Nice start to the series. My one real issue was how under development Chester is, he's gone for the majority of the game and when he does rejoin it feels like the whole cast has progressed past him, and they don't really address it much. Hoping the remakes give him something more.

Another issue is the fan translation sucks, but I'm not going to hold that against the game since it's not official. Just wanted to point it out as a warning, since it's the only way to play the game in English. The rest of the SNES version is amazing tho!

Such a breath air after playing so many of the classic games. Can really see where MM7 got a lot of the aspects I liked and I can see why people consider this the true successor to the NES games, familiar but also reinvents the gameplay from the SNES. The equipment collectables makes it feel like you're leveling up as you progress through the game. I also really like Sub Tanks being the substitute for the normal E-Tanks. Being able to climb walls is also a neat new ability that sets this apart from the classic series. Overall a really solid experience and excited to see how the sequels build off it.

Better then MM9 but idk, while I did enjoy it it still felt like something was missing. Rock still can't slide or charge, I know Protoman can (believe it is this way in the MM9 dlc too, tho I haven't checked that out yet) but I have no idea why they wont have it as Rock default abilities (or if they want to limit it, have it be an upgrade you can find or buy). The store is better this time and they seem to have given the hair item a use, with it being a debuf if you want to make the game more challenging (if this is how it worked in MM9 it wasn't stated). I do wish some of the upgrades and stuff were brought back from like MM5/6/7, there's even 3 empty slots in the weapon menu they could have put something there.
Story is nonsense but honestly liked it, didn't take itself too serious compared to MM9 which tried to do something more serious but then completely neglected the premise at the end.

Protoman playthrough: TBD

I still don't get this one tbh. It's meant to be a throw back to MM2 which is why the slide and charge are gone, but at the same time they decided to include the store/screws and at least 1 item from 3-MM&B. So like if they're willing to add all those extra things that weren't in MM2 why not the slide and charge, which are far more iconic to the series then all the items? The "costume" and "hair" items are also such a waste of space that could have been given to some other items like the Rush Adapter or something.
I didn't really get the story either. The robots having "expiration dates" that by law they have to be shut down makes some sense, especially with the museum in previous games. But by the end they seem to have just forgotten this plot point? The credits do show art of the robot masters hanging out with the main cast, but the text never address if they were still being scrapped after or not???
All that being said it's far from a bad game (not a MM8 lol) but definitely not the best classic-style game imo (MM5/7 are still my favorites). I like that the game has built in achievements and while I probably wont check them all out I also liked all the extra modes and challenges, gives the game more replay value.

The better Mega Man 8! No but seriously pretty much all my issues with 8 were fixed here! Bolts and the store are normal. You can buy all the power ups, half of them are permanently on and the other half are limited to equipping one at a time, which is kinda how I wanted MM8s system to work. The CDs are neat but I do miss the collectables being able to find the power ups in stages like MM7, made it feel like you're actually growing stronger as you explore the stages. Speaking of MM7 tho, this also fixed one of my issues with that game. In that game 2 collectables were hidden in spots underground that you need Rush to dig up with nothing indicating you need to do that, this is not a big deal tho since you can just buy the items later in the shop if you miss them. But this game now added an item that shows sparkles in the areas Rush needs to dig. There are things that substitute E-tanks but tbh it still kinda annoying they're not here.

Bass Playthrough: It was really neat to have another character to play as with a slightly different move set. I see a lot of people say Bass is easy mode and I can definitely see it, the double jump and 8 direction rapid fire makes platforming and enemies easier to get through, but at the same time I think he has his own draw backs. He has less support skills (no Beat, Eddie or the Auto Heal) and the King fight is made harder.

Tbh didn't really enjoy this game, but before getting into that I'll say the things I did like. I like the stage select, finally changes it up from the standard grid, a lot like the last 2 GB games. I like the concept of having certain amount of power up slots and being able to customize your build (more on this in the next part). I really like the special weapons being a different button then the buster, so you can still use normal shots while a weapon is equipped. I also liked that the stage layouts encourage using the different weapons (mainly Thunder Claw and Tornado Hold) to traverse the stages. And I did actually like the sky battle sections, they weren't obnoxiously long and difficult like a certain other gimmick.
The snowboarding levels were terrible, they could have been a fun gimmick in concept but they were executed so poorly, the "jump", "slide" and Rocks scream as he falls to his death are going to haunt me for a long time lmao.
I liked the collectables in previous games but it was ridiculous here. Bolts should NOT be the collectables and there should not be a limited amount of them. Yeah I get that the point is to limit how many power ups you can get, but the game already only lets you equip up to 8 with only 1 buster upgrade you can switch out of 4. They could have just had you be able to get bolts from enemy drops like normal, be able to buy and/or find the power ups in stages and only let you equip 8 at a time so you can still customize your build. But also the levels are way too long for this, revisiting stages for collectables would have been better if you could choose to start in the middle after the continue point.
I also hate that they removed E-tanks and that you can't buy normal things from the store. The games previously were really generous with items so I never really had to buy them (besides a few W-tanks) but the option would have been nice. But still so strange E-tanks or just any tank items in general were just nonexistent.
The animated cutscenes were neat but tbh they did kinda take me out of the game, I think in game cutscenes work better for these games. Not really going to hate on it too hard but yea the voice acting was also not good, some scenes would have benefited from subtitles so you can know what they're saying.

EDIT: I just remember the Rush abilities exist, and there is a Rush heal. That might be an ok substitute for Tank items but I have no idea cause I never used them, which is my bad.

Great improvement compared to the previous game. Really like the short intro stage before the Robot Masters, better way to start the game then just throwing the a stage select right away. Love all the collectables and secrets in each level, actually gives a reason to replay them. I didn't like that like 2 of the important collectables are in random places where you need Rush to dig for them, with no real indication that you have to use Rush Search in those specific spots (you do get the option to buy them later tho so it's not that big a deal). I did like how Rush was handled in this game, really like the classic Rush abilities being what you first get easily and then the Adapter being an upgrade that's a little harder to get. The Proto Man side quest was neat, and also another good reason to revisit stages. Bringing the store from the GB games was great, tho nothing indicates there is a store or that you need to click "Select" on the stage select to access it. I also wish you could open your inventory in the shop so you can see what items you have like on GB. Beat was also reinvented to have him be useful in a new way.

Ok so I liked the Rush Adapter upgrades, felt like a natural progression from the Rush abilities. I also liked the more branching paths to the stages.
It's far from bad but everything else felt like a downgrade compared to MM5 tbh. Four of the Robot Masters having "fake" boss fights is stupid. The color pallet changing when you reenter those 4 is neat, but there's no real point to even if you did fight the "fake" boss since you can still progress the story. Sure fighting the "real" bosses unlocks Beat but he's not really as useful as he was before. I would have preferred hidden collectables in each stages like last game (and what they did with the Energy Balancer here) and give more of a reason to revisit stages. Other then the branching paths the stages themselves, while not bad, weren't as fun to go through as MM5 with some of its unique gimmicks.