Mega Man 5
| Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Capcom |
| Release Date: N/A | Also On: None |
The Mega Man series is the series of games on the NES that had the most incarnations. While many people say that Mega Mans 2 and 3 are the best, and they are right in many ways, Mega Man 5 was also a game of firsts. 5 was the first game in which Mega Man had the ability to go upside down. It was the first in which he rode a vehicle other than Rush. And it was the first to use Beat the bird as an ally to Mega Man.
In most things, the graphics in Mega Man 5 are borrowed from Mega Man 4 with little if any improvement. While Mega Man 4 hardly had bad graphics, and Mega Man 5 came out only one year later, one would think that at least minor improvements could be made. However, even with no improvements having been made, everything is still clear as to what it is and what its purpose is and the graphics are still above average for an NES game.
The sound effects are also almost universally borrowed from Mega Man 4. This is probably because that set of sound effects was what Mega Man’s fans were used to. Besides, they still worked well, and why fix what wasn’t broken. The music in Mega Man 5 is just as good as the music in any of the other Mega Man games. Overall, the sound is very good for an NES game.
The gameplay in Mega Man 5 is essentially borrowed from its predecessors as well. There are eight robot masters as usual. You beat them in whatever order you want, then you invade the hideout of the bad guy (Protoman in this case) and teach them a lesson. The game only has sixteen levels, and you can save at any time during the first eight by taking a password from the password screen.
Also back from the previous games are Rush Coil and Rush Jet, both of which will need to be used to get you to Protoman. If that’s not enough, you also assimilate boss weapons from defeated bosses.
There are three new things in this game. First of all, there is a level in which Mega Man can go upside down. When upside down his slide is up and jump rather than down and jump, but that’s the only difference in that level after you get used to walking on the ceiling.
Secondly, there is a level in which Mega Man rides a jet ski. This is the first time that something like this has happened, and it is really a breath of fresh air to a game that would otherwise have been “just another rehash of the last one�. This would later go on to become almost a staple of the X series from what I understand, and vehicles also make an appearance in Mega Man 8 for PlayStation.
Third is the addition of Beat. In this game and in Mega Man 6, Beat is an attack bird. In this game, you earn him by collecting a letter out of each of the eight boss levels. When called, he will simply attack whatever enemies are on the screen. He is something to pursue, as he is good against a couple bosses.
This game isn’t particularly long at sixteen levels, and there are password saves until you get to the point where you’re going after Protoman, but the game is still fun and is well worth replaying. I would, however, caution anybody considering buying this game that it is rare and thus would be slightly expensive. I would recommend buying Mega Man Anniversary Collection for GCN or PS2 and playing the entire series if this game sounds interesting to you.
| Graphics: | 7 |
| Sound: | 8 |
| Gameplay: | 8 |
| Creativity: | 6 |
| Replay Value/Game Length: | 7 |
| Final: | 7.2 |
| Written by Martin | Review Guide |
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