FyroFV
2008
I'll be honest, I replayed this because I did want to see if my old verdict on the game held up. As a reminder, I really didn't respect that the game got rid of the slide and charge shot, and I did not like the level design like at all. I thought it was cheap and frustrating, but doable with Mega Man at least. All of which sucked because I really liked a lot of other things about the game. I liked the robot masters as characters especially, I liked their weapons, I liked the wily bosses, I loved the music, I especially really liked the story, or at least the nugget of lore about robot expiry dates that I think they should've done more because it was compelllllling.
Coming back to it now, not in the midst of a megaman marathon that burned me out of playing games for a week after failing to get past Megaman X5's second level, I like it a lot more.
I don't think it's what I would call that outstanding for a Mega Man title, but the level design certainly wasn't as frustrating as I remembered. It still can be, I really did not like Hornet Man's, Plug Man's, and especially Jewel Man's stages, and some of the WIly Stages (mainly stage 2), but you know what, it is whatever. Weapons still are really fun, was a lot smarter idea starting with Hornet Man though so I got the Hornet Chaser and could just deal with annoyances from a far. It was a lot cleaner of a playthrough.
I'm still not jazzed about the lack of charge shot and slide, those I think make the level design like more interesting or potentially at least, but I do think this game completely doable without it, it can just be kind of tough.
Alright game now, I will go back to MM10 when I feel like dealing with it, but I don't know if I'll think much better of that one.
Coming back to it now, not in the midst of a megaman marathon that burned me out of playing games for a week after failing to get past Megaman X5's second level, I like it a lot more.
I don't think it's what I would call that outstanding for a Mega Man title, but the level design certainly wasn't as frustrating as I remembered. It still can be, I really did not like Hornet Man's, Plug Man's, and especially Jewel Man's stages, and some of the WIly Stages (mainly stage 2), but you know what, it is whatever. Weapons still are really fun, was a lot smarter idea starting with Hornet Man though so I got the Hornet Chaser and could just deal with annoyances from a far. It was a lot cleaner of a playthrough.
I'm still not jazzed about the lack of charge shot and slide, those I think make the level design like more interesting or potentially at least, but I do think this game completely doable without it, it can just be kind of tough.
Alright game now, I will go back to MM10 when I feel like dealing with it, but I don't know if I'll think much better of that one.
2023
Mad Rat Dead and DMC is such a clever combo of concepts to mash together... as reductive as that sounds. Crazy these were the same guys that did the Evil Within 1 and 2, but those games were fire, and same with this one.
This review contains spoilers
Promises might not be at journey's end, but I know the memories will.
2012
I finally played it, Addi.
(Gameplay was not that fun due to a lot of things bogging down the combat and the slow moments almost made me stop playing a few times, but I do really like the story and characters and stuff, really lovely game to see unfold).
(Gameplay was not that fun due to a lot of things bogging down the combat and the slow moments almost made me stop playing a few times, but I do really like the story and characters and stuff, really lovely game to see unfold).
1997
I have played this game before, it's like one of the 3 I did touch before and one of the 2 X games I beat, the other being X1, and I was already expecting to like this game quite a bit. Like when I came to it, it'd be a really good bump in quality after whatever X2 and X3 were, but oh god, I did not expect to be so pleasantly surprised that I played it twice in a row. There was a technically good reason. I played as X and I wanted to compare him to Zero and that left some interesting personal notes, but I already played Zero the past two times I played this game, I just wanted to replay him because it'd be fun, and I just like this game a lot.
It's such a massive step up in quality that I think blows even X1 out of the water, let alone the other two that by comparison are progressively more sluggish and worse to play that I just didn't want to finish X3 at all. It's so fluent, it does a lot of quality of life changes in such small ways that it makes the game so much more comfortable, and there really isn't that much to deal with in terms of the collection that you can't already get on the first run of stages, albeit with a few game overs to get some stuff. Especially if you play Zero who only really needs the heart tanks and the different sub tanks.
On top of all that, this is the first game that the Mavericks are actually really cool to me, especially with the flavor text behind them, and how they handle the weapons and techniques they grant is pretty well handled in my opinion. I mean with Zero, it's just additions to his moveset, it's more his relationship with bosses based on his swordplay rather than relying on a strict weakness chain as heavily as X does is neat, but with X, it's mainly down to how they handle weapon energy.
One of the things you can get is the helmet armor part for the fourth armor, and it specifically makes it so that attacking with the weaker, normal versions of the weapons will cost no energy. It'll cost you if you use the charge versions like you'd expect, but the fact that you're a bit more free to use weapons makes me more willing to use them outside of boss rooms. A couple I got a few good uses out of bosses and collectibles aside, was the electric web for it's wall hopping, or the twin slasher for it's handy range coverage (despite it being weaker than a normal buster shot).
It also helps that not only do they finally introduce the weapon energy subtank, but now they refill your weapon energy if you die at a boss, even if you wasted it fully in the last fight. It ironically voids the use for the weapon subtank where it would've been really helpful before, but I'm fine eaither way. In a lot of other games, without a way to grind out energy, it was just really easy to fuck yourself over using the weapon if I was trying to figure out a boss or just fucked up and died on a failed run, and force yourself to do a buster only run basically because I can't do anything else. It's just good to have.
Going back a second to the armor, it's also pretty good, arguably my favorite so far. The Helmet I already explained how it's good, but the leg part is pretty handy because not only is it an airdash, but also doubles as a hover. It's a little finnicky but the option is handy. The Body Armor part does the damage reduction but also introduces the Nova Strike which is really cool to use and actually a lot more interesting than X2's screen nuke or X3's barrier. And the charge shot, inspeaking of something that blows X3 out of the water, the buster parts can be really cool. I said parts, you get an option between either a super shot that leaves a plasma orb that lingers on hit, or just stocking up on 4 charge shots that can be used at will. All on top of being able to charge weapons as typical. I think that the plasma is the clear winner in what I'd stick with, like without a doubt, but it's still really cool you get the choice. Both are also much more useful than X3's buster shot, like a lot more, like holy shit X3's buster sucks.
I didn't really play X in this game because Zero I think is a bit cooler, and his sword style was a lot more unique to me than what most of the series offers where it was just going buster only. It also probably helped that X4 is more Zero's story than anything, as X is just kind of there. But actually playing him, he's pretty alright. I think he's weirdly kind of the "easy" mode, but only because his buster makes a lot more fights just a bit easier since you get to keep your distance and I think some of the boss patterns are a bit more leniant (i.e. Slash Beast or Magma Dragoon). But I don't care, it was a fun run, and far easier at hooking me than before.
That being said, I also played Zero, and revisting him was a bit weird. His style is a lot more about getting up close, so remembering how to play him was remembering to take advantage of the little gaps in enemy patterns to pepper in slashes. Magma Dragoon was a good example in that regard, as to beat him, I had to learn to sneak strikes during his hadoken combos and abuse his weakness weapon when he starts doing shoryukens and spitting fire, quite literally. What was also weird to learn is that X got an extra, simpler fight against Colonel, which is funny because he has significantly more value to Zero, but I dunno.
While I feel this story is actually pretty alright compared to other entries in the X series, or even the series as a whole, it also feels a bit too easy to question why some characters act the way they do. Like Repliforce just makes their situation worse by not being willing to talk things out at all. I'm not gonna say Maverick Hunter force was perfect for going right ahead and deeming ALL OF REPLICFORCE as Mavericks, so they did end up having a reason to fight back, but still. I also have to wonder how Sigma ended convincing the General of anything because the first scene we see of him is telling Sigma to sod off after he tries to convince to turn on humanity. I want to assume it's because that he was forced to after figuring out what Magma Dragoon did, but I'm not clear on that. I poke holes, and I think I could try at it more, but I'm not gonna bother right now. I do think I like MM8's PS1 cutscenes a bit more. Partly because they are better audio balanced... mostly, but also because the dialogue I think is just a bit funnier to meme about. That being said, I like what we get here overall. I do just love the Sigma versus Zero scene, it's really well done.
