The specific formula of Mega Man's gameplay synthesizes into something uniquely addictive and enjoyable, certainly worth milking into a long line of sequels and spinoffs. It's no wonder the great Angry Video Game Nerd described the classic Mega Man series' gameplay as "a science that triggers a phenomenon in your brain." The simple fun of jumping and shooting, the joy of experimenting with new weapons, the varied and inventive levels, the tough but doable challenge, it's all already there in Mega Man 1.
And it's all already compounded by the stylish graphics and rockin' music the series would be known for. The graphics of the Mega Man series hit just the right balance between simplicity and detail that's allowed them to age better than almost every other NES game. The music is already so damn catchy and energetic, and perfectly attuned to the NES's audio hardware. Later games would push the system's capabilities in graphics and sound harder, but even in this humble first game we're already seeing a lot of what made Mega Man so iconic and untouchable. The presentation of the classic Mega Man series is inseparably tied to the NES, as though Capcom and the NES understood each other on a spiritual level--this is back when games were actually made for a specific platform in mind.
Being the first in a long series does mean there are a lot of areas which unfavorably compare to later games. There are only 6 Robot Masters, invincibility doesn't rescue you from spikes, there are no E-tanks, there's no password system. The sequels' improvements in these areas are definitely welcome, yet I don't really believe this game suffers on its own for lacking them. A lot of people disagree, which is part of why the game's average on here as of this writing is 2.8. The bigger reason is that this game is hard, but it is totally doable with practice, except for that damn Yellow Devil which you can and should cheese.
Mega Man 1 stands head and shoulders above most of its competition and is definitely one of the best games of '87. A lot of the mainline sequels are better, but this one did it first and that counts for something.
And it's all already compounded by the stylish graphics and rockin' music the series would be known for. The graphics of the Mega Man series hit just the right balance between simplicity and detail that's allowed them to age better than almost every other NES game. The music is already so damn catchy and energetic, and perfectly attuned to the NES's audio hardware. Later games would push the system's capabilities in graphics and sound harder, but even in this humble first game we're already seeing a lot of what made Mega Man so iconic and untouchable. The presentation of the classic Mega Man series is inseparably tied to the NES, as though Capcom and the NES understood each other on a spiritual level--this is back when games were actually made for a specific platform in mind.
Being the first in a long series does mean there are a lot of areas which unfavorably compare to later games. There are only 6 Robot Masters, invincibility doesn't rescue you from spikes, there are no E-tanks, there's no password system. The sequels' improvements in these areas are definitely welcome, yet I don't really believe this game suffers on its own for lacking them. A lot of people disagree, which is part of why the game's average on here as of this writing is 2.8. The bigger reason is that this game is hard, but it is totally doable with practice, except for that damn Yellow Devil which you can and should cheese.
Mega Man 1 stands head and shoulders above most of its competition and is definitely one of the best games of '87. A lot of the mainline sequels are better, but this one did it first and that counts for something.