Mega Man: The Wily Wars

[Melf]

You'd think that with the amount of fame Mega Man enjoyed during the 8-bit era, the dude would get his shot on the Genesis once Capcom openly supported the platform. In a sense, he did...just not in America. While PAL and Japanese Mega Drive gamers enjoyed a great compilation of the first three games called Mega Man: The Wily Wars, U.S. fans were left in the cold. Our review (http://www.sega-16.com/2006/05/mega-man-the-wily-wars/) offers a glimpse as to what they missed, so check it out!

[David J.]

I'm still scratching my head on why this was never released in the states on cart.

Decent, but not something I'm going to go way out of my way for, nor spend tons of money on, damn fanboys and their classic Megaman. :p

[Melf]

Now that I've found Alien Soldier, this one's next on my hit list. Then it's on to the shmups.



...expensive, expensive shmups.........! :(

[Joe Redifer]

Nice, objective review.

I have Rockman: Megaworld (the Japanese version) and everything said in the review is true. One thing that wasn't discussed is the EXTREME difficulty that cannot be adjusted in any way. Mega Man 2 is the worst, being stuck on hard mode and even the weakest enemy in the game taking at least 4 hits to completely die. This, added with the game's new slowdown feature makes the Genesis version really much tougher than it should be. Also the box goes out of it's way to mention compatibility with the "6 button fighter pad" but the X, Y, Z, and MODE butons all do the same exact thing: nothing at all. Also when you press a direction on the controller, Megaman makes a really slow step and there is a small lag between when you press and hold a direction to when he actually starts running.

It is a decent game to have in your collection, but it's more of a novelty as the games themselves can't compare to the NES versions.

[j_factor]

I never understood what was so great about Mega Man to begin with. I find the ridiculously limited controls to be cumbersome -- he can't even duck for fuck's sake! Everybody can duck except for Mega Man. You're playing a side-scroller, you push down on the d-pad, the character is supposed to duck. Instead, Mega Man does nothing. When I play Mega Man, 50% of the hits I take are because I see something coming at Mega Man's upper body and I instinctively press down, but nothing happens. And why can't I aim my shots? It's supposed to be a cannon on his arm, but he's unable to move it in any direction? All these enemies coming at you from above makes it more glaring.

[Drixxel]

I never understood what was so great about Mega Man to begin with. I find the ridiculously limited controls to be cumbersome -- he can't even duck for fuck's sake! Everybody can duck except for Mega Man. You're playing a side-scroller, you push down on the d-pad, the character is supposed to duck. Instead, Mega Man does nothing. When I play Mega Man, 50% of the hits I take are because I see something coming at Mega Man's upper body and I instinctively press down, but nothing happens. And why can't I aim my shots? It's supposed to be a cannon on his arm, but he's unable to move it in any direction? All these enemies coming at you from above makes it more glaring.

Capcom loved those handicapp'd controls. Ghosts 'N Goblins, Bionic Commando, Mega Man.. nothing else plays like them. I became rather fond of the Mega Man control style once the slide was integrated.. sliding is so much more exciting (and potentially disastrous) than mere ducking. Dodging projectiles becomes extremely stylish once you master the art of sliding.

[kevinski]

I never really cared much for the original Mega Man series. I couldn't get enough of Mega Man X for SNES, though. Despite having some of the same control limitations (i.e. no aiming, no ducking), X was a serious bad-ass when you factored in his new capabilities. It was nice starting off with that wall-jumping ability, and - when paired with the boot upgrade - X could really tear through levels like they were nothing.

The original Mega Man games were far too difficult, in my opinion. I never really understood how people could be so drawn to the original games, but I'm definitely thankful that Mega Man stuck around. The X series is great.

[Vorty]

The only Mega Man game worth playing is Mega Man Power Battle. All the rest, even this one, are pretty poor.

[Obviously]

I feel the opposite. Power Battle and Power Fighters are both really lousy in my opinion.

I love Megaman games. I don't really know what it is, the soundtrack, the bosses? Megaman became popular because at the time it offered things that no other games offered. Looking back at them now they're very simplistic games. Another reason Megaman has remained popular is because of the high difficulty level, and as I've said before I'm fond of difficult titles.

[winona]

i hate the fact that they added a small step move. Sometimeswhen u really want the bugger to run, its like he stutters for a split second before taking off.

[Flash1087]

HOORAY FOR MEGA MAN!

I love more or less anything that says Mega Man on it. I'm a sucker.

[j_factor]

Capcom loved those handicapp'd controls. Ghosts 'N Goblins, Bionic Commando, Mega Man.. nothing else plays like them.

GNG pissed me off for the same reason. Bionic Commando wasn't so bad though; it lacks a jump button, but you can swing around pretty effectively.

Eventually, they broke that habit. Games like Gargoyle's Quest and The Stealth Affair had fine controls. But the Mega Man series stubbornly retained its lameness long after these had passed.

[Vorty]

I wish they'd let me shoot diagonally.

[GeckoYamori]

Usually there are boss weapons that let you shoot diagonally, like Metal Man or Spark Man. Adding it to the vanilla cannon would kill the novelty of those weapons, and remove some strategical aspects of the game.

Sliding works like an improvised crouch move.

[ary incorparated]

Metal man???????????,im curious Metalllllll metallll as for me the metallll metallica dude,neeh ill bet not,i bet ist more like bleepy man theme.I dont konw what so special about all the megamans i love one and that X but the rest just bores me after a minute,never seen such milked franchise as that.like mario started it and megaman milked it even more.The hell with megaman and the willy wars is just rare but i can understand why i saled it it looks like crap plays okay,sounds like crap almost the smae as nes only in a horrifying comilation.

