Mega Man 1-6 NES Series Review

When I was a teenager, I actively went out of my way to avoid video games, because I had this bizarre notion that games were for losers. As an adult, I can only offer this absolute truth: teenagers always find a way to be impressively annoying, regardless of what generation you’re talking about.

One of the few games I did play during adolescence was Mega Man. Thanks to the magic of emulation, I got completely swept up in running through most of the NES Mega Man titles over and over again. At the end of high school, I was slooowly learning to stop worrying and love games again. So instead of studying for Grade 12 finals, I went and picked up Mega Man Anniversary Collection from a local pawn shop and played through the games incessantly for the umpteenth time.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I really, really like Mega Man.

It had been awhile since I had last sat down and blitzed the franchise in one go, so I plunked my butt in front of the TV and fired up Mega Man Legacy Collection to pay my old friend Rock yet another visit. Mega Man is a franchise that needs no introduction for any NES player. But I’ll still dissect some of my thoughts on each game because I don’t pay for this domain for nothin’!

Mega Man (1987)

Best part: I really love the aesthetic of this game. It’s this cool mix of industrial and that hyper-specific subset of Japanese 1980’s sci-fi that I have a huge affinity for; like the 80’s updated take on the 50’s view of the future, which now looks charmingly dated in its own right. Just awesome.
Worst part: Those stupid disappearing and re-appearing blocks. Those have never been good.

The world’s introduction to Mega Man is a solid first entry in the series, but far from the best of the bunch. The difficulty is through the roof seeing as there were no passwords in this one. Though infinite continues do help make up for it in part, you’ll have to set aside a few hours of your day if you want to clear this in one go…assuming you’re not using save states, anyway. This game establishes a lot of staples in the Mega Man franchise; the arm cannon, taking powers from the bosses you defeat and exploiting their weaknesses, and Dr. Wily being a thorn in your side time and time again.

The graphics are stellar for 1987, but the sound design isn’t quite on the same level. There’s lots of screechy, repetitive sound effects that grated on my nerves throughout this time around. I’m also probably one of the seven people in the world who think this, but I prefer the iterations of the Robot Master theme songs from the Game Boy title Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge to the NES originals. Something about those compositions just pleases my ears more than the NES iterations do.

This is by no means a bad game when taken in on its own, but when stacked up against the subsequent Mega Man titles, it just doesn’t hold a candle to them. It’s my pick for the “worst” of the original six, but it still belongs somewhere in the upper half of the NES library. Everybody’s gotta start somewhere!

Mega Man 2 (1989)

Best part: That silent hall leading up to the final Wily fight. Chills every time.
Worst part: That god-forsaken wall turret boss you have to beat with Crash Bombs.

Part of the reason I decided to check out Mega Man at all as a teenager was because I happened across the video for Okkusenman, which is a vocal take on the first Wily Stage from this game. So really, that innocent little video is partially responsible for the persistent NES brainworms I still have well into my thirties. Thanks, random Japanese dude screaming into a microphone.

Mega Man 2 is lightning in a bottle. The series becoming the 100+ game juggernaut it is today was a far off twinkle in the eyes of Capcom’s shareholders, so pressure and expectations weren’t quite so high for the humble first sequel. The devs were only doing what they thought would be a good improvement over the first game in earnest, and wouldn’t you know it, their efforts resonated with an entire generation of gamers. Re-playing it for the thousandth time only solidified that opinion further. The difficulty, length of levels, music, graphics, it’s just all so very right. I’d bet good money that people have written essays about how good this game is; straight up dissertation type stuff. I’m going to go ahead and make the bold statement that the only blight on this otherwise perfect game is that janko wall turret boss I mentioned above.

I adore this game. It’s not only one of my favourite NES games, but one of my top favourite video games of all time. I own this game on just about every platform it’s ever come out on, besides mobile releases because I love myself too much to put up with touch controls. I even stopped typing this out to quickly run through the Robot Masters again for fun, no joke. I don’t have anything to say that hasn’t been said hundreds of times before, so I’m not gonna bore you by going over each and every detail that makes it one of the all-time greats. If you’ve never played it before, why not!? Stop reading this post and go! GO NOW!

Mega Man 3 (1990)

Best part: That throwback boss rush made me gasp out loud the first time I saw it. Also, Proto Man.
Worst part: Hard Man…he and Pump Man can fight it out for worst name in the entire series.

Something I’ve always admired about the first four Mega Man games is that they all feel like genuine attempts to be better than the game that preceded it. Though Mega Man 2 is my personal favourite, I actually believe that MM3 is the “best” one. The addition of the slide adds just enough variety on the play control to make the way one approaches levels feel that much more dynamic; I’m a big fan of it. I’m also of the opinion that 3 has the most killer soundtrack of all the NES MM titles, but music taste is 100% subjective so mileage will vary there.

The only bad thing I have to say about this one is that a few of the level concepts don’t match the bosses very well. I’ve never understood why Top Man, a Robot Master fashioned after a traditional spinning top, has a stage full of grass that looks like weed? Maybe someone can educate me on how spinning tops and marijuana are intrinsically linked in some remote European culture, but until that superhero swoops in to save the day, we shall go on wondering. I also hope that it goes without saying that this is a microscopic nitpick and isn’t a knock on the game itself. It’s obscenely good.

Mega Man 3 is a shining example of a well designed action game for the NES, and one I enjoy more and more with each playthrough. If it weren’t for my intense adoration and nostalgia for MM2, this one would probably be my favourite of them all.

