Official Website

Platform: Playstation, GameCube

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1

Known in Japan as: Rock Man

It's seems unreal that Mega Man has actually been around for 15 years. There really aren't too many video game characters that have the privilege of making it that far and the icon's that obviously come to mind are Pac-Man, Mario (and Luigi), and Donkey Kong, who spent a bit of time out of the spotlight only to return with his very own country. Like many other game heroes, Mega Man has been the star of games on not only consoles, but animated series, toy lines, and just about anything else that seems that having the name attached to it will sell. When you mention Capcom, most gamers there days would instantly think of Resident Evil or perhaps even Street Fighter, but the Blue Bomber has managed to survive the odds, never fell into obscurity, and is back in a new adventure. Well, sort of.

The Mega Man Anniversary Collection is much like other compilation discs that have come out on multiple platforms. We've seen collections of vintage arcade games that gave young and old alike the change to replay (or play for the first time) games like Robotron, the original Pac-Man, Joust, and so forth. Even old school console games have made a comeback, and you can now buy discs that have the old Intellivision games bundled together or even get smaller versions of classics for the GameBoy Advance. Like it or not retro gaming is everywhere, at least for now, and there's no escaping it.

Mega Man's collection covers quite a few of his titles, ten as a matter of fact. This encompasses the original games that appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System, progresses to the Super Nintendo, and even the PlayStation. While many of us have played these games in the past, probably countless times, Capcom has also included two games that were previously unreleased in the United States.

In case you've never played the game, the idea behind the games really is the same for the most part. In the city of Monsteropolis, Dr. Light created a group of humanoid looking robots that were intended to be used for the benefit of mankind, that is until his assistant Dr. Wily decided there was another use to the robots. He reprogrammed them for his own evil means and now there is only one choice: Mega Man. Mega Man must fight each of the robot bosses using his wits, skills, and even their own weapons. Like many villains though, defeat is merely a set back, and again and again Dr. Wily returns to try bring chaos to the city.

Mega Man really is a very basic concept, as most games were years ago. It's your typical platform game, just like Mario, but with a few differences. With Mega Man, you select which stage you want to start out in, but here's the thing: each of the robot bosses has a weakness. There will be one of course that your Mega Buster, Mega Man's weapon of choice, will be vulnerable to. You must determine through trial and error what weapon will work on each boss. There are also weapon and energy capsules that will help replenish you power as well as energy tanks that will give you an instance boost should you lose all your life. As the series progresses, Mega Man will begin to get some additional help. There is Rush, his robot dog that can turn into a jet to assist him, Treble and Bass, and even Roll (note that in Japan, Mega Man is known as Rock Man, so . . . Rock and Roll.)

It's interesting to see the progression of the game series. The first few games simply throw you into a level select screen and there is little as far as story goes. Back then we took action over a real story. Later however, there actually is a story, particularly with the PlayStation Mega Man, which also features anime cut scenes (there have been a few Mega Man anime series that have been produced in Japan.) This was also back when passwords dominated the land. It wasn't until Zelda that we saw the first backup battery included with a cartridge game, and for quite a while, it was only role-playing games that included these. So, it's important to write these down (though I really don't understand why I save function wasn't included for the games.) Mega Man 8 however does save, and that's very handy.

A nice addition here though is the Navi Feature. When this is turned on, you will see an exclamation point appear at certain points in the game. By hitting select you will receive hints that will help you progress through the game. As you play, you will also begin to open up some of Mega Man's many secrets, but of course there are requirements that you will have to meet in order to get these, and this extends to the arcade versions of Mega Man that are included on the disc. You will be begin to find things such as the history of Mega Man, various music from the game that has been remixed, artwork, and even an episode of the original anime series. It means that you've got your work cut out for you, but what do you expect with 10 games?

Many of the older titles that have been getting released over the past couple of years have been getting a facelift. Metroid: Zero Mission for the GBA for example was a completely redone version of the original NES game and even Mario has had a few slight changes with his GBA titles. Mega Man however remains untouched and it looks just like it did back in the good old days. IT may not be as state of the art or cutting edge as the new games that are out on the market, but for those of us that have been following the adventures of the little guy for some time, I don't think that most of us really want any changes, and while I may have taken a few shots at Capcom in the past for releases the same game once again (Resident Evil 2 and 3 on the GameCube) this is a collection that will well worth the price.

So, here's to Mega Man on his 15th. The blue guy definitely has managed to transcend console after console. The only real disappointment here is that the Mega Man X games weren't included, but I suppose that's because technically it's a completely different character and storyline. For fans, this should bring back a lot of great memories, especially if you were playing these games "back in the day." The new generation of gamers might balk a little at the primitive graphics, but just alike any other long running video game character, this is what has helped define a generation and has pushed the industry to what it is to. With any luck, we'll see the Blue Bomber around for another 15 years.

-mike-