The Mega Man Playthrough Topic. Yep.

[Kilgamayan]

Wow, I legit didn't think Wood Man Buster Only No Damage was possible. I remember dying repeatedly to that fight and being forced to use Rush Jet to avoid the shield back when I played this game religiously. Maybe I should try it again.

[Bean]

I think the only boss that can't be beaten without damage with just the buster in the NES games is the second phase of Wily Machine #2, at least for the ones that aren't immune to it. Those bouncing orbs have larger damage zones than they show. A certain boss coming up in a couple vids in this one also has that, but we have the slide for it.

Wood & Quick Man took a long time to beat. Quick Man was definitely the worst. It's too unpredictable of a fight. Wood Man is just a matter of so many tight jumps and being in the exact right position or a step off at most. Did not like doing either of those! Either way, I recorded six of those during the main run and those last two a week or two after it was done. I'll try to get another trio of vids up this next week. So far, I'm on a decent pace for that.

[Bean]

(14) Wily 1 - Kamegoro Maker

When did Dr. Wily have time to build a new castle? Well, whatever the case, it's time for Mega to infiltrate the thing and bring him to justice once and for all and all that! Maybe we spoke too soon, though, because this place isn't exactly Wily 1 from the previous games in terms of difficulty or memorable moments. The enemies are tame for the most part and there are a lot of rooms here that have nothing going on for them other than being places to restock. Even the boss is simple in comparison to old threats like the Yellow Devil or Mecha Dragon. "Shell lacking", indeed. Huh.

[Bean]

(15) Wily 2 - Yellow Devil Mk-II

Well, I came through on getting three vids up last week, but this one didn't get uploaded until about twelve hours ago since we're still editing out of order. Oops! It's not like there's much to cover here as this stage is not only on the short side, but also the empty one. There are literally only three enemies that we have to face before reaching the shutter, and they're all the same type, so this is just one confusing level. At least the returning bringer of Bumo both has a new trick up its sleeve to be more interesting while also being toned down in speed to make fighting it more manageable. If only its damage boxes were what our eyes are seeing. Oh well, that was a theme in these early Mega Man games. So is me winning at them now. Next!

[Bean]

(16) Wily 3 - Holograph Mega Mans

That name doesn't make any grammatical sense, but at least this is one level where Wily looks like he's trying to put up a fight. Aside from one Joe, enemy placement in this level is good from start to finish, and the gimmicks actually work to try and pose a problem. But the real threat is right at the end where Mega has to face three copies of himself. Not only can just one be hit at a time, but the bots will take very fast and accurate pot shots at our hero throughout. This fight needs to be over quick to have a chance at a no damage run. It took over an hour to do that here, so you can imagine that it wasn't easy. After the main run, we'll go back and both go buster only and show off the best option to finish this fight in seconds.

[Bean]

(17) Wily 4 - Refights

Boss rush time, and unlike the previous NES title, these ones are less stressful overall due to the nature of both the bots' attacks and the amount of power our weaknesses deal to them. While it still took an hour to get through all eight without a scratch, that's still around half the time it did in MM2 before I even had a chance to face Wily the first time. In this case, we won't even get to fight Wily since he's not here! Okay then. That works for me!

[Bean]

(18) Wily 5 - Wily Machine #3

Unlike the last two Wily Machines, this one keeps on the ground throughout the battle. It still has those energy spheres, but for the most part, this is the easiest version of attacks to get around. If anything, it's the constant alternating of shots from the shoulders in the second phase that will throw you off the most. Still, once you get a good rhythm down, you'll take this machine down for good! Unfortunately, that doesn't mean we're done quite yet because this was merely a decoy while the real Dr. Wily was putting the finishing touches on Gamma. How about we put the finishing touches on Mega Man 3 next time?

[Bean]

(19) Final Stage - Gamma & Ending

It came down to the wire, but I managed to get this series uploaded without suffering any schedule slip for a change. It's a nice feeling, but it's also good to have this one in the books. Thankfully, Gamma makes that a very quick last chapter as he doesn't have a whole lot going for him. Seems to be a recurring theme with these final bosses, but I certainly won't complain. After letting the underrated final stage music play through, we'll let the simultaneously under and overrated Top Spin save the day, but not before throwing every other weakness out at this big boy first. I had fun, but I'm also completely exhausted. I'll see you when I see you again. For now, it's time to rest. Later!

