Mega Man Metal Army Review by: tornadocam - 7.5/10
Mega Man Metal Army Review Mega Man debuted in late 1987. Mega Man would go on to become one of all time greats in the video game industry. Many experts place Mega Man in the top 5 of most popular video game characters along with Mario and Sonic. Mega Man 2 is the game that put the series on the map. However, Mega Man I one introduced the world to Mega Man. The original Mega Man I was the game that started it all. But the original was infamous for its glitches. These would be corrected in Mega Man 2. It should be no surprise that several hacks have been made of Mega Man games. Mega Man Metal Army is a hack of the original Mega Man game. So I will be comparing this version to the original.
Story: 8
The story was left unchanged from the original. Dr. Wily and Dr. Light are two of the world top engineers in robotics. Dr. Light and Wily create 6 robots designed to help humans. Rock and Roll are two lab assistant robots. Both scientists win awards. However, Dr. Wily, takes the 6 robots and decides to take over the world. He is tired of Light winning most of the rewards. Rock having a sense of justice is converted to Mega Man a fighting robot with a sense of morals and justice. Dr. Light sends Mega Man out to stop Dr. Wily from taking over the world.
Okay, I'm glad the makers of this game did not change the plot. The story did not need to be changed. The original game introduced the characters very well. We know who the good guys are and who the bad guy is. I think the original Mega Man did these very well. I have played some games were the first game just leaves you with questions. This game is not one of them so I was glad the story was not changed.
Graphics and Controls: 7As I stated Mega Man I was infamous for glitches and some graphic issues. So when I noticed this hack I thought "I would play it just to see if the graphics have been fixed". I will have to say the graphics were somewhat better in this version than the original game. The new color theme goes well with the stages. Also some of the layouts have been changed for the better. Enemy sprites are no longer fuzzy. Also a lot of bad glitches have been fixed. The sprites though could have been better. Mega Man looks like he is a cross between an 8 byte and 16 byte. It seems like the maker was trying to install a 16 byte graphic system for Mega Man. Sometimes Mega Man sprites get fuzzy. Also there are still a few lags in this game but even that has improved since the original.
The controls are better than the original game. The original game had sluggish and stiff controls. This one it seemed like I was not fighting against the controls as much as the original game. Still, there were times were the controls seemed to slow down or get stiff. This can cause you to fall into a pit or get hit if your not careful. A few times it seems like the controls lag. Overall, I give the graphics and controls a 7 out of 10. An improvement from the original for sure but still has some issues.
Sound: 7 The sound for the most part is rather good. The stage themes all sound the game as the original. The original had some good soundtracks especially Elec Man, Fire Man and Ice Man's theme. Those three games made you to just want listen to the music. Mega Man's buster sound is greatly improved from the original. Enemy shots also are improved and have a more clear sound. On the other hand, the sound did have some issues. First being why oh why did they not fix the tingles in Guts Man stage? The annoying tingles are still there. When I went through that stage I wanted to mute it was that bad. Another stage also had a few tingles in it too. That is what brings the sound down. So yeah, 7 out of 10 sounds about right. The sound is good but could have been done better. Thankfully, future Mega Man games fixed this problem and had amazing sounds to them.
Replay Value: 7 The first game was not a horrible game, but it did have some flaws to it. I found myself playing Mega Man I less than I did the other titles in this game. It is though good to go back and play the very first game. So when I saw this was a hack. I thought "I will give it a chance". I'm glad I did because believe it or not this version is better than the original. I have played this one a few more times than the original Mega Man I. The main reason is a lot of the problematic issues have been fixed; though even this hack still has some problems. This is an improved game. I had fun playing it. Now, the reason I did not rank this game's replay value higher is because other Mega Man games are better. Future Mega Man games had very good graphics, controls, and sound. That is why I give Mega Man I Metal Army a 7 out of 10.
