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Playing the Mega Man series is cathartic in many ways. You get to listen to great music, appreciate the impressively cartoony visuals Capcom wrung out of the NES hardware, and experiment with many unique and varied abilities. But overall, we tend to like it because it's mindless. It's a platformer with clear rules and obvious (though difficult) goals. We don't need to think too much.
But that doesn't mean we can't be enriched by the experience. In fact, if you keep your brain switched firmly on as you battle your way through the endless waves of Robot Masters, you're liable to learn a thing or two about the world around.
To help you on this quest of video game-assisted self-discovery, we've compiled a list of ten life lessons we've learned from playing Mega Man.
1) Master a Trade
One of the first things any newcomer to the series will notice is the clear and deliberate specialisation of the Robot Masters. They all have unique appearances and tools, and it's often easy to see how these would serve them in their daily (read: non-megalomaniacal) lives. Cut Man was a timber-felling robot, Snake Man was designed to explore narrow passages and crevices and Dust Man was a gigantic self-motivated vacuum cleaner, a sort of far-creepier ancestor of the Roomba, one who would probably stand at the foot of your bed and watch you sleep.
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The trades of which these robots are masters are not always obvious, but it's at least clear that they do specialise. At first glance it might not be obvious what Needle Man and Plant Man do for a living, but it's at least clear that they do very different things. That's the beauty of the Robot Masters, and what gives them personality.
The Robot Masters aren't just mindless bosses or obstacles on your way to Dr. Wily. They have roles in the larger universe around them, and that's what makes them memorable. It's also what gives them their edge; they've been using their tools and weapons throughout the course of their lives. When you defeat them and take their weapons, you nearly always receive an underpowered approximation. Why? Because having a tool isn't the same as knowing how to use it. Mega Man might have access to all the tools in the game, but he doesn't specialise in any of them. He's a master of none.
2) Work Smarter, Not Harder
Dr. Light may have been kind enough to outfit you with an arm cannon and infinite ammunition, but when even rabbits and dragonflies take a barrage of shots to bring down, you know you're underpowered (the fact you resemble a toddler in blue Spandex doesn't help with the confidence, either.) That's why there's no shame in exploiting the myriad quirks, gimmicks and glitches of the Mega Man series in order to get ahead.
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Go after Metal Man first and sling that over-powered blade of his around like there's no tomorrow. Double back to scroll Hard Man's bees and Spark Man's electricity traps right out of existence. Hop repeatedly on the Rush Jet to keep it from eating fuel. Keep pausing the game during the Yellow Devil fight so that you can kill him with a single Elec Beam (he'd do the same thing to you, you know...) And, yeah, you could memorise the long pattern of disappearing blocks over Heat Man's various death traps, but don't you have a nice, shiny rocket sled you've been meaning to try out?
It can feel like cheating to exploit a few of the shortcuts that the games (not always knowingly) offer up, but sometimes, in a world full of evil robots and death spikes and waves of enemy projectiles, you need all the help you can get. And besides, the ability to out-think one's opponent is at least as valuable as the ability to outfight him.
3) Never Judge a Book by its Cover
If there's one thing the Mega Man series seems to stress over and over again, it's this: the biggest, scariest looking robot master in the first game is also the simplest to defeat. A robot called Hard Man is laughably easy, and Ring Man, a robot designed for the specific purpose of brutally slaughtering our hero, is totally pattern-based and easy to avoid.
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The Gemini Laser should be the coolest weapon in any game — just look at its name! — but instead it's cumbersome, inaccurate and instantly transforms any room into a laggy mess. The Dive Missile is a homing torpedo that never hits anything, the Search Snake is incapable of finding whatever it's looking for and the Power Stone deserves to have neither of those words attached to it.
You might have thought these things were frustrating, but really Capcom was trying to teach you an important lesson about having reasonable expectations in life.
Just... trust us on that.
4) Less is More
Mega Man 3 taught Mega Man how to slide; Mega Man 4 taught him how to charge his buster shots. Mega Man 2 didn't teach him much, aside from how not to suck. Somewhere around here is when things got out of hand, because by Mega Man 6 he was pulling his dog apart and snapping pieces of it onto himself like some deranged LEGO warrior in order to accomplish things he was able to do in the past without such tomfoolery. By Mega Man 8 things were even worse, as the Blue Bomber was now starring in sub-standard anime dramas with a voice cast that sounds like it only took the job for booze money and some bus fare home. Things had really gone off the rails by that point.
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It's debatable how much was "too much." Players do enjoy the ability to slide, and some enjoy the charge shot. (Absolutely nobody, for the record, enjoys the Rush-as-cummerbund absurdity of Mega Man 6.) But there's no question that, at some point, the series overcomplicated itself, and the magic and fun was gone forever.