Overall, I think X4 is at this point, what I consider MM11 is for the classic series, an incredible refinement of a formula with it's own additions and streamlining that makes it hard to beat. The addition of Zero as a playable character with his own campaign, the reworking of armor and super abilities, just a bunch of small additions or adjustments that make the game feel really good to play. It's probably my favorite Mega Man game right now, Classic or X, but I can't say that doesn't make me a bit worried for the games coming after. I just hope this game isn't the peak of the X series...
Anyways, i'll continue X5 later, for now, let's rank the bosses. I was originally gonna rank the bosses seperately for X and Zero, but my ranking is close for both to just come to an average essentially.
8. Cyber Peacock
7. Storm Owl
6. Jet Stingray
5. Slash Beast
4. Frost Walrus
3. Split Mushroom
2. Web Spider
1. Magma Dragoon
It's such a massive step up in quality that I think blows even X1 out of the water, let alone the other two that by comparison are progressively more sluggish and worse to play that I just didn't want to finish X3 at all. It's so fluent, it does a lot of quality of life changes in such small ways that it makes the game so much more comfortable, and there really isn't that much to deal with in terms of the collection that you can't already get on the first run of stages, albeit with a few game overs to get some stuff. Especially if you play Zero who only really needs the heart tanks and the different sub tanks.
On top of all that, this is the first game that the Mavericks are actually really cool to me, especially with the flavor text behind them, and how they handle the weapons and techniques they grant is pretty well handled in my opinion. I mean with Zero, it's just additions to his moveset, it's more his relationship with bosses based on his swordplay rather than relying on a strict weakness chain as heavily as X does is neat, but with X, it's mainly down to how they handle weapon energy.
One of the things you can get is the helmet armor part for the fourth armor, and it specifically makes it so that attacking with the weaker, normal versions of the weapons will cost no energy. It'll cost you if you use the charge versions like you'd expect, but the fact that you're a bit more free to use weapons makes me more willing to use them outside of boss rooms. A couple I got a few good uses out of bosses and collectibles aside, was the electric web for it's wall hopping, or the twin slasher for it's handy range coverage (despite it being weaker than a normal buster shot).
It also helps that not only do they finally introduce the weapon energy subtank, but now they refill your weapon energy if you die at a boss, even if you wasted it fully in the last fight. It ironically voids the use for the weapon subtank where it would've been really helpful before, but I'm fine eaither way. In a lot of other games, without a way to grind out energy, it was just really easy to fuck yourself over using the weapon if I was trying to figure out a boss or just fucked up and died on a failed run, and force yourself to do a buster only run basically because I can't do anything else. It's just good to have.
Going back a second to the armor, it's also pretty good, arguably my favorite so far. The Helmet I already explained how it's good, but the leg part is pretty handy because not only is it an airdash, but also doubles as a hover. It's a little finnicky but the option is handy. The Body Armor part does the damage reduction but also introduces the Nova Strike which is really cool to use and actually a lot more interesting than X2's screen nuke or X3's barrier. And the charge shot, inspeaking of something that blows X3 out of the water, the buster parts can be really cool. I said parts, you get an option between either a super shot that leaves a plasma orb that lingers on hit, or just stocking up on 4 charge shots that can be used at will. All on top of being able to charge weapons as typical. I think that the plasma is the clear winner in what I'd stick with, like without a doubt, but it's still really cool you get the choice. Both are also much more useful than X3's buster shot, like a lot more, like holy shit X3's buster sucks.
I didn't really play X in this game because Zero I think is a bit cooler, and his sword style was a lot more unique to me than what most of the series offers where it was just going buster only. It also probably helped that X4 is more Zero's story than anything, as X is just kind of there. But actually playing him, he's pretty alright. I think he's weirdly kind of the "easy" mode, but only because his buster makes a lot more fights just a bit easier since you get to keep your distance and I think some of the boss patterns are a bit more leniant (i.e. Slash Beast or Magma Dragoon). But I don't care, it was a fun run, and far easier at hooking me than before.
That being said, I also played Zero, and revisting him was a bit weird. His style is a lot more about getting up close, so remembering how to play him was remembering to take advantage of the little gaps in enemy patterns to pepper in slashes. Magma Dragoon was a good example in that regard, as to beat him, I had to learn to sneak strikes during his hadoken combos and abuse his weakness weapon when he starts doing shoryukens and spitting fire, quite literally. What was also weird to learn is that X got an extra, simpler fight against Colonel, which is funny because he has significantly more value to Zero, but I dunno.
While I feel this story is actually pretty alright compared to other entries in the X series, or even the series as a whole, it also feels a bit too easy to question why some characters act the way they do. Like Repliforce just makes their situation worse by not being willing to talk things out at all. I'm not gonna say Maverick Hunter force was perfect for going right ahead and deeming ALL OF REPLICFORCE as Mavericks, so they did end up having a reason to fight back, but still. I also have to wonder how Sigma ended convincing the General of anything because the first scene we see of him is telling Sigma to sod off after he tries to convince to turn on humanity. I want to assume it's because that he was forced to after figuring out what Magma Dragoon did, but I'm not clear on that. I poke holes, and I think I could try at it more, but I'm not gonna bother right now. I do think I like MM8's PS1 cutscenes a bit more. Partly because they are better audio balanced... mostly, but also because the dialogue I think is just a bit funnier to meme about. That being said, I like what we get here overall. I do just love the Sigma versus Zero scene, it's really well done.
Overall, I think X4 is at this point, what I consider MM11 is for the classic series, an incredible refinement of a formula with it's own additions and streamlining that makes it hard to beat. The addition of Zero as a playable character with his own campaign, the reworking of armor and super abilities, just a bunch of small additions or adjustments that make the game feel really good to play. It's probably my favorite Mega Man game right now, Classic or X, but I can't say that doesn't make me a bit worried for the games coming after. I just hope this game isn't the peak of the X series...
Anyways, i'll continue X5 later, for now, let's rank the bosses. I was originally gonna rank the bosses seperately for X and Zero, but my ranking is close for both to just come to an average essentially.
8. Cyber Peacock
7. Storm Owl
6. Jet Stingray
5. Slash Beast
4. Frost Walrus
3. Split Mushroom
2. Web Spider
1. Magma Dragoon
1995
I'll be honest, I'm not really gonna be able to give an actual review for this game, because I really just don't feel like playing it anymore. It's more boring and more frustrating than X2, and I kind of just don't really care to finish it.
I did at least get through the main 8 mavericks, and I did come away with a few issues that hinder my fun. For one, the armor set additions kind of suck, especially the buster. It's a cross-shot kind of idea, but the charge up shot for it either alone or timed to get the cross shot feels too imprecise and non damaging for the amount of time it requires to charge. The airdash is alright, but I still kind of just like a normal airdash being honest...
I think most of the bosses are alright, but a lot of them break really easily under their weakness weapon. The other 2 required fights in Bit and Byte are really unfun, and basically make the X-Hunter issue worse by forcing the player to fight them. Vile is a cool return tho.
Last thing, I think a thing that's easy forget but annoying all the same is this game's issue with respawning enemies after offscreening them for a bit is too unruly sometimes, especially since the basic enemies themselves are more stifling than endearing.
I don't think it's really my worst mega man experience, part of my boredom is that I'm just wanting to get to X4, but also part of my boredom is it feels like x2 but worse, which felt like x1 but worse. I think it does say something though that I just don't want to finish it after putting up with some of the bullshit in the other games.
