Mega Man 7 is a bit of a black sheep in how it feels and plays out. With Mega Man X proving a much greater commercial and critical success than 6 in early 1994, I'd assume they wanted to stick some elements of X into the next installment of the original series. The end result is this very "in-between" installment that doesn't know which design philosophy to stick to.
The level layouts are now more reminiscent of X, but Mega Man is limited to his own control scheme rather than gain X's wall jumping and dashing abilities. There's hidden items now, but without wall jumping and the like you have to use "Rush Search" in certain spots in certain levels to get upgrades and other various shit to make your life easier. The locations of these are either not indicated very well or not indicated at all, and it doesn't help that Rush Search is very specific, very finicky, and not at all fun to use. You also have to replay a level all the way through if you go hunting for items you missed, unless you find The One That Allows You To Exit Levels. Shouldn't this be a normal fucking feature on levels you already cleared? Start and select! It's not that hard!
You can also buy these items in the shop but the useful ones typically cost many screws, which are a hassle to grind for due to item drops from enemies being RNG based. There's not really any winning with that. You shouldn't need to grind for currency in a Mega Man game, and you shouldn't need to search all over the goddamn floors for hidden items, and really you shouldn't be needing to revisit levels anyway. This can be done with optional items in previous installments as well, but they're generally more inconsequential. If you don't get the Super Adaptor in particular, and the upgrade for the Super Adaptor, the final stages will all be maddening.
Even with all the preparation and secret items, though, nothing can really mitigate the final boss. Wily is infamously ridiculous in this game, and for good reason. They just felt like making him really difficult according to interviews, no real reason to do so, no gradual buildup in terms of difficulty, nothing. He sucks, and his weakness almost sucks more. One last kick in the head before the game comes to a close.
There's a lot to complain about, since it doesn't quite feel like classic Mega Man, and doesn't quite feel like Mega Man X, but really it's totally serviceable on its own two legs. I would probably play any of the previous five and definitely the first X game over this, but this is an okay game on its own. I just don't find that it lives up to expectations set by its precursors, yknow?
The level layouts are now more reminiscent of X, but Mega Man is limited to his own control scheme rather than gain X's wall jumping and dashing abilities. There's hidden items now, but without wall jumping and the like you have to use "Rush Search" in certain spots in certain levels to get upgrades and other various shit to make your life easier. The locations of these are either not indicated very well or not indicated at all, and it doesn't help that Rush Search is very specific, very finicky, and not at all fun to use. You also have to replay a level all the way through if you go hunting for items you missed, unless you find The One That Allows You To Exit Levels. Shouldn't this be a normal fucking feature on levels you already cleared? Start and select! It's not that hard!
You can also buy these items in the shop but the useful ones typically cost many screws, which are a hassle to grind for due to item drops from enemies being RNG based. There's not really any winning with that. You shouldn't need to grind for currency in a Mega Man game, and you shouldn't need to search all over the goddamn floors for hidden items, and really you shouldn't be needing to revisit levels anyway. This can be done with optional items in previous installments as well, but they're generally more inconsequential. If you don't get the Super Adaptor in particular, and the upgrade for the Super Adaptor, the final stages will all be maddening.
Even with all the preparation and secret items, though, nothing can really mitigate the final boss. Wily is infamously ridiculous in this game, and for good reason. They just felt like making him really difficult according to interviews, no real reason to do so, no gradual buildup in terms of difficulty, nothing. He sucks, and his weakness almost sucks more. One last kick in the head before the game comes to a close.
There's a lot to complain about, since it doesn't quite feel like classic Mega Man, and doesn't quite feel like Mega Man X, but really it's totally serviceable on its own two legs. I would probably play any of the previous five and definitely the first X game over this, but this is an okay game on its own. I just don't find that it lives up to expectations set by its precursors, yknow?
2 Comments
This review really hit my main hang up with this game on the head. It felt like the devs tried to push classic Mega Man in a more fast-paced direction but didn't want to depart too much from the original without it becoming Mega Man X. The result is a very awkward product that doesn't really play into either series' strengths.
I thought Freeze Man and Turbo Man were decent due to how they blended the memorization of the classic series with the reactive nature of the X series, but they were the only two bosses that did that.
I thought Freeze Man and Turbo Man were decent due to how they blended the memorization of the classic series with the reactive nature of the X series, but they were the only two bosses that did that.
Weatherby
1 year ago