Is MegaMan an inaccessible franchise?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
- #megaman #accessibility
Well, here's something quite different to what I usually put out on this chanel. The state of the MegaMan franchise has become a very interesting topic, thanks to various reasons, and I thought it would be a perfect time to discuss a stigma that's been orbiting around the Blue Bomber for many years.
Is MegaMan truly THAT inaccessible as a franchise? I did my research, and here are the results. Hope you all enjoy.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Introduction
1:45 - MegaMan is too hard... or is it?
7:14 - Soo, how do I play 2D again?
10:07 - ShadowRockZX's testimony
16:05 - Back on track
16:52 - Flooded with games
21:40 - 'This is not MegaMan'
25:37 - The answer
30:05 - Some recommendations
37:13 - Closing thoughts
- SR's video on MegaMan's current state: • Does Capcom Truly HATE...
Follow me on Twitter: / burncrowsp - เกม
It's funny how Mega Man got a reputation of being brutally hard when it was one of the most forgiving series on NES with good aerial mobility, ability to attack from distance of entire screen and relatively long health bars. You can even grind health if necessary.
@JorgeAviles-lq8ng Huh? Kirby's Adventure is piss easy. It's a Kirby game. All Kirby games are easy until the post game, (minus Canvas Curse which is absolutely brutal for no reason and DL1's extra mode) which weren't a thing until Super Star Ultra on DS. Tip for Adventure: don't bother with copy abilities for bosses. It's too much hassle and since you lose abilities in just one hit you'll most likely get hit even more trying to reclaim them. You do far more damage anyways by shooting back out the stars thrown out by enemy attacks. Go into each boss without any copy ability and you'll do fine.
Super Mario Bros (the original one) is also very easy as long as you remember to always move forward. The game actually becomes EASIER if you try to speedrun it and just dash straight to the end of every level. You can't do that in Mario 3 and World due to more complex levels (and both do get pretty hard especially near the end) but in the original SMB you can dash straight to the end of every level avoiding enemies and using the proper warps and you can beat the entire game in 7 minutes or less.
@JorgeAviles-lq8ng I request that you repeat your last comment. It showed up on my notification, but not on this video.
Complete nonsense. Did you ever even play the original games? Sure, you could grind health in a lot of places and the controls are amazing. But that doesn't change the fact that the games are brutally hard and unforgiving. Not because the entire games are brutally hard and unforgiving, but because most of the NES MM games have major choke points. Yellow Devil in MM1 without exploiting it is an extremely long and hard fight. Dodging it requires both precise timing/position/controlling and perfect memorization. Or like that boss in MM2 where you are forced to use the bombs and you have exactly enough bombs to make it through. Miss 1 and you're forced to redo the entire stage. Those choke points are what make the games so hard since memorization through tedious trial & error is the only way to get through.
@@thenonexistinghero 6 was pretty easy. 10 has an easy mode.
Honestly yes 😂 I feel like having beaten like 40 of these games has given me so much free gamer streetcred in the eyes of people who believe the Megaman series to be amongst the most difficult games ever, while funnily enough many of the games those people play seem way harder than Megaman for me.
A close friend of mine bought the Zero/ZX collection back in the pandemic days and he was having a really tough time with Zero 1 (in retrospect, that collection might not have been the best way for him to start lol). Once we were actually able to hang out in person again, I went to his house and saw how he was playing, and realized he was having a really hard time shooting while in the air, let alone keeping a charge shot while he jumped. Eventually I realized most games nowadays don't ask a player to control two buttons at the same time with your thumb. Since your thumb will spend most of its time on the right stick for moving the camera, the buttons are only accessed in quick flicks for actions like jumping, reloading, switching weapons, etc, and then your thumb goes back to the stick as fast as possible. So something that came completely natural to us, like rolling the thumb between the jump and shoot face buttons, is a monumental task in new muscle memory for an inexperienced player. The things I considered basic in Megaman Zero movement, as natural to me as breathing, were actually quite mentally taxing to a new player, and the things I consider hard in those games then become impenetrable wallls for the newbye.
After explaining it to him directly showing my hands and the way I moved them to do those actions, he immediately started doing much better, but still ended up giving up mid-game after some weeks because Phantom was kicking his ass. Most new players wont even have a guy come into their house to show them "proper Megaman playing technique", so it's understandable that so many just give up and never go back.
You'd be surprised how many people can't figure out how to press two buttons that are right next to each other at the same time
That’s funny because that’s way more second nature than me controlling the camera even though I grew up with both 2D and 3D games
Saying Mega Man is hard to access is like saying TMNT is hard to access. You don't have to know about every version of the Turtles to enjoy a specific series. You don't have to read the 1984 comics to love the 2003 series, nor do you have to watch the 1987 series to appreciate the continuation comics.
Knowing about how the various Mega Man series relate and connect can make for a richer appreciation, but it's not necessary. A perfect example being the "Zero was created by Wily" plot point. You can be interested in the X series without knowing anything about that.
I actually kind of grew up with these games despite being considered a Gen Z kid (i shudder having to associate myself with them ngl but that's neither here nor there) thanks to the Mega Man Anniversary Collection. In fact, I think playing compilations like that alongside Namco Museum 2001 and Sonic Mega Collection gave me a higher appreciation for retro games than if I hadn't. Gotta thank Mega Man for being part of that for me.
I personally find Mega Man easier to get into than Resident Evil considering the first 3 entries aren’t even available on modern platforms. Like if I wanted to start Resident Evil, I would have to emulate them which is legally debatable or buy a super expensive GameCube or PS1 game. It doesn’t make sense that Resident Evil is considered more accessible than Mega Man.
There are remakes of the 4 first games available for modern platforms (although RE1 may be the exception, I only recall it probably being on Steam right now)
So far, they are known to be easier to access thanks to the remakes of 2, 3 and 4. Yet, yeah, going to its origins is even harder than in MegaMan's case.
@@SparkTFSbut they are basically different games. They are basically Super Castlevania IV of Resident Evil.
@@burncrowsp I mean I guess, but they act more like sequels to Resident Evil 6 than remakes.
@@thomasffrench3639 Yep, that is indeed true, they are very different experiences overall, but being modernized versions really helped them to reach new audiences.
