Mega Man 2

I had never heard of the first but when I saw preview images of Mega Man 2 I just had to check it out. If side-scrolling action and cartoony graphics are your bag, you've got to play it. The villains seem appropriately cheesy yet, I never thought of this game as too childish to enjoy. The play control is slightly better than in the original Mega Man and the landscapes more vivid.

The story goes - in the first Mega Man, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily created 7 robots together to serve humanity. Dr. Wily stole 6 and reprogrammed them to help him take over the world, leaving only Dr. Light and Mega Man to save the day. This time out, Dr. Wily has returned with 8 new robots of his own creation and a gigantic fortress that puts the first game to shame.

After the success of Mega Man 2 the franchise took off spawning Mega Man 3-6 on the NES, Mega Man 7 and the spin-off series Mega Man X 1-3 on the Super NES, Mega Man X4 and Mega Man 8 on the Playstation, and even Mega Man 1-5 on the GameBoy. And fun was had by all.

Mega Man 2 is the game that would make Mega Man popular, and it shows. Set a year after the first, Dr. Wily returns, and has made eight robot masters of his own, each designed to combat Mega Man. This game retains the first game's difficulty (especially when it come to Quick Man's stage, which is filled with lasers that can cause instant death), so for the American release, Capcom added an easier difficulty that makes things easier. Also, the game is the first to feature a passwords system that would be used for titles up to Mega Man 7, and the game introduces three Items, transports that would serve as the prototype to Rush, received by beating a certain boss, as well as E Tanks, which automatically refill Mega Man's health to 100% when used. This is a great example of how a sequel should improve over the original, and must be played.

Mega Man 2 for the NES is one of the best 8-bit games ever released! When I was ten (1990) I bought the first Mega Man game there ever was. This game was very addictive and made me an instant Mega Man fan. Before 1990 had ended I read a preview of MM2. I couldn't believe my eyes! A sequel was being made of my favorite game! As soon as it was released (early 1991) I bought a copy of it, and played it. I never stopped playing it. MM2 boasts some brilliant music! Most tunes are world famous now, and every Mega Man fan can hum these tunes. Especially Dr. Wily's Castle tune, which seems to be the best Mega Man tune ever! The graphics MM2 shows are of extreme high quality. It puts a lot of 16-bit games and even some 32-bit and 64-bit games to shame! The graphics are very clear and the use of colours in the background is very detailed and a pleasure to look at.

In total there are eight levels to conquer before you can fight the master mind Dr. Wily. In the first Mega Man game Dr. Wily reprogrammed six of his peaceful robots to conquer the world. In total seven were made, but the protagonist of both games, Mega Man managed to escape the clutches of the evil Wily. It is now Mega Man's duty to defeat Wily for a second time and destroy his new eight robotic minions. Each robot has its own stage and Mega Man has to beat go through the entire stage to battle a robot master. Once a robot master is defeated Mega Man can use the power of its defeated opponent to battle other robots.

Although it sounds all rather easy, it's not. Try to pass Heatman's schasm of fire or pass Quickman's deadly laser beams! This game will get you hooked instantly. Not only by its outstanding graphical and musical quality, but by its playability as well! Controlling Mega Man is a piece of cake, within no time you can make him run, jump and shoot! All in all a must have for every NES owner, but I guess every NES owner already has this game in his collection!

After being defeated by Mega Man and thrown into prison, Dr. Wily seeks revenge. He busts out of jail, and creates 8 robots of his own. Bubbleman, an aquatic robot; Airman, master of wind; Quickman, robot who can run with great speed and has speedy boomerangs as a weapon; Heat Man, another robot of fire that has the shape of a cigarette lighter; Woodman, who can be shielded by the forces of nature; Metalman, a master of sprockets and machinery; Flashman, a robot who can freeze objects in place and attack; and Crashman, a robot with drill-shaped missiles. The new features this game provides are:

Password: you are now able to record your progress and don't have to start all over everytime

Energy Tanks: they refill your energy when needed

Item (1,2,3:) inventions by Dr. Light that you are given after beating Heatman, Airman, and Flashman. They allow you to reach new areas, and are necessary at some parts of Dr. Wily's castle

Challenge Level: You can set the challenge as either normal or difficult when you turn on the game

I still prefer the original over this one, but Mega Man 2 is an ultimate classic, and doesn't disappoint in any way. If you are only going to get 3 Mega Man games out of the whole series, get the first 2 as well as Mega Man X for the Super Nintendo.

I commenting Mega Man 2 after beating it a lot of years since I beat it the first time. Thanks to Console Emulation I am living again the experience of playing gems like this baby. I am surprised to see how amazingly addictive this games are still to this day.

Mega Man 2 is not only a sequel made to cash-out the success of the first Mega Man is a step forward in many aspects. More user friendly than Mega 1, this game has a system of password-saving that lets the gamer save his progress without having to play the game in its entirety every time. Also Mega Man 2 is not as difficult as the first one because the worlds of Dr. Willy's creations are easy to learn and memorize. In all I believe some people may be frustrated because there are many things and processes to memorize (jump that, don't jump that; use that weapon with that enemy, learn the AI patron of that other one)and also some good reflexes are needed of course. But that's the entertaining side of this thing after all.

Almost twenty years later Mega Man 2 with simple sprite-animation can give me more hours of enjoyment than many modern hits with incredibly astounding 3D Animation. But not always the better-looking game is the best game. I can't rate it with any other number than ten. Capcom scores another victory with this one (I lose the count of how many great games they have released throughout the years). Without a doubt my favorite from the Mega Man series for the NES system.