I played a lot of Mega Man growing up. I remember only being able to look at the box the first couple of times because my mom thought it was a violent game, due to the box art. That iconic US front cover looks kinda messed up and hilarious to me, but the blue, EU box art was sick. The in game pictures on the back blew me away and I couldn't wait to play it.

Eventually I got to play and realised how difficult it is. The first few months I couldn't even beat one level, and I never beat the entire game until a couple of years ago, as an adult. It's still insanely hard imo, as most Mega Man's, but the absolutely legendary and incredible music makes you want to strap in and just trial and error until you get to the boss, learn its pattern and beat it - it is so satisfying for a gamer.

The level design is fantastic as well as the enemies, their movement and sounds, and the difficulty in this case is a good thing - because it's by design. Iconic title that most of us has played at one point or another, and a game that I would recommend to anyone that hasn't played it yet.

I am in the process of finishing up an "Introduction to Mega Man" course. Although completing the first Mega Man was an optional exercise for the course, how could I not?! I set out to start the game and finish it. The course required that I beat Mega Man 2, 3, 6, and then 1. I fear that going 2, 3, 6, and then 1 forced the experience to be a bit skewed, but I pushed forward nonetheless. Here are my impressions.

The game’s appearance is very minimal, clean, and quaint, especially when coming from the artistic colors and visuals seen in Mega Man 6. The colors are basic and the HUD is minimal, featuring only a seven-digit score at the top-center of the screen and a health bar in the usual spot for the series. I found the minimalism somewhat charming, in a retro way - even if only because I knew I was playing the first ever Mega Man game.

I was shocked to find there were only six robot masters in the game instead of the traditional eight, which began in Mega Man 2. There also were no E-Tanks or weapon-tanks to pick up to recharge ammo, and there are no traditional “safe zones” that we see before each robot master in future iterations. I also can’t help but complain about the way that Mega Man moves. He feels a bit “slippery” to me. He also feels heavier. This made jumps that would be easy in Mega Man 2+ more difficult than they needed to be. The absence of these things help me understand how great Mega Man 2 actually was on improving in its predecessor.

Mega Man 1 is undoubtedly inferior to its sequels, but I still have to admit that I loved the experience. Not to brag, but by the time I came to play Mega Man 1 I was pretty good at the game - so good that Mega Man 1 gave me little to no difficulty. I was able to beat the game in one sitting in just over two hours. I’m glad to experience the series’ roots and, most importantly, claim that I’ve beat it.

Mega Man was the first Mega Man game I ever played. Whether that was a good thing or not is a matter for debate.

I was drawn to purchase Mega Man due to the general popularity of his character, but the first game in the series just didn't sell it for me. Don't get me wrong: the game is good. But other Mega Man games are just better.

But let's be fair to Mega Man - it was starting from scratch, in a world without updates to iron out the kinks. It started a series which still hasn't died (at the time of writing this, Mega Man 11 is in development) and the game should be credited as a trendsetter and definitely a classic NES game.

But this game has its share of problems, and the first of these is the difficulty. I enjoy challenging games, moreso than cakewalks. I mean, that's why I love NES games so much - they're a refreshing challenge, something to really test my abilities as a gamer. But I enjoy a fair challenge. Many (though not all!) sections of Mega Man are straight up unfair - Yellow Devil and the beginning of the Guts Man stage come to mind - and the lack of passwords or anything of that sort make it really punishing to get a game over.

Though I've read of graphical complaints of Mega Man, I don't really see it. I find Mega Man's graphical style endearing. Admittedly, there are issues with enemy respawn and screen-clipping, but these issues are technical, not graphical.

The controls are probably my biggest issues with the game. Mega Man feels slow and clunky, he jumps too short and falls too fast. The movement is tiresome, troublesome, and overall contributes to the frustrating difficulty of the game.

Now that we've reopened the games old sores, let's see what it did right. I've already mentioned that I find the graphical style endearing; this applies especially to the character and enemy design. Though the majority of its characters and bosses are simple, they hold a certain charm that defies criticism. The game also has a great 8-bit soundtrack. Elec Man's stage is a particular favorite of mine. Also, the sections of the game which were not frustratingly unfair were a very good challenge that was rewarding to complete. The sense of progression as you gain more powers after every boss is a quality of the Mega Man series which few can emulate correctly.

Mega Man is flawed but an enjoyable experience. I definitely do not regret playing it because it introduced me to the rest of the series, especially 2 and 3, which are my favorites so far. Though it may pale in comparison to its successors, it laid the foundation for a fantastic series; it definitely deserves its spot as one of the great classics of the NES era.

It could've been better, but I liked it. 3/5.