This game fixes a lot of the issues of the first game like the screen crunch and (mostly fixes) the unfair screens. But in exchange, this game does several things worse.
The issue that this game is most well known for is every single sound being an octave too high. This makes all the sound effects and especially BGM hard to listen to, but listening to the corrected soundtrack it's okay. I did miss the arranges of the NES music the last game went with as here they are all original tracks, but songs from Mega Man 2 like Metal Man's theme, wood man (very nice) and Top 27 Anime Boobs (aka Crash Man) are iconic tracks that I would have loved to hear in a Game Boy style arrangement.
These versions of the GB stages feel closer to their NES counterparts, which is a little less exciting as when playing the previous title I only had half of an idea of what to expect and would be surprised by what other elements (or even unique elements) would be thrown in. Now it feels like portable versions of the NES stages, for better or worse, which made me wonder why I wasn't playing those games instead. The fall into spikes and die rooms from Wily's Castle were moved to Metal Man way earlier in the game and the Yoku Blocks feel far less consistant here than in the previous game. Despite this the game as a whole is overall notably easier than the first since everything else is much more fair, but really that translates to blowing through it a lot quicker. The bosses are copy-pasted from the NES so expect to take hits on some bosses, but E-Tanks are in abundance in this game so you'll never really have an issue.
The stage count increases from 6 to 9, as the game handles its Robot Master roster in an interesting way: the first 4 you'll know who you pick, but in the second half you won't know who's stage you're going to in a blind playthrough until it's already begun. This also allows you more time with the second half of the weapon roster (which pulls from Mega Man 3) allowing them to actually see practical use.
Speaking of Mega Man 3, the slide and Rush parts are also here which are a welcome addition. They're all their MM3 counterparts except Rush Marine controls worse. This means you have the busted Rush Jet that never gets used up if you spam jumps while on him! Don't forget the Metal Blades are in this game, meaning you have all the tools you need to blast through the stages with reckless abandon once you get those two.
In some ways it's a better experience than the previous, but I think I prefer that game to this, as its challenge at least justified its short length while here you get both the best weapon and transport item in Mega Man history in an already fairly easy game.
Does the game not stopping when you heal/grab energy feel uncanny or is it just a me thing?
The issue that this game is most well known for is every single sound being an octave too high. This makes all the sound effects and especially BGM hard to listen to, but listening to the corrected soundtrack it's okay. I did miss the arranges of the NES music the last game went with as here they are all original tracks, but songs from Mega Man 2 like Metal Man's theme, wood man (very nice) and Top 27 Anime Boobs (aka Crash Man) are iconic tracks that I would have loved to hear in a Game Boy style arrangement.
These versions of the GB stages feel closer to their NES counterparts, which is a little less exciting as when playing the previous title I only had half of an idea of what to expect and would be surprised by what other elements (or even unique elements) would be thrown in. Now it feels like portable versions of the NES stages, for better or worse, which made me wonder why I wasn't playing those games instead. The fall into spikes and die rooms from Wily's Castle were moved to Metal Man way earlier in the game and the Yoku Blocks feel far less consistant here than in the previous game. Despite this the game as a whole is overall notably easier than the first since everything else is much more fair, but really that translates to blowing through it a lot quicker. The bosses are copy-pasted from the NES so expect to take hits on some bosses, but E-Tanks are in abundance in this game so you'll never really have an issue.
The stage count increases from 6 to 9, as the game handles its Robot Master roster in an interesting way: the first 4 you'll know who you pick, but in the second half you won't know who's stage you're going to in a blind playthrough until it's already begun. This also allows you more time with the second half of the weapon roster (which pulls from Mega Man 3) allowing them to actually see practical use.
Speaking of Mega Man 3, the slide and Rush parts are also here which are a welcome addition. They're all their MM3 counterparts except Rush Marine controls worse. This means you have the busted Rush Jet that never gets used up if you spam jumps while on him! Don't forget the Metal Blades are in this game, meaning you have all the tools you need to blast through the stages with reckless abandon once you get those two.
In some ways it's a better experience than the previous, but I think I prefer that game to this, as its challenge at least justified its short length while here you get both the best weapon and transport item in Mega Man history in an already fairly easy game.
Does the game not stopping when you heal/grab energy feel uncanny or is it just a me thing?