Mega Man 2: The Worst Classic Mega Man

(Before I start this review, I just want to thank everyone who read and enjoyed my first review. Now, onto this one.)

I have never understood the love for Mega Man 2. Among many fans of the Mega Man series, as well as fans of platformers and retro games in general, Mega Man 2 is often considered the best game in the series. Of the original classic games for the NES, it sold the best by a considerable margin. Some would say that is reflective of the game’s quality, but to me, that sales figure just reflects why the game is so beloved. It’s the most popular, and most people’s first entry into the series before the Legacy Collection came along. I think Mega Man 2 is the worst of the eleven classic Mega Man games, and I will try to explain my numerous issues with this game. Unlike in Mega Man 1, where most of the issues were systemic and affected many different parts of the game, in Mega Man 2, a lot of the issues are caused by a single bad decision that just casts a wide shadow over the game.

As the second game in a long running series, Mega Man 2 does make many tweaks to the original game’s formula, and I do think most of those changes are very good. That is honestly the best thing Mega Man 2 does, it takes the elements of the first game that are almost representative of the modern understanding of the series’ formula and it corrects them. For example, Mega Man 2 is the first game in the series to feature eight Robot Masters, which becomes the default for almost every other game in the remainder of the series. It also establishes a better formula for the boss rematches the games are known for, with the teleporter hatches in a single room allowing you to choose the order in which you fight all of them back to back. Another major improvement from the first game in the series is the graphics. I had issues with the lackluster graphics of the first Mega Man game, especially the lack of backgrounds and details in many stages, and while occasionally I have issues with the visuals of Mega Man 2, they are much less frequent. In particular, I would say Metal Man’s stage and Wood Man’s stage are the first two stages in the classic series that I would say look very good and that their visuals enhance the game.

Unfortunately, aside from individual level design choices, that is where most of my praise for Mega Man 2 stops. Mega Man 2 continues in the legacy of the first game by not having perfected the series’ boss order concept, but for a dumber reason than in Mega Man 1, which is that the Metal Blade is incredibly overpowered, and borderline ruins the game. The Metal Blade is by far the strongest weapon in the game, and possibly the strongest any weapon has been in a Mega Man game. I could be wrong on that but it’s certainly up there. It fires in all directions which invalidates many of the game’s challenges, it deals high damage, and most importantly uses almost no weapon energy. You can balance almost any attack with a high enough cost but the Metal Blade’s cost is so low that in most cases the weapon energy enemies drop when defeated will be enough to sustain you. The balance of Mega Man 2 is honestly pretty good if you ban yourself from using the Metal Blade, I’ve tried it. It’s a shame then that they just messed up the energy rate on this weapon, because it really does soften a lot of the game’s difficulty.

Aside from the Metal Blade, the weapon selection here is pretty good for the most part. I like the Air Shooter and its odd trajectory. It’s fairly niche due to that, but it’s fun to use when it’s good. Bubble Lead and Quick Boomerang are both fairly mediocre and boring weapons but they get the job done for sure. Atomic Fire is awesome, and I always love Special Weapons that allow you to charge them, which this was the first to do. Crash Bomber is fun for dealing with certain obstacles but, as I will get to later, is also the root of the single worst moment in any Mega Man game. Leaf Shield has cool uses as a defensive weapon that, like Atomic Fire, get built upon in later games. Lastly, Time Stopper is an incredibly unique and interesting weapon. However, I really wish there was a way to cancel it once it was used rather than having to expend it all at once.

