Mega Man

[Cortez]

Oh God where I do start on this one. I've been playing Megaman games for most of my life and whilst I've never really been sucked into the franchise I am well aware that it has become Capcom's cashcow of sorts. Megaman X5 was the first Megaman game I truly adored, indepth yet easy to follow storyline and top notch gameplay and stage designs with first class character designs made for a winning combination. Of course this didn't last. The BN series feels awkward for me, its very rare you can take a platform game and make a successful RPG series out of it and the EXE series seemed to go Marmite style on us in that you either love it or you hate it. Its even more curious that Capcom took a platformer, made an RPG series out of said platformer then attempted to make a platformer out of the RPG series resulting in the clusterfuck that is Network Transmission. It certainly wasn't a bad game but it had nothing on the other 2D Megaman games. Now I haven't played a recent MM game so I'm not sure whats occurring in Megamanland at the moment but I'd like to know how the rest of you feel about the franchise and its many, many variations.

[Meow]

I love the series. My favourite sort of arc though has to be from the Zero series- ZX series, as well as a decent dosage of Megaman Legends on the side.

The classics were alright, I liked the first three, then I liked 7, and 8 was alright too. X1-4 I thought were excellent, and 5 was alright but things started to go downhill from there imo. I think a lot had to do with the production values that I felt were in X4 were just missing from X5. I played X6 and then stopped there with the X series. The only other X related game I played was the Command Mission game, which was a surprisingly good RPG. The Battle Network games again I only liked up until number 3, and so far I only have the first StarForce game but I can't say I'm the biggest fan of that.

I love Zero 1-4 and I love ZX and ZXA. I love the kind of more 'open' world aspect of the ZX series, it makes more sense now why you don't just teleport into a boss room XD! It also has the best characters in the series thus far, though ZXA made Vent (who was cool in ZX for the most part) into a really annoying character. Grey was an annoying protagonist too in that game. Anywho...I wish they'd actually make ZX3 or a Legends 3 =(

[speedfreak]

I personally lost interest in him many years ago. I know MM9 helped out with his popularity a lot but all those other versions of Mega Man (TOO MANY MEGA MEN!) just killed it for me.

Having said that I'd buy a Legends 3 day one.

Edited July 4, 2009 by speedfreak

[Blacklightning]

Eh, I enjoy some entries in the series casually, but I'm hardly a full-blown fan. I started out with emulated ROMs of some of the early-but-not-that-early games, notably X2, X1, Rockman & Bass and the Megaman 1-3 compilation on the Genesis (in that order). Then later on when I started actually buying stuff, I got my hands on X8, and much later, ZX. I enjoy all of them to varying degrees, but I find it's difficult to take them seriously when a majority of them rely on trial and error for length and feature some of the most facepalm worthy designs I've ever seen in a franchise. I mean, Boomer Kuwanger? What the fuck is he meant to be, exactly?

Don't get me wrong, I don't have any bad blood against the franchise, it just seems like everything is the same thing even for such a long-running franchise. I generally get the feeling that when I've played one game I've practically played them all anyway, and it wouldn't surprise me if I wasn't far off the mark. It's just one example of a franchise I wish would grow the nerve to just grow up already and make something genuinely new - naturally, knowing what fans are like I expect to get shouted up just for saying that, though. I've been curious about the RPG-ish series that's been established a little more recently though, but I really can't make a decision when opinions are so damn mixed over them.

[Diogenes]

I was never a huge Megaman fan; as a kid I only had 5 and 6, which I never managed to beat, and never played much of any other Megaman until years later. Even then the only ones I own are those two (well, I assume they're still in storage...dunno if they're still functional...) and MM9.

When it's good, it's very good. When it's bad, it's pretty crappy. My main complaint with the series is that the original series doesn't seem to have much of a way to evolve while keeping what made it good. Tracing the series from classic through X, Zero, and ZX, while it's not necessarily bad, it's become something completely different. And as awesomely retro as MM9 is, it's just repeating the classic style, not expanding on it. They'll need a major stroke of genius if they have any intent to revive and modernize the classic Megaman...

[Meow]

I think they can keep the formula somewhat the same, such as with ZX, but still add new elements in...again - like ZX. I don't know if I would want them to change the core gameplay too much in the main series because then it wouldn't be a Megaman game xD. As long as -basic- gameplay is all the same I'm all for it, but that is because the gameplay is not broken and it has been proven to work...it also manages to stay fun IMO.

Like I said though, adding new elements to the basic gameplay does make it feel like a different game...almost. ZX and ZXA I felt were different feeling Megaman games, but they had a more open-ended design to them =). Battle Network was cool at first too, but then I got bored after #3.

Oh, and Legends was a nice departure too, but it ended only at 2 games =(

[JezMM]

I've played the big ones, 2 and 9, but never had any particular motivation to try the rest.

I downloaded 3 but it lacked the spark of 2 and 9 for me (and looked horrible on my widescreen TV after how perfectly presented Mega Man 9 was. Would it kill Nintendo to make old games display in 4:3 instead of stretching them? You can't manually reduce it to 4:3 on the component cable channel on my TV for some reason. >_<).

