NES Retro Review # 7 - MEGA MAN: The first appearance of the most famous robot in videogames !!!
f someone were to wonder which is the most famous robot in the world of video games, without a doubt the answer would be one: MEGA MAN. Developed by the company Capcom in 1987 and originally named Rockman in Japan, it is the first title in a series that would revolutionize the world of video games by including novel elements that range from the possibility of choosing the stage or level in which to start playing, as well as having access to different weapons that are obtained by defeating the enemies of the end of phase known in this saga as "Robot Masters".
This game would give rise to a successful saga that would arrive, in the 8-bit Nintendo console, up to a 6th chapter, also counting with later versions for other platforms such as the portable Game Boy, SNES, PlayStation, a remake for the Genesis Sega (Megadrive in Europe) and several compilations for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Game Cube among others. In total Megaman has 10 sequels and an eleventh installment is foreseen for Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam. It is also important to mention the games of the Megaman X line which are developed many years after the original story and have a plot that took a completely different course from the original Mega Man.
It is developed in the year 20XX (This appears in the various games, without further clarification on the exact date in which events occur), Dr. Thomas Ligth, renowned scientist expert in robotic engineering, wants to build androids to help the human beings in tasks that are normally complex for people. In this context, he decides to build 6 humanoid robots, which he called "Robot Masters", which could fulfill that role of assistants for ordinary people.
Everything was going very well until Dr. Willy, the ambitious assistant of Dr. Ligth, reprograms the "Robot Masters" to help him in his desire to conquer the entire world and generates a terrible chaos of death and destruction. This is why Dr. Ligth decides to reprogram his "robotic son" called "Rock" and transform it into a super warrior robot whose name happens to be Mega Man.
Mega Man is the typical platform game, in which our character must move horizontally across the screen, from left to right and vice versa, as well as going up and down floors and stairs. It has a continuous firing weapon, an energy meter which is shown in the form of a bar, which is located vertically on one side of the screen. This indicator is decreasing as our hero is taking damage.
An important characteristic, and that was decisive for this game to be so successful, was the possibility of facing each "Master Robot" on its own stage. Once the enemy was overcome, the weapon used by Mega Man could be obtained and adapted to the arsenal of Mega Man, giving him an important variety in terms of attack resources and becoming the main characteristic of the franchise, which would be repeated in the later games.
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As a curious fact, we can highlight the animation of Mega Man, which was very revolutionary for the time and had a funny feature: When the robot was left standing on some stage, and control was not touched, after a few seconds it began to blink. This detail was liked by all lovers of video games, because at that time it was not common for the characters to have real animations.
Cut Man: possesses a weapon in the form of boomerang-scissors called "Rolling Cutter", Guts Man: Robot very strong designed for heavy work and possessor of the "Super Arm", Bomb Man: As the name implies, his weapon is the "Hyper Bomb", Ice Man: Robot designed to work in very low temperatures and using the "Ice Slasher" as a defense, Fire Man: Able to withstand high temperatures. His weapon is the "Fire Storm", and finally Elec man who owns a powerful weapon based on electricity, called "Thunder Beam". After defeating these robots, we must face all the traps and enemies that are in the strength of Dr. Wily, until we reach the final stage in which we will face this deranged scientist thirsty for power and who wishes to conquer the whole world
In summary, Mega Man was the beginning of a prolific series of video games that marked and continues to set the tone in this highly competitive market. This title gave us one of the most beloved characters by Gamers of all ages, a "small giant" as charismatic as powerful, which has made the delights of adults and children for more than 30 years. If you still do not know this great game, I recommend that you look for it and play it more than you can, yes; I must warn you that it is not easy to finish. As is often the case with the programs for the NES of the 80s and 90s, their level of difficulty can be exasperating and very frustrating. However, it's worth taking control of our beloved 8-bit console and putting ourselves in the shoes of this great cybernetic hero, to defend the world from the lunatic Dr. Wily and his destructive robotic gadgets.