[helucard]

Thanks again for this playthrough, it's amazing to see this kind of perfectionism in these runs, and it clearly takes a heck of a lot of effort. Enjoy your rest, it is well deserved!

[Bean]

(1) Crash Man

It's been long enough of a wait. Seriously, what's up with July always working out for these playthroughs? If it makes you feel any better, this will be the first of three consecutive runs on the channel instead of just being one and done for the umpteenth time. Wish it could be four, but that last one would probably take more time and energy than I have right now to get finished.

Anyhoo, this marks the only Mega Man Game Boy game to not be made by Minakuchi Engineering. Instead, Capcom passed the baton off to Japan System House (later known as Biox) who proceeded to make a game with some very odd design choices and very whatever the heck this soundtrack is after you get past the title screen. Gameplay wise, this still feels like Mega Man, albeit a little off. Because of that, this will make for an interesting run, but I would also recommend not blasting the sound up while you're blasting bots. It's something. It's Mega Man II, the game that everybody says is the best! Mm-hmm.

[Bean]

(2) Metal Man

Metal Man's back for a second set, and he's brought along a couple of Game Boy exclusive spike drop screen transitions. In a tougher game, this would be annoying. In this once since it's right after the opening and easily avoided, you only get a quick shrug from me. The rest of the stage is pretty much what you'd expect from Metal Man outside of the couple screens of Mets. About the only thing to point out is that our shots go through enemies now instead of stopping on contact. That could lead to some issues, but it didn't happen here.

Metal Man still likes tossing sawblades at our skull. They'll be missing a lot since he seems to always go for the double. I'm not even sure if he's programmed to toss a single or trio now. Just watch out for when he jumps of his own volition. You did? Okay, you win then. See you next time!

[Bean]

(3) Wood Man

If a dude cosplays as a tree stump in the forest and then falls, something about making a sound. And the sound here is a lot of metal buzzing through our enemies because Metal Blade is going to take you far and fast through a lot of trouble in this run. We'll still make use of our other tools including a very unexpected one as Rush Marine finally gets its chance to shine and help bypass one of the tougher sections of the game to get through unscathed!

Wood Man is a stump. Wood Man is a chump. Our shots go through his shield, and the leaves that rain down are now only a trio instead of a quartet. Wood you believe this fight's kind of easy when you don't have as much to dodge? Go figure.

[Bean]

(4) Air Man & Then...

Air Man's stage arguably reaches the height of difficulty in this game since it packs a lot of problems on the smaller Game Boy screen. You have the birds and goblins to contend with, but what really makes it tough are the stretches that have the Tiki platforms to stand on. You see, the horns on those things are so close together that you can't bring out Leaf Shield to defend. It gets deflected away, and that blows, or at least it does when the Fan Fiends join in on the fun. Can you avoid those horns when the wind's in your face... and when it comes to a stop? Good question.

Our boss also involves one specific tight squeeze that I had no answer for in the main run or the extra footage, so how about just making like the wind before he has a chance to use that tornado pattern? Sounds good to me. Next! Oh, that is a fortress. Guess you've run into some tough times, doc.

[Bean]

(5) Top Man

Time to put a new spin on things by showing that Mega Man II adds entire stages for the second set of Robot Masters instead of just four quick refights. Since they give you a password after clearing each one here, this idea is one of the few that's presented and implemented well in this sequel. Top Man's stage combines most of what you've seen before, adds in a screen of disappearing blocks, and calls it a day. Even sillier, any difficulty is negated by having specific tools at our disposal. Why would you make the easy exit the best path to take? It's funny, but I don't get it.

Top Man tries his best, but it takes forever and a day for him to start up. As a result, you'll be lighting up a good chunk of his health on each pass. And every one of those passes by both him and his tops are sloooooow. This is a running theme with this game, but we'll take a win over this spin.

[Bean]

(6) Needle Man

Hmm... Remember the NES stage taking a good while to get through without getting hit. Thankfully, this is the GB one where we don't have anywhere near as much to fear! Still, today's the day where we learn that Top Spin has been utterly nerfed to the point where you're better off not using it. That one honestly annoys me as it was one of the more effective MM3 weapons around. Oh well. The rest of the stage is basically what you'd expect just on a much tamer level, so yeah, enjoy the peaceful cruise since I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be an air/ship hybrid deal. Mm-hmm.

