Mega Man series.

What is everyone's opinion on the Mega Man series in general? I'm talking about:

-Classic Mega Man
-Mega Man X
-Mega Man Zero
-Mega Man ZX
-Mega Man Legends
-Mega Man Battle Network
-Mega Man Star Force

I'm a fan of every series I've played so far. Haven't played X7-8, Zero 3-4, ZX, and Star Force. I can't remember which game I played first; Legends 2, or Mega Man 5, but I got into the series many years later.

My favorite series is the Classic one, but depending on my mood, I might prefer the X series instead. My favorite game from the Classic series would be 9. Some good bosses, great weapons, cool platforming and stage gimmicks, and good difficulty. At first I liked 10 better, but that was because 9 was so hard for me the first time I tried it, to the point I considered it cheap. But after giving it another try, I realized that once you get the hang of it, the game has a great flow.

Haven't played Zero 1-2 enough times to have a solid opinion about them, but I remember having trouble with Zero 1 because of its lives system. I had fun with Zero 2, though.

The Legends games are good if you want to chill and play a simple game. Everyone talks about how bad Legends 1's controls were, but I got used to them when I got to Kattlelox Island for the first time (and, if you read everything I said up until this point, you'd know that I played Legends 2 before playing Legends 1). If they ever make Legends 3, I only ask that they fix two issues I have with both games: Give Volnutt the ability to use more than 1 sub-weapon at a time (this is Mega Man, after all! One thing I like about the series in general is how you can experiment with the weapons, but in a game where you can only use one at a time... It kinda kills the incentive to test them all, especially if you find one you find comfortable using for the rest of the game).
Also, make better enemies/bosses. Anyone who played the games knows that most enemies and bosses can be trivialized by circle-strafing.

As for the BN series, I like them because, to me, its battle system is unique. Never played a game like it. Coming up with certain combinations of chips that can destroy a boss in less than 30 seconds (or 10 seconds, if you're good enough) can be fun. Sure, it can get stale after a while, but fortunately there are a number of ways to do that, instead of just a single chip combination being able to pull that off.

Digging up an old post, sorry!

Man, Mega Man...one of my favorite series of all time, no doubt.

Classic Mega Man:

This is one of my bread and butter game series. I grew up playing Mega Man 1, 2 & 3 for the NES as a kid. I got to play 4,5,6,7,8 years later...and 9 many years after that (I still have not played 10!) I own practically every US iteration of these games and compilations on many different platforms. The music...I will never forget, it is phenomenal. It's one of those feel good play-through games that I can complete entirely on a single plane ride. I love that. The design is excellent as you can truly choose your own adventure path. Do you want the easy path where each enemy destroys the boss in 2-3 hits? ... or would you rather really show the boss you're better than him with the basic p buster? Side note, I enjoyed the game boy mashups of these games as well.

Mega Man X:

Holy moly, thank you for taking an existing design and adding some new awesomeness spins to it. The upgraded visuals were excellent (and still are!) and the music was still fantastic. Added the Introduction levels, more equipment upgrades in addition to weapon and utility upgrades from the originals, good stuff! I still have, sadly, only played through Mega Man X, X2, X3 and none of the PS versions. I do have all the rest through the PS2 versions as well...one day haha.

Mega Man Zero:

I've still only played the first one, though I have the whole series and the new compilation. This game was haaaard when I played it. I died a lot until I farmed upgrades. I did like the RPG spin they put on this game with the random lucky based drops. Felt like Castlevania...but in typical Mega Man style.

Mega Man ZX:

I've only played the first one and I loved it! It was like an advanced Mega Man Zero and played this one all the way through. Would play it again...still have not played Advent...

I have not played Legends

I played the first Battle Network game for about 8 straight hours one day and never played it again afterwards. It did seem fun, though.

Mega Man Star Force is still the biggest mystery to me as I've never tried them...do you recommend?

›Starforce

Never played through these either. But I know its gameplay and Battle Network's are kinda similar, in a way.

Also, I should note that some fangames are actually pretty fun. I'm a fan of Mega Man Unlimited, Super Fighting Robot, and Rock 'n' Roll. I usually don't go beyond the usual Buster Only challenge for bosses in these games, but I ended up doing it for SFR. This isn't to say that SFR is my favorite out of these, it's just that certain circumstances have only allowed me to record and play that game only.

I’ll have to try those out at some point thanks! I did come across Mega Man Unlimited just recently.

I had totally forgotten about this until this moment...but at some point they were building an MMO version of this game...was excited to hear about it. Very disappointed when I saw the first video of it though lol.

No idea why I didn't reply to this post, maybe it got burried at the time! I love Mega Man, but not nearly as much as I should. I've played Mega Man 1 'till 4 when I was young and later played 8. Mega Man 8 is one of those few game revivals where I really feel the revival was better than the originals, Mega Man 8 was just *so* good. Love the emphasis on platforming, 'choose your own route', weapon options, meter management etc. And it's lineair!

