Following Wily’s near-death experience in 7, things are looking more or less normal. Mega Man fights his anime rival every other week, and Wily’s been working on his next eight robots. But unbeknownst to the regular cast, a new threat is quickly cascading towards Earth: two figures have had a battle and space, and both now find themselves learning how atmospheric entry works. But most importantly, these strange entities give off amazing energy signatures, and it becomes quickly obvious that obtaining them would give one access to incredible power…
Welcome to Mega Man 8! In terms of main series games that aren’t remakes, 8 is the first Classic game on a non-Nintendo console. It’s also Mega Man’s 32-bit outing this time around, and while it’s not technically as big a leap as 6 to 7, 8 still looks amazing. And while special weapon quality is subjective, (they’re the best weapons don’t @ me,) there’s also a few quality of life changes that make the “gun” part of run and gun a lot more fun.
Dr. Wily has escaped with the remnants of the mysterious meteor, and all Mega Man has to show for it is a mostly-dead robot, who is now being cared for by Dr. Light. Which means will all of the intro out of the way, it’s time to take on some Robot Masters! First on our list is Clown Man, who has an entire circus at his disposal. Also electric powers. Do not forget the electric powers.
One clown down, but the next one’s in the sky! Mega Man faces off against Tengu Man and his various aerial forces. But with this many flying enemies, Mega Man’s going to need some help… and maybe a level gimmick, to get him through.
Well, it’s that time. It’s a snow-themed level, and if there’s one thing Mega Man 8 is known for, (other than the voice acting,) it’s the snowboarding section. Mega Man must jump jump slide slide his way to victory, avoiding pitfalls and motion sickness along the way.
Mega Man has triumphed over Wily’s first set of Robot Masters, but the mystery of the strange energy has been picking up still eludes him. And what of the robot he found laying half dead in a crater? Mega Man may just find the answer to both questions after an unexpected awakening…
Hey what if you gave a robot anxiety? Well, I don’t know why you would do that, but if you did you’d get Astro Man. Please be gentle, he didn’t want to fight you either.
The next Robot Master on our list is the water-based one, which means this’ll be the episode with the most swimming in it. It’s also the episode with the most falling, oddly enough.
It’s the final Robot Master and, fittingly enough for either the first or final level of this cycle, he’s the one who’s in a temple that tests Mega Man’s special weapons. Mega Man will have to be clever in using his first four weapons if he wants to challenge Sword Man himself.
Wily’s Robot Masters are down, which means there’s no more barrier preventing Mega Man from entering Wily’s castle. But it’ll be tough to get to the fortress, in that we have to do Jump Jump Slide Slide again just to reach the castle’s doors.
Part 12: Dr. Wily’s Fourth to Last Stand Provided No Other Game Comes Up
Mega Man is in the base, but Wily won’t give up just yet! … which shouldn’t be surprising, he normally doesn’t go down that quickly. But Bass is still ready to go, and we don’t know how strong Evil Energy truly is, so this will probably be a harder fight than usual. Probably.
It seems somebody has taken over Wiley Wily’s base, so Wily is definitely not the villain this time. Instead, our aggressor-of-the-week is a robot by the name of King. Tired of living under weak human beings, King has declared a robot revolution, starting with a gathering of data from the Robot Museum. Mega Man has been sent to stop King’s menace… as has Bass. We do not have to worry about Bass backstabbing us, since Wily is totally trustworthy this time around. And he’s also a playable characters, so it’s fine!
Welcome back to the SNES! Rockman & Forte was released after Mega Man 8, and while it isn’t a numbered entry of the series, it certainly plays like 'em! There are some differences though, the most notable being a playable character who isn’t Mega Man! That’s right, after his… lackluster appearance in 8, Bass is now playable and is strangely the character who’s better at platforming instead of fighting! Sure, let’s go with that!
And before anyone asks, this is the SNES version with a translation patch instead of the GBA version, because I have respect for my time. The translation patch can be found here: Romhacking.net - Translations - Rockman & Forte
The stage select screen may be a bit different, but that won’t stop us from getting into the usual Mega Man game loop! Today, Bass heads off to fight Cold Man. Gonna be honest, just being “cold” seems a lot less intimidating than, say Ice Man. Or Freeze Man. This guy’s just a bit nippy, that’s not so bad.
As it turns out, two of Wily’s old robots joined King’s rebellion. And, oddly enough, one of them is Astro Man. Seemingly a little less shy, Astro Man is ready to fight once again! Unfortunately, he’s fighting Bass, who is viscous and scary. Astro Man will probably not leave his house for the next month.
Yarr, here be the next Robot Master! If his stage feels like other Mega Man water stages, and perhaps even some X water stages as well, then don’t worry: that’s just the pirate theme at work.
Burner Man: Perhaps the most intense Robot Master. Most likely joined King’s rebellion because he was told to use his indoor voice one too many times. Has very little arm dexterity due to the tanks strapped to them.
Abra kadabra, it’s Magic Man! In what feels like one of the more retready retreads of Mega Man & Bass, Magic Man is hiding in a theme park. But unlike the PS1’s entertainer Robot Master, this guy doesn’t make any Steven King references. Probably an improvement, honestly.
Bass has reached the penultimate member of King’s Army and, strangely enough, someone managed to stand Tengu Man for long enough to bother enlisting him. The second of the two returning Robot Masters, Tengu Man is ready to make up for his losses in Mega Man 8. Unfortunately for him, he’s fighting Bass, the robot with better aerial capabilities.
