Review: Mega Man 2
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:After completing a level, you'll be shown a X by Y grid with some dots placed on it. This is a password that you can enter later to resume your game. Some re-releases may also offer save states, which allow you to save your game anywhere. For the curious, the passwords contain everything - including your difficulty option and number of energy tanks - except for the number of lives you have remaining. To pause the game, open your weapon selection menu by pressing START. Time needed per session:Most of the levels can be cleared in about five minutes, but if you want to give yourself more breathing room, plan on fifteen minute sessions or about an hour and a half to complete the entire game.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians Robots fighting each other really doesn't leave much room for issues. |
Screenshots
Screenshots are from the Mega Man Legacy Collection
Game Overview
When the original Mega Man game didn't sell as well as expected, Capcom's leadership was hesitant to green light a sequel. Thankfully, they allowed the team to make the sequel on their own time, and in 1989 they released what many people say is the best game in the franchise. Personally I prefer Mega Man 3 (bugs and all) over this installment, but I don’t think there’s really an objectively right or wrong answer here. They're all very fun.
Unlike the first game, Mega Man 2 opens with a short introduction cutscene that brings players up to date with the game’s story. After his defeat, Dr. Wily laid low and built eight new Robot Masters. This time, instead of being repurposed industrial machines, they were designed specifically for combat - and getting revenge on the pesky blue robot who stopped Wily's initial plans for world domination.
As far as the gameplay goes, the main difference between this title and its predecessor is that this time Capcom wasn’t making an arcade game that people could play at home. This was a proper adventure game with over a dozen levels and rewarding gameplay.
It introduced minibosses, healing items called E-Tanks (or Energy Tanks), three useful support weapons that are automatically awarded when you complete the right stages, a Wily Castle map that shows your progress through the final stages, and the ability to use passwords to save your game for later. All of these features would remain staples of the Mega Man Classic series for years to come.
That's not to say that everything about Mega Man 2 is perfect - there are some things about it that players have historically disliked. The most common complaint is that it offers two difficulty options: "Normal" and "Difficult". Many players feel that these should have been labeled "Easy" and "Normal" instead, and a vocal part of the fanbase has used this feature as an example of Japanese developers treating their American customers like idiots (the Japanese release doesn't have this option).
But, after the unfair difficulty curve in the first game, I think offering an easier setting was a good middle ground. Later games in the series became progressively easier, so it seems Capcom needed a few tries to get the formula right.
As for whether or not I'd recommend this game, the answer is a big yes: this is the game where the Mega Man series found its footing, setting the stage for the entire franchise that followed.
Unlike the first game, Mega Man 2 opens with a short introduction cutscene that brings players up to date with the game’s story. After his defeat, Dr. Wily laid low and built eight new Robot Masters. This time, instead of being repurposed industrial machines, they were designed specifically for combat - and getting revenge on the pesky blue robot who stopped Wily's initial plans for world domination.
As far as the gameplay goes, the main difference between this title and its predecessor is that this time Capcom wasn’t making an arcade game that people could play at home. This was a proper adventure game with over a dozen levels and rewarding gameplay.
It introduced minibosses, healing items called E-Tanks (or Energy Tanks), three useful support weapons that are automatically awarded when you complete the right stages, a Wily Castle map that shows your progress through the final stages, and the ability to use passwords to save your game for later. All of these features would remain staples of the Mega Man Classic series for years to come.
That's not to say that everything about Mega Man 2 is perfect - there are some things about it that players have historically disliked. The most common complaint is that it offers two difficulty options: "Normal" and "Difficult". Many players feel that these should have been labeled "Easy" and "Normal" instead, and a vocal part of the fanbase has used this feature as an example of Japanese developers treating their American customers like idiots (the Japanese release doesn't have this option).
But, after the unfair difficulty curve in the first game, I think offering an easier setting was a good middle ground. Later games in the series became progressively easier, so it seems Capcom needed a few tries to get the formula right.
