Mega Man 2 Review

Megaman, released in 1987, was the biggest hit Capcom had had up to that point. Therefore, it is no wonder that they decided in 1989 to release a sequel to the game. Titled Megaman 2, the sequel went on to receive more acclaim than its predecessor had, and, to this day, diehard Megaman fans debate whether this game or its sequel is the best Megaman game on the NES. I personally must say I favor Megaman III as the best overall rather than this one, but this one is an excellent game in many respects.

The graphics in Megaman 2 are much improved from the original Megaman, but with two years of increases in programming capability, that is to be expected. Gone are the delays when robots explode. Virtually gone is any sign of slowdown. Overall, this game’s graphics are most improved, and, I believe, are the most significant jump in graphical quality seen in the Megaman series until the jump between 6 and 7. The only thing that remains unchanged is that Megaman looks the same in this one as he did in the previous one, but he would maintain that look with little if any change until Megaman 6.

The sound effects weren’t really changed between Megaman and this game, but they still work just fine. I also must say that the music in this game is as well done as in the original and all the others on NES. Overall, average sound effects and spectacular music. That’s pretty much the story of sound on the NES Megaman games.

The gameplay and the story are essentially borrowed from the previous game, and the story would continue to be borrowed, for the most part, for the rest of the series. There are very few major changes other than changes in what the assimilated weapons are. But, even though there weren’t many major changes, there were a few.

First of all, energy tanks were added for this game. An energy tank is an item that allows you to refill your lifebar at any time that is isn’t full. How many of these Megaman can carry at a time varies by the game, but it is always either four or nine. In this game it is four.

Another change that was made for this game was the jump from six levels before Wily to eight. The quantity of Wily levels also increased by a couple this game. To compensate for the increase in length, though, Capcom included a password feature with this game that would allow the player to maintain passwords showing which of the eight initial bosses had already been beat. You still have to do all the Wily levels in one sitting though. However, the passwords do not save how many energy tanks or lives you had. If that is a problem though, you can still replay levels as many times as you like (now without having to repeat the boss battles) to get them back.

Although this game has its difficult moments like its predecessor, in this game there are fewer of them and what ones there are can often be avoided through the use of a particular weapon or item. The bosses still seem to be the type to jump around and use the same attack over and over, but they are harder to beat than the ones in the first Megaman game, at least with the normal weapon. However, one of the special weapons is basically a cure-all, as it can get Megaman out of nearly any situation and hurt more than one boss significantly. So overall, the bosses are just as easy as in the first game because they are relatively easy to beat with assimilated weapons, with one or two exceptions. So, basically, this game is significantly easier than its predecessor even before the energy tanks are added.

To make matters even more interesting, there are two skill levels. Everything I said in the previous paragraph applies to the difficult skill level, so it stands to reason that the normal mode is a cakewalk, which it is for anybody who has any experience with other Megaman games. This is a good game, but it is just a bit too easy. Even its difficult mode is easier than most of the other Megaman games.

So this game is fun, but easy. This game has a lot of replay value for those who would want to play it over and over, and it is a fun enough that many will. However, for those who just beat a game and move on, this one won’t last long. This game is in many ways a classic, but its longevity is dependent on the mood of the player.