After over four Gameboy games that spent their time regurtitating level themes from the NES Mega Mans, the final fifth Gameboy game throws in a surprise: it's a fully original title! Hey, whoever gave up on the Gameboy games after two or three of them, did you hear me?! THIS ONE'S ORIGINAL! COME BACK!
They had the opportunity to throw in some levels from Mega Man 5 & 6, and call it a day. Instead, Mega Man V chose to create its own robot masters and its own set of stages, centered around cosmic planetary themes. One boss is called Venus, the other is Jupiter, and so on, and so forth. Levels are imbued with newly-created mechanics to spice things up here and there, and I've found the arsenal of weapons to be more interesting this time around, such as a weapon that saps enemy health and gives it to you.
The game feels like it's trying to do some creative things from a team that wanted to push the boundaries of what was expected from them, to create a Mega Man title that they could call their own. There's a sincerity to it, a much greater sincerity than some of the more recent Mega Man games that seem to exist just for the sake of sucking out all the honey from the formula. Of course, the gameplay here isn't anything new, it's still Mega Man, you still platform and shoot things to death... it's the aesthetic that shines brighter, it's the music that hits harder (I love the Venus theme, it feels so unconventional for a Mega Man title but it gets stuck in your head so easily), it's the level design that's more enjoyable. It's the same, yet it feels so much fresher in all the subtle ways.
Overall, an underrated title. It only took them 5 tries, but Capcom finally landed on a Gameboy Mega Man that's memorable, and would be likely to make you come back for more, especially as a Mega Man fan. Highly recommended.
They had the opportunity to throw in some levels from Mega Man 5 & 6, and call it a day. Instead, Mega Man V chose to create its own robot masters and its own set of stages, centered around cosmic planetary themes. One boss is called Venus, the other is Jupiter, and so on, and so forth. Levels are imbued with newly-created mechanics to spice things up here and there, and I've found the arsenal of weapons to be more interesting this time around, such as a weapon that saps enemy health and gives it to you.
The game feels like it's trying to do some creative things from a team that wanted to push the boundaries of what was expected from them, to create a Mega Man title that they could call their own. There's a sincerity to it, a much greater sincerity than some of the more recent Mega Man games that seem to exist just for the sake of sucking out all the honey from the formula. Of course, the gameplay here isn't anything new, it's still Mega Man, you still platform and shoot things to death... it's the aesthetic that shines brighter, it's the music that hits harder (I love the Venus theme, it feels so unconventional for a Mega Man title but it gets stuck in your head so easily), it's the level design that's more enjoyable. It's the same, yet it feels so much fresher in all the subtle ways.
Overall, an underrated title. It only took them 5 tries, but Capcom finally landed on a Gameboy Mega Man that's memorable, and would be likely to make you come back for more, especially as a Mega Man fan. Highly recommended.