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"A classic sequel for a classic game"

The original Mega Man game for the NES had proved to be much more powerful on the market than Capcom had ever expected. A year after it was released, it had sold extremely well and already gained a huge fanbase. Capcom saw the opportunity to surf on the wave of popularity, so a year after the first game was released, Capcom made a sequel and shipped it out in the world. Sequels are mostly met with criticism, but Capcom were no fools. They knew that they had the ability to make another quality game, and most of all, they knew exactly what to improve from the first game, which still was a great product in itself. Soon, all the action-thirsty gamers had got their hands on the new game: Mega Man II.

Part two focuses a whole lot more on plot and story than the first game. This time we even get an introduction sequence before we get to the main menu. In case anyone doesn't know about the Blue Bomber (how many could that be?), I'll spill the details. Mega Man is a cyborg who lives in the year 20XX. He is a creation of the good-hearted professor Dr. Light. In the previous game, Dr. Light's assistant Dr. Wiley got greedy and turned against his former boss and tried to take over the world by reprogramming six of the seven robots he and Dr. Light had built for peaceful purposes. Thanks to Mega Man, Dr. Wiley was defeated and peace returned. This wouldn't last long, however, because Wiley soon returned with eight new robots designed entirely for fighting! Once again, Mega Man has to go out in the world to stop the evil that is once more spreading across the world.

Mega Man II established the famous "eight bosses concept" that would be the standard for 99% of the forthcoming Mega Man-games. In the first Mega Man game, you met six bosses from the beginning, now you meet eight of them, and you are free to pick them in any order you wish. Each time you eliminate a robot master, you get his weapon for your own use. Different weapons work differently on all the bosses, so its up to you to find out the best possible order for defeating the robot masters. The whole arsenal of Mega Man is impressive, and we find more than ten different gadgets to play around with, including an atomic fire cannon, razor sharp metal blades, smart bombs and a magic that stops time. Fascinating.

So who are we up against this time? Capcom once again focused their creative energy and came up with eight new classic and beloved robot masters. They are the following: Bubble Man, Air Man, Quick Man, Wood Man, Crash Man, Metal Man, Flash Man and Heat Man. What a nice bunch! The fire element is used again, but Capcom now explores new territories by using the air and water elements. We also have new experimental models with Quick Man, a super fast agile robot with boomerangs, and Flash Man, a robot with a time stopping mechanism and a machine gun. Really cool! Personally, I tend to like the "odd" robot masters a bit more than the traditional. Robots with special skills such as time, martial arts, illusions and darkness are always cooler than the ones with the classic elements of fire and water. Still, the more "natural" robots like Heat Man and Bubble Man are no party poopers. They do their work very well, and they are equally as charming and cool as the more freaky ones.

Almost everything in the sequel have been shaped up and improved. First and foremost: You don't have to restart the whole game once you turn off your console. Capcom realized this wasn't the greatest idea, so they lowered the hardcore vibes a bit and put in some more mainstream formulas. The result? We now have a brilliant password system which allows us to continue where we left of! Yay!

Moreover, a lot of new features have been added, and some old useless ones have been scrapped. One aspect that had to give in was the scoring system. After all, no one cared about that in the first Mega Man game, so why would Capcom waste extra kilobytes with a useless scoring system? A new feature that is implemented here, and sadly, never ever seen again in a Mega Man game, is the ability to pick different difficulty levels. You can choose between "normal" and "hard". Great! We also get to see the famous energy tanks for the first time. Though this system isn't yet very developed, it is a nice touch and a great aid in such a game. We even get pampered with three different extra objects that we can utilize on the stages to reach secret areas or easily pass difficult places, namely a hoover platform, a jet slide and a wall elevator. Neat!

As you can see, a lot of extra helpful utilities have been added, and it really pays off. While the first Mega Man game was a great experience, it was also terribly difficult, and a bit scary to play, since you knew that you could fail so easily on the harder levels. This time, we don't have to bite our nails while playing. No, don't worry, folks! Mega Man II is no cake walk! The game is challenging, and it can be a bit harsh in certain situations, but this time it feels fair and square. A challenge we all long for and feel eager to play.

The graphics and music are shaped up as well. The stages are even better in both design and structure than in the first game. All the stages are solid and unique, and they are colourful and flashy. The songs are equally as catchy and great as in the first game. As with the last game, the game lets us taste several different landscapes and environments, such as tropical forests, cloud landscapes, icy caverns and psychedelic mazes. The controls are very precise and well done, and I believe that they were already in the first game, so this is one of the few things that hasn't changed. I do think the framerate and the smoothness have been raised a little bit, so the game flows much faster than before.

There is not much more that needs to be said here. Mega Man II is solid and well-made in all pieces. Fans of action games will enjoy this one, and Mega Man fans are sure to love it. It takes all the good parts from the first game and shapes them up to be twice as fine. The important personality that made the first game stand miles higher than most other action games is still there. The only last question to be answered is: Do I feel this is the best Mega Man game ever? The peak of the series? Answer is in fact: No! In my opinion, Mega Man II is excellent, but the series has one more step to take before they reach the heaven of action games. Just wait until game number three, and you will see what pure excellence is...

Before I close this section, I must explain a bit about my rating of these games. If you notice, I gave Mega Man I the same score as Mega Man II (8/10). This doesn't mean that they are equally as good. Mega Man II is better, but both games are certified classics to the NES. I don't like to use or think in fractions, but if I had, I would have given the first game maybe 8,1 and the second game around 8,8. Just so you don't send me any flames.

Ah, but no matter what the score is, the text gives you my message. Mark my words well: Go out and get Mega Man II! It is an action feast seldom seen on the NES!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/06/06