With Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge on the Game Boy, Capcom had succeeded on bringing the classic run-n-gun platforming series onto a handheld, and much like with the NES games, they weren’t simply just gonna stop there, even though these games wouldn’t be as successful or beloved as the console games. Nevertheless, they then went right on to making a sequel to the game, this time outsourcing development NOT to the guys who worked on the original game (because fuck those guys, I guess), but instead, an all new company known as Thinking Rabbit, a studio who doesn’t really have any noteworthy games under their belt other then this one, and also had ZERO experience or knowledge of Mega Man whatsoever whenever they were developing the game. Despite how these circumstances should end in a complete fucking disaster, they eventually finished the sequel, and it was released as Mega Man II, completely confusing everyone who played not only the original game, but also for those who were well aware of the NES Mega Man games. Seriously, even outside of the US, these games were called Mega Man World, so why not call them that here?
Going into revisiting this game, I knew well enough that this was considered to be the worst of the Game Boy Mega Man games, and I also knew that, from the snippets of memory that I had from first playing this game, I remember not liking it too much. However, upon replaying the game for this review, I was honestly pleasantly surprised to find out that this game isn’t bad at all. In fact, I may even like this one BETTER then Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge. Yes, it is pretty stupid with some of the plot elements and boss fights, but I honestly had a pretty good time with the game, way more then I was expecting, and it is better then many probably give it credit for.
The story is, in all honesty, pretty fucking dumb, and is legitimately the worst part of the game, but if you don’t know it going in, it won’t effect anything, so it is fine without, the graphics are pretty much the exact same as the original game, so there’s no point in discussing them, the music is actually pretty damn good, which I wasn’t expecting for this entry in particular, but I am glad to hear it, the control is pretty much the same as the last game, although some things like the Rush Marine feel a little weird to handle, and the gameplay is still the same fun action platforming we have come to expect, but toned down this time around.
We all know the drill of how these games play. It’s a 2D platformer, where you traverse through plenty of stages, defeating plenty of enemies, grabbing various health and ammo capsules along the way, defeating plenty of robot masters, and using their powers to help you along the way. Nothing about it is changed here, and when I say nothing, I mean nothing. It plays pretty much exactly like the last game, and just like the last game, reuses elements from the console Mega Man games, specifically Mega Man 2 and 3, to fill out its content, such as with stages, bosses, powers, and gimmicks. The only new addition this time around would be with Quint, the new Mega Man killer, who is pretty terrible in all honestly, with his boss fight being extremely easy, and the circumstances for him being there also being pretty stupid.
So, with all that being said, why would I consider this game better then Dr. Wily’s Revenge? Well, honestly, I just had more of a good time with it. It features more content then the previous, having nine stages rather then six, and unlike the last game, where they brought in four robot masters from Mega Man 2 only to be defeated and nothing more, they actually gave the four additional robot masters in this game their own unique levels, which is really appreciated, making it feel like a more complete package. In addition, the game is much easier then the last one, not really having any situations where it feels like you can’t avoid taking damage, while also still challenging the player in all the right ways. I dunno, maybe it is because I am so used to the way Mega Man games work that it is practically just an instinct whenever I play one of these games, but it was nice to have something that I could just breeze through.
Now, with all that out of the way, I can definitely see why people would hate this game. While I myself am fine with the difficulty being not too much this time around, I can see how others could find it too easy, and would wish for something more in line with the other Mega Man games. In addition, there still isn’t really too many new elements added to this installment, and I can’t lie, not all of the boss fights are that good. The robot masters themselves are pretty good, but the fights between both Quint and Dr. Wily are pretty poor, both having pretty bad designs and being extremely easy. Despite all that though, I still had a great time with the game, and I am glad that I revisited it all these years later.
Overall, while definitely not the most challenging or creative entry in the series, Mega Man II on the Game Boy is still more of the classic, fun and addicting gameplay that I come to expect from this series, and I would definitely recommend it for hardcore Mega Man fans like me. Just, you know… ignore some of the dumb elements that the game has. Seriously, fuck Quint.
Game #233
Going into revisiting this game, I knew well enough that this was considered to be the worst of the Game Boy Mega Man games, and I also knew that, from the snippets of memory that I had from first playing this game, I remember not liking it too much. However, upon replaying the game for this review, I was honestly pleasantly surprised to find out that this game isn’t bad at all. In fact, I may even like this one BETTER then Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge. Yes, it is pretty stupid with some of the plot elements and boss fights, but I honestly had a pretty good time with the game, way more then I was expecting, and it is better then many probably give it credit for.
The story is, in all honesty, pretty fucking dumb, and is legitimately the worst part of the game, but if you don’t know it going in, it won’t effect anything, so it is fine without, the graphics are pretty much the exact same as the original game, so there’s no point in discussing them, the music is actually pretty damn good, which I wasn’t expecting for this entry in particular, but I am glad to hear it, the control is pretty much the same as the last game, although some things like the Rush Marine feel a little weird to handle, and the gameplay is still the same fun action platforming we have come to expect, but toned down this time around.
We all know the drill of how these games play. It’s a 2D platformer, where you traverse through plenty of stages, defeating plenty of enemies, grabbing various health and ammo capsules along the way, defeating plenty of robot masters, and using their powers to help you along the way. Nothing about it is changed here, and when I say nothing, I mean nothing. It plays pretty much exactly like the last game, and just like the last game, reuses elements from the console Mega Man games, specifically Mega Man 2 and 3, to fill out its content, such as with stages, bosses, powers, and gimmicks. The only new addition this time around would be with Quint, the new Mega Man killer, who is pretty terrible in all honestly, with his boss fight being extremely easy, and the circumstances for him being there also being pretty stupid.
So, with all that being said, why would I consider this game better then Dr. Wily’s Revenge? Well, honestly, I just had more of a good time with it. It features more content then the previous, having nine stages rather then six, and unlike the last game, where they brought in four robot masters from Mega Man 2 only to be defeated and nothing more, they actually gave the four additional robot masters in this game their own unique levels, which is really appreciated, making it feel like a more complete package. In addition, the game is much easier then the last one, not really having any situations where it feels like you can’t avoid taking damage, while also still challenging the player in all the right ways. I dunno, maybe it is because I am so used to the way Mega Man games work that it is practically just an instinct whenever I play one of these games, but it was nice to have something that I could just breeze through.
Now, with all that out of the way, I can definitely see why people would hate this game. While I myself am fine with the difficulty being not too much this time around, I can see how others could find it too easy, and would wish for something more in line with the other Mega Man games. In addition, there still isn’t really too many new elements added to this installment, and I can’t lie, not all of the boss fights are that good. The robot masters themselves are pretty good, but the fights between both Quint and Dr. Wily are pretty poor, both having pretty bad designs and being extremely easy. Despite all that though, I still had a great time with the game, and I am glad that I revisited it all these years later.
Overall, while definitely not the most challenging or creative entry in the series, Mega Man II on the Game Boy is still more of the classic, fun and addicting gameplay that I come to expect from this series, and I would definitely recommend it for hardcore Mega Man fans like me. Just, you know… ignore some of the dumb elements that the game has. Seriously, fuck Quint.
Game #233