Takes the previous formula that worked and straightens a lot of things out. No doc robot stages, no terrible gimmick boss fights, just a decent mega man game. The addition of the charge shot is really nice, although it's whirring always distracts me a bit from it's soundtrack (yes I know this is a nitpick.) Speaking of, the soundtrack is also pretty good in this game, not quite as memorable as 2 and 3 though. The weapons in this game are also a little forgettable and even more situational than the previous games' weapons, mainly only being useful against bosses. Also speaking of the bosses, why does their health refill so slow and with this horrible ear-piercing sound? Just, why?
Even though the weapons are a bit lacking, I do like the optional items, being the balloon and the wire, which both come in very handy in the wily/cossack stages. Overall, most of the issues I have with this game are pretty minor, making this game a lot more fun to replay, with a lot less to dread.
Even though the weapons are a bit lacking, I do like the optional items, being the balloon and the wire, which both come in very handy in the wily/cossack stages. Overall, most of the issues I have with this game are pretty minor, making this game a lot more fun to replay, with a lot less to dread.
After seeing a general increasing improvement in the Mega Man games, I am severely disappointed in this entry, borderline hating it.
I want to say a few of the things I like about it first. The weapon select screen is the best seen so far with actually detailed icons that make it so I know immediately what I am selecting. The soundtrack is still great with plenty of classic tracks and the sprite work is also a continued improvement. Also, the upgrade to the mega buster was a very nice addition, allowing you to charge your gun for increase damage. That's pretty much it.
Now on to my frustrations, for starters, I would say I only liked about half of the stages in the game. Most of the stages felt like a severe test of patience with countless trial and error jumps, sections that require specific upgrades, or extremely annoying enemy placements. I never really felt the sense of level of mastery I experienced in previous titles with certain runs also resulting in me taking a lot of damage. I'm almost sure that there are a few sections that are nigh impossible to get through without just tanking the hits. I can forgive some of these difficulty spikes in the levels since they generally do not take me too long to get through, if only for the fact that these are some of my least favorite robot masters I have fought so far.
Generally with these fights, there is a surefire tactic one can employ that makes the fights significantly easier. That is still the case for some of these fights, what I don't understand is why each boss takes nearly a quarter of my health with each hit! Seriously, these bosses take so much health off of you that having to fight them all again at the end was nightmarish. It also doesn't help how some of the fights are very RNG-dependent. Bosses like Bright Man, Drill Man and Ring Man you can't hit reliably sometimes depending on what their move set decides to do. Bright Man in particular I think is just horribly designed with no reliable way to dodge his attacks and with an unavoidable stun attack that leaves you defenseless. I have my qualms with each of the fights but none compare to that of Bright Man.
I got as far as the second to last stage where I had to repeat the 7 rematches over and over again just to get a chance to fight Wily who is also a badly designed boss. The second to last Wily fight is entirely dependent on the drill that if you run out of, you can not finish the fight so you'll have to restart the stage and fight the 7 rematches again! It again, does not help when you CANT DODGE HIS ATTACKS!
I wish I could talk about the final boss as well but I did not beat this game despite me having like 10 minutes left. The thought of having to refight all of the poorly designed robot master fights again makes my skin crawl and I would rather do anything else with my time. I generally like to be positive when writing reviews but this was just such a headache to play. I would not be as critical if every other game that came before I enjoyed more. I don't know how I enjoyed the first game over this one, especially given its reception.
In due time, I might cool down on this one a little bit and give it another shot, but for now, this was one of my least favorite games I have played in a while. God willing, I hope the next one is better.
I want to say a few of the things I like about it first. The weapon select screen is the best seen so far with actually detailed icons that make it so I know immediately what I am selecting. The soundtrack is still great with plenty of classic tracks and the sprite work is also a continued improvement. Also, the upgrade to the mega buster was a very nice addition, allowing you to charge your gun for increase damage. That's pretty much it.
Now on to my frustrations, for starters, I would say I only liked about half of the stages in the game. Most of the stages felt like a severe test of patience with countless trial and error jumps, sections that require specific upgrades, or extremely annoying enemy placements. I never really felt the sense of level of mastery I experienced in previous titles with certain runs also resulting in me taking a lot of damage. I'm almost sure that there are a few sections that are nigh impossible to get through without just tanking the hits. I can forgive some of these difficulty spikes in the levels since they generally do not take me too long to get through, if only for the fact that these are some of my least favorite robot masters I have fought so far.
Generally with these fights, there is a surefire tactic one can employ that makes the fights significantly easier. That is still the case for some of these fights, what I don't understand is why each boss takes nearly a quarter of my health with each hit! Seriously, these bosses take so much health off of you that having to fight them all again at the end was nightmarish. It also doesn't help how some of the fights are very RNG-dependent. Bosses like Bright Man, Drill Man and Ring Man you can't hit reliably sometimes depending on what their move set decides to do. Bright Man in particular I think is just horribly designed with no reliable way to dodge his attacks and with an unavoidable stun attack that leaves you defenseless. I have my qualms with each of the fights but none compare to that of Bright Man.
I got as far as the second to last stage where I had to repeat the 7 rematches over and over again just to get a chance to fight Wily who is also a badly designed boss. The second to last Wily fight is entirely dependent on the drill that if you run out of, you can not finish the fight so you'll have to restart the stage and fight the 7 rematches again! It again, does not help when you CANT DODGE HIS ATTACKS!
I wish I could talk about the final boss as well but I did not beat this game despite me having like 10 minutes left. The thought of having to refight all of the poorly designed robot master fights again makes my skin crawl and I would rather do anything else with my time. I generally like to be positive when writing reviews but this was just such a headache to play. I would not be as critical if every other game that came before I enjoyed more. I don't know how I enjoyed the first game over this one, especially given its reception.
In due time, I might cool down on this one a little bit and give it another shot, but for now, this was one of my least favorite games I have played in a while. God willing, I hope the next one is better.
Same old