Which Mega Man game in the original series is your absolute favorite?

[Deemar]

As someone that has finished Mega Man 1-10 and also Mega Man X - X5, I would say that the very first one was my favourite from the original series. I thought the controls were more responsive and the difficulty was a better match for me. 2-6 were too easy and felt sloppy, 7 didn't feel right with the larger sprites, 8 was way too much reading with annoying animation and little Asian girl voice-overs. 9 and 10 were amazing and the music was some of the best music I've heard in any game I've ever played, especially the Wily battle (below) but they were way too difficult. It took me a long time to finish them and they were so hard I don't ever want to play them again.

 

Check out the music from the Mega Man 9 Wily battle (skip to 5:15):

 

[Algus]

Know this is about the original series but this thread got me playing the X games a bit again

 

Mega Man X: This was the first game I ever bought with my own money (oh boy, showing my youth and inexperience here) and it's still one of my favorites. Maybe the easiest Mega Man game but balanced really well with decent challenge and a lot of fun. I think one of the things that makes this game so easy is that the Maverick weapons are all really freaking good. Charged Rolling shield makes it so easy to farm lives and energy and Charged Chameleon Sting is just ridiculous (and so much better than the freeze and slow moves that are common to the series). I've got the final battle down to a science now and managed to take all three bosses without using a sub tank.

 

Mega Man X2: This game kind of pisses me off because the heart tanks almost all require stupid perfect timing over spike pits or other shenanigans. Most of the Maverick weapons are useless too. I do like Speed Burner, which is powerful and has a useful dash move as a charge shot. The X-Buster upgrade is super useful. One thing I don't get, everyone says start with Overdrive Ostritch. I fucking hate Overdrive Ostritch! He's a pain in the ass with strong attacks and you need quick reflexes (or a large energy pool) to deal with him. I'll take Wire Sponge (who is a total clown) any day of the week. Plus Wire Sponge->Wheel Gator will let you collect ~most~ of the items since you need Wheel Gator's weapon to get into several areas.

 

I was messing with Mega Man Xtreme as well. I have fond memories of it but playing it right after a full clear of X1 and man the controls are garbage! Dash to the d-pad or start? Ugh. GBC graphics have not held up well at all. I'll take plain old black and white GB any time.

 

Why are there no good emulators for messing with Super Gameboy to edit palettes and such?

[Austin]

Algus, I basically feel the same about X2. It's like they took the cohesive flow of the original X, then stuck a wrench in it. It's still not a bad game, but it's brutally difficult compared to the first, especially when it comes to finding the items.

 

I remember finding everything in the first X on my own. No guides whatsoever. It all made logical sense. In X2, I had to resort to a strategy guide to find a lot of it. I'm really not a fan of that kind of design. The pin-point precision required (with potential for death) also sucks the fun right out of it.

[Pixelboy]

Algus, I basically feel the same about X2. It's like they took the cohesive flow of the original X, then stuck a wrench in it. It's still not a bad game, but it's brutally difficult compared to the first, especially when it comes to finding the items.

 

I remember finding everything in the first X on my own. No guides whatsoever. It all made logical sense. In X2, I had to resort to a strategy guide to find a lot of it. I'm really not a fan of that kind of design. The pin-point precision required (with potential for death) also sucks the fun right out of it.

Finding and facing Violen, Agile and Serges felt like a chore to me, but aside from that, I thought Mega Man X2 was okay. Have you tried finishing the game with no armor pieces and only energy tanks? Zero makes a quick cameo during the ending sequence! I was surprised when I discovered this all on my own.

[Austin]

Finding and facing Violen, Agile and Serges felt like a chore to me, but aside from that, I thought Mega Man X2 was okay. Have you tried finishing the game with no armor pieces and only energy tanks? Zero makes a quick cameo during the ending sequence! I was surprised when I discovered this all on my own.

 

Haha, hell no! The game was tough enough for me with having a couple of armor pieces and heart tanks as is.

 

I'd try that in the first X, but X2, definitely not.

[Pixelboy]

Haha, hell no! The game was tough enough for me with having a couple of armor pieces and heart tanks as is.

 

I'd try that in the first X, but X2, definitely not.

