Yeah, it's short, I know. But he tears through the game like nobody's business.
Aside from the title screen and the shrill beep you hear when you press Start after turning the game on, this is basically the same game as its American counterpart. When Mega Man Anniversary Collection was released in America, they kept the American version's title screen but added the "Press Start" sound from the Japanese screen.
If you have annotations on, you'll be able to see some extra stuff regarding NCS's commentary at times.
If you have annotations on, you'll be able to see some extra stuff regarding NCS's commentary at times.
[title][center]Select Stage[/center][/title]
As soon as you press Start...look at how much freedom you have. As said in the Video Game Icons entry from last time, we take this for granted now, but back then nobody had ever seen a screen where you could pick any level you wanted before.
Unlike the other Mega Man games, this one only lets you select between six robots instead of the normal eight that would become a staple in the series. Since we're going in the same order that NCS does for this blog, we're covering Guts Man first.
As soon as you press Start...look at how much freedom you have. As said in the Video Game Icons entry from last time, we take this for granted now, but back then nobody had ever seen a screen where you could pick any level you wanted before.
Unlike the other Mega Man games, this one only lets you select between six robots instead of the normal eight that would become a staple in the series. Since we're going in the same order that NCS does for this blog, we're covering Guts Man first.
Guts Man
Gee, NCS, couldn't you have started with an easier stage? Well, not really.
The first enemy you meet are the Mettaurs. These robots in construction hats hide behind their indestructable armor and peek out to fire bullets at you when you get close. Move towards them and wait for them to peek their eyes out, then fire away.
Anyway, the platforms at the beginning are pretty hard unless you really know what to do. When you see a break in the path, that is where the platform folds down and drops you off. When jumping over these gaps, stay as far to the right edge of the platform as possible.
When you somehow manage to get past that, you'll meet some flying robots that try to divebomb you. Wait for them to come close enough to divebomb, then jump straight up and fire. This takes a little bit of practice, but once you get it down they're really easy. You'll also get to take down some miners that throw pickaxes which somehow seem to home in on you. Fire as fast as possible and walk towards them at the same time to minimize damage. If you were expecting disco balls and dragons that spit rainbows after those platforms, then your hopes are officially dashed. Sorry.
We all know that the yellow and white things replenish health and that the blue spheres replenish weapon energy, but the small dots that match the color of the stage and never flash are for bonus points. The more you've collected before you beat the boss, the more unnecessary points you'll get after beating the Robot Master for your unnecessary scoring system which never appears in any other game in the series. Strangely enough, it's harder to get enemies to spawn health replenishments in this game than in the sequels. No surprise there, since we're covering something from 1987.
While you're dropping down, jump through the middle pit and hold Left on the second screen. If you're lucky, you'll be able to get a really-hard-to-obtain 1-Up. Oh, yes, the ol' Mega Man head.
The one-eyed robot with the crusher at the bottom does a lot of damage if it touches you. Wait for it to make a narrow jump before you try to get past it. Once you go through the door, you'll take down a few more Mettaurs before you reach another door which takes you to...Guts Man.
Guts Man is the easiest to beat with the Mega Buster here. Jump just before he hits the ground to keep from being frozen for a few seconds and be sure that you also avoid the remains of the rocks that he throws. If you have Bomb Man's weapon, he goes down even faster...if you can get him to stay in the blast radius, that is.
When you beat him, touch the sphere that drops down when Guts Man disintegrates. You'll have to do this in every stage to finish the level, unlike in other games in the series. Congratulations, you have the Super Fist.
The first enemy you meet are the Mettaurs. These robots in construction hats hide behind their indestructable armor and peek out to fire bullets at you when you get close. Move towards them and wait for them to peek their eyes out, then fire away.
Anyway, the platforms at the beginning are pretty hard unless you really know what to do. When you see a break in the path, that is where the platform folds down and drops you off. When jumping over these gaps, stay as far to the right edge of the platform as possible.