Your closing thoughts almost made me cry, I really love this franchise since my childhood and seeing other people appreciate every single game just like I do makes me very emotional
Is Megaman a hard-to-access? Honestly, no. It just takes practice. As what has been said, the collections have remedied this issue for newcomers.
What might be hard for folks to get into is that Megaman is very Mecha and Tokusatsu coded. The 80's and 90's were very big on those two, but now, they are niche genres.
Talking as a Gundam fan, Megaman has found itself in a similar situation in terms of its series. It has unwittingly made it's own main timeline (Classic-ZX is essentially UC), two spinoff timelines (BN-SF is an AU and the Pachinko game is alternative UC), and one series that is chronologically so far detached to any other entry (except that it only relates to one timeline instead of tying any existing and all future ones together; Legends is Turn A Gundam). At this point, if they want to step away from any of the existing timelines to make a brand new spinoff (another AU), they totally could (though, knowing the current concerns, finishing story lines would be more appreciated).
You even get to pick which level you wanna play at any time. If a level is too hard, pick the other ones first and get those weapons and extra E tanks. You'll be all set for the tougher level and it'll go smoother.
If the issue is difficulty then games like Hollow Knight shouldn't be popular. Not to mention that many game have been taken inspiration from the Mega man format with great success. The problem is purely Capcom and whomever is running the Mega man division. It seems that nobody there has any idea where to taken the franchise next. All they do release the same games over and over but in different formats. Capcom is constantly running polls to see what the fans want and now theyre seemingly looking to remake Mega Man 1, 2, 3. It seems to me thats theres a lack of leadership. Seeing as the main producer for mega man left last year, nobody left seems to care. They need to bring in people who want progress rather than pushing the same thing we've seen for the last 30 years.
My entry points:
Classic Series
- Mega Man 11 - looks good, great accessibility features, weapons and level design.
- Mega Man 8 - my first MM game, the major issue for newbies is Jump! Jump! Slide! Slide!, but it's easier to recommend than 8-bit games in my experience.
- Mega Man 6 - not too difficult, beautiful sprites and levels, Adaptors.
X series:
- Mega Man X or Mega Man X4. Both are beautiful, the secrets are pretty fun to discover on your own (the only difficult ones that you need a guide for are the Hadouken and Ultimate Armor/Black Armor Zero), great mavericks and final stages. X4 having Zero playable is a big plus and there's a reason his moveset here is so iconic.
- Mega Man X8 - not too difficult, but some secrets are really tricky. Three characters to play, lots of variety.
Zero series
Start with the X series.
Ok, ok, being honest, people should recommend Zero 1 with the casual scenario for new players, and tell them that the story and gameplay evolve from there. And it's only 4 games to see everything. It's still the best narrative in a Mega Man sub-series, it reaches a conclusion without filler stuff.
ZX series:
Unless the person is a really big fan of metroidvanias and backtracking (and even so), I'd recommend going for the X or Zero series first. ZX is probably better as a first contact with the series, ZXA is much improved if you're familiar with previous titles, but ZX isn't that different in that regard.
Legends
Legends 1 is more charming, 2 is more fun. I'd recommend 2 first, but 1 is great too. The Misadventures of Tron Bonne shouldn't be the first game for sure though.
Battle Network
DON'T start/recommend Network Transmission or BN4 as a first game.
If their interest is on story, I'd recommend starting with 1 or 2.
If their focus is on gameplay, I'd recommend 3 Blue or 5 (either version or better yet, the DS combined version). 6 if 5's strategy mode doesn't catch the player's interested.
Star Force
Never played, looking forward to a Legacy Collection for this one.
I wish we'd get a spin-off collection too. They're not always great games, far from it, but I'd like to play MM Soccer, Battle & Chase, the arcade games, Command Mission, etc too.
I'd add Megaman 10, plus IV and V on Gameboy as easier games worth exploring for those struggling with the original series.
8 has plenty of cheap instant deaths, even for those of us who enjoyed the original series and games like Ninja Gaiden.
I would remove the classic series completely and add star force 3 as the best. Is truly amazing that one.
I love all the 2D Platformer series of the franchise (Classic, X, Zero, ZX).
But as someone that simply can't be bothered to play things like Battle Network or Star Force due to a lack of interest and dislike of the RPG genre, I do a lot of times feel alienated from the rest of the fanbase, unfortunately.
Buen video.
¡Muchas gracias!
A lot of players have lousy reaction time and try to brute force their way through stages in Mega Man games instead of try to come up with strategies in their play through. Mega Man 2 is the most popular because it has a difficulty selection to kill the bosses easier and the Metal Blade. Mega Man 4 is a better game. It's the most polished out of the first 6. Another reason that MM2 is the most popular is because people are lemmings, they just follow the crowd and say MM2 is the best, s they say it too WITHOUT PLAYING THE REST OF THE SERIES!!!
Great video! and it's so cool to see you were able to get ShadowRock to come on to your channel like that despite just 900 subs. gives us more hope for our channel as well lol. though we do have a collab with Reploid Revo in the works.
Sorry I've not reached out to talk with you also in a while but we're still chugging along on our fan dub series. We're glad to see you gaining success like this.
but also this is a good video, and hadn't really thought about the topic in this way. I have been optimistic but this puts more of a smile on my face. I am getting more people into Battle Network now.
Great video! On ShadowRockZX's comments, I have to wonder if there's a problem of elitism within the community. I've seen things like Protodude having to comment on community toxicity, I've been the target of _many_ accusations of being a "Capcom shill" for things as mild as saying I would accept more than just numbered sequels, plus noting that the tone of recent discussions (REVO's video included) seem to be shifting more to wanting people to be openly hostile towards Capcom for even making games for any other IP at worst.
There’s a sense of entitlement within the community where the sentiment is Capcom owes the fans a new game.
At the end of the day, Capcom is a corporation that gets to decide how they make their own money.
@@inazumatan7050 Agreed, and not helping the matter is when that entitlement works more to sabotage things than help.
If the community was right about MMLC not being what was wanted by the fanbase in general, we'd have never gotten MM11.
Why are they calling you Capcom shill? 🗿
Yeah nobody is owed anything but it can absolutely stink to really love a series and see it neglicted for a decade while Sonic, Mario and others are booming. Thats no excuse for toxicity but man its just sad to see what was once one of the big mascots in gaming end up that way.
