Andy Marsolais

Game: Mega Man 2
Pre-Internet Rating: 8/10
Post-Internet Rating: 8.5/10
Fun Factor: 9/10 Super Mario 3 Bear Suits

Sorry this NES review took so long, I decided to play through a bunch of games and then pick which one to review after. This week’s winner is a crowd favorite, it’s Mega Man 2. This is easily my favorite in the Mega Man series as they built on the success of the first one but I find they get a little bit on the hard side after the 3rd installment and the 2nd one gets extra points for being considered the one that launched the series. In Mega Man 2 you play through eight relatively short levels with a boss at the end of each which can be really easy to beat if you know what order to play them in.

After beating each boss you receive a new weapon that you can use in the other levels and each weapon had its own benefits. My choice has always been to beat Metal Man first so that I can play with his metal blade weapon that can be shot at different angles 3 blades at a time. The metal blade is easily the best weapon in the game so if you want a bit of a challenge I suggest playing without it. For most people the game is extremely easy at first but it gets harder really fast after you beat the first eight bosses on your way to fight Willy where you work your way through a map (Castlevania style) which at the end, makes you fight those eight bosses over again one after the other before getting to Willy.

I gave the game an extra .5 in post-internet because following a walkthrough was the only way I could get through all of the Willy stages without quitting. I’m not the type of person that can die over and over again without quitting so the walkthrough helped me from constantly dyeing before figuring out which weapons I’m supposed to be using and when. What makes this game so great is the music; every level has a very dynamic song for an 8-bit game which puts Mega Man 2 on almost everyone list when it comes to discussing the best music in an NES game. My favorite part of this game is the simplicity, this entry into the series comes before they added a slide or the ability to power up your blaster. You do get the heat blaster that becomes more powerful as you hold down the button but that’s a special weapon you get for beating heat man instead of having it be part of the regular blaster which was introduced later on.

It’s impossible for me to explain how this game has gone on to become my go to NES game when it is so short and simple that it only has two moves (jump & shoot) but over the years I have probably played it through over a dozen times. If you enjoy this game over the new versions, take a look at the recently produced downloadable Mega Man games. From what I’ve seen from Mega Man 9 they returned to the simplicity of 2 and I’m pretty sure they have since released Mega Man 10. To get a feeling for how great the music is, listen to the video provided below. If this game sounds fun to you or you would like to revisit it again after a couple generations of absence it can be found for about $10-$20. I say pick it up. ANDY APPROVED, UP TOP!