Needle Man kind of misses the point of being a challenge himself considering his spread shot attack loves to fly over our heads while he also has this habit of either getting stuck in headbutt mode or not even facing his opponent. Don't know about you, but it's tough for him to win like that!

[Bean]

(7) Magnet Man

Time to continue to put in the bi-daily grind with a robot that refuses to change up his routine. Magnet Man's stage feels like it's the closest to a copy/paste job of the NES level, minus the part where we'd face Proto Man because why would you build anything up in this afterthought of an adventure? A little more negative on this stage than others, but that attempt at "music" is absolutely jarring. Overall, it's an easy stage that lets you make use of your weapons from the first half of the game arguably better than anything we get in the second.

Oh, and Magnet Man sometimes sticks to the same game plan and forgets about his whole shield that pulls you in. Really, you don't want to experience burnout from doing the same thing over and over again, buddy. Let this be a lesson to both him and you all. Onward!

[Bean]

(8) Hard Man

All right, it's time for the final regular stage of the game. It's sure to put out all of the stops what with the cunning tricks Wily can come up wi... and it's over. Yeah, what happened here? It's basically cut out a huge chunk of Hard Man's stage for reasons that I'm not sure of. On top of that, you can outrun or slide just about everything on your way to the shutter other than a Joe here and there, so this is pretty much a speed run without even trying.

Hard Man falls victim to the usual stand at the wall strategy that causes one of his fists to not fly back at you. That said, you do have to dodge the second, so do that. After that not so hard experience, I wonder what could be waiting for us below in this bargain bin base's basement. Find out next time!

[Bean]

(9) Quint

After all the minor struggles and zero buildup, we finally have our showdown with some dude on a jackhammer that acts like a pogo stick. Oh, that's a reprogrammed Mega Man from the future, by the way. Not our actual future because we're going to beat him, but hey, you know... video games. Where does he go after the fight? Who knows or cares? Certainly not the makers of this game because that's the first and last we'll see of him. Finale's tomorrow!

[Bean]

(10) Final Stage - Wily Machine II & Ending

I remember Dr. Wily's Revenge packing the final stage with difficult scenarios or enemy layouts and saying, have fun with this. This game, on the other hand, is lucky enough to toss one to three simple enemies on the screen in random scenarios and just let you plow through it with no issues whatsoever. Mega Man II is a game that is clearly trying, but it also has no idea what the term difficulty curve means.

The same holds true for Dr. Wily himself who has become the victim of screen scrunch himself. You okay there, dude? I didn't think you were a small-time criminal, but I guess this game's trying to say otherwise. This does get special consideration as the first ever game to have a three-phase Wily battle, but it sure ain't a good one. Fun game in how ridiculously easy it is, but that's about as much as you can say about it.

Next time, which will be this weekend and not ten or eleven months from now, we'll get to take a look at a couple other firsts in the Blue Bomber's franchise. You want a hint? Okay. See you there.

[Bean]

(1) Opening Stage - Facility Entrance

Waaah! It's a dog!

[Bean]

(2) Sonic Man

The return of underwater wind?! Also featuring turrets, a bunch of definitely robotic enemies, and a boss that doesn't use the weapon he gives.

[Bean]

(3) Dyna Man

Ah, nail-carrying bees... the natural predator of the Blue Bomber.

[Bean]

(4) Volt Man

Absolutely not OSHA compliant. We face the impenetrable force that just needed to be able to hold a charge better.

[Bean]

(5) Final Stage - CRORQ, Dr. Wily, & Abrupt Ending

That's that! I've played worse. Speaking of which, see you back here this weekend for the sequel!

[Bean]

(1) Oil Man

Mega Man III DOS exists. Mazes, tight corridors, and turrets you can barely see are our main enemies here. The plot is very suspiciously similar to the original MMDOS except we have no intro stage, six bots to take down instead of three, and an even odder stage select picture of Mega.

Today's boss is not to be confused with the one from Mega Man Powered Up. It's showtime!