Mega Man Music - Which game had the best?

[ShinobiMan]

I recently downloaded every Mega Man soundtrack from The Mega Man Universe Music Archive (http://www.themmnetwork.com/wiki/index.php?title=Music_Archive), and man has it been a blast to listen to on random. Mega Man 1-10 and Mega Man X 1-8 blaring out of my speakers... a good time.

Something about this series is timeless for me. I can pick up any of the classic Mega Man games any day of the week and have the same experience with it as I had when I was a kid. Come on Mega Man fans! You know what I'm talking about.

Well getting back to the music... if you had to pick one soundtrack as your favorite, which would it be? I'm talking classic Mega Man and Mega Man X here.

Surprisingly, listening to Mega Man 7 on my stereo has rekindled a love for it I never knew was there. It's quite an endearing piece of music... especially the Burst Man stage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrd7V3oq9wc). Love it.

If I had to pick just one though, it would be Mega Man X. After playing that game again recently, I never realized how much the music stuck with me all these years. It's just a fabulous example of SNES music. Just listen to this!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sayGb0MMS_k)
What about you guys? What's your favorite? Feel free to include samples of your favorite tracks.

[Howie6925]

I always thought mega man 2 had the best music of the bunch.

Dr Wily's castle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJRoRt155mA&feature=related

Woodman(my favorite): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIJmyE0eT-k&feature=related

[ryborg]

Dr Wily's castle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJRoRt155mA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmaltChJnV0

MM2. I don't care if it's the cliched or obvious pick... it's the right one.

[skaar]

+1 for #2.

[Oldskool]

I always loved Mega Man 3. Snake Man's track is Epic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4eBNmGzI4A&feature=related

[Red Warrior]

2 is best. 3 is second best.

[Sabz5150]

Here's a vote for one in 4. Cossack stage 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_wpW6zpqHY

The complete works version rocks :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8DRjiWQuLc

[Push Upstairs]

Mega Man 2

Metal Man's music always wins.

[buzz_n64]

Mega Man 2

Metal Man's music always wins.

ditto

[Smashed Brother]

I'm gonna have to be the odd one out here and vote for Mega Man 1's music. Especially Elec Man and Ice Man's stages. I don't know....I just find those tunes extremely catchy!

[kupomogli]

Mega Man X has the best music.

Mega Man 2 has the best in the original series followed by Mega Man 3.

[ShinobiMan]

Mega Man 2 - 6
Mega Man X - 2
Mega Man 3 - 1
Mega Man 4 - 1
Mega Man 1 - 1

These are the results so far. I'm not surprised Mega Man 2 is getting most of the votes... it is probably the most popular in the series. Still, I'm curious to see where this might go.

Showing a little Mega Man 5 love, here is a great one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsc-NbIqaEA

[timewarpgamer]

Kind of predictable, I know, but I'm all about the Mega Man 2 tracks. I wanted a really easy way to listen to clips, so I built this:

http://timewarpgamer.com/features/mega_man2_music.html

I always thought it was pretty wild that an action game like Mega Man 2 actually trumped the various 8-bit RPGs in terms of music. Unexpected.

[fahlim003]

Mega Man 2 has the reputation that is almost akin to mainstream music. That's not to say I don't like it, but it's not the penultimate.

Funny enough, I knew nothing about the games before Mega Man 3 so it wasn't until many years later that I heard MM2s great soundtrack.

It's MM3 or bust. Snakeman, Hardman, Needleman, etc.. all outstanding tunes.

ShinobiMan: if you enjoy the MM7 soundtrack, you should give the Rockman 7 FC ost a go. Freezeman I believe sounds outstanding in the different audio format.

[portnoyd]

MM2 for sure, but props to MMX (considering I just played through it, I have to agree the music is quite nice).

[sonic2897]

I always believed mega man 3 had the best music. Snake man ftw.

[BetaWolf47]

I'm gonna have to be the odd one out here and vote for Mega Man 1's music. Especially Elec Man and Ice Man's stages. I don't know....I just find those tunes extremely catchy!

Same here, Mega Man 1 is my favorite. Plus it has the best Wily's Castle music out of all games in the series.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

Mega Man 2 is the only right answer. Anyone who disagrees is a Bulgarian.

[kupomogli]

Showing a little Mega Man 5 love, here is a great one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsc-NbIqaEA

You'd be showing very little love for MM5 and MM6. The music for those two games are definitely the worst of the series.

