#mm9

[sluggisms]

splash comfort doodles

[ohcyans]

Galaxy man!

[fondlepunch]

“I’ll crush you! I’ll make a popsic— UH OH!!” Mega Man, Ice Man, and Magma Man vs. Frost Man I figured it was about time I drew the lil’ blue guy again! It’s still freezing in my part of the world, and I guess you can say, this is just my way of saying that I hope it warms up soon.

[jazzparagusart]

Space!

[b00mer-kuwanger22]

Jewel man is the shit like no fucking shit he's the goat I wanna French kiss him all sloppy like that one movie I saw I think it was rocky horror picture show hepl mee I love him I'm gay

[m00nb04rd5]

I want a moodboard for Splash Woman!

Splash Woman (Mega Man 9)

[smash-64]

2025 Game of the Year Countdown #3: Megaman Legacy Collection 2 Capcom Nintendo Switch, 2018 While my run through the original NES Megaman (LINK) games two years ago was an end-to-end replay of sorts, as I had played all of them extensively on native hardware and beaten all but MM1 at least once, some innumerable times, Legacy Collection 2’s offering of games 7-10 meant that I had only seen the end credits of just one of the games. 

This unique set of games varies wildly in many regards. The graphics of 7 and 8 show an evolution of graphical output in consoles of the mid-90s, while 9 and 10 were early examples of returning to classic 8-bit style throwbacks that focused more on gameplay instead of graphics. 

I remember hearing quite a bit of criticism about Megaman 7 back in the day. Major criticisms generally boiled down to a more childish-looking style, a sprite choice that made Megaman physically larger on the screen, and in comparison with the rest of the stage, when juxtaposed with his sprite in the first six games, and a general disappointment after the resounding success of Megaman X.

Yet, time has caused some of those criticisms to fade away. Moving the series to a new console was always going to cause changes, and fans didn’t criticize the X series when it debuted since it was just different enough to feel divorced from what came before it. Now that three decades have passed, and we’ve seen numerous side-scrolling games show that graphics are far from the most important thing in gaming, the change from Megaman 6 to 7 feels less like a step back and more of a step to the side. It’s different because it’s different, not because it’s worse.

Megaman 7 still plays like a Megaman game. And it actually looks amazing, with bright colors and plenty of animation in the enemies, bosses, and Megaman, without feeling too busy or overdone. The fact that it handles a bit differently also doesn’t feel like a downgrade; it’s just different. I had a great time replaying this game.

I think Shade Man’s level might be the most beautiful example of truly creating an atmosphere in a Megaman game. It does everything right, starting with the full moon appearing through clearing clouds. The music and feel is just slightly off-putting, and the colors and graphics mix wonderfully. Best level in the game by far.

My only criticisms of the game come from the enormous spike in difficulty that the final Wily battle brings. He’s insanely difficult, with multiple projectiles that can cause varying degrees of damage, and that are very difficult to dodge. It took me two days to finally beat him, and I don’t remember how long it took the first time I beat the game, but it felt like it took longer this time. Maybe I got lucky before.

Additionally, there are probably more “gotcha” type moments in the game than were necessary. Megaman has always been a series that shows you the dangers before you really experience them, meaning that if you die, it’s your fault. Megaman 7 offers quite a few moments where something kills you instantly, or stuns you in such a way that you then get killed by something else, only without warning. Maybe they wanted to make sure the game was hard? I’m not sure. But I do not recall earlier games in the series doing the same thing to the same degree. It’s possible that this was just something the Capcom team was leaning into at the time, since I seem to recall Megaman X3 doing the same thing.

Megaman 8, however, sucks.

One of the great things that the best platformers do is to carefully balance the game so that nothing overstays its welcome. This keeps things fresh and fun. Megaman 8 has painfully drawn-out levels with annoying gimmicks that last too long and show up too often. The snowboarding sections are probably the best example of this. On the surface, they could be a fun way to fly through a level, giving us a sense of urgency and speed. But every time I came across a new part where I had to do it, I was annoyed by their length and reliance on memorization instead of reaction.

And that’s just to begin with. The music is average, at best, which is surprising since Megaman usually kicks out fantastic tunes. It also churns out a few grating tracks, too. And while the anime cutscenes are actually really fun, the voice acting is as comically terrible as can be. Elmer Fudd Dr. Light is just an absolutely baffling choice, and Megaman sounds like Megachild. The game is also over-animated at nearly every moment. The backgrounds are highly detailed, but often distracting. Megaman is very detailed, as are many enemies and bosses, but many of their animations are too similar to easily spot differences in patterns and movement. I found myself annoyed very often.

So, I dropped it somewhere in Wily’s Tower, which I’ll admit to being pretty far along. Sorry, Megaman 8, but you’re just not any fun. Luckily, Megaman 9 came back with a vengeance after a 12 year hiatus.

Megaman 9 is a masterpiece. The developers went back to what worked best: Megaman 2. They took everything that game offered, and used it as a basis for a new game. No slide, no charge shot, a return to 8-bit graphics and music, shorter levels with distinct enemies and unique bosses, all providing a challenge. And while we do get a couple of things that perpetually return, such as yet another orbiting weapon that reminds us of the Leaf Shield, it feels like it belongs and is welcome.

I can’t even begin to explain all the great aspects this game has to offer because to do so would be to just narrate my playthrough. This game has difficulty spikes, but they feel organic, for lack of a better term. The difficulty spike in 7 felt like someone just said “make the final fight harder,” without thinking about what led up to it. The difficulty spikes in 9 feel like a slow creep as you continue to master the controls and increase your power, which is how games are kind of supposed to work, right?

We also get the first female robot with Splash Woman, perhaps a well overdue addition to the Megaman franchise.

Megaman 10 is in the same vein as 9, but doesn’t reach the same heights. Levels are definitely more difficult than what we saw in 9, so that’s nice, but some levels were very dull in color and reminded me a bit of Megaman 1’s relatively boring color palette. 

However, there were a few sections, such as the fire in Solar Man’s level, that looked really good. In fact, perhaps too good for the NES. I know that both 9 and 10 wouldn’t run on an NES, but 9 still played like it was a long-lost NES gem. 10 has a few animations that would remind me we weren’t playing on an NES, and for some reason, it feels like the slightest of negatives.

Megaman 10 is still a great game, however, and meets all the same criteria that fans begged for when we got 9. It also seems to be tailor-made for speedrunners, down to the smallest details. Multiple difficulty levels, the ability to play as characters other than Megaman, and an overall shorter runtime all point to a focus on replayability. While this is nice, I much preferred the experience in Megaman 9, where the game lasted longer and felt more complete, for lack of a better term.

A much more mixed bag of games, when compared to the first Legacy Collection, but a great set of platformers, nonetheless. It goes on sale all the time, too.

[lightlabstims]

Honey Woman - Unused concept (MM9)

x x x | x x x | x x x

Fanart by Numbers