Never played the X games sad to say.

You've only played them up to the eighth game, Roy? If so, I can't recommend 9, 10 and 11 enough. Some people dislike 11's aesthetic, but imo it's a fantastic game. Great weapons, good bosses, and great stages. Unfortunately I've only played it once at a friend's house, so I haven't experimented enough with it.

I got my numbers mixed up, I meant MegaMan 9. Which was the 'revival' I was mentioning, since it came after quite a long break of that series. I also played 10 afterwards but found it a pretty sizable step back compared to 9 and as a result never touched 11. You'd still say they are worth it?

Besides the unfinished state of the last two stages, I'd still say 11 is worth playing, because the rest of the stages are pretty long. The weapons are definitely an improvement over 10's, last I played I even thought they were on par with 9's functionality-wise, especially if you use the Power Gear. Of course, the game can be beaten without ever using the gears if you just want to play normally, and the game is a decent challenge if you play that way.

Some nitpicks I have with the game is that the knockback can be frustrating at times, but IIRC there's an item to fix that. And also the thing I said earlier about the last two stages. But other than that, I found 11 to be a solid entry to the series.

As much as I like most of the classic series, 11 is far and away my favorite. The weapons are awesome, the double gear system is wonderful, the stages are varied and well designed, the controls and performance are razor sharp, difficulty is high, very friendly to challenge runs, and one of my favorite final boss fights in years. If this game was on all of those action game tier lists, it would be top tier easily. I actually didn’t get to play MM9 and 10 until after 11 and they felt like such a huge step back, despite still both being very good.

It's scary how a game can go from "interesting" to "can I buy this right now" if you recommend it Infinity haha, our tastes tend to align so perfectly. Might pick it up in the future. Especially due to the praise you're both giving it.

Royta/Raeng wrote:I got my numbers mixed up, I meant MegaMan 9.

When you wrote that MM8 was you're fave, I . I thought to ask you what makes it so. Then I thought, no wait, if it's so, that's something that can get easily antagonized by other people. Show generosity to different strokes by not asking. Leave it.

What I find amazing about Meg is, how different people think of the quality. I've read from this one fellow how he finds the Inticreates developed MM's (9/10) so heinous in execution that he called the devs incapable of knowing what makes MM fun on a ground basis. Or from another chap that 9 "made Mega Man great again". I played all of the 8-bit series 'xept 11, and I find some of 'em better than others, but honestly dislike 7 and 8. 7 looks cool for a 16-bit, but feels like it can't transcipe the fun from the other gen. Bosses are the worst in design and combat. And 8 is as strange in aestethics as it is marketed to the pre-teen demographic. And the bosses: holey    eyeball.

In that sense I am curious, which one would you consider your absolute favourite and why? What makes a Mega Man game for you?

Well, I'd have to answer that my fave is not in the original 8/16-bit. Though I admire the first X a whole wide lot. Shooting's fun, but for me slashing is more fun. That's why MM Zero 3 is my fave. Bosses, stages, music (   ), it's more refined than the two before. It has a distinct flavour. Something that took some ripening, but that's where I'll croon in the "legacy" status of Mega Man. MMZ4 is not far from that, if not equal.
That's just me.

>Infinity

Glad to know you like the game as well. Seriously, besides you and Hotel_Security, I've yet to find anyone else who holds the game in such a high regard. I'm just sad that I have currently no means to play the game again.

>MM11

I would be shocked if you didn’t like it Roy, I think it really ticks most of the boxes for what we look for in action games. Easily one of the best games this gen imo, and my favorite thing by Capcom since the Clover days.

>Hotel_Security

I’ve never talked to the guy but I see him on the boards for ALL of my favorite games, from CotM2 to Mario and all kinds of other stuff. Really eerie seeing him on almost every dead board I lurk haha.

> Hotel
Cool guy, he's one of the 'group' if you want to call it that i.e. SBK, Gent, BigVee etc. He and I 'met' them sort of at the same time, he got into a raging discussion with BigVee in one of my original topics about God of War III nearly a decade ago that I for some reason still remember haha.

> MM11 praise
Stop. I can only play so many games.

>part of the group

Didn't think you knew each other until I saw your GoW1 article. Prior to reading that (which was a few weeks before joining Stinger), I thought Hotel only knew SBK, because they used to post on the KH3 board a lot (SBK can still be seen there sometimes, Hotel not so much).

Actually Roy, you reminded me of something, me and Hotel had a relatively heated argument the very first time we met. Despite talking to him a lot currently in some Mega Man boards, I don't think he remembers that instance.

You can read my first encounter here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/943928-god-of-war-iii/59635036

It's pretty interesting to see how he and BigVee got in a huge schuffle and burried the hatchet asap in favour of doing runs.