No need to play the game, just watch for Zero in this video (at 4:20 and 4:28):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFkV6O1tuzA

 

[Andromeda Stardust]

I can't play Megaman series games worth squat, but I cast my vote for the second in the series. Good story and it's the only one I've beaten...

...keep scrolling...

...keep scrolling...

...keep scrolling...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...with help from a Genie!

 

3 has the best music though.

Edited September 22, 2015 by stardust4ever

[Algus]

I've beaten MMX 1 with only the dash boots. I nipped a code from the intrawebs one time that cleared Chill Penguin ~without~ giving you the dash boots but IIRC there is a jump in Sigma's Fortress that is simply not possible without the boots. I've beaten all the Mavericks in MMX1 without upgrades of any sort (well besides Chill Penguin but I don't feel bad about that). It's definitely a fun game and one of the reasons I like the series is that once you master the game with the upgrades you can start working on doing it without.

 

The bosses in X2 are good, not as hard as X1 IMO, it is just the items that are bullshit. The heart tank in Overdrive Ostritch for instance where you have to perfectly line up and do a speed burner (and will still die). The internet claims you can get the hoverbike up there but fuck if I'm going to practice the stage enough to pull that off! You know if X2 had Chameleon Sting in it, almost all my complaints about it would go away.

 

It is still a good game just clearly in the area of "series veterans" as opposed to "accessible for everyone" like the first game is.

 

stardust, MM2 on Normal is great for noobies, easy game Like MMX1 the robot master weapons in MM2 are ~really~ good. It's a big help vs some of the games that have shitty boss weapons. Metal Blade is so potent that once you get it, you'll be relying on it more than on the Mega Buster.

[Neo Gamer]

Mega Man 2 is the Best !

 

[Andromeda Stardust]

Mega Man 2 is the Best !

 

I had no idea MM2 was ported to the Genesis.

 

EDIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man:_The_Wily_Wars

Edited October 4, 2015 by stardust4ever

[Algus]

Wily Wars.. great game. Need to get a repro cart one day.

[some_canuck]

1 didn't feel fleshed out enough, 2 was broken with the metal blade, 3 added sliding, 4 added charging (but started to feel bland), 5 and 6 just added weird gimmicks with the beat stuff and alternate routings.

 

if i had a choice, i'd say 3's levels on 4's engine (so you'd have charge shots).

 

---

 

7 was okay but the sprite was a little large for my liking, and the bosses were kindof lame. just makes me wish i was playing x1.

 

8... good god the cutscenes and voice acting. i hated the x series for that.

 

never played 9 or 10 because i don't have an xbox. i hear they're great though.

 

edit: i'll just leave this here for giggles. mega man 1 in 32 seconds...

 

Edited October 5, 2015 by some_canuck

[bubufubu]

1 didn't feel fleshed out enough

 

I'm not sure why you feel Rockman wasn't fleshed out enough. It's the first in the series and should be judged by its release date/era. Pretty amazing game, as far as I'm concerned. Controls are good, the music is great. As far as I know, the way the developers integrated the "Rock, Paper, Scissors" with absorbing boss weapons concept was very unique for a video game. Creative stage designs. Bosses, especially Yellow Devil, are all interesting. I really appreciate the layout of the game: Choosing your own path, the arsenal of weapons, the stage themes & corresponding bosses, the wily stages, and the boss gauntlets.

 

To this day, the game retains a high amount of replay value.

 

 

2 was broken with the metal blade

 

The whole game cannot be described merely as "broken" because one weapon works well in multiple areas. That's just unfair. It's a good thing you're never forced to use Metal Blade at any point in the game. Plenty of other cool weapons to choose from to use on each stage. The Rock Buster, alone, is sufficient and presents a good challenge.

 

Rockman 2 got so many things right. It's simply the pinnacle of the 8-bit entries. The music has been praised to death (It's the best in the series, by far), so there's no need to go into that. Stage designs here are very colorful and highly detailed. They're also longer and more challenging than its predecessor. The controls are very tight. The movement speed of your character is just right, as you are a tad faster and feel lighter. Even with the sprite limitations, the game still flows pretty well. I really dig the sound effects, too. I have very few complaints about Rockman 2. Some of the bosses should have been more difficult (e.g. Mecha Dragon, Guts Tank, & Alien) and they never should have put in an "Easy" mode. The damage inflicted is ridiculous.

