I think this game is amazing, the SNES version at least, I've never played the GBA version. I played it through as Bass first and then as Mega Man. This is my second time playing the game with both characters, so technically the 4th playthrough.
The game is very hard. If you don't use the shop or use your weapons effectively, you're going to have a hard time. The music is a certified banger as the kids say.
Playing as either character is a completely different experience. Ice Wall goes from being a movement tool as Mega Man to a high damage move as Bass. I think Bass is harder overall compared to Mega Man. The special weapons fill out the gaps in Mega Man's abilities better compared to Bass. Bass is easier to get started with, but in return Mega Man has a higher potential. Bass looks better on paper, but not being able to shoot through walls or not being able to walk and shoot are subtle things that make him worse overall. The special weapons are good enough that they even even the playing field considerably. Bass is still better vertically, but everywhere else, Mega Man is better, which just happens to be the majority of the game.
I really enjoyed all the levels. They're all a perfect length for what they are in my opinion. The mid-bosses can be kind of tedious, but otherwise the pace is pretty good throughout. The more dangerous and scary looking sections of levels usually have safety nets in the form of respawning extra lives, (Tengu Man's Cold Man's and King Stage 2), or extra platforms that help you stall out the situation (Tengu Man's, Cold Man's, Dynamo Man's, Magic Man's stages). If I had to choose one as my least favorite, it would probably be Tengu Man's stage since the camera doesn't like moving vertically so its easy to just get killed by spiked above you. This is also kind of a problem with one section near the end of Magic Man's stage, but its not too much of a problem for me.
The weapons are all really great. I found myself using all of them throughout the levels, except for the screen nuke, which I never use in any game, and the drill. The drill still had its uses, just a lot more situational than the others. Its probably the most useful and balanced selection of weapons in all the classic games.
I love all the bosses in this game. I do them all Buster only the first time, and then with weaknesses in the refights. As Mega Man, they all go down pretty quickly once you understand their patterns, with the exceptions being Pirate Man and Magic Man which are a lot harder. They're a lot of fun, with tells to what they do next. Bass is the same, except he's a lot more of an endurance test because of the nature of his buster. Burner Man in particular becomes a lot harder. It feels great to beat all of them with Bass though since it requires more precise play. Magic Man and Pirate Man are a lot easier with Bass. Its easier to dodge the mines and prevent Pirate Man from bubbling. With Magic Man, you just shoot him while he's in the center, then jump over to the other side of him while he's attacking, wait for him to dash back to center and repeat. Bass can ensure Dynamo Man doesn't refill a lot of health by aiming his buster up at the rails. Dynamo and Burner Man are interesting because their weaknesses only come into play in certain phases of their attacks, otherwise the buster is better. The King boss fights are all pretty easy, just kind of annoying since they have so much health. The plane can be kind of annoying because it can destroy the platforms, but usually you can just prepare to jump to a platform thats coming in when you see the fist. King Stage 2 is just annoying because it would've been fine if it was 3 individual levels, but the fact thats its all crammed into 1 just makes it a slog. The final level is pretty nice though. Fighting the bosses again with little challenges in between is fun, even if a bit long-winded. The wily battle is pretty fun and is over pretty fast.
I didn't collect all the CDs. It doesn't look that fun anyways from what I can tell, but seeing the flavor text is pretty nice. This is my favorite classic mega man game. Its probably my favorite Mega Man game period, but I haven't played much of the other series. I don't really understand why this one has such a bad rap when it does nearly everything perfectly in my eyes. I guess its because I don't use E-tanks or the rush abilities ever really, so I don't miss them. Its one of the harder ones, but with a bit of patience, anyone whose beaten a classic Mega Man game should be able to beat it. Anyways, I absolutely love this game.
The game is very hard. If you don't use the shop or use your weapons effectively, you're going to have a hard time. The music is a certified banger as the kids say.
Playing as either character is a completely different experience. Ice Wall goes from being a movement tool as Mega Man to a high damage move as Bass. I think Bass is harder overall compared to Mega Man. The special weapons fill out the gaps in Mega Man's abilities better compared to Bass. Bass is easier to get started with, but in return Mega Man has a higher potential. Bass looks better on paper, but not being able to shoot through walls or not being able to walk and shoot are subtle things that make him worse overall. The special weapons are good enough that they even even the playing field considerably. Bass is still better vertically, but everywhere else, Mega Man is better, which just happens to be the majority of the game.
I really enjoyed all the levels. They're all a perfect length for what they are in my opinion. The mid-bosses can be kind of tedious, but otherwise the pace is pretty good throughout. The more dangerous and scary looking sections of levels usually have safety nets in the form of respawning extra lives, (Tengu Man's Cold Man's and King Stage 2), or extra platforms that help you stall out the situation (Tengu Man's, Cold Man's, Dynamo Man's, Magic Man's stages). If I had to choose one as my least favorite, it would probably be Tengu Man's stage since the camera doesn't like moving vertically so its easy to just get killed by spiked above you. This is also kind of a problem with one section near the end of Magic Man's stage, but its not too much of a problem for me.
The weapons are all really great. I found myself using all of them throughout the levels, except for the screen nuke, which I never use in any game, and the drill. The drill still had its uses, just a lot more situational than the others. Its probably the most useful and balanced selection of weapons in all the classic games.
I love all the bosses in this game. I do them all Buster only the first time, and then with weaknesses in the refights. As Mega Man, they all go down pretty quickly once you understand their patterns, with the exceptions being Pirate Man and Magic Man which are a lot harder. They're a lot of fun, with tells to what they do next. Bass is the same, except he's a lot more of an endurance test because of the nature of his buster. Burner Man in particular becomes a lot harder. It feels great to beat all of them with Bass though since it requires more precise play. Magic Man and Pirate Man are a lot easier with Bass. Its easier to dodge the mines and prevent Pirate Man from bubbling. With Magic Man, you just shoot him while he's in the center, then jump over to the other side of him while he's attacking, wait for him to dash back to center and repeat. Bass can ensure Dynamo Man doesn't refill a lot of health by aiming his buster up at the rails. Dynamo and Burner Man are interesting because their weaknesses only come into play in certain phases of their attacks, otherwise the buster is better. The King boss fights are all pretty easy, just kind of annoying since they have so much health. The plane can be kind of annoying because it can destroy the platforms, but usually you can just prepare to jump to a platform thats coming in when you see the fist. King Stage 2 is just annoying because it would've been fine if it was 3 individual levels, but the fact thats its all crammed into 1 just makes it a slog. The final level is pretty nice though. Fighting the bosses again with little challenges in between is fun, even if a bit long-winded. The wily battle is pretty fun and is over pretty fast.
I didn't collect all the CDs. It doesn't look that fun anyways from what I can tell, but seeing the flavor text is pretty nice. This is my favorite classic mega man game. Its probably my favorite Mega Man game period, but I haven't played much of the other series. I don't really understand why this one has such a bad rap when it does nearly everything perfectly in my eyes. I guess its because I don't use E-tanks or the rush abilities ever really, so I don't miss them. Its one of the harder ones, but with a bit of patience, anyone whose beaten a classic Mega Man game should be able to beat it. Anyways, I absolutely love this game.