Mega Man: Get Equipped with Thread Shot!

[YangusKhan]

Mega Man 3 is usually near the top of my list because:

1. it's the only one with that gameplay sweet spot where you have a slide but no charged shot
2. the music is really good
3. it was the one I played as a kid

 

[ghosttaster]

Can we at least all agree that Megaman X is the zenith, the fucking absolute pinnacle, of 2D action game design?

 

[Octopus Prime]

Oh heavens yes

 

[RT-55J]

Of all the Mega Man games that do the 4-4 split I'm kinda of surprised that MM6 is not one of them, given that that batch of robot masters is already has a thematic split that way between the elemental ones (Blizzard, Flame, Plant, and Wind) and the warriors (Knight, Yamoto, Tomahawk, and, uh, Centaur). This is even acknowledged with the latter group having all of the BEAT letters.

Anyhow, while MM6's soundtrack still does very little to me, in my most recent playthrough I was impressed with how much better the game was than my previous fandom-hivemind-influenced impressions had led me to believe. (Also, this is common knowledge by this point, but it is a very, very pretty game.)

Just to throw an unrelated hot take out there, but MM2 for Game Boy deserves more credit than it gets. It relatively light and breezy fare by Mega Man standards, and I frankly find the jankiness and amateurishness of the production to be rather endearing. Also, if the tinny soundtrack is an issue to you, there is even a patch that fixes it.

 

[madhair60]

Can we at least all agree that Megaman X is the zenith, the fucking absolute pinnacle, of 2D action game design?

if you started with the dash it would be

 

[4-So]

As long as we're considering MM5 music, the Staff Roll is divine and one of the best tracks in the NES library. Joyous and melancholy and incredible.

 

[SpoonyBard]

Hot take: I actually prefer the Perfect Works/Anniversary Collection versions of Mega Man 5's soundtrack over the NES one.

(and yes MMX is stellar, no doubt)

 

[Sarge]

I think Mega Man X is outstanding, but I still like MM2/3 over it.

I love Mega Man 5's soundtrack. Lots of great tunes, as already pointed out.

 

[Ludendorkk]

3 has my favourite track in the series in Needle Man Stage, composed by Harumi Fujita who also did Gemini Man Stage and contributed to the staff roll theme. It carries such melancholic pathos that I'm intrinsically drawn to, and she did a lot with that kind of emotive weight in her other works around that time, like the overworld theme from Gargoyle's Quest. I always love when a fundamentally silly and lighthearted series like Mega Man juxtaposes that default state of being with something unexpected that makes the games feel larger than they are. I don't really want or need Needle Man to be characterized literally, as I'm sure he has been in material like comics or whatever else, and this also isn't an angle toward a "Needle Man is a tragic and poignant character in the Mega Man saga" overread--but the music associated with him gives you something to latch onto regardless, which is these games at their evocative best.

4's kind of tragic to me as several tracks in it are as good as anything else in the series--thinking Skull Man Stage (percussion), Pharaoh Man Stage (super-ambitious, hyperactive note and countermelody structure), Dr. Cossack Stage 2 (really tense drama)--but so much of the rest is uncharacteristically, unpleasantly shrill in instrumentation or downright compositionally inexplicable, like the password theme. It was Minae Fujii's only contribution to the series and a solo work to boot, until many years later she was among the all-star cast of returning composers doing 10's soundtrack, and Desert Commando I think exemplifies the best qualities of her past work.

Your thoughts on Needle Man's theme perfectly mirror my thoughts on Dust Man's theme, the odd melancholic songs are very evocative.

I do think the problem with a lot of MM4's songs is the instrumentation, as you noted. I think Rushjet1's NES remix album of the game is a strong attempt at providing instrumentation that lets the actual compositions shine.

 

[narcodis]

Very glad to see so much appreciation for the MM5 soundtrack, a game despite having the worst weapon loadout in the whole damn series I still love for its top-notch aesthetics and for building a castle shaped like protomans head.

My favorite track from that game is from Wave Mans stage.

I liked it so much I made a chillwave remix of the song, which I think the slower tempo really helps to highlight just how beautiful of a melody it is.

https://soundcloud.com/twinplus%2Fchillwave-man

I will also go to bat for MM7. That game rules. Once again, one of the crispiest and juiciest aesthetics in the series. Really awesome weapons. Two years in a row I've sat and played every classic mega man game and MM7 both times was a treat to get through.

I feel somewhat alone in this opinion but I dont know that I care for 1 much at all. I get that its the first one. Doesnt mean it holds up. Theres a lot of dumb bullshit in that game, has some really fucked up gravity physics, and the randomly moving platforms in Ice Mans stage can kiss my whole ass. I do like that Ice Man himself is just a dude in a winter coat, that's kinda fun.

I am fully on board the Hate 8 train (yes, jump jump slide slide IS that bad), but it has some really just precious 90s PS1 voice acting that truly must be treasured.

 

[zonetrope]

This thread inspired me to dust off Mega Man 11 for the first time since release. It's a lot of fun overall, but yeegads, Bounce Man might be the most irritating level in the entire original series. Or it's at least neck and neck with jump jump slide slide.

 

[4-So]

The secret to enjoying MM11 is to play it on Newcomer and just enjoy a breezy stroll through.

 

[zonetrope]

The amount of damage you take on Normal is a little ridiculous, yeah. Turning off the voice acting is also a major quality-of-life improvement.