 

As for Rockman 3, I'm just not on board with it. The sliding came across as a pointless gimmick to keep the series going. It just wasn't all that cool to me. Seemed kind of lame. If the slide doubled as an attack, then maybe it would've been more interesting and fun to use. I didn't find the music to be all that catchy nor any of the bosses interesting. Rockman's movement speed was sped up even more, which I thought was a bad idea. I feel like it was a step down in almost every facet. It's certainly not an awful game, but it's where the decline started until Rockman X was released.

[some_canuck]

actually, i always found the dragon in mm2 to be a pain in the ass, because his sprite is so huge that it causes massive lag and OAM cycling (the flickering that causes the boxes and sprites to disappear)

 

the again, every mega man game had issues with OAM cycling.

[BrianC]

Mega Man 2 is the Best !

 

 

Odd how that comparison uses "Normal" for the NES version when the MD version is based off the original RM2 difficulty ("difficult" in US Mega Man 2).

[some_canuck]

 

Odd how that comparison uses "Normal" for the NES version when the MD version is based off the original RM2 difficulty ("difficult" in US Mega Man 2).

 

i was under the impression that wily wars was japan-only, but wikipedia is telling me they put it on cartridge in europe too. i'll ignore the NA sega channel release, because nobody can get a copy of the game anymore except for rom dumps (same goes for SNES satellaview games).

[Andromeda Stardust]

Odd how that comparison uses "Normal" for the NES version when the MD version is based off the original RM2 difficulty ("difficult" in US Mega Man 2).

Megaman (any version) is already balls hard, why anyone wants to play on difficult setting is beyond me.

[BrianC]

Megaman (any version) is already balls hard, why anyone wants to play on difficult setting is beyond me.

 

That's a huge overstatement. Most games in the series aren't all that hard (and I have beat a few games in the series, including 2 on difficult). Megaman 2 is one of the easier games in the series, even on "difficult". Difficult is the original difficulty and is still fairly easy. Not to mention the comparison timing is off due to one version not using the same difficulty.

Edited October 30, 2015 by BrianC

[some_canuck]

to be fair, 2 was the only one with difficulty settings... i think. (i know 9 or 10 had a proto man mode, which was supposed to be harder, but its a different character so i don't really consider it a difficulty other than using the other character... similar to beating mario 2 with luigi or toad)

[schuwalker]

Busted out the NES last month and started going over my collection I thought would be worthwhile to revisit.

 

I have the first five of the Megaman series on the NES. You know for a long time MM2 was the zenith of the series to me BUT I'm going to nudge MM3 above it. All around I just love the majority of the music to this one, especially the opening theme and Wiley's theme. What's weird, my first exposure to part 3 was on the Playchoice 10 cab at a Aladdin's Castle - I thought it was meh. I do think the second and third of the series are a little bit on the easy side... really rings true for the former.

 

I rate the first three as MM3,MM2,MM1

 

Now onto four... I'm really curious what the MM fans think of this one. Honestly, I don't care for it all. You saw hints of things being recycled in 3, but in 4, I saw robots (appearance changed), but attacks were *borrowed* from the predecessors. The music in this series is some of my favourite tunes on the NES, but what in the world happened to the fourth game. One track is awesome - the Cossack theme, Pharaoh Man and Skull Man are ok, the rest is very forgettable. I guess the other redeeming quality of 4 is the charge shot.

 

Five, I have to put more time on. So far I'm putting it ahead of four. Six, I need to get my hands on - hear some bad things on that particular one.

[DJ Clae]

I'm not going to pretend that 5 is better than the first three, but everyone is going to vote for 2, so I voted for 5 to even things out.

 

I love and revisit all 6 of the NES originals frequently, but I find I enjoy the back 3 (4-6) more as an adult simply because I played 1-3 to death as a kid.

 

4 can be a bit on the frustrating side at times, and 6 is just the final one, so 5 gets my vote just for being the most commonly overlooked, and therefore always surprisingly great to play. All 6 are equally worthy games.

