|
I'm gonna TRY to review what I think is one of the greatest games ever made, Mega Man 2. But, unlike a million other reviews
done on this game in the past, I will try to give my personal take on the finer points of the game, points that I have never
seen or heard of in other reviews and ignored by most others who have played the game. As such, this will not be a complete,
comprehesive look at the game. If your looking for one I suggest the Mega Man Homepage @ http://www.mmhp.net/ Ok, here goes
nothin'...
Mega Man 2 is an action game, period. Trying to make this game anything other that that would be wrong and missing the point.
However there are instances where Mega Man 2 shines past all the notions of an ordinary action game, while not trying to be
something it's not, like an RPG or something. This is shown, or rather "heard" in the music all throughout the game, in every
level, every boss, even the menu music is strangely appropriate, with some of the best music to be heard in ANY NES game.
(My proof, look up any website with NES music in it and I guarantee if it even attempts to be a complete collection of songs,
there WILL be mega man music and even a few remixes, at least)
The level design is appropreate for each boss fits perfectly with the theme (Flash Man has a stage that "Flashes" etc.) and
although design-wise the stages are linear, they are still uniquely creative. Heat Man's Stage long lava pit and Quick Man's
Stage deadly game of lazer tag are perfect examples of this kind of design in the stages. Dr.Wily (the final boss) is much
tougher than in the original game
Now for the unique section of this review. I have enjoyed this game as well as the Megaman Series as a whole for years now
so this section of the review might be difficult to understand for a casual gamer, specifically one who has never played a
Megaman Game or those who know bits and pieces of the storyline. To get familiar with the story, their are a couple of websites
available Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_Classic and The MegaMan Homepage http://www.mmhp.net/. Also, the
following contain spoilers, (I am aware that the game is almost 20 years old now but for the courtesy of those who have never
played this game) be careful.
I'm tempted to skip straight to the end of the game and reveal what I believe is the best this game has to offer in terms
of a story but, I'd better stick to the good ol' beginning to end style instead. The intro is a departure from the normal
"MEGA MAN" logo followed by a sequel number. It begins with a synopses of the original Mega Man, the events that lead up to
this game. Then the screen scrolls up a skycrapper to Megaman, overlooking a cityscape without his trademark helmet on. Player
options show up as well as the title of the game, then, if left alone or a button is pressed, Megaman puts on his helmet and
teleports away. This intro struck me as just cool when I was younger, but after playing other Mega Man games (mainly Megaman
3-8 and later the original) this was unique. In other intros, we see that the Title logo and options show up, maybe a pic
of Megaman's Helmet (Mega Man III) or Protoman's Scarf (Mega Man V) maybe even a globe (Mega Man VI) but that's about it.
Now MM IV does have a pretty good intro, showing off the graphic capabilities of the old Megaman engine, a style that is replicated
again in both V and VI. But MM II tries not to go over the top with the storyling progression with alot of backstory. (The
worst case of this is easily found in the newer Mega Man X series) Now don't get me wrong, I love a good storyline, even one
as cheezy as a B-grade movie, but MM II suceeds with the "Less is More" technique, a diffucult thing to pull off. Because
of NOT stressing the storyline before, or even during the game, it goes a long well in progressing it.
Megaman and Bass for the Game Boy Advance (Rockman and Forte on the Super Famicom in Japan) has a section of the gameplay
focused on collecting data discs, 100 in all, with info on every major character to appear in the original series. According
to these discs:
Metal Man was the first solo creation of Dr. Wily based on the joint design of Cutman (a boss of the Original game) by both
he and Dr. Light.
There is a detailed walkthough of Airman's stage in the original Mega Man II manual, suggesting that he is the first boss
to beat, having no weapons at the start of the game.
Dr. Wily screwed up with the "Main Drive Unit" (legs) of Bubble Man. As such his design was flawed, and could not walk. To
compensate for this really BAD disadvantage (considering he is designed to fight a Super Fighting Robot...), his level and
specifically his personal Battle Room, is designed to take advangatage of Bubble Man's abilities, his superior jumping ability
in water, triple shot buster cannon, spiked ceiling etc.
Quick Man was designed by Dr. Wily to take advantage of the relative swiftness of his predessesor Elec Man in the original
game. (Note the similarity of there body sections)
Althought I have no proof, I believe Crash Man a.k.a Clash Man is based off of the design of Bombman in the original game
due to their similar weapons, (explosives), picking up on the pattern of the two Robot Masters mentioned above. (Also it is
my belief that Dr. Wily has little originality at this point, only recently "jacking" his last set of Robot Masters from Dr.
Light. This can also be seen in Mega Man VI when he does it again.)
Flash Man, storyline wise, is probably the most ambitious Robot Master design ever for Wily, seeing as he can stop TIME, for
a short period and only in the limited area of a battle room. Still that's an achivement only reproduced in Mega Man IV with
Bright Man. (According to Wikipedia's Article on the Robot Masters however, Bright Man's weapon is just a temporary stun flash.)
Heatman is also based (suprisingly...) on a Robot Master in the original game, Fireman. However according to Heatman's information
on his Data CD found in Megaman and Bass, Not only is he based on Fireman's design, but is in fact MADE from pieces of the
destroyed Fireman after Megaman finished him in the original game. As such, and along with improvements, he is able to sustain
higher temperatures than Fireman for longer periods of time.
Wood Man is actually made of real wood, however it is covered with metallic coating. (According to the Wikipedia article
on the Robot Masters, the name of the wood used in Woodman's design is called "Hinoki Cypress")
Taking a look at certain parts of the game, I find very unique (for it's time) events and places, especially nowadays with
nostalgia setting in. These places and events include:
In Crashman's Stage, in the beginning, the area is layered with what looks like pipes and "gong bells" for lack of a better
term. As one progresses through the level however, the level seems to be going upward alot. Years later I realized that
the level was based on Elec Man's vertical stage in the original game. However, Crashman's stage was not completely vertical,
with areas that "level off" only to start going up again. As one travels upward, the screen begins to change and day very
slowly turns to night and at the very top, a beautiful starry night can be seen. (This might be because Megaman has climbed
SO high that he is on the edge of the atmosphere and now in space, not really sure about that one though). What I love (and
miss) about this level is that when I was first playing this game, it took a great deal of time to beat a level. So long
in fact that as the day turned to night in the game, so day turned to night in the real world. I would start playing in the
daytime then, when I was done playing (or dying) on this level more often that not it was alright nightime. This made the
game more real to me as a 6 year old. Unfortunately (and fortunately) I have become an expert on the game (in my eyes anyway)
and can beat any level in a short amount of time. So unless I was playing right a sunset, the day to night realism of the
game is lost to me.
A short look at Bubbleman's stage:
I love water levels, and this level is the origin of that love. Low gravity while underwater became the standard in this
game and for the series because of this level (in the original, Megaman became slower when underwater) Specifically I love
the waterfalls at the beginning and end of the level (growing up in a desert all my life tends to do that) especially the
end section, for it's small, secluded, serene image it has. (Minus the falling robot lobsters that is...)
|
