Mega Man 2 Review

Mega Man 2

Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System Players: 1 Release: 1989 Genre: Action / 2D Platformer Rating: 7.7 \ 10.0: Satisfactory

Above is a scene from Crash Man's stage



It took me awhile to get into Mega Man, but now I am, and I don't regret it. I decided to play Mega Man 2 first, as it is considered by many to be  one of the greatest video games of all time. The game is set in the year of 200X (Capcom was very bold to assume that there would be humanoid robots, laser guns by the year 2009, but it's past 2015 by the time you're reading this, and we still don't have out hover-boards from Back to the Future Part II) As with the previous game in the series, the dastardly Dr. Wily has created no eight (rather than six) Robot Masters-- Metal Man, Quick Man, Flash Man, Crash Man, Wood Man, Heat Man, and Bubble Man (why they all have must have man in their name is a mystery to me), all of which Mega Man must destroy. Each Robot Master has a stage modeled after them, as has become a staple of the franchise. (Heat Man's stage is full of fire-based obstacles, for example) When you defeat a Robot Master, you obtain their weapon. Each robot has a weakness-- you'll have to use logic to figure out what weapon most affects each robot. After you defeat all eight Robot Masters, you'll have to clear the four stages of Castle Wily. The graphics and sound are all fantastic for a late-'80s game, especially the soundtrack. The game's composer Takashi Tateishi rivals the likes of Koji Kondo at producing memorable tunes. As soon ad you give the OST a listen, you'll understand why it is regarded as one of the greatest ever. With the exception of the themes for Heat Man's stage and Castle Wily stages three and four, there isn't a song in the game you'll soon forget. My personal favorites are the title theme, Metal Man's theme, Air Man's theme, and the theme of Castle Wily's first two stages. Mega Man 2 is fun, but it can be very difficult at times, with the third level of Castle Wily being borderline unfair. At the time of this game's release being subscribed to Nintendo Power was probably the only way you could have possible figured that to beat that stage's boss, you had to grind until you filled up the ammo for the Crash Bomber (the boss's only weakness), let yourself be killed (not enough ammo), grind for ammo again, and finish the stupid thing off! Additionally, there is occasional but brief slowdown and sprite flickering when the action gets too intense. Even so, Mega Man 2 is a classic not to be missed by any fan of the series.

Ups
Solid action
Neat concept
Great late '80s graphics and sound
Amazing 8-bit soundtrack

Downs
Very challenging
Borderline unfair near-endgame boss
Minor slowdown issues

ESRB: E Content: Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $5.00 (Wii) (Download) / $4.99 (3DS) (Download)