Mega Man (NES Review)

Mega Man
aka Rockman
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
Released December 17, 1987
Directed by Akira Kitamura
Developed by Capcom
Included in Mega Man Legacy Collection

This is only the second time I’ve ever really played through the first Mega Man game. Other than a few memorable elements, it was essentially playing it fresh. So when I encountered an ambitious-for-its-time set piece like this, I was taken back. That’s not too bad looking at all, gives Fire Man’s level’s a distinct personality, AND it works from a gameplay perspective.

The first Mega Man game isn’t exactly one of the most beloved installments in the franchise. It shares more in common with something like Metroid than it does Super Mario Bros. or Legend of Zelda in that people admire it from a distance for the groundwork it laid but stick to playing the more beloved sequels. But is that totally fair? I used to think so, but now I’m not so sure. I’m not going to argue that Mega Man 1 can go punch-for-punch with any of the future releases that followed it. They’re better games, period. What I’m saying is that, upon closer examination, Mega Man isn’t the black sheep I think a lot of people peg it as, myself included.

Because of how the graphics are handled, it’s kind of hard to get perfect screenshots of Mega Man. But, when I got ones I wanted, I had to admire how gosh darn good looking this is for a 1987 game. Jeez.

In terms of establishing a franchise formula, I dare say the original Mega Man does an even better job than the game I usually hold up as the gold standard of franchise starters, which is the first NES Castlevania. Mega Man is much more ambitious than that game, but not in a way where they bit off more than they could chew. Each of the six main levels has a unique theme that never feels like empty facades. Hell, they never even feel all that generic, even though they totally are boilerplate level themes when you get right down to it. That’s an INCREDIBLE accomplishment, especially for a 1987 game.

Okay, they weren’t TOTALLY successful in avoiding outright generic design. I guess there isn’t much you can do with an ice theme other than penguins, polar bears, and slippy-slidey ice physics, which are the bane of my existence. Hell, this didn’t even have the polar bears. Weirdly, Flash Man, which would also be an ice-themed level, would avoid feeling generic by going with a much more visually-striking “hi-tech ice factor” vibe in Mega Man II. So it CAN be done.

Elec Man’s level has architecture and challenges that feel hi-tech. Cut Man’s level takes place in a forest because, uh………. (checks) Apparently he’s a logger and he cuts down trees. Okay, that one is slightly forced. The Ice Man and Fire Man stages lean very heavily into temperature-based challenges. What’s more important is that the levels feel like quests specifically tailored to their end bosses. Even Castlevania doesn’t pull that off. Like, why does an underground cavern culminate in fighting Frankenstein’s Monster? I always thought the Grim Reaper and Frankenstein should have been swapped. Of course, that would wreck the scaling, proving that juggling themes and balance is tricky business. Mega Man’s non-linear gameplay didn’t have to stress that, but it’s non-linear with a method to the madness. You and I can look up the correct order you’re supposed to tackle levels, but kids in 1987 couldn’t and were expected to experiment to figure it out. It totally works, too.

I kind of like how there’s just a box here that spits out these cutting blades in the most inelegant fashion. It feels like a malfunctioning machine. It’s great!

Well, except in one aspect that has always bugged me about Mega Man: the boss balancing. Oh I love the idea that certain bosses are weak to certain types of attack. That’s one of the all-time great contributions to action games right there. It’s the amount of damage I object to. I expect this will be one of those opinions that gets me in trouble, but I don’t like the idea of being able to beat a boss in two or three shots if you use the right weapon. It takes the stakes out of the fight, and there’s really no benefit to the gameplay. I’d argue it would be more satisfying to see a health bar reduced by 1/8th instead of 1/2. That way, you still get the satisfaction of using the correct gun but you also get to, you know, FIGHT a boss instead of flattening it like it’s nothing. I’d also argue it’s more immersive if bosses, who are supposed to be world-threatening entities, actually require effort. The fact that Elec Man can be killed by three shots with Cut Man’s gun makes me believe that, if Mega Man weren’t available, a hyperactive third grader armed with a pair of scissors and a sugar rush could handle things just fine.

Bomb Man was originally going to be called “Bomber Man” but SAG rules require using different names. Peyton List Man from Mega Man 11 had a similar issue before changing his name to Tundra Man.

