NES Game Reviews #8 – Megaman 3
Megaman had 6 outings on the NES, the UK only saw the first 4. I’m quite adept at the 2nd entry, though I’ve never really played any of the others. So rather than start off with the familiar, I thought i’d jump in at Megaman 3.
The initial challenge of any classic Megaman, is knowing the optimal order to play the stages in, with each boss defeated, you gain a new weapon, these new additions can help to defeat future bosses more easily, hence the desire to know the best order. Since playground gossip was no longer an available source of intel for me, I resorted to the web. Knowing the optimal order to play certainly helps, but it doesn’t render the game easy by an means.
Definitely harder than its predecessor, some of the early levels had me stressing and the Robot Masters definitely had me on the ropes on a couple of times.
Perhaps there was some luck, perhaps a little skill, but on my first attempt I managed to defeat all the Robot Masters and make it to the latter part of the game; Dr Wily’s Castle.
Wily’s levels are tough, it helped there were similarities with its predecessor. I had Megman 2 for Gameboy as well, despite what the name suggests, the game had far more in common with this, then it did with the NES game of the same name. These factors obviously played a part in my success, because I found myself near the end of the game. Very low on E tanks and lives, I psyched myself up for the final showdown.
Suddenly I’m dropped into a room full of doors… Anyone who’s played Megaman knows what that means. I’d completely forgot about the trademark boss rush ie fight all previous bosses in one faceoff. God I was not in the mood for this, having playing for near 3 hours.
Expecting a quick death, to my amazement, I came out victorious! However now drained of all remaining E tanks and only 2 lives, the reality of redoing all Dr Wily levels was looking likely, still I had to at least give Wily a go. Prepared with the right weapon but no idea of attack patterns I entered. Thanks to a combination of good fortune, predictable AI (and some skill) I defeated him! Its refreshing to finish a game in the first sitting. Can I make a habit of this?
I love these games. Always found them challenging but fun.