Mega Man II

Mega Man 2 is the sequel to Mega Man; it is an action platformer broken up into stages, each ending with a boss. Dr. Wily was defeated by Mega Man in the first game, but he built eight new robots and is once again trying to conquer the world. I first saw this game in a Nintendo strategy guide and thought it looked amazing, so I asked for this game and got it for Christmas (around 1990). The first time I played it I started in Quickman's stage, because the strategy guide suggested his weapon for a lot of the sections in the game. After getting my ass handed to me, I tried again on Flashman's stage. Eventually, I learned a better stage order and now I prefer: Metalman, Bubbleman, Woodman, Flashman, Airman, Crashman, Heatman, Quickman.

Status

I own this game and have beaten it on both normal and difficult skill levels.

Review

Overall: 9/10

Good

• The graphics are colorful, well-drawn, and highly detailed for such a low resolution.
• The music is extremely good, some of the best for the platform.
• The game is difficult without being unfair and even has a difficulty setting for less die-hard players.
• The ending cut scenes and staff roll is a fantastic way to finish the game.

Bad

• The boss weapons are very unbalanced. For most of the game, you'll be using Metalman's weapon because it is not only versatile, but does a lot of damage to most enemies. Other weapons like Lead Bubble, has only two real uses in the whole game.
• The disappearing platforms from the first game are back, and even worse than before. Luckily, the platforms make them a little easier to deal with.
• Later in the game, you have to deal with a lot of instant-death spikes and pits which are a lame way of increasing difficulty.

Ugly

• Nothing, this game rocks.

Box Art

The game had unique box art for three different regions. The original Japanese release uses cartoon style and perfectly matches the game including the bosses and various enemies. The North America box art is notoriously bad using a comic book style. Mega Man is a person in a Spandex jump suit with tiny feet, a ray gun, and a visor. Quickman looks pretty good, but Metalman is atrocious, and strangely, he is commanded by Dr. Light! Finally, PAL regions received an even worse box art with Mega Man being covered in chrome with a shiny dildo instead of an arm, and monsters that don't fit the game at all.

• Mega Man 2 - FC - Japan.jpg

  Japan.

• Mega Man 2 - NES - USA.jpg

  North America.

• Mega Man 2 - NES - EU.jpg

  Europe.

Gallery

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  Original Japanese poster.

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  Fan art.

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  Artistic bosses.

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  The introduction sequence.

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  The game's title screen.

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  The 8 robot bosses.

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  Fighting Woodman.

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  A giant angler fish that spits prawns.

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  The Dr. Wily stage map.

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  One of the game's more interesting bosses.

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  The ending sequence.

Links

• mobygames.com/game/mega-man-2 - MobyGames.
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_2 - Wikipedia.
• youtube.com/watch?v=vn3UiC-kkjc - Title sequence.
• nesmaps.com/maps/MegaMan2/MegaMan2.html - Maps.
• spriters-resource.com/nes/mm2/ - Sprite Sheets.
• vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/Mega_Man_II_(NES) - Music.
• youtube.com/watch?v=Ys7CC9oP8mU - Ending sequence.
• youtube.com/watch?v=g_7rmGlo-1U - Brentalfloss - Title.
• youtube.com/watch?v=ykkdvYThT_Y - Brentalfloss - Dr. Wily Stage 1.