In 1988 Nintendo released the sequel to the original Mega Man game and boy did it improve the series. 1.5 million in sales made it the best-selling game of the NES series. The game itself doesn’t deviate much at all from the original game but improves upon that game. Dr. Wily is back at his shenanigans and has a bunch more robots ready to do battle with Mega Man. Everything that Mega Man did Mega Man 2 took and made better. More levels, more weapons, more bosses and more help from Dr. Light.

Graphics – 8/10

The graphics for Mega Man are pretty good for the NES. They are definitely an improvement over the original game. The look of the series is solidified with this game and remains consistent throughout the NES portions of the series. This goes to show how perfectly they got the graphics for this game. Each level design is unique and interesting which keeps each level fresh.

I still think there could have been more to the graphics. Most of the backgrounds in each level are either bland or monotonous. There is more they could have done there. That’s the main reason I didn’t give the game a 10/10 on graphics.

Sound – 8/10

I spent a few minutes listening to the original Mega Man game music and compared it to Mega Man 2’s music and wow is it a drastic difference in quality. The music is cleaner throughout and far better done. The improvements from 1 to 2 are another big reason why Mega Man 2 solidified the series and kept it alive.

Just like the individualized visual style for each level this game also had unique music styles for each level. This definitely kept the game more interesting because you didn’t have to play 10 levels with the exact same song playing during the main portions of the levels. I also like the additional intensity that the boss fights got. The music on most levels was generally exciting enough but the boss fight itself got a change in music that made you feel the difference in that part of the level versus the rest.

Addictiveness 9/10

I personally played this game a TON of times. There are several reasons for that. The first one is that this game is simply really well made. The levels themselves while generally predictable have enough difficult portions that one play through rarely gives you the skill to beat the level perfectly every time. It would take dozens of times through each level before you could reliably beat each one.

The second reason I played the game as much as I did was because of a gameplay component. Each boss was vulnerable to the special ability you gained from previous bosses. If you didn’t have the right power up from the boss then beating a boss could be extremely difficult. Learning the right order to fight the bosses in took a long time. Once you had the order figured out it made the game easier to play because the boss fights weren’t as difficult.

Story – 5/10

The story for every Mega Man game is basically the same. Dr. Wily has created robots that he is using to cause havoc and mayhem around the world. Mega Man takes on the responsibility of taking those robots on. There isn’t much else to it. This is the story that every Mega Man game has. It’s not a bad story but it is pretty bland. There is no depth to the story. I love the game but the story is the bare minimum needed in order to be called a story.

Depth – 5/10

The depth of this game is pretty limited. You have to beat each of the 8 main bosses, collect their power-ups (and the 3 extra power-ups that Dr. Light gives you) and then use those power-ups to attack and defeat Dr. Wily. There are no extra levels (that I know of anyway) so there isn’t anything extra you can do. Each level is very linear so there aren’t shortcuts or other secrets like that. I believe later games introduce hidden items and secrets into the game but Mega Man 2 does not have those.

Difficulty – 9/10

This game gets such a high rating because in the first dozen or so plays through the game it is really difficult. Many jumps that are made must be done in a very precise way or death is immediate. Every death results in starting a level over at the very beginning. As you progress through the game and start to learn level design and enemy placement the game does become easier but the first time through (or first dozen attempts to get to the end of the game) can be quite difficult.

Overall – 9/10

I think this is by far one of the best NES games out there. It really improved on the side-scrolling genre of games and kept a franchise alive that had started out very badly. If it weren’t for this game most of us wouldn’t know Mega Man at all but a few might remember some guy named Rock Man. This game is great and I highly recommend it if you’ve never played Mega Man games before. I personally would skip the first one if you’re wanting to get into this series and haven’t played any games before.

geeogree : Wow, didn't think I would see you write a review Elder Slime, so this is cool. Also the review is good, looks like you put a bit of time into this, you say what you want to say and say it clearly. Good job and I hope you make more, these are pretty nice

18mlivingston : thanks. This is not my first review and far from my last. I'm going to be spending a fair bit of time writing reviews for remaining NES and SNES games that we still have at Vizzed that I've played.

Heck of a great review right here! megaman was such a great game at its time and still is a great game even after so many years. And it very well did propel the series to the top for a good long portion of times. So well done good sir!

Now then, this almost makes me regret giving up on the series a while back. I found the bosses to be beyond lopsidedly unfair and just difficult to a point that it was ridiculous and dare say silly of the programmers. However, now that I've read this I realize that I may have simply chosen the wrong level first. Now I may have to try another one if PSN has a sale for it.

Nice review man, solid write.

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epic troll

Mega Man 2 was the star of the NES lineup,even though it did suffer a bit from bad box art,although nowhere near as bad as the first one. The game was fun because of the various weapons to acquire from a beaten robot master,the challenge of a stage and of course,kicking Dr. Wily's rear end. It was simple gameplay and it focused on fun. Good review of the game,I agree with you.

Here is hoping Mighty Number 9 can revitalize the series and makes Inafune (Mega Man's creator) a buttload of money.