Mega Man 1-6 were definitive NES staples; anyone who owned an NES HAD to have at least one Mega Man game. That being said, it was basically a case of "if you've played one game, you've played them all", but this wasn't always the case with the first 6 games. They were all very entertaining in their own way, despite the similar approaches. The Super NES saw the release of Mega Man 7, Capcom's attempt at keeping the Blue Bomber alive when the NES was buried. This was met with limited success, as the improved graphics, sound, and delivery was a bit harder to swallow after seeing Mega Man X1 and X2 released a year or so earlier, but in it's own way was fun and worth another shot. With the release of Mega Man X4, Capcom took the original Mega Man to the PS1 and Sega Saturn with Mega Man 8, basically re-using the same cast and approach for a new title. Mega Man 8, though offering nothing truly new to the series, was in itself an entertaining, two-dimensional romp into Mega Man's old 8/16-bit world. No epic characters, no full-on 3D insanity, no problematic drudgery that dogs many new titles nowadays; just pure escapism. This time around, an actual storyline was used; two warring robots who descend to Earth, tangling Mega Man and Dr. Wily in their net. As each attempts their own ambitions, other forces are at work, either helping or conspiring against them, played out in the same dramatic anime styles seen on Mega Man X4 (though much less seriously). Mega Man 8 took this story into Mega Man's standard, "if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it" 2D style as if it never left. The only real issues I found with this game was, outside of some bothersome loading times, the game itself played a bit too slowly. Most Mega Man titles zipped by with a modicum of speed, not so with Mega Man 8 (except for a couple scenes of rapid snow-boarding action in Frost Man's stage). Standard walking and sliding were slowed down. Also, a few of the bosses seem a little thrown together, as if the makers didn't have that many ideas flying around (Search Man and Frost Man come to mind, with the latter being a slight rip-off of X4's Frost Walrus). However, whatever down-sides there are are overlooked by the game's colorful and action-packed delivery. I can say that this game also has a LOT more enemies in the stages than any of the other Mega Man titles I'd seen. They sometimes overwhelm. So in the end, while not being the most innovative, Mega Man 8 doesn't disappoint in delivering Mega Man the way the fans wanted. Very well done indeed.
Review of Mega Man 8
