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Ok. For my first installment of “Life Has Yet To Turn Out How I Expected, So Let’s Live In The Past And Call It Retro-Gaming” (or LHYTTOHIESLLITPACIRG for short) I thought I’d come out gun’s-a-blazin’ and start with what is probably my favorite 8-bit NES game:
Megaman 2.
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Megaman 2 is absolutely the best Megaman game that Capcom made for the 8-bit NES. I might even go as far as to say the best Megaman game, ever! Never having played the X series much, you may deem me unqualified to make such a bold statement. However, to that I say, “Screw You!! You don’t know what you’re talking about!” This is a moot point anyway, since this is supposed to be about “vintage gaming”. Get ready for hardcore reviewing action, IGN-style (oops).
Story
Almost non-existent, but a hell of a lot better than the first one. Megaman 1 had absolutely no story (except maybe in the manual). At least MM2 had a little bit of exposition in the beginning.If you ask me, it was just the right amount of plot for a game like this. MM3 got a little long winded and convoluted with 20 million plot twists. MM2 was straight to the point. Evil Scientist builds Evil Robots. Evil Robots run amok. Good Robot built by Good Scientist must destroy Evil Robots and Evil Scientist. Throw in a little twist at the end and you have more than enough plot for a shooting platformer.
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Gameplay
I still have this game for my still-functioning NES (knock-on-wood). I tend to play it at least once a month either on the NES or on an emulator. The controls just feel right. Everything is very tight and intuitive. As a matter of fact, this is the only aspect in which MM2 doesn’t rise above its brethren, only because they all play the same, give or take a couple of tweaks. Only the level design stands out. Some people might call some of the levels difficult. I call them magnificent. Especially parts like the one section of the Quickman stage where you have to drop and run away from enormous insta-death laser beams and one small mistake spells disatser. (Sadly, I cannot spell disaster.) Levels like this might make some people scream in frustration, but after 14 years of playing this game it comes as easy as breathing oxygen.
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Graphics
Let’s say this: it’s obvious that the 8-bit graphics of NES games do not compare to the visual orgies that are today’s console and PC games. I shouldn’t even have to say that. However, there’s always that one guy who’s like, “Whadda ya mean Megaman 2 had great graphics?!?! Have you even seen Halo/MGS2/FFX/etc. ???” To that I’d like to reply, “What I’m saying is that Megaman 2 had great graphics for 1987, and they did a lot within the constraints of the system.” I’d like to say that, but what I actually say is “You’re a dumbass” and I walk away. Given the NES’s limited color palette, Megaman 2 was a very colorful game. Everything had a cool, animated look to it. That, and some of the end level bosses looked really cool.
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Sound
I will now also be so bold as to state that Megaman 2 had the best music out of the entire series. Don’t get me wrong, the rest had pretty good music (especially 1 and 3). However, nothing compares to the feeling I get when the title theme starts. MM3’s title theme is good, but it doesn’t get you ready for action like MM2’s does. Sometimes when I’m at work I find myself whistling a tune or tapping a rhythm on a table, and I come to find that it’s the MM2 title theme or the “end-of-level-weapon-getting-screen” theme, respectively. The sound effects are also good, however I can’t think of anything more to say about them. They do their job.
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Closing Comments
I’ll say it again: Megaman 2 is the best f the series, and here’s the main reason why: it makes more sense than the others. You beat the zippo-lookalike Heatman with the water-type weapon. You beat the log-gorrila Woodman with the fire- or buzzsaw-type weapon. You beat the missile-shooting space guy Crashman with little tornados. Well, maybe not that one, but this iteration of Megaman boasts more common sense combinations than any of the others. Most of the robot bosses were based on elemental things: wood, fire, water, air, metal, light, quickness, missiles. See where I’m going? MM3 was good, but it had robots like Geminiman and Snakeman and Needleman. There’s no logic to the combo’s. From MM4 on, it just went further downhill (Pharaohman and Yamatoman, anyone?) and I stopped bothering.
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Anyway, Megaman 2 had good, cartoony graphics, a kickass soundtrack and tight, challenging gameplay. It still keeps me coming back, even 14 years later.