Welcome to NAdventures, if we feel that you as an adventures fan will be interested in a game or peripheral, we will give it coverage right here on NAdventures. If you enjoy other genres of games in addition to adventures, then be sure to visit NShooters and NSports in order to get your fill of gaming content. Check out http://hub.ngenres.com for the highlight stories from each genre.

Editorials   Mega Man: 15th Anniversary Spectacular - The 16-bit Era
- By Francis Bonnet

Mega Man X
System: Super NES
Released: 1993

When Mega Man X was released on the Super NES, it confused many gamers, including myself. It seemed as if Capcom restarted the series with a brand new story line, new characters, and a whole new Mega Man. This time instead of the eight bosses having “man” after ther name (i.e. Metal Man or Wood Man) they now took the likeness of animals and thus featured animal names (i.e. Chill Penguin or Launch Octopus). In fact, they weren’t even called robots anymore, they were now known as “Reploids”. The story dealt with Mega Man X discovering who he really was and what the reason was for Reploids turning into “Mavericks” (evil Reploids). Wily was nowhere to be found. Instead the main villain was Sigma, a super powerful Maverick. Weird huh? The story line is clarified more in the later X games and we find out that the Mega Man X series does, in fact, tie into the original series. As for MMX’s gameplay, it was simply amazing. Capcom took the foundation of the original games and improved upon them wherever they could. Mega Man had all new moves; he could now cling to walls, dash, and had the ability to upgrade his armor. Music was also very high quality, the tunes were memorable, almost up to the quality found in Mega Man 2 & 3. Graphics were colorful and animation was fluid – a quality Capcom has always been known for. Grade: A

Mega Man X2
System: Super NES
Released: 1994

Mega Man X2 was a quality addition to the series, but didn’t provide us with too many surprises, gameplay wise, as the first X game did. The game was solid all around and furthered the MMX story. One new feature was the fact that Zero’s parts were missing and it was up to you to collect the pieces before Sigma’s henchmen could. If you collected them all, you didn’t have to fight Zero at the end of the game. But if you don’t… well, that sucks for you. Included with within the cartridge itself was Capcom’s answer to the Super FX chip, the C4 chip. The C4 chip allowed the SNES to created complex wire-frame 3D-type graphics. This was a pretty addition, but was barely used within the game. As for the music, I found it to have the same quality as the music found in X1, but it lacked in overall fun. Most of the tunes were forgettable, which was unfortunate since the first X game was quite the opposite. MMX2 featured new armor upgrades and this time dashing was standard, not an upgrade like in X1. Grade: B



Mega Man X3
System: Super NES (also available on Playstation – Japan only)
Released: 1995

X3 finally allowed us to choose another character other than Mega Man! This time you could select Zero, who by this time in the X series, was starting to become pretty damn popular. Unfortunately, the ability to choose Zero was extremely limited, and totally unavailable for bosses. Since you could only use Zero once for a small part of each stage, it was wise to save him until he was really needed. Because he had a different energy bar than X, selecting Zero helped out when you were in a pinch. This strategy was necessary because X3 had to be the most difficult Mega Man game to date. Returning to X3 was X2’s C4 chip, and again, it was used very rarely within the game. Music was a step up from X2, with a few memorable tunes, especially the Toxic Seahorse level (which was just awesome). Grade: B+



Mega Man Soccer
System: Super NES
Released: 1994

Just when you thought that Capcom abandoned the original Mega Man for the X series, out came Mega Man Soccer, and oddball of a title and something I never expected. Yes, there’s a story in the game, but it’s so stupidly ridiculous that I care not repeat it. Let’s just say it involves Wily trying to take over the world by playing soccer. Graphics were low quality for a Super NES game; I expected garbage like this to come out of an 8-bit system. Music was no better, with beeps and bops that totally disrespected the SNES’s internal Sony Sound Chip. Okay, so what about gameplay? It’s interesting for about a half-hour and then you’ll want to move on. And the password feature? Forget about it, it takes you forty minutes just to write it down. Only the true Mega Man fan will want this one in their collection, and even then I doubt it would get much play-time. Grade: D-

Mega Man 7
System: Super NES
Released: 1995

Now here’s the return to the original series that we really wanted to see. MM7 came out between MMX2 and X3 and was a limited-release title. Just try finding it on eBay and you’ll easily pay $50 or more, and that’s just for the cartridge alone! Mega Man 7 featured a return to the cartoon-like graphics of the original series and strayed away from the anime-style of the X series. Sprites were big in this game, even Mega Man seemed to take up a much larger portion of the screen than any of his previous incarnations. One interesting tidbit was the fact that you could only choose four bosses at a time (8 total), a feature reminiscent of the Gameboy titles. Music was memorable but lacked the speed and action of the X series. As for gameplay, it was a return to Mega Man’s roots and fans of the original were bound to enjoy part 7. However, if you were expecting the game to test your reflexes and pump up the action like the X series did, you may have been slightly disappointed. The overall speed was much slower in MM7, even slower than in the NES games. Grade: B-

Rockman & Forte
System: Super Famicom (Super NES)
Released: 1998 (Japan only)

Although this game came out after Mega Man 8 for Saturn and Playstation, it is NOT Mega Man 9, as many people mistakenly confuse it with. MM9 has yet to be released or announced on any system to date. If you play Rockman & Forte, you’ll understand why it’s not labeled Mega Man (or Rockman) part 9. R&F is a Mega Man side-story featuring a mix of MM8 robots and a few new enemies. The fact that it’s a side story, though, doesn’t change the fact that the visuals are some of the best ever seen on the Super NES. The sprites are almost identical to the ones featured in the 32-bit MM8. When compared to MM7, R&F features speeded up gameplay and action and the ability to play as Bass (Forte), one of Mega Man’s enemies. The only negative aspect of R&F is the fact that the sound was a little washed down, but the gameplay was definitely hot. It’s unfortunate that this game has yet to be released in the US, but it’s understandable why Capcom didn’t want to bring this game out in the states when the SNES was dead by ’98. This game is definitely worth getting if you’re a Mega Man fan and only goes for about $30-$50 on eBay. However, keep in mind that if you DO decide to buy it you’ll have to physically modify your SNES or buy a converter. Grade: A



Mega Man: The Wily Wars
System: Genesis
Released: 1994

If you don’t remember playing this particular title then it’s probably because you didn’t have the Sega Channel. The Sega Channel was part of a paid cable service in which you could use your Genesis to play games you didn’t physically own through your television; games that were in development, unreleased, or exclusive to the channel. The Wily Wars was, in fact, only a remake of the first three Mega Man games on the NES with slightly improved graphics and sound. Of course, as an added bonus, Capcom threw in a few new levels during the later stages of each game. Personally, I prefer the look and sound of the NES originals, but it was interesting to see the original Blue Bomber get a facelift. Lucky gamers in Europe and Japan were able to actually physically hold the game, though, since it was released in those areas on cartridge. Grade: B

Continue to the 8-Bit Handheld Era...