Mega Man

Mega Man

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Consoles: Nintendo Entertainment System

We start off October with not just a classic title, but the title that started what would become a classic series with several spin-off series. Mega Man has over 90 titles in its library, from its Classic series to the X series, as well as the Zero series, the Battle Network series, the ZX series, the Star Force series, and the Legends series, the last of which was just recently announced to finally get a sequel after over a decade. Mega Man has starred in not just his own games, but also in several titles in the Versus series, and has shown up in one way or another in Onimusha Blade Warriors, Cannon Spike, SnK vs Capcom Card Fighters, Gem Fighters, Dead Rising, Boktai 2, and several others.

So what made Mega Man so big? Well, for those of you that have been living under a rock or just never cared about the series, I'll fill you in; the game is about two scientists, Dr. Light (though in the first game in the series he's called "Dr. Wright") and Dr. Wily, who create Mega Man, as well as six other robots. Cut Man, Elec Man, Guts Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man, and Ice Man were all created to help mankind with demolition, logging, construction, electrical operations, and work in extreme heat or cold, until Dr. Wily turns against his partner. The scientist turns into a mad man, reprogramming the six robots to aid him in trying to rule the world. Light sends Mega Man to stop Wily and the Master Robots and to save mankind, and so on and so forth.

"Let's see how you do against... KUNG FU CUTMAN!"
But that doesn't really explain what made the game into the multi-series franchise that it is today. It brought in something new to the field at the time; once you defeat a Robot Master, you get to keep their power to use as your own. So if Mega Man were to beat Bomb Man, he'd have the power to throw bombs. If he were to beat Elec Man, he'd be able to shoot electrical shots in three directions. As if this new way to destroy your enemies weren't enough, each of the bosses had their own weakness against another Robot Master's power.

A word to the wise: if you haven't played many side-scrollers outside of Mario, you WILL get frustrated with this game. The difficulty of the games in the classic series is near legendary. These games aren't the hardest games made, but for a first timer, it certainly feels like it. And many of the games continue to get harder, including the newer Mega Man 9 and 10, each of which were made after the original design of the first games in the series.

Ugh, Yellow Devil is a bitch until you figure out his pattern...
As for this game in particular, my honest opinion is that it is challenging, but the powers you get from the Robot Masters are rarely worth it. Fire Man and Ice Man have similar elemental styled bullet attacks. Bomb Man's bombs take too long to explode. Cut Man's boomerangs don't do enough damage. And Guts Man is literally like the worst power of all time - he can throw chunks of wall or large blocks. But they rarely show up, and can simply be destroyed by Elec Man's power anyway. Elec Man literally has the best power in this game, and is the only thing more useful than the regular buster cannon.

Like many others, while this title is fun, and brings a beginning to the epic franchise that is Mega Man, later games in the series definitely perfected what this game started. The difficulty of this game (as well as many of them in the series) is high enough that once you finally conquer the game, you're proud of yourself. Recently I've beaten the first two Mega Man games, as well as 10 (which was my first time defeating ol' Doc Wily), and I assure you they were no easy task, especially the second one. We'll get into that later, though.

The PSP recently got the original game in a whole new style.
If you're interested in "story" or wanna be a Classic series perfectionist, start with the first game. If you're simply looking for a fun side-scroller with a high challenging difficulty, you might wanna start with one of the most famous 2D titles ever, Mega Man II.

Mega Man 10

Mega Man 10

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom/Inti Creates

Consoles: XBox 360, Playstation 3, Wii

Very few need an introduction to Mega Man. Back in 1987, would anyone have guessed that not only would they continue to be made today, but that with the exception of two titles they'd all stay in their 8-bit retro glory? Would anyone have guessed that countless sequel series and spin-off series would have been created, or that several animated shows would be created? Mega Man's fan base is incredible, from the fan artists to the musicians, the latter of which is mind-boggling in itself - songs from the series have been sung or rapped over by the likes of Brentalfloss, The Adventures of Duane and BrandO, and a slew of remix artists on Overclocked Remix, not to mention some that solely devote their talents to the Mega Man series, such as The Megas and Mega Ran. We'll learn about a lot of, if not all of, these guys in later editions of The Pause Screen.

