Favorite Mega Man SNES game

[KimagureMachibuse]

What is your favoritr Mega Man game on the SNES and why?

[Sima Tuna]

Mega Man X because it's Mega Man X. In my opinion, the gulf in quality between X1 and all the other X games is insurmountable. X also has the best music, if not arguably the best SNES soundtrack generally. Although it will have to fight for that position with Illusion of Gaia, Chrono Trigger, FF6 and Secret of Mana.

The later X games added a lot of stuff, but imo most of it was pointless. If not an outright downgrade, like the nightmare levels. Mega Man X got everything right the first time. It wasn't until MM Zero (or maybe X4 Zero) that the gameplay of mainline Mega Man would start to evolve again. My only criticism of X1 is they couldn't start you with the dash. So every run begins at Chill Penguin as a result.

Pointless ramble about MM gameplay:

Spoiler

If I were to explain how the mega man gameplay developed from humble origins to the powerhouse of graceful action combat we know now, I would do so by citing specific games:

mega man 1 -> basic concept, level progression
mega man 2 -> controls no longer shit
mega man 3 -> slide added
mega man 4 -> charge shot added

And then MM5-8 would be omitted because they didn't evolve the formula. Capcom gonna be Capcom.

X1 -> slide and slide jump added + collectable upgrades on each level

Then omit X2, X3.

X4 -> multiple characters, Zero's saber combat (integration of melee into dash, dash jump, etc), Zero gains special moves

X5, X6, X7, X8 get skipped because fuck them.

Zero -> equip weaponry, more weapons than buster and saber, elemental attacks, cyber elves
Zero 3 -> satellite cyber elves which allow you to further modify your character/"build"

Zero 4 is fun but doesn't advance the design.

ZX -> full metroidvania, armors essentially allow character switching instantly

[Sturmvogel Prime]

If I had to choice a favorite SNES Megaman game is definitely Megaman X, which basically broke with the classic aspects of Megaman's gameplay mechanics.

[Sumez]

I like classic Mega Man over X, but none of the classic series on the SNES are any good. Very easy choice.

[HELLEPHANT]

Mega Man x2. I know x is the golden child but I just find that game dull. The levels feel dry and most of the bosses are boring with too many spamming invincible states, the final boss especially is miserable to fight.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

And then MM5-8 would be omitted because they didn't evolve the formula.

One thing MM5 does do is revise the Charge Shot so that it's wider and hits enemies normally too low on the ground to connect with. I'm not sure it's necessarily better or worse than MM4's tighter precision charge shot... but it's certainly a thing. MM5's weapons are among the worst in the series though. Lots of questionable weapons in the game compared to basically every other NES entry. The fact that Charge Kick doesn't let you also use the normal buster and simply disables the B button is incredibly dumb. Almost as dumb as MMX1 forcing you to do Chill Penguin 1st each time for the dash.

I really like MMX3's chip system that allows you to pick a specific upgrade. Sadly, once you realize you can get all 4 of them at once, that kinda goes out the window. I prefer MMX3 on the PS1/Windows port though, the instrumentation on the SNES isn't my cup of tea for MMX3 and the anime cutscenes are a nice addition.

MMX2 is a really solid game and perhaps my fave of the bunch now.

MMX1 is fun (the pink charge shot with the close range burst that hits behind you is amusing) but not starting with the dash is quite annoying given many bosses feel like they expect you to have it. The 8 robot bosses are also too easy if you have their appropriate weapon as many can be cheesed badly with them. Chameleon Sting's ability to just make yourself invulnerable whenever once you get the arm upgrade is also rather silly.

[Austin]

The 8 robot bosses are also too easy if you have their appropriate weapon as many can be cheesed badly with them. Chameleon Sting's ability to just make yourself invulnerable whenever once you get the arm upgrade is also rather silly.

