Retro Corner: Mega Man II (NES) Review

A new edition of Retro Corner is up as we take a break from Donkey Kong and focus on the Blue Bomber. After the sleeper hit of the first game, Capcom would work on the next title called Mega Man II in 1988. The sequel follows the events of the previous quest as Rock (Mega Man) defeated Dr. Wily. However, the evil doctor has returned and seeks revenge against Rock with his own Robot Masters. The original game suffered from several issues such as slow frame rate and Mega Man would drop like dead weight from an edge of a platform. I still enjoy it for what Capcom offered in a single title but at times it did ruin some of the fun. The company should have let the studio take some time to iron these problems out. That is the reason the original was often considered a sleep hit in 1987 and it took off from word of mouth.

I wonder how Capcom is going to handle the 11th installment now that its using 3D graphics. It is a style they haven't used since Mega Man X8 in 2004 (even though it ruined the gaming experience). The last Classic Mega Man titles used a concept from the NES 8-bit graphics to render Mega Man 9 and 10. I remember when Capcom started the retro Indy gaming craze back in 2008. Not many companies (aside Konami)had the sense to produce retro style small games. Of course, several years latermany studios like WayForward have produced many of these based off the older IPs. I'm truly glad that Capcom jump started this craze of creating newer titles based from the past. However, these studios are also improving on these classic concepts instead of keeping the same flaws. I find this a great step for retro style Indy IPs and now this has become an art style.

Mega Man II (NES) Review