> forgot heated argument
Can't speak for the man himself, but I know that most of them are just in it for the shoptalk, they don't take it personally. I know I've been vile to BigVee more than once (sorry man, if you're reading this) haha. Hotel seems a stand-up guy.

Royta/Raeng wrote:It's pretty interesting to see how he and BigVee got in a huge schuffle and burried the hatchet asap in favour of doing runs.

Yeah, seems like he's still the same guy as he was years ago. A few days ago he told me this: ''The idea is to just not take the arguments personally and you eventually realize you have much in common. The idea is to stop acting like having a back-and-forth debate is the end of the world. It's not. It's just silly arguing and none of this means anything. Just enjoy the ride.''

Also, it is a bit weird to see SBK using an emote on post #36. Never thought I'd see him doing that

That's a good sentiment he has honestly, people take the discussions far too seriously and personally. It should all be in good fun, since we all love the hobby in the end.

> SBK emoji
It was nearly 10 years ago, IIRC that would make him 17 years old if I remember his age right. Damn I was 21 back then.

I see. It just caught me off-guard for a second, because he sometimes says something to people who use it, and I'm pretty sure I've even seen him delete an emote from a quoted post, so I thought he never used them.

>You can read my first encounter here:

That was both terrifying and delicious to read.

Things got really spicy at post #70. What a fun read.

So, I ordered a physical Switch version of 11. Your talk did that much. Expecting to get around that Double Gear system, which sounds just as inventive to entice all them non-players to give it a go. Nasty. I don't care about boss weapons neither. I'll just bust 'em 'til they blow. And just about 2 years after initial release. Wow.

You can definitely play without the double gear system, upgrades, or any boss weapons, it’s beautiful. I haven’t got upgrades in a run since the game came out. Usually I use the power gear instead of speed gear, less of a crutch and landing those powered up buster shots is very satisfying.

Thanks for the confirm. I don't expect much of a relevation, as I have not some unmeasureable standards of what a "classic" Mega Man should not do or should do. I'll be satisfied if it's just a slick and keen action game. And I can say right now that the boss designs look at least on par. Looking forward.

Got it. Picked Acid Man as my first stage ( he looks so sweet ), and couldn't clear it on first try on Normal. That's encouraging. Wacky stage, I'm intrigued. And thanks for the pun: "Nobody blocks Block Man!". But man, Megs is never incognito, huh? Even without his blue duds he's refered to as the mega dude. Tough call. I just trust that nobody calls him literally the Blue Bomber, since he doesn't bomb, man. A Rush Coil designated button ! Right on!
Quick pace. Not sure about the music for now.

I have my complaints about the level design. It's mostly fun but some level segments feel like they were designed by a different person than earlier parts of the level, and some parts feel like you have to either memorize what's coming up or use speed gear and react.

On the flipside, I pretty much think there's only one snag per level, so it's good overall. Bosses are super fun in this game.

Cleared Blast Man. Fun, fun, fun. Fiddled with the other stages.

I'm surprised that all the stages have some kind of strong emphasis. Don't know if it's all too fresh to me now, but I wouldn't call them gimmicks. It's a motif what it feels like. Not just the traps and boss theme merged. And for now it's very pleasent, if hazardous.

Maybe I am rethinking my stance about boss weapons with this entry. Chain Blast can be clustered into more than one bomb. Looks fantastic.
After I had my runthrough I'll check it out in more detail. Something I can't say for the other entries.

Though Cap Com got multiple collections released on several current platforms, I notice that two games are not part of any of those.
Mega Man Powered Up and Maverick Hunter X. Remakes.
It's unfortunate that the initial system was PSP. I'm all for weird choices as opposed to the blatant ones, but somehow I didn't go out of my way to buy the thing for just the two games.

Any of you played it? What can you tell?

About to blow my 4th DWN proper on 11. What I can tell so far is that I really enjoy the way charge-shot and slide gel in all the action. For Inti's 9/10 that was only reserved for Proto Man ( plus the double dmg ) and that's why I'm playing 10 along with it as the P. I think 10 is solid, but back then didn't give it more of the play. So, filling the gap with this. Most noticable is the difference in picking up energy pellets. The classic way is that the game freezes for the refill. 11 doesn't take a break. I'm satisfied with both, since I like the sound effect for freeze re-up. 11 keeps the pace up, but it's as if it's almost brushed over.

Block Man is, to me, a stronger letdown. The standard form is something of a parody I feel of earlier Numbers. Hopping around to smack into, and his block attack is really tame ( lame ). And the form gets altered AND THEY REFILL HIS BAR, WITCH IS TO SAY HE IS RE-GEN-ERATING!!11 So grating.
No, man. Not cool. Nohow!

