Mega Man 2 (1989)

Beat on difficult. I know I played this way back in the 90s but cannot remember if I actually beat it then. I love the core Mega Man gameplay loop of choosing the order to fight the bosses, trying to guess which ones are weak to which weapon, and using those weapons to make the stages easier. For whatever reason, woodman jumped out at me to attack first. Wood is a pretty weak element, how bad could he be? I got through the stage fine but woody himself got me well acquainted with the checkpoint save system, which was an excellent mechanic. I loaded the state upon game over though, so not sure how continues worked; probably just had to restart the stage. I slowed the speed down to 30 frames per second and managed to scrape through without losing any lives. I put the speed back up to normal until I found a drop spike trap area that made my Sprite disappear, though it was fine at slow motion. I left the rest of the game slow since it was more fun. Next was Bubble man because bubbles sounded weak. Damn instant death spikes in that stage, though the boss was not difficult. The leaf shield came in handy for some enemies that approached at odd angles so I could kill them with contact damage. The bubbles went low so were good for clearing enemies on lower elevations while also hurting some armored enemies that the standard shot could not. Then I fought Heat man because I figured he surely would be weak to bubbles, and yes kicked his ass easily. The stage was not easy though, taking a lot of save state scumming to get past those stupid disappearing blocks. The rocket sled thing would skip that. I never used the hear shot during the stages because it was just like the standard shot only it could charge up to front load damage. I could see that being good for certain tougher enemies. Next was Metal man because I figured heat would melt metal. So such luck, but he was not too difficult. His blades were very cool because they could be aimed in any direction. Then Air man as he seemed the weakest of the remaining. I guessed that wood was the closest to earth and that earth would beat air, which was correct. However his air attacks blocked my shots and were extremely difficult to get past without getting hurt. I would dread fighting him with just the normal shot. Air shot was great for hitting enemies at higher elevations, even through floors and walls. Then quick man as I figured air would be fast enough to beat him. Both he and his stage were the hardest of the 8. I had to spend a life to get back to the checkpoint as I saved state in a no win situation. I had to then make several attempts through those beam screens to find the flawless route through, which I would not have needed with the time freeze power. The boss was extremely difficult to avoid and I had to use an E tank to heal. Beat him with a mix of heat and air. I only used boomerang for a couple later bosses, but it could be handy for hitting enemies at slightly different elevations. By this time I knew that flash was quick's weakness so I did Crash man next. He was easily killed with air and I only used the bombs for 1 boss later. Last was Flashman, who was easy.

According to a walkthrough the optimal order through the stages was: metal, flash, quick, wood, air, crash, bubble, heat. I would move quick to after air. Then I did the end game. I got stuck at a point where I had to create 4 floating platforms because I had been pressing the turbo button which most often put 2 platforms down at the same time. Then some save state scumming to get past the free fall with instant death spikes. The guide said to beat the cannons by destroying the barriers then deliberately dying and restoring crash bomb energy, but I did it in 1 go. I did need to use an E tank. The 2nd form of dr. Wily was tough due to his shots moving up and down, but I powered through. Then the final form I was forced to only use bubble shot. I did not like how the late bosses could only be hurt by 1 or 2 weapons. Those fights should have been more drawn out with opportunity to use every weapon.

This was one of the best games on the NES with a good balance of action, difficulty and strategy around boss order and use of special weapons. The 3 platforming "weapons" were cool but should have had more creative names than "item 1, item 2". Perhaps the special weapons could have used some balance, but they were all fun to use. The boss gauntlet at the end was a great way to try out every weapon to see which was best for each boss, for better planning for the next playthrough. My only real gripe about the game was the excessively difficult platforming at certain points. I would have preferred more combat and less platforming. It had some banging music too; I even let the Wily castle stage theme play for a while in the pause menu.

9.0/10

Platform:

NES version.

Graphics/Sound:

The graphics are outstanding and today look as good as they looked back then imo, the comic style ages well, the character designs are timeless. The music is also outstanding, so the presentation for the time it was released must have been pretty impressive.

