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| It took them until their last NES at-bat, but they finally hit a grand slam. I fucking love this boxart. |
Genre: Platformer | Players: 1 | Developer: Capcom
When I first started replaying this entry as an adult, I found it kind of soulless. That’s a bit crazy to me, at this point. The more I played it, the more I enjoyed it. It’s really fun! It isn’t as easy as 5, but it’s the closest game in the franchise to it, in that regard.
It’s cool to know that some of the Masters were designed by people other than Capcom’s usual creative staff. Contest winners from Canada (Daniel Vallée) and…North America (Michael Leader; thanks Mega Man Wiki, for that wonderfully detailed bit of information…) were responsible for Knight Man and Wind Man. I rather like the former, but not for reasons one might expect. You see, he doesn’t care about always giving you easy chances to cross the room, like most Masters. No, he’s perfectly fine with occasionally jumping you straight into a corner. I rather like assholes like him and Charge Man (who’ll change directions on a whim and pimp walk all over your corpse with no fucks given). Wind Man…is one of the easiest Masters ever. Oh well~
If nothing else, those two are the ones that appear on the NA cover. That's top-shelf, Nintendo. Class. Yes, Nintendo, because they were the ones that published it, here, not Capcom.
In spite of the split theming of the overall crew, there is a bit of a generic feel to everything on display, but it’s far from my original assessment of the game’s merit. All of the Masters are taking part in a tournament run by Wily (SPOILERS, OH NO!!!), but four of them are much more warrior-like than the others. Those being Knight Man, Centaur Man, Tomahawk Man, and Yamato Man. It’s best that they didn’t call the last one Spear or Yari Man, because you would have ended up wielding the Spear Spear~
These four Masters can all be reached via two different paths. The fights with them are the same, but traversing the less accessible ones will cause them to give you the Beat parts. Yeah, Beat returns, but isn’t nearly as useful, as far as I can tell. In 5, he was fairly indispensable. Here…is anything weak to him? I always just use Tomahawks whenever it seems as if he would be worth calling.
I absolutely cannot complain about that, however, given how well the Rush Adaptors are utilized. You have to use Power and Jet Mega Man CONSTANTLY, especially in the Dr. X and Wily Castles. Yeah, the same animations of Rush transforming play every time you select them, but you can skip ‘em by mashing buttons. The only real drawback to using them is that you cannot slide. Power Mega Man still has a basic projectile in spite of him mainly relying on regular and charged punches. Not being able to charge your Buster isn’t really something you need to do while flying as Jet Mega Man. No, it flat out isn’t necessary, at all, to my knowledge. I’ve never felt that need. These two went on to be combined into the Super Adapter in 7.
The other four Masters are mostly elemental in nature. Flame Man stands out, as you may personally find him culturally insensitive. I’m honestly much more upset that the power he grants you is a re-colored flame effect from Gemini Man’s stage. Seriously? Plant Man is the oddball, but I rather like him. I even like his somewhat irritating backyard. The latter half of his stage is a pit-filled obstacle course predicated on springs that respond to the strength with which you press the jump button. This can be trouble if your controller of choice is as knackered as my current PS2 one is. It’s a little maddening, but it’s an appropriate challenge to overcome in order to earn the Jet Adaptor.
In short, 6 is a bit of a mixed bag, but even what’s not top-tier is still comfortably enjoyable.
I dig it, man.
Buyer’s Guide: Buyer’s Guide: NES game. Mega Man Anniversary and Legacy Collections (PS2, PS4, Xbox, Xbox One, GC, 3DS, Switch). Virtual Console. PSN. Cell phones. The usual.
3 Easily Missable Proto Man Appearances out of 5
It’s cool to know that some of the Masters were designed by people other than Capcom’s usual creative staff. Contest winners from Canada (Daniel Vallée) and…North America (Michael Leader; thanks Mega Man Wiki, for that wonderfully detailed bit of information…) were responsible for Knight Man and Wind Man. I rather like the former, but not for reasons one might expect. You see, he doesn’t care about always giving you easy chances to cross the room, like most Masters. No, he’s perfectly fine with occasionally jumping you straight into a corner. I rather like assholes like him and Charge Man (who’ll change directions on a whim and pimp walk all over your corpse with no fucks given). Wind Man…is one of the easiest Masters ever. Oh well~
If nothing else, those two are the ones that appear on the NA cover. That's top-shelf, Nintendo. Class. Yes, Nintendo, because they were the ones that published it, here, not Capcom.
In spite of the split theming of the overall crew, there is a bit of a generic feel to everything on display, but it’s far from my original assessment of the game’s merit. All of the Masters are taking part in a tournament run by Wily (SPOILERS, OH NO!!!), but four of them are much more warrior-like than the others. Those being Knight Man, Centaur Man, Tomahawk Man, and Yamato Man. It’s best that they didn’t call the last one Spear or Yari Man, because you would have ended up wielding the Spear Spear~
These four Masters can all be reached via two different paths. The fights with them are the same, but traversing the less accessible ones will cause them to give you the Beat parts. Yeah, Beat returns, but isn’t nearly as useful, as far as I can tell. In 5, he was fairly indispensable. Here…is anything weak to him? I always just use Tomahawks whenever it seems as if he would be worth calling.
I absolutely cannot complain about that, however, given how well the Rush Adaptors are utilized. You have to use Power and Jet Mega Man CONSTANTLY, especially in the Dr. X and Wily Castles. Yeah, the same animations of Rush transforming play every time you select them, but you can skip ‘em by mashing buttons. The only real drawback to using them is that you cannot slide. Power Mega Man still has a basic projectile in spite of him mainly relying on regular and charged punches. Not being able to charge your Buster isn’t really something you need to do while flying as Jet Mega Man. No, it flat out isn’t necessary, at all, to my knowledge. I’ve never felt that need. These two went on to be combined into the Super Adapter in 7.
The other four Masters are mostly elemental in nature. Flame Man stands out, as you may personally find him culturally insensitive. I’m honestly much more upset that the power he grants you is a re-colored flame effect from Gemini Man’s stage. Seriously? Plant Man is the oddball, but I rather like him. I even like his somewhat irritating backyard. The latter half of his stage is a pit-filled obstacle course predicated on springs that respond to the strength with which you press the jump button. This can be trouble if your controller of choice is as knackered as my current PS2 one is. It’s a little maddening, but it’s an appropriate challenge to overcome in order to earn the Jet Adaptor.
In short, 6 is a bit of a mixed bag, but even what’s not top-tier is still comfortably enjoyable.
I dig it, man.
Buyer’s Guide: Buyer’s Guide: NES game. Mega Man Anniversary and Legacy Collections (PS2, PS4, Xbox, Xbox One, GC, 3DS, Switch). Virtual Console. PSN. Cell phones. The usual.
3 Easily Missable Proto Man Appearances out of 5
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