Everything I’ve talked about in the last few paragraphs could apply to the larger franchise, which tends to nail level themes and struggle with satisfying boss balance. But what about the very first game? Well, it’s rough. No doubt about it, there’s a lot of room to improve. But as a prototype of better things to come, it’s actually not that bad. Going into this review, I really expected Mega Man 1 to be a lot worse than it actually is. Where I think a lot of the dislike comes from is in its penchant for cheap shots and poorly balanced basic enemies. Like the the Big Eyes take a whopping 20 hit points to kill and can’t be jumped over, but they also don’t necessarily jump high enough for you to go under them. The area they’re placed in usually isn’t optimized to fight them, either. It’s an example of not getting the most out of their potential, especially when they gave me more problems than most of the bosses.

I’m surprised these didn’t become bigger icons of the franchise. The design is great. They look genuinely scary!

And then there’s lots of little moments of “well, maybe this is a good idea.” Like there’s a “magnetic gun” that allows you to create platforms and is necessary to complete the Dr. Wily stage. It’s just stuck in an arbitrary location in Elec Man’s stage and can only be obtained if you have Guts Man’s item. It’s so weird, and if nothing else, Capcom seemed to recognize how bad of an idea that is. In future Mega Man games, the items would usually be acquired by taking the heads of the correct Robot Masters. In this one, it’s literally just laying around and since you NEED IT to beat the game, that left a bad taste in my mouth. There’s also some really janky level design. Like these jumps here.

You can’t see me behind the block, but the important thing is the narrow jumps under the fire columns.

I think in 1987 it was too soon to know that there’s a difference between “challenging” and “awkwardness” and those jumping angles are just very awkward. There’s also a lot of life slap enemy placement when you enter new rooms. Thankfully, life refills are plentiful, both in the form of placement along the levels and random item drops from slain enemies. BUT, you can’t count on life drops quite as often as you can in future Mega Man games because of the oddest part of the original Mega Man: the scoring system. It sure seems like most of the basic enemy drops are points instead of the health or item refills you actually want. Item refills seemed especially rare, and since I heavily relied on Cut Man’s ultra-satisfying weapon in the levels, I had to actually stop and think about whether I really needed it while navigating Wily’s stages. Hell, maybe that’s actually a good thing in disguise. Something tells me I won’t think too hard about whether or not I need Metal Man’s weapon equipped while I play Mega Man 2.

You know Dr. Wily, maybe instead of sending an army of robots that just ultimately make Mega Man more powerful, you should make just one named “Tsar Bomba Man” that just blows up whatever continent Mega Man is on as soon as he enters its chamber. Oh who am I kidding? You’d probably also send in “Nuclear Test Ban Man” alongside him. Wily is one of those villains I’m convinced subconsciously wants to fail.

 If I had to guess, I’d say the development team probably fell victim to the same pitfall so many indie devs in my lifetime have. A phenomenon where, while creating and testing a game, the people who make it forgot that they’re the world’s greatest players at their own game, so they kept adding stuff to challenge themselves, forgetting that others would play it and not have devoted the last year of their lives to placing enemies or rearranging the maps. I tend to think that’s the case with pretty much any game where enemies slap your lifebar as soon as you enter a room in a way that’s all but unavoidable, and Mega Man does it a few times. It’s also a safe bet that not every aspect of the game was given equal weight and consideration. Like, I really enjoyed Guts Man’s weapon, but it’s so underutilized that I can’t help but wonder if the devs didn’t enjoy it as much as I did.

Or maybe I’m wrong. After all, Guts Man’s weapon is the key to beating the first usage of a “Dr. Wily uses a hoard of generic machines” boss fight that a lot of future Mega Man games would utilize.

The good news is, as far as glorified prototypes for better games yet to come, I think there’s still a lot of fun to be had in Mega Man. I thought the first game would be “the bad one” but instead, I found it to be a damn charming experience, warts and all. Plus, most of the problems with it don’t give me a mean-spirited vibe, but rather felt like a product of a development team that didn’t have a clue what they were doing. Thankfully, Capcom probably recognized they had a winner as soon as the movement physics and pea shooter were finished. Some of the level design might be a touch on the cruel side, but hey, I love the original six robot master designs, and I love that Elec Man’s weapon is just this gigantic, messy spray of electric beams in three different directions. For a 1987 game, this sure looks and sounds beautiful. The sound effects especially are probably the best on the NES this side of a Mario game. Most importantly, they made a game that you could easily build upward from. Mega Man 1 is a fun game, but it’s also the blueprint for a fantastic format. And, unlike Konami did with their first Castlevania sequels and spin-offs, Capcom didn’t immediately screw up their new tentpole franchise.
Verdict: YES!

AND NOW
GENERIC ACTION ONE-LINER THEATER

“Don’t blow your stack!”

“Cut it out!”

“You’re fired.”

“You’ll never get ELEC-ted dressed like that!”

F*ck you, Batman & Robin for taking the fun out of this one.

“No Guts? Glory!”