NES - Mega Man 3

Haiku-Review:

new robots, new slide
with hopes to defeat Wily -
bow before Top Spin

Additional Comments:

Time to start the year off right. Besides, I can't believe it's been as long as it has since I dusted off Mega Man 2.

Without a doubt, Mega Man 3 is my all time favorite game in the proper 8-bit Mega Man franchise. In fact, I still consider it my second favorite NES game of all time. Most Mega Man fans may look at me with a crook eye - how could I ever award Mega Man 3 with such accolades when Mega Man 2 is the obvious crown of the series? In my opinion, it's not, though it's great nonetheless. For me, the third installment just did everything right. Mechanics, creativity, and modest improvements without deviating too far from what made the first two games brilliant - well, at least the second game brilliant. And while the fourth installment followed suit...well, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The funny thing about the Mega Man series, more so than any other series, is that I've always felt innovation is unwarranted. The series struck gold with its initial idea, refined it with it's sequel, and creamed it out of the park with part three, all while staying relatively true to it's original formula. Six titles - eight if you include Mega Man 9 and 10 (nine if you also include Street Fighter x Mega Man, though it's a stretch on principle), and they're pretty much all the same recycled, hard as balls platforming madness to take down a variety of robot masters and then trek through Wily's Skull Castle making use of all your new found items and power-ups. Yet, unlike any other series, there's something about rehashing the same old stuff over and over again that feels right. I've played very few if any Mega Man games beyond the 8-bit originals because I just can't accept any of the change that has taken place. The games feel off whenever I attempt them. RockMan and Forte may be the only non-8-bit Mega Man game I've ever had confidence in since it attempts to cling to its roots while still branching out into the wild blue yonder with hopeful individuality. Interesting, considering both 7 and 8's obvious voluntary aloofness from the original six while still trying to claim to be "just one of the guys." You're not fooling anyone SNES and/or PlayStation advancements. Point is, unlike most games out there, Mega Man feels so at home recycling the same 8-bit platforming hell over and over again. It's what us old school gamers wanted back in the day and it was only further justified by Capcom's release of Mega Man 9 and 10 years, and I mean years, later.

Looking back, I have two unique memories of Mega Man 3. The first being when I was first introduced to the game, alongside Mega Man 2 and Bad Dudes. I was instantly hooked on all three, but Mega Man 3 is the one that impacted me the most. While differences between Mega Man 2 and 3 are nominal - one could argue Mega Man 2 is far easier, and I for one would make that argument or Mega Man 3's slide brought forth a whole new dynamic to our hero's relatively rigid physics - the driving force behind Mega Man 3's fast lane to fame is the Doc Robot stages. Those stages blew my fucking mind the first time I played them. Not only did they add additional content between the eight robot masters and Dr. Wily's fortress of pain, but they did something that I've always been a fan of: restructuring a level that offers a whole new experience while still maintaining the original intention of the given design to the point where deviations are clearly noticeable, but warranted. Yet, despite any amount of architectural hocus pocus, the original layout can still be seen every step of the way. Better yet, the use of foreshadowing, unbeknownst at the time, is the bees knees. Case in point: the Giant Metalls enclosed in Needle Man's stage eventually become a very real threat later on down the road. The integration of the giant Mets, as decoration in Needle Man's stage and as enemies in Doc Robot's revisited stage cemented my love for the Doc Robot stages. In some respects, they were Mega Man 3's hard mode - reinterpreting what we've already seen but now throwing everything they can forcing us to make full use of Rush and if need be, the various powers we've acquired up to this point. After all, Heat Man is no longer the pushover he used to be. Somebody seriously upgraded their aiming capabilities since our last encounter. Sheesh.

But I've wandered and I've yet to hit on my second intriguing recollection of Mega Man 3 from some 20-odd years ago: the game's inclusion on Video Power. There's very little I remember of the show  nowadays (I vaguely recall seeing DuckTales and Paperboy being represented as well; any others and it's a seriously foggy blur), but I remember watching kids struggle through Top Man's stage on multiple occasions, and they all sucked at it. I loved it because one of my newly found favorite NES games was being represented, but I'd always find myself cringing out of frustration as these kids clumsily worked their way through what is easily the most accessible stage in the game. Hmm, no wonder Top Man was always the stage to represent the game. If anything, Mega Man 3, vis-à-vis Top Man, is the sole reason why I even have the slightest memory of Video Power. Otherwise, it'd disappear into a fog of 90s youth.

