Sat, 15 Dec 2007 by Marcel Van Duyn
Can Mega Man save the world again?
Surprisingly, the original Mega Man (or Rockman, as the series is known in Japan) did not do that well. The creator, Keiji Inafune, was allowed to create a sequel as a side-project in his own spare time, however, and with the effort of a few colleagues and a lot of time, he created Mega Man 2, bigger and better than the original.
This time, there are eight robot masters instead of six, which remained the same for the rest of the series. Instead of designing them himself, Keiji Inafune asked children around Japan to create their own designs and send them in. Out of these, he picked Metal Man, Air Man, Bubble Man, Quick Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Heat Man and Wood Man.
The original Japanese release only had one difficulty mode which was extremely hard (if you thought the first game was hard, try this!). Thankfully, for the American and European release, players could pick between "Normal" (easier than the Japanese version) and "Difficult" (the same as the Japanese version).
Unlike its predecessor, in which all robot masters had a clear weakness to one of the others' weapons, this game's a bit more open-ended. Most robot masters can be killed with the Mega Buster with no trouble. Some have more than one weakness: Metal Man's is his own weapon (obviously you can't use it on him until you battle him again in the final stages), and if you use the Crash Bomber on Heat Man, you refill his health!
Alongside the robot master weapons, there are also three special items (conveniently called "Item-1", "Item-2" and "Item-3") that create platforms for you to stand on so that you can reach high ledges and cross gaps more easily. In various stages you can also find a blue box with an E on it - the E-Tank. Using this item at any time completely refills your life.
Other changes in this sequel include not being able to revisit robot master stages after clearing them (although this would be useless, as there are no secrets this time), and a password feature, so that you can continue where you left off (though this should not be needed with the VC's suspend feature!). After clearing the eight stages, just like in Mega Man, you battle through five stages of Dr. Wily's fortress, facing new and old bosses until you finally have a showdown with Wily himself.
1. Lurch
21 Feb 2009, 19:46 GMT
wait, Megaman 2 and 3 not getting a 10/10 rating?
i guess you have your reasons, and a 9/10 is still very good.
But somehow i feel like it is still a bit underrated by you.
Anyways, it's an awesome game.
2. Big A2
22 Feb 2009, 07:43 GMT
I'd give it a 10, and the PAL verison a 9 becuase of the music that's slower than it should be even with PAL slowdown.
And the ladders. Especially the ladders.
3. slangman
23 Feb 2009, 12:30 GMT
I actually don't really like this game. The game is way too easy and when you get to the end, it is really cheap. Plus the slow PAL music doesn't help.
4. ness
24 Feb 2009, 10:12 GMT
@ Review: I can't read any negative points, and you say "platforming action at it's very best."
So why did it not get a 10/10?
@ Music: I find the music in the PAL version better because for me the music in the NTSC version is too fast.
5. Drake
24 Feb 2009, 13:06 GMT
Because there's no depth, mostly. It's very fun, but very simple.
6. Cally
26 Feb 2009, 10:07 GMT
@Drake: I actually consider Mega Man complex, when considering how it seamlessly tows the line of platformer and shooter, not being weak in either department, with often both happening at the same time.
What's more, it has a bit of an adventure feel too, since there is character growth of sorts with new weapons and a character that isn't quite as easy to kill as most platformer or shooter heroes.
I can hardly fault Mega Man 2 for anything, except maybe this: almost nobody is going to beat Heat Man before Air Man--the meanest disappearing-platform section ever that's actually hurt by the inconsistent timing of platforming. Oops.
The shooting, platform, and exploration elements come together without compromising each other at all. It's definitely in the "platformer genre," since jumping is a thing of progression and not just strategy for combat. So loaded with ideas, every part of every stage in this game is unforgettable in its own right. Bubble Man's water high-jumping? Quick Man's nasty beam-avoidance? Metal Man's conveyor belts? And yet all the time, even when some of the platforming seems frustrating, it's just fun to be Mega Man, blasting stuff with such an amazing arsenal of weapons; it truly gives you the feeling of playing as a powerful character, without also being as pathetically fragile as in most shooters OR platformers (this is where Mega Man 9 dropped the ball) Weapons are both completely amusing and completely practical, as are the navigational gizmos. There are so many ways around situations--especially by experimenting with the arsenal--a choreography this isn't.
In my opinion, the very best, layered (jump+shoot) romp through platform innovations. Mario met his match, here. Even Mario games falter in the department of Boss fights--as most platformers do--where Mega Man is memorable.
7. Lurch
01 Mar 2009, 18:25 GMT
"Because there's no depth, mostly. It's very fun, but very simple."
I am sorry Drake, but i have to contradict.
As Cally already pointed out, there is lots of depth in the game, gameplay-wise.
but one mustn't forget the depth that can be found in the story and characters. I mean Mario Bros. 3 has a story that is almost as simple as the one found in MM2. You play a guy in both games that's supposed to stop an evil guy, and, if you ask me, the way megaman implements the story is superior in comparison with Mario 3. The characters itself shine a lot, meaning they show a lot of personality by their respective looks and mimics.
You might see that the wave of fanboy-pledges for a 10/10 rating won't stop, and honestly spoken by a non-fanboy, this game is a 10/10 due to all the points mentioned already.
8. Shinnok
01 Mar 2009, 20:00 GMT
Mega Man games have terrible stories, just like Mario games. But sometimes, I guess a complicated story is unnecessary.
9. Cally
03 Mar 2009, 09:42 GMT
@ Lurch
I agree with the storytelling point. Especially when I think of that last stage--very trippy, kind of wondering where you are. And the last boss was just a cool narrative, turning out to be a holographic image by Wily. You get to see snapshots of Mega Man's home in the wilds, where he takes off samurai style (once again suggesting his retirement from heroism). It's all visual and abbreviated, but that's videogame stories and their own unique way. The varied aesthetic (with that awesome music) . . . yeah, with all this good stuff I put this ahead of even Mario's epics. Once again, the ending's music theme expanded on the intro theme, which is another narrative technique that comes up in the first two games. 10/10
10. Gizmo
11 Apr 2009, 13:51 BST
When I look at the other 10/10 games:
Maybe it gets no 10/10 because it's not a Nintendo game?
11. pie4prez
14 Apr 2009, 02:46 BST
Can you save? It doesn't really matter, I'm just wondering whether you can.
Looks like a good game, I'll probably pick this up soon.
12. Gizmo
15 Apr 2009, 07:35 BST
@ "Can you save?":
Not really, you get a password after each successful stage. But I think you know that you can just stop the game at any point by returning to the Wii menu.
13. NESnes
12 May 2009, 23:34 BST
awesome awesome 10/10 buy it!
14. SergeOfArniVillage
21 May 2009, 21:51 BST
This is a really good game: old-school heaven!
Metal Man's weapon = WIN!
15. Hyper Luigi
07 Jul 2009, 00:12 BST
I am playing this game for the first time,and it is one of the best games I have ever played!
This game derserves a 10!
16. ryanknight717
28 Oct 2009, 00:49 GMT
god, i love this game
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