I played Powered Up. The game was really easy on Normal, and Hard made bosses too tedious to fight because they became invincible for about 10-30 seconds depending on the boss, and they could use it whenever they wanted.

>regen

If I recall correctly, the golem form uses a different HP bar from Block Man's, meaning that if you beat the golem, Block will have the same HP he had.

Right. When you slice it like this, it's not regen. Instead one boss gets 2 health bars, which are both to deplete. Anyway, I don't find this outrageous in itself. I'm just glad the Block wasn't my first boss in the game. It might've dimmed my first impression. Glad too I didn't try out the demo first, since it's only the Block Man stage.

Did Tundra Man. The stage is a breeze and fairly easy to comprehend. The boss is alright. Since he is ice skating it's well about movements. Gotta say that Blast Man's cluster bombs is the only interesting boss weapon so far. The others are somewhat numb.

I can't find this game anywhere. Last year it was all over the place.

Impact Man. That was interesting. Often I find bosses in the mold of Guts Man too dull. Hard Man. Stone Man. They jump and pound a lot. Ol' Megs gets stunned and that's about it. Impact Man has a horizontal attack to jump over or slide under. To mix up the pounding. Oh yeah.
The stage is fine, too. A site to behold. Always wear your Met, man. Safety first in numbers.

The interesting thing about Block Man is that you can actually skip Golem Phase if you kill him right before he's scripted to transform. A well timed Power Gear fueled Charge Shot, essentially.

Oh, that's interesting indeed. It really is a WIN button, then? Confirms that my decision to ignore it completly was justified. And I don't feel bad about it, since honestly it's not a mechanic that would mean a part of the game isn't regarded by  it. I remember some discussion about MM4, when the charge shot was introduced. Around the edges that "only idiots would hold the button all the time to release one big shot and ignore rapid fire...". The charge became a staple since then and the X series started with it.

Anyway. I find MM11 Torch Man stage is rather demanding. Done without any trickery, that is. Certainly the most demanding to me yet. That firewall and them flower heads, a devilish combo. Cleared it, but didn't save. There are better ways to do this.

Is Legacy Collection worth getting? I see a lot of conflicting views. Some say there's input lag.

I haven't tested it for myself, but some people claim that it's fixed if you put your TV on a certain mode. Game Mode? Something along the lines, but I do recall people saying they fixed it by doing something on their TV.

The good thing about Legacy Collection is that you can fight the bosses from every game anytime you want, which was only possible in 10, maybe 11 too. But I'd still say to do some more digging before deciding to buy it.

I don't think my TV has modes. It's ancient. Is that an option you choose from in-game menus?

Pretty sure it's only a TV option, not something from an in-game menu. I looked into the matter for a bit, and I found the following:

-The Switch version (the one that has all games in one collection, you have to buy both collections separately on PS4) has a 'Turbo Mode', which supposedly gets rid of all the input problems MM3 had, even on a real NES. Some say that input lag still exists while using this, though.

-Many users have reported that 9 and 10 run flawlessly. There's some conflicting information for 7 and 8, but most people seem to agree that the NES games (1-6) suffer the most from input lag.

-There's apparently some input lag even with 'Game Mode' on. But it seems to work for some people. One theory is that certain people might be more sensitive to this kind of thing than others.

-I've seen Hotel argue with a lot of people bringing those issues for months, and he claims the originals were like that as well. Still, there are some videos documenting the fact that there is a bit of input lag. I'm about 70% sure that he owns the PS4 version of the first and second collection, though.

A lot of modern Smart TVs have a "Game Mode" that disables some post-processing effects. They improve the image slightly, but introduce input latency, so it's fine for watching TV but definitely not what you want for gaming. If your TV doesn't have a game mode, it probably doesn't have the post-processing effects that would introduce delay, either.

I'd imagine any complaints about input latency are caused by the game. If enabling game mode fixed somebody's issues, then they should have been experiencing input lag in every game.

Zenyn wrote:Oh, that's interesting indeed. It really is a WIN button, then? Confirms that my decision to ignore it completly was justified. And I don't feel bad about it, since honestly it's not a mechanic that would mean a part of the game isn't regarded by  it. I remember some discussion about MM4, when the charge shot was introduced. Around the edges that "only idiots would hold the button all the time to release one big shot and ignore rapid fire...". The charge became a staple since then and the X series started with it.

Anyway. I find MM11 Torch Man stage is rather demanding. Done without any trickery, that is. Certainly the most demanding to me yet. That firewall and them flower heads, a devilish combo. Cleared it, but didn't save. There are better ways to do this.

It's not really a win button. You can't just power gear and hope you skip the phase, it requires careful management of HP, knowing when he'll turn to phase 2 and stopping just before it, *then* activating power gear.

How do you people feel about the bosses having extended i-frames from MM4 onwards (which got shortened again in 9 and 10)?