With that, I've yet to discuss my latest playthough, but then again, there's little to talk about. That is, there's little to say that I haven't said before, either for Mega Man 2, or already remarked here. My latest playthrough neither affected my perceptions of the game negatively nor positively. Seriously? Not even positively? Some may suspect this to be the beginning of Mega Man 3's undoing but I beg to differ. After all, Mega Man 3 is my second favorite NES game of all time; only to be outshone by SMB3. In my view, there's little room for improvement, and to be frank, I doubt I'll ever chance across a game that can dare topple the preeminence of Mario and the mystery of Kuribo's shoe. For me, Mega Man 3 has nothing to prove, so if anything, it can only falter from here on out. And from my latest experience, the game has shown no signs of slowing down. Unlike other faves of yesteryear - games like Dark Cloud and Faxanadu - Mega Man 3 has kept up its end of the bargain all these years later. It's still a tough as nails platformer and still retains all the excitement and pizzazz that it established so long ago. Akin to SMB3 or the Genesis-era Sonic games, it's a game in which I have an unwavering trust knowing that no matter how much time passes, it will still be just as exhilarating as the first time I played it.

My only true takeaway from my latest run is that I've definitely fallen out of practice with the game. Being that it's been roughly 10-12 years since I last played the game seriously, my ability to face each of the robot masters has sadly waned. Unlike Mega Man and Mega Man 2, I failed to tackle each with just the P Buster. Believe me, I tried, and tried, and eventually after so many deaths; seeing their health bars a mere one or two bars away from victory over and over again, I caved. And like I said, even the Doc Robot Mega Man 2 clones upped the ante, or so it seemed. Though I managed all of them much easier than the robot master newcomers. Ah well.

With so little too say other than incessant accolades, I suppose it's only time to move on to the next game, but before I do, it's only proper to give credit to yet another captivating soundtrack from Capcom. It's possible to consider it yet another notch on the belt as to why I feel Mega Man 3 is the pinnacle of the series. Though it's hard to say which game has the truly superior soundtrack: 2 or 3. I believe a worthy case can be made for either, however, the series never retained the sense of aural magnificence thereafter. The following games have some incredible tunes, no doubt about it, but they never had the full package so to say. Instead of memorable melody after memorable melody, the latter games began to suffer from filler. Maybe I'm just not as familiar with them. I doubt it. But on the other hand, classics like Gemini Man Stage, Needle Man Stage (dat bass riff is win!), Snake Man Stage, Wily Fortress 2, and Ending Theme (one of the greatest ending themes mixing solid accomplishment with a sense of relief - the perfect medicine after facing such an incredible challenge) prove the merit of Mega Man 3's incredible soundtrack. Honestly, there isn't a track I could purposely sweep under the rug to help accentuate my claims. Every single track is pure listening gold.

For those looking for an introduction into the world of 8-bit Mega Man, like most people, I'd probably suggest Mega Man 2 mainly because it's the easiest to acclimate a new player into the highly technological world of the Blue Bomber. However, I'd likely do so with a warning saying the Mega Man will properly introduce you into the franchise, but to get the best out of the series, play Mega Man 3. I know many would wholeheartedly disagree with me, seeing that Mega Man 2 continues to be the perennial favorite among gamers, but I've always found it to be merely the perfect predecessor to the title that forces you to put your game face on, and love Capcom for making you do it - even while you try and fake a smile while having to use Hard Knuckle ad nauseum to take out Wily's hardiest of machinery. Could be worse. Could be countless reliance on Top Spin - Mega Man's lamest accoutrement since Time Stopper...or possibly ever.

Nano-Relief:

I'll be damned. That's what Gamma is. For the twenty plus years that I've owned this game, I've unfortunately only ever owned the cartridge and very well may have missed out on any clues from the accompanying manual. As a result, I've been scratching my head over the specifics of Gamma ever since. Thank you, Mega Man Knowledge Base, for finally clearing that up after all these years.

