I suck at Megaman :(

[Captain Wrong]

I got ahold of the Megaman Aniversary collection recently. This is a game series that I always passed by, probably because I never knew anyone playing it back in the day. Now, I loved all the NES Capcom Disney games, and I was actually pretty good at them. I figured this would be a good chance to catch up and check out what I missed.

Problem is, I'm just terrible at them. I don't know if I don't have the patience I once had or if the Disney stuff was just easier than I remembered (or not even in the same league) or what the deal is. I even had to crank the difficulity down to easy, shame on me, and I'm still getting creamed.

I like some hard games. I'm all about shmups and fighters that regularly kick my ass. But this is almost not fun I'm just so bad at them.

So, anyone have any pointers? I don't want to give up, but I'm about to throw in the towel because I just can't seem to get the hang of it. I know these games are supposed to be hard, but damn, it's turning into a soul crushing expirence. :)

[MegaDrive20XX]

Pratice and learning patterns is the main focus of all Mega Man games I felt.

I remember how many times I had with Mega Man 1 especially, took me over a decade to master it (especially the final stages)

As for Mega Man 4, that took me quite some time back in 1992.

I do admit that I suck bad at the Mega Man X series, after the first, X2-X6, I cannot even finish.

Never played X7 or X8 though.

[AlexKidd]

I too suck at the nes Mega Man games. I have played them quite a few times and never beaten them or even gotten very far. They seem to be good games but too hard for my liking and I usually like hard games like contra,castlevania and metal slug stuff. I'd recommend picking up Mega Man X if you don't have it already. Quite a bit easier and more fun in my opinion.

[kainemaxwell]

Practice the timing of weapons and enemies and be sure to check the lists of Robot Master weaknesses and special items, games will still be tough, but a little easier.

[spooie]

Start with MegaMan 2 and 6. They're generally the easiest of them all. Of course, all of the games were tweaked for the re-release, so none of them are exactly as they once were on the NES, or SNES or PSX.

Of course, if you have the GCN version with the ass-backwards controls, it probably isn't helping you either.

@_@

[Captain Wrong]

Start with MegaMan 2 and 6. They're generally the easiest of them all. Of course, all of the games were tweaked for the re-release, so none of them are exactly as they once were on the NES, or SNES or PSX.

Really? Tweaked how?

That's good to know about 2-6 though.

@kaine, I'm a drummer and would you believe I have trouble with the timing like you're talking about. LOL I suck at rhythm games too.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

I've got a magic touch at just about every Megaman game out there, and the only advice I can give you is... practice. Then some more. And more. More. Fast forward atleast 5 years, and you should be all set.

[goatdan]

Don't worry, I'm equally bad at those games, and I used to PWN Megaman 2 for the NES. I could beat it in one sitting. Since getting the MegaMan Collection (with its ass-backwards "no choice to change it" as someone else pointed out) I have just sucked it up on all of the games.

The key seems to be to stick with one level until you can learn it all and get to the end. If you can do that, then you have to see what weapon will best take them out, and then do so. There are some patterns there (A "fire" weapon will usually beat a "plant" boss and so on) and some are just random.

And don't feel bad if you put it on "easy" mode (just extra lives, I believe). It make it a lot more playable.

[spooie]

Well, as someone who played a LOT of MegaMan in his day, I pretty much fell into a mold of how every enemy reacts, or exactly where everyone on the screen exists, and how to deal with them, over the years.

And playing through the games, I noticed that every now and then, an ememy might be in a spot they normally never existed in the NES version, or might react a slightly different way, or may take 4 shots to defeat instead of 3.

It's kind of hard to explain... but it's just something I noticed that felt different, and later went back to check on my NES carts. One of the biggest giveaway is that MM2, which has an easy/hard difficult setting, have completely different easy/hard settings than their NES counterpart.

Take for example the pipe machines that you blast in Metalman's stage. In the original NES games for the easy mode, they simply vanish. In the MMAC easy mode, they actually break away and fly across the screen into 4 spots, like the hard mode used to.

Little stuff like that I picked up on, simply because I was so used to playing them over and over and over on the NES.

As for MegaMan 2... it is THE definitive MegaMan 2, for which all other MegaMan titles are based on. But it's also one of, if not THE, easiest. MegaMan 6, which I know a lot of people at the time felt was the NES' weakest, is actually pretty easy to play through, what with the power punch ability, and more generic master weapons and bosses that can be used against many more enemies than they once were.

[kainemaxwell]

Start with MegaMan 2 and 6. They're generally the easiest of them all. Of course, all of the games were tweaked for the re-release, so none of them are exactly as they once were on the NES, or SNES or PSX.

Really? Tweaked how?

That's good to know about 2-6 though.

@kaine, I'm a drummer and would you believe I have trouble with the timing like you're talking about. LOL I suck at rhythm games too.
It's funny cause I suck at rhythm games too. lol

I've always found MM3 the easiest myself once you get going with things, especially Wily's Castle. The double castles in 4-6 always sucked for me due to no passwords for the 2nd castle, just for the first and you go from there. MM2 I always had issues with the room with the Walls.

This is one the sites I mentioned before for the path to defeat the Robot Masters and other tips.
http://www.mmhp.net/

[SoulBlazer]

Get the XBox version. As I said eariler, it's the BEST of the three versions of the MMA, with the ability to change the controller settings and all of the bonuses.

[NE146]

Yeah I used to be a master of Megaman 2. When I later sought out and played Megaman 1, my skill directly transferred and I was able to beat it in a night.

