Suikoden 1 really sits in an odd place for me, as it put me on to one of my favorite series and favorite games I've ever played. At the same time, the game that directly follows this one really muddles my perception of this one, to the point it feels like a prequel in my mind despite innovating and paving the way for those later games. This game is iconic in its own right, with some great plot beats and characters that really made me feel for them as members of my party and characters in the story. Some of that carries over to the sequel as well, to the point where I really can't reccomend 2 without playing 1 first, even if I personally wouldn't revisit it as soon as I would 2. A great game in its own right, and I have some really good memories attached to it.

This game fucks so hard. Notorious for some, I went in really expecting to hate it especially on my first playthrough with Mega Man but this really blew me out of the water with how good it is. It is challenging as hell, and definitely feels like a step up on difficulty from 7 and 8 before it, but it really hits that Mega Man sweet spot of feeling frustrating but still beatable. For most of the runtime anyway. The SNES Mega Man games really have a habit of being incredibly great right up until the final bossfights. This gauntlet isn't really as bad as Wily Machine 7 if I think about them, but I think I hated them a little more in the moment due to the sheer quantity of challenging bosses this endgame has. Two playable characters who both can get through the story with different strengths and weaknesses really gets a lot of points for me though. I haven't given 10 a fair shake as each character, but in my humble opinion right now this is the best multi-character setup in the classic series. One of the best, despite what people will tell you!

Gamers, I do not like Mega Man 10 very much. Big disclaimer for my opinions on this one, I played this after playing the previous 9 games over the course of a few months or so, and was beginning to feel some burnout. Because of that, I chose to play as Proto Man in this one, in hope to change up the gameplay a bit. Holy fuck, was this a mistake. I hope that my problems with this stem from the increased damage taken while playing as Blues, but I really do not want to replay it for a while. The robot master stages are alright, but once I hit the castle stages this became nearly unplayable. I recognize that I am likely being dramatic about this one, and when I think about it it probably isn't as bad if you play through with Mega Man first, and the design isn't really bad per se, but every time I picked it up I dreaded it. It'll be my least favorite entry until I decide to give it another shot, and I'll probably like it then, but until then, bad review!

9 and 10 are both very complicated. I think the design of these two works MUCH better in 9 than 10, at least with my limited experience of these games. They tightened and limited the move set for this one back to Mega Man 2 mode. It works, as the levels are designed around this idea, but playing all of the games in a row made this one stand out a lot less to me. It is definitely frustrating in parts, and I think that is an homage to 2 as well, which is alright with me. I was able to clear it without any major hang ups, and it was well designed, just doesn't come to mind when I think of the best games in this series, but that may change with more replays.

What an enigma! Dopey cutscenes aside, the presentation is near perfect for Classic Mega Man. even those cutscenes are really well animated! I do think the gameplay took a step down from 7, though aside from the much talked about tediously difficult parts I think it does come together to a bit of a smoother ride. The soundtrack is great, and I never had too much of an issue with the levels aside from a few hiccups. It all balances up to be pretty swell overall, if a bit clunkier than past and some future entries.

Oh, sweet Mega Man 7... Everything about this game works, there are moments of frustration in a few levels but they never held me up for long enough to feel unfair, and the larger sprite sizes are well worth to me with how awesome this game's graphics are. They definitely upped the presentation, and what little it interferes with the gameplay doesn't get to me, as the gameplay is really good! The levels are well designed, with really good secrets and discovery. The super adapter knocks it out of the park, and the rivalry with Bass is a really awesome addition to this both story and gameplay wise. Everything about this game is incredible, and sets it up as my favorite in the Classic line, and then you fight the final boss and never want to play this game ever again. It is hard not to mention this game's most glaring flaw, but all in all it is a really well designed experience.

I may be delusional... but this game? Fucks. The robot masters MIGHT be my favorite of the NES 6, it is hard to say but this cast is really cool to me. I also enjoy the story weirdly enough? The tone and setup are pretty much exactly what I want from Classic Mega Man. The adapters are really cool, even if I only really enjoy using 1/2 of them... The beautiful pixel art, branching levels and music come together to really work and kick ass. This is at least in the top 3 of the NES Mega Man games for me.

How do you rate something as monolithic as Mega Man 2... On the one hand it holds so many wonderful memories and every time I play it I feel so badass, but in a way it is similar to Zero 1 in my memory. I know there are some serious flaws, and that a lot of people have a hard time with it, but I love the hell out of it. This one much more than Zero 1 personally, and I think it is fundamentally a little more quality over the entire experience. It is hard for me to discuss the NES Mega Man games, but 2 is a really solid entry in my book. As old-fashioned as it feels to say it, I still think this one is really good.