Mega Man Miscellanies

[Leandro]

Did the flying boss of King 2 give you hell like everyone else?

Yes, I had to retry a dozen of times using Mega... It was not because of the fists however, what pissed me off were the flashlights and the fact they made it difficult to avoid them and also difficult to get the weapon energy power ups. I was falling like a moron by either being blinded or trying to get the weapon energy powerup. Turned out my successful strategy was just spam bolts until Mega runs out of energy, then equip the damage absorb item, let myself get hit by the fists until near death, then equip the counter item and spam more bolts, lol.
Btw, I used the counter item a lot during my Megaman run... I never had so many comebacks against bosses in a Megaman game, that's one aspect of the game that I loved.

I just finished playing with Forte, I zipped through the game with him. He is indeed more fun to play, double jump is great to have in this game, and the multidirectional shot lets you snipe enemies from safe positions sometimes. King 2 flying boss was so much easier, I just held down fire and kept jumping, that was it. I got very lucky in Willy's castle though, entered it with 4 lives, and defeated Willy on my last life and last life energy bar, hehe. Amazing game.

[ST Dragon]

Just tried that, but it's still not full screen.
It's a bit annoying looking at the desktop background on the sides around the window.

Well... you could make your background black, put your shortcut icons behind the game window, hide your taskbar, drag the game window to the top of the screen to hide the toolbar. Lastly, go to appearance settings and reduce border padding to 0. Et voila!

Thanks!
I never thought of that actually!

Now if I could only play this with my joypad it would be so cool, as it only works with keyboard keys.

[Mortificator]

Try Xpadder (versions 5.3 and earlier are freeware) or Pinnacle Game Profiler.

Mega Man and Bass on the GBA is a poor substitue for the original SFC version.

So true.

[szycag]

I like the GBA Mega Man and Bass better, if just for the better music alone. It's the one I played first and when I finally played it, the SFC one felt like a step back in some ways.

[njiska]

I like the GBA Mega Man and Bass better, if just for the better music alone. It's the one I played first and when I finally played it, the SFC one felt like a step back in some ways.

I'll agree the GBA version has very good music, but the screen-size limitations keeps a lot of key information hidden. Things like spikes or the parts of a mid-boss you actually need to destroy. There's also the lack of a dash button for Bass. The gameplay just isn't as good due to hardware limitations and for me that takes priority over music.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

There's also the lack of a dash button for Bass. The gameplay just isn't as good due to hardware limitations and for me that takes priority over music.

This is a good thing in my eyes since Bass is so broken he could really use a handicap anyway. Though being blind to potential offscreen hazards doesn't seem to hinder his double jump...

[njiska]

There's also the lack of a dash button for Bass. The gameplay just isn't as good due to hardware limitations and for me that takes priority over music.

This is a good thing in my eyes since Bass is so broken he could really use a handicap anyway. Though being blind to potential offscreen hazards doesn't seem to hinder his double jump...

No, but it hinders Mega Man something awful if you don't the stage layout. As for the dash button, you can still dash with a double tap of left/right so it's not much of a hindrance in that regard as opposed to just being a player annoyance.

[Leandro]

I never use the dash button... I'm so used to beat'em and fighting games, double tap is like second nature, don't see how it would be a handicap

[njiska]

Finally got around to finishing X5 today. Have to say I was kind of disappointed. I like the whole laser/shuttle time-limit mechanic, but some of the stages were just bad. Duff McWhalen's was just plain awful and took way to long to get through. The increased health bars for the boss rush were also lame. It just seemed like the fights were artificially extended rather than being legitimately harder. Longer is not better. I'd have liked it if they had just given them some extra attacks instead.

This is probably a low point for me in the X series. At least until tomorrow when I start X6.

[undamned]

This is probably a low point for me in the X series. At least until tomorrow when I start X6.

I hear X7 is absolute rubbish, so you might want to reserve a spot for that
-ud

[njiska]

This is probably a low point for me in the X series. At least until tomorrow when I start X6.

I hear X7 is absolute rubbish, so you might want to reserve a spot for that
-ud

Oh don't worry, I'm dreading X7 as well. Though i hear ok things about X8.

