This fails to achieve the one thing that every side-scrolling Mega Man game should achieve by default: Mega Man 7 feels atrocious. Slippery, garish, and requiring near-Crash Bandicoot levels of precision for a lot of its most basic platforming segments. Not only that, but...
For reasons that are still unclear, much of Mega Man's progression in this game is tuned around (1) the new Rush Search function, which players are encouraged to use to find optional upgrades hidden throughout the Robot Master levels; and (2) an optional shop menu, where players can spend their hard-earned "bolts" to purchase extra lives, E-tanks, and any other upgrades that they were unable to find with the Rush Search. Clearly, Capcom's attempt to innovate the Mega Man formula isn't ill-intentioned. I respect the swing immensely, especially after six distinct NES games in the same graphics engine. Unfortunately, it was still a swing and a miss for me.
I also need to talk about the game's notorious final boss, Wily Capsule 7. What is going on there? It's possible to dodge some of his attacks with perfect timing, but it's so clearly tuned around going to the shop, purchasing a full set of E-tanks and an S-tank (a new item that restores weapon energy), and tanking the majority of his hits without much strategy. Truly sadistic stuff—neither a final test of the skills you've honed so far nor a means of catharsis. Instead, it just feels hostile.
Look, I'll say it again. This game is gorgeous. I want to live inside of it. But, for you, reader of this review, it would probably be best to look at some screenshots and listen to the music instead of actually playing Mega Man 7. What a miserable, beautiful mess.
For reasons that are still unclear, much of Mega Man's progression in this game is tuned around (1) the new Rush Search function, which players are encouraged to use to find optional upgrades hidden throughout the Robot Master levels; and (2) an optional shop menu, where players can spend their hard-earned "bolts" to purchase extra lives, E-tanks, and any other upgrades that they were unable to find with the Rush Search. Clearly, Capcom's attempt to innovate the Mega Man formula isn't ill-intentioned. I respect the swing immensely, especially after six distinct NES games in the same graphics engine. Unfortunately, it was still a swing and a miss for me.
I also need to talk about the game's notorious final boss, Wily Capsule 7. What is going on there? It's possible to dodge some of his attacks with perfect timing, but it's so clearly tuned around going to the shop, purchasing a full set of E-tanks and an S-tank (a new item that restores weapon energy), and tanking the majority of his hits without much strategy. Truly sadistic stuff—neither a final test of the skills you've honed so far nor a means of catharsis. Instead, it just feels hostile.
Look, I'll say it again. This game is gorgeous. I want to live inside of it. But, for you, reader of this review, it would probably be best to look at some screenshots and listen to the music instead of actually playing Mega Man 7. What a miserable, beautiful mess.