If I was a big fan of the series, I could see this being one of the best games in it. Unfortunately, the core design of Mega Man isn't very fun to me. Insta-kills (in the form of spikes and pits) are my least favorite thing in any platformer. Even though the platforming is precise, the enemy placement is done in a way that made me incredibly frustrated numerous times per stage. I also found the bosses to be not very fun, several had me frustrated due to not being sure how to not get hit but other than that they weren't mechanically interesting or were too easy. I guess the main challenge is supposed to be the stages but when both don't click, I don't get any enjoyment out of the entire experience. Before this I had played the first two games in the series using save states effectively the same way this game does checkpoints and I felt the same way with those two as well.

On the other hand, there are a few things I definitely didn't dislike. The special weapon system is real interesting at least and most of them are really solid, but some felt like they had little to no use (namely the acid shield and bombs without using the double gear system). Speaking of, I found the double gear system to be interesting in terms of adding some power to your weapons, plus the slowdown was nice for the platforming moments that really frustrated me. The upgrades and energy restocks are also a nice way to make the game a little less frustrating (I think I would have gone mad in the ice stage without the upgrade to slide less on the ice) and the bolts are given out freely enough for them to come pretty often. All that said, I guess Mega Man isn't for me which is a shame.