Mega Man, the hero who is fairly generic, save for his ability to copy his foe's more powerful attacks. The box art looks bad. The hero looks constipated. But here it starts, a platformer where you can do the stages in any order, and the weapons can help you defeat the other stages.

Bomb Man: He's probably the easiest to defeat, and his stage is not very hard. His bomb power sounds very useful, but honestly, aren't. The fire weapon from Fire Man is his weakness, but the boss spends so much time slowly jumping, you shouldn't need it.

Cut Man: This dork has a pair of scissors over his head and he throws them at you. His stage is a little harder than Bomb Man, but his Rolling Cutter is useful. If you have Guts Man's power, Cut Man is a piece of cake.

Guts Man: Some recommend starting here first, I think he has a hard stage, as its full of pits and armored enemies. The boss throws giant rocks at you and stuns you when he lands from a jump. Timing is key for this whole level. Just be aggresive with the boss.

Elec Man: A pretty easy vertical stage, and one you definitely want to come back to with Guts Man's Super Arm ability, as there is a hidden powerup, Magnet Beam near the top of the tower. Elec Man himself has a very strong attack you'll want to jump over. Use the Cutter to kill him.

Ice Man : This stage sucks. The disappearing blocks are numerous and can really waste your time and your life. If the magnet beam has been recovered, it can make steps for you to cheat, haha. You might think a fire weapon hurts Ice man but surprise, its Elec Beam.


Fire Man: This guy has a stage of flowing lava that's a little hard, made easier with magnet beam. His weakness is Ice Slasher, but it still takes quite a few hits.

Mega Man has a heavy jump that takes some getting used to. He can also hang almost completely off an edge with only one foot supporting him, so use that to your advantage.

Graphics: 5
The visuals are kind of murky, save for the brightly colored robots. The bosses are pretty impressive, but this whole series takes it to another level in the sequel. I did like themed stages, like Guts Man has a construction site (seems OK), Fire Man is in a refinery (on point) and then you have Bomb Man in a ... high rise? IDK. Cut Man's level felt very pedestrian and maybe belonging to another game, not really futuristic save for the robots trying to kill you. Megaman looks pretty good, despite his bland green and blue outfit, his bright eyes stand out. The special attacks are nothing special, the Elec Beam looks weird, and the goofy giant bombs give this a cartoon feel.

Sound: 6
I don't think you'll remember very much of the tracks, but I did like Fire Mans. The zapping laser sound of Mega Man's gun is very satisfying, as is the giant explosion when bosses die.

Addictiveness: 7
The ability to chose your own stage, and therefore your own fate, gives a lot of replay. You'll die a lot, since this is the hardest MegaMan game ever, its still the formula you love from all his future games.

Story: 7
Evil Robot Masters take over the city? Robot fighting and stealing power ups? Pretty cool. The guys who are actually behind Mega Man, Dr. Light, play a very small part that could have been stronger.

Depth: 6
Since you might be having trouble with a stage and having a subweapon that handles it, adds some planning and strategy. I'm glad you can't get locked out, like with the Magnet Beam, you can go back to Elec Man's stage even when hes defeated. You can also do the stages in a certain order and help yourself to easier boss fights: GM; CM, EM, IM, FM, BM

Difficulty: 8
This game gets a rap for being very hard, but its really a few scenarios that make it tough. Ice Man's stage is infamous (try doing it first), the infamous Yellow Devil boss fight (Wily stage 1 )is so hard, I can't beat it fairly. But most of the enemies and encounters are not too bad for MM veterans.

Its worth a try, just don't look at the box art pic. It looks like the hero is constipated. The game is rough, but its because this is the genesis, its all uphill from here (unless you like difficulty).

This game was the first and the start of one of the most iconic video game characters around. As your correctly point out the game had some issues, but it was a start. It introduced the gaming world to Mega Man. Mega Man 2 is what would establish Mega Man as a top video game icon and gaming series. I remember when Mega Man 2 came out. I figured there had to be a first game. I did not get a hold of this game until years later. I was eager to play it just to see where the series started. This game did start some staples that have been in the Mega Man games since. Copy ability as Mega Man can copy defeated robot masters. It all started with this game. Fighting Dr. Wily it would not be a Mega Man game without Wily.