When you somehow manage to get past that, you'll meet some flying robots that try to divebomb you. Wait for them to come close enough to divebomb, then jump straight up and fire. This takes a little bit of practice, but once you get it down they're really easy. You'll also get to take down some miners that throw pickaxes which somehow seem to home in on you. Fire as fast as possible and walk towards them at the same time to minimize damage. If you were expecting disco balls and dragons that spit rainbows after those platforms, then your hopes are officially dashed. Sorry.
We all know that the yellow and white things replenish health and that the blue spheres replenish weapon energy, but the small dots that match the color of the stage and never flash are for bonus points. The more you've collected before you beat the boss, the more unnecessary points you'll get after beating the Robot Master for your unnecessary scoring system which never appears in any other game in the series. Strangely enough, it's harder to get enemies to spawn health replenishments in this game than in the sequels. No surprise there, since we're covering something from 1987.
While you're dropping down, jump through the middle pit and hold Left on the second screen. If you're lucky, you'll be able to get a really-hard-to-obtain 1-Up. Oh, yes, the ol' Mega Man head.
The one-eyed robot with the crusher at the bottom does a lot of damage if it touches you. Wait for it to make a narrow jump before you try to get past it. Once you go through the door, you'll take down a few more Mettaurs before you reach another door which takes you to...Guts Man.
Guts Man is the easiest to beat with the Mega Buster here. Jump just before he hits the ground to keep from being frozen for a few seconds and be sure that you also avoid the remains of the rocks that he throws. If you have Bomb Man's weapon, he goes down even faster...if you can get him to stay in the blast radius, that is.
When you beat him, touch the sphere that drops down when Guts Man disintegrates. You'll have to do this in every stage to finish the level, unlike in other games in the series. Congratulations, you have the Super Fist.
Cut Man
Now it's on to Cut Man and one of the first (if not the first) well-known songs in the series.
After some of those flying divebombers, you'll see some new enemies that resemble little laser pods. Wait for them to open up and begin firing at them. The four bullets they shoot at you go in intermediate directions (10:30, 9:30, 8:30 and 7:30, respectively), so be careful when you tussle with one.
When you climb up the ladder here, you'll fight four more of these things. You'll keep fighting more of these little laser pods as you go up. When you reach the top of the building, you'll see what looks like a huge library book drop. If you walk past it, though, conjoined scissor blades come out of it and home in on you as you move around it. If you don't stop as you go past it, you'll be just fine.
You'll find what look like tiny robotic shrimp jumping around afterwards. These things go down in one hit, but they can be annoying at times. Then you'll meet what looks like a 4x4 square cross with an eye in the middle. These things will either move vertically or horizontally when they open their eye. Shoot them down as their eye is closed to deal some damage to them. Taking these things out is well advised, since they can be a pain in the butt in some of these tight spaces, especially later in the game.
The next few ladders have you fighting these things again as you make your way towards another ginormous library book drop. Get past that, then make your way to the right, take care of the three flying divebombers and take the large health power-up if you need it. Go down and you'll have to deal with some rather nasty flying spheres that move horizontally and stop periodically to open fire in eight directions. Thankfully, their lines of fire are all very linear.
When you've made it two screens down, watch out for the spikes. Unlike other games in the series, the spikes will still kill you even if you're flashing from making contact with an enemy or enemy fire. Sheesh, sometimes this game is unforgiving.
After another crusher, go through the door and you'll have to deal with spinning turrets. These things will fire in five directions, and they'll extend outwards and start spinning when you get close before they fire. They're easy to take down before they can do anything, though. Some of them will be on the ceiling, especially in later stages, so be careful with these things. Once again, their lines of fire are very linear.