That's the beauty of Mega Man X though. There are so many different ways to play it. You can absolutely annihilate the game by abusing exploits and OP sub-weapons, but the game also gives you the freedom to do the opposite (i.e., go buster only, try to do the first seven mavericks without dash boots, etc).

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I don't know if I'd call it an exploit given Chameleon Sting's full charge upgrade works as intended. It's just straight-up overpowered, but yes, MMX does give you a wide latitude between choosing whether or not to use all the powerful tools at your disposal.

Disregarding the boss weapons is fine and all and does spice things up, but my complaint is more that early NES era bosses at least retain some challenge even with their appropriate weapons (Guts Man, Air Man, Quick Man, Crystal Man). The problem was that the SNES era introduced special animations where bosses would be interrupted out of an attack and you could cancel whatever they were doing by using their weakness. MMX2 and 3 are a bit less abusable in my opinion and have some bosses that still put up a decent fight with their weakness compared to MMX1.

Is playing without upgrades even fun? Getting the dash boots last would be a pain I think, some bosses feel like you can't avoid their damage without the dash boots. Storm Eagle's diagonal dive attack and Flame Mammoth's jump attacks both come to mind, I have flashbacks to when I didn't know Chill Penguin was the one to do first. I've not tried to do this deliberately since, because the game design feels very much like you were expected to have Dash Boots (that's the problem with making an integral part of your mobility an optional upgrade to stumble on, it's impossible to balance the level design).

The later games add air dashing and multi air dashing, but it feels more like a natural upgrade that doesn't kill game balance compared to MMX1 where it's like a core game mechanic is denied to you until you stumble on it.

[Sengoku Strider]

I own the SFC carts of all of them except Rockman & Bass, and X3 which I own on Saturn - but from what I understand they're pretty much the exact same game. Of those the best one is X, but TBH I liked the PSP remake Maverick Hunter X much more. I played that game and Powered Up (the remake of MM1) to death, and would consider it the definitive version. Though as I was discussing in another thread recently, I discovered MMX4 on Saturn, and that game is so damn awesome it casts a bit of a shadow over all the 16-bit titles in my mind.

[To Far Away Times]

The original Megaman X is going to run away with it, as it should. Rockman and Forte and X2 are really good too.

X3 and Megaman 7 are okay-ish. Their just sorta there since they're bookended by better games.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

all right, which one of you voted for the soccer game, fess up

Does Mega Man V count as one of the SNES games? It has Super Game Boy support. :3

[BrianC]

X and X2 are my favorites. I also like 7, but it's not as good as the X games or the better NES and GB Mega Man games. One thing I like about Mega Man Xtreme is that it lets you do the MMX intro stage with the dash ability.

[Sima Tuna]

And then MM5-8 would be omitted because they didn't evolve the formula.

One thing MM5 does do is revise the Charge Shot so that it's wider and hits enemies normally too low on the ground to connect with. I'm not sure it's necessarily better or worse than MM4's tighter precision charge shot... but it's certainly a thing. MM5's weapons are among the worst in the series though. Lots of questionable weapons in the game compared to basically every other NES entry.

As much as I like MM5, it's the definition of an unnecessary sequel. MM4 was already starting to feel like a stale retread of series concepts, but at least it did add the charge shot. MM5's charge shot is mindless and busted. Because it hits all enemy types (crouched/small or not), deals high damage and usually isn't resisted, MM5 becomes a game of "hold down your b button for the entire run." MM5's weapons are also very situational. Crystal Eye can be okay as an alternative charged buster shot for up-close spamming, but most of the other abilities drain too quickly or are nearly useless.

MM6 added armors, but again, I'm not sure if I consider this a plus at all. Because the armor system led to MMX5 and MMX6's implementation of armor, which seriously hampered the fun factor. The armors in MM6 are kinda fun but they don't add much (partly because of limitations to the NES hardware and single-screen scroll design). Jet would be amazing if the game was less reliant on always holding a charge. Punch is very strong but "more broken charge shot" isn't something I want to see in MM games. I prefer the way Zero handled the charge shot. It's something you can hold while also dashing, jumping, spinning around, slashing etc, and then maybe it will be useful to clear some mobs out in between slashing motherfuckers. But you don't have to rely on it.