In Mega Man 1, there was an odd bonus weapon called the Magnet Beam that didn’t fit the traditional structure of having one weapon per stage. It doesn’t return in Mega Man 2, but replacements for it did, starting the tradition of mobility weapons in Mega Man games. In Mega Man 2, the mobility weapons take the form of Item 1, Item 2, and Item 3. Aside from the generic and unmemorable names, I do like how these weapons work into the game. Item 1 is a platform that rises into the air and that Mega Man can jump on. I like how versatile this is, while also having restrictions in the form of how much space you need to use it. This restriction stops it from being too powerful and bypassing every challenge in the game. Item 2, on the other hand, does invalidate some of the platforming challenges in the game, as it is a jet that goes in a straight line horizontally, allowing Mega Man to ride it to avoid platforming. It only breaks the game’s challenges a few times though, which isn’t a huge deal. The mobility weapon is Item 3, which is a wall-climbing robot that Mega Man can use to traverse vertically in areas where Item 1 doesn’t work. This weapon is very niche and only comes up a few times, since it competes with Item 1 for uses. I honestly wish they took Item 3 out of the game and just replaced the areas where it was needed with things Item 1 could solve. However, while I mostly like the mobility items themselves, I am not a fan of the way they are obtained. I really wish that they didn’t put certain items in certain stages, because I think it makes the boss order a bit awkward, as you have to juggle multiple rewards in some stages. I wish that, for example, you always got Item 1 after beating your second stage, Item 2 after your fourth, and Item 3 after your sixth. Something like that would make more sense, in my opinion.

Mega Man 2’s two extra Robot Masters make the game longer than its predecessor, which is something I appreciate. The first of its stages is Metal Man’s stage, which, as I said, has some of the best visuals in the game. The background not being static and instead having moving gears makes the stage feel much more alive than most of the other stages in the game. As for the stage’s gameplay, it’s alright. I am always a sucker for conveyor belt moving platforms in games, and this stage does them pretty well. My big issue with this stage mostly comes down to its length. It’s a very short stage, I wish it had been a little bit longer. The mole sections are also pretty annoying, but the sections with the Pierobots on gears were nice. Overall comes to an okay stage. The fight with Metal Man is nice. Most people fight him first, and he is well balanced around defeating him with the buster.

Air Man’s stage is next, and it’s another stage that’s alright. The weakest part of the stage to me is the beginning, with the heads you have to jump on. The timing on them is weirdly precise in a way that felt more frustrating than fun to me, but it’s only a small issue. The next section features Mega Man riding cloud platforms, which is a pretty awesome part of the stage. The bird enemies that drop eggs filled with more enemies are also cool, and I like how you can get into a good rhythm of when to shoot Metal Blades to kill them. I imagine taking on this stage without the Metal Blade would be agony, which is a point against the balance of the game yet again. The fight with Air Man is pretty annoying too, the gaps between the tornado projectiles is very small and it can be really hard to get through them. I don’t think it’s a bad fight though, because it’s one of the more interesting and creative fights in the early Mega Man games.

One of the better stages in Mega Man 2 is up next, Bubble Man’s stage. Similarly to Metal Man’s stage, I appreciate the moving background, even if it’s a little distracting. The frog enemies throughout the first part of the stage feel both fun and fair to fight, and the collapsing platforms are a cool set piece too. Once the stage reaches the underwater section, the game introduces water physics, which I am actually a huge fan of! I feel like Mega Man handles its water physics very well for the most part. Unlike some series like Mario, where you have an entirely new moveset underwater, here it’s just a matter of floatier physics, which is much more fun to me. The giant fish enemies are cool as larger enemies that don’t die in one hit, and I like the platforming with the spikes on the ceiling, as it tests your usage of the water physics in a fair way. The fight with Bubble Man himself is probably the worst part of the stage, but it’s not even bad. His weakness to Metal Blade isn’t so comical that it makes the fight exceptionally easy like in many of the fights in Mega Man 1, and it feels well balanced overall. My only real complaint is that it’s fairly boring. One last note on this stage, I normally don’t talk about music but I really love Bubble Man’s stage theme. Definitely my favorite piece of music in the Mega Man 2 soundtrack.

Quick Man’s stage has a terrible reputation, and it is somehow worse than its reputation would make you think. The stage is brutally difficult, and is one of the most blatantly crappy possible examples of a stage requiring rote memorization more than skill. Multiple different parts of this stage seem pretty much impossible for someone to beat on their first try, because they require you to make decisions before you have the information needed. For example, when you have to jump down into the next screen, but if you do it in the wrong place, you just are fucked and die. There is no skill there. You didn’t lose because you messed up, you died because the game didn’t bother to try. The music in the stage sucks too, one of the most annoying in any game I have played, which makes it even more obnoxious to suffer through. The Time Stopper is incredibly useful here, which is the only real saving grace of the stage. Even having played this game multiple times, I cannot beat this stage without the Time Stopper. The only other noteworthy part of the stage before the boss is the room where killing the enemies turns the lights off. That part is fine I guess, not terrible but nothing especially good. The boss fight with Quick Man is also not good, with his attacks being very hard to dodge and the fact most people will arrive with no ammo in the Time Stopper to take advantage of his biggest weakness. This stage reeks of a lack of playtesting, as if anyone had sat down with this stage for five minutes they would realize how terrible it is.