2 was great fun from start to finish, though 9 tried my patience a fair bit. I beat it, but I'll never do it again.

I also tried 7 on emulator, but the upgraded visuals and such weirded me out too much. Something just didn't feel right about it.

[G-Force]

My main complaint with the series is that the original series doesn't seem to have much of a way to evolve while keeping what made it good.

That's basically what the X series is, an evolved version of the original series. And that's basically how the Megaman franchise works; when they want to retool their formula into something new, they just make a new series out of it. And if they ever decide they want to go back and tread some old ground, they can just go back and put a new installment into whatever series *coughmegaman9coughcough* they want to revisit.

In the end, this works out to each individual series never really changing, but this is okay because, as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." At the same time, the big, significant changes everyone seems to be lusting after lie in the introduction of new series.

[Phos]

Capcom did an impressive job of running Megaman into the ground. Really, the lack of restraint they showed in slapping Megaman onto whatever random game they were cooking up even surpassed Sega doing similar things with Sonic. The last Megaman game that I though was any good was X2, after that they just seemed to loose it for a decade or so, and finnally figured out what they needed to do around the time they were making ZX Advent. There's actually an 8-bit version of Megaman ZX in that game.

You probably wondering what I have against the Zero games. Simply put, "Hey, lets add a melee focus but keep the touch of death in full force!"

Then Megaman 9 made it all better.

I mean, Boomer Kuwanger? What the fuck is he meant to be, exactly?

Copypasta from the Megaman wiki:

Boomer Kuwanger (ブーメル・クワンガー, Boomer Kuwanger?), known as Boomerang Kuwanger in Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, is a Maverick in Mega Man X based on the stag beetle (Kuwagata in Japan. Not to be confused with Kuwagust Anchus).

Don't get me wrong, I don't have any bad blood against the franchise, it just seems like everything is the same thing even for such a long-running franchise. I generally get the feeling that when I've played one game I've practically played them all anyway, and it wouldn't surprise me if I wasn't far off the mark. It's just one example of a franchise I wish would grow the nerve to just grow up already and make something genuinely new - naturally, knowing what fans are like I expect to get shouted up just for saying that, though. I've been curious about the RPG-ish series that's been established a little more recently though, but I really can't make a decision when opinions are so damn mixed over them.

There are two reasons why the opinions over Battle Network are so mixed, one is that they took a franchise that previously didn't make you go looking for the next level into one with equal parts looking for the next level. Personally, I think they're pretty terrible because I find the characters to be fairly unlikable. The gameplay is decent, but it requires a bunch of what amounts to deck arranging in order to make your character effective, and a bit of luck, but I find it kind of dull. I wouldn't be surprised if the first Battle Network had nothing to do with Megaman when it was concieved, and they just slapped the name on to capitalize on it's popularity. This series has a bit in common with Legends in that neither one is at all related to the classic series in terms of plot. The Megaman in Legends is named after Megaman the video game. Legends has the distinction of actually having characters that aren't all walking character tropes.

There was also Command Mission, but there's no way your going to convince me that that game was anything but "Let's put Megaman X into a JRPG!"

[Leon K Fox]

I've never really been a Mega Man fan, the classics were okay but really friggin' hard (call me a wuss or whatever, blah blah blah) and all the games after that were a drop in quality even from them.

[Candescence]

Sure, Mega Man has lots of sequels that, within their own sub-series, don't tend to make drastic leaps, but the last time there was a drastic leap within a sub-series was, well, X7. We all know that sucked. X8 took a step back and just had 2D gameplay with 3D graphics. So I'd rather let Capcom do it as they do it now, rather than see another bomb like X7. So stop complaining, dammit.

My favourite "main" Mega Man series, honestly, is the ZX series, ZXA especially (my fave female character in MM is Ashe). However, my favourite male Mega Man character happens to be Bass. Perhaps that's because Mega Man 7 was my first Mega Man game.

Still, I reckon the only actually bad games in the series were X6, X7, EXE 4 and 5, and... I swear I'm missing something. Oh, well.

There was also Command Mission, but there's no way your going to convince me that that game was anything but "Let's put Megaman X into a JRPG!"

If you hate JRPGs, then don't play it, but I actually liked Command Mission, thank you very much - in fact, it's not quite a cookie-cutter JRPG, considering the battle system.

[Crystal Kingfisher]

I love the original and MMX games (X1-6 anyway), but I cannot STAND the Battle Network or Starforce games. I hate those so much.

[ovarloard]

I never really got into any of the Megaman games simply because the first few were too hard for me, and that pushed me away from the rest of the series.

[Joseppi]

Maga Man is far from washed up. If Sonic Team took a page from Capcom's book, they could really revitalize the series. Mega Man sticks to the original format but keeps it interesting. I know there are a lot of spin offs, but they still make the old 2D Mega Mans too. Personally, I've always like the Mega Man X series best. When Capcom want to mess with the Mega Man story, they make a new spin off series to do so instead of just coming out with a "sequel" and expecting the fans to take the changes for what they are. (Like Sega did with Sonic Adventure.)

