Megaman 1 for the NES (Part 1)
Presented By Alex
Layout by Chris

The last review I did, as a request, ET for Atari, was a game I ended up reviewing in a negative light. This time I would like to assess a good game, Megaman 1 for the NES, made by one of my favourite video game companies, Capcom. This review is to be one in a series in which I will pick games made by Capcom, so look out for reviews on games including Megaman X, Street Fighter II, Resident Evil and much more! Of course I shall do the odd review on request, but my main aim is to look back at some of Capcom’s greatest accomplishments in the world of gaming and take a good look at them (and hopefully do these admired titles some justice!).

Capcom began by making arcade games, but soon began with home video game consoles. Shortly after releasing Street Fighter on arcade, Megaman was introduced to the NES in December 1987. Street Fighter II was yet to make its debut, and its other prestigious title, Resident Evil, had not even been thought of, so this was one of their earliest successful releases.

In the years, Capcom has come out with some crazily difficult games. Devil May Cry is no exception to this, for example, but neither is Megaman. Just to clear something up, Megaman ranges from enjoyable testing to insanely hard. I suppose a platforming style such as Megaman’s would be quite drab without a bit of challenge, and challenge is appreciated. But is it too challenging? Does it feel unfair? Did the company stuff too much spice in this remarkably modest sausage? ...

At the beginning of the game you are greeted with some catchy 8-bit music, and are taken to a screen featuring six robots, presumably, created by Dr Wily in his effort to defeat Megaman. They are Cutman, Gutsman, Iceman, Bombman, Fireman and Elecman. Selecting one of these will take you to their stage where you will have to defeat them at the end. Beating all of them will unlock the final three consecutive stages in which at the end, you will fight Dr Wily. You have three lives per stage and a lot of things trying to make your routine a living hell!

               

There are a fair few enemies in the game; ones that fly, ones that bounce, ones that shoot, ones that home in on you. The variety is astounding. There are these walking robots at the start of the Iceman stage which die if you shoot their head, but if you shoot their body, their head breaks off and flies around shooting you! I have to say, I wasn’t expecting that! Some enemies are just burdensome, like these tiny, irritating little crawlies which patrol floors left and right, rather slowly at first. As soon as you step on the floor, all of a sudden they charge at you! This would be alright on any old floor, but these buggers are often put on narrow platforms or even places where you are trying to focus on other things trying to obliterate you!

But of course, a difficult game is not without its frustrations. My biggest annoyance in Megaman by far is the hovering platforms. Even they are trying to shoot you! Jumping from one to another is made much trickier when they are shooting outwards. It’s common to jump down and, before even landing, find yourself falling on a bullet, gravitating away from the hover platform you were aiming for, and falling into a bottomless pit (add a flying penguin in there, and you’re all set).

There are different aspects of platforming within this game. Some of the time you will be running along blasting the life out of nifty foes, the next you’ll be on your toes as you deal with moving platforms over perilous drops, before traversing great, tall towers as you shoot wall turrets while climbing ladders. These elements all add up to an interesting and challenging platformer. Bombman, in my own opinion, seemed to be the easiest stage and boss (it was the first one I completed) but with your three lives you will be dying A LOT, so one of the only ways to beat a level is by trial and error. Only by restarting your encounters and modifying your tactics is it remotely possible to get to the boss with lives to spare. The stages are often frustrating, and while playing I often went berserk. But once you play through it enough, acing it will feel glorious, triumphant…and then you’ll meet the boss.

Check www.filmflux.tk on Wednesday, 2nd of February 2011 for Part 2 of my review of this epic game