Sadly, Crash Man’s stage is not great either, though certainly better than Quick Man’s. I like the aesthetic of it, with the weird golden orbs among the tubes being an especially cool highlight. The music of this stage is as annoying as Quick Man’s, so that doesn’t really help the stage’s overall feel. Honestly this stage is mostly just boring and I have very little to say. The platforming sections on the rails are cool, but the ladder climbing part falls into the Quick Man stage trap of giving the player decisions to make without knowing what happens after they make it. At least, unlike in Quick Man’s stage, you can always climb down the ladder and pick a different one. The boss fight with Crash Man is lame, you can kill him in three shots, two if you time it right.

If someone pictures the platonic ideal of an okay Mega Man stage, Heat Man’s stage is pretty close to what I think they would picture. Not much of note, not good, not bad. If you hate disappearing blocks, you might dislike it, but that’s really the only reason I could see anyone having a strong opinion on this stage. I’m fine with those. It’s also just a fairly short stage, which makes it even less notable. The fight with Heat Man is equally unremarkable. It’s pretty well balanced but not very interesting.

The final Robot Master stage of Mega Man 2 is Wood Man’s stage, which is definitely my favorite of them. I love how the background looks at the start of the stage. When I complain about Mega Man 1 and some stages in Mega Man 2 having boring backgrounds, this is essentially what I wish all stages looked like, with vibrant and well drawn backgrounds. It also has a distinct and good looking foreground. The gameplay is great too, the only stage in Mega Man 2 I would say that of. The bat enemies in the first section are well balanced and fun to fight, and I really like the mini-boss fights with the flamethrower dogs. I think the different positions of the encounters make them feel different, rather than just feeling like recycling one enemy three times. After getting back outside again, there’s more of the cool bird enemies that are fun to time Metal Blades to. The running chicken-like enemies are fun in that they’re best to avoid rather than fight, and just have good movement. The fight with Wood Man is probably also my favorite Robot Master fight in this game. The Leaf Shield around him as well as the falling leaves make for fun obstacles, and while he does die pretty easily to his weakness, Atomic Fire, at least it takes a while to charge it so you can’t spam it.

After defeating all eight of the game’s Robot Masters, it’s onto the Dr. Wily stages. In this game, there are a whopping six Wily stages, which is cool! I’ll say this about Mega Man 2, it definitely is more bang for your buck than Mega Man 1, even if the content is less good. In Wily Stage 1, Mega Man starts outside and has to break his way in, which as I said in my first review, is a small detail I enjoy. Getting inside also requires you to use the Items, which is a good example of how the Wily stages can require you to use certain weapons in a way the main stages cannot. The rest of Wily Stage 1 is pretty uneventful until the boss, with fairly standard layouts and enemies, not that I’m complaining. Once inside the building, Mega Man comes across a great boss, a true highlight of Mega Man 2 to me, the Mecha Dragon. I love that the fight begins with you having to escape the Dragon before fighting it. Once you come to the three platforms, the fight really starts. Sadly, the boss dies a little too fast to Mega Man spamming Quick Boomerangs, but not so fast that it’s terrible or anything. Still a fun fight.

The second stage of Wily’s Fortress begins in a pretty standard way, except for when there is a large pit of spikes you have to use Item 2 to get across. I like this part, and think the way the E-Tank is obtained is pretty fun. I especially like that if you get the E-Tank, the game also rewards you with weapon energy, presumably to refill on Item 2. More annoying moles after that, which feels like it goes on forever. At the end of the stage comes the fight with Picopico-kun, which is a fight I also like, though less than the Mecha Dragon. It kind of feels like a better executed version of the Yellow Devil fight in the first game. Like the Yellow Devil, memorization still is important and helps you a lot during this fight, but unlike that fight, it feels reasonable to tackle the first few times you face it. It comes out a lot easier than the Yellow Devil fight, arguably too easy. However, personally, I’d rather it be too easy than too hard.

