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Mega Man 3 review

Game: Mega Man 3
Platform: NES
Genre: Action (Platformer)
Developer: Capcom
AKA: RockMan 3: Dr. Wily no Saigo!? (JP)

Reader review by sgreenwell

Date unavailable

Mega Man 3 represents the first game in the Mega Man series where things started to go downhill. There's a few gameplay innovations, but none of the basic mechanics have been altered. This trend continued from game to game. Are they still good games? They sure are, but with the huge variety of games available on the system, there are so many different gaming opportunites to choose.

In Mega Man 3, blah blah blah, save Dr. Light. That's all you really need to know for the story. It's the same as in past games and most previous games. However, in this game, Mega Man is randomly attacked by someone known as Proto Man. Who is this dude? Why's he attacking Mega? Does anyone really care? The story is not a strong point, although the ending is a lot better than the typical platform fare.

Mega Man 3 is a platformer, make no bones about it. You venture left, right, up, and down through enemy stages, defeating anything that gets in your way. You must also jump over pits, and slide through narrow passages. Your only weapon is your trusty arm cannon...

Well, that is, until you defeat the end boss of each stage. Then, you receive their weapon. However, even this must be used in moderation; there's only a limited supply. Pellets can be found to resupply your life and weaponry, but they appear at infrequent intervals.

The ''Boss Name'' department of Capcom must have had some funding cut for this game, as the names of the bosses in Mega Man 3 are bad. Hard Man? That's just a dirty joke waiting to happen. Spark Man? Shadow Man? TOP MAN??? These are characters that strike fear into the heart of Mega Man?

Outside from the stupid naming, the difficulty level of Mega Man 3 is pretty easy. The game is a breeze compared to the second installment of the game, and is a lot easier compared to some other platforming games on the NES. Once you figure out which weapon a boss is weak to, it's a simple blatter of blasting the hell out of them with that one weapon.

Graphically, Mega Man 3 is still ahead of the curve of most Nintendo games released at the same time period, but not by much. Thankfully though, the slowdown present at some points in the second game is eliminated for the most part. This allows for a much smoother experience.

Musically... Well, if you've played any past Mega Man game, it's like that. An upbeat, techno-ish kinda theme dominates gameplay. The effects are also primarily machine sounds. All in all, the sound is forgettable; mute.

Overall, Mega Man 3 is a good continuation of the series, but it doesn't offer enough new features or gameplay to match the quality of the first two installments. It was also an omen of things to come from Capcom, also known as the ''Let's bleed all of our series dry!'' company. Nevertheless, if you enjoy any Mega Man game, you'll no doubt also enjoy this one.

Rating: 9/10

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