Mega Man

by Nintendo

Product Features

• NES Game

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004SVXG
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,442 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

NES Game

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Childhood memories, January 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mega Man (Video Game)

I was in the 6th grade when I first played Megaman (in 1988). This one was different from most games of the time for two reasons: A) You could pick which stage to go to! and B)you were able to obtain your opponent's weapons! Those two factors more than any others are what made megaman a winner.

The premise:

Dr. Wright's partner (in the other games he's known as Dr. Light) Dr. Wily goes mad, steals the industrial robots they created together, attempts to reprogram "Rock" who resists programming and left behind to be found by Dr. Wright. "Rock" volunteers to be transformed from (I think he was a butler or something) into a fighting robot: Megaman, thus Megaman begins his very, very, very, very, very loooooooooooooooong journey to bring Dr. Wily to justice.

Game play:

For its time, the original megaman had superb game play. The ability to selct which stage you wanted to tackle, the ability to use the vanquished robot masters weapons and indeed, the ability to go back to the stage you defeated and defeat the robot master again all contributed to the superb game play of megaman. These factors actually make it superior to megaman 2 and 3 where you cannot return to any previosuly beaten stage. Even in subsequen megamans where you can return to beaten stages, you cannot refight the vanquished robot masters.

Also, you can pause this one with the select button, which is something of a trick because you can defeat difficult enemies by pausing and unpausing repeatedly. Unfortunately, when you go to the subscreen, or unpause when you're on a latter, megaman lets go (well, he doesn't just let go, he shoots down a couple of rungs).

Another thing pertaining to gameplay that's different about this one is the scoreboard. You collect points for defeating enemies. The amount of points set for defeating robot masters is generated randomly, while the price on Dr. Wily's head is set squarely at 200000 points. It's a nice touch that's lost on the later games.

Pluses:
-First Megaman game.
-Good play control.
-The special weapons are cool.
-The music is good.

Minuses:
-No save or password feature.
-Replay value limited.
-Megaman likes to fall off of latters in this one (for example, when unpausing the game or selecting a special weapon from the subscreen).
-Graphics by todays standards are not so good (but at the time were tops).

Conclusions:

A good game. Probably worth a look if you're curious about where it started. The rock monster (of which incarnations are found in Megaman 3, 8 and X5) is extremely difficult in this installment. They didn't go over the top with this one. Later with all of the skull castles and castles in general got to be too much. In this one you battle your way through 'monsteropolis'. Better than megaman 2.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Blue Bomber's first adventure, October 17, 2011

By 

BX Lounger (The Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Mega Man (Video Game)

When you talk about Capcom, the developer and publisher has a long and celebrated history. They got their start during the 1980's making video games for the NES. In 1987, they released several of them in hopes of showing that their games were fun to play. Little did they knew that a major franchise was born to humble beginnings; Mega Man almost didn't see the light of day outside of Japan. Capcom decided at the last minute to release it in the U.S. and it led to one of the worst box art designs in the history of video games. It didn't matter because the few players who got their hands on this game realized that there was something cool about it. Word of mouth quickly spread out through the gaming community and Mega Man had gathered a cult following. Oh yes....the Blue Bomber's first adventure left quite an impression on gamers everywhere.

In Mega Man, you control Mega Man (AKA Rockman in Japan), a human-like robot created by Dr. Wright (later on, Capcom changed his name to Dr. Light.) He sought out the game's main villain, Dr. Wily, who re-programmed Dr. Wright's robots to work for him and wreck havoc in the city of Monsteropolis. As Mega Man, you chose from six stages filled with enemies, traps, pits and a Robot Master. Beat the Robot Master of each stage to acquire his special power. After you clear all six stages, you ran through four more stages filled with more boss characters, the chance to fight all six Robot Masters again and finally, you fought against Dr. Wily. You did not have access to passwords or battery backed saves but you were able to pick up extra lives and had unlimited continues.