As for whether or not I'd recommend this game, the answer is a big yes: this is the game where the Mega Man series found its footing, setting the stage for the entire franchise that followed.
Points of Interest
Better strategies
This time around, Mega Man's default weapon is effective enough to defeat most of the Robot Masters fairly easily. That means that it's your skill, not the order you play the stages in, that determines how smoothly everything goes. That's far more fair to the players.
Additionally, many of the special weapons have uses outside of combat, so players can plan their route based on how they expect to tackle the stages themselves instead of just the Robot Master at the end. For example, Flash Man’s Time Stopper ability can be used to bypass the more difficult parts of Quick Man’s stage.
Additionally, many of the special weapons have uses outside of combat, so players can plan their route based on how they expect to tackle the stages themselves instead of just the Robot Master at the end. For example, Flash Man’s Time Stopper ability can be used to bypass the more difficult parts of Quick Man’s stage.
Metal Blade
Out of all the special weapons available throughout this series, Metal Man’s Metal Blade is notoriously overpowered. It barely uses any energy, can be thrown in eight directions, and does a LOT of damage to many, if not most, of the enemies you’ll encounter. It’s probably the closest thing to an instant win button in this entire franchise, though whether that's a problem depends on who you talk to.
Adjustable difficulty
As mentioned above, you can select between Normal and Difficult modes when starting a new game. After replaying both, I only noticed two differences between these modes - the amount of damage everyone takes is adjusted in your favor on Normal, but I also noticed that items drop from defeated enemies more often too, making it easy to farm for extra energy and lives in certain areas.
The Boobeam Trap
A lot of players hate this boss, and they're pretty justified in my opinion. This "boss" is actually a series of five beam emitters scattered throughout a maze like room. In order to defeat them, you'll need to reach them and use the Crash Bomb special weapon on them.
By itself, this is a decent idea for a puzzle boss, but the problem comes in with how much ammunition you're allowed to have: at most, you have seven shots of the Crash Bomb weapon at any time, which means you need to be very careful about using it during this fight. Some of the emitters are behind barriers that only Crash Bomb can destroy, so you'll really need to be careful.
Strategies for dealing with this boss room can get unconventional - some even exploit the game's checkpoint system by having players deliberately die during the fight so they can restock on weapon energy.
By itself, this is a decent idea for a puzzle boss, but the problem comes in with how much ammunition you're allowed to have: at most, you have seven shots of the Crash Bomb weapon at any time, which means you need to be very careful about using it during this fight. Some of the emitters are behind barriers that only Crash Bomb can destroy, so you'll really need to be careful.
Strategies for dealing with this boss room can get unconventional - some even exploit the game's checkpoint system by having players deliberately die during the fight so they can restock on weapon energy.
Concerns and Issues
Robot on robot violence
Like the other games in this series, the combat boils down to a bunch of robots fighting each other, and nobody really cares about non-sentient robots being scrapped.
Click to Show Spoilers
Things get very weird near the end
Dr. Wily's castle is guarded by a gigantic robot dragon. There's no explanation for this fantasy themed boss other than it being kinda cool, so don't bother looking for one.
The final battle with Dr. Wily, however, is completely out of left field. Dr. Wily randomly turns into a green flying alien with red flapping gills, which is not something you'd ever see coming.
Of course, it eventually turns out to just be a hologram, which results in a hilarious cutscene when the machine brakes down. Allegedly, Wily was trying to scare Mega Man by appearing to have vast cosmic powers, but why he goes through this whole charade is never explained in the game.
The final battle with Dr. Wily, however, is completely out of left field. Dr. Wily randomly turns into a green flying alien with red flapping gills, which is not something you'd ever see coming.
Of course, it eventually turns out to just be a hologram, which results in a hilarious cutscene when the machine brakes down. Allegedly, Wily was trying to scare Mega Man by appearing to have vast cosmic powers, but why he goes through this whole charade is never explained in the game.