Has anyone heard of the Sonic/Megaman comic tie-in? Well, someone decided to make another crossover between the two, this time in a hack of Megaman 3. The result is Megaman: The Hedgehog Trap. This hack has been split into 3 game posts: an easy, normal and hard mode. Today I will be starting off the review series with the easy mode, as it's the first one Megaman newbies  should probably check out.

When you first start up the game, you're not told any storyline whatsoever. For what little story the game does have, it's difficult to make anything out of, and like Megaman 3 the story is only revealed later on in the game. Here's a dig-up on the plot:

Dr. Robotnik and Dr. Wily have kidnapped Sonic and Tails. In a desperate move, Dr. Light and Megaman travel to the islands of the Sonic games to try and get them back. Somewhere along those lines, Dr. Wily assumes a computer virus would stop Megaman dead in his tracks, so he creates a significantly powerful one for no discernible reason. Now it's double trouble for the blue bomber. Can he destroy the virus and save our captive animal heroes?

There are plenty of plot problems, and it makes the story itself very confusing. Then again, the Megaman games have never been known for their story, so should a hack really be any different?

It doesn't differ in sound either. Pretty much all the music is taken directly from Megaman 3. Which makes sense, since this is a hack of said game. The sound score would have been very low had the original Megaman 3 not had such good music in the first place. The similarities slow down from there; we're about to enter the most important area in the hack: level design.

The stage select is the first thing you'll notice that's different about this hack. Instead of the original cast for Megaman 3, you have the robot masters from Megaman 2. Well, sort of, but we'll get to that later. Once you make your choice, you'll be shown the name of a classic Sonic level, warped into the named level and away you go.

I guess while I'm here I should talk about the graphics. The main ones that have been changed from the original are the level backgrounds and the tilesets. The graphic changes are mainly to replicate the look and feel of the level they are based on, and they do a great job at it. It turns out that Sonic levels translate so well to 8-bit that you have to wonder if those levels were supposed to be 8-bit to begin with.

But that's enough about the minor things-let's talk about the meat of the hack itself, structure first. Each robot master represent a different Sonic zone. We'll use fan favorite Metal Man for an example. Levels are themed around Sonic levels, with central gimmicks based around the level they are imitating; in Metal Man's case this is Scrap Brain Zone, with conveyor belts and insta-kill buzzsaws around the level. Along the way, there are multiple pathways, often using a risk/reward system, so you might have to deal with some extra enemies to get some health from them, or in other cases you could get a nice E-tank (portable health powerup that you can use any time) before having to face a platforming challenge. Also, exclusive to Metal Man's stage, you can face off against Protoman, who is pulled right out of Megaman 3 and hasn't changed one bit. At the end of each stage, you have a room with a Chaos Emerald in the background and a Doc Robot to contend with as the end-of-level boss. Doc Robots use similar attacks and patterns to the robot master they are fighting for; Metal Man's stage will have a Doc Robot that jumps and  throws Metal Blades, for example.

After the deed is done, you get a Megaman 3 weapon masked as a Megaman 2 weapon. In some cases, there's hardly a way to tell the difference-Metal Blade and Shadow Blade from Megaman 3 are essentially the same thing-but in others it feels a bit awkward; Wood Man's Leaf Shield is actually a reskinned Top Spin, and Bubble Man's Bubble Lead is Search Snake in a graphical disguise. Also making a return are the Rush items that you obtain after beating certain bosses - Rush Coil, Rush Marine and Rush Jet. You have Rush Coil at the start of the game, and you must unlock the other two.

That's only one aspect of the levels. Now let's see to the actual design. Like I said before, the levels use a risk/reward system to get players fighting more enemies or navigating more intricate platforming sections with bonuses like E-tanks or Free Men (essentially the game's 1-ups) as the bait. Succeed and the prize is yours. Sometimes, you'll get the reward prior to facing the challenge. This is a very good system in many games, and this hack is no exception. Levels also have a central design focus and stick to it, which is another great aspect about this hack. It's Sonic on the outside, but it's a Megaman game at heart. Levels in the easy mode are more forgiving and when it's most challenging, it's fair at the same time. When you get hit, it's justified. It was your fault you got hit, not the enemy's. However, that's not to say there aren't a few instances where enemies are placed in annoying places. In particular I most often came across this problem in Quick Man's stage, themed around Marble Zone. In one section you must use platforms to navigate across a lava pit. The problem is, there are enemies on the left side of the platforms you need to land on, and when you get hit, you suffer knockback, so if you get hit here, you'll most likely fall into the lava, which is insta-kill. However, this doesn't come up that often, so it doesn't hurt the levels too much.

But the game doesn't end once you beat all the robot masters and their respective Doc Robots. Once you beat them, you unlock harder versions of Heat Man, Quick Man, Metal Man and Flash Man's stages, where enemies appear more often, the scenery is swapped and the overall design changes to accommodate the increase in difficulty. If you found the first stages a bit too easy, then these should satisfy your hunger for more fair challenge. In these stages you fight two bosses, one in the middle and one at the end. Arriving late to the party are the Megaman 3 robot masters, who serve as the bosses for these stages. If you played Megaman 3 before, you know what to do. The only problem is that these bosses are light blue all over and the end boss rooms have one quarter of a Chaos Emerald in each one. (although this was probably intentional, seeing that you see a different quarter of the same emerald in each stage) After that, you deal with Break Man (who fights like Protoman and is encountered in a stage that is nothing more than a room where you fight him) and finally it's time for another round with Wily's Fortress.

Being stages that occur very late in the game, these stages test all the things you've learned throughout the game, with lots of fair challenges of platforming and fighting. There's even some instances where you have to use some of your utilities you acquired earlier on in the game, but at least it tells you where you need to use them. Other than that, Wily stages are best known for having bosses that are very different from your average robot master and as a result they are more difficult. I can't say too much about these, but new players will want all the E-tanks and Free Men they can get, come the final face off.

Overall, Megaman: The Hedgehog Trap is a great spin on Megaman 3. The easy mode is fittingly inviting and will most likely have new players nicely prepared for the normal and hard modes of this hack. Also, it is incredibly addictive and the simple, yet fun gameplay will leave you coming back for more. The graphics are lovely, the level design is superb and above all, this hack does a great job of modifying Megaman 3 when compared to more common types of hacks. If you want a hack that is fair, yet challenging, look no further than Megaman: The Hedgehog Trap easy mode.

Verdict:

+ Great introduction to the hack for newcomers
+ Iconic Sonic levels look superb in 8-bit
- Weapon reskins can get very confusing
Don't go in expecting too much difficulty and you
have a brilliant hack for newcomers.
Overall: 8.6