Penny for those who are Dino Crisis fans or worse, anyone that was a fan of any Konami IP, that must suck all things considered.
@@NetBattler Because they don’t think Capcom should be treated with hostility compared to a lot of other people. Although for me, I’ve seen a couple people get REALLY hostile. Most of the time it’s people either being annoyed with how the series is handled, or very pessimistic and don’t expect anything good.
Great video. This is a question that has plagued my mind forever.
This is why it always bugs me when people complain about difficulty options. More people getting into your games is always a good thing. No one's forcing me to use Rookie Hunter mode, but I was happy to watch a friend get through the first X title with it.
Good video! I grew up with Mega Man way back when as a kid starting with Mega Man 1, 2 and 3 on the NES. I instantly fell in love with them and eventually branched out to many of the later games such as Legends and the X series. I'm curious what Capcom has in store for him beyond merely game compilations. The last game in the series I recall (besides the collections) was Mega Man 11 and that was a few years ago. I'd love to see an SNES style Mega Man X9!
Mega Man has many modern compilations (NES, X, Battle Network, Zero etc.) However, the one thing that always seems strange is that there hasn't been a collection with Mega Man's original GameBoy games! Honestly, they were all great (except maybe II), so it is weird they just seem to have been neglected. Not one of them are even on the Switch's NSO GameBoy collection!
I would also recommend power battle and power fighter to newcomers. It will let you try out fighting just the robot masters. Maybe you are used to playing 2d mario games, so platforming is not the issue. But when it comes to the robot masters, you might struggle to get their patterns down. While the arcade robot masters aren't a carbon copy of the robot masters from the games they are from, this will be a great way to at least recognize patterns and get better at handling said patterns.
These games are very easily obtainable nowadays with the capcom arcade stadium 1 and 2, and with it, you get unlimited tries. So give it a try
Great video! Didn’t know this video existed until it randomly popped into my recommended!
It's not a bad sentiment, but fans being suggested to revist the sides of Mega Man they may not have known about is something that we've been doing for years, especially since the games are right here, and we feel we've exhausted almost all discussion of lore and mechanics, found every tidbit, Easter egg, and insight.
The reason for wanting a new game is not simply because we want something new to talk about or play, but also because we want something that respects the legacy while also finally evolving the series. Would you agree that it isn't good to stay too fixed on the past and be open to the series evolving? Mega Man 11 sort of did that but played it safe by making a pretty good modern platformer while giving proper voice acting, the Double Gear system, etc.
Sorry for coming off as critical... I totally get the feeling. First time experiencing all of these games is something we can never get back, and I just want to experience a "first" again..
Don't worry about sounding critical, I respect that! I do agree that fixating on the past is not a good thing, and I'm really glad to learn that there are fans who visited most spin-offs and sides of the series, I just observed how most people have known only a few games, so I thought it was a good message to send out.
I think his main point was that time without releases has made people check out stuff they may have previously skipped out on. Not necessarily that “it’s time to recommend old games”
Fantastic video! You articulated this topic so well. ^^
Hey, glad to see you around here! Thanks, I'm happy to know that I managed to make something decent out of it
I agree with both you and shadow rock’s opinions,
While I do admit megaman is a really good franchise overall, it’s really hard for most newcomers to play the games if they are this hard,
I'm a long-term Mega Man fan. And I'll be one of the first to say this say, but I play most of my Mega Man games on easy mode. Besides Battle Network and Star Force, I'm not exactly good at Mega Man games 😅.
But that doesn't stop me from being a fan. Which is why I heavily appreciate these Rookie Hunter/Easy Modes and the Save Assist feature in these collections. It helps newcomers play through the game without getting overwhelmed by the too challenging platformers and enjoy the games at their own pace to try and learn how the controls work.
Plus, these easy mode features will help people get into Mega Man more and we should help encourage that. There's nothing wrong with Mega Man being more accessible.
I think its pretty easy to get into.
Battle network is an entirely different series and setting so easy to jump on.
For a more newbie friendly megaman, the first game in the X series is a fantastic place to start the franchise and is extremely replayable.
Also recommend the first ZX game which has a nice gameplay loop to it.
Legends as well can be fun, through its hard to play without emulation or getting a rare copy, not helped that the PS3 PSN is gone now.
I used to like Mega Man, but the game design gets repetitive really hard throught the series
You run. You gun. Couldn't get any more accessible.
I think the sheer frequency (AKA Mega Man becoming Call of Duty) is probably the biggest answer to the question. Capcom probably experimented with genres very soon, because they must've lost a lot of fuel with the classic games. I especially feel that way given how somewhat mixed or even dissatisfied I am with some of the classic and X entries (notably MM2, MM3, MM5, X5, X6, and Zero 1). I mean I do like entires such as MM4, X2, MM&B, Zero 3 and Zero 4 but yeah.
I got into the games about a week ago. I had played a bit of them as a kid but never beat any of them till recently. Currently up to Megaman 9 now, plan on going through all the X games after I finish 11. Really great series.
Let's gooooo! Enjoy your time then, happy to see new players hopping in.
That was an interesring video! It made me reflect on myself too, I suck in playing Mega Man platformers, that's why I want to play Battle Network, since I'm more familiar with RPGs. But I'd still like to beat the platformers one day.
Thank you for taking the time to watch it! It's fine though, everyone has their preferences, but I encourage you to give 'em a shot!
Same here,I don't even get to finish Mario wonder after the release...
Thanks for the insight! You brought up some really good points. I prefer Megaman mostly because it doesn't have a lot of gross things compared to Resident Evil, especially 7.
This was a great analysis! You brought up some really good points and suggestions, and the ShadowRockZX feature was a nice anecdote to the video.
The concept of bringing in new fans to the series is really interesting to me, as I am a relatively new (~9 years now, does that still count as new? lol) fan of Mega Man myself. I didn’t have any of the consoles that featured Mega Man games growing up aside from the N64, so my limited exposure to the series was the occasional rerun of NT Warrior and watching friends play the X series games on their consoles.
Fast forward to the early-mid 2010s, and I started finding and enjoying OCRemix covers of Mega Man music on TH-cam. After listening to the soundtracks, remixes, and fan made MM songs as my study music for years, I finally watched a long-play of MMX and it was like a switch flipped. I needed to play these games as soon as possible, and preferably in release order.
