Dr. K's Waiting Room

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January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history, “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 and Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000’s birthday on January 12. Accordingly, I’m dedicating January to celebrating sci-fi with an event I call “Sci-Fanuary”.

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Released: 24 August 2015
Originally Released: 4 December 1992
Developer: Digital Eclipse
Original Developer: Capcom
Also Available For: GameCube, Mobile, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series S 

The Background:
In 1987, Capcom sought to move away from producing arcade titles and debut on the revitalised home console market with Mega Man (or “Rockman” in Japan), an Astro Boy (Tezuka, 1952 to 1968)-inspired run-and-gun title notorious for its difficulty. Although widely praised and regarded as an NES classic, Mega Man wasn’t successful enough to justify an immediate sequel and, even though Mega Man 2 (Capcom, 1988) vastly improved the gameplay mechanics and was equally lauded, it took two years for the similarly praised (and challenging) Mega Man 3 (ibid, 1990) to drop. This success was seemingly enough to convince Capcom of the franchise’s popularity and Mega Man 4 released just one year later, earning notable praise and setting a new standard for the series. Mega Man 5 was spearheaded by artist Keiji Inafune, who had had major involvement in the previous games and sought to make the game more accessible by lowering the difficulty. In an effort to spice up the gameplay loop, the developers powered Mega Man up considerably, revising development documents from Mega Man 3 to create Beat and again turning to fans to submit designs for the new Robot Masters. Staying on-trend for the franchise, Mega Man 5 was highly praised for its graphics, music, and controls despite continued criticisms of the franchise’s lack of innovation. Like its predecessors, Mega Man 5 has been re-released on multiple consoles, including the Legacy Collection release that bolstered the gameplay with numerous quality of life features and additional bonuses.

The Plot:
Shortly after his last defeat, Doctor Albert Wily strikes back by ordering Proto Man to lead the newest batch of Robot Masters in conquering the world. Aided by his new robotic companion, Beat. the super fighting robot Mega Man heads out to confront his brother and defeat Dr. Wily once more.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Mega Man 5 continues in the same spirit as its predecessors, being a 2D, sidescrolling, run-and-gun action/platformer that sees you back in the role of the super fighting robot, Mega Man, and taking on eight new Robot Masters. These await at the end of eight themed stages, which can be tackled in any order. However, since each Robot Master has a specific weakness, it’s better to take them on in the right order to have the correct Special Weapon on hand. While online guides help with this, the Legacy Collection provides a helpful cheat sheet to point you in the right direction, alongside full customisation of the game’s controls. Not that you really need this as Mega Man 5 is nice and simple to play: you fire your Mega Buster or currently equipped Special Weapon with X, holding the button to charge your Mega Buster for additional damage, and utilising a rapid auto-fire function with Y. A is your jump button; holding it lets you jump higher and you’ll also jump higher in Star Man’s stage due to the lower gravity and the second of Dr. Wily’s stages when underwater. Pressing down and A lets you slide under projectiles, jumping enemies, and through tunnels, often to goodies but sometimes to insta-death spikes or bottomless pits. Pressing the ‘Menu’ button pauses the game and lets you select a Special Weapon, Item, or use an E-Tank to fully restore your health or the new Mystery Tank (M-Tank) for one of three helpful bonuses (filling all your energy, granting an extra life, or turning all weak enemies onscreen into 1-Ups). The ‘View’ button brings up the Legacy Collection menu, allowing you to create or load a save state and apply filters, borders, or enable turbo functions, while the Left Bumper lets you rewind the game if you make a mistake.