The PROS: Out of all the games Capcom released, this one stuck out. It was a one of a kind game involving robots, a futuristic setting, the ability to gain enemy robots' powers and interesting stage layouts that put your shooting, jumping and memorization skills to the test. For its time, the graphics were pretty sharp and bright. The sound effects and controls were spot on and easy to appreciate. The music was excellent since each Robot Master's stage got its own theme so it fit the mood perfectly. There was a lot of variety when it came to enemy robots and some were exclusive to certain stages. Mega Man quickly became known as a hard as nails game to play through so if you beat it, you were among an elite group of gamers that managed to pull it off.

The CONS: Since it was really hard to beat back then, it also proved to be its biggest fault. At the time, most games were pretty easy to clear compared to Mega Man. The game had been too much for some players which led to most people who attempted to beat it to give up completely. It was a bit demanding to beat the game in one setting even though you had unlimited continues and enemies would randomly drop extra lives though not as often. It was also one of the few games where you didn't earn extra lives through points so it didn't help at all.

Despite the steep learning curve and the fact that it demanded high gaming skills, Mega Man earned its place in video game history and gave birth to one of Capcom's most recognized video game characters. They would go on to release five more sequels on the NES, a new spin off series for the SNES and PS1 and multiple portable iterations. If you missed your chance to play this diamond in the rough title, you can search for a used copy or pick up the Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the PS2 or Gamecube consoles. Also, if you own a Wii, you can download this game from their Virtual Console Service for US $5.00 (500 points.)

5.0 out of 5 stars A great game to begin a great series., August 15, 2011

By 

Nash - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Mega Man (Video Game)

When I was growing up in the late 1980s, I was fascinated with things like robots and flying saucers. Movies like 'Short Circuit', 'Batteries Not Included', and 'Robocop' were coming out; The LEGO company had 3-4 awesome space themes going on at once; and Capcom introduced the video-gaming world to the Mega Man series.

The original Mega Man title was mostly overlooked when it came out, but seemed to gain more respect after the second and third games made bigger splashes and prompted gamers to go digging at the local video store. This doesn't come as much surprise, as it was released before the days of Nintendo Power magazine and was one of the first Capcom releases that didn't have an arcade counterpart. Coupled with its atrocious American cover art, it's comes as no surprise that people probably looked like through this title.

Under its ugly veneer, however, is one fabulous and vibrant gaming experience which was completely fresh at the time it came out. I actually managed to play this game at a friend's house before the second title was released and recall being completely taken by the novelties the series introduced. While games like Zelda and Goonies II offered some latitude in the order by which one approached the game, I had never before played a game where a stage-select was shoved right into your face. My young, action-figure-addled sensibilities were further wooed by the unique enemy and robot-master designs.

Though I didn't realize this as a kid, Mega Man probably served as my 'baptism by fire' into appreciating more difficult gaming (soon to be followed by the NES Ninja Gaiden). I played this game before I had access to strategy guides or the internet and recall getting massacred by the game's steep difficulty curve. This, however, never felt like a deterrent and made the occasional stride forward all the more rewarding. Some parts would end up seeming downright impossible (e.g. fighting Elec Man before you know what to do). I don't think I beat this game, or even managed to get to Dr. Wily's stage, until years after I had beaten Mega Man 2's 'normal' difficulty, but I was never so discouraged that I wrote the game off as being hard for the wrong reasons. What's awesome is that this game's difficulty stands the test of time. Even if you know how to beat the game, it can still give experienced players a fresh challenge if they haven't tried it in a while.

As a huge gaming music enthusiast, I would rank the Mega Man series as one of the best-scored properties from that time period. Though Capcom's sound people certainly traversed new heights with games like Duck Tales and the later Mega Man games, the music in the original game was simply awesome. Each uniquely-designed stage is matched with a different theme and all of them maintain a great energy. I would rank the Cut Man and Fire Man stage themes amongst the best in the series.

While this game has certainly been outshined by the subsequent entries in the Mega Man series, I still think it stands out as one of the best games on the NES and one of the most creative titles ever made. I would recommend buying the anthology version on the PS2, as that version will save your progress. Beating this game takes a bit of patience and practice.