Rating: 5 Junk Golems out of 5*

*Quite possibly the strangest looking creation to ever grace a Mega Man title.

SCD - Vay

Haiku-Review:

shalt we cross the sea
upon yon maiden's ill wind -
ships are so passé

Additional Comments:

I can't believe I managed two games in a row that placed needless emphasis on breaking wind at one point or another. At least Vay was at worst a little cheeky while Fable was flat out immature. But I digress....

First off, I can't believe it's taken me this long to get a Sega CD title up on Beat All Games. I was floored when I bought one a couple years ago and couldn't wait to start playing some games on it. Growing up, I had a friend that had a Sega CD - bought it right about when it came out. I remember he had a few games, but the only one I vividly recall was Sewer Shark. What a horrible mess that was. Even with Sewer Shark as my only point of reference all these years later, I was still utterly fascinated by the system. A majority of the games seem to be nothing more than crap, FMV-based crap, or ever-so-slightly enhanced versions of Genesis games. There's really nothing to get excited about, not to mention the system itself is pretty dodgy - especially the Rev. 1 which is what I have. However, there is a treasure trove of gems mixed in there if you know where to look. Looking around the net, I kept seeing Vay pop up as one such title. First thing that caught my eye was the Working Designs logo as they've often picked up some genuinely amazing titles and brought them to the US. Unfortunately, like most Working Designs games, they're not exactly cheap or easy to come by. Yea, still trying to track down an SCD Popful Mail for a fair price.

Popped in the disc and instantly I felt like I watching some old Ralph Bakshi production. The narrator's exasperated, almost decrepit tone brought back visions of Wizards and while the animation is more of a montage of choppy stills with clearly pixelated imagery, a certain semblance gave merit to the game's cutscenes as a long lost relative of Bakshi's design. Sadly, like most games in the early "real audio" days, the voice over work leaves much to be desired. Even the initial narration, despite it's ability to cull old movies from memory, allowed for some eye-rolling. It works, but there's an obvious call for overacting thrown in the script notes. Although it's nowhere near as outrageous as any of the later scenes, especially anything involving death.

As for the game itself, it's a basic turn-based RPG. The key word here is basic. This is one of the most stripped down, bare-boned RPG's I've ever seen. Vay makes the original Final Fantasy look complex. That's not entirely true - the two games are pretty comparable as far as depth and detail. If anything, Vay has a much more engrossing story, even if it's completely predictable, but the gameplay is broken down to the absolute essentials and is reliant on linear progression. I'm not saying linear progression is necessarily bad, as I'm not the biggest fan of games going gung ho with side quests, but Vay felt like it was on rails. For example, having just come off Final Fantasy II as well, that game is completely linear, but it never felt like I was being guided involuntarily every step of the way. A little exploration could have benefited this game greatly. The continents are essentially corridors barring any real freedom of movement. The only area void of any sense of claustrophobia was likely Penan, where in fact it took a good while to find Vaygess and then somehow lost track of it after my first explorations into the cavern of the Maytake. But given how necessary grinding is in this game, I welcomed these two strayed excursions with open arms.

After wrapping up Final Fantasy II, it was so refreshing to play an RPG where grinding wasn't the prevalent theme. Sadly, the idea that an RPG should be properly balanced was eviscerated beyond recognition as Vay championed grinding tooth and nail. However, it didn't rear its ugly head until Raxaal, therefore leaving me to believe I was playing another fairly balanced RPG. And I'm not referring to RPG's where death is an impossibility; where I should be able to sweep every floor clean on my first excursion. I expect death, but I don't expect to fall into the usual infinitesimal heal cycles that plague so many other RPG's, at least not on common dungeon cretins. I'll give some slack for bosses, though even there I disagree with the mechanic, but it's ridiculous to blow all your mana on heals after every single battle. The obvious answer is the characters are too weak for that particular point, but up until that point the difficulty grade has been a constant diagonal. Suddenly, it's a giant awkward step, and this happened numerous times throughout the game which resulted in tedious grinding. On a few occasions, namely Treefall, Sentinel, and Danek, I spent anywhere form several hours to a couple days just battling random encounters so my characters were at an acceptable level to take on the required foes ahead.