Luckily for me, the Mega Man Legacy Collection was revealed, and I was able to play the NES games… on the 3DS. And I loved it! Not just the music, but the gameplay, the character design, the simple yet effective storylines, etc. I’ve since played through the rest of the Classic and X series (on home consoles this time!), and I’m slowly but surely playing through all of the other spin-off games when I find the time.
Accidentally getting introduced to my favorite game franchise by hearing a remix on TH-cam probably isn’t the most conventional method of discovery for a decades old series, but hey, it worked for me. I came for the music, stayed for everything else great about the Mega Man and the community surrounding it, including the amazing fan games.
My own experience makes me wonder if there even is a surefire way to draw in new fans for such a large IP? I’ve managed to make my 18 yr old brother a casual fan of Mega Man through the lore and music, but he doesn’t love the play style of any of the various MM game series. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying just one part of the whole, but I can’t help but feel that he would like the games a bit more if he gave them another chance with a perspective unclouded by his bias for the 3D PVP and PVE games he usually plays.
On another note, if they were more accessible, I believe the manga and comic adaptations would be a good MM introduction for people who are story and character-driven, but less inclined to start with the games. For better accessibility in general, I’m sure if a big budget Mega Man movie or show does get made and released with any fanfare some day, it will have a significant impact on the popularity of the games, especially since most of them are currently available on modern consoles. I know the Mega Man TV shows have had varying degrees of success in attracting fans in the past, but I personally think a faithful adaptation would be beneficial for the franchise in this post-Sonic and Mario movie time period if it is marketed correctly. It will be interesting to see if a big change like that is something Capcom actually wants for the franchise. Either way, the fans will always be here to enjoy the Mega Man media we already have (and to continue making our own creative tributes to the series)!
Sorry for the book I just wrote here in the comments! Apparently I had a lot to say too, haha. If you read this, I’d love to hear your opinion on non-game based introductions to the franchise!
Don't worry about writing long comments, I appreciate them! And your story was definitely really cool to read through. I do think non-game introductions to the series are very important too, yeah.
Both NT Warrior and the Ruby Spears cartoon series got many people to know the character, and I know quite a few guys who then decided to play the games.
Recently, MegaMix got its first official release in spanish, and that made me really happy since now I have something to recommend to people who are not into videogames.
I think that a lot of people get into retro games through the music. I personally loved the Castlevania music before playing any of the games.
@@burncrowsp Thanks for your answer!
Ruby Spears and NT Warrior are both great segues into the series. I almost wish the more recent MM Fully Charged show was given more time to grow and improve. It had its issues (with international accessibility, especially), but I think in time it could've helped to introduce MM to newer generations just like its predecessors. To be fair, maybe it already has done that, and I haven't noticed!
And I'm glad to hear that MegaMix is finally getting more official language releases. It is definitely a collection worth reading, and it's good to know that many more people have access to it now!
@@thomasffrench3639 That's true! The Castlevania series is another great example for stellar music. I've only gotten around to playing the original and Simon's Quest, but I listen to the music/remixes/covers for the rest of the series all the same.
Gotta love the effort game composers put into these now iconic OSTs. Their work is one of the largest factors that catch and keep people playing all these years later.
Mega Man, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, and Contra. All high quality NES games, all equally challenging in their own ways. Inaccessible though? No. I don't think that's a turn off. Those games all have tight gameplay and rocking soundtracks that keep the player going. So you die a lot, big deal. Do you stop playing because of that? Of course not! They're addicting as hell! Do you HAVE to beat them to appreciate them? Of course not. I mean if you really love it and you wanna finish it, sure. We all have our favorites that we can beat beginning to end. But there's also games we never finish because we either never got around to it, or they're still unbeatable to us for whatever dumb reason. lol Do we still like those unbeatable games? I do. I'm sure most of you do too!
I think ShadowRock's testimony and experiences with his sisters give perhaps the best argument in favor of accessibility features for games that I'd ever heard. There are plenty of times when playing games, old and sometimes new, where I say to myself "this is why save states are invented". Not to mention, I had never thought about newer generations of gamers not being used to 2D gameplay before. I grew up with it, and though my skills have atrophied over time for some classics I played, it comes natural to me in indies. So it is eye-opening to see that yes, older and "simpler" gameplay doesn't always translate well across gaming generations.
As for a franchise being dead or not? I'm at a phase of my life where sometimes, it's okay for a franchise of any sort or any media to be "dead". It's certainly easier to keep up with the many Mega Men when new releases are spaced out so long, for instance. In other ways, it may be better for a series to have lived its full life instead of being rebooted countless times. A cartoon series like All Dogs Go To Heaven or Reboot, or even Star Fox in terms of video games, comes to mind. Or as I like to call it, "zombified" into a hollow husk of what that series used to be, by people who just don't get it. Spongebob is first to come to mind for me. >.>
That said? Multiple different subseries of Mega Man really do add more variety. Like you said, there's a Mega Man for everyone interested. As a Fallout fan and a D&D fan alike, I like (almost) every entry for different reasons each. So too does Classic, X, Legends, Battle Network, Star Force and Z do that for Mega Man as a whole. And folks can certainly love more than one subseries too. For me and MM: Classic and Battle Network are my old flames, and I'd love to get into X more. I may just take your suggestion with X4 because shucks, X2 whooped me harder than X1 and I haven't heard or seen nice things about X3.
Yeah, I understand your point of view, sometimes it's really hard to keep track of any series, and sometimes, it's better for some characters to stay dormant rather than becoming hollow husks. Save states are definitely a life savior nowadays, even if my skills are still intact, I'm sure there will be a point where I won't be able to beat any of the games I've completed during these years.
I hope you enjoy X4 if you end up going for it! It's true that X1 and X2 can be pretty challenging, so I'll be crossing fingers so you have a nice time with it! Also, thanks for watching, and take care.
i think its really unfair that critics complain about Megaman games being "repetitive" then complain about titles like battle network and ZX for being too different
Yeah, reviews got quite contradictory really often
Of all the games, Mega Man 1, 3, X3, and X6 are the hardest.
X7 and X8 start out difficult but get easier each time you beat the game. Once your characters are leveled up, they're almost unstoppable.