Oh yea and before I forget, here's the mavericks ranked (Keep in mind a lot of them are very boring but i'll try something)
8. Neon Tiger
7. Blast Hornet
6. Gravity Beetle
5. Volt Catfish
4. Tunnel Rhino
3. Blizzard Buffalo
2. Crush Crawfish
1. Toxic Seahorse
I did at least get through the main 8 mavericks, and I did come away with a few issues that hinder my fun. For one, the armor set additions kind of suck, especially the buster. It's a cross-shot kind of idea, but the charge up shot for it either alone or timed to get the cross shot feels too imprecise and non damaging for the amount of time it requires to charge. The airdash is alright, but I still kind of just like a normal airdash being honest...
I think most of the bosses are alright, but a lot of them break really easily under their weakness weapon. The other 2 required fights in Bit and Byte are really unfun, and basically make the X-Hunter issue worse by forcing the player to fight them. Vile is a cool return tho.
Last thing, I think a thing that's easy forget but annoying all the same is this game's issue with respawning enemies after offscreening them for a bit is too unruly sometimes, especially since the basic enemies themselves are more stifling than endearing.
I don't think it's really my worst mega man experience, part of my boredom is that I'm just wanting to get to X4, but also part of my boredom is it feels like x2 but worse, which felt like x1 but worse. I think it does say something though that I just don't want to finish it after putting up with some of the bullshit in the other games.
Oh yea and before I forget, here's the mavericks ranked (Keep in mind a lot of them are very boring but i'll try something)
8. Neon Tiger
7. Blast Hornet
6. Gravity Beetle
5. Volt Catfish
4. Tunnel Rhino
3. Blizzard Buffalo
2. Crush Crawfish
1. Toxic Seahorse
1994
This game feels like a worst paced version of Mega Man 3, made worst by the X series structure, and admittedly how they handle the X hunters.
In terms of the things I care about a notable bit in these games, I think the mavericks themselves and their weapons are a bit less good than X1's, but I still like them overall I guess. The 2nd Armor is a bit better than the First Armor, but I kind of miss it's buster. Just give it this one's shoe functionality and I'd be happy. It's other effects like map searching or a screen wipe are a bit too situational for me to care about.
I think overall the stages are fine in the main section of the game, the only one I think that sucks for sure is Flame Stag's stage for the volcano section at the beginning of the level because it's too fast at times, and if it touches you, it's really hard to get away. It's honestly better to get insta-killed by it, but it doesn't even do that, it just takes 1/3 of the bar I think per hit. Otherwise the stage is fine, but that section especially sucks. I do like some of them tho, like Bubble Crab's is a race to the finish with a big robot fish, Overdrive Ostrich introduces the ride chasers and they're fun, minus the noise they make (they hurt my ears), and Morph Moth is delightfully unsettling.
I think the main game is fine, but I think the X Hunter Base levels, essentially Wily Castle stages, just suck 1 after another. Either because gimmicks in the stage themselves are just not fun like in Stage 1 with more climbing segments or in Stage 3 with it's jet platform you have to guide by jumping to switch it's direction, and it's just too finicky, or the bosses just aren't fun.
Violen is the same as his normal fight and it's annoying in both because of his stupid wrecking ball, Serges gets a different fight, and it's worse than his first fight. First one was just annoying because he was hard to hit, the second one is just bad because it takes that issue, and makes it a ton worse. And I'm not really that big of a fan of the Sigma fights... well more specifically the Sigma Virus phase, but it's just hard to keep up with how much the fight goes on rather than it just being outright bad. I think the only fight that I kind of like is Agile's fight. I like his first fight, and this second one is cool too, but more because it's a fun gimmick that can become a bit of a mess more than it being a hard but fun fight, especially going buster only in the latter.
I should probably mention why I think the game has worst pacing row quick, both for this review and to clarify some thoughts on MM3. I think MM3 is overall fine just considering the main game and the wily castle, but the Doc Robot stages reusing old stages to have rematch against the last game's bosses with a completely different set of weakness weapons was more a slog than actually fun. It just took a stab to the pacing, and made the game feel longer than it should be.
I think why this game's a bit worse about it is partly because of what it is compared to 3. MM3 is a relatively simple platformer with a random low point in the middle. This game intends to be more focused on collecting things throughout stages and completing a lot of it's hidden challenges if you want to get X to standing a chance more than just obtaining the weapons. From armor pieces to heart and e-tanks, to even finding some secret bosses. It's certainly not as straightforward I suppose.
I also think part of it just comes from how I like to play X games, I like to get everything I can in it so not only is there nothing left to scour the levels for once i'm done with them and I get a sense of completion out of the task, but I'm more ready for the challenges later to come. Because of the nature of this game's upgrades, it necessitates revisiting and exploring levels, similar to what MM7 and MM8 encouraged through hidden secrets in levels or through bolts. I think with that in mind, I like X1 because there isn't really much else to worry about in the main stages, and because of that, when I finish levels and I got the right stuff, it's pretty simple to head back and collect what I need with no skin off my back. It's a pretty leniant collection loop.
Doing this for X2 was a bit more of a hassle, partly on me, but also I think on the game. On me, well this is my first playthrough, of course it's gonna take a bit more time to figure out how the game works or where it hides stuff, and especially in nailing down a route, I don't really have it well planned out. But on the game itself, I think finding a good route is made a little inconvient based on the stipulations. There's plenty of collectibles that either require the airdash from the legs part, or a certain weapon like the speed burner with it's charged variation you only get from the buster upgrade. There's quite a few collectibles that are hidden with extra stipulations rather than just being in tricky spots, and considering the weakness order, it's a bit inconvient to play it like a standard mega man game in that regard.
My example is that I started with Wire Sponge, but I should've probably started with Overdrive Ostrich so I could have gotten the Leg parts so I could get some other stuff and generally improve my movement, but no I can't do that, I need wheel gator's weapon to even get it. In the weakness chain, overdrive ostrich would beat out wire sponge who would then beat out wheel gator, then I'd go back and get the upgrade. Until I do that, a lot of the games collectibles are locked off from me unless i'm super technical about my movement, which i'm not. But I didn't do that, I went Wire Sponge, Wheel Gator, then Overdrive Ostrich and went ahead and fought him with the buster only. Part of the blame is one me for the order, but no matter what, this was the one MM game i've played that's gotten me to break the weakness weapon chain, and not in a way I particularly like.
What complicates this a bit more is if you want to try and just complete the stages weakness to weakness while also trying to fight all the X-Hunter fights. Ignoring that some of them are just a pain in the ass to get to because they are just straight up hidden in the stages which makes sense as optional fights. If you're going for them, you gotta hope that they actually land on one of the 6 remaining stages after you unlock them. Either you try and knock them out early by going off route, hope they're there, or just keep leaving and revisiting levels to reset where they spawn at, especially if you want to face off against one in particular. That last one is just if you don't feel like fighting someone like serges or something. I get that tbf.
Y'know, i'm thinking on it now, and honestly while I do like fighting optional bosses because a secret fights are cool, considering I just don't like 2 out of the three fights, and I end up having to rematch them all anyways, I think it makes things worse in hindsight. I did a lot of work just to not end up fighting Zero at the end. Now, storywise, I think it makes more sense that X would want to save Zero and would end up going out of his way to get his parts back, it makes sense to the characters and the player, especially after X1, but also, I missed a really cool fight with Zero. It's not like I can easily go back either without doing a whole second playthrough, so I just didn't get to fight him. I mean granted, I already think the sigma fights after it are enough trouble normally, so having a tough fight prior be gone is probably easier at the end of the day, and it is cool to have him cut down a copy so effortlessly as he makes a flashy return, but I dunno man, I think the X-Hunters are just kind of busy work...