[ryu]

X8 is mediocre to bad

[Mortificator]

X7 is more fun when you start a new game from a fully completed save. You'll have X from the beginning, and with all the characters' abilities already maxed out, rescuing Reploids isn't as important. There will only be three a stage worth your while, and it's not a big deal if even they die.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

X8 is mediocre to bad

X8 was decent, but I do disagree with the unreal praise it gets. I'd certainly rate it a cut above X2 and X5. Plus it has a boss named "Bamboo Pandamonium". That is completely priceless.

[njiska]

Thoughts on X6 so far:

- Why do I have to take a blind leap of faith and hope I don't land on spikes in Commander Yammark's stage? The camera should slide down one notch, but it doesn't until you jump.

- Why were the designer's of Infinity Mijion's stage such dicks? Giant shooting robot + those fucking strafing birds + nightmare creatures with small hit boxes = a lot of lost lives and swearing. I'm not one to complain about a challenge, but this seems to be just straight dickish. Not fun at all. The vertical ropes in the alternate path section were not fun either. I found I had to jump and then dash towards them to gurantee I grabbed them. Just jumping and holding up often resulted in me getting to the rope and then falling flat. I don't remember this kind of grab being an issue in X5

- Why does Shield Sheldon deal so much damage on a hit? I'm not complaining about this one as it makes for a challenging (not dickish) battle. I'm just surprised because it feels like a lot more damage than other Mavericks or even Nightmare Zero were dealing.

Overall I've found stage design to be extremely lacking. The music has been good and I like the Maverick designs, but dear god have the levels been a chore.

Edit: Currently I'm stuck in the Museum because the game is giving me random sections with jumps I do not appear to be able to traverse with the Falcon Armour. Thanks game.

AND I JUST RAGE QUIT ON THE MUSEUM. That last totem pole is complete bullshit. This is easily one of the worst games I have played in ages.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

And if the old trends continue, you'll either think X8 is a godsend after the tragedy of the previous 3 games or disown every single one after X5 like Inafune commands. Am I seriously the only one who finds X6 way more forgiving than MM&B without Bass? my skills seem to be in all the wrong places...

[njiska]

And if the old trends continue, you'll either think X8 is a godsend after the tragedy of the previous 3 games or disown every single one after X5 like Inafune commands. Am I seriously the only one who finds X6 way more forgiving than MM&B without Bass? my skills seem to be in all the wrong places...

You must be. I found Mega Man's play through in MM&B to be frustrating at times, but you could always make it through. In the end I appreciated the difficulty. X6 is pissing me off because you can actually hit a point where you cannot continue of you didn't bring the right armour, or in the case of the museum, the game gives you a random section with an uncrossable gap for the equipment you have.

[Leandro]

I'm one of the very few who loves X6, it's my second favorite in the X series behind X3... Maybe because first time I've played I found all parts of the Shadow armor on my own and got amazed at how good looking and useful the armour was. Proceeded to beat the game with it. Second time around played with Black Zero and it was much easier, he has one move though that leads to his own death quite a few times in the game.
MM&Bass with Mega is definitely easier than X6 overall

And I agree that X5 is one of the worst.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Okay yeah, in the sense of pure trial and error MM&B is a lot more forgiving, but I found X6 had a much lower bar for execution since you're not limited to 28 bars of life and you get a weapon recharge after every death. I also find X's armors/upgrades are a lot more helpful then what Mega Man can buy from Auto since I can't even remember what he gets.

Also, hooray for finally not being alone on X6. ;_;

[Mortificator]

I also really liked X6. I died a lot in the Weapon Center when I first played, but after some practice it became one of my favorite stages. I don't think I'll ever learn to like the Recycle Lab, though.

you can actually hit a point where you cannot continue of you didn't bring the

... magnet beam? And yet you rated the original Mega Man as the best in the classic series. Mega Man 2 did that kind of thing as well, with sections that were unclearable without enough energy for certain weapons you had no way of knowing would be essential.

I only remembered the Secret Lab being unclearable by certain armors (unless they had Jumper and Hyper Dash equipped), though, not any of the Investigator stages. It is kind of lame to pull something like that before the final areas of the game.

[njiska]

you can actually hit a point where you cannot continue of you didn't bring the

... magnet beam? And yet you rated the original Mega Man as the best in the classic series. Mega Man 2 did that kind of thing as well, with sections that were unclearable without enough energy for certain weapons you had no way of knowing would be essential.