[Austin]

I probably wrote something in this thread years ago. I'm guessing I went with Mega Man II. Assuming I did (I may have went with III at the time), I'd keep my vote at that. I have the most nostalgia for III as it was the first I owned as a kid, but playing them back to back as an adult I find that II is the better balanced game of the two. It's more exciting overall with better (and more frequent) enemy placement and there's a better flow from start to finish. III definitely feels rushed once you get to Wily's stages, and the Mega Man II re-fights are poorly balanced with the bosses being nearly impossible to dodge, not to mention they dish out ridiculous damage at the same time. I still love the game, but II definitely has the edge these days for me.

 

13 hours ago, DJ Clae said:

4 can be a bit on the frustrating side at times

Just out of curiosity, how so? I've always found that one pretty easy once you learn where some of the cheap shots are (like the guys that come up from the pits on Dust man's stage. You'll usually die the first time you try to make a jump, but then after you know that they are easy to get past).

 

It seems to get a bit of a bad rep these days (I never understood why), but I've always enjoyed it. It's definitely my favorite these days of the back half on the NES.

 

On 9/22/2015 at 6:19 AM, Austin said:

Algus, I basically feel the same about X2. It's like they took the cohesive flow of the original X, then stuck a wrench in it. It's still not a bad game, but it's brutally difficult compared to the first, especially when it comes to finding the items.

 

I remember finding everything in the first X on my own. No guides whatsoever. It all made logical sense. In X2, I had to resort to a strategy guide to find a lot of it. I'm really not a fan of that kind of design. The pin-point precision required (with potential for death) also sucks the fun right out of it.

 

Oh time, you are a funny thing.. I can wreck X2 and X3 now. I should try those armor-less runs now.. ?

Edited November 27, 2019 by Austin

[Pixelboy]

6 hours ago, Austin said:

Just out of curiosity, how so? I've always found that one pretty easy once you learn where some of the cheap shots are (like the guys that come up from the pits on Dust man's stage. You'll usually die the first time you try to make a jump, but then after you know that they are easy to get past).

 

It seems to get a bit of a bad rep these days (I never understood why), but I've always enjoyed it. It's definitely my favorite these days of the back half on the NES.

 

Everyone can have his own favorite, but there's no denying MM4 had some problems. The grasshopper platforms and the swinging platforms in Bright Man's stage were original, but they were also quite stressful since a single mistake made you fall in spikes or a bottomless pit. Dust Man's stage wasn't too difficult, but going through the up-and-down crusher section took too long. Skull Man's level had several annoying little cheap shots with its enemy placements. Toad Man, Pharaoh Man and Drill Man's stages were rather boring. Ring Man and Dive Man's levels were kind of fun, but also felt empty and uninspired. The Cossack levels were okay, but all the bosses were absolute pushovers once you knew the correct weapon to use. The Wily levels is where the game really shined, IMHO. Also, I didn't like Mega Man's powered-up shot in that game. It looked ugly and it didn't pack much of a punch against tougher enemies. I'm glad they fixed that in Mega Man 5 and onward.

 

[Austin]

3 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

Also, I didn't like Mega Man's powered-up shot in that game. It looked ugly and it didn't pack much of a punch against tougher enemies. I'm glad they fixed that in Mega Man 5 and onward.

I think they balanced the charge shot in IV very well. Some enemies (like the skeleton bone throwers) can be destroyed in one shot with it. Other enemies will have just enough health taken away and require you to finish them off with the basic shot. The thin height of the charge shot also requires the player to actually aim with it, unlike in V or VI. In Mega Man V in particular, the charge is overpowered and just about any standard enemy can be killed in one hit. This more often than not makes the standard shot redundant. IV's charge has many uses, but doesn't completely negate the standard shot like it does in V.

 

Re: Bosses dying quickly when knowing the right weapon to use. That's basically every Mega Man game in a nutshell.

[Pixelboy]

1 hour ago, Austin said:

Re: Bosses dying quickly when knowing the right weapon to use. That's basically every Mega Man game in a nutshell.

 

Yes, of course, but with the bosses of the Cossack levels, using the "correct" weapons made the fights extra boring, that's all I'm saying.