Trying to account for them in main stages and then deal with them in the latter half of the game just isn't that fun, and combine that with me thinking the collection order is a bit more tedious than normal, and me thinking the stages and bosses aren't that cool... yeah this game feels like a drag more times than not. Overall, not one of my favorites. Not very well paced, not as interesting as X1 in bosses or weapons, and the endgame just kind of tanks in quality. Fucked up... That being said, here's my boss ranking.
8. Wheel Gator
7. Morph Moth
6. Magna Centipede
5. Flame Stag
4. Crystal Snail
3. Wire Sponge
2. Bubble Crab
1. Overdrive Ostrich
In terms of the things I care about a notable bit in these games, I think the mavericks themselves and their weapons are a bit less good than X1's, but I still like them overall I guess. The 2nd Armor is a bit better than the First Armor, but I kind of miss it's buster. Just give it this one's shoe functionality and I'd be happy. It's other effects like map searching or a screen wipe are a bit too situational for me to care about.
I think overall the stages are fine in the main section of the game, the only one I think that sucks for sure is Flame Stag's stage for the volcano section at the beginning of the level because it's too fast at times, and if it touches you, it's really hard to get away. It's honestly better to get insta-killed by it, but it doesn't even do that, it just takes 1/3 of the bar I think per hit. Otherwise the stage is fine, but that section especially sucks. I do like some of them tho, like Bubble Crab's is a race to the finish with a big robot fish, Overdrive Ostrich introduces the ride chasers and they're fun, minus the noise they make (they hurt my ears), and Morph Moth is delightfully unsettling.
I think the main game is fine, but I think the X Hunter Base levels, essentially Wily Castle stages, just suck 1 after another. Either because gimmicks in the stage themselves are just not fun like in Stage 1 with more climbing segments or in Stage 3 with it's jet platform you have to guide by jumping to switch it's direction, and it's just too finicky, or the bosses just aren't fun.
Violen is the same as his normal fight and it's annoying in both because of his stupid wrecking ball, Serges gets a different fight, and it's worse than his first fight. First one was just annoying because he was hard to hit, the second one is just bad because it takes that issue, and makes it a ton worse. And I'm not really that big of a fan of the Sigma fights... well more specifically the Sigma Virus phase, but it's just hard to keep up with how much the fight goes on rather than it just being outright bad. I think the only fight that I kind of like is Agile's fight. I like his first fight, and this second one is cool too, but more because it's a fun gimmick that can become a bit of a mess more than it being a hard but fun fight, especially going buster only in the latter.
I should probably mention why I think the game has worst pacing row quick, both for this review and to clarify some thoughts on MM3. I think MM3 is overall fine just considering the main game and the wily castle, but the Doc Robot stages reusing old stages to have rematch against the last game's bosses with a completely different set of weakness weapons was more a slog than actually fun. It just took a stab to the pacing, and made the game feel longer than it should be.
I think why this game's a bit worse about it is partly because of what it is compared to 3. MM3 is a relatively simple platformer with a random low point in the middle. This game intends to be more focused on collecting things throughout stages and completing a lot of it's hidden challenges if you want to get X to standing a chance more than just obtaining the weapons. From armor pieces to heart and e-tanks, to even finding some secret bosses. It's certainly not as straightforward I suppose.
I also think part of it just comes from how I like to play X games, I like to get everything I can in it so not only is there nothing left to scour the levels for once i'm done with them and I get a sense of completion out of the task, but I'm more ready for the challenges later to come. Because of the nature of this game's upgrades, it necessitates revisiting and exploring levels, similar to what MM7 and MM8 encouraged through hidden secrets in levels or through bolts. I think with that in mind, I like X1 because there isn't really much else to worry about in the main stages, and because of that, when I finish levels and I got the right stuff, it's pretty simple to head back and collect what I need with no skin off my back. It's a pretty leniant collection loop.
Doing this for X2 was a bit more of a hassle, partly on me, but also I think on the game. On me, well this is my first playthrough, of course it's gonna take a bit more time to figure out how the game works or where it hides stuff, and especially in nailing down a route, I don't really have it well planned out. But on the game itself, I think finding a good route is made a little inconvient based on the stipulations. There's plenty of collectibles that either require the airdash from the legs part, or a certain weapon like the speed burner with it's charged variation you only get from the buster upgrade. There's quite a few collectibles that are hidden with extra stipulations rather than just being in tricky spots, and considering the weakness order, it's a bit inconvient to play it like a standard mega man game in that regard.
My example is that I started with Wire Sponge, but I should've probably started with Overdrive Ostrich so I could have gotten the Leg parts so I could get some other stuff and generally improve my movement, but no I can't do that, I need wheel gator's weapon to even get it. In the weakness chain, overdrive ostrich would beat out wire sponge who would then beat out wheel gator, then I'd go back and get the upgrade. Until I do that, a lot of the games collectibles are locked off from me unless i'm super technical about my movement, which i'm not. But I didn't do that, I went Wire Sponge, Wheel Gator, then Overdrive Ostrich and went ahead and fought him with the buster only. Part of the blame is one me for the order, but no matter what, this was the one MM game i've played that's gotten me to break the weakness weapon chain, and not in a way I particularly like.
What complicates this a bit more is if you want to try and just complete the stages weakness to weakness while also trying to fight all the X-Hunter fights. Ignoring that some of them are just a pain in the ass to get to because they are just straight up hidden in the stages which makes sense as optional fights. If you're going for them, you gotta hope that they actually land on one of the 6 remaining stages after you unlock them. Either you try and knock them out early by going off route, hope they're there, or just keep leaving and revisiting levels to reset where they spawn at, especially if you want to face off against one in particular. That last one is just if you don't feel like fighting someone like serges or something. I get that tbf.
Y'know, i'm thinking on it now, and honestly while I do like fighting optional bosses because a secret fights are cool, considering I just don't like 2 out of the three fights, and I end up having to rematch them all anyways, I think it makes things worse in hindsight. I did a lot of work just to not end up fighting Zero at the end. Now, storywise, I think it makes more sense that X would want to save Zero and would end up going out of his way to get his parts back, it makes sense to the characters and the player, especially after X1, but also, I missed a really cool fight with Zero. It's not like I can easily go back either without doing a whole second playthrough, so I just didn't get to fight him. I mean granted, I already think the sigma fights after it are enough trouble normally, so having a tough fight prior be gone is probably easier at the end of the day, and it is cool to have him cut down a copy so effortlessly as he makes a flashy return, but I dunno man, I think the X-Hunters are just kind of busy work...
Trying to account for them in main stages and then deal with them in the latter half of the game just isn't that fun, and combine that with me thinking the collection order is a bit more tedious than normal, and me thinking the stages and bosses aren't that cool... yeah this game feels like a drag more times than not. Overall, not one of my favorites. Not very well paced, not as interesting as X1 in bosses or weapons, and the endgame just kind of tanks in quality. Fucked up... That being said, here's my boss ranking.
8. Wheel Gator
7. Morph Moth
6. Magna Centipede
5. Flame Stag
4. Crystal Snail
3. Wire Sponge
2. Bubble Crab
1. Overdrive Ostrich
1993
So starting now on a little run through all the X games, hopefully before infinite wealth, I of course started with MMX1. I've played this before, and unsurprising to me, and most likely a bunch of people who'd read this. It' good, comfy even.
As a series that branches from what you'd expect to see from the run and gun platforming that Mega Man is about, it takes things in a pretty cool direction with the introduction of dashing and wall-jumping, as well as giving X the chance to grow throughout the journey more than just getting weapons by finding heart tanks, e-tanks, and armor pieces that grant new or stronger abilities. You get a real sense of progression through the game as you find everything and slowly make the game more and more manageable, and that's pretty neat little point of diversion.
I do kind of forget that X1's armorset is a bit... uhh, tame compared to what I remember going forward. Like in this game, you get a extra stage of charge to the mega buster and halved damage from the buster and body parts, cool, but the head part is just like, breaking blocks??? and the leg part is the ability to dash, like at all. It's just funny because that's like something you expect going into the series and you gotta unlock it, fucked up. Granted they make it a standard part of the moveset going forward so it's whatever, it's just funny.