 

[ShakeWell]

This thread inspired me to dust off Mega Man 11 for the first time since release. It's a lot of fun overall, but yeegads, Bounce Man might be the most irritating level in the entire original series. Or it's at least neck and neck with jump jump slide slide.

Yeah, even as a defender of 11, I'll concede that Bounce Man's stage sucks.

 

[ShakeWell]

Mega Man: The Wily Wars is finally getting an official US cartridge release. Apparently, they fixed some/most of the slowdown, too.

Additionally, St1ka on YouTube just did a great look at a Chinese Mega Man X clone for Game Boy Color that looks... pretty great?

 

[ArugulaZ]

Uh, did they replace Dr. Light with Colonel Sanders?

 

[Phantoon]

Additionally, St1ka on YouTube just did a great look at a Chinese Mega Man X clone for Game Boy Color that looks... pretty great?

Yeah, while a bit janky at least three of those games look genuinely interesting.

 

[Sarge]

That first one looks like a game I need to check out for sure.

 

[Voncaster]

Mega Man 3 is usually near the top of my list because:

1. it's the only one with that gameplay sweet spot where you have a slide but no charged shot
2. the music is really good
3. it was the one I played as a kid

I'll add one more to your list:

4. It doesn't have the crash bomb boss from MM2. If you lose to that boss and use too many crash bombs its over and you must replay Wily's castle. That is a real questionable design choice.

MMX is my favorite X series game. MM3 is my favorite MM game.

 

[Mogri]

You don't have to replay the whole castle, just the stage. As a kid who never realized you could get through it on one go, I'd spend my first life removing the barriers, die, respawn halfway through the stage (because you don't respawn in the boss gate for some reason), refill my energy, then get through fairly easily on a second pass with the barriers gone (because they don't respawn unless you use a continue for some reason).

I think it's a clever idea for a boss that works very poorly in the context of its game.

 

[Destil]

I likewise did that as a kid. I even assumed it was there to make sure the game couldn't be won on one life.

 

[Voncaster]

Hmm. Maybe my memory of the game is off. If you continue in Wily's castle you get full weapons back? (In my memory; if you used to much of the weapon and lost it was functionally game over)

Maybe I used energy tanks and the weapon and lost, and there was no way on the stage to replenish energy tanks in the level. My skill as player was not enough to pass that boss without energy tanks.

I didn't know about using multiple lives to beat the boss with gate progress from the previous play. Its possible that I spent my stock of weapons and assumed it was game over at that point.

I remember that boss being a make or break moment that ended my MM2 run enough times that it vividly sticks out in my mind.

 

[madhair60]

It's the kind of gotcha that'll only getcha on the one session, realistically. Once you know how it's done it's a non-issue. I know that is a pretty obvious point, but I feel as though the issue with the boss is overstated. I'd rather deal with that slightly crappy boss than pretty much any of the Doc Robot fights.

 

[zonetrope]

It's avoiding the turret fire and navigating the cramped corridors that gets me, not necessarily running out of bombs. I have most of MM2 down to muscle memory, but I still have trouble with that boss every time.

 

[Sarge]

If you wanna be a dirty cheater, use the pause trick at that boss. Rapid pause/unpause and you'll phase through the turret fire.

 

[4-So]

You don't have to replay the whole castle, just the stage. As a kid who never realized you could get through it on one go, I'd spend my first life removing the barriers, die, respawn halfway through the stage (because you don't respawn in the boss gate for some reason), refill my energy, then get through fairly easily on a second pass with the barriers gone (because they don't respawn unless you use a continue for some reason).

I think it's a clever idea for a boss that works very poorly in the context of its game.

I was today years old when I learned this and I've played through MM2 dozens of times. Neato!

(As a kid, I just handled business the first time through. )

 

[ArugulaZ]

It's the kind of gotcha that'll only getcha on the one session, realistically. Once you know how it's done it's a non-issue. I know that is a pretty obvious point, but I feel as though the issue with the boss is overstated. I'd rather deal with that slightly crappy boss than pretty much any of the Doc Robot fights.

Agreed. I don't like Mega Man 3 for a variety of reasons, and this recycling of assets is one of them. The other stuff is more subjective... I think the boss designs were getting kind of tired at that point (Hard Man? TOP Man? What's his most powerful attack, rolling a shin and taking all your gelt?), and they sponge up the bullets, which is aggravating. Didn't the robot masters have recoil in the first game? When you hit 'em with a bullet, they feel it, and stumble backward slightly from the impact. In the third one, they're like, "Eh, whatever," and just soak up all the lemons you send their way. I don't recall how they react in Mega Man 2; I think it was somewhere between the first and third game.

 

[Sarge]

I think only Cut Man and Elec Man have recoil in the first game. The others continue their patterns regardless of what happens.

 

[ArugulaZ]

I'd have to play through them again. I've got the Mega Man six-pack they released for the 3DS and went through them all, including the ones I didn't like much. That was at least three years ago, so those memories have faded. (Not the damn cut scenes in Mega Man 6, when Mega Man merges with his Mega Mutt. Those I can't forget, no matter how hard I try. Can you skip these?)

 

[Sarge]

Only sort of, if memory serves. The screen will come up, and I don't think you can make it go away immediately. That definitely gets obnoxious, though.