It was a shock to see the classic Mega Man series return in its original 8-bit format in 2008 with Mega Man 9. The music was fantastic, as most all music in the series is, the bosses were memorable, including the first female Robot Master Splash Woman, and the difficulty most of us haven't seen in games since the 8-bit era has returned. It did so well, Capcom decided to jump to a sequel in less than two years.


Oh, look, a Mega Man Soccer sequel!

That brings us to Mega Man 10. Released in March for the Wii and April for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360, the game returns in its 8-bit format once more. The game is classic Mega Man look, style, gameplay, and difficulty, with several new additions to change play up a bit in the slightest ways.

The game starts with Roll passing out, and revealing a robot-only virus called Roboenza has swept over robots the world over. Shortly after, the robots become violent, and even Dr. Wily crashes his UFO near Dr. Light's labs, where he reveals he can create a cure. Mega Man is sent in to rectify the problem, but is stopped by Proto Man, claiming he'll need his bro's help, too.

Upon starting the game, you can choose to play between Mega Man or Proto Man. Mega Man can run, jump, and shoot, and can take considerable damage. Proto Man can not only run, jump, and shoot, but he can also dash, charge his shots, and can pull his shield out while he's jumping if he's not firing his arm cannon, however he takes damage like a bitch and dies much easier. Bass can also be downloaded, but we'll get to that later.


From left to right: Top: Pump Man, Chill Man, Solar Man, Strike Man
Bottom: Sheep Man, Nitro Man, Commando Man, Blade Man

The eight Robot Masters this time around are Blade Man, Solar Man, Sheep Man, Commando Man, Pump Man, Strike Man, Nitro Man, and Chill Man. Some of the designs here are pretty cool, while Commando Man and Pump Man in my opinion are two of the worst looking Robot Masters to date. I won't say that most of them are as memorable as most of Mega Man 9's villains, but Nitro Man and Sheep Man are definitely winners in my book.

Blade Man can cling to walls and shoot three blades at a time, Solar Man can create an artificial sun above his head and bounce it around the stage, and Sheep Man can turn himself into a cloud and use static electricity. Commando Man can shake the ground and use controllable missiles that have a big explosion area, while Pump Man can create 8 water spheres around him to protect him, as well as shoot them spiraling outward. Strike Man can turn himself into a bouncing baseball, and can pitch balls around the room, Nitro Man can not only send out sharp razor wheels, but can ALSO TURN HIMSELF INTO A MOTORCYCLE, WHICH IS BADASS, and lastly, Chill Man can shoot ice spikes to walls and floors, and can freeze Mega Man.


Nitro Man looks so badass in motorcycle form!

The game has an easy mode, which covers most pitfalls with platforms, lessens the number of enemies, and makes the Robot Masters much easier to fight against. Newcomers to the series might wanna try this, but long time veterans to Mega Man would likely rather get frustrated with normal difficulty instead. After completing the game, you unlock Hard Mode, in case you thought Normal was too easy.

The game is fairly difficult, and seems like a contrast to Mega Man 9. Mega Man 9 seemed to have easier levels and Robot Masters that seemed to be harder - for example, Magma Man was much harder without Tornado Blow to lessen the flame atop his head. Mega Man 10, though, seems to have levels that are a bit harder than the boss fights, especially when it comes to disappearing platforms, a certain "see-saw" platform first seen in Blade Man's stage that you must use to progress, the waterfalls in Pump Man's stage, almost everything about Chill Man's stage... Meanwhile, with the correct power, Solar Man can be killed in three hits. Many of the Robot Masters can be taken out with incredible ease if you just know where to be or when to jump, as many of them, including Blade Man, Strike Man, Sheep Man, and a couple others have boringly repetitive patterns that are incredibly easy to read.


This part isn't so bad, if there weren't enemies trying to knock you down...

This isn't to say the game is bad or easy. On the contrary, the game is still a lot of fun in that Mega Man throw-your-controller-across-the-room-after-dying-in-the-same-spot-forty-times-in-a-row way we've been enjoying since '87. And if that wasn't enough, they've added downloadable content, as well.