Mega Man 4 (1992)

Best part: Pharaoh Man’s stage, weapon, and music absolutely slap.
Worst part: This game is a few levels too long for my liking.

So for Mega Man’s fourth NES foray, they decided to throw a little wrinkle in the story department. Instead of series staple bad guy Dr. Wily being public enemy #1, Soviet genius Dr. Cossack is the one causing a ruckus…allegedly. The graphics and music are even more excellent than usual this time around. MM4 also introduced another series staple: the charge shot, which is good fun to use and makes Mega Buster only runs of this game a little easier than previous titles.

The gameplay is as tight as ever, though I would say this is one of the first Mega Man games that starts to lean slightly more towards being easy. There’s an over-abundance of extra lives and E-Tanks here, due to the fact that continuing the game with a password doesn’t save your E-Tanks for some reason. So if you can play even halfway decently, you should have little trouble clearing Mega Man 4.

My one and only complaint is that this shit is looooong. The fortress goes on for what feels like forever, since once you finish Dr. Cossack’s stages, you have to (*gasp*) run through some Dr. Wily stages too! I can’t believe he was the real bad guy the whole time. That is crazy.

All in all, Mega Man 4 is a great entry in the series, and one of the last ones people consistently agree on the quality on. Which leads us to our next game…

Mega Man 5 (1992)

Best part: The level design is impressively polished. Gravity Man’s stage is a big stand out.
Worst part: The way the Rush items control in this one is torture.

This is one of the classic Mega Man games I’ve played the absolute least. I’ve only beat it three times to date, compared to the fifty gajillion times I’ve finished the previous four. With that said, there’s a lot to like about Mega Man 5. The story is interesting again (anything that involves Proto Man is good in my books), the little sprite-based cutscenes peppered throughout are full of charm, the graphics are stellar, stage design is top-notch, and the music is cool too. But there’s just something about this one that feels ever so slightly…off.

As previously mentioned, Mega Man 2 through 4 feel like they were genuine attempts to be improvements over the last game. But MM5 just feels like a less impactful MM4, with the only real innovation being the inclusion of Mega Man’s bird friend Beat. The Robot Master weapons are also the suckiest of the entire NES hexology, with none of them being especially useful, innovative, or fun to use. While we’re on the subject, this is probably the dorkiest lot of Robot Masters out of any Mega Man title. Gyro Man in particular is one of my least favourite Robot Masters of all time. Something about his wack design offends me on a base aesthetic level. Tornado Man could kick that guy’s ass any day of the week.

Despite my griping I do like Mega Man 5 just fine, but not nearly as much as the previous titles. I’d say it’s probably my second least favourite of the original six, being beat only by the original Mega Man.

Mega Man 6 (1994)

Best part: Those graphics, my GOD.
Worst part: Centaur Man. Despite being a horse man, he has a totally aquatic stage and gives out a time stopper power, making him feel the most cobbled together Robot Master to date.

It’s confession time, readers: this marked my very first time seeing the ending of Mega Man 6. Since starting this project, I’ve been saving completing it for a rainy day. That rainy day is today.

The final of the classic NES Mega Man games is also one of the final twelve NES games to be released in North America. This is the title of the original six that gets dunked on the most by Mega Man fans, and while I can agree that there are a few things here to be dissatisfied by, I ended up having a whale of a time with this one.

The graphics are undeniably STUNNING for the NES, with crazy detailed backgrounds and lively enemy animations being huge stand-outs. I will say that I found the music here to be on the forgettable side, which is a surprising claim to make about a Mega Man game at all. There’s just something about the slightly tinny style of sound they went for that doesn’t float my musical boat. People like to pull up Plant Man in particular when trying to highlight the fact that Capcom had plum run out of ideas for Robot Masters at this point, but I’d argue that most of the bosses in this one are actually way cool. Knight Man? Tomahawk Man? Yamato Man? Come on now. Blizzard Man is also one of my lowkey favourites, just because he’s got a super cute design and colour scheme. The plates at Capcom in 1994 were empty, because those characters ATE.

I also love the handling of Rush items here. Having to skip the cutscene every time you switch to one can be a bit of a pain, but Rush Jet controls just right, Rush Power is tons of fun to use, and the fact that you don’t have to refill their energy is brilliant. The story trying to play it off like it wasn’t Wily the whole time was as camp as camp can be, but I hold my hands up and admit that dissecting the plotlines of Mega Man games is a practice only reserved for the hardest of the hardcore fans. I will say that the final Wily battle was crazy underwhelming though. Recycling the same boss three times, one immediately after the other, feels like peak laziness.

All in all, I was very pleasantly surprised by my first time with Mega Man 6, and I’m glad I waited all this time to play it. Though it may not reach the same heights of greatness of MM2 and MM3, it offers more of what Mega Man does best. I thought it was good fun, and a nice send off for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a whole.

And there you have it! Six rapid-fire reviews for everybody’s favourite little blue dude. Well, he’s my favourite little blue dude, at any rate. I love this series, and will continue playing these games throughout the years until I die or my thumbs fall off. Whichever happens first. Regardless of which Mega Man title you like the best, all six bring something interesting to the table and are very much worth your time. But you probably didn’t need me to tell you that if you’re trawling around an NES fansite in the first place. Now here’s hoping we don’t have to wait much longer for Mega Man 12…