On a side note, I also spent a few hours grinding after the Danek Base near Mortyr, but did so voluntarily as I hate having all my characters level up at the same time. That's just something that's always annoyed me in RPG's. Essentially, I purposefully killed off half the party or all but Sandor and wrestled a variety of monsters on the overworld until I felt the levels were staggered enough. I know it sounds like I'm just handicapping myself, but trust me, it's not. If anything, it's additional free experience for one or two characters.

Another reason grinding stands out in this game is that the experience gaps between levels are absurd, yet the experience payout never really increases until the very end of the game. Holy shit, kill a Flea Bag and you'll score one hell of an incredible payout. Too bad 99% of those things flee from battle all the time. This is one reason I initially staggered my character's levels and collected experience. Instead of having all four characters wait 100k XP before they level, I have a character leveling every 25k or what have you. For me, there's a greater overall relief if I can have a character level at fairly regular intervals, especially in this game since both the character's HP and MP are reset. I found I could suffer dungeons for far longer because I knew that at least after every 10 or 20 battles, someone's going to level. This additionally helped with battle strategy as far as spells were concerned. Do I really need to cast Restore or Panacea? No, cast a couple Balms if necessary and feed all that MP into a series of Malybu's. By the time I run out of MP, Bam!, leveled up. Otherwise, I'd be counting a long succession of turns before I can improve the party's outlook. Either that or epic usage of Alakazam. Ugh. I hate using any sort of teleportation in any game I play although I'll admit that I succumbed to Alakazam about a half dozen times in Danek as I was grinding out experience. Just another odd quirk about how I personally play games. Heh, if the game made better use of treasures, I would have followed my no shopping rule as well.

However, for having at best an elementary presentation and deliberately focusing on endless grinding, I enjoyed the game thoroughly. Whenever I'm tasked with leveling chores, I typically grow bored and throw the game aside - main reason I steered clear from RPG's for so many years. But here, it never overwhelmed me with needless tedium. Somehow, the game managed to keep my interest going no matter how menial my play sessions became. In some respects, I found this game comparable to 7th Saga - sort of a "fun for all the wrong reasons" experience. And by the time I reached Danek, I felt rewarded for keeping at it just to behold the dark and twisted imagery of that castle alone. Maybe it was the grinding itself - having to toil through throngs of evil denizens for so little gain - that helped keep the interest alive. After all that hard work, I felt a sense of accomplishment every time I tackled the next monstrous obstacle. I know this was especially true for Sentinel and Danek. Hmm, perhaps grinding is a necessary evil after all, but I hesitate to make such a claim as I still feel the idea to be complete bollocks.

Would I recommend the game? Maybe as a worthwhile title for any Sega CD fans, otherwise, no. Vay's a great game, don't get me wrong, but there's no real sense of innovation. There's nothing there that hasn't been seen before in your Final Fantasies, your Dragon Warriors, your Phantasy Stars or countless other 8-bit/16-bit turn-based RPG's. For a fan, sure, why not? Otherwise, it's best to spend that Working Designs size chunk of change elsewhere.

There is some wonderful music tucked in there though. Personal favorites include the Village Theme and Welcome to the Caves (love the digital analog growl at the end of the song). Top honors, however, would have to go to Freak You Out. This song fits perfectly with the nightmarish aesthetics in and around Danek. In fact, I often found myself resting among the bones and horrifically mutilated wall faces just to take in the chilling music the emperor consistently pumped through his castle's halls. Not to mention, it had a kitschy Michael Jackson motif that kept kicking in every now and then. Come to think of it as I find myself listening to all of the music on offer again, I have to say the entire soundtrack is pretty damn solid, which again appears to be a common theme among Working Designs' games.

Nano-Rant:

I was gravely disappointed that I couldn't make use of the casino in Vaygess despite so many NPC's talking the place up. Under most circumstances, I wouldn't even care, but given that some local proprietor's magic chest suddenly defunded my entire wallet, it would have been a nice change of pace to help alleviate my sudden bankruptcy woes.

Nano-Relief:

After about four hopeless turns against Sadoul, thank goodness I suddenly remembered Thyxaal's purpose. I foresaw that battle going south real fast.

Rating: 4 Eediots out of 5