I have never played a Mega Man game

Until now!

It’s always been my secret shame, and something that I’ve always been embarrassed to admit, but the truth is I have never played a Mega Man game until quite recently. Honestly I blame it on the fact that I owned a Master System rather than an NES and never had a Playstation 1. I should also probably not admit that I haven’t played any of the early Castlevania games but we only have enough time for so much shame.

So how did my first Mega Man experience come about? Why, after all of this, time did I finally play a Mega Man game? Well all through August there is a new Mega Man game being added to the virtual console service on Wii U. So which game was the first one I played?! Mega Man Battle Network! Whaaaat?! An offshoot game? Does that even count? These questions and more must be rushing through your mind but it is in fact the truth. It looked fun so I tried it out and immediately loved it. I have a vague recollection of the cartoon on Saturday mornings, but other than that I went in blind. Basically the game centers around a kid named LAN and his Net Navi named MegaMan.exe. You can jack into various electronics and send Mega Man onto the net and so on. The combat is actually pretty cool too. You move around on a grid in real-time firing your buster at viruses and the like. When your meter fills you can utilize various chips to perform special shots and attacks or other supportive functions. It’s pretty freakin’ sweet.

Some time later I did feel like I owed it to the series to try out the original games. I got my hands on the old Mega Man Anniversay collection and gave it a go. I mean, how hard could it be if kids in the 80’s could beat them? Obviously that’s a completely stupid sentiment since 80’s hard doesn’t just refer to rock music. I never knew how brutal these games could be and my self-respect and self-worth was seriously compromised. After many, many attempts and a lot of swearing I was finally able to beat the first Mega Man game. I wanted to feel excited but knew that there were 9 other games in the original series just left me feeling overwhelmed. I did try out Mega Man 2 but there is only so much ass-kicking I can take. I opted instead to try out the Mega Man X series and I’m actually enjoying the first game a lot. It is very hard but the pretty colors and added features make going back difficult.

So there it is: my first few Mega Man experiences and only a few decades too late. I’m actually a little hooked on the series now and my Amazon cart is stuffed with a few titles. I guess it’s proof that it is never to late to try something new and enjoy it. On the other hand I now feel incredibly depressed that the Mega Man series seems to be pretty dead. At least we will get to see him in the new Smash Bros. game.

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  • Ah Mega Man….such a great, great series. I grew up playing these games. Looking back, I have no idea how I beat them. There is one room in particular that I remember. It’s in an ice level, and you are in the bottom of a big room, and the only exit is to the very top right of the screen. The only way to get out is to navigate a series of about 30 blocks that disappear continuously. I remember spending like 30 minutes just getting out of this one room. And God help you if you died after this room…..because then you had to do it all over again. Ugh. So great 🙂

  • BTW, why don’t we have a nintendo forum on this site? I’d love to be able to chat about the upcoming games with everyone here.
    On a side note, I am going to get a Wii U sometime this year. Just waiting for, hopefully, a Black Friday deal so I can get some free games or something with it.

  • I forgot my forum password several years ago. =\

    EDIT: Hey Keen, yesterday I dropped my phone behind the couch. I need you to help me get it.

  • As a kid I enjoyed megaman on the NES. But I could never beat it. The furthest I got was getting inside the castle.

    @Graev I find megaman battle network 3 the best of the series. Give it a try. I replayed it many times and it stays fun.

  • @Zyler I’d like to play all of them but my GBA is broken. Thinking about buying a backlight mod and upgrading one of my older systems but I think I’m way too impatient to wait for something to ship from China. Hopefully they all get added to the virtual console. I know that a new one hit today but I think it’s an offshoot. Battle Chip Challenge or something.

  • Ahhh Mega Man 2, my favorite of the series. A few friends and I used to start the game together and race to the end.
    pretty sure my best time was around 45 minutes. Probably slow by todays standards, but it was fast enough to beat everyone in my circle of friends.
    Good times.