Mega Man did a lot of things well right out of the gate. The colorful and unique presentation of each level, coupled with themed enemies and bosses made for a great looking game. The excellent soundtrack just added a layer of polish to the overall package.

The gameplay laid a heavy focus on carefully timed platforming which could get frustrating fairly often, but rarely felt completely unfair. The bosses, with their unique abilities, elevated this above many of the action platformers of the day and allowed for a customizable level of challenge once you knew the correct order to tackle the stages in.

Overall Mega Man was a tough platformer with a great presentation that would go on to influence other games in the genre almost immediately after its release.