Or was it? 12 years after the last numbered entry, Capcom wisely decided to scrap everything and start fresh, and the result was, surprisingly, one of the best-received Mega Man games ever. Mega Man 9 reminds the world that bigger doesn't always mean better — there's a genuine magic to simplicity, and the step back was a welcome one. In a world where games are measured by the number of hours it takes to walk from one end to the other, it was refreshing to see Mega Man 9 announce itself as deliberately smaller and less complicated than the series has been in ages. It was more important for Mega Man 9 to be fun than to be enormous, and it's a trade-off that gamers and critics alike appreciated.
5) However Much You May Fight, Your Family Loves You
Throughout Mega Man 3, you find yourself followed around by an unwelcome, similar looking tagalong. Sometimes he just stands there and watches you. Other times he tries to beat you up. He repeatedly gets in your way while you try to accomplish your goals, and seems to want attention more than he actually wishes you harm. At the end of the game the big secret is revealed: he's really your brother!
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Some secret. Aren't all brothers like that? It's in their genes. It doesn't mean they don't really love you, and considering how many times Proto Man has saved your bacon throughout the series — and how few times you've saved his — that love really is unconditional.
Even Dr. Light, the closest thing you have to a father, keeps sending you into battle to die, because he's too old / fat / lazy to slap Wily around in person. But give him a break; he's got a full-time job as a scientist and sometimes he just wants to come home and rest his eyes on the couch for a while. And really, is that too much to ask? Do you really need to complain about the guy just wanting a quiet night to himself? He sure works hard enough to keep a roof over your head and food in the refrigerator. The least you can do is pull your own weight every once in a while, you know. And would it kill you to clean up your room? Sheesh.
Comments 39
I highly disagree with the one about "Less is more", where you basically insulted every Mega Man going up from 4. Mega Man 2 and 3 were blander than a white room, I highly regret ever playing them. Mega Man 4 perfected the use of the slide, as where it felt forced in MM3; and the Charge Shot was one of the best additions ever introduced. The Rush Adaptors were one of the most genius inclusions in the Mega Man universe: they were loads of fun to use and didn't have a separate energy bar! And the anime cutscenes added to Mega Man 8's charm. Mega Man 9 only took away from the visual department: its weapons were fantastic and did MORE. So your argument about "Less is more" kinda pointless.
And Hard Man easy? EDIT: Oh, sorry, he really is. Good point.
And about the weapons, nearly all of the stuff from Mega Man 2, besides the Metal Blade, were useless. Item 1, 2, and 3 are still the worst things in Mega Man's arsenal.
EDIT: I'm sorry, I just really don't like how overrated MM2 and MM3 are.
I love how you guys regarded that overrated piece of garbage Mega Man 2 better than any other game on here.
2 is my favorite, thanks for loving how I regard it!
@Dragoon Your ramble was more entertaining than the article
Oh lord. Only 3 post before some hardcore MegaMan fanboy cried and attempted to shred a light hearted article with over the top extreme purist comments while completely missing the point.
Great read Philip. Clever spin on the franchise.
@Dragoon:
Stand at the edge of the screen when he fires his Hard Knuckles. Ta-daa! He suddenly becomes the easiest buster-only robot master this side of Toad Man! (And why would somebody need their eyes checked if they think something is easy? Wouldn't the person having difficulty benefit more from an eye exam? )
And yeah, in case this wasn't obvious enough, this entire thing is tongue in cheek.
Thanks for the feedback guys! For those who don't know, I'm doing no-damage runs of Mega Man stages on youtube right now.
http://www.youtube.com/felixdeckett
Parental guidance strongly encouraged. ahem.
I love your channel Phillip
Oh, and for the record, since no Mega Man discussion of any kind is complete without this:
9 > 2 > 7 > 4 > 10 > 3 > 5 > 1 > 6 > accidentally eating a dog turd > 8
I kinda think accidentally eating a dog turd should be rated a little higher but thats just me.
So when you going to do a Lets Play video on Mega Man 8?
@ post 9
Like always, I must now have an amazing debate with Chicken Brutus about video games.
I haven't played 9 or 10, so I'm gonna leave those out
2 > 5 > 3 > 4 > 6 > 1 > 7 > realizing you were screwing your own father at an orgy > 8
@Chicken_Brutus I couldnt agree more with that tiering, 7 and 9 are my favorites, but you cant dismiss how great 2 was Great article, it was a very fun read!
@WaveBoy MM1 feels completely different from the rest, and even so, it didn't feel bland at all. It at least kept your at your full-playing level every screen.
And horribly generic Cossack and Wily Stages in MM4? HORRIBLY GENERIC? Do you call tight-sliding, auto scrolling in the sky, Giant Robot battling levels generic? I think not. MM2's Wily Stages are only famous by the music: and nothing else.
"Life is Unfair". If video games taught me anything, this is it.
The only time I've ever played Megaman was on my friends Wii one time, and it was pretty fun but challenging.
I just really hope we get something with Megaman on the eShop or a game. I really want some Megaman action.
Funny article btw. :3
accidentally eating a dog turd > 1 - 10
/me hides
On a serious note, nice article CB~
#11 Life Lesson: Use Mega as an adjective or adverb to explain something that is nearly to cool to be explained
What about always jump through doors not walk through them?
lol whenever I hear mega man names I cant help but think they should be the names of porn stars
@tweet75:
Dibs on "Dive Man."