That's a long way of saying I think overpowered charge shots in MM games are a step down from a more balanced approach. Charge should be better than a standard shot but it shouldn't be an unstoppable juggernaut that pisses all over special weapons.

Does Mega Man V count as one of the SNES games? It has Super Game Boy support. :3

Mega Man V is pretty fucking cool.

[it290]

I really like RM&F! I know the game has its detractors, and the complaints are not unwarranted, but to me it's exactly what a 16-bit Mega Man game should be. The classic series just has so much more personality in my opinion, and it's fully embodied here through the animation, Robot Masters, and music. The game really is a complete package with all the extras in terms of SNES games too. It easily goes toe to toe with MM8, which also has its detractors, but it's damn impressive for a SFC game and really fun to boot.

[Sumez]

As much as I like MM5, it's the definition of an unnecessary sequel. MM4 was already starting to feel like a stale retread of series concepts, but at least it did add the charge shot.

Probably starting to repeat myself across the 10 different threads we've had this discussion, but I'm generally not a fan of this superficial way of looking at the qualities of Mega Man games. They don't need to reinvent themselves, and never did. It partly made sense at the time, like I can see reviewers having a hard time advertising the pull of a game that's essentially the same basic concept for the fourth time over - but even then, looking at it that way is still superficial.
And as a result, the general public tends to only look at the first three Mega Man games when talking about the NES series, as those were the games that most strongly demonstrated an active evolution of the series. Hell, a lot of people stop counting already at 2, sadly ignoring the rest.

But given that, for all their merits, the first two games are also the only ones in the series that can come across as somewhat antiquated in a few aspects. The crux of the series is how playing through the stages feel, and at least to some extent how satisfying the boss fights are. And as the series went on, the developers would get a really strong hold on that, with the level design having a generally really strong flow, balance and variation between them, getting better at eschewing some of the more frustrating elements (such as yoku blocks) as the series went on. On the NES, that is.

I don't even like the charge shot. If you wanna talk about things that held back the X series, originating in the classic one, the charge shot absolutely takes the cake. I don't know anyone who thinks it's fun to hold down the shot button constantly while you are performing other platforming acrobatics, just so you have a strong damage output for the next foe you come across.
But despite this, I absolutely consider MM4 the most fun out of a series of six classic games which are all very good games. Considering, yes, these are all games that very strictly follow the exact same basic structure, I think it's actually very admirable that the series never did manage to go stale across the six games on the NES.

And even looking at the faults of some later entries, going stale wasn't their issue either.

[XoPachi]

I'm one of the weird people who love X3 the most. It's got some very weird issues and was the start of Mega Man X getting really cryptic with it's upgrades, but I like it a lot. Shame it ended up being the last in the X series I could stomach.

X1 I like a lot, but when you play it once, especially 30 years after it's launch and everyone knows everything about it, it can be exhausting starting new playthroughs. I don't like how routes are essentially dictated because the dash boots are put in Penguin's stage instead of the intro stage or just given to you from the start like the slide was in Mega Man 3. I just don't agree with that design decision. It's my only real gripe with X 1 but it became obnoxious anytime I wanted to play the game again *knowing* how it wants to be played. I think X 2 is the best of the SNES trilogy, but personally X 3's got an appeal I like more.

[tacoguy64]

Megaman X for me, that game had it all and I feel they nailed it their first time around. The way you get the armor, and the utility of it was great in its implementation. Can't forget about the rocking soundtrack and its graphics. 7 is my next one. It's such a good looking game and the music is great too, just like in every mega man. The jump from NES to SNES was a great benefit in multiple ways. I still enjoyed M&B, X2, and X3 but I don't go back to those as often.