed by buildup, followed by...well, Sunstar, who was actually a super cool boss fight. I absolutely love how they handled it and I really wish the game just jumped to him instead of the four-stage Wily fight, or at the very least split the Mega Man killers and everything else into different stages.
It's a shame too because I was gearing up to say this was one of my absolute favorite Mega Man games. It's not even like the repeated boss fights are very hard because each individual boss fight still is very easy. It just is absolutely horrid pacing and I sincerely hope that anyone reading this just ends up using every boss's weakness at that point. It may not even fix the issue but it certainly would help.
At the end of the day, this game is still very good. If I end up replaying it then I wouldn't be surprised if I just ended up dropping it at some point after the first eight stages. Those eight stages are absolutely fantastic, some of the most fun you'll have with a Mega Man game, but it falls off very hard the further you get past there until an admittedly very cool ending. I'd say the game's worth trying out regardless because there's still a lot of fun to be had, but man, it could have been so much better.
A couple of years ago I bought Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge for my GameBoy Advance. Not a perfect game by any means, but it was pretty cool! There were some very clear limitations they had to give it as a GameBoy game but it was a fun time. Hearing that people didn't like this game was kind of a shock to me, but hearing that people DID like the fifth game in its little mini series was an even bigger one. Surely I would absolutely love it at that rate, right?
The game's basic setup is that there's a group of robots called the Stardroids that are threatening humanity and Mega Man needs to stop them. Huh. The rest of the GameBoy games here based their basic level themes and boss fights off of main series stuff and this completely strays from that. It's definitely for the better, as this is basically an invitation for the series to make completely unique levels and boss fights instead.
When you actually start the game, if you've only been playing the main series up until this point, you'll notice Mega Man is a lot floatier and moves more slowly in general. This is an unfortunate limitation of the GameBoy not having much screen estate, but the developers were very cautious about this when making the game. Everything needs to be put more tightly together so it can feel like a classic Mega Man game where you have time to think about most situations the game throws at you. To compensate, they made Mega Man slower, but they also made all of the enemies and stage gimmicks slower as well. You don't really end up feeling the difference for the most part.
Another thing about the game speed. This game will sometimes lag because of how ambitious it was for its console. I played a little bit of Mega Man IV GB and it was substantially worse there but it's still very noticeable here as well. I did have a death or two that was caused entirely by the game stuttering at just the wrong time for me but it would have been a frustrating problem even had I not.
Overall the level and enemy design both are very fun and the stages themselves are pretty long which is great for a game like this. You could argue that there are too many levels with low gravity gimmicks but it wasn't enough to bother me personally. They present a lot of pretty creative ideas here and if it weren't for the changes to the game speed and screen crunch, this would fit right in with the main series games. There are a few spike pits and things you can't react to super well but it's probably just a skill issue for the most part since I played this while pretty tired. I'd actually go as far as saying I prefer this game's overall design to any main series one which is a pretty big feat considering the limitations they were working with.
The boss fights are very good as well. Jupiter is one of the most unreasonably easy boss fights in the franchise and there are a few in the endgame that I have some gripes with, but it's a very good package altogether. This game actually manages to have a pretty fun and interesting set of minibosses too which is pretty rare for me with this series.
This game is actually one of the single easiest Mega Man games I've played so far. Maybe not the absolute easiest but it's definitely up there. The game being slower makes it much easier to react to what the game throws at you. Instead of counterbalancing this, the game actually buffs your Mega Buster by quite a lot.
In place of your Charge Shot is the Mega Arm, a new upgrade from Dr. Light you get at the start of the game that fires your arm in a punch when you charge it. This does prevent you from firing until the arm returns to you, but it gives you access to an upgrade that lets you deal repeated chip damage to enemies. None of this damages the game for me at all except for a few boss fights that would be tough, but became total jokes because of this. If anything though this makes this a good game for me to recommend to friends who are looking to get into the series.
On a similar note as the Mega Arm, the new weapons in this game seem really cool. I'm not going to pretend like I use Robot Master weapons often in the first place but I did use them a handful here and I liked them a lot. The Grab Buster is basically just a buster shot that drains health which is awesome, the Electric Shock is a melee weapon which are rare for these games and always fun, and the Break Dash is like Mega Man 5's Charge Kick but you can use it in the air. I could go on about most of these but the only huge duds for me are Bubble Bomb seeming very situational and Deep Digger literally just being a rehashed Super Arm, which most would argue isn't the best.
Another cool weapon is the Spark Chaser, a tracking weapon like Hornet Chaser or Dive Missile that can target multiple enemies on screen. I didn't use it but it seemed fun...until I realized I had exactly one stage to use it. And if the Break Dash or Deep Digger sounded cool to you then you can't use those for any of the first four stages as well. This game is divided into two sets of four and then the endgame levels just like Mega Man 7 and 8 which I'm not a huge fan of. A lot of the appeal of a game like this can come from choosing the main levels in whatever order you want and limiting that is kinda lame.
That's not even the only pacing-related issue I have with the game! The endgame itself is kinda awful. You have a boss fight with Terra, the last major Stardroid. Cool. Then you have a space shooter level that was honestly kinda lame followed by a boss fight with the side of a fortress. Then you go through the only Wily Stage in the game. Within it there are fights with the three Mega Man killers and Quint sprinkled about, which is all pretty cool. Then you do the refights with the 8 main Stardroids, which I've never been a huge fan of but it's par for the course at this point.
Then the final gate opens in the refights room, all of the buildup as you go to face Dr. Wily, only for there to be a climactic fight against...a robotic arm. Okay, so I imagine this is just part of a mech and you fight the head next. No, you have to fight another arm after the first one. Then you fight what looks like a trash compactor, then it sinks a little and you fight the Wily Capsule. Only after that does Wily escape and you have to fight Sunstar, the true final boss of the game.
But let's get this straight for a moment. There are two stages in this endgame sequence. The first is a space shooter level but otherwise is fairly straightforward. In the second, you fight SEVENTEEN different boss battles. This is the worst part of the game for me. By the time I was onto the second arm I just wanted the game to end. There was so much buildup, followed by buildup, followed by buildup, followed by...well, Sunstar, who was actually a super cool boss fight. I absolutely love how they handled it and I really wish the game just jumped to him instead of the four-stage Wily fight, or at the very least split the Mega Man killers and everything else into different stages.
It's a shame too because I was gearing up to say this was one of my absolute favorite Mega Man games. It's not even like the repeated boss fights are very hard because each individual boss fight still is very easy. It just is absolutely horrid pacing and I sincerely hope that anyone reading this just ends up using every boss's weakness at that point. It may not even fix the issue but it certainly would help.
At the end of the day, this game is still very good. If I end up replaying it then I wouldn't be surprised if I just ended up dropping it at some point after the first eight stages. Those eight stages are absolutely fantastic, some of the most fun you'll have with a Mega Man game, but it falls off very hard the further you get past there until an admittedly very cool ending. I'd say the game's worth trying out regardless because there's still a lot of fun to be had, but man, it could have been so much better.