I only remembered the Secret Lab being unclearable by certain armors (unless they had Jumper and Hyper Dash equipped), though, not any of the Investigator stages. It is kind of lame to pull something like that before the final areas of the game.

I'll admit not getting the magnet beam is an issue, but at least the beam is in plain sight in Elec Man's stage and it tries to draw you to it. If you miss it, at least you have some idea that you missed it. I'm pretty sure the game's manual even tells you that it's in the middle of Elec Man's stage.

Now let's look at X6. Make it to the castle stage and there are jumps you cannot complete without either Zero, the Blade Armour or the Jumper part. These are all hidden, can be missed and in the case of the part, may be lost forever. Yes you can go back to the stages to find the parts of the blade armour, but they are hidden and to my knowledge the game and manual do not tell you where to look for them. Without a FAQ this issue is way, way worse than the magnet beam.

Then we take a look at the central museum, another area with uncrossable gaps and worse still, they're random. It's entirely possible to go through the stage and get generated stages that are easily crossable. It's also possible to play the stage, complete a random section, die at the totem pole and then when you continue get stuck with an uncrossable section where you have to die. You can keep continuing, but it's the luck of the draw on whether or not you'll be able to clear it. I had 6 random sections back-to-back with uncrossable gaps. Yes I can go looking for the armour or parts, but for the order I'm playing I want to take this guy out next. Worse still, it's completely possible to take him out now, if I could only get a bit of luck and get a section I can cross. This is the part that really pisses me off.

At the end of the day it's just plain bad design. Regardless of whether you find it to be a problem or not.

[njiska]

It's taken me a month to get a hold of the games, but i've finally finished my X8 marathon. X6 is still my least favourite of the bunch as it's just annoying to play and I really don't care for the requirement of hidden items to get past the first castle stage. I replayed the game on easy with the Ultimate Armour to get the third ending and was surprised that it was actually harder to complete than normal. Specifically it's damn near impossible to get the last part of the Shadow Armour because there isn't an enemy there to give you temporary invincibility. If I didn't have the Ultimate Armour I'd have had no way to get the jumper part without getting that last shadow armour part.

X7 was equally bad and whoever decided than the X series needed to go 3D should have been shot. The gameplay is painfully slow, the combat is incredibly stiff and camera sucks. The battle with Red was a particularly annoying boss fight that reminded me way too much of Dracula from Akumajo Dracula XX. Axl was an interesting addition, but his copy ability was pretty useless and once I unlocked X he fell to the side. The only reason I place this game above X6 is because it was doomed to failure the moment it went 3D. X6 has no excuse.

X8 really surprised me. It's fast, fluid and Axl has been boosted to an incredibly fun character to play. His copy ability is still largely useless, but his auto-fire pistol basically makes him the Bass of the X series. I enjoyed hunting for rare metals, but I do with that there was a better way to mark the buried ones that require Earthrock Trilobyte's ability. That said the game is not without its flaws. The city chase with Gigavolt Man-o-war was really frustrating, especially on hard. Same goes for Avalanche Yeti and the speeder bike jumps. It's not a great game, but it really was a decent attempt at making a 2.5D X series entry.

Final List:

Top Tier - Mega Man X/Mega Man X4
Solid - Mega Man X8
Average - Mega Man X2/Mega Man X3/Mega Man X5
Failures - Mega Man X6/Mega Man X7

Now to finish the Zero series.

[Kaiser]

Oddly knowing Megaman is gone for good in game format (Sadly), I decided to go play the games I missed out on and I agree with you njiska that X8 does pack a solid punch, while X4 is top-tier, final boss is frustrating, actually the hardest final boss in X series for me (didn't play X7, I pretend that one didn't happen).

Basically, the only megaman games I missed out are battle network and star force games. I do realise that while they are not platformers, they have their share of awesome (especially in soundtrack department). I beat BN1 years ago, now i'm playing BN2 and surprisingly i'm addicted to that game. I'll skip Battle Network 4, it's the worst entry in the EXE universe for a variety of reasons, crap gameplay, tons of copy&paste, lame story and lame final boss. So i'm gonna play through them all but BN4 before I say I completed all the Megaman games I wanted to beat. Once I'll progress in BN2, i'll leave more impressions on here.

[Casper<3]

Oddly knowing Megaman is gone for good in game format (Sadly), I decided to go play the games I missed out on and I agree with you njiska that X8 does pack a solid punch, while X4 is top-tier, final boss is frustrating, actually the hardest final boss in X series for me (didn't play X7, I pretend that one didn't happen).

