I played 8 on Anniversary Collection as a kid with no real understanding it was a port of an old game, but it had a huge effect on me. Felt so beautiful and brimming with life, I distinctly remember being taken aback when I got to X4-6 in my middle school years and the animation and polish was so stilted by comparison.

Mega Man always strived for the playable shonen experience but they really hit the nail on the head here imo, maybe because it leans into the more eclectic side of the series' vibe. Excellent house-synth soundtrack, great gamefeel, very strong stage and boss designs, you can feasibly beat everyone with a buster - everything '& Bass' wishes it could be. And the best Roll design!

You all know the weakpoints, nobody wants to deal with Wily stage 1 or the capsule, but that's mostly it. I guess the situation also feels underdeveloped, but it's hard to notice through the bad dub. For being last mainline entry for a little over a decade, its setup feels very weekly, like it's just an isolated event that comes and goes. 7's introduction of Bass is really strong, as-is the whole 'I am more than a robot' shtick at the end (with burning Wily castle!!); Duo's place in the story really can't compare, you could remove him and nothing about the conflict would change.

I wish 9 and 10 continued elaborating on this gorgeous 2D artstyle and further innovation of mechanics and incidental quirks instead of regressing to the NES era. Even 11, for as good as its 3D art is, doesn't have the emotional resonance this game has.

You better have something cooking Capcom, 11's been a half-decade old now!