Something will happen next Tuesday that hasn’t happened in the gaming world for 8 years, a main line Mega Man game will launch. For me Mega Man 11 is a gaming event that I just can’t wait any longer for. I’ve been desperate to get my hands on Mega Man 11 to review for Grumpy Gaming Dads, but unfortunately will have to wait until October 2nd. One thing I can do though is share with you why Mega Man 2 is not only the best game in the series, but also my favourite game ever.

Gameplay and story

In Mega Man 2 we return as the Blue Bomber to tackle 8 new Robot Masters Metal Man, Air Man, Bubble Man, Heat Man, Quick Man, Crash Man, Flash Man and finally Wood Man. After beating each stage we take on each robot master taking their weapon after their defeat, to carry on our quest to Wily’s Castle. Each stage feels vastly different and has a multitude of enemies and traps relating to its master in charge. As some of you know from my previous article, after defeating Metal Man you receive the Metal Blade, (the first I defeat) to gain a weapon so powerful that it makes the rest of the game a breeze.

As Mega Man blasts away a variety of enemies with his Mega Blaster and assortment of weapons from defeated bosses, we are always welcomed to a new style of level and with it a new challenge. As we make our way from an ocean to a lava filled volcano and even an ice level, because every Platformer has to have an ice level. I mean is it even a Platformer without one? Anyway back to the point. As Mega Man traverses his way across 8 dangerous platforming masterpieces we eventually end up at Dr Wily’s Castle.

Always the most difficult part of any Mega Man game, the final castle is broken down into six different challenging stages. Each requires all the weapons and expertise you have gained to finally face Dr Wily, but as its the 80’s/90’s it wouldn’t be as easy as that. Your final challenge before taking on Dr Wily is defeating all eight Robot Masters again in a single room, one after another. This is no easy feat.

The final showdown is always a good challenge but I always find the 8 robot masters in a row harder. After you finally make Light succumb to your awesome powers, you are greeted with an emotional scene. Mega Man takes his helmet off and leaves it on the ground while the seasons change, until finally Mega Man is gone. Even though there is only music and no dialogue in this part, it always pulls at my heart strings for some reason.

For me the best parts of Mega Man 2 are the incredible level design and the music. Each level feels different and fresh. Wood Man’s stage is one of my favourite but It’s not just a woodland area with trees in the background, like you might think when you first select the stage. As you make your way through the first dozen enemies you work your way underground taking on bat’s, giant robot dogs that breathe fire and a jumping mechanical half bunny half kangaroo. When we do go back above ground we are in the treetops with gorilla’s wanting to pounce on your face and smush it into bird food. Ironically enough the birds know the gorillas plan and drop eggs full of little birds to help peck you while trying to jump across the different platforms. It’s such simple game design but it’s pulled off so well. The level could have just been running past the same backdrop of trees for three minutes before the boss battle, but it’s the adventure you go through to get to the boss that makes Mega Man so special. The feeling of scale from going underground to the tree tops and then back to ground level is just masterfully done for a game on the NES.

It’s not just Wood Man’s stage that has the feeling of depth and scale but every level. Be it descending down a 100 foot maze of platforms while avoiding beams closing in on you, or jumping over a waterfall with crabs raining down, Mega Man 2 makes every stage memorable.

Graphics

The 8 bit limitations of the NES didn’t hold Mega Man 2 back or make it look bleek or dull. In fact Far from it. The colour pallet available on 8 bit carts is fully explored here. From the bright blue of Mega Man’s armour to the lava spewing red and the bright pink dragon, yes there’s a pink dragon and he is an arse if you don’t know how to beat him fast. The colours don’t just make enemies and Mega Man pop, they also help the stages look unique and alive.

As we look back now at 8 and 16 bit games, we are not in shock like the 64 and 3D era that hasn’t aged well at all. With 8 and 16 bit they still hold up and look incredible even in 2018. It’s the simplistic number of pixels on show that don’t dilute the image to a mess of pixels and strange shaped characters like the early 3D era. With Mega Man 2 we are treated to what 8 bit graphics at their best can do. The most incredible thing for me is the scale. With only a limited amount of pixels some games had large characters that took up half the screen and it didn’t suit the game at all. Mega Man is rather small and so too are some of the enemies but we also have some rather large enemies and obstacles that really emphasize the scale while not taking anything away from the well designed world.

Every enemy and boss is just so well designed and animated that sometimes you want to look at them in awe before destroying them with your Mega Blaster. From the simplistic design of Flame Man, basically a lighter with legs to the complicated Wind Man with a turbine/jet engine for a belly. I own the Mega Man 25th anniversary book with over 400 pages of drawings and original designs across the Mega Man series, and its a joy to look at the attention to detail put into every Robot Master in such a limited era like the 8 bit generation.

Sound and Music

As mentioned before my two favorite things about Mega Man 2 are the stages and the music, and oh my the music is just impeccable. From the frantic beats of stage one of Dr Wily’s Castle to the slow methodical beat later into the castle. Every song is masterfully designed and fits perfectly into the world of Mega Man 2. I love the soundtrack that much that I listen to some of the songs when writing or cooking because they are just so goddamn good. Even just writing this makes the hairs on my arms stand on end because the music is just so perfect. The music for stage 1 of Wily’s Castle is one of my favourite pieces of music ever. There’s also a lullaby version of the soundtrack on Spotify that I used to play for my wife when she was pregnant to help her sleep.

The sound design is the perfect blend of enemy noises and blasts that it doesn’t take anything away from the score. The little plip noise as you fire your Buster to the metal sounds of the Metal Blades, it all comes together with the score to make the perfect background to the perfect gameplay.

Summary

Even though I didn’t discover Mega Man until my early 20’s it’s opened my eyes to the master class of gameplay that the Mega Man series is renowned for. From its immaculate platforming gameplay to the beautiful soundtrack, Mega Man 2 is the perfect blend of everything you could want in a game. To this day I still fire the NES or PS4 version of Mega Man 2 up and blast through some levels just for the pure enjoyment it brings. It’s my favourite game of all time because of its wonderful simplistic design but incredible gameplay and soundtrack. I just hope that Mega Man 11 can live up to its grandfather’s legacy.