Approaching the third game in the Megaman series, I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to say about it. I last reviewed Megaman 2 and stated rather boldly that is was ‘a better game’ than Megaman 1, a phrase that ought to be used carefully. Megaman 3, however, despite still being a 2-dimensional platformer about a blue man with his blaster, it is vastly different from both of its previous titles; however it incorporates many features from them. It turns out I had nothing to worry about; there is plenty to say about this hectic addition to the prestigious series...

Megaman 3 was released earlier than the company wanted; therefore it was not as spectacular as Keiji Inafune, the game’s designer, had wanted. It made its appearance in the year of 1990, barely 20 years ago. It is both praised and criticised for its difficulty, a topic not alien to the series, and in my opinion it is harder than Megaman 1…in some ways. It is impossible to describe in a single paragraph, so let’s get on with the game.

Since the last installment, Dr Wily has reformed and is in partnership with Dr Light. Together, they work to build a peace-keeping robot known as ‘Gamma’, who’s powers crystals are conveniently stolen by eight more robot masters: Needleman, Magnet Man, Hard Man, Top Man, Shadow Man, Spark Man, Snake Man and Gemini Man. There is no difficulty select screen, which disappointed me a bit, as that was a nice addition to Megaman 2 they could’ve left in to increase replayability. However, the password system remains.

The first thing I notice is that the graphics are much improved. I don’t normally dwell on graphics, especially in the 8-bit era, but this game I noticed has exceptionally detailed background and foreground in comparison to its previous title. 

The stages are as varied and different as ever, and Megaman is equipped with new ‘slide’ ability by pressing down and jump. Sliding is useful when dodging some attacks or sliding under enemies, and there are places where the environment demands this ability. 

Climbing ladders has also been made twice as fast, which is O so useful! In addition, the three extra powers which are granted to Megaman, throughout the game in due course, have returned in the form of a new canine companion, Rush.

Summoning Rush in one form makes him act as a trampoline, bouncing Megaman to the unreachable places. Another form of him allows you to travel underwater, and another behaves as a hover platform which you have total control over. Used wisely, these abilities can really enhance gameplay and make parts of it less burdensome than, say, bits in Megaman 1 you really didn’t want to do.

However, the game has immediately dropped it’s generosity on pick-up obtained from enemies, making the combat aspects of stages feel more like Megaman 1 than Megaman 2. This instantly makes the levels more difficult than the last game, but by no means too hard; if anything the system applied in Megaman 2 was a little too kind. It therefore combines the dynamics of Megaman 1 with the mesmerizing variety Megaman 2 has to offer. Does this make it the better game? You decide!  
Of course, with every Megaman game comes a harsh overview about a bunch of unholy scoundrels we like to call the bosses. It is ironic that I praised the Megaman 2 bosses for having more imaginative fighting techniques as opposed to Megaman 1’s more unforgiving and button-mashingly demanding fighting techniques, only for Megaman 3 to give me BOTH! The bosses in this game have a well-though out fighting regime rather than Megaman 1’s ‘just standing there and pelting you’. Unfortunately, they are HARD. O GOLLY THEY ARE HARD - Needleman in particular! He fires needles at you varying in height, and then he jumps at you and extends a pointy arm thing out of his head in your direction. I needn’t say more about the bosses in this game, but yes, they are horrendous. Having said that, this game has made alerted me of some problems the bosses have bestowed throughout the series. Recurring problems, if you like, that I've picked up upon.



PART 2 IS HERE!