Basically, the only megaman games I missed out are battle network and star force games. I do realise that while they are not platformers, they have their share of awesome (especially in soundtrack department). I beat BN1 years ago, now i'm playing BN2 and surprisingly i'm addicted to that game. I'll skip Battle Network 4, it's the worst entry in the EXE universe for a variety of reasons, crap gameplay, tons of copy&paste, lame story and lame final boss. So i'm gonna play through them all but BN4 before I say I completed all the Megaman games I wanted to beat. Once I'll progress in BN2, i'll leave more impressions on here.

What do you mean Megaman is gone for good in game format? I believe both MM9 and MM10 were highly successful.

[Moniker]

What do you mean Megaman is gone for good in game format? I believe both MM9 and MM10 were highly successful.

I think he means since Inafune left Capcom. Although I recall reading that Capcom has said they're still committed to the franchise. There was some speculation about WayForward developing a game in the future.

[Estebang]

Come on, this is Capcom we're talking about, who decided the million-plus selling US release of Monster Hunter Tri wasn't successful enough for them to consider localizing any more of the series. They're trying to compete with the likes of Activision-Blizzard and EA now, not Atlus and XSeed. If it doesn't have to do with zombies, hadoukens or Smurfs, they don't give a shit anymore. Also, I heard Rockman 10 sold significantly worse than 9.

The Rockman franchise is finished, aside from the occasional cameo, smartphone port or Korean MMO. Tron in MvC3 was the final insult. I remember reading that someone from Capcom Japan said there's no point in continuing with the Rockman character any further, because Frank West is more popular now. I've sworn off new Capcom games since the cancellation of DASH 3, so I at least don't have to feel bad about supporting such a company anymore.

Although I recall reading that Capcom has said they're still committed to the franchise.

Damage control BS. What does "committed" even mean here?

[Zaarock]

Continuing this from what [not shmup] game are you playing now thread;

Played through Megaman Zero 2, 3 and 4 on emulator in the last couple of days. (got to one of the last stages on 1 a long time ago, didn't feel like replaying). Somehow managed to beat the last boss of 4 without any hits which was cool. I think 4 was the hardest and certainly hard if you were abusing cyber elves in the previous games.

What is generally considered the best of the series? they all seem pretty equal but 2 might be my favorite (best soundtrack IMO as well). 4 nails the cyber elf system IMO but the parts making system from rare drops is stupid. None of them come off as excellent games for me but they're certainly all good.

Guess I better play the ZX games at some point.

Almost done with Zero 1 now. Was pretty humiliating to get stuck on aztec falcon for a bit after beating 2-4 he is a very hard first boss though. I think 2 is is my favorite still, with 3 second. Can't think of anything bad with 4 apart from the item making system though.

[Moniker]

Although I recall reading that Capcom has said they're still committed to the franchise.

Damage control BS. What does "committed" even mean here?

Possibly. Though I imagine if they made an X9 people would come running begging Capcom to take their money. The franchise is too well-established in gaming history for it to be abandoned forever. Maybe that's wishful thinking. Sonic has been running on far more meager fumes for a lot longer.

Anyone know how well the Zero Collection sold? That came out after MM10.

[Moniker]

Almost done with Zero 1 now. Was pretty humiliating to get stuck on aztec falcon for a bit after beating 2-4 he is a very hard first boss though. I think 2 is is my favorite still, with 3 second. Can't think of anything bad with 4 apart from the item making system though.

Aztec Falcon was by far the biggest hurdle in the series for me too. (He's the one with the spinning staff and zombies, right?)

I agree 2 & 3 were best; I'd be hard-pressed to choose one over the other. I started a S-rank game on 3 and completely forgot about it. Need to get back to it.

[Zaarock]

Almost done with Zero 1 now. Was pretty humiliating to get stuck on aztec falcon for a bit after beating 2-4 he is a very hard first boss though. I think 2 is is my favorite still, with 3 second. Can't think of anything bad with 4 apart from the item making system though.

Aztec Falcon was by far the biggest hurdle in the series for me too. (He's the one with the spinning staff and zombies, right?)

Nah, aztec is the boss of the first mission. Anubis was pretty easy for me since I had the charge slash by then.