We gave you an early Christmas podcast and now Andy (aka UKNESBoy) has reviewed Mega Man 2 for you. What more do you guys want? Seriously.
Mega men
In the not so distant future, Christmas and new year is nearly upon us and with that is a time for reflection, indulgence and also looking forward to the future. Now what better way, apart from your own height in Twiglets and turkey, is a better way to celebrate than with some of your favourite video games. One that sticks out in memory is a game that was a sequel to a franchise that not only challenges but also rewards the most ardent of gamers – a character entrenched in childhood gaming and a game that also happened in a time (at the time) far far away.
So grab those baubles and grab those party snacks because right now we are revisiting Rock Man! I mean, Mega Man! Or Mega man, never could quite get the difference right…
Mega Man 2/Mega man 2/Rock Man 2 review
Today’s review is the follow up to Mega Man that was released on the NES in Europe in 1989 – Mega Man 2, or what was known in Japan as Rockman 2: The Mystery of Dr Wily.
It has to be said that the Japanese title does evoke more intrigue and mystery than just Mega Man 2… For those who are unaware of, and have never heard of our hero dressed in dashing hues of blue, Mega Man (and its sequel) is a platformer where the completion of various stages by defeating said boss of said level grants you a special power-up that will help in following levels. Or you could try and be the hero who completes the game equipped with just the standard pew pew gun (good luck with that! – Ed).
Like its predecessor, having completed the various stages you move to the final boss and his stages (Dr Wily) who upon first viewing does give off the vibe of an evil Albert Einstein. I don’t see Mario in the Mushroom Kingdom fighting lookalike intellectuals!
So with everything in place ready, when you pop the cartridge and boot up your NES, or open the game up in the collection titles you can get for modern consoles, you are treated to the back story should you choose to watch it. We are in the year 200x (which sounded so futuristic many moons ago…) and Mega Man is created to stop Dr Wily from doing something awful like world domination, or inflicting more reality TV shows, who knows! But should you wish, you can always skip this intro.
You get the first taste of the 8 stages and bosses early on which you can pick off on your own choosing. It may seem daunting in not knowing which stage to complete first, but it is nice that you’re given the option. When you select a stage, the level resembles the main feature of the boss you see. For example, the Wood Man stage you progress through a stage aesthetically resembling a forest, etc.
As mentioned earlier, when you complete the level and defeat the boss you’re then rewarded with a special weapon that was relevant for that level. So using the Wood Man stage once more you’re given the power of a shield made of leaves. Something to note: to give the game some replayability certain bosses have certain weaknesses which make them much easier to destroy with the newly acquired weapons although you wouldn’t know this on your first playthrough. It is definitely something to play again and find out for yourself.
Good controls + good gameplay = good game
For an action and also platform-based game, the two things you’d surely want is good controls and gameplay, no? Well worry no more, for Capcom ensured that both go smooth like a knife in hot butter – responsive controls that make the gameplay even better than what it is.
Your d-pad moves the character (obviously) whilst the A Button jumps and B button shoots your weapon. Pressing the start button not just pauses but also brings up the menu to select your special weapon. To start, this will be blank but as you progress in the game your growing list of special weapons shows here. Over the course of the game you also get three special items which allow Mega Man to access areas he couldn’t reach before, say if the ledge was too high. And if THAT wasn’t enough, a new feature implemented was a password system. Unlike say, Festers Quest where you had to play the whole game with no saves, when you complete a stage a password is displayed in the form of grids and placing blobs in the coordinates. It is such a relief not to have to type in 32 characters of both lower case, upper case, numbers symbols emojis and your own pet.
Graphics are bold, bright and well defined from the word go – even the intro graphic of Mega Man on top of a building with mountains in the distance looks great, without even going through the designs of the levels.
The only nag which affected a lot of NES games at the time is that when there’s lots of action the game can lag which is a tad annoying. One of the levels contains a waterfall in the background and should you stare at it long enough it will screw your eyes with a headache that could rival 90s Japanese anime! But those are both minor imperfections. Given the technology constraints, Capcom did a great job and also with the music. Right from the main menu screen to the final battles with Dr Wily. Memorable – check. Catchy – check. Earworm – double check!
It’s quite easy to see why Mega Man 2 is regarded as being the best in the franchise (up until Mega Man 6 in any case). It’s not easy to improve on a game having moderate success, but Capcom took the extra care and love with its gameplay, level design and music whilst tweaking the not-so-good stuff. This also rings true when perusing lists of the top 100 games not only of the NES, but of all time.
In conclusion
Although it may seem unusual for a NES game, everything in the game just seems to work. The controls are simple yet effective, the music memorable and you’ll find yourself replaying the game to find what special item works best against a certain boss.
If you do anything in this festive period and over the new year, if you haven’t done so already then give this game a go and thank Arcade Attack later when you have lost hours to this with fingers covered in festive treats. What’s the worst that could happen?
Scores on the doors
Graphics 90%
Sound 90%
Gameplay 95%
Difficulty 80%
Longevity 90%
Overall 90%
Andy