Mega Man 3 is what I consider to be a step up to 2 without all the weird gameplay decisions that made 2 a rather underwhelming improvement to 1.
Introducing several aspects that remain present in the series later (such as the Rush items, Proto Man, and Mega Man's iconic slide), levels are generally really solid with a challenging yet satisfying difficulty for the most part. Controls feel rather tighter this time around which I appreciate, and the addition of the slide makes maneuvering levels and avoiding attacks more interesting than in the previous 2 games. Furthermore, the Rush items were introduced which I would consider an improvement to the items in 2, as they're generally easy to use and levels seem to lend themselves well to utilizing them for the most part. Bosses this time around are also fairly challenging. While they lose invulnerability to most weapon like 2's bosses, their weapon weakness this time around doesn't completely obliterate them with one or two hits.
After the eight robot masters the game has an additional eight more bosses, 2 in 4 stages each. These are the "Doc Bosses", and are basically reused bosses from 2. While I don't mind this part of the game, as the levels and bosses I found enjoyable, I do feel it wasn't really necessary and the game could have skipped us directly to Wily's Fortress after beating the eight robot masters. Weapons this time around I also didn't think were as interesting as those of 2's, but this is more of a nitpick I suppose as you can still utilise them well enough against bosses and during levels.
Story is present in the game, however I assume you need the manual yet again to fully understand the context as most of it is only just before the wily fortress section of the game and after the final boss. Visuals are as usual good and I found the soundtrack to be more memorable than in the previous 2 games.
Now, onto my major complaint with the game: the slowdown. The slowdown in this game is far more notable than in 1 and 2, being present most of the time in almost every level and during most boss fights. It makes the game needlessly more difficult than it needs to be and can easily sour the whole experience. While I personally got used to it for the stages, it was a major annoyance in boss battles as it made avoiding their attacks and aiming with your weapons at them more difficult. I highly suggest that if you give this game a try, it should be through the legacy collection as I heard it has a "Turbo Mode" that lessens/removes the slowdown. Alternatively, if you're using an emulator, check if it has an overclock feature and see if that helps.
Overall, Megaman 3 is a fun time and a generally great improvement to the previous two games. The slowdown is really just my main issue with it, as my other complaints with it are not really enough to ruin my enjoyment with it otherwise. If you enjoyed any other Classic Mega Man game then I definitely recommend to give 3 a try.
Introducing several aspects that remain present in the series later (such as the Rush items, Proto Man, and Mega Man's iconic slide), levels are generally really solid with a challenging yet satisfying difficulty for the most part. Controls feel rather tighter this time around which I appreciate, and the addition of the slide makes maneuvering levels and avoiding attacks more interesting than in the previous 2 games. Furthermore, the Rush items were introduced which I would consider an improvement to the items in 2, as they're generally easy to use and levels seem to lend themselves well to utilizing them for the most part. Bosses this time around are also fairly challenging. While they lose invulnerability to most weapon like 2's bosses, their weapon weakness this time around doesn't completely obliterate them with one or two hits.
After the eight robot masters the game has an additional eight more bosses, 2 in 4 stages each. These are the "Doc Bosses", and are basically reused bosses from 2. While I don't mind this part of the game, as the levels and bosses I found enjoyable, I do feel it wasn't really necessary and the game could have skipped us directly to Wily's Fortress after beating the eight robot masters. Weapons this time around I also didn't think were as interesting as those of 2's, but this is more of a nitpick I suppose as you can still utilise them well enough against bosses and during levels.
Story is present in the game, however I assume you need the manual yet again to fully understand the context as most of it is only just before the wily fortress section of the game and after the final boss. Visuals are as usual good and I found the soundtrack to be more memorable than in the previous 2 games.
Now, onto my major complaint with the game: the slowdown. The slowdown in this game is far more notable than in 1 and 2, being present most of the time in almost every level and during most boss fights. It makes the game needlessly more difficult than it needs to be and can easily sour the whole experience. While I personally got used to it for the stages, it was a major annoyance in boss battles as it made avoiding their attacks and aiming with your weapons at them more difficult. I highly suggest that if you give this game a try, it should be through the legacy collection as I heard it has a "Turbo Mode" that lessens/removes the slowdown. Alternatively, if you're using an emulator, check if it has an overclock feature and see if that helps.
Overall, Megaman 3 is a fun time and a generally great improvement to the previous two games. The slowdown is really just my main issue with it, as my other complaints with it are not really enough to ruin my enjoyment with it otherwise. If you enjoyed any other Classic Mega Man game then I definitely recommend to give 3 a try.
2 Comments
hi flee
Reddish
2 years ago