[j_factor]

Usually there are boss weapons that let you shoot diagonally, like Metal Man or Spark Man. Adding it to the vanilla cannon would kill the novelty of those weapons, and remove some strategical aspects of the game.

Make the game bareable from the start so that I can bring myself to beat bosses and get boss weapons, and then I'll talk about how important they are.

"It has to suck at first for it to be great later" doesn't jive with me. A game that sucks for a while and then gets good is still a game that sucks. I'm not going to invest in a sucky game to make it good when there are plenty of games out there that are fun from the onset.

[ary incorparated]

i hate the game sorry but i find it a but ugly one.

[acdc]

HOORAY FOR MEGA MAN!

I love more or less anything that says Mega Man on it. I'm a sucker.

here another sucker for the games

[MrMatthews]

My copy is the "unofficial" one I bought from Bratwurst. I have no reason to believe he gave me a pixel-perfect copy of the retail version, so my critique is obviously in no way leveled at his product.

Capcom did a pretty lousy job porting these games to the Mega Drive. Sure, the graphics are sharper and the backgrounds are better, but it plays like molasses compared to the original NES games (where's your Blast Processing NOW??).

Also, I was particularly disappointed in the music. The original NES games sounded so much better than the muddled tunes coming from this port. It's a disgrace, really.

I love Mega Man and I was delighted to get this game. Still worth the money I paid for it, but Capcom (or whoever they handed this project to) should have done a better job.

[johnnyb]

Hmmm... I am currently watching a copy of Wily wars on our local auction site, how much do they usually go for? or more importantly how much should someone pay for a copy?, it`s complete and looks in great condition.

[MrMatthews]

Well, I bought mine as a Mega Man fan, not as a collector. I probably would have been willing to pay nearly $100 for a complete game on EBay.

Now that's as an American. I don't know what the demand is like for countries it was officially released to.

[Jesse813]

Hmmm... I am currently watching a copy of Wily wars on our local auction site, how much do they usually go for? or more importantly how much should someone pay for a copy?, it`s complete and looks in great condition.

they usually go for between 120$ to 160$ on Ebay, although sometimes you can get a copy for less.

[johnnyb]

Cool as, I will keep those prices in mind and see what happens!:)

[jesus.arnold]

Cool I thought I was the only one who thought Wily Wars was a terrible port, Megaman just looks and moves completely wrong, I feel like I've got glue stuck to my feet whilst controlling those games, so much worse than the originals, and so bloody overpriced too!

[Bratwurst]

I've found it's easier to get around by hopping a little bit prior to actually walking so there isn't a delay in Megaman responding to the controller, but there's really no excuse for the change in physics compared to the NES ports. Still, the Wily Tower stages are must-see for any Megaman fan because they really give you a feel for what a stand alone Megaman game would have been like on the Sega Genesis.

[TheEdge]

You'd think that with the amount of fame Mega Man enjoyed during the 8-bit era, the dude would get his shot on the Genesis once Capcom openly supported the platform. In a sense, he did...just not in America. While PAL and Japanese Mega Drive gamers enjoyed a great compilation of the first three games called Mega Man: The Wily Wars, U.S. fans were left in the cold. Our review (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/../Review-%20Mega%20Man%20Wily%20Wars.htm) offers a glimpse as to what they missed, so check it out!


I think the links broken.

Also I always wondered why the this Mega Man Compilation never made it to us. That was so dumb, they could of cashed out.

[Nicpezer]

The game moves a lot slower than the NES games, so slow that you don't even need the select trick for the boss in Wily stage one MM1, you can usually just fight him normally without to much trouble. For some reason it seems like I can't defeat Cutman quickly with the mega buster, it just seems to do normal damage in this version.

[Josh]

I've played Mega Man 1, 2, and 3 on the NES and Mega Man: The Wily Wars on the Sega Mega Drive (PAL version.) The updated graphics look great in the Mega Drive version, the music is fairly good in my opinion, and the sound effects are great as well. Still, as a casual Mega Man player, I'm not sure if it is worth importing for the U.S. Sega Genesis owners out there. If you're happy with the NES versions of Mega Man 1, 2, and 3, this might just be more of a novelty game than anything else. If you want to play the first three Mega Man games with updated graphics, better sound quality, and the Wily Tower mode, then by all means go ahead and get this game.

[makinagenesis]

i got this xmas day from my gf , played it for the first time the day after boxing day and have to say its most definitely not lived up to expectations

for a game that is probably the most expensive PAL game to find i had expected better, but of course price means nothing in respect to how good the game is, just how collectible it is

[Da_Shocker]

Man you guys know the Genesis wasn't a priority for Capcom back in the the day. There heads were stuck in Nintendo's ass. I have never been a huge fan of Mega Man though but this game has always been a curiosity to me. But I don't believe in spending 100 dollars for a mediocre game.

[sheath]

I can play it whenever I want in emulation or using the Everdrive, and I still don't want to. I played the first three on the NES and never got the craze. Half of the gameplay is shooting straight left and right, the other half is climbing ladders.

[makinagenesis]

Man you guys know the Genesis wasn't a priority for Capcom back in the the day. There heads were stuck in Nintendo's ass. I have never been a huge fan of Mega Man though but this game has always been a curiosity to me. But I don't believe in spending 100 dollars for a mediocre game.

try 4 times that amount and your about on the button