AVGN vs Dr Wily ReviewI normally stay clear of hacks. Increased difficulty and different level design is normally what's different, and I normally like to seek something new. There is the odd few hacks that have greatly different level designs, and those are interesting. Yet there is one hack that caught my eye, one that I wanted to play. It featured one of the most angry video gaming nerds ever. Yes, this game features the Nerd in Megaman's place. I wonder if the game will include parts of the Nerds Power Suit. Maybe the Power Mat will be in placement of the Wood Shield (and maybe be more useful). Will the levels be different? The anticipation is almost killing me. Lets look into this hack.
So the game starts off just like Megaman 2, as this is a sequel to that game. The story tells us how Megaman had defeated all the robot masters and was about to defeat Dr. Wily, until Dr. Wily launched a trap killing Megaman in the process. Now Dr. Wily has re-built all 8 of his robot masters and is about to take over the world, making all the levels much more difficult. But then, a new hero arises. He won't stop until all terrible games in the world have been reviewed and have been warned not to play them.....na, just kidding about the last part. The Nerd steps into Megamans shoes and goes to defeat Dr. Wily himself. But when the title screen comes up, I'm not thinking: "yay", I'm thinking "Megamans dead?!? WHY!?! *cries*" Of course this is a hack, and it never happened ever in the series. But Did they have to kill Megaman? It makes a fair plot-device. But could they have at least said Megaman was incredibly damaged and could not fight and finish Dr. Wily, in which when he recovers, it would be too late? Well, that's the story, so I'll just play along. And why does Dr. Wily spend most of his time "rebuilding" the same robot masters that can be defeated by the greatest robot warrior ever? Why not make stronger robots while your at it? Well, Dr. Wily is suffering a serious case of SEVS (Stupid Evil Villain Syndrome) *waits for something*.....Oh good, that won't happen then.....Long story.
The 8-bit design for the Nerd is interesting. He looks like one of those anime scientists that mess with chemistry a lot. I can see that "c" frown on him, almost makes me want to swear about how horrible this game is, until I realized this might be a good hack (as I have yet to play it), and I don't normally swear. Damn you, Nerd, and your Nerdiness. When you press start, the Nerd teleports just like the original game, and you get to play. The robot masters are still there on the level select, just switched around a bit. Understandable. I normally start with Metal Man, and this is no exception. The Metal Blades are so broken. But maybe it won't be the Metal Blades, maybe it'll be something like the Power Glove or something. I can't wait to see what it is!
So the music is untouched, every tune is just as it were. Excellent! I love the music in this game. It's legendary to say the least. Your primary weapon is....a gun? Ok, and it says "Z" on the menu screen. Why not something like the Zapper or something if it's going to be a.....Oh....that's what the Z stands for *palm slaps on forehead* duh.....Ok, I'm running around this level, you can collect energy tanks like the original, you lose the same health like the original, the level looks the same 1:1, apart from those dropping spiked things, there appears to be an extra one there. And there appears to be holes where there wasn't one before. There are the same amount of enemies, and they take the same amount of hits to kill. Ah, I see what's going on. When they said "each level much more difficult", they just changed the original level design a bit to make it a little less convenient, and therefore, making it only a little more difficult.
Why is Dr. Wily making these levels a little less convenient? Why not just create a level filled with spikes? That will sort anyone seeking to stop him out. Dr. Wily shouldn't be out with this bad a case of SEVS. The only other thing that has changed is the colour scheme, which in fairness, it pretty nice as it highlights the seriousness of Dr. Wily taking over the world. It makes the game feel more dark and eerie than before, and you are the only one who can stop him. After defeating Metal Man, I received Metal-Blades. Ok, that's cool, but is there no relation to the Nerd with new weapons? i.e the Super Scope, the Power Mat, the Power Glove, the helmet thingy....anything?!? After playing through two levels, It's pretty much the same, but a slightly higher difficulty. Maybe the Wily Castle stages are different. So, just like any other Megaman hack I've played, the password system is not changed, along with the passwords.....Hehe *enters in final level password* Lets have a look at Dr. Wily Stage 1.
*Lands on the edge of a cliff* Wow, this is more like it. Half the screen is empty. Looks like I need to use Item 2 to get across. *uses Item 2, and hops on*, look at the birds, they can't land their eggs on me *crashes into wall* Damn! That used up all my power for Item 2. Now I need to get a game over to refill it, seeing as there are no enemies to help refill it. That's what I really hate about Megaman games. There is a spot where you have to use a certain weapon to get passed, and if you lose all your power in trying to achieve it, you're either screwed (like in the third game, Wily Castle Stage 3), or you have to grind to get the energy back (like the first or second one). At least in those game, there was some way to replenish it (the third game had energy tanks to fill them up as you did them, but when they were collected, they wouldn't re-spawn after death), but here, you have no choice but you get a game over, unless you are mega skilled in using Item 1 to reach the birds....oh wait, you can't fire during the use of that weapon, right?
So I try again, only higher, and get hit by the eggs, killing me, therefore, needing to get a game over to get enough energy to reach the wall. So I thought maybe I'll shoot them, in which I can't while Item 2 is in use. So I tried to jump over them, in which I failed time and time again. Now, this is "much more difficult", and to be fair, is challenging, but possible. But could you have at least had the kindness to give us some energy pellets to replenish Item 2 when we fail the first time? I gave up due to being sick of having to get game-overs to get the energy to get passed, which results in a death, which results in having to get a game-over to get Item 2 replenished to have another go, in which results in....and so on and so forth. What were they thinking?!?
Overall, I give this a 7.8/10 This is nothing special, aside from the Wily Castle Stages, which are just too hard. To be fair, the level designs were nice to an extent, and gave it a little boost of difficulty that makes you feel proud when you complete the level. But you really just need to jump over extra gaps, that's all. There are the same amount of enemies, they take the same amount of hits, there aren't any handicaps, the weapons don't relate to the Nerds Power Suit (disappointingly) aside from the Zapper, and the only big highlight is being able to play as the Nerd, in which is a novelty that is quickly faded away. this could have been so much more. But if it's someones first hack, then they have quite a bit of potential here.
Graphics
8 Sound
10 Addictive
8 Depth
7 Story
7 Difficulty
10