Mega Man (NES) and Mega Man 2 (NES)

I remember looking at the box art for this and thinking….  “When has Mega Man ever been blue and yellow?  Since when does he have a pistol, and where in the game does that building appear??”

What’s worse, is that I actually believed all of those things actually were in the game and tried to find them.  Anyway, we’ll get to Mega Man in a second, but first, let’s talk about…

Mega Man 2 was actually on my radar long before the first game was.  The first time we rented it, it was after I was done playing a little league baseball game.  I think that was the quickest post-game bath I EVER took.  When I popped the game in, I enjoyed the rock-paper-scissors gameplay and found myself using my own strategies to defeat bosses.  The game’s controls were easy to master, and the ability to copy a Robot Master’s ability had me hooked immediately.  To me, playing Mega Man 2 was as enjoyable an experience as playing a Mario game!

Working at a library, my Mom had easy access to a photocopier.  I once rented MM2 from the Co-Op store just out of town, took the instruction booklet from the game to the library and got her to copy a few of the pages.  Just like that, I had Mega Man coloring sheets!  I thought it was amazing technology with a very strange and skunky smell to it.

It was during one of these days waiting at the library that I found out there was, in fact, a Mega Man 1.  No way!!!  Really??!?!  I had no idea such a thing existed!!

(The italics kinda make that look like sarcasm, but trust me when I say that I was somehow quite surprised about this bit of news.)

Before I knew it, my Mom was on the phone with a convenience store we didn’t usually rent from, and she was hookin’ me up.  They had a copy of the game available to rent, and it would be ready for us when we got there.  Score!!  I couldn’t wait to battle more Robot Masters!  I had no clue who they were, either!  It was going to be a complete surprise…

Then, I played it.  I’m pretty sure this played in my brain as I ran through the first few minutes of Bomb Man’s stage…

Not that it was bad, really…  it was just so unpolished compared to the second game.  The music was decent, but nowhere near as catchy and energetic as the second game.  The power ups looked different, the enemies were somewhat uninspired, and there were a few graphical glitches here and there.  It really was my own fault – I did, after all, play a refined sequel before the original.

Then again, you have to start somewhere.  Super Mario Bros. 3 took everything that rocked about the first game and built on it, while Mega Man 2 did the exact same.  The original Mega Man has stood the test of time and is still worth a shot.  Just don’t expect the awesomeness and layed on, extra-thick charm found in the later games.

This has a bland title screen and nothing to lead you into the game, aside from the Stage Select screen.  Aside from the credits, there are no storytelling scenes.

Watching the intro of this game will never get old.  The way music builds into sheer epic epicness, then you press start…  Mega Man’s helmet flashes on, because it’s business time.