-The gear system, plus all the items and upgrades, are excellent in-game difficulty sliders. My approach was to abstain from the gear system as much as possible - only using it if I began to grind my teeth and curse at the screen. In most cases, the tricky stuff like torch man's stage or the Orange Demon felt like combat puzzles that weren't overwhelming once I "solved" them with strategy. I sometimes used it for a few attempts, but then died and tried it raw. In some cases, like Wily 1 or some of the bosses, I did use the gear every time and never looked back. Plenty of challenge - I never felt cheated out of the full Mega Man experience. Plus, there's always trophy hunting if you wanna raise your blood pressure more.
-The MM8 style boss encounters and cornball taunts are just chef kissing fingers gesture.
-Almost everything in Bounce Man's stage is made of rubber (including most of Bounce Man), EXCEPT FOR the balloons, which are made of metal. And the float.
-Hey so anyone find young Dr. Wily sexy? Hah, yeah...me neither...