Mega Man has definitely worn out his welcome. I don’t care how good the gameplay is – it’s been done to death. It’s like releasing the game of checkers over and over with different colored game pieces.
New level designs do not a new game make. Although the graphics and the gameplay are among the best on the GBA, they’ve all been borrowed from past Mega Man releases. It’s just not fair to kids to waste their money on the same old thing. If you’re a big Mega Man fanatic you’re not going to listen to anything I say anyway so go ahead and waste your money. The rest of you smart folks out there can take my advice and rent this one if you must. It’s short on replay value as well so it’s going to spend a lot of time in your closet when you complete it.
Novices out there should take note that this is the most accessible Mega Man game to date. You may have heard some of the hardcore gamers talk about how tough this series is. Not to worry. There’s an Easy mode that lets you tackle this game like it was an early 80s arcade game. The Normal mode is also easier, at least at first. It gets more difficult in the middle but by then you should have acquired some decent skills.
As the story begins Zero learns that Neo Arcadia is coming apart at the seams. The humans and the reploids are at odds with each other causing confusions and chaos throughout the land. Zero takes the initiative to restore peace to this troubled world but to do so he will face numerous obstacles, enemies and bosses.
As far as moves are concerned, the Zero sword slash is still my favorite. A new move called the Knuckle lets you steal an enemy’s move and use it against them. It’s a little bit awkward to use but it’s worth a try to see if you have any use for it.
The cyber elves are back but this time they play more of a bit part which is good to see. They help create programs that you can use in cyber space to foil your enemies. Collecting items in the various levels will increase the strength of your computer chips which you can use as power-ups. These features all work well but they’ve worked well in the last couple of games. I need more new elements in this series. It’s just getting old.
Mega Man looks good and sounds good, but that was never a problem. What it needs is a gameplay overhaul. If it doesn’t go in a new direction, I will.