They've brought back an endless stage like in Mega Man 9, as well as additional bonus stages that bring back three little known classic bosses known as the Mega Man Hunters - Enker, Punk, and Ballade. Lastly, there's Bass, as I mentioned earlier. He dashes similar to Proto Man, and instead of charging, he can fire rapid fire blasts in 7 different directions, but sacrifices being able to move while doing so. Also, instead of having the Rush Coil and Rush Jet (or in Proto's case, Proto Coil and Proto Jet), Bass can call upon Treble, where upon touching his canine companion Bass grows three-pronged metallic wings to fly around with, and can fire forward, diagonally upward and diagonally downward at once. Definitely one of the coolest powers in the game, and as if all of that wasn't enough, upon downloading Bass, his portrait is added to the title screen alongside Mega's and Proto's.


Battuh SWING!

VERDICT: Buy it. Especially if you're a fan of classic games, platformers, excellent music, difficult lasting gameplay, and most importantly Mega Man. If you're new to the series, try out the demo, and try Easy Mode, as they make the game playable for newcomers.

TOP TEN: Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Most Wanted Capcom Characters

What a way to kick off the first of Gaming Everything's Top Ten list with the announcement and trailer of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds! Before we jump straight into the list, though, let's recap the series as a whole.

Capcom has done a lot with their "Versus" series of games. It started out as "X-Men vs. Street Fighter" before moving on to "Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter." From there the series expanded to "Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes" and "Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes." EA would soon gain the rights to Marvel, and we'd see the everlasting turd known as "Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects."

From then on out, Capcom would make other crossover games, including "Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000" and "Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001" (known as "Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO" on the Gamecube and Xbox), and SNK would create "SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium" and "SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos" before filing bankruptcy. Capcom just recently released "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes" in Japan, and, likely due to no MvC title in nearly 10 years, demand was high to bring the fighter, with its obscure anime characters replacing the comic stars of past games, overseas to America. However, because the characters were from different anime series that were obtained by different American companies for translation and US use, not all the characters were able to make the jump to the west. Because of this, we instead received "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars," replacing the left out characters for Dead Rising's Frank West, Mega Man X's Zero, Tekkaman Blade, Joe the Condor, and Yatterman-2.



That brings us to Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Very few details are known about this game except that it will have a comic book style to it, and like TvC and Street Fighter IV will be a 2D fighter with 3D graphics. The trailer also shows us the only six confirmed characters: Street Fighter's Ryu, X-Men's Wolverine, Darkstalkers' Morrigan, Iron Man, the Hulk, and newcomer Chris Redfield from Resident Evil. The game is said to have a minimum of 30 characters, and DLC is always an option, but these are the only confirmed six characters at this time. While we can assume the many others that will make their way in, and can look at the silhouettes of the Capcom and Marvel logos (Chun-Li, Captain America, Felicia, and Deadpool seem to be the most obvious ones), it can't be helped not to come up with ideas or a wishlist of characters that would be great to see either return or show up for the first time. So, without further ado, here's GE's Top Ten Most Wanted Capcom Characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.


10. Katt

First Game: Breath of Fire II

So the Versus series, especially the Marvel vs. Capcom series, has a severe lack of two things: catgirls, and RPG characters. While I'm not the biggest fan of the half-female half-feline variety, it'd be nice to see either one less Street Fighter character or one less obscure character and have it replaced by Katt from Breath of Fire II. Her in-game attacks and techniques could be used in her moveset, and it'd be a fresh face not many would even imagine to make it into the series and could be a pleasant surprise. I mean, if Jill Valentine can summon crows, zombies, and dogs, none of which she could do in her own game, why would this be such a big stretch to see? Show some support to long forgotten games as well, Capcom, like you did with Sonson.

9. Rouge

First Game: Power Stone

The belly-dancing beauty from the Power Stone series could be another entrant that could make sense and feel like a fresh new face in the upcoming MvC3. She's already a fighting game character - and considering the Power Stone series was one of the most successful games on the Dreamcast before its demise, it would show long time PS fans some love. While there are certainly more females on the Capcom side than the Marvel side, another femme fatale means the game is even less of a sausage fest.