The next stage of Wily’s Fortress is really short, but it’s alright. I appreciate that the game gives you a singular place where you can stock up on ammo for your weapons, since the Fortress stages have you carry over weapon energy between them. The platforming in the stage is just alright, nothing very interesting but no issues either. At the end of the stage, the next boss fight happens, with Guts Tank. This boss is neat. I like its design and the fight is okay, though a bit easy.

Quick Man’s stage, somehow, is not even the worst stage in Mega Man 2. That dishonor goes to Wily Stage 4. I think Wily Stage 4 is, without a doubt, the worst stage in any classic Mega Man game. The stage starts off badly, with its gimmick of fake floors. The floors are infuriating, as they have no real tell on which is fake. If there is a tell, at least, I didn’t notice it while playing. It’s especially terrible with fake floors over insta-death spikes! Like with the Quick Man stage, the people who thought this was a good idea were either incompetent or spiteful. The rail sections from Crash Man’s stage return here, and they aren’t the absolute worst, making them easily the best part of the stage. The next rooms have a corridor of Sniper Joes in mechs as well as normal Sniper Joes, which are also obnoxious to deal with in such a small environment. Then we get to the boss, the absolute worst part of any Mega Man game ever made, Boobeam Trap.

Boobeam Trap requires you to already have full weapon energy of Crash Bombs before coming in. If you didn’t know that? You lose. If you miss shots and don’t hit the right places? You lose. It’s ludicrous, and a blatantly stupid design decision from an era of game design when no one had an idea what they were doing, apparently. It would be so easy to fix, just add spawning enemies so that you could grab weapon energy from them if needed! But, nope, you get nothing. The fight isn’t even hard, if you know what you’re doing. It’s just a knowledge check, plain and simple, and it’s ridiculous.

After that infuriatingly terrible stage, it’s Wily Stage 5. In this game, rather than having a stage before you fight the Robot Master rematches, the entire stage is rematches. I’m cool with this, and the iconic hatches system is introduced here. Not much to say on the core stage, but then after you beat the eight Robot Masters, with health refills in between, you fight Wily Machine 2. The fight has two forms. The first form is pretty easy, as it’s not hard to dodge the pretty consistent attack pattern. The second form is harder, which I appreciate after the far too easy fight with Wily in the first game.

The sixth and final Wily stage in Mega Man 2 is pretty much just a boss fight, which is fine. There is light platforming to get to the boss, but not really. The boss itself is a doozy. The infamous Alien boss fight is awful, and another example of truly terrible early game design. It can only be damaged by the Bubble Lead, which means if you don’t know that going in, the fight is going to be brutally difficult as you have to figure out what weapon will actually damage him. Worse than that, any other weapon will fully heal him, which is just another unfair, unfun trap for new players. This fight, along with Boobeam, really emphasizes to me the way games of this era were designed in unfair ways for the sake of not allowing the player to beat the game within a rental period, forcing people to buy the games. I wasn’t alive at the time, so I can’t attest to how common game rentals were, but designing your game to be worse so that people can’t use a legitimate service feels scummy to me. It artificially inflates the difficulty and length of the game, and makes it age terribly into eras where we expect better from games. The Alien deals very high damage, which adds to the unfairness of the fight, as it’s very punishing to anyone not familiar with its patterns. Overall, even though Mega Man 1’s final boss was too easy, I’d absolutely prefer it to this.

Despite its acclaim by critics and fans, I really do think Mega Man is mostly bad, and the only game in the classic Mega Man series I would not be likely to return to in the future. The best things I can say about it relate to ways it smoothed over flaws in the original that would pave the way for better things in the future, but those don’t make the game any more fun to play by itself. Luckily, they get a lot better after this.

I give Mega Man 2 a grade of D-, and a score of 3/10. 

It is not unplayable or horrid, but it is just a game with a lot more bad than good. If you are interested in seeing what exactly my rating system means, I recommend you read the ending of my first review, linked here.

Thank you for reading this far! I enjoy writing these reviews a lot and will definitely continue to do so. The next game I will be reviewing is Mega Man 3, which is one of my favorite Mega Man games. So, if you were getting bored with me being cranky all the time, here’s an example of a game I can gush over.