6. Mega Man 2
Brace yourselves, kids! It’s another great comic by Philip “Loki” Armstrong. Your day is now officially awesome. And this time, I’ve learned my lesson: I’ve temporarily boosted GameSpite’s maximum bandwidth so the site won’t die horribly from all the inevitable links that will result from this black-and-white bundle of greatness. (Bonus: I’m pretty sure my GSQ3 press proof arrives today.)
27 thoughts on “GameSpite Quarterly 2, #6: Mega Man 2”
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Loki is a god among men.
I’ve probably said this before, but Mega Man 2 (and the Mega Man series in general) was always my favorite in the NES days. Mario? Pfft. They were good, but doggone it, Mega Man was just cooler.
Something I’ve always noticed, though, and also something that likely has been brought up before. Mega Man 2 is painfully easy on its normal setting. Difficult brings it close to the others, but not quite. Although I don’t really think any of the charge-shot Mega Man games were particularly hard at all. Now THAT unbalanced the Mega Man games.
Oh, and yeah, Metal Blades were AWESOME. Three shots per energy block? Multi-directional fire? The ability to rip many bosses to shreds (Bubble, Flash, Wood, and even Metal on the second go’round in one hit!)? Those buggers did it all. I was so sad when I saw the gimped Shadow Blade in Mega Man 3.
Anyway, awesome game.
The idea of Megaman slapping people who argue MM3 is better than MM2 will carry me through the rest of the day. Thank you.
Fantastic.
That just brightened my morning!
Sarge, prepare to have your mind blown: “Difficult” is the only way the original MM2 is available in Japan. The “Normal” mode was just a watered down American concession.
@Sarge: ‘Normal’ didn’t even exist in the Japanese version; you weren’t given a choice of difficulty, so it was Difficult or nothing. Normal was something added for us back in the days when we also didn’t get the ‘real’ SMB2 (good riddance) but did get a dumbed-down Final Fantasy IV. Even Super Mario Bros. 3 was easier in the US incarnation.
We should consider ourselves fortunate that we could even play on Difficult at all.
Ninja’d AGAIN.
“The idea of Megaman slapping people who argue MM3 is better than MM2 will carry me through the rest of the day. Thank you.” – SonicPanda
Yes! What he(she?) said! ;) That was the best part of the comic.
Great game, but I always felt Mega Man 3 was better. /flamebait (No, honestly, I like 3 better!)
I award this comic an “A” for referencing “Crash! Let’s do it!”
So did anyone else have the Death sound effect pop into their head at the end of the article too?
Sadly enough, I remembered that as I was typing. Chalk it up to the Japanese thinking we can’t handle the original experience, much as they did with Final Fantasy II/IV, or creating a “special” RPG for us in Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest.
What’s really sad is that Mega Man Anniversary includes an even MORE gimped mode. Good grief.
Great job on that Mega Man 2 comic review, Loki. I love Mega Man’s expressions, especially when talking about the Metal Blade. Also, love the Wood Man dialogue there. “MY POWER IS TREES!” indeed.
Mega Man 2 is so epically fantastic. That’s not even nostalgia talking; I didn’t play it until 2007. The fun factor, play control, and innovation all put it over the top. It definitely deserves its lofty ranking.
And just like with FFIX, I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned the music yet. If not for Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, Mega Man 2 would have the best soundtrack of all time.
What’s so different about Normal and Difficult mode? The hardest part of Mega Man has always been the platforming anyway, did that change much?
Brace yourself: GoNintendo just linked to “ToastFrog’s Mega Man 2 ‘look back’ comic”.
The only difference between the normal and difficult modes is that your weapons are all twice as powerful in normal.
Awesome. Can’t think of a better way to cover a game so widely written about.
Cute comic.
Nobody tell Loki how amazing he is or he’ll leave all us losers behind and go off to become an Internationally Famous Comics Star.
Great comic, I knew what was coming with the spikey pin.
“Difficult” also makes a few enemies take more hits, like the moving barrel tower thing in Metal Man’s stage that flings itself at you and reforms once, and the hermit crab enemies on on Bubble Man’s stage that has their shells knocked off. I think there was something else too, like the gun turrent boss of Wily Stage 3, or maybe the crash bombs use more of the power meter so you can’t mess up.
I too heard the death sound quite clearly at the end……….but wait, Mario 3 was harder in Japan?
I can attest to this. My cousin had one of those funky devices you threw on the Japanese cartridges (remember the 31 in 1?) and an imported copy of Super Mario Bros 3.
The game became a LOT easier once the words were English :(
– Eddie
Awesome, the moment of realization when the death pattern coalesced in my brain was like being a kid again.
Actually, Mario 3 was harder in Japan because getting hit while powered-up (fire flower, leaf, etc.) meant getting knocked all the way back to small Mario (a la SMB1), while in the US and Euro versions you’re reduced to Super Mario status.
Great work as always Loki! Mega Man 2 is another GSQ2 game that I OWN, that I really, really should play (*see Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Metal Gear Solid and Persona 3.)