8. Protoman

First Game: Mega Man III

A long time fan favorite from the classic Mega Man series, it's pretty surprising ol' Blues here hasn't seen the light of day in ANY Capcom fighter (barring the Mega Man exclusives, of course). Protoman could be very reminiscent of Mega Man in MvC2, with a charge attack, a shield to deflect projectiles (which is good against hadouken spamming Ryu and Ken players), and perhaps a slide attack, much like his moves in the recently released Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10. I don't know if I'd like to see the Blue Bomber get replaced, but if Roll can make it in to so many of these games, why can't Protoman see the light of day?

7. Frank West

First Game: Dead Rising

Other than the fact that he's covered wars, y'know, Frank was a secret unlockable character in the US release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, so he's got an edge over Chris Redfield from the start. While he had a couple of melee attacks from Dead Rising, such as the baseball bat, golf club, and some of his signature throws, I think more could be done here. Have some more weapons from Willamette Parkview Mall, some obscure stuff; have Frank throw mannequins or canned sodas, or even some of the more serious weapons like the chainsaw or sledgehammer. Finish off with a super that either has Frank throw his opponent to the zombies or escaping the special forces soldiers' wrath only to have it fall upon Frank's opponent.

6. Zero

First Game: Mega Man X

Zero is considered to be one of the most favorited characters in not just the Mega Man X series, but in the entire Mega Man franchise. Zero has appeared, in his Mega Man Zero series' form, in SVS Chaos, and in his Mega Man X series' form in TvC's US release with Frank West. I like the X series' model more, mainly because the X series includes some of my favorite games from generations past. Zero has plenty of moves at his disposal to bring back to MvC3, as TvC showed us nearly all of his moves from Mega Man X4. It's actually quite shocking to see it took Capcom up until TvC to add an X series character to a Versus game's lineup, but let's hope we can chalk him up for two games.

5. Crimson Viper

First Game: Street Fighter IV

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom gave us a character from Street Fighter (Ryu), a character from Street Fighter II (Chun-Li), and a character from Street Fighter III (Alex). While it was a little surprising to see a lack of Ken, Guile, or M. Bison, I like that they chose this method instead. While MvC2 has a plethora of Street Fighter characters in it, if they could only add one SF4 character, I'd love to see the seductive Crimson Viper. This badass bitch in a suit is not only a super hot redhead, but shows off a lot of power with her moves and techniques. Plus, she can kick fire in the shape of the letter Z! Best new character in SF4, hands down.

4. Nathan "Radd" Spencer

First Game: Bionic Commando

While many consider last year's Bionic Commando to be a failure, the original game's rerelease, Bionic Commando Rearmed, was so successful it warranted a sequel to be released later this year. With the BC series coming to light within recent years, it would be great to see Agent Spencer join in the fight with Capcom and Marvel characters alike. With the bionic arm, creating moves and performing combos could be a lot of fun, and he'd definitely fit in with the cast.

3. Phoenix Wright

First Game: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

What's an attorney going to do in a fight against super heroes and villains? Well, Phoenix Wright, along with rival prosecuter Franziska von Karma, was originally going to appear in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, complete with his trademark "OBJECTION" speech bubble as an attack. They were actually unable to keep the game balanced with the lawyer as it seemed he may have been a little overpowered with some of his attacks. While Franziska made a little more sense with her whip, Wright could easily have plenty of attacks, from "throwing the book" at foes, hurling evidence, or even the trademark shout he's so very well known for.

2. Cammy

First Game: Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers

While it's true Cammy was already in the MvC series, it's not guaranteed she'll return in MvC3. For example, she WAS in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, but not in its sequel, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. She also wasn't in the original arcade version of Street Fighter 4, just the home versions. So the blonde bombshell from Delta Red (or Shadoloo, your choice) earns my vote to return to the MvC universe.

1. Mega Man X

First Game: Mega Man X

Yes, there's been a lot of Mega Man love on this list, but Mega Man X has gotten very little outside of the X series itself. The main protagonist of the darker sequel series to the classic Mega Man needs to prove his worth in the 2D fighting field. His Maverick Hunter pal, Zero (who was already in this list), has already had his chance to shine, so it'd be ncie to see the main hero get the chance to strut his stuff. And if they could use his Mega Man X 1 abilities and powers, as well as his X upgrades or Falcon Armor as a Super? Sweetens the pot a little bit more. Here's hoping that if Zero or Axl can't make it into the fray, that X himself can represent the Mega Man X series!