While Mega Man’s Special Weapons are somewhat similar to those found in the previous games, I actually found them to be a little more creative and versatile this time around. The Star Crash surrounds you with stars that act as a shield; you’ll lose one each time you’re attacked and can fling them directly ahead with X. Gravity Hold damages all onscreen enemies then sends them hurtling to the ceiling, while the propeller-like Gyro Attack can be briefly redirected once shot to attack airborne enemies. The Crystal Eye fires a big, slow, powerful shot that explodes on impact; the Napalm Bomb bounces a couple of times before exploding; and the Power Stone has three stones circle out from you, damaging anything that they touch. Easily the most useful Special Weapons were the Charge Kick (which adds an attack to your slide and makes you immune to some hazards) and the Water Wave (which sends waterspouts across the ground) simply because they destroy smaller enemies on the ground, like the Mousubeils and Subeils. Defeating Star Man also gifts the Super Arrow, a plunger-like projectile that sticks to walls and creates temporary platforms for you to clamber up. You also start the game with the Rush Coil, which summons Mega Man’s robotic canine companion, Rush, to spring you to higher areas, and acquire the Rush Jet to fly across gaps (no Rush Marine submarine this time, though). Mega Man’s little helper robot Eddie also pops up in stages to chuck power-ups your way and each stage also hides one of eight letters. Collect them all to spell out MEGAMANV and acquire Beat, a little robot bird that attacks anything in sight. If you miss one of the letters, you can replay the stage from the Stage Select menu to get it and this is highly advisable since Beat is very useful against the game’s bosses. One thing I did enjoy was the Marine Bike in Wave Man’s stage, which finally mixes up the gameplay by turning it into an autoscrolling shooter where you blast at marine enemies and hop over them as they come from left and right.

Many of the same stage hazards and designs return from the previous games, as you’d expect. Insta-kill spikes are commonplace, both across the ground and down vertical shafts (though each stage sports their unique variant now), as are bottomless pits, meaning you still have to take care when jumping to platforms. Disappearing and reappearing blocks compound these issues, as do moving platforms and narrow columns. Sometimes, you’ll need to use Rush or your Super Arrow to clear gaps and little buzzsaws run along turning gears or small platforms to keep you on your toes. Stages also sport new gimmicks, though, such as a meteor storm in Star Man’s stage, the aforementioned Marine Bike that also sees you battling a giant robot octopus, and a fun gravity gimmick in Gravity Man’s stage that has you running across the ceiling and pressing up to use ladders or your slide. Swinging maces, steam bursts, and rushing water are also present, as are erratic moving platforms that fling you towards spikes and mean you have to think about when to jump. Gyro Man’s stage sees the foreground act as a lift to higher ground, while Proto Man’s fourth stage sees you blasting stone blocks to cause the environment to drop down. Similarly, Dr. Wily’s first stage features a lowering ceiling that will crush you if you’re not careful, while Chase Man’s stage has you running across the rooftop of a speeding train. You’ll also ride bubbles to higher ground and be flung around in tubes in Wave Man’s stage, following snake-like temporary paths in Proto Man’s stage, dodge falling crystals in Crystal Man’s sparkling caves, and take out giant drills in Napalm Man’s underground caves. Overall, while a lot of Mega Man 5’s gimmicks are familiar, there’s finally enough variety and accessibility to make the game challenging but enjoyable and a significant step up from its predecessors.

Presentation:
Mega Man remains unchanged from his last few entries; he still changes colour with each Special Weapon and barely has an idle animation. He does have a dramatic new animation when acquiring each Special Weapon and is showcased spinning around and transforming into his new colour scheme each time (though it would’ve been nice to see an animation demonstrating what the Special Weapon does). Enemy sprites continue to improve, being more outlandish and cartoonish than ever, and the game smartly loads a plain black background for the larger enemies to avoid unnecessary slowdown and screen tearing. These do still crop up but they’re nowhere near as prevalent as previous games; mostly, the game either limits how many sprites appear onscreen at once or renders them far better, though instances will still occur. Mega Man 5 really ups the focus on story, featuring a greater mixture of in-game sprites and larger, anime-style sprite art to tell the story of Proto Man’s attack and Doctor Thoms Light’s abduction. Confrontations between Mega Man and Proto Man, and Dr Wily, are brought to life by the surprisingly expressive in-game sprites and the use of text and text boxes perfectly convey what’s going on, even if Proto Man’s true motives remain a mystery. The developers’ experience with the NES, its hardware, and limitations also saw them craft a more detailed Capcom logo for the opening credits and have some backgrounds move with you in a version of parallax scrolling, as well as blinking lights and flickering effects (most notable in Crystal Man’s stage).