X6 is actually crazy easy if you just think outside of the box
Yeah, it's funny because the game being broken can actually help you, especially if you play as Zero
Speaking of bad first impressions, my first Mega Man game was 2 on Game Boy. To this day I have never beaten a single level in it and that turned me off the classic series for a long time. Still not a fan of them, though now it's purely down to greatly preferring the dashing and wall jumping of later series that were what got me hooked on the series. Well that and Zero being the coolest, ain't no Zero in the classic series
Oh geez, GB MM2 is... quite a game, so I feel ya, haha. Looking back, the game isn't too bad, but the music is 'unhearable', if that's even a term.
@@burncrowsp To be fair I was also really young back then, even when I tried my next game Xtreme 2 a few years later I struggled for that first playthrough. Though that one is still one of my favorites.
Maybe I should go give GB 2 a try again and see how hard it really is. I've long since adapted to the classics and even had a ton of fun with 11 and always had a soft spot for 8 so how bad can it be?
@@zeroattentiongaming820 Even thou Mega man is more accessible now a days, most general audiences don't know that. Only Mega Man fans would know that. Like Mega Man 10 having an easy mode, but 9 did not.
If the series ever has another monster hit it will be with the Megaman X series.
Personally, I've moved on from sidescrollers. I'm not 7 and it isn't 1992 anymore. The golden age of gaming that I dreamed of as a child happened and I was there to witness it.
18:24 - I wouldn't say it "SUFFERED" big changes. :-b But a great, well-thought-out vid!
I love the Mega Man series. I didn't grow up with 2D platformers, so I'm more a fan of Star Force, Battle Network, ZX, and Legends. I still love the series as a whole, because it is a very interesting series that has had its ups and downs. I still love playing some of the games to this day. Even if we never get another game, I'm still happy with playing Star Force or ZX on my DS.
I am a massive fan of both Star Force and ZX too! Even if I grew up with the a few of the classic entries (on an emulator), SF1 left a big impact on me, and that is something I'll appreciate forever.
Ok, watched the video entirely and… For the most part, I agree with most of what you said. I believe it’s an amazing video. You pointed a lot of the things that may scare new players, the problems we veterans may have to introduce our friends and family to it, and how it is actually a very varied and accessible franchise for all kind of gamers~ I also agree for many of the recommendations you gave for newbies as a first try… but I have my gripes with some choices and how you dealt with some of the series. I’d say, at least in terms of classic megaman… I’m not sure 11 is a good introduction to the whole set, because classic 8bit and classic 16-32bit are IMO, very different mechanically. 11’s feel I think goes well with games like 8, megaman & bass, and maybe 7 too, despite them all having a very different feel… but I think you should probably have chosen another one for the 8-bit ones (I would’ve picked 10 there); tho, I understand it would probably make it confusing for newcomers. I have the same opinion of X, because although X4-6 are fairly similar, I feel they’re very different to X1-3. I would also have liked you picking one title for zero and zx, as well. Personally, I do have the opinion that X1-3, zero, and ZX feel very similar mechanically, tho ZX is very different in regards of how it is very metroidvania-like; at least in controls and how it feels while playing, I think is still similar. I would’ve recommended zero 2 as good introduction for them all, but if I had to choose one for each it’d be x1 for the x1-3, zero 2 for zero and zx 1 again for zx. I also think you made it somewhat confusing in the Battle network area… BUT! your recommendation of 5 aligns with mine (i would specifically point people to the DS one, but IDK if that’s the one in the collection) and I think you still explained the series very well~ I also think that, well, you mentioned how we having no new games suck, but, while true, I also think some mention of the legacy of megaman games, its influence on modern indies, and newer titles similar to the megaman series were worth mentioning. We have nowadays other franchises “filling” for it, mainly the gunvolt series, the 20-30XX games, and fan games like megaman maker that have brought a lot of creative elements to this kind of games. I think we have yet to have a dev fill the void of legends and battle network, but I’ve seen some influence in indie games. I think even if it’s not by capcom, and with our beloved blue bomber, X, .exe or Volnutt, we still have a future where newer megaman-like games, or megaman influenced games, fill our lives, and our fun times.
Thanks for watching the full video! Really appreciate it. I decided to choose 11 because it's the one that has the most accesibility options for new players, and because it's the modernized version of all the classic series' mechanics. The thing with 9 and 10 is that I feel they were designed with veteran players in mind (especially 9), and they also removed many of MegaMan's moves. On Zero's case, I recommended the whole thing because of the plot, I do agree that Z2 is a better starting point, but with Save Assist, Z1 becomes way more manageable.
And, yeah! There are many new games that kinda fill the void that MegaMan is somewhat leaving open right now. I was planning on including a few of them on my 'recommendations' part of the video, but the script would have been longer, and I decided to leave for some other time.
Great video bud!! I honestly agree!
Thanks for taking a look man!
@@burncrowsp you're welcome! Keep up the good work, BurnCrow! o7
I got into MM from a freeplay NES running MM2 in a department store. Picked it up on my Game Boy and it entertained me for a good year. Got MMX a year or two later and enjoyed it even more than Super Metroid (which the magazines all said was the far better game). Picked up MM3 on GB and the difficulty spike was beyond my dexterity - I don’t think we ever even reached any of the second round of bosses. Didn’t get another MM game until I saw Z2 on a discount. Enjoyed it a lot but SFAIII wore out my GBA. Got the collection on my 3DS after loving NES Remix (best game of the last decade IMO) and reading it had a similar structure. The difficulty curve was like running into a cliff. Yellow devil as one of the first challenges was bad enough, but the moving drop platforms after it were a return to the difficulty simply being beyond my dexterity. Closed it with like an hour of play and haven’t cared for the franchise since.
As a new ish player that has known about the franchise for a while I’ve been having a lot of fun with megaman x so far it’s been a blast dashing trough various stages and all and I am very excited to play the rest of the franchise when I can
Niiiiice, enjoy your time then!
