The transition from arcade to home console had mixed results where some games did better than others. Going from a score-based system designed to consume all of your quarters to games with more forgiving gameplay elements was a huge change to the gaming industry. In my experience, the original Megaman finds itself with middling success at making this transition. The levels aren’t quite as hectic as other games of its time, but the principle of arcade gaming persists. The original Megaman is the first of a legacy spanning multiple genres that speaks for itself. The original Megaman features a concise story and a platforming-level design that culminates in equally interesting boss encounters.
The story is simple, Dr. Wily has created an army of robots in an attempt to take over the world. It is Megaman’s job to defeat all six robots and stop Dr. Wily from executing his evil plan. With your mission at hand, you get to select what robots you want to fight in any order you wish. Most people start with Gutsman, the rough and tough robot that throws stuff at you. Other characters you will confront include the sharp disc-throwing Cutman, the shocking Elecman, the chilling Iceman, the infernal Fireman, and the volatile Bombman. Each of these characters has stages uniquely designed to fit their theming.
The platforming in Megaman can be quite tough. This is where the arcade feel comes in. Levels are more difficult than the bosses themselves. Gutsman’s stage has platforms that move fast and can drop you to your death if you don’t time your jumps right. As you’re trying to navigate these levels you have a crazy array of enemies in your way. Metalls shooting bullets at you and hiding underneath their helmets, Bunby Helis that are out of range and swoop up or down at you when they get close, and blasters that spray bullets in multiple directions. As much as I like platforming, the challenges in this game were a bit intense for me. I managed to fight my way through and figure out how to navigate each level but I found the experience to be more frustrating than enjoyable. I believe the sheer amount of enemies to deal with are the largest contributing factor to this frustration. It feels like a bullet hell game at times. It’s this type of middling experience that puts me off from the game. I persevered though, and each trial and was greeted with difficult bosses.
Boss battles in the original Megaman are the best part of playing. Each character has a unique way of showcasing their abilities. Gutsman shakes the room (which can stun you) and throws objects at you, Cutman has a sharp blade that loops towards you like a boomerang, Elecman sends out electrical shocks in three directions, Iceman shoots ice directly forward, Fireman shoots fire forward and creates a ring of fire around him, and Bombman throws bombs at you with a delayed timer for their explosions. It’s up to you to figure out their patterns and when it’s safe to launch your attack. Whenever you defeat one of the bosses, the core progression mechanic kicks in. Megaman copies the enemy’s power and uses it for himself.
Megaman can weaponize the abilities that he has stolen from his adversaries and use them against the other robots which have clear weaknesses to specific abilities. If you have the Iceman power you can quickly dispatch Fireman and Fireman’s power melts away Bombman’s health. This actively encourages you to choose a stage where your available powers will ease the difficulty for you. There’s one ability that the game gives you that’s not obtained from the bosses and that’s the Magnet Beam. This ability fires beams that you can use as platforms to reach higher places. Great for mobility and potentially skipping past enemies that are particularly frustrating. I like that you can find a upgrade outside of boss battles. I don’t like that if you play Elecman’s stage without the Gutsman power then you are forced to skip the ability and will have to replay the entire stage again later when you do have that power. The game does nothing to indicate that you need this power so in my case, I was completely ignorant of the ability until I had to look up why I couldn’t progress further into Dr. Wily’s Factory. The cursor does naturally select Gutsman first in the stage selection screen but that’s a weak indication that I need that ability prior to challenging Cutman. Once I did go back and retrieve the Magnet Beam, I was able to finish the assault on Dr. Wily’s Factory.
Dr. Wily shores up his defenses quickly and gives you a great challenge to tackle before you can confront him. You have a long stretch of platforming to accomplish before you can confront the Yellow Devil. This robot can disassemble and reassemble itself, causing harm to Megaman should the parts hit him in transit. The weak point (his eye) is only visible for a second before he covers it and begins moving to the other side again. His body does follow a strict pattern so dodging becomes easier as you begin to recognize his attack pattern but you are stuck in an incredibly tight space. I struggled a lot with this boss but eventually, I was able to lay it to rest. The following stages pit you against the robots you fought before to reach this stage and also include a copy of Megaman. He copies the power that you are using which encouraged me to stick with the standard mega buster. As you fight your way through you will finally reach Dr. Wily in his machine. The fight itself wasn’t all that difficult. Both phases of the boss involve dodging a single attack. Once Dr. Wily has been defeated, the game ends and you are presented with your score.