Mega Man 5 is a top contender for best music in the series so far, I’d say. Every stage has a jaunty, catchy theme that goes perfectly with the action and rivals even Mega Man 2 for its appeal. Stages also feel much bigger and are noticeably visually superior to the game’s predecessors. Every stage includes multiple areas, changing significantly as you progress, to showcase Dr. Wily’s influence on the natural landscape. Star Man’s stage has the most detailed night-time sky so far, including stars, the Moon, and giant satellite dishes ahead of a more mechanical, colourful interior. Gravity Man’s stage is highly mechanical, with blinking and flickering tech in the background and a garish colour scheme, but also sporting arrows to show where the gravity gimmick takes effect. Gyro Man’s stage is up in the clouds on some kind of airship; propellers appear in the foreground and the pulsating clouds obscure enemies and platforms to keep you on your toes. Crystal Man’s stage is a beautiful crystal and glass mine, Napalm Man’s is a thick, luscious jungle (where the trees and grass sway with a background wind effect), and Stone Man’s stage is a mixture of rock, metal, and scaffolding. Chase Man’s stage is probably the most impressive stage, starting in a train yard and progressing to have to jump across train carriages, battling inside them, hopping over logs and crates, and even sporting a screen jump to simulate the train going over tracks! Wave Man’s station is a dam or pumping station, featuring tubes, bubbles, and waterfalls ahead of your race across the waves, while Proto Man’s fortress is themed after a medieval castle. Dr. Wily’s fortress is much the same as you’d expect, being an ugly mishmash of colours, pipes, and technology, but it’s suitable ominous and the obligatory teleporter pods now shatter after the defeat the Robot Masters within.

Enemies and Bosses:
A few of Mega Man’s most persistent and iconic enemies return in Mega Man 5, again tweaked with fun new attack patterns and variants. The Metalls are here, of course, hiding behind their helmets and firing triple shots at you. They’ll split into smaller minions when destroyed, man giant cannons, swim about with snorkels, fly about in spacesuits and with jetpacks, and even drive mini trains! The “Joe” enemies also return, now tossing crystal projectiles, piloting attack helicopters, and riding their own Marine Bikes. The Shield Attacker enemy also returns, though you still get around behind it to destroy it, and you’ll encounter somewhat familiar robots that throw bombs or rocks at you. New enemies include a fat chicken that constantly spawns little robot chicks, an ape-like variant that fires homing missiles, two variations of a robotic tiger that pounce at you, a little cannon that hides behind a shield, a catapult-like robot that launches rocks, and weird little vacuum-cleaner-like robots that hover over spikes. One of the more common enemies is the Power Muscler, a large pink or green robot that leaps at you and tries to squash you and is usually easier to slide past than battle. You’ll also have to contend with robots that detach their heads, aerial craft that carpet bomb you, little spherical robots that extend their spiked heads, robotic dolphins, and ballistic missiles that send shrapnel flying. Your fun little aside on the Marine Bike is also interrupted by the Octoper OA, a giant robot octopus that fires shots from its cannon-like nose and which can only be destroyed by shooting the cyan oval on its head.

Mega Man 5’s new Robot Masters are very similar to their predecessors, being fought in enclosed arenas and favouring jumping about and firing their signature weapon, and each are fought again in Dr. Wily’s fortress (though in a more generic setting). The order you battle them determines how difficult the game is as each one is weak to a specific Special Weapon; thus, I challenging Star Man first. Weak to the Water Wave, Star Man protects himself with Star Crash, a spinning shield of stars he launches your way. This Special Weapon is the key to defeating Gravity Man, but you’ll have to time your shots well. Gravity Man constantly switches the gravity around, giving you a small window to fire at him, but only has a standard shot otherwise so he’s not much of a threat beyond his large hit box. His Gravity Hold makes Gyro Man a joke; while this Robot Master hides in the clouds and fires his Gyro Attack, you can decimate him with a few shots of Gravity Hold. Although Crystal Man is weak to the Gyro Attack, he is a slippery devil and his Crystal Eye can split into multiple projectiles. Similarly, the slowness of this Special Weapon can make Napalm Man a little tricky, especially as his missile barrage isn’t the easiest to dodge. The Napalm Bomb is most effective against Stone Man, who just jumps about and spawns floating rocks, but time your shots well as they won’t hurt him when he’s a pile of rubble. His Power Stone whittles down Charge Man’s health bar, but only when he’s not charging at you or raining flaming coal from above. This small window, and the wide range of Power Stone, make Charge Man one of the more frustrating encounters as he’s not easy to jump over. When you battle them again in Dr. Wily’s fortress, they’ll drop a big health refill for you but you won’t get to replenish your Special Weapon energy, so pick your shots well and abuse that rewind feature, if necessary.