Actually, in speaking of the buster part, the ability to charge the buster an extra stage isn't even the coolest thing about it, it's that all the special weapons have an extra new thing they can do or enhanced version of the original thing. The sting chameleon weapon goes from a triple splitting projectile to just invincibility, shotgun ice becomes a sled, flame mammoths goes from a flamethrower to a crawling flame that damages everything in it's path, stuff like that. It's really cool actually.
For what I really like in a Mega Man game typically, the bosses, weapons, and final bosses, I like how they're handled here. For the most part, the mavericks are pretty fun to fight, and the only one boss I don't really like that much from the endgame is Rangda Bangda, the weird wall one, and even then, it's not that a big a deal. Honestly, there's nothing really egregious here, it's just a pretty solid line-up. I can't say there was anything that like, blew my mind on a revisit, but I at least had fun.
I'll be honest, I don't know where this game will rank once I'm done going through all 8 games, but I can tell you this. I will probably like X4 more, because I already do. For this game tho, it's pretty coooooool.
Starting out the new (but not really) Maverick Ranking, from worst to best:
8. Spark Mandrill
7. Armored Armadillo
6. Boomer Kuwanger
5. Launch Octopus
4. Chill Penguin
3. Storm Eagle
2. Sting Chameleon
1. Flame Mammoth
As a series that branches from what you'd expect to see from the run and gun platforming that Mega Man is about, it takes things in a pretty cool direction with the introduction of dashing and wall-jumping, as well as giving X the chance to grow throughout the journey more than just getting weapons by finding heart tanks, e-tanks, and armor pieces that grant new or stronger abilities. You get a real sense of progression through the game as you find everything and slowly make the game more and more manageable, and that's pretty neat little point of diversion.
I do kind of forget that X1's armorset is a bit... uhh, tame compared to what I remember going forward. Like in this game, you get a extra stage of charge to the mega buster and halved damage from the buster and body parts, cool, but the head part is just like, breaking blocks??? and the leg part is the ability to dash, like at all. It's just funny because that's like something you expect going into the series and you gotta unlock it, fucked up. Granted they make it a standard part of the moveset going forward so it's whatever, it's just funny.
Actually, in speaking of the buster part, the ability to charge the buster an extra stage isn't even the coolest thing about it, it's that all the special weapons have an extra new thing they can do or enhanced version of the original thing. The sting chameleon weapon goes from a triple splitting projectile to just invincibility, shotgun ice becomes a sled, flame mammoths goes from a flamethrower to a crawling flame that damages everything in it's path, stuff like that. It's really cool actually.
For what I really like in a Mega Man game typically, the bosses, weapons, and final bosses, I like how they're handled here. For the most part, the mavericks are pretty fun to fight, and the only one boss I don't really like that much from the endgame is Rangda Bangda, the weird wall one, and even then, it's not that a big a deal. Honestly, there's nothing really egregious here, it's just a pretty solid line-up. I can't say there was anything that like, blew my mind on a revisit, but I at least had fun.
I'll be honest, I don't know where this game will rank once I'm done going through all 8 games, but I can tell you this. I will probably like X4 more, because I already do. For this game tho, it's pretty coooooool.
Starting out the new (but not really) Maverick Ranking, from worst to best:
8. Spark Mandrill
7. Armored Armadillo
6. Boomer Kuwanger
5. Launch Octopus
4. Chill Penguin
3. Storm Eagle
2. Sting Chameleon
1. Flame Mammoth
1998
I know mega man games tend to have the problem of the endgames falling off hard, but holy shit, it's really evident here. Most of this game, while not that great, still is pretty fun to play, and handles it shop and part equip system in really neat ways, and I like at least half of the bosses. And even the ones I don't like still have cool designs. But holy shit man, every boss in the King Castle Stages just suck, for multiple reasons.
The stages they're attached to are pretty fine all things considered, it's just each fight in one way or another is way too annoying or hard for some really stupid reason, either because it's invincible for most of the fight and brings things to a crawl, tries to potshot you or trip you up in the worst ways possible, or just says fuck you to your health and tanks it.
If we're counting where I think it stands, I think it's about as good as 4, if not a bit worse without accounting for the King Stages, because I at least think Wily still has a good boss fight in this game, and I do like the normal stages and bosses enough to give it. But without it, it's only above 9 and 10 because they pissed me off more than just being annoying to play. I get this game is hard, but it's hard for bullshit reasons when you get to the king stages. And that's fucked up.
Btw, I should stress that I have tried both characters, a bit as Mega Man going to Burner Man, and then resetting as Bass for the game. I think it's pretty fun as both of them, but I like the Double Jump that Bass has. It's just pretty handy for a Mega Man game.
Anyways, this would be the last game I needed to beat for my Classic Marathon, so for one last time (for now), here are my Robot Master Boss Rankings:
8 - Burner Man
7 - Ground Man
6 - Astra Man
5 - Tengu Man
4 - Cold Man
3 - Pirate Man
2 - Magic Man
1 - Dynamo Man
The stages they're attached to are pretty fine all things considered, it's just each fight in one way or another is way too annoying or hard for some really stupid reason, either because it's invincible for most of the fight and brings things to a crawl, tries to potshot you or trip you up in the worst ways possible, or just says fuck you to your health and tanks it.
If we're counting where I think it stands, I think it's about as good as 4, if not a bit worse without accounting for the King Stages, because I at least think Wily still has a good boss fight in this game, and I do like the normal stages and bosses enough to give it. But without it, it's only above 9 and 10 because they pissed me off more than just being annoying to play. I get this game is hard, but it's hard for bullshit reasons when you get to the king stages. And that's fucked up.
Btw, I should stress that I have tried both characters, a bit as Mega Man going to Burner Man, and then resetting as Bass for the game. I think it's pretty fun as both of them, but I like the Double Jump that Bass has. It's just pretty handy for a Mega Man game.
Anyways, this would be the last game I needed to beat for my Classic Marathon, so for one last time (for now), here are my Robot Master Boss Rankings:
8 - Burner Man
7 - Ground Man
6 - Astra Man
5 - Tengu Man
4 - Cold Man
3 - Pirate Man
2 - Magic Man
1 - Dynamo Man
2018
So, the fucked up thing is that I have already played this before, around the time it came out actually, and I really liked it then. I remember really liking the robot masters (especially fuse man), and I liked a lot of the weapons, and I thought the game was very pretty. But now that I have this little Mega Man Classic Marathon under my belt, I can say it's up there as my favorite, tied with 8.
The thing I really like about 8 wasn't just how it looked or how it could let you use a buster and the weapon, tho those things helped, but it's that the game's designed encouraged surprise, was able to take advantage of weapons in a way so few of these games can rarely do, and that the way it handled it's upgrade system made you have to decide how you wanted to play Mega Man, whether it was encouraging weapon use, buster only, support, or anything in between with just 40 bolts. It had a lot of aspects that even now I don't really see in a Mega Man game.
What I ended up liking for 11 wasn't the weird but cool stuff that 8 had, but a really good refinement of the ideas the series had been working with from 9 and 10 surprisingly. Sure, yea, they brought back the slide and charge shot, and everything was good, but it's more of what they do to build even further on top of it.
This game introduces the double gear system, a way to empower the player either in strength, in evasion through a stage or fight, or in the rare cases at low hp, both. It's a really cool concept the game gets a ton of mileage out of either with Mega Man himself, or all the major bosses abusing it's power to make them incredibly dangerous with desperation and gear phases after the standard.
