Genre: Action, Platformer
Year: 1988
Developed by: Capcom
Published by: Capcom
Platforms: NES, PSX, iOS, Android
#82
Feeling Like: Full Metal Mega Man
Mega Man 2 is the highest ranked NES game on the 500. It may not be the best (that’s Super Mario Bros. 3), but it’s my personal favorite. It’s THE two dimensional Mega Man as far as I’m concerned, despite being bereft of the slide and two games removed from the charge shot. It’s a massive improvement on the original; the difficulty is toned down to a more tolerable state, making it the type of adventure you want to replay instead of swiftly discarding after seeing the end credits. It’s home to one of the best soundtracks ever created, and the most useful boss power in Mega Man history.
I must have rented this a dozen times, at least, from Spotlight video. I knew exactly where it sat on the shelf in the video game section. My only obstacle was if some other sophisticated gamer got to it first. Despite the game being years old even at that point, it was still a perennial favorite. For good reason.
I almost don’t know where to begin, so I’ll start with where you should start in Mega Man 2, always. Metal Man’s stage.
It’s a terrific entry point. The obstacles aren’t overly punishing, but there are enough pits of death and oddly placed enemies to keep you on your toes. Certain power ups will be out of your reach, but those are irrelevant to the real prize – the Metal Blade.
This has to be the most overpowered weapon in video game history, no? It never seems to run out of ammunition, you can fire it in all eight directions, it decimates regular enemies and it’s seemingly a weakness, or the weakness, to every robot master. It’s massively potent and emits a satisfying “brrr” sound, like a metal blade should. To boot, Metal Man is also terribly easy to defeat with your default weapon.
As if Metal Man couldn’t get any cooler, the song that accompanies the stage is a banger among bangers. There’s a reason there are 11 remixes on OCRemix for this tune alone.
The music! I know Mega Man 3 has an equally masterful list in its arsenal, but Mega Man 2 gets the nod from me.
Wood Man sounds like you’re hearing drums used on mechanical tree tracks.
Quick Man’s theme doesn’t sound like it should be possible on the NES’ hardware.
And the greatest Mega Man song ever, possibly the best on the entire console. Wily Stage 1.
How many games are worthy to be sped run live with an accompanying band rocking out the music?
I always crack up when the crowd showers Dr. Wily’s appearance with boos at 25:43.
The whole game can be beaten rather quickly, under an hour if you know what you’re doing. That seems insanely short by today’s standards, but there’s no fat on this bone. Each stage feels different than the last, each one has a new trick thrown your way, or musical beats to change the way you feel. And if you’re new to the series, you’re going to die. A lot.
It’s one of the few NES games I’d pick up and play anytime. It’s now 35 years old, ancient for a video game, but I promise you few 2d platformers/shooters are this solidly designed. Future Mega Man games, including one more to come, have more bells and whistles. Quality of life additions that make the experience far more palatable, like removing the need to escape to the menu to select a new weapon. But for a game that only gives you two buttons and a console that can barely handle a solid framerate throughout (good luck if more than a few enemies are careening towards you simultaneously), it’s a miracle of development. Capcom knew it had a hit on its hand, so much so that they’d repeat the formula four more times in the next four more years and nobody batted an eye.
Other stages get their due as well – Bubble Man’s floating/high jump mechanics are seemingly a gift, until you realize there are instant-kill spikes adorning every bit of ceiling. Quick Man’s level has the beams of death, if you don’t plan your route out immediately upon entering the next screen, you’re doomed. Air Man requires patience as you float through the clouds and Heat Man has the disappearing/re-appearing blocks. All standard Mega Man fare now, but in 1998 it felt fresh and exciting.
Not much in the way of criticism for this one. I guess the uh…box art is really silly and the characters look nothing like they do in the game? But don’t let the cover fool you, the inside is pure Nintendo and Capcom magic. This is the Blue Bomber’s crowning achievement on my very first console and its reverberations still echo in my mind.
The 500 