I think the way they made Mega Man: Battle Network a whole alternate reality where computer programs advanced instead of robotics was genius and a nice refreshment to the series.

I really would like to see Sonic do like Mega Man and go back to his roots. Sonic Rush & Rush Adventure were pretty close though. The Sonic Advance games just didn't have that old school Sonic feel to me. I really hated how every level seemed to have a huge bottomless pit underneath it. The old Sonics didn't have that shit in every level.

[MizukiMoon]

*copies and pastes a post I made about the Mega Man games back in May, but makes changes to it*

I've only recently gotten into the Mega Man series, and I can honestly say they're the hardest games I've ever played in my life!

I recently downloaded Mega Man 1, 2, 3 and 4 on an emulator, I've played pretty much every level so far, and I've yet to complete a level in Mega Man 1, 3 and 4. They're just too hard! At least MM2's slightly easier, I've managed to complete 4 levels so far! Which is a big achievement for a rubbish gamer like me. I like them though, they're very addictive games, I keep wanting to go back for more, even though I suck at them. XD

To me, the best thing about Mega Man games is the music, it's those catchy tunes which keep me playing. I've never heard such great songs before, I pretty much like EVERY Mega Man song, to me Mega Man music could easily rival the music found in the old 2D Sonic games, and that's really saying something. I listen to it pretty much non stop on YouTube. XD Mega Man 2's Dr. Wily's Castle and Mega Man 3's stage select are easy among the best songs in video game history (along with many others, especially classic Sonic songs).

[Frobman]

I find the Megaman games to be enjoyable, but I'm not really good in the classic games! Sure, you could say I just suck at them. Truthfully, I do! Took me a long time to get to the Wily stages on MM9, but I haven't really advanced through it just yet.

Still wonder if I should bother with most other spin-offs. MMX and BT2-4 were all alright when I tried them. Haven't really played many Megaman games.

[Scorch]

The only two Mega Man series that I find to be enjoyable are the Classic and X series. I consider anything after that to be garbage.

[Eternal EX]

I'm mad there is already a Megaman topic RIGHT HERE! I mean can't we just merge them and keep going? But anyways from my opening post from my old topic....

That kinda died off (my opnion) since the 90's and early 00's. Man did I enjoy these games. MM 2,3 & 8, X4-6 and even some of his shows. (80-90's version owned.) And this guys went threw soo many apperance changes is crazy. Original, X, NT, XZ, and now his current look (whatever that is now).

Edited July 7, 2009 by The 360©

[kchrules]

I liked MM 1-8 a lot. I played them relentlessly on the Anniversary Collection. When MM9 came along I had to get it. When I played it I died about 50 times but it was still fun.

X 1-6 were great but I felt 6 was a bit rushed. My favorite was X 3. I haven't played X7 or 8 so I don't have anything to say about those. The Battle Network Series is absolutely terrible. I only have fun Playing BN 2. I HAD 6 but sold it because it wasn't fun.

The Zero series are awesome and kinda hard sometimes. I still haven't beat 2. I love them and I play them a lot. Mega man and bass is the toughest though IMO. I'm not even gonna bother with Star Force.

Mega man legends/Megaman 64 1 was a fun game and although I never played 2 I would gladly buy a 3rd.

[Crystal Kingfisher]

The only two Mega Man series that I find to be enjoyable are the Classic and X series. I consider anything after that to be garbage.

Exactly. The only new MM series I like is Zero, I cannot stand Battle Network or Starforce. The only Battle Network game I liked was Network Transmission on the Gamecube, because it plays like the classic and X series.

[Big Boss (legendsneverdie)]

A topic devoted to talking about the greater Megaman franchise, I took a brief look at the forums and couldn't find anything MM related exept for a Megaman Ledgends 3 topic, so i'm not sure if we have anything like this already.

[Scott]

I've ony ever played Megaman 9 & 10 in my lifetime, both fun games, never completed Wiley's castle in 9 though, I also have the first issue of Archie's Megaman comic xD

[Rabid-Noodles]

Gotta love Mega Man, i'm a fan of the series.

Gonna get the first image in..... I commissioned Tracy Yardley to draw Mega Man, Proto Man and Bass, for those who wanna see it. :3

But yeah, wouldn't mind seeing Yardleys work in the comic, though hes probably too busy with SU and STH.

Edited November 7, 2011 by Rabid-Noodles

[Solkia]

RIP Megaman, you were awesome while you were still around :<

[JezMM]

Well, firstly, here's something everyone should watch:

(NSFW language)

Me, I only played Mega Man 2, 9 and 10. Tried 3 but got bored. 2 was great, 9 was way too hard for me, only beat it once, never again. 10 I loved due to the Easy Mode (though it was just a touch TOO easy - normal was too hard for me though).

Edited November 6, 2011 by JezMM