This system also applies to the special weapons you get from robot masters, turning them into far more effective versions of themselves at the cost of taking up more energy. It's such a neat way to expand on the concept of these weapons while also making them fit with the mechanics. Even the weapons I don't like as much like the bounce balls or the impact drive still get good use due to the extra effects their power gear versions have.
Something I also really like about this game is how they handle the shop. They of course bring it back with a ton of the stuff you'd expect by this point. The ability to use bolts to buy one ups and e-tanks and ways to avoid getting insta-killed by hazards, stuff like that. But now, that's only one section of three in the shop. The others are equippable parts that can add to Mega Man's abilities like the Energy Balancer, an increase to Charge Shot size, auto charging, increasing the capabilities of the speed gear, stuff like that. And the last one is upgrade parts, which is just increasing capacity of items like e-tanks or decreasing the cooldown time for abusing the double gear system, stuff like that.
That's a really neat approach, though if I did have a criticism, I do kind of wish it would limit you on what equip parts you could take in. A good example is the one case I can think of with them not letting you choose more than 1, and that's the two versions of the energy balancer. One does the thing you'd expect, give energy to the lowest weapon, or the neo version where every weapon refills for free upon getting a weapon tank. While that's not the best trade-off, a system that makes you question what fits your style of play is pretty cool of an idea. I imagine something like this to be a more freeing version of MM8's system, where you weren't locked onto a path of upgrade, but you could only choose a handful of parts that suited your style the best. As the system is however, it's a very ideal step in the right direction.
I should also mention that while I'm obviously really happy about the return of the slide and charge shot, as well as the previously mentioned introduction of the Double Gear System which will sadly probably be a one time thing, I do also like what little quality of life improvements they've done to make navigation of the menus and of controlling mega man through the stages more seamless and comfortable.
For one, they kept the weapon roulette, but they also introduced a quick select with the right stick so you can more quickly go to the ability you want. Sometimes it is easier to mentally reset with the pause screen or roulette, but the convenience is handy in the way the other two aren't as quick with. Also, Rush Jet and Coil have their own buttons now. They take up the same gauge tho, but if you need the buster, you can just double press to summon and unsummon rush to quickly get back to basics. It's a little weird of a roundabout, but it's pretty handy honestly. You also can still use the auto fire or rapid fire if you turn it on in the menu, I just forgot.
They don't make you have to do every wily stage consecutively, and have split up the boss rush and the final boss into their own levels again, making the process much less taxing. I'm not the biggest fan of this game's Wily bosses (minus the final boss), but it's still pretty good all things considered. And of course, the lab is a button away when you're in the stage select, and it's pretty handy when I inevitably needed some lives because I died to something in the stage.
Coming back to 11, I'm really happy to confirm that yes, a lot of these stages, robot masters, and especially weapons are all really good. The gear system really helps in dealing with some of the gimmicks of the stage more easily, like with Torch Man and Blast Man's stages by using the speed gear to outrun certain hazards, or Acid Man's stage with a very particular jump over death spikes. I think the only levels I'm not the biggest fans of are Bounce Man's and Impact Man's stages, only because I got a little more annoyed by their gimmicks more easily, but not enough to hate the levels outright. And my favorites were probably Fuse Man's, Blast Man's, and Torch Man's.
Also, lowkey, regardless of how actually good the weapons are, I love the detail that it also changes Mega Man's design rather than only his colors, it's such a cool touch.
But yea, Mega Man 11 is just a really good entry. It's fun to control, it's really fun navigating some of these stages, and while I prefer some ideas more in 8, I do really like the Double Gear system here, and wish that it returned in some way into the future titles we'll see in... another decade... hopefully. And with that, I've finished playing through all the numbered entries, but there is still one more I want to play before I hang up the buster for now. Til then, here's my boss ranking for this game.
8. - Impact Man
7. - Bounce Man
6. - Acid Man
5. - Blast Man
4. - Tundra Man
3. - Torch Man
2. - Block Man
1. - Fuse Man
The thing I really like about 8 wasn't just how it looked or how it could let you use a buster and the weapon, tho those things helped, but it's that the game's designed encouraged surprise, was able to take advantage of weapons in a way so few of these games can rarely do, and that the way it handled it's upgrade system made you have to decide how you wanted to play Mega Man, whether it was encouraging weapon use, buster only, support, or anything in between with just 40 bolts. It had a lot of aspects that even now I don't really see in a Mega Man game.
What I ended up liking for 11 wasn't the weird but cool stuff that 8 had, but a really good refinement of the ideas the series had been working with from 9 and 10 surprisingly. Sure, yea, they brought back the slide and charge shot, and everything was good, but it's more of what they do to build even further on top of it.
This game introduces the double gear system, a way to empower the player either in strength, in evasion through a stage or fight, or in the rare cases at low hp, both. It's a really cool concept the game gets a ton of mileage out of either with Mega Man himself, or all the major bosses abusing it's power to make them incredibly dangerous with desperation and gear phases after the standard.
This system also applies to the special weapons you get from robot masters, turning them into far more effective versions of themselves at the cost of taking up more energy. It's such a neat way to expand on the concept of these weapons while also making them fit with the mechanics. Even the weapons I don't like as much like the bounce balls or the impact drive still get good use due to the extra effects their power gear versions have.
Something I also really like about this game is how they handle the shop. They of course bring it back with a ton of the stuff you'd expect by this point. The ability to use bolts to buy one ups and e-tanks and ways to avoid getting insta-killed by hazards, stuff like that. But now, that's only one section of three in the shop. The others are equippable parts that can add to Mega Man's abilities like the Energy Balancer, an increase to Charge Shot size, auto charging, increasing the capabilities of the speed gear, stuff like that. And the last one is upgrade parts, which is just increasing capacity of items like e-tanks or decreasing the cooldown time for abusing the double gear system, stuff like that.
That's a really neat approach, though if I did have a criticism, I do kind of wish it would limit you on what equip parts you could take in. A good example is the one case I can think of with them not letting you choose more than 1, and that's the two versions of the energy balancer. One does the thing you'd expect, give energy to the lowest weapon, or the neo version where every weapon refills for free upon getting a weapon tank. While that's not the best trade-off, a system that makes you question what fits your style of play is pretty cool of an idea. I imagine something like this to be a more freeing version of MM8's system, where you weren't locked onto a path of upgrade, but you could only choose a handful of parts that suited your style the best. As the system is however, it's a very ideal step in the right direction.
I should also mention that while I'm obviously really happy about the return of the slide and charge shot, as well as the previously mentioned introduction of the Double Gear System which will sadly probably be a one time thing, I do also like what little quality of life improvements they've done to make navigation of the menus and of controlling mega man through the stages more seamless and comfortable.
For one, they kept the weapon roulette, but they also introduced a quick select with the right stick so you can more quickly go to the ability you want. Sometimes it is easier to mentally reset with the pause screen or roulette, but the convenience is handy in the way the other two aren't as quick with. Also, Rush Jet and Coil have their own buttons now. They take up the same gauge tho, but if you need the buster, you can just double press to summon and unsummon rush to quickly get back to basics. It's a little weird of a roundabout, but it's pretty handy honestly. You also can still use the auto fire or rapid fire if you turn it on in the menu, I just forgot.
They don't make you have to do every wily stage consecutively, and have split up the boss rush and the final boss into their own levels again, making the process much less taxing. I'm not the biggest fan of this game's Wily bosses (minus the final boss), but it's still pretty good all things considered. And of course, the lab is a button away when you're in the stage select, and it's pretty handy when I inevitably needed some lives because I died to something in the stage.
Coming back to 11, I'm really happy to confirm that yes, a lot of these stages, robot masters, and especially weapons are all really good. The gear system really helps in dealing with some of the gimmicks of the stage more easily, like with Torch Man and Blast Man's stages by using the speed gear to outrun certain hazards, or Acid Man's stage with a very particular jump over death spikes. I think the only levels I'm not the biggest fans of are Bounce Man's and Impact Man's stages, only because I got a little more annoyed by their gimmicks more easily, but not enough to hate the levels outright. And my favorites were probably Fuse Man's, Blast Man's, and Torch Man's.
