by pook99 Fri Aug 03, 2018 9:56 pm
229. Mega Man unlimited
I have been on a mega man kick as of late and after finishing 1-10 I decided to look into some fan games. Mega Man unlimited is probably the most popular of the fan games and is renowned for being incredibly well made and incredibly difficult.
MMU was initially made as a sequel to Mega Man 9, and is done using the classic 8 bit mega man graphics, the story is that there is a virus infecting robots and causing them to go insane. Dr. Wily goes to Dr. Light to express his concerns over the robots and also tells Light that his robots are now threatening him and he is fearful for his life. Being the gullible moron that Dr. Light is, he believes Wily and teams up with him to try and find a cure for the virus. A mysterious robot appears and kidnaps Wily and it is up to Mega Man to save him. The story is told through cutscenes and is about what you would expect from a Mega Man game, *****OBVIOUS SPOILER AHEAD***** as it turns out Wily is behind the virus, but is mystified as to why it doesn't affect Mega Man.
This is not a romhack and does not use recycled levels or bosses, all 8 of the robot masters are new, and this game features some of the best level design in any Mega Man game ever. The quality of the levels is superb and Capcom is going to have to work really hard to outdo this game when they release Mega Man 11 later this year. The levels are done in a very thematic and cool way, for example, Nitro mans level is riddled with exploding platforms, glue mans level is filled with glue that you can't walk on and have to hop around to navigate, yo-yo mans levels is loaded with platforms that spring up and down as you jump on them and so on. Every level is very fun to play and the levels are very challenging. When I heard about this games difficulty I actually wimped out and started playing it on easy, but I was breezing through the levels and then decided to start a new save on the default difficulty and it was a much more satisfying experience. This is a game where the difficulty is done right, you will die, but deaths never feel cheap and you will learn from your deaths and have a blast mastering these challenging levels. For all the hype the difficulty got I would say it is only a touch harder than Mega Man 9 so if you are a veteran of the series you should not have too much trouble beating the game, at least until the final level.
The robot masters themselves are very cool, like most mega man games, they all seem very difficult at first and as you learn their patterns and weaknesses they become a breeze. The weapons obtained from the robot masters are probably the best weapons in any mega man game ever, I really enjoyed using them and they are genuinely useful for both navigating the levels and overcoming various enemies. Examples are the comet charge, where mega man dashes forward, completely invincible, while shooting projectiles above and below him, also can be done in mid air to give your jumps extra lenght. The jet missile locks on to the nearest enemy when charged, making it perfect for dealing with awkwardly placed enemies, the glue gun can build platforms to get to hard to reach areas and help shortcut a few levels, the tank arsenal shoots 2 missiles and a bomb that can blow up barries and anything else it touches, the nail shield is like the leaf shield on steroids as it deflects bullets and rips into anything that touches you, the yoyo weapon can be thrown in 8 directions and rolls along any surface it touches, the rainbow beam is a small ray that you can detonate any time for a massively large and powerful blast, and the nitro blast is probably the only weapon in the game I didnt really use all that much. Of course you also have the trusty rush coil and rush jet.
After defeating all 8 robot masters you head over to Wily's castle, which is a series of 4 incredibly tough levels, that culminate in the series trope of having to fight all the previous robot masters, with a twist. The level starts out benign enough, and after a very short and easy stage you find yourself in the familiar room with teleportation chambers, and here is where things get nutty. There are 8 robot masters, but 9 chambers in the room, which means you have to fight a new robot master on top of fighting all the prior robot masters. To make matters even more difficult when you enter a chamber you do not go directly to the boss like in every other mega man game ever, instead you have to play through a very short level with obstacles and enemies unique to that robot master, after clearing the short level, you fight the robot master, repeat 8 more times and you can finally progress to Wily. When you do make it to Wily you are forced to fight Bass, then 2 forms of a Wiley machine before finally reaching the end of the level. All in all for those of you not keeping track the final level consists of: a short and easy jaunt to the teleportation chamber, 9 short levels, a rematch with every boss in the game + a new robot master, another short and easy Jaunt to Wily, and concludes with a fight with Bass and 2 wiley forms that must be done on one life. Fucking insane.
Luckily the game does provide options that make it much more bearable, the shop system is back and every time you lose your last life you can hit the shop before progressing into the stage, you can only hold 4 E tanks, but being fully stocked on them is pretty easy to do once you are a few levels in, you could also play in easy mode where the enemies do far less damage and the obstacles are easier to navigate(more platforms, less spikes, stuff like that). So as tough as this game is they give you enough leeway for anyone to enjoy, causal gamers will find a fair challenge in easy mode, but will probably be able to finish it, and hardcore mega man fans will love the challenge in the normal mode.
Overall, I think I found a new favorite mega man game, which is saying a lot given how much I love the series. If you have even a mild interest in classic mega man I urge you to play this game immediately, it is a free fan game and capcom is going to have to work really hard to make mega man 11 better than this.