The game’s boxart
After the previous Game Boy Mega Man title, thank god for this one. I’ll start off by immediately saying this is the best one yet, and by a decent margin.
Love this shot from the intro cutscene
The premise is generally the same as the previous games; you’re given 4 Robot Masters to begin with, then a Wily stage, then 4 more. It follows with the previous game in that it gives you a select screen for these 4 extra Robot Masters.
The Weapon Get screen is looking fierce this time
Where it breaks a bit from the previous game is that each stage has an exploration component to it, where you have to find a letter. The letters in the 4 original stages spells out BEAT, giving you access to the small bird companion. The letters in the latter stages spell out WILY and are needed to unlock the final Wily stages.
At the start of the Wily stages, there’s a weird cutscene where Mega Man fights the fortress from a distance
There is again a unique 9th Robot Master which is as usual fairly good. He appears after the initial 4 Robot Masters and returns at the end.
The game also features a bit more cutscenes and dialogue than previous entries. There is also a currency in the form of P Chips (not bolts as future Mega Man games) and a store for items! We’re going places now.
One of the gnarliest Wily machines yet
This game truly shines, especially in comparison to the previous one. It’s still not outstanding of course, but it is by far the best Game Boy Mega Man game yet. Capcom seems to finally feel comfortable making these games and it shows.
The slowdowns from III are mostly resolved and the level design is the best its been yet with only a few minor annoyances. Levels are more unique than simply remixes of old stages, though there is some of that still thrown in.
The input delay from III is thankfully also fixed, making this game feel much better to play. There is a thing in this that is slightly strange but that ultimately doesn’t matter: the charge shot pushes you back a very small bit. It’s noticeable but even during jumping challenges it does not seem to push you back far enough to matter.
Rush was modified to work in space and here we see Mega Man looking on Wily’s exploding spaceship
We’ve finally something that feels like a great Mega Man game to play on Game Boy, one that you would want to replay just for fun. I finally had a decent bit of fun getting through this one, even staying up a bit late to finish it off. Hopefully V is a good send-off for this side series next time.