Also, lowkey, regardless of how actually good the weapons are, I love the detail that it also changes Mega Man's design rather than only his colors, it's such a cool touch.
But yea, Mega Man 11 is just a really good entry. It's fun to control, it's really fun navigating some of these stages, and while I prefer some ideas more in 8, I do really like the Double Gear system here, and wish that it returned in some way into the future titles we'll see in... another decade... hopefully. And with that, I've finished playing through all the numbered entries, but there is still one more I want to play before I hang up the buster for now. Til then, here's my boss ranking for this game.
8. - Impact Man
7. - Bounce Man
6. - Acid Man
5. - Blast Man
4. - Tundra Man
3. - Torch Man
2. - Block Man
1. - Fuse Man
2010
This one is like an inch better than Mega Man 9, and that's because I don't find it nearly as frustrating or dissappoint, it's just kind meh.
I think the robot masters are overall pretty weak (and personally I think their designs mostly suck except a few cases), the wily bosses are pretty hit or miss, and the weapons are just meh overall. A couple outright bad ones, a majority of the ones that are just mediocre, a good one in the Water Shield, and a great one in the Solar Wave or whatever it's called.
I still think the fact that this game took away Mega Man's charge and slide was a baffling move that limits the level design and boss design from being good, and outright makes some fights shit. Blade Man is a bad fight without a slide because you can't effectively dodge most of his attacks because of the weird angles they come at, especially when he charges you himself. I do like that they added back the ability to roulette between abilities again which they weirdly just removed from 9, and made getting bolts much easier of a task, but they don't make the adventure better, just more comfortable.
Also I don't know where else to shove this in so let's put it here, the block devil is also a bad fight that cannot be made better by a slide. It's just letting it potshot you as you wait for the eye to show up so you can potentially two cycle it, that's not at all fun.
But hey, I do like Sheep Man and Strike Man, I like the Weapon Archive Boss, and I also really like this game's Wily Capsule fight, it's actually a pretty clever fight.
This game isn't like, terrible to play, just mediocre unfortunately because the ideas for levels or bosses or whatnot are just not as solid to me as 9's, made only slightly better than what 9 took away. In speaking of things that are horribly mediocre, here is my ranking of this game's boss ranking.
8 - Blade Man
7 - Commando Man
6 - Pump Man
5 - Chill Man
4 - Nitro Man
3 - Solar Man
2 - Strike Man
1 - Sheep Man
I think the robot masters are overall pretty weak (and personally I think their designs mostly suck except a few cases), the wily bosses are pretty hit or miss, and the weapons are just meh overall. A couple outright bad ones, a majority of the ones that are just mediocre, a good one in the Water Shield, and a great one in the Solar Wave or whatever it's called.
I still think the fact that this game took away Mega Man's charge and slide was a baffling move that limits the level design and boss design from being good, and outright makes some fights shit. Blade Man is a bad fight without a slide because you can't effectively dodge most of his attacks because of the weird angles they come at, especially when he charges you himself. I do like that they added back the ability to roulette between abilities again which they weirdly just removed from 9, and made getting bolts much easier of a task, but they don't make the adventure better, just more comfortable.
Also I don't know where else to shove this in so let's put it here, the block devil is also a bad fight that cannot be made better by a slide. It's just letting it potshot you as you wait for the eye to show up so you can potentially two cycle it, that's not at all fun.
But hey, I do like Sheep Man and Strike Man, I like the Weapon Archive Boss, and I also really like this game's Wily Capsule fight, it's actually a pretty clever fight.
This game isn't like, terrible to play, just mediocre unfortunately because the ideas for levels or bosses or whatnot are just not as solid to me as 9's, made only slightly better than what 9 took away. In speaking of things that are horribly mediocre, here is my ranking of this game's boss ranking.
8 - Blade Man
7 - Commando Man
6 - Pump Man
5 - Chill Man
4 - Nitro Man
3 - Solar Man
2 - Strike Man
1 - Sheep Man
2008
Damn, I did not expect to walk away from Mega Man 9 expecting to call it one of my more least favorite games in the series so far, because I heard mostly good of the game. And you know what, some of that good is really good. I do like the bosses, I like the weapons, I even really like the Wily bosses, they're the most consistently good (though not the absolute highest) they have been yet. I even like the story because it's point about an expiry date for robots is an interesting point I kind of wish was expanded on a bit more.
I just don't like playing this game. And I'm admittedly a bit upset to say that, because i knew some of stuff to expect. I knew this game removed some key tools like the slide and charge shot, and also the ones unique to 8 that I really liked. I heard a lot of good things about the weapon variety and bosses of this game, and a lot of that made me excited to finally see why people like it. I just wish the level design wasn't so dickish.
Each and every level of the game to varying degrees is filled with enemies with annoying patterns that love to potshot you, a plethora of death spikes and other insta-kill obstacles all across the game, and some really frustrating platforming sequences stringing these aspects as well as annoying mini-bosses that just make some levels really not fun. Jewel Man's is the worst, but I don't like Magma Man or Hornet Man's stages either. Pile all of this ontop of feeling overly limited from a lot of the stuff prior games had, especially 8, and you can kind of get why this game just doesn't do much for me.
I do know Proto Man has some of the stuff i'm looking for, like a slide and charge shot, but pile on the level design issues I have with his tendency to take double damage from everything, and no. I'm not doing it.
I'm not saying Mega Man hasn't had hard moments or bullshit level design. I think even some of the games I like a lot like 5 and 8 have some cases of it that you can point to. This one is just more consistently frustrating for all I described.
Don't get me wrong, I think this game does have some cool gimmicks here and there for it's stages, either revisited ones like the bubbles in Splash Woman's stage, or the weather changing in Tornado Man's stage, but also the enemies that create fake blocks you have to remember to stay away from in Concrete Man's stage, the shielded enemies you have to shoot to clear a path in Hornet Man's stage, the Teleporters in Galaxy Man's stage, and kind of the grabby dudes in the same stage. I think there is cool stuff, but not enough to erase the tedium.
This game feels too stripped back for me. I don't think it's intended to be an "evolutionary step forward", more to appeal to people who just wanted a new mega man game, especially those that liked 2 a lot, but even as that, I think it's just let down by how frustrating it is to play overall. Which again, sucks. I love a lot of the characters and bosses in this game, and a mega man game peddling a really interesting point with it's narrative is surprisingly welcomed. But... I dunno.
Either way, here's my boss rankings if you're curious.
8 - Concrete Man
7 - Plug Man
6 - Hornet Man
5 - Tornado Man
4 - Magma Man
3 - Jewel Man
2 - Galaxy Man
1 - Splash Woman
I just don't like playing this game. And I'm admittedly a bit upset to say that, because i knew some of stuff to expect. I knew this game removed some key tools like the slide and charge shot, and also the ones unique to 8 that I really liked. I heard a lot of good things about the weapon variety and bosses of this game, and a lot of that made me excited to finally see why people like it. I just wish the level design wasn't so dickish.
Each and every level of the game to varying degrees is filled with enemies with annoying patterns that love to potshot you, a plethora of death spikes and other insta-kill obstacles all across the game, and some really frustrating platforming sequences stringing these aspects as well as annoying mini-bosses that just make some levels really not fun. Jewel Man's is the worst, but I don't like Magma Man or Hornet Man's stages either. Pile all of this ontop of feeling overly limited from a lot of the stuff prior games had, especially 8, and you can kind of get why this game just doesn't do much for me.
I do know Proto Man has some of the stuff i'm looking for, like a slide and charge shot, but pile on the level design issues I have with his tendency to take double damage from everything, and no. I'm not doing it.