[TRM]

Mega Man 2 is the only right answer. Anyone who disagrees is a Bulgarian.

Az ne sum bulgarin, az sum ot sasht!

But really, I find it has to be a toss up between Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3. These games both have some really good tunes. I also enjoy the music from Elec man a lot.

[T2KFreeker]

Gotta' go with Mega Man 3. However, to be fair, one of the things I always enjoyed about Mega Man was the music. It always seems to fit the levels and bosses perfectly. Very awesome stuff.

[Arkhan]

Gotta' go with Mega Man 3. However, to be fair, one of the things I always enjoyed about Mega Man was the music. It always seems to fit the levels and bosses perfectly. Very awesome stuff.

me too.

Snake Man's level rules.

[DuckTalesNES]

Mega Man 3. Gemini Man music!!!

[ShinobiMan]

OK so this is where we currently stand.

Mega Man 2 - 9
Mega Man 3 - 6
Mega Man X - 2
Mega Man 1 - 2
Mega Man 4 - 1

Nice to see Mega Man 3 rising in the ranks. I personally prefer it over Mega Man 2 when it comes to music. Case in point - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ0UN-9Pbyc

[ActiveForce]

megaman 2 hands down, heard them all, but there something about megaman 2 like a special feeling for me... its also the easiest for me eyes closed.. no hit wonder... :guitar:

[Jehusephat]

I've never really given the soundtracks a critical listen before, but against my better judgment I'm actually going to cast my vote for MM4. 2 and 3 both have incredibly catchy tunes, and I'm much more inclined to get either of those soundtracks stuck in my head. MM4's soundtrack is less catchy, but far more interesting musically. It's a soundtrack that isn't afraid to take a few risks, but still manages to make me think of Megaman when I hear it. I never actually owned or played through MM4 until a few years ago, so I don't think I really gave it a fair chance until now.

[DenDenDos]

There's not one Mega Man sound track that I've listened to that I have not enjoyed. The only reason I would choose Mega Man 2 sound track over any of the others is because it was the first Mega Man that I played (nostalgia).

Minibosses plays a great run through of Mega Man 2 sound track as well.

[Hep038]

I have to vote MM1, they are all great, but when I hear MM1 music it makes me what to pick up a controller.

[thom_m]

Megaman 4 - specially Skull Man's stage music, which is simply awesome.

EDIT: Dive Man's stage soundtrack. Oh, boy! :)

[DenDenDos]

EDIT: Dive Man's stage soundtrack. Oh, boy! :)

Agreed!

[Baloo]

All the Mega Man games have good music, but that title screen to Mega Man 4 kinda sticks in my mind.

[ShinobiMan]

Mega Man 2 is still the clear winner, while Mega Man 4 gets a lot more love with 3 new votes. Here is what you all have voted so far.

Mega Man 2 - 11
Mega Man 3 - 6
Mega Man 4 - 4
Mega Man 1 - 3
Mega Man X - 2

Nice voting guys. It's definitely interesting to read these differing opinions on MM music. Here's another awesome track... this time from Mega Man 6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uoht_KRBTz4

[PingvinBlueJeans]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwzOMfi0SA0

[ambriglia]

hands down, mega man 2.

[Carey85]

We're missing the more important question here, and that is "Would Mega Man 2 be possible on the Atari 7800?"

[PingvinBlueJeans]

We're missing the more important question here, and that is "Would Mega Man 2 be possible on the Atari 7800?"
Perhaps not a perfect port, but if someone can pull off a playable Mega Man game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvrpXc8C3S8) on the 2600, I'm sure that a decent game on the 7800 would be manageable.

[old_skoolin_jim]

You'd be showing very little love for MM5 and MM6. The music for those two games are definitely the worst of the series.

You obviously haven't played MM10 yet. The music in that one is such a letdown, easily the worst in the series. The only standout track was Turbo Man's, and maybe one or two Wily tracks... le sigh.

I was always partial to the music in 5, 2, and 3.
Also liked X and X2's music a lot as well.

[ShinobiMan]

The only standout track was Turbo Man's, and maybe one or two Wily tracks... le sigh.

