Mega Man 3
Nintendo Entertainment System
Nostalgia Factor:
When I first started this blog, one of my initial goals was to play through all the original Mega Man games for the NES and review them in rapid succession. Here’s how I am doing so far:
August 19, 2015: I review the original Mega Man.
July 23, 2017: I review Mega Man 2.
February 3, 2022: I review Mega Man 3.
So yeah, I think it is safe to say I failed my goal. A two-year gap and a five-year gap between Mega Man reviews. But you know what? That’s totally okay. I’ll get around to reviewing these games on my own time.
My history with the series isn’t a very deep one. As a kid, I only had experience with Mega Man one and two. I picked up and played Mega Man 3 in, say, 2005, when the Mega Man Anniversary Collection came out for the GameCube. I never ended up finishing the game and I remember very little of my time with it. So in no way, shape, or form do I hold the same sentimental, nostalgic feelings for this game that I do for its predecessors. If Mega Man 3 was going to impress 39 year-old Dan, it was going to have to do so on its own merits. Would it succeed? Ehhhhhhhh. Kind of. Read on for my full thoughts.
Story:
This is a game where you have to read the instruction manual or look online to find out about its story, because nothing is ever explained in-game. When you fire up Mega Man 3, you’re taken directly to the title screen (nothing happens if you don’t press any buttons). After starting the game, you’re thrown headfirst right into the action. It’s a shame, too, because as I was playing through this game I realized that I was missing out on possible key plot points. Who is the pink Mega Man lookalike who keeps attacking me? What the heck is Wily up to this time? Where did this dog come from? No freaking idea.
Typically when nothing is explained in-game, I just ignore its story, which is what I did here. This is a platform based 2D shooter. It would have been nice to know what was going on, but in games like this it is absolutely not essential. Just look at the Castlevania games, which I just got through reviewing for the Anniversary Collection. I even knew what was going on in those games, but did I give a crap? No – just like I didn’t give a crap here. Unless you’re a diehard Mega Man freak who needs to know every single detail of the entire series, it just doesn’t matter.
The only snippet of story you get from this game is after you beat it, when you find out that Proto Man (the pink Mega Man wannabe) has rescued Mega Man from the wreckage after defeating Dr. Wily. You also find out that he’s *gasp* Mega Man’s brother! Whoah! Actually, no. I don’t care. This is good to know in case it plays a factor in future Mega Man games, but it didn’t really do much to help me appreciate this game any more.
Gameplay:
Mega Man’s bread and butter has always been its gameplay, and Mega Man 3 faithfully takes the formula established in the first two Mega Man games and expands upon it ever so slightly. At its core, however, this is still pretty much the same as the first two games. You start with a stage select screen. When you finish the stage and defeat the boss, you take his weapon and you are able to use it as your own. The key to winning is to determine which boss’s weapons are strong against which other bosses, and then complete the stages in that order. Once you destroy all the bosses, four more stages become available to fight through. Complete these stages and you advance to Wily’s castle, where you have to battle through five or six more stages before doing battle with Wily himself. Beat him, and you’ve beaten the game. Exact same formula as the previous two Mega Man games.
Gameplay is pretty much the same too. You use the d-pad to move Mega Man. You jump. You shoot. You change weapons (which changes Mega Man’s color). You climb ladders. You navigate your way atop vanishing blocks. You fight bosses. You die (a lot). What are the slight changes I mentioned? Well, there are the random battles against Proto Man, who acts as a mini boss off and on throughout the game. There’s also the ability to summon Rush, the aforementioned dog. Rush has three forms, each of which serves a different purpose. Spring Rush launches you upwards to otherwise unreachable platforms. Rocket Rush launches you across large gaps or chasms. And there’s a hoverboard Rush which basically acts as a flying carpet that you can use to fly around the stage. This drains your energy very quickly, however, so don’t plan on overusing this as you play.
I liked the addition of Rush. It added the smallest of wrinkles to a game that otherwise does very little to set it apart from its predecessors. The whole game feels more like an expansion pack of Mega Man 2 than anything else. It’s so similar, but at the same time NOT as good as Mega Man 2. That game had such a perfect mix of great enemies, music, and stage design. I freaking loved Mega Man 2. This is a decent game, sure, but the whole time I was playing it I felt that it was nothing more than a cheap imitation of Mega Man 2. It doesn’t do anything as good as that game does, and it has absolutely none of its charm.
I’d have to say this is probably the hardest of the three Mega Man games I have played so far. The OG Mega Man was tough, but I found Mega Man 2 to be surprisingly easy given its reputation. This one, however, was pretty tough – especially towards the end of the game. I’m pretty sure that’s where I got hung up back in 2005 when I tried playing through this game. Just couldn’t beat the “boss rush” stage in Wily’s castle. If only I knew how energy tanks worked back then. I just figured it out about halfway through this game. Did these energy tanks work the same back in Mega Mans one and two? If so, go ahead and insult me and call me slow because I completely deserve it.
Graphics:
I don’t know what I can say about this game’s graphics that I haven’t said in my past Mega Man reviews. It looks pretty much exactly the same as the last game. Some of the stages have some cool effects going on in the background, but on the whole I found the stage themes and designs of Mega Man 3 to be much more uninspiring than its predecessors. Maybe this is simply nostalgia speaking, and Mega Man 3 actually looks better than I am giving it credit for. Who knows?
Sound:
I don’t mean to make it feel like I’m ripping on this game by constantly comparing it to Mega Man 2 in a negative fashion – but I’m going to do it again. This game has a good soundtrack, sure, but nowhere near as good as Mega Man 2’s.
Overall:
*sigh*
I came into this game fully expecting that I would think it was great and that it would rekindle my interest in the Mega Man series again. It did not. I mean, this is a good game. I certainly didn’t hate my time with it. But the whole time I was playing it, I couldn’t help but compare it in my mind to the last two Mega Man games and how it wasn’t as great as they were. The music wasn’t as good. The bosses weren’t as fun. The stages weren’t as creative. Overall, this was just a pretty average experience for me.
As I was playing this, I got the feeling that I was just sort of going through the motions. I didn’t hate the game, but I didn’t love it either. It was just a game that existed that I happened to be playing. While Mega Man 2 left me wanting more Mega Man, I was just happy when this game was over.
Does this mean that it’s going to be another five years before I play Mega Man 4? I would hope not, but you never know. One thing I may take a look at first, actually, is The Wily Wars for the Sega Genesis. It’s basically a compilation of the first three Mega Man games but with improved graphics and quality of life changes. Maybe I’ll change my opinion on Mega Man 3 when I get to that portion of the game? Who knows?
What I do know is that, like I said, I considered this to be a pretty average experience. I’m going to tack a plus sign onto that C grade, though, because even though I didn’t think this game was terrific, it’s still a solid Mega Man title and I worry that the nostalgia factor (or the lack thereof) might be corrupting my view of this game. If I didn’t have Mega Man 1 and 2 to stack this game up against, would I have enjoyed it more? I’m willing to bet that I would have.
Final Score:
C+
If you liked this review, check out some of my other game reviews:
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