If you have Guts Man's power-up, pause the game to select it (it's the G, by the way), get near a large stone block (they look like brick walls) and press B to grab it when it turns white. Press B again to throw it. If any of the remnants of that block hit Cut Man, it'll do some major damage. If you don't destroy him with that, switch back to the arm cannon (it's the P on the weapon select) and take him down with it. Cut Man will be knocked back when you hit him with it. Watch out for his scissor blades that he throws, they come back to him like a boomerang when they reach a certain distance, and the way they take the shortest route to him on the way back makes it seemingly look like it's homing in on you, especially when he's jumping. Fortunately, he's not too hard to take down with the regular weapon as long as you're careful. Rolling Cutter will soon be yours.
After some of those flying divebombers, you'll see some new enemies that resemble little laser pods. Wait for them to open up and begin firing at them. The four bullets they shoot at you go in intermediate directions (10:30, 9:30, 8:30 and 7:30, respectively), so be careful when you tussle with one.
When you climb up the ladder here, you'll fight four more of these things. You'll keep fighting more of these little laser pods as you go up. When you reach the top of the building, you'll see what looks like a huge library book drop. If you walk past it, though, conjoined scissor blades come out of it and home in on you as you move around it. If you don't stop as you go past it, you'll be just fine.
You'll find what look like tiny robotic shrimp jumping around afterwards. These things go down in one hit, but they can be annoying at times. Then you'll meet what looks like a 4x4 square cross with an eye in the middle. These things will either move vertically or horizontally when they open their eye. Shoot them down as their eye is closed to deal some damage to them. Taking these things out is well advised, since they can be a pain in the butt in some of these tight spaces, especially later in the game.
The next few ladders have you fighting these things again as you make your way towards another ginormous library book drop. Get past that, then make your way to the right, take care of the three flying divebombers and take the large health power-up if you need it. Go down and you'll have to deal with some rather nasty flying spheres that move horizontally and stop periodically to open fire in eight directions. Thankfully, their lines of fire are all very linear.
When you've made it two screens down, watch out for the spikes. Unlike other games in the series, the spikes will still kill you even if you're flashing from making contact with an enemy or enemy fire. Sheesh, sometimes this game is unforgiving.
After another crusher, go through the door and you'll have to deal with spinning turrets. These things will fire in five directions, and they'll extend outwards and start spinning when you get close before they fire. They're easy to take down before they can do anything, though. Some of them will be on the ceiling, especially in later stages, so be careful with these things. Once again, their lines of fire are very linear.
If you have Guts Man's power-up, pause the game to select it (it's the G, by the way), get near a large stone block (they look like brick walls) and press B to grab it when it turns white. Press B again to throw it. If any of the remnants of that block hit Cut Man, it'll do some major damage. If you don't destroy him with that, switch back to the arm cannon (it's the P on the weapon select) and take him down with it. Cut Man will be knocked back when you hit him with it. Watch out for his scissor blades that he throws, they come back to him like a boomerang when they reach a certain distance, and the way they take the shortest route to him on the way back makes it seemingly look like it's homing in on you, especially when he's jumping. Fortunately, he's not too hard to take down with the regular weapon as long as you're careful. Rolling Cutter will soon be yours.
Elec Man
This stage is probably the hardest of the regular six. Either that, or it's Fire Man, since both have given me trouble in the past.
You'll be climbing a long vertical shaft for a while. You'll see a new enemy on the first screen: a low-lying spike trap that moves along the ground and cannot be destroyed unless you have Cut Man's weapon (signified by C on weapon select). When you're on the same level as this thing, it will accelerate in speed in an attempt to either hit you or get you to screw up on your jumping. Sometimes, it's definitely the latter.
The second screen is foreshadowing of sorts. The blocks with the two light blue spheres on them don't do anything...yet. Wait until you get into the next screen up. You'll find out they shoot out electric barriers at regular intervals. You'll definitely have to time your movements accordingly to keep from taking unnecessary damage, because these things can be annoying.
On the next screen, go back to the regular weapon. There will be six spheres on the screen, three on the left coming down and three on the right coming up. Shoot down the ones coming up as they open up their laser guns, and you'll take them down. Go up before the three on the right take you out, because it's a long way down if you get hit here! You'll be doing this for two screens.