I'm not saying Mega Man hasn't had hard moments or bullshit level design. I think even some of the games I like a lot like 5 and 8 have some cases of it that you can point to. This one is just more consistently frustrating for all I described.
Don't get me wrong, I think this game does have some cool gimmicks here and there for it's stages, either revisited ones like the bubbles in Splash Woman's stage, or the weather changing in Tornado Man's stage, but also the enemies that create fake blocks you have to remember to stay away from in Concrete Man's stage, the shielded enemies you have to shoot to clear a path in Hornet Man's stage, the Teleporters in Galaxy Man's stage, and kind of the grabby dudes in the same stage. I think there is cool stuff, but not enough to erase the tedium.
This game feels too stripped back for me. I don't think it's intended to be an "evolutionary step forward", more to appeal to people who just wanted a new mega man game, especially those that liked 2 a lot, but even as that, I think it's just let down by how frustrating it is to play overall. Which again, sucks. I love a lot of the characters and bosses in this game, and a mega man game peddling a really interesting point with it's narrative is surprisingly welcomed. But... I dunno.
Either way, here's my boss rankings if you're curious.
8 - Concrete Man
7 - Plug Man
6 - Hornet Man
5 - Tornado Man
4 - Magma Man
3 - Jewel Man
2 - Galaxy Man
1 - Splash Woman
1996
This game is kind of the best so far of the Mega Man games, and it's not even a contest. The bosses from the robot masters to the wily castle ones are a really good, I love this game's presentation, it's art style with the sprite work, the cutscenes for as badly acted as they are, etc.
This game also just lets you shoot with the buster alongside any other weapon, and I'm like, slightly mad no other Mega Man game lets you do this to my knowledge. It makes even the more mediocre weapons still feel alright to use because you're not left rudderless. Stacked on top of the new upgrades you can give to the mega buster depending on what you get in the shop, it can make it pretty dangerous to use.
I don't know how the other games are gonna fully shake out, but this is a high point. This is some of the coolest things I think you can do with Mega Man, I love this game. Oh yea, and here's the boss rankings
8 - Astra Man
7 - Search Man
6 - Aqua Man
5 - Clown Man
4 - Frost Man
3 - Grenade Man
2 - Tengu Man
1 - Sword Man
This game also just lets you shoot with the buster alongside any other weapon, and I'm like, slightly mad no other Mega Man game lets you do this to my knowledge. It makes even the more mediocre weapons still feel alright to use because you're not left rudderless. Stacked on top of the new upgrades you can give to the mega buster depending on what you get in the shop, it can make it pretty dangerous to use.
I don't know how the other games are gonna fully shake out, but this is a high point. This is some of the coolest things I think you can do with Mega Man, I love this game. Oh yea, and here's the boss rankings
8 - Astra Man
7 - Search Man
6 - Aqua Man
5 - Clown Man
4 - Frost Man
3 - Grenade Man
2 - Tengu Man
1 - Sword Man
1995
I think the game makes the jump to the SNES pretty alright, it's pretty, I like a lot of the sprite art, and I like the slightly heavier focus on a narrative. Not by much, but I do like the presentation effort, and the game got a few chuckles out of me every now and then.
I do think Mega Man controls like a slight bit worse, mainly the jumps feel a little stickier, and it feels a little too easy to accidentally slide when I don't want to, leading to a lot more deaths. That being said, I like the addition of Otto's shop, having a way to get some of these items that doesn't require backtracking is nice. I did that anyways because I wanted the Protoshield, but yeah.
Overall I think a lot of the stages, bosses both Robot Masters and Wily Castle, and even the weapons to be hit and miss. There's some pretty good stuff all around in terms of bosses, I really like Burst Man, Freeze Man, the second Bass Fight, and Wily Capsule 4, but I'm pretty split if not outright discontent with some of the other bosses in this game. Examples include Mash, Slash Man, Shade Man, and especially the Hannya robot right before the robot master refights. And the weapons are pretty ok. I like the thunderbolt, I like the noise crushes' method of charging, and I really like the Super Adapter. It feels like they took some of the parts from 6's adapters and put them into one. That being said, the Danger Wrap and Scorch Wheel do feel kind of bad to use.
I dunno, I like this game a bit less than two, because when the good moments are good, it's really fun. But there's just a few too many nitpicks or thinks I dislike to put it higher for me. Anyways as typical, here's my boss ranking.
8 - Slash Man
7 - Shade Man
6 - Turbo Man
5 - Cloud Man
4 - Spring Man
3 - Freeze Man
2 - Junk Man
1 - Burst Man
I do think Mega Man controls like a slight bit worse, mainly the jumps feel a little stickier, and it feels a little too easy to accidentally slide when I don't want to, leading to a lot more deaths. That being said, I like the addition of Otto's shop, having a way to get some of these items that doesn't require backtracking is nice. I did that anyways because I wanted the Protoshield, but yeah.
Overall I think a lot of the stages, bosses both Robot Masters and Wily Castle, and even the weapons to be hit and miss. There's some pretty good stuff all around in terms of bosses, I really like Burst Man, Freeze Man, the second Bass Fight, and Wily Capsule 4, but I'm pretty split if not outright discontent with some of the other bosses in this game. Examples include Mash, Slash Man, Shade Man, and especially the Hannya robot right before the robot master refights. And the weapons are pretty ok. I like the thunderbolt, I like the noise crushes' method of charging, and I really like the Super Adapter. It feels like they took some of the parts from 6's adapters and put them into one. That being said, the Danger Wrap and Scorch Wheel do feel kind of bad to use.
I dunno, I like this game a bit less than two, because when the good moments are good, it's really fun. But there's just a few too many nitpicks or thinks I dislike to put it higher for me. Anyways as typical, here's my boss ranking.
8 - Slash Man
7 - Shade Man
6 - Turbo Man
5 - Cloud Man
4 - Spring Man
3 - Freeze Man
2 - Junk Man
1 - Burst Man
1993
This game feels really underwhelming to come back to, which sucks because this is the one megaman game outside of 1 and 2 i remembered played, and the one I remembered liking a lot. I do the focus given to the rush adapter forms of jet and power, and i also do like the game's larger focus on split paths, even going as far as hiding Beat behind secret boss entrances.
But as cool as these ideas are, none of the stages or bosses from robot masters to castle bosses really do much for me. The weapons feel like worse versions of prior weapons, the bosses are pretty weak in most things outside of character design, and the wily and mr. x bosses are in a similar boat.
Nitpicky note, but I also think that a) i wish there was a quicker way to swap weapons and armors in this game specifically for how much you need those two adapters, and b) I think out of all the extra castle stuff they shove in through 3-6, this is probably the second least justified one, because Mr. X is just wily again, so you really just fight him twice.
While I'm not that interested in a lot of the bosses, here's the boss ranking
8- Yamato Man
7- Plant Man
6- Wind Man
5- Flame Man
4- Blizzard Man
3- Knight Man
2- Centaur Man
1- Tomahawk Man
But as cool as these ideas are, none of the stages or bosses from robot masters to castle bosses really do much for me. The weapons feel like worse versions of prior weapons, the bosses are pretty weak in most things outside of character design, and the wily and mr. x bosses are in a similar boat.
Nitpicky note, but I also think that a) i wish there was a quicker way to swap weapons and armors in this game specifically for how much you need those two adapters, and b) I think out of all the extra castle stuff they shove in through 3-6, this is probably the second least justified one, because Mr. X is just wily again, so you really just fight him twice.
While I'm not that interested in a lot of the bosses, here's the boss ranking
8- Yamato Man
7- Plant Man
6- Wind Man
5- Flame Man
4- Blizzard Man
3- Knight Man
2- Centaur Man
1- Tomahawk Man