However, Megaman 2... that took me a loong time to master and beat. But then again these were the days when we'd get ONE game.. and play it until we beat it. What happened to those times? LOL

[Nesmaster]

Yes. Practice. And if it's that hard be sure to beat the robot masters in the correct order, so the weapon you obtain is gonna be strong against the next one you face.

I once sat down and beat megaman 1-6 start to finish in one sitting... i think it took like 6 hours or so... maybe less, not sure. it was a few years ago :)

[nik]

I rocked house with megamanX, but they are right, total patterns to everything. Might have a few variations halfway through the level, but I guess I got used to it all after kicking the crap out of the game for the 500th time.

All just to get that damn fireball, and dragon uppercut.

[Oobgarm]

I played Megaman 2 to such a large extent that I thought I'd be good at the other games in the series, particularly the more difficult ones, especially the first one. I was wrong to assume that.

Like others have said, your best bet is to practice. Put the Anniversary Collection on easy so it resembles the NES games better. I know that despite my knowledge of Megaman 2, which I like to consider to be pretty damn good, I got my ass handed to me the first time I tried it on the AC.

Just keep plugging away at it, Capn'. You'll get the hang of it.

[syd]

I can beat Megaman 2 in one sitting without losing a life most of the time. Any other NES Megaman game, however, I can't get very far at all. And no, it's not a coincidence that Megaman 2 is the easiest one on the NES. I finally figured out why this is!

Go fight a boss on Megaman 2 and get hit a couple times. Every time you get hit you only lose a little bit of energy every time. Now go fight a boss on Megaman 3 or above. You get hit once, it takes off a little bit of energy. You get hit again, it takes off AT LEAST 1/4 your energy! Seems they purposely made the latter Megaman games harder (or cheaper).

[Immutable]

I believe the easiest version of Megaman was MegaMan 2 or 3 on the GB. I recall beating one of those games in a matter of an hour or so. Hope that helps. :)

[Raedon]

join the club! I've only finished a few of them.

[demen999]

I'm in the same boat. I am trully terrible at mega man games for some unknown reason. I got the ann. collection too and hardly play it cause I get frustrated haha. Some times games like that, I'd perfer to watch someone else play it, so I can just see the game.

[The-Bavis]

I am an OK megaman player overall, but the I fire up my Megaman cart on GB and die on the first screen time after time. Memorization, practice and patience is what the game takes. I just can't make myself care about the B&W version enough to get good at it.

[Xexyz]

I believe the easiest version of Megaman was MegaMan 2 or 3 on the GB. I recall beating one of those games in a matter of an hour or so. Hope that helps. :)

That was definately Mega Man 2 for the Gameboy, the one with the screwed up audio. I always had to turn the music off in that game. I also beat it within 1-2 hours after purchasing it.

Mega Man games take patience. Like the others have said, stick with one game and then stick with one level at a time. Get to know what the enemies are capable of so you can minimize the damage you take. Also, I found that skill from mastering one Mega Man game can translate to the other titles, but only to a certain extent. You have new enemies and boss patterns to learnw ith each installment, but aftrer mastering Mega Man 3, I found it much easier to adapt to new enemy patterns in the other titles (excluding 8). I don't know if its the graphics or the wierd music, but I can't get myself determined enough to beat this one.

[Daft Punk]

I cannot beat a level in ANY mega man game to save my life. LOL

[ScottK]

Mega Man 2 is by far the easiest. I've mastered it so well that 80% of the time I play I won't lose a single life. As far as stages are concerned...start off with the Metal Man stage. The Metal Blade is my most used weapon of choice.

Mega Man 1 was always hard for me. and 4,5,6 and X were nearly impossible for me back in the day. The good news is that the Anniversay Edition (at least the backwars gamecube edition) seems to be much easier than the originals. I don't think it's the save feature either. The stages seem much more easier to beat...like you've got more life levels. I've completed 4 or 5 of them so far.

The one stage I'm always stuck on the most is Ice Man's stage from the first Mega Man. No matter what I do I always get hit and fall off those motorized clouds.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Maybe you should start start slow and try playing the Megaman Zero games instead. They're much easier. ;)

[Sotenga]

Captain, if it's any consolation, I will never, ever, EVER be freaking good at Arkanoid. I know, doesn't play a thing like Mega Man. Just wanted to letcha know. :(

Anyhoo, MM does have prominent difficulty, especially the first one. Back before energy tanks, the ability to slide, and the password... things were hellish. However, I recommend honing your skills on the original to get accustomed to the basics. Take one stage at a time, then once you've beat it, reset the game and play that stage over again. Once you can pass that stage easily, move on to another one, and repeat as necessary. Hopefully, once you can beat all stages in one of the games, you'll be ready to take on Wily.

I apologize for the basic advice, but when something seems impossible, it's best to take on things one step at a time.

[Jorpho]

I've never much liked the idea that for most Mega Man games, if you don't know the proper order in which to do the stages, you're pretty much screwed for each and every boss.

[Tron 2.0]

Like others have said, your best bet is to practice. Put the Anniversary Collection on easy so it resembles the NES games better. I know that despite my knowledge of Megaman 2, which I like to consider to be pretty damn good, I got my ass handed to me the first time I tried it on the AC.

Agreed i know the.... pain too of playing 'it on normal for the collection x_x

Why Capcom change that i'll never know why O_O

[kainemaxwell]

Few days later, any luck with any the advice we gave man?

[Captain Wrong]

Few days later, any luck with any the advice we gave man?

I haven't really had any time to try stuff yet. (Plus I got Burnout 3 and that's been occupying me. :))

I'm checking out that site that you gave me though. I think the key is learning the boos order, and I didn't realize that before.

Thanks for the help everyone.