Mega Man
Reviewed by Buck
Mega Man. If you haven't played this classic NES game, you really ought to. If
you haven't even HEARD of this game, you really ought to... go to another web
site. In fact, you ought to just get off the internet and, while your at it, turn
off the computer. That's how much I like this game. Probably the only games I
like more than this one are the original "Legend of Zelda" and the next two "Mega
Man" games (i.e. "Mega Man II" and "Mega Man III" for you slow people out there).
This game practically put Capcom on the video game company map. This game is
so good, in fact, that it is reason enough to search for hours in the stuffy 110
degree attic (at least that's what it FEELS like, even in the winter. Wonder why
that is...) just to find the good old NES and search a little longer for the game
itself (and while your up there, bring down ALL the games, writing this review
is giving me NES nostalgia). But enough about how much I like the game.
The storyline... who really NEEDS one for an action game anyway? I mean SERIOUSLY,
how much do you play these shoot-em-up games and pause for a moment to think
about the game's PLOT? ...that's what I thought. Well, without further ado: the storyline.
Mega Man takes place sometime in the distant (at least by my standards it is!)
future, or hundreds of years from now. A great scientist/inventor named Dr. Light
has created 6 robots to perform laborous tasks. One cuts trees down for lumber,
another can lift heavy objects, etc. However, a rival scientist, Dr. Wily, steals and
reprograms the cyborgs to nothing but trouble. As a result, Dr. Light unleashes his
greatest creation: Mega Man (duh!)!!!!!!!!!! You, as Mega Man of course, are to stop the
6 evil robots: Cutsman, Bombman, Gutsman, Elecman, Iceman, and Fireman (not THAT
kind of Fireman!) and then stop the insane Dr. Wily himself. Good Luck!
Graphics 8 out of 10
The graphics by today's standards suck. But by the standards of whenever this game
was made (1985, 86?) they kick butt. The characters are small, which in my opinion
is good for this type of game, sporting only 2-3 colors each. This really isn't a bad
thing, though it's really all they need! Any more detail and it would actually look
BAD! The backgrounds are spectacular. Each level has its own scenery, from Gutsman's
construction-theme background to Elecman's high-tech scenery. The weapons in the
game have a simple appearance often (Mega Man's plasma cannon), but are pretty cool
every now and then (Elecman's electricity beam). But the good graphics outweigh the
bad in this case. You'll hardly care, much less notice, the lesser graphics since you'll
be caught up in the action.
Music and Sound 7 out of 10
The music is were the game falls ...implying that it actually CAN fall in terms of
quality. The music for the most part is catchy. There's only one thing that disturbs
me though, the Elecman stage's music is vaguely familiar to me. It reminds me of
the theme song to some 80's cartoon show that I used to watch when I was little.
Too bad I can't put my finger on the cartoon... But anyway, where was I? Oh yeah,
the music. If you for some reason can't stand the music, turn down the volume and
listen some CD's while you play. That's what I do most of the time. Actually, I'm
doing it now.
The sound effects are oftentimes cheesy. The blue bomber's main gun has a
completely UNoriginal *bleep!* sound that you just wouldn't expect of a plasma
cannon. Personally, I'd have expected a deafening BBBBBBOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
each time you let loose a shot. Maybe it's just the system's limitations in the sound
area. Or maybe that's the explanation why your weapon is weak compared to the
enemy's. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything.
Game Challenge 11 out of 10
The game itself really isn't difficult. The bosses, when defeated with the right
weapons, can be defeated in under a minute. But when you get to Wily's castle,
things start to change and sometimes just getting to the boss is a challenge in
itself. However, that's not the half of it. This is the only Mega Man game without
a password feature. This makes the game impossibly HARD!!!!!!! Even if the game
is a breeze for you, you'll be up day and night just because the game is so long!
At least they give a continue option, although it's still not enough for some
people (like me, for instance). I usually just hook the game up to my Game Genie
whenever I play this game it still takes a while to beat even with a the good cheat
codes enabled. I swear if you can beat this game without the Game Genie, you're one
of two things. Either you're good or you have wwwwaaaaaaayyyyyy too much time
on your hands. If it's the latter, do me a favor and take some of my responsibility off
of my hands so I can have some more free time. In other words: "This game is kinda hard."
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
I surely can't speak for everyone, but challenging games make me want to come back
for more. After reading my statement on the game's difficulty, you should be able
to tell that I LLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEE this game!!!!!!! But even
without the oeverwhelming challenge, the game stands on its own. It could be the
theme of the game that got me hooked, hey I don't know exactly what it is that
makes it fun, but there's definitely SOMETHING there that keeps me coming back
for more. For me, that means getting up at 6:00 in the morning to go to my Grandma's
house with my dad on his way to work. Of course, that's just half the trouble. I then
must get my grandparents to stop watching TV in the kitchen so I can play (hey, it's
the only one they'll let me hook it up to). Anyway, the bottom line is that the game
is good. If you missed out on this one, I'd recommend searching countless garage
sales and anywhere else you can find old Nintendo games to get this game. If you
do indeed have the game dust off the NES and start playing for old times sake.
You'll wonder why you ever bought another game system.
Frustration
The only frustration comes with the absence of passwords. Thank goodness they
were installed into the other Mega Man games! :)
Replayability 9 out of 10
Take a look at the "Game Play-Fun" section of the review.
Game Value 10 out of 10
I'd happily pay prices for games nowadays for this and other classic NES games. I
really like this game. (I'm not sure if I said that yet)
Overall 10 out of 10
In conclusion, this game rules! If for some reason you don't like this game, if you
think it's missing something, check out parts 2 and 3 (the series started to get a
little cheesy after that, I thought).