Ok, I’ve yet to finish the video, I’ll continue it, but I gotta get this off my chest. You’re claiming; where I am currently in the video, that one thing that makes Megaman considered harder is because people is trying megaman 2 and 3 first. And they’re kind of buggy and with problems that the rest don’t have which gives a bad first impression. However, I started with those two, mainly because When I first got my first megaman (3) it was the most recent one. I played 2 rented off blockbuster because I loved 3. I loved it as well and they made me fall in love with the franchise. I was a kid! Not even 10! They not only didn’t give me a bad impression, but it was such a good impression that I made fan robot masters and fan drawings of the series, I used to write the passwords in very elaborated drawings based on the robot master defeated; I even made weird and very crappy fan fiction. It cemented my love for the franchise right then and there, and fact is, I didn’t enjoy the rest as much as these two. My order of favourite og megaman games is 2, 3, 5, 1, 4, and 6. 6 was even boring to me, and then 7 wasn’t better, specially when I had already played X which was just… amazing IMO… so… IDK, I can’t think of 2 and 3 being a first bad impression, when they gave a very good one to a dumb kid in the 90s. Ok, I’ll continue watching. I may come back in another comment.
Tbh, if Megaman would remove or at best allow you to turn off lives, I think it would help the games a lot.
Like I think Megaman can be fun, but having to be forced to replay hard level design does make it harder to want to continue.
And I have beaten Cuphead and almost 100%ed the first 7 chapters of Celeste.
You probably wondering why don’t I just play on the easiest difficulty in Megaman 11. Because while it removes lives, it also removes the difficulty from the normal mode.
Yeah, that's why the save states from LCs and such are a good thing to have for those who need it. At least if you feel that way, the first classic games have somewhat short levels, so maybe they'll be a good entry point in your case.
@@burncrowsp I’ve already beaten a few games, mostly with save states or with easier difficulties.
I have played through the robot masters in Megaman 2 multiple times. Not really needing save states on them for multiple years.
I personally am just part of the camp that lives are just bad and outdated game design. Save states does help give something similar to infinite lives, but they aren’t perfect and aren’t part of every LC.
For climbing up the ladders and getting hit by those birds, I found out it depends on the direction you face to shoot that determines which side the bird flies in from. You can fool the bird to hit into the wall and drop the egg every time.
I would love to meet the folks who say Mega Man is harder then Ghosts & Ghouls and Battletoads, cause they clearly don't know what the hell they're talking about!
I guess it's a matter of opinions, but I completely disagree with them!
Majority of the base Megaman & X games have been remastered. They even made a Zero & Battle network collection. All I want is a Megaman Legends remake/ remaster or the canceled Legends 3
I think a good solution to people not entering the series is with branching out Megaman as a whole with it's genre to make it more mainstream.
MM8BDM (Although it's just DOOM with some tweaks, but that could be said for any other popular shooter.) is a perfect way of getting people on board especially with how easy it is to setup, and the mod capability makes it more engaging with creators.
With more attention it may influence people to try getting into the Megaman series.
BurnCrow, Aspirate your p's as sometimes to native ears... Sound like b's... The way you said pace sounded like base. x) Pretty good video though as your introduction to the hobby is nearly identical to mine.
Thanks for the tip! Gotta get better at narrating, since it's not my native language xD
As someone who grew up with the Zero series, BN4 and Starforce 1, I can't say Megaman is hard to get into. Rather, the games require a mindset closer to that of a FromSoft game. You trial and error to learn, you develop patience and situational awareness and most importantly: you have fun as you learn. I'm a huge fan of the mainline SMT series(the parent of the more popular Persona franchise), getting wrecked by a boss for going in blind is just part of the experience
No? I'd say the mega man series is one of the most easily accessible games. Most important games are easily available, difficulty is fine, and story barely matters so you can start with whatever you like.
Good points
There are 2 PC Mega Man games I should mention.
1. Street Fighter X Mega Man
2. Mega Man X Dive offline.
Series isn't hard to get into. More like intimidating. I have a hard time getting my friends into Final Fantasy because 16 mainline entries seems daunting. Imagine 40+ split across 6 series.
Yeah, exactly! People look at the sheer amount of games and it can easily feel overwhelming.
The Bn and 2d series were easy to get into I just wish that Capcom didn’t give up on MegaMan
The problem is that 2d games are kinda niche now a days. Yes MM 11 sold well, but RE 3, DMC 5, and Dead Rising sold way more.
As a fan of both the 2D and RPG series, it really was a shame back then seeing Western game critics not getting into the Battle Network and Star Force. Honestly, I found most Western game critics from that time period were extremely biased. Especially while giving series like Call of Duty a pass.
Thankfully, things have changed in the past decade and a half since Star Force 3 was released in the West. Battle Network Legacy Collection received great reviews while also becoming the fastest selling game in the franchise to date.
Battle Network and Star Force were my thing when I was younger and I've been playing a lot of the Legacy collection, lately. Here's hoping the SF series gets a collection, eventually.
Yeah that gets on my nerves as well. It’s like you’re not 12 anymore and think you’re clever by saying it’s the same game. It’s like they (justifiably) take Call of Duty entires in their own merit, but chastise it for Mega Man. Like just say that they are both high quality games.
If nothing makes you happier than seeing new fans get into the franchise, then here's a comment for the algorithm to help make that happen.
Huh? Mega Man is super accessible, all thanks to the recent legacy collections. Nearly EVERY mainline mega man game (minus Star Force and Legends) are on modern platforms for a semi-affordable price. Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC, everything. And considering HOW MANY Mega Man games there are, that's saying something. And since Mega Man isn't a very plot-heavy series (outside of Zero) you can start pretty much anywhere in either the classic or X series and not lose anything.
The only hard thing about getting into megaman is that just like Sonic, there are many mega man games that are just downright awful and others that are incredibly divisive. Almost everyone agrees that games like X6, X7, and BN4 are awful, but other games like MM8, MM&B, MM11, X3, X5, X8, XCM, MHX, XD, Z1, Z4, ZXA, BN1, and BN5 are VERY divisive in the fanbase with some loving them and some hating them.
Even the generally pretty hard difficulty isn't that bad, primarily because the most BS games (the first 6 NES titles) have cheats you can enable to rewind or enable save states wherever, the X and Zero series have a baby mode if you want to experience the games without difficulty issues, the ZX games have a built-in easy mode, the Zero/ZX games have an "extra checkpoint" mode to make the checkpoints more frequent, (almost nessessary in Zero 1 which doesn't have lives) and more quality of life for new players.
From what I can remember doesn't rookie hunter mode basically make you invincible? At least to bosses?