Proto Man’s medieval-style castle houses four additional stages boss battles against Dark Man (not that one!), a versatile Robot Master who takes on different forms, all vulnerable to Beat’s attacks as well as specific Special Weapons. Dark Man’s first form is a tank that blasts at you with its cannon and trundles back and forth; the second is humanoid that charges about and is protected by a revolving energy shield; and the third sports a Galvatron-like arm cannon that fires three shots from high in the sky and briefly freezes you with Time Stopper. At the end of the fourth stage, you’ll confront Proto Man in a cutscene where it turns out he was a fake! The real Proto Man saves you, replenishes your health, and then leaves you to battle Dark Man’s fourth, more demonic form that sports a faster version of Dark Man’s electromagnetic barrier, which it fires outward. You’ll have to overcome Dr. Wily’s final defences before facing off with him, with the first being a stationary column that rains enemies onto you. You must hit its spiked body parts with the Mega Buster to hop on them, then attack its head with the Crystal Eye, which can get tedious since you need to keep going in and out of the menu and must time your jumps right. The Circring Q9 is pretty tough, too, since it’s got a big hit box and floats about firing projectiles. You must use the platforms to hop up and fire the Gyro Attack when the central core is exposed. After this, Dr. Wily tries to crush you in his UFO-like craft. Watch out for the insta-kill spikes in the middle and jump out the way, blasting his cockpit with Star Crash or a charged shot to make him flee. You’ll then face him in a two-stage battle where he pilots a massive, skull-faced tank that tries to crush you, fires a bouncing shot from its main cannon and a needle from its lower one. The Super Arrow is great here, but you’ll need Beat or the charged Mega Buster to finish him off when he switches to his capsule. Like in Mega Man 4, he disappears into the darkness so you must anticipate when he appears to attack. He charges up a purple orb that drops and splashes across the ground and circles around the screen, though it’s not too difficult to avoid this and send him fleeing in a panic.

Additional Features:
The Mega Man Legacy Collection includes twenty-four Achievements, with you earning one after completing this game. As with the other titles included in the collection, you can set different display options, enable turbo mode, and even play the Japanese version of the game and listen to the awesome soundtrack. There’s a museum mode, a character database, and production art to view as well, if you fancy it. Additional Achievements await in the “Challenge Mode”, where stages from all six Mega Man games are remixed into timed challenges. There are also challenges specific to Mega Man 4 included here that will test the abilities of even seasoned Mega Man players. Sadly, there’s still no multiplayer options though there is a bit more replay value on offer here with the collectable MEGAMANV letters hidden in the eight main stages.

The Summary:
Mega Man 5 was such a breath of fresh air. Just to clarify, I’ve been playing these games one after the other and, honestly, it’s been frustrating how minor the changes have been to the gameplay formula with each one. To me, it’s almost like Capcom could’ve made only three or four Mega Man titles since the differences between them have been so minor, but Mega Man 5 felt like it was doing a lot more with the hardware. Stages were far more varied, including new gimmicks and hazards that brought the levels to life. The graphics were also far more detailed, allowing for little touches and better management of screen tearing and slowdown. The Special Weapons finally felt unique for the first time since Mega Man 2, having diverse effects and being useful outside of boss battles, though this aspect could still be expanded upon. Where Mega Man 5 really impressed me was with the Marine Bike section, which finally does what Rush Jet and Rush Marine should’ve done from the start and introduce a new gameplay style into the run-and-gun action. I also enjoyed the increased focus on the story, the mystery of the fake Proto Man, and the expansion of the final act into an additional four stages. Given Proto Man’s significance to the story, it’s still a shame you don’t get to play as him through remixed levels, but I really enjoyed Mega Man 5, which expanded upon the stale Mega Man formula in fun and visually engaging ways and impressed me with the way it pushed the limits of the NES hardware.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Do you agree that Mega Man 5 was a significant improvement over its predecessors? What did you think to the new Special Weapons and the Marine Bike section? Were you surprised to find that Proto Man was being framed by Dr. Wily? Which Robot Master was your favourite to fight against? What did you think to the new visuals and stage gimmicks? How are you celebrating the science-fiction genre this month? Whatever you think about Mega Man 5, share your thoughts below and check out my other Mega Man reviews.