Depth: 6 The Depth in this game was hard to rate. I compared this game to the original game as well as future Mega Man games. Future Mega Man games had a ton of depth in them. Mega Man games after the very first one had: secret rooms, secret items, items to collect and power ups to get. Mega Man I and this version does not have that. While playing this game I did not find any secret rooms. Also the stages are long so that helps bump up the depth rating. But only a few stages require revisiting. Mainly you just collect an item an enemy drops. After you beat a stage except for a few there is really no reason to go back. In future Mega Man games just about every stage required a second trip (the exception being Mega Man 2). That is not the case here though. Also while the stages are long there is a weapon that allows you to take a shortcut. It should be noted this is the only Mega Man game with 6 robot master stages. Mega man games after this one had 8 robot master stages. Overall, the game does have some depth to it collecting items enemies drops, long stages, and finding a special weapon. But that is about it, its not like future Mega Man games. At the end of the day I give the rating a similar rating to the original 6 out of 10.
Difficulty: 8 Mega Man I was brutal in terms of difficulty. The main reason the original game was brutal was the glitches. The first game had glitches that you could go right through platforms and land in the pit. Glitches also caused some pretty strange things in the first game. Also the first games graphic problems as well as control problems made the first game brutal. This version is brutal but doable. First of all, a lot of the glitches were fixed in this version. It is no longer a problem to land on a platform only to fall through. That glitch was fixed. Also the controls are still flawed but so much better. In addition, the secret weapon allows you to skip some dangerous spots too.
Still, this game can be brutal. Enemies just love to gang up on you in this game. It is all to common to get a bunch of enemies on the screen at the same time. Moreover, a lot of enemies have a habit of scrolling back on. The stages are long though some can be shortened but others its going to take a while. Spikes and pits are still plentiful in this game. It is so easy to misjudge a jump and fall right down to your doom. Another thing that makes this game difficult is there are 3 robot masters that can be a pain to deal with: Elec Man, Fire Man and Ice Man are the toughest. Therefore, I give the difficulty an 8 out of 10. This version is difficult but it seems like its difficult for the right reasons. The first game was just brutal for the right as well as wrong reasons.
Overall 7.5 This is one of the few times were a hack is better than the original game. Still, this game did have some problems, but before I get into that lets start with the positives. First of all, I really think the maker of this game was trying to fix the original game's problems. This is evident by a lot of the bad glitches have been fixed. To be honest, that made this version more fun to play than the original game. I also like how the colors were changed. Changing the colors kind of made this version more unique. I really think the maker of this game spent a lot of time on trying to fix the first game's problems. In addition, I liked how they made the game difficult but for the right reasons. The first game was difficult for the wrong reasons mainly due to the bad glitches and sloppy controls. The sound as well as the story were not changed.
Now onto the negatives. One of the flaws of this game is Mega Man's sprites. Yes, it is better than the original game. But why did the maker of this game try to go with a 16 byte Mega Man? Since this is an 8 byte system the 16 byte Mega Man still looks fuzzy. Maybe the maker though a 16 byte Mega Man would better graphic wise. Mega Man's sprite just looks like a cross between the two and at times can get fuzzy. Second, is why did the maker not fix the tingles. A few stages still have tingles that make you want to mute the TV. I was hoping with the glitches fixed that the tingles would be fixed too. Also, the controls, while improved, still seemed off compared to other Mega Man games. As I mentioned a few times lags occurred and it did seem like the controls either sped up or slowed down in spots.
Overall I give this version a 7.5 out of 10. Despite this version still having flaws it was a step up from the original game. I actually had fun playing it. Maybe not as much as future Mega Man games, but got to start somewhere. I would recommend playing this version over the original Mega Man I. So the question is would I recommend this game? I think it depends on your level in playing Mega Man games. If you have been playing Mega Man games for a while than yes I would recommend playing this game. Its an improvement from the original. However, if your new to Mega Man I would not recommend this one until you have played some of the other games. Mega Man 2 is a great starting game for new Mega Man Players. In conclusion, this is much better version of Mega Man I. I think the maker of this game was really trying to fix the problems Mega Man I had. Still, the game did have some flaws but was greatly improved. So 7.5 sounds about right.
Graphics
7 Sound
7 Addictive
7 Depth
6 Story
8 Difficulty
8
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