If I can recall correctly, RHM makes you take less damage only from projectiles, spikes and bottomless pits. Except for X6 I think, in which you'll just respawn on the last platform you were on.
Controllers aren't the same as they were back in the 80s. The button layout on an NES controller was easier to press jump or shoot for a 2D platformer. There were special ones with turbo function, but the basic controller is all you need with today's kids having lightning fast reflexes. The SNES era Mega Man X games are pretty straightforward too with a dedicated dash button as well as being able to tap twice in the left or right directions so you can play the way you want. Plus having different weapons tied to shoulder buttons was brilliant! Being able to swap out on the fly is really useful for boss fights or finding secrets. But modern controllers despite having similar button placements do not respond in the same way. They are also a lot wider. Unless it's on a Switch where everything is super tiny and super crammed together. UGH that d-pad SUCKS!
Yes, and no. Some games are definitely harder than others. For instance, Mega Man 1 is hard, but not harder than RockMan and Forte (Mega Man and Bass).
Some people think Mega Man X (SNES) is easy, But I'm here to tell you, the first time I played that game back in 1993 (at the tender age of 8), that game kicked my ass! I couldn't beat a single Maverick! Not even Chill Penguin (I also didn't own the game, so I couldn't practice)! In fact, the first Mega Man X I ever beat was episode 4 on PS1. And please don't get me started on Mega Man Zero. I only ever beat episode 2. Episodes 3 and 4 made me put them down because of the sheer difficulty. I managed to beat Mega Man ZX, but that game is dumb hard to navigate! This coming from a Metroid fan!
Try 2, 6, and 10.
Battle network be like: AYOOO why im on the line of fire!!!!!?!?! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Neat video man.
The only thing making them inaccessible is the price of all of these games today. You could always just emulate them for free.
Mega.Man and Classic Sonic vs.X.and Modern Sonic
I really want to try the later Mega Man games I've been a classic Mega Man fan for years! but I can't help to feel I'm feeling a little alienated.
Oh don't you worry! Maybe the next time the collections go on sale, you'll get the chance to play 'em!
@@burncrowsp I don't know I seriously have to think about it
I think Megaman needs 3d title to act as entry titles especially for younger generations interested in the series.
Man, I'd love to see a new take on 3D MegaMan. I guess we'll have to wait and see!
Is the art of (2D) run-n-gunning had been lost that badly...? Well, I'm pretty much a veteran of action games including Megaman games, so I took such skills for granted.
Well, it's somewhat understandable, since for the longest of times, 2D games like these became almost rare to find. Luckily, thanks to indies, they seem to be regaining their popularity.
We're actually being punished simply for liking Megaman.
No, really. Capcom got really mad at us for siding with Inafune, i remember when he left capcom, and the first thing capcom did was troll us with bad boxart megaman in Streetfighter X Tekken.
Megaman in it's entirety? Yes
It helps if people treated each version of Megaman as a different IP. I love the battle network and StarForce games so that's what I stick too. Others may have that same thing for the classic and x games.
Mega Man Legacy Collection
Mega Man X Legacy Collection.
Mega Man Zero/ZX collection.
I bought all 3 collections and played through the games sequentially from Mega Man 1 - Mega Man 11
It was an AMAZING ride - compressing over 20 years of gaming into just a few months of play.
I skipped over Zero 1 - 4 and went straight to ZX. Beat ZX, waited a few weeks and played through Advent.
I never owned a Nintendo DS so playing through ZX/ Advent on my PC was awesome using the flawless Xbox controller.
Is it inaccessible?
Just the opposite.
Really happy to know that you enjoyed your time with these games!
This is THE series that made me love video games, starting with Megaman X, it was so amazing (challenging) that i could was not able to beat final sigma wolf as a kid.
If anyone wanna have fun, they can play anything except the classic megaman. The classic series is awful and the megaman x series is insanely superior and actually fun to play.
Obligatory PSA. Megaman Legends 2 DOES have an official PC Release. Its from around the time the PS1 game was released so quite old but looks way better than the PS1 version and runs great. However it was only released in Japanese and never English. The release name is "Rockman DASH 2".
Oh wow, thanks for the correction! Some japan-only stuff still evades me to this day, haha!
I think megaman is pretty easy to get into namely because of the simple gameplay and the fact a huge portion of the series is accessible on modern consoles. The only notable games not playable on modern consoles are some of the weird side games like megaman xtreme or battle networkbbattle chip challenge and the legend and star force games.
Yeah! It should be easy to get into, thanks to how most mainline games are easily available. Despite that, people seem to feel intimidated by the sheer amount of games, as well as the difficulty. Hopefully the series will keep growing its audience, as it has been doing for the past years.
ShadowRockZX, they like 3D games like Zelda? Try the Mega Man Legends games!
True...
No, it's actuality pretty easy to get into because of the legacy collections.
Megaman zero the 1st one was so hard i had to become a demon on it and other sidecroller megamann were kinda just easy to do after.
Yeaaah, MMZ1 is a very tough game, kudos for beating it!
It seems weird that people aren’t familiar with 2D Platformers. Like the New Super Mario Bros. Is the highest selling DS games and the Wii sequel sold a lot as well. Sure the games are pretty easy but it’s Kinda interesting.
Yeah, I think NSMB might be the exception to the rule. Aside from those games, the early 2000's were missing some new entries for the genre.
I hate to be the "um actually" guy on such a minor detail, but I don't like that you implied Simon Belmont's jump physics were due to a lack of polish. As frustrating as the fixed jump arcs in Castlevania can be, they're a very deliberate design choice the entire game is built around, much like the slight delay before the whip attack.
Oh don't worry about pointing out where I'm wrong!
The 'Belmont would be jealous' line was meant to be a silly joke, but due to the part of the video where it's featured in, it kinda came off as me criticising the game for it. To that, I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention at all!
I'm aware it's a design choice, and it's something I really enjoy about classic Castlevania (in my 'hard NES games' video I defended the third entry's controls too).
My point was that MegaMan gave you way more freedom when it comes to movement, and looking back, Castlevania wasn't the best example to illustrate that, so notes taken for the future!
Thanks for waching!
@@burncrowsp No worries, I still enjoyed the video quite a lot overall.
save the first 3 games, i think mega man is a pretty accessible series. i always recommend 5 or 6! they're definitely the easiest of the classic series imo.