I like that you receive a score. It’s a good feature that hails from the arcade era. It also gives you a measuring point for how skillfully you completed the game. Having a high score system likely encouraged people to play more than they might have without one. Despite my frustrations, I found this to be a worthwhile experience. After playing the game, it’s easy to see why there are 10 more games like it. Not to mention the countless spinoffs that have occurred due to its popularity. A game like Megaman can only improve from where it started and its legacy stands as a testament to its qualities.
The story is simple, Dr. Wily has created an army of robots in an attempt to take over the world. It is Megaman’s job to defeat all six robots and stop Dr. Wily from executing his evil plan. With your mission at hand, you get to select what robots you want to fight in any order you wish. Most people start with Gutsman, the rough and tough robot that throws stuff at you. Other characters you will confront include the sharp disc-throwing Cutman, the shocking Elecman, the chilling Iceman, the infernal Fireman, and the volatile Bombman. Each of these characters has stages uniquely designed to fit their theming.
The platforming in Megaman can be quite tough. This is where the arcade feel comes in. Levels are more difficult than the bosses themselves. Gutsman’s stage has platforms that move fast and can drop you to your death if you don’t time your jumps right. As you’re trying to navigate these levels you have a crazy array of enemies in your way. Metalls shooting bullets at you and hiding underneath their helmets, Bunby Helis that are out of range and swoop up or down at you when they get close, and blasters that spray bullets in multiple directions. As much as I like platforming, the challenges in this game were a bit intense for me. I managed to fight my way through and figure out how to navigate each level but I found the experience to be more frustrating than enjoyable. I believe the sheer amount of enemies to deal with are the largest contributing factor to this frustration. It feels like a bullet hell game at times. It’s this type of middling experience that puts me off from the game. I persevered though, and each trial and was greeted with difficult bosses.
Boss battles in the original Megaman are the best part of playing. Each character has a unique way of showcasing their abilities. Gutsman shakes the room (which can stun you) and throws objects at you, Cutman has a sharp blade that loops towards you like a boomerang, Elecman sends out electrical shocks in three directions, Iceman shoots ice directly forward, Fireman shoots fire forward and creates a ring of fire around him, and Bombman throws bombs at you with a delayed timer for their explosions. It’s up to you to figure out their patterns and when it’s safe to launch your attack. Whenever you defeat one of the bosses, the core progression mechanic kicks in. Megaman copies the enemy’s power and uses it for himself.
Megaman can weaponize the abilities that he has stolen from his adversaries and use them against the other robots which have clear weaknesses to specific abilities. If you have the Iceman power you can quickly dispatch Fireman and Fireman’s power melts away Bombman’s health. This actively encourages you to choose a stage where your available powers will ease the difficulty for you. There’s one ability that the game gives you that’s not obtained from the bosses and that’s the Magnet Beam. This ability fires beams that you can use as platforms to reach higher places. Great for mobility and potentially skipping past enemies that are particularly frustrating. I like that you can find a upgrade outside of boss battles. I don’t like that if you play Elecman’s stage without the Gutsman power then you are forced to skip the ability and will have to replay the entire stage again later when you do have that power. The game does nothing to indicate that you need this power so in my case, I was completely ignorant of the ability until I had to look up why I couldn’t progress further into Dr. Wily’s Factory. The cursor does naturally select Gutsman first in the stage selection screen but that’s a weak indication that I need that ability prior to challenging Cutman. Once I did go back and retrieve the Magnet Beam, I was able to finish the assault on Dr. Wily’s Factory.
Dr. Wily shores up his defenses quickly and gives you a great challenge to tackle before you can confront him. You have a long stretch of platforming to accomplish before you can confront the Yellow Devil. This robot can disassemble and reassemble itself, causing harm to Megaman should the parts hit him in transit. The weak point (his eye) is only visible for a second before he covers it and begins moving to the other side again. His body does follow a strict pattern so dodging becomes easier as you begin to recognize his attack pattern but you are stuck in an incredibly tight space. I struggled a lot with this boss but eventually, I was able to lay it to rest. The following stages pit you against the robots you fought before to reach this stage and also include a copy of Megaman. He copies the power that you are using which encouraged me to stick with the standard mega buster. As you fight your way through you will finally reach Dr. Wily in his machine. The fight itself wasn’t all that difficult. Both phases of the boss involve dodging a single attack. Once Dr. Wily has been defeated, the game ends and you are presented with your score.
I like that you receive a score. It’s a good feature that hails from the arcade era. It also gives you a measuring point for how skillfully you completed the game. Having a high score system likely encouraged people to play more than they might have without one. Despite my frustrations, I found this to be a worthwhile experience. After playing the game, it’s easy to see why there are 10 more games like it. Not to mention the countless spinoffs that have occurred due to its popularity. A game like Megaman can only improve from where it started and its legacy stands as a testament to its qualities.