Rockman
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Memories of Mega Man: For The Love Of God, Don't Touch The Spikes
by Protoman Blues
On December 17th, 1987, a video game company named Capcom would release a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, which had created a video game character who would create a whole new world in the realm of Video Games. That character, of course, is Mega Man. This, my friends, is the first Mega Man game ever. Sure, the Mega Man on the box cover didn't look anything like the Mega Man we know and love, but they got it right in a couple of games. This game began a franchise which is still going strong today, almost 20 years later. Lets go back to the beginning. Come with me....
Our story begins when Dr. Thomas Light and his assistant, Dr. Albert Wily create 6 industrial humanoid looking robots. These 6 Robots are BombMan, GutsMan, CutMan, ElecMan, IceMan, and FireMan.
Dr. Wily, who was jealous of Dr. Light, reprogrammed these 6 Robots to help him in his mad ambition to take over the world. Dr. Light also build two robots named Rock and Roll, to assist him around the house. After realizing the danger that the world was in, Rock volunteered to stop Dr. Wily, and so Dr. Light transformed him into a Super Fighting Robot, known as Mega Man!
Always brings a smile to my face when I think of Rock's Strong Sense Of Justice! Anyway, thus begins our hero's journey to stop Dr. Wily. This game was unique in that it was one of the first games in which you can choose which mission to accept first. Most other Side-Scrollers didn't give you this option. At least, none that I can recall. You could choose which Robot Master to fight first, which would in turn help you choose which Robot Master you would fight next. The beauty of the Mega Man franchise is that whenver you defeat a Robot Master, you get his weapon. Also, the weapon you get is usually strong against another Robot Master. For example: you defeat IceMan with the Thunder Beam you get from ElecMan, and then you use the Ice Slasher to defeat FireMan. It's what makes the game, and future Mega Man games, so enjoyable to me. The Boss Weapons you get in this game are pretty spectacular. All of them are very good to use. You also get a special item called the Magnet Beam, which creates a platform for our hero to walk on for a short period of time. Boy, will you need to use the Magnet Beam too!
The gameplay sets the standard for the majority of the future Mega Man games to come. You shoot. You jump. You shoot while jumping. And above all else, you avoid the spikes! No, seriously. NEVER touch the spikes. In the future Mega Man games, if you get hit by an enemy, you have a slight invinciblity in which you can jump on spikes and survive for a few second. Not in this game though. You touch spikes, you INSTANTLY die. So, let me stress to you again. For the love of god, don't touch the spikes!
Besides the spikes, this is easily the hardest Mega Man game in the classic series, if not the entire Mega Man universe. You'd think with only 6 stages, instead of the standard 8 that are soon to come, this game would be easier. How wrong you are! Unlike in future Mega Man games, there is no password system, or a save file! If you exhaust all of your lives and see the Game Over screen, then you have to start all over again from the beginning. There is also no Mega Buster or Slide or E-Tanks or some of the other comforts you've gotten use to. There's just Mega Man. To add to the challenge, this game also has one of the most famous bosses in all of the Mega Man universe. In Japan, he's known as the Yellow Devil, but here in the US he's simply the Rock Monster!
One of the most challenging boss fights in all of Mega Man, this devil seperates into little pieces which fly at the other side of the room, trying to kill you along the way. When he finally forms, you only get one shot to hit his eye before he seperates again. There is a glitch in the game which allows you to beat him quickly and easily. However, I'm proud to say I've never used that glitch, as I prefer the challenge of actually defeating him. The trick is to memorize the pattern in which the rocks fly at you. Once you've mastered that, he's easier to defeat!
Unlike future classic Mega Man games, there is no transporter system to take you to fight the Bosses again. You simply fight them as you go through Wily's Castle. Speaking of the Boss Fights, they are not as easy as you'd think. Without the special weapon that defeats them, they can be very challenging. One day, I might attempt to defeat FireMan without using the Ice Slasher. One day....
The music in this game was also spectacular. Every boss theme is great, as well as the Wily Castle Stages as well. The soundtrack for this game can be downloaded at Atomic-Fire. Just download the entire soundtrack, as it's well worth it.
Well, that does it for my review of this game. This is not an easy game, yet it is still a timeless classic. It was the first Mega Man game and certainly not the last. In fact, a remake of the game called Mega Man: Powered Up was released for the Sony PSP not too long ago. Even so, it's still not as hard as this game, in my opinion. With the very challenging gameplay, the great music, and even just the nostalgia, Mega Man for the NES is one game I'm proud to own. Fight, MegaMan! For Everlasting Peace!
  
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