EDIT: i forgot that 11 had the newcomer mode...i should recommend that too.
Yeah! 5 is a pretty good game to start with, I always felt like it was an easier, yet very polished game. The 'ProtoMan betrayal' plot setup was also very cool.
5:02 2?
They ported most if the games to modern platforms
Oh hey a megaman video! *Clicks*
>10 seconds into the video, he starts talking
...Este tío es español *checkea twitter * Sip 🤣
Siempre mola encontrar más españoles por aquí, somos relativamente poquitos en el mundo anglosajón jajajaj
Respecto al tema del vídeo, diré que mi única introducción a esta franquicia hasta hace más bien poco (aparte del Smash) fue el Star force 2 de la ds, el cual ni me terminé, pero ahora me he estado jugando los 3 primeros megaman en la legacy collection y no están nada mal. Son bastante disfrutables, ojalá poder decir eso de la mitad de la biblioteca de la nes lol
¡Vaya pillada! Y yo que pensaba que el acento no se me colaba demasiado. Pero sí, somos poquitos dentro de lo que cabe, pero encantado de que te hayas topado con el vídeo. StarForce fue también uno de mis puntos de entrada, y de ahí pasé a los clásicos de NES. Me alegro mucho de que los estés disfrutando, ¡y gracias por pasarte!
guys so i have a gf (yes i know its crazy for a megamn fan) and im currently getting her into 2d platformers and shes basically the younger sister that the other youtuber mentioned in this video, and eventually i plan to get her into megaman, should i send her this video?
Sure! I hope she ends up having fun with these games.
The only game I ever found hard was Megaman and Bass. I could beat 3 and 4 as preschool kid so they really aren't difficult
MegaMan and Bass is toooough, yeah. Stay tuned since next video is gonna be about it!
Perhaps they should make a movie. Live action or otherwise. I mean look at the other 2 big platformers from around that era. A Mario movie was a no brainier however Sonic was failing before the movie. After however Sega started making real Sonic games again.
There were rumors about the existence of an upcoming live action movie. I'd love to see something like that, like you said, it would be a perfect way to bring the character to many different audiences.
Let’s be honest, if you didn’t grow up in the nes era 1986-1993. It’s going to be troublesome to grasp 2D platforming. I’ve introduced Super Mario Brothers 3 for the nes as a starting point.
I honestly think that the original Super Mario Bros. is a better starting point. Also if you grew up with a GBA, DS or during the indie boom, you are probably quite familiar with 2D Platformers as those had a ton of ports and new platformers also being released. So that 1986-1993 figure is false
Loe the message behind this
we only got mega man 2 and 3 in australia
Oh! I was not aware of that, and I thought Europe always got the short end of the stick :')
I meant on the nes And we only got the first mega man x on snes Legacy colllection was on 3ds for download
@@Shazam9551 Oh geez, then that's quite unfortunate, luckily with global releases that's gone nowadays.
My introduction to the Mega Man series is the anime MMbn NT warrior the funny thing I play the majority of the Mega Man game beside better network the reason I wish you were talking about that in the video Battle Network have amazing better system but the worst level design navigation I have the tedious mission I ever play the level design great like a gameplay baby I completed the game lung time a go
Yeah, BN1 has a maze-like level design that the next entries abandoned, that's why I went on to recommend later games instead. I was planning on talking about TV shows and such, but the script was already really long, so maybe that's a topic for some other time!
It's time for me to induce you to swordigo a mobile 2D platformer
That game is a PEAK mobile game!
@@NetBattler yes it is
no its not, most of the mega man games save for wonderswan and portable entries are in compilations
I hope they will port non mainline BN games next time.
Tbh i don't mind with difficulty for megaman games accept megaman and bass and megaman X5 this two games it's really punish you a lot and has stupidly hard other megaman games don't have like this hard because i know i playing it
how is it inacessible? we got what? 4 diferent collections at this point? all of the og series(minus 11, which you can buy separately), all of the X games, all of the Zero and ZX games, and all of the exe series.
all that is missing is the starforce, the legends, and a few side games like comand mission, xtreme1 and 2, or m&b... also megaman soccer.
Yep! That's exactly what pushed me on to make the video 👀
And the GBA Megaman games.
But the majority of the series is playable on Steam.
While I agree about Megaman not being hard, I disagree on the fact that Castlevania games are unpolished. Yes, Belmonts are slow, but they are slow on purpose (except in Castlevania the adventure on GB)
Castlevania games are difficult but fair games, and they are way more polished than Megaman 1.
Oh, when I said MegaMan is more polished than most hard NES games, I meant to compare it to stuff like Ghosts n Goblins and such. I love the og CV trilogy!
Mega Man, Metroid, Contra crossover
MegaTroid: The Alien Wars
TLDR yeah pretty much...
I'm pretty sure the reviews were written by gen Xers who grew up with classic MegaMan and think all casual fans are classic fans.
men de casualidad hablas español?
¡Sí! Es mi lengua nativa.
Too many sub-series is the biggest problem. Imagine there are 7 series called Mario but every Mario is not the same character, and newcomers heard this they wouldn't want to be in the franchise. What bothers Capcom is fans usually want X9, Legend 3, or ZXC because they are unresolved, but these are sub-series that don't sell well. The top grossing ones are Classic and BN, but fans don't need their new games very much.
Mario has a ton of sub series. That's not an excuse. And considering Final Fantasy swaps characters every game, and is still big, whole new casts isn't an excuse.
But these are not as confusing as the Mega Man series, the same gameplay or the same characters must satisfy at least one, otherwise this will be an original series.
For a series with the same characters, fans can instantly recognize them. For JRPGs like Final Fantasy, fans don’t need to know previous characters. But for Mega Man, it seems that neither of these points can be satisfied.
I don't see anything wrong with it.
@NetBattler This is clear to fans, but for newcomers will get confused and think these sub-series are not mainline games.
@@capstalker5539
I was a newcomer once. It's not that confusing. Classic >> X >> Zero >> ZX >> I guess Legends happens sometime after, and the RPGs are their own timeline. And you can honestly enjoy each subseries for what it is without knowing about what came before it and how it fits into some kind of multiverse. If you can get into Zelda, which does the same crap but worse, you can get into Megaman.