November 7, 2006

Megaman 2

Posted in Uncategorized at 1:18 am by asinisimasa

Current Status: Not on the virtual console

There is no denying that this title was a major success. It has not reached the same status outside of the gaming world as Super Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong, but it sold fantastically and spearheaded the popularity of one longest standing gaming franchises in history.

Megaman 2 played much like its predecessor, and quite frankly, much like its four NES sequels. The player commands a cyborg created to fight against the evil robot armies of Dr. Wily. Led by his creator (and former partner of the once benevolent Wily) , Megaman must defeat eight humanoid robot bosses, each of which stands waiting behind a legion of robotic guards. When a boss is vanquished, Megaman absorbs his power and can utilize his weaponry down the line. This is the unique calling card of the Megaman series: the power of one enemy is invariably the weakness of another and completing the game is only a matter of discovering the pattern.

As is true with all of the games I have reviewed so far, the music in this game makes it stand out. The series is respected for the soundtracks it has produced, but this one is the best (IMO) of them all.

Recommendation: The problem with putting a Megaman game on the virtual console is choosing which one to use. There are many great games in this mix, but listing several would have them compete. On top of that, many modern iterations of the game would probably keep this particular version from selling. Furthermore, a Megaman anniversary collection was released for several consoles only a few years ago and that package contains a full ten games, including the one under question. Used, the collection would probably cost less than $20 itself. Unfortunately, the ease with which one could already get their Megaman fix renders this title nearly useless on the virtual console.

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