I think you must be mistaken... Turbo Man is from Mega Man 7, not 10. He's also in "Jingle All The Way". :-)

As for the music in Mega Man 10... I think some of the tracks are great. They might not be as instantly catchy, but the atmosphere they create is appropriate. Check out Chill Man's music! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d60rNRtc5k

[old_skoolin_jim]

I think you must be mistaken... Turbo Man is from Mega Man 7, not 10. He's also in "Jingle All The Way". :-)

As for the music in Mega Man 10... I think some of the tracks are great. They might not be as instantly catchy, but the atmosphere they create is appropriate. Check out Chill Man's music! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d60rNRtc5k

Ha ha, true... my mistake! Nitro Man, I meant to say! Point noted with Chill Man's music, too. The others may grow on me too in time, but they didn't instantly captivate me like any of the other games.

[LynchJustRules]

Mega Man 2 - The first Dr. Wily Stage where the boss is the giant dragon.

[Nightram]

2! No, 3! Wait 4! 9! Aagh! I dunno!

I'll go with . . . 3. Love the later stuff in the game.

[TonyTheTiger]

This is really hard. Mega Man 2 really is legendary but Mega Man 3 has some of my favorite music in the entire series. Hell, Mega Man 9 ranks up there, too. And an honorable mention to 5 for a handful of tunes.

But, you know what? I'm going to have to give it to Mega Man X2. One, because it should be at least listed on the tally and it isn't so I'm going to correct that little flaw. But also because the soundtrack is just that damn good.

I'm pretty surprised to see so many people liking Mega Man 4's music. I always thought it was one of the weaker soundtracks.

[SpaceHarrier]

As much as nostalgia would have me vote for MM2, I have to give my nod to Mega Man X.

Every track in X is pure gold to me. And I still prefer the original sound over the PSP remake 'Maverick Hunter X'. SNES synth just had that vibe to it; perfection.

If we were voting for best single track though, MM2 woulda had it with Wily Castle stage 1. Obviously. I think it was actually the first game music I ever stopped playing just to listen to.

[ShinobiMan]

I love talking Mega Man, especially the music, so I'm giving this thread a BUMP.

Check out this tune from Mega Man 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CN3isY27Dk

[Rob2600]

No matter which Mega Man game you think has the best music, it's safe to say they're *all* better than most mainstream music since the late 1990s.

[Gooch3008]

This took me no time to decide. Mega Man 2. It's so freakin' badass.

edit: I was listening to the dr. wily stage theme from mm2 and for some reason found myself looking at howies avatar pic and it made me crack up for some reason. just wanted to share.

[Einzelherz]

The hierarchy in MegaMan music is as follows:

Bubble Man
Snake Man
Everything else.

[Tenjikuronin]

I'd say Mega Man 3 in the original series and Mega Man X3 in the X series.

[FOnewearl]

The original Mega Man - It's good and stands out from the rest of the Mega Mans being more unique from the rest and for me I had it when it came out so I'm sure nostalgia plays a small part for me.

[NayusDante]

I remember the music from 1-6 being the first music I ever liked. Seriously, I never particularly liked the music I heard on the radio, or any kind of vocal stuff, but something about the music in Mega Man struck a chord with me. The intro to 3 sounded particularly amazing coming out of my parents' stereo.

As far as the original series goes, I wouldn't pick any particular game because they all have their good and not-so-good tracks. I will say that the quality was more consistent with the first three, and more hit-or-miss with the rest. While 2 is certainly the most iconic, I can't say it's the best. I particularly like the sound design in 4, which is the most different out of the series. However, the ending medly and credits (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS9g1QBzSAw) of 6 stand out to me as sumarizing the music as a whole. It just says to me, "the long journey is over," and carries a sense of finality. 7 is good, but not great. 8 is better, but not as memorable as the NES tracks.

As far as the X series goes, X1 is the benchmark, being an amazing soundtrack in its own right and setting the tone for the series. X2 is the 4 of the X series, having a distinct set of instruments that set it apart. X4 has that techno-rock sound that conjures up memories of 1997 J-Pop. X6 just sounds awesome, and that's one of the reasons why I rank it among the best in the series (though I'm usually alone in that...).

[hellraiser]

I really loved 2 and really really loved 3 but im gonna have to go with 4 aswell...

The percussion sound on skullmans stage rulled!!!! But i love me some gemini man music too!

[retroman]

i like megaman 3 and 8 was very good also..

[pseudonym]

Mega Man 2 is my favorite.