Now you'll have to deal with what is a constant enemy of even the most avid Mega Man fan: the disappearing platform blocks. You'll have to watch these things in order to time your jumps right. The ones on this screen are simple, but in later stages (and later games) they can be a real pain.
After two screens of this, you get a horizontal segment where you finally hold Right on the Control Pad! About time! Go up the ladder, and you'll have two more to choose from. Take down the green robots that come after you in this vertical shaft, then make your choice. If you go up the left one, you'll have to deal with more of those low-lying trap bots. If you go take the right one, you'll deal with some electric barriers. The one on the right is easier, IMHO. You may feel otherwise. The next screen has those green robots again. Take them down before you get any higher.
Regardless of which one you take, both ladders bring you to a screen with three blocks you'll have to use Guts Man's weapon to throw around to get rid off. That thing behind them is the Magnet Beam, and you'll need it to finish the game. Thankfully, NCS has Guts Man's weapon already, otherwise he'd have to fight Elec Man again. Yeah, that's right, the Robot Masters don't stay dead if you replay the level, unlike other games in the series.
Once again, you have a choice between two ladders at the next screen. The one on the left has low-lying trap bots, electric barriers, and electric barriers respectively on this and the following two screens. The one on the right has electric barriers, fewer electric barriers, and two shrimp bots and a Guts Man block. I prefer the left side, strangely.
After another horizontal segment, it's an easy screen followed by a screen with a crusher. Get past him and go through the door.
You'll be climbing a long vertical shaft for a while. You'll see a new enemy on the first screen: a low-lying spike trap that moves along the ground and cannot be destroyed unless you have Cut Man's weapon (signified by C on weapon select). When you're on the same level as this thing, it will accelerate in speed in an attempt to either hit you or get you to screw up on your jumping. Sometimes, it's definitely the latter.
The second screen is foreshadowing of sorts. The blocks with the two light blue spheres on them don't do anything...yet. Wait until you get into the next screen up. You'll find out they shoot out electric barriers at regular intervals. You'll definitely have to time your movements accordingly to keep from taking unnecessary damage, because these things can be annoying.
On the next screen, go back to the regular weapon. There will be six spheres on the screen, three on the left coming down and three on the right coming up. Shoot down the ones coming up as they open up their laser guns, and you'll take them down. Go up before the three on the right take you out, because it's a long way down if you get hit here! You'll be doing this for two screens.
Now you'll have to deal with what is a constant enemy of even the most avid Mega Man fan: the disappearing platform blocks. You'll have to watch these things in order to time your jumps right. The ones on this screen are simple, but in later stages (and later games) they can be a real pain.
After two screens of this, you get a horizontal segment where you finally hold Right on the Control Pad! About time! Go up the ladder, and you'll have two more to choose from. Take down the green robots that come after you in this vertical shaft, then make your choice. If you go up the left one, you'll have to deal with more of those low-lying trap bots. If you go take the right one, you'll deal with some electric barriers. The one on the right is easier, IMHO. You may feel otherwise. The next screen has those green robots again. Take them down before you get any higher.
Regardless of which one you take, both ladders bring you to a screen with three blocks you'll have to use Guts Man's weapon to throw around to get rid off. That thing behind them is the Magnet Beam, and you'll need it to finish the game. Thankfully, NCS has Guts Man's weapon already, otherwise he'd have to fight Elec Man again. Yeah, that's right, the Robot Masters don't stay dead if you replay the level, unlike other games in the series.
Once again, you have a choice between two ladders at the next screen. The one on the left has low-lying trap bots, electric barriers, and electric barriers respectively on this and the following two screens. The one on the right has electric barriers, fewer electric barriers, and two shrimp bots and a Guts Man block. I prefer the left side, strangely.
After another horizontal segment, it's an easy screen followed by a screen with a crusher. Get past him and go through the door.
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