If you don't know the Mega Man Series, it's a platformer with a lot of shooting, some would call it a run & gun, although I personally think there is a little much actual platforming involved to be classified together with Contra or Metal Slug, and your weapons don't seem to be that overpowered. I like how you can choose the stage instead of a fixed order of levels, and how robot masters have a weakness, which is always a weapon you can get by beating a different robot master.

Difficulty:

If you don't play this using hints from the internet, then you'll be trying a lot to figure out if you can beat a certain robot master. I remember beating Mega Man 3 as a child on the NES, back in the day not having internet, nor anyone I could ask how to beat it, but somehow managed to figure out an order in which to beat the Masters. This game is a lot harder than the third though. If you get into a Mega Man game you never expect an easy game. But this one has some brutal parts, the worst being of course the second last boss, the turret room, where any single mistake you make will set you back about half an hour of grinding your crash bomb energy up again.

Conclusion:

It's certainly a great entry in the series, the stages are varied, the weapons distinct. My prize for the best Mega Man game would go to the third however, since I find this one too bland and frustrating in the final parts of the game. Nevertheless, a classic that shouldn't be missed.

What a fantastic game in the series to begin with! For reasons beyond my current understanding, beginning with the second game in the series was a perplexing request from the course. After watching Teens React, my best guess is that this decision stems from Mega Man 2’s comparative difficulty to its predecessor. Regardless, I enjoyed my experience, and even managed to beat the entire game while traveling several weeks ago.

The first thing that struck me upon beginning the game was the story provided before the events of the game. Players are given the suspenseful statement beginning with the famous, “In the year of 200X…”, introduced to Dr. Light, Mega Man, and Dr. Wily, and immediately launched into the game. The formula is standard by Mega Man standards, providing a screen with the eight robot masters that – I assume – Wily created to stop Mega Man. The early decision, “build your own adventure” element to the game was ahead of its times.[1] With each defeat and attained power up, the player feels like he or she is making progress, making the overall experience a rewarding one. Each weapon gave variety – with each boss defeat, I earned a new ability to kill enemies.

The soundtrack was ultimately the reasoning I played the game in the first place, so I have nothing but praise to sing. From my understanding, Mega Man 2 is one of the best soundtracks featured on the NES. Even though this play through was my first, the songs were familiar, leaving me with a smile in my finally understanding their context. My favorite songs were Title Screen, Wood Man, and, of course, Dr. Wily’s Castle. Shoutouts to Jirard Khalil on introducing me to that last one.

The game had its difficult moments, but nothing that laid beyond my personal ability. I’d be interested to see more difficult boss orders, as I assume the community has developed some interesting paths and boundaries that make replayability compelling. Never once did I feel the mechanics or controls sold me out to death. Each time I died, it was because of my error – and I was drawn again and again to correct it with another “continue” selection.

If there were one ugly side to Mega Man room, the ugliness lies in one room: the “Turret Room” in Wily Castle’s stage four.[2] This room was horribly designed, expected far too much from its players, and took my emotional experience from enjoyment to downright frustration and fatigue. For a game that is famous for its design and planning, I think it’s embarrassing the Turret Room made it into the final product. I couldn’t defeat the room without the Crash Bomb glitch. Thank goodness there was a glitch.[3]

All in all, the game was fantastic and helped me understanding Mega Man as a series just a tiny bit more. I’m glad I can finally mark this one off my list of games I want to play. Mega Man 2 was an absolute joy to control, play, and defeat. I can’t wait to see what happens with its sequel!

[1] For reference, I played Mega Man 2 in Mega Man Knowledge Base’s Suggested Order: Air Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Quick Man, Metal Man, Bubble Man, Heat Man, and Wood Man. "Mega Man 2 Walkthrough." MMKB. Accessed July 04, 2016. http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_2_Walkthrough.

[2] I’m not alone in this! A quick google search of “Mega Man 2 Turret Room” reveals much frustration and critique from the community. This makes me feel a bit better.

[3] I understand that this may discredit me as a gamer. I will gladly accept the penalty here. The turret room felt silly and pointless, especially from the viewpoint of one simply wanting to enjoy the Mega Man experience.