Nice write up there Chicken_Brutus. The only thing is and I must be the only one but kinda liked the Rush suits in Megaman 6. I thought it was much better than the change they did to Rush in Megaman 5 like make the Rush Coil a Pogo stick and how Rush Jet took off the moment you touched it even if you weren't on it good. The only thing they could have down maybe is had the Jet Suit and Power Suit separate as its own suit rather than a transforming Rush.
And, sure enough, a minor enemy just dropped a 1-Up for you.
Right on the spikes.
Right on the death spikes.
And you have to watch it, sitting there, smiling. Mocking you. Eventually it starts to flicker and it disappears. The game has taunted you.
LOL- to-death
@9 That's a winner, but I like to slide into the boss room in style personally
oh and...
10 > 9 > 3 > 2 > 5 > MM&B > 7 > 8 > 4 > 6 > 1 > Dognutt (trust me, not a classic candy bar)
I'm sorry, but I must say (at the risk of being "text-screamed-at") that Megaman 8 is one of my favorite Megaman games. I mean, other than the voice acting and the anime scenes, was it really THAT bad?
...anyway, I'm gonna go hide under a rock now...
@superlink64: Well I am not sure your situation but if you started playing the Megaman series on NES than yes Megaman 8 is that bad. If you Megaman 8 was the first one in the MM series that you played than you had nothing to compare it too. But the music as opposed to the other Megman games was terrible that bubble gum Asian techno beat just dont work with Megaman and the voice acting my god the voice acting. I have heard kindergarten plays with more emotion than the voice acting in MM8.
11. Stupid design plans lead to stupid robots (see: Spring Man, Toad Man, Plant Man, Top Man, Toad Man, etc.)
I am not much of a Mega Man fan, played them on the NES, but I like Mega Man X series more.
I know something like this has already been posted in the article, but another good lesson from Mega Man is "If at first you don't succeed, try try again." Dr. Wily does it all the time! Plus, many inexperienced players do this after dying so many times. Think of it as a follow-up to "Life is Hard".
Phil, have I ever mentioned to you that everything you write is wonderful? Because uh...it's true. Great read
#11: Just brush up against a spike and you'll explode into fragments.
Phil + writing/vid'ing anything even slightly related to Mega Man = Win.
That's math, mofos.
Good piece, Phil. I especially love the "1-Up dropping on to spikes, sitting there smiling and mocking you" bit.
(now i'm reminded that i need to catch up on some of your channel vids)
Very nice article Phil. Good to see you back.
there is a lone ')' in the first paragraph on less is more
I don't like the Megaman games, as I suck at them.
This article kinda depresses me. There's been alot of talk lately about the Mega man series dying off due to Inafune leaving Capcom. considering the future without the man who created it is a scary thought.
We still have Legends 3 to look forward to. (so far)
Other than that it's not looking good.
Lots of great memories from this series.
It was fun while it lasted.
umm you forgot to mention Megaman 7
The only reason people say Mega man 1 is the hardest is no E-tanks.
I find the most difficult parts without a free refill are these...
1.Yellow devil
2. Mega clone He still infuriates me to this day.
3. Boss gauntlet towards end.
4. Dr Wily.
Other than those moments the rest of the game is cake.
@Chicken_Brutus I really enjoyed your no damage runs of the various Mega Man games on your YouTube channel. Keep up the good work, sir!
I agree that life is unfair.
Also, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger... or in Mega Man's case - everything can kill you so don't screw up!
Haha when I saw this article I thought it might have been by you. Nice read.
Those damn 1ups on the spikes laughing at me! I also agree with always getting weapon refills when you need some life energy. Always happens.
11. Even Tron clones can be cool!
RUNS AWAY QUICKLY FOR DEAR LIFE
I loved the part about the 1-up on the spikes. So true.
This was a great article! Fun read. MM2 is my all time favorite video game... period. I play it about once or twice a year. Easier to do now that I have it on my iPhone. Even with all of the amazing games out nowadays, MM2 is still tops for me. Level design, boss design, weapons... and of course, the music. Its my favorite game soundtrack, too.
I was so excited when MM9 came out... and I love the music. Everything felt like a MM game should be. But the game was a little too hard for me, so I never finished it. And MM10 was ever harder... and the music sucked, imo... so I barely ever played that one. Maybe I'll have to go back and give 9 another chance since everyone is saying it's so good. I know MM games are supposed to be on the harder side... but I just hate when a game turns frustrating. I don't play video games to be frustrated. I play to have fun. As soon as it stops being fun, I lose interest. I think MM2 has the perfect balance. Not too hard, but just challenging enough. I was hoping 9 and 10 would be similar.
@Swiket — I thought I was the only one who jumps up as I enter a boss door so I can watch MM float through the entrance! Hilarious. Its so second nature to me after doing it for so many years, I don't even think about it... its just automatic.
Such a great series.
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