There are some things in life that are simply universal truths.
For example, water is wet, fire is hot, and Capcom will never pass up on a good sequel
opportunity.
The original Mega Man Legacy Collection — which brought the Blue Bomber’s first six adventures
to the PS4 and Xbox One in 2015 and the Nintendo 3DS in early 2016 — must have exceeded Capcom’s
sales expectations pretty handily, as Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 has arrived on the
scene less than two years later to finish the job.
Whereas the original Legacy Collection focused entirely on the six 8-bit entries that cemented
Mega Man’s status as a gaming icon on the NES, Legacy Collection 2 chronicles the latter,
more experimental portion of Mega Man’s career, and features a smaller but arguably
more interesting lineup of games as a result.
Included here are Mega Man 7 and 8, the series’ sole 16-bit and 32-bit entries respectively,
as well as Mega Man 9 and 10, retro revivals that intentionally brought the series back
to its 8-bit roots in an increasingly modern gaming landscape.
But do these titles hold up enough collectively to be worth your hard-earned cash in 2017?
To answer that question, let’s briefly run through each game included here.
Mega Man 7 arrived on the Super Nintendo at an awkward time in 1995, well after Mega Man
X and X2 had already established a bold new direction for the series that had been enormously
well received by fans.
Elements unique to the X series, such as dashing, wall-jumping, and an edgier presentation had
helped modernize the series for long-time fans, and as a result Mega Man 7 was seen
as something of a step back at the time.
What many failed to appreciate back then was that Mega Man 7 was simply continuing the
classic Mega Man series in parallel to the X series, and as a result didn’t need any
of those more modern elements to stand out.
Mega Man 7 was intentionally old-school before being intentionally old-school was cool, and
the result is an underrated 16-bit platformer that isn’t without its problems, but is
a strong entry in the series all the same.
While the controls and physics are a bit less precise than the 8-bit games and the character
sprites sometimes feel too big relative to the rest of the screen, those same sprites
are among the most gorgeously animated on the Super NES and the backgrounds are bright
and expressive.
Meanwhile, the soundtrack is fantastic and while a sudden difficulty spike at the end
of the game does bring the experience down a little, Mega Man 7 remains a lot of fun
to play overall and also has the distinction of introducing Mega Man and Rush’s eternal
rivals, Bass and Treble.
Mega Man 8 released at the end of 1996 and brought the Blue Bomber into the 32-bit age
for a single outing on the PlayStation and SEGA Saturn.
It’s very much a product of its time, sacrificing the series’ pixel-perfect physics and pick-up-and-play
accessibility for a greater focus on presentation.
To be fair, that presentation was truly first-rate for its time and holds up admirably today:
the hand-drawn sprites are so fluidly animated that Mega Man 8 looks like nothing so much
as a playable Saturday morning cartoon, and the old-school anime cutscenes fleshing out
the story are still charming and look great even today.
But in Mega Man 8’s case, these notable gains in presentation also come with a significant
number of missteps on the gameplay front.
Everything just feels slightly “off” in Mega Man 8, from the controls to the physics
and even the level designs.
For one, Mega Man and his myriad enemies all feel like they’re covered in molasses, severely
restricting horizontal movement speed and making for a slower-paced game overall.
Stages also tend to be a bit on the longer side and aren’t afraid to include frustrating
gimmicks, such as the infamous “Jump, jump!
Slide, slide!”
auto-scrolling sequences that punish even the tiniest misstep with instant death.
While these elements combined can make Mega Man 8 feel like a slog compared to the rest
of the series and there’s no doubt that it’s Legacy Collection 2’s weakest game,
it’s still a pretty solid platformer in general and worth experiencing for what it
gets right, such as the ability to use the Mega Buster and special weapons simultaneously
by mapping them to two separate buttons, as well as the chance to permanently upgrade
Mega Man’s abilities by finding and exchanging Bolts hidden throughout the game’s stages.
Finally, no assessment of Mega Man 8 would be complete without mentioning its infamous
voice acting, which is so enormously bad that it must be heard to be believed.
It’s actually kind of charming in its own strange way.
Against all odds, Mega Man 9 came out a full 12 years after Mega Man 8 — long after most
fans had written off the classic series as dead — and brought things back to basics
by returning to the 8-bit style that had made Mega Man an icon in the first place.
In doing so, Mega Man 9 accomplished two key things: it cut the bloat that contributed
to Mega Man 8’s tepid reception and kickstarted what has now become a popular trend of designing
modern games, especially platformers, with an intentionally retro aesthetic.
Mega Man 9 is a fantastic return to form by any measure, with incredibly nuanced level
designs, one of the series’ strongest lineups of Robot Masters and special weapons, the
ability to play as Proto Man in his 8-bit incarnation for the first time ever, and an
absolutely stellar soundtrack that stands as one of the best in a series long known
for its incredible music.
That said, it sometimes goes too far and plays things too safe in its intentional aping of
series favorite Mega Man 2, leading to the persistent feeling that Mega Man 9 could have
had a stronger identity and perhaps been something a little more if it wasn’t focused on coloring
within the lines established by Mega Man 2.
Fortunately, that’s why Mega Man 10 exists.
Released in 2010, this tenth and so far latest entry in the original series allowed Mega
Man 9 developer Inti Creates to really stretch their creative wings and deliver their own
vision of a retro-styled Mega Man game, free from the limitations imposed by a directive
to stick as closely to Mega Man 2 as possible.
The result is a slightly more experimental game that is perhaps less consistent than
Mega Man 9 but also appreciably meatier and significantly more interesting.
For example, Bass returns in Mega Man 10 as a playable character and, unlike in Mega Man
9, both he and the returning Proto Man have their own stories separate from Mega Man.
The Robot Masters are a little weirder in terms of their theming and their special weapons
are a bit more indirect, forcing you to get creative with how you use them.
Even the soundtrack has kind of an experimental feel to it, and in general Mega Man 10 falls
more creatively in line with the latter NES games like Mega Man 4, 5, and 6, creating
a nice balance with the more straight-shooting Mega Man 9.
Frankly, much like the first Legacy Collection, I think Legacy Collection 2 passes muster
on the quality and value of its included games alone.
Mega Man 7 holds up very well despite its flaws, while Mega Man 9 and 10 still stand
proudly as two of the best games in the series — and you get access to the full range of
9 and 10’s DLC once you’ve beaten them, so don’t worry, that’s included too.
Mega Man 8 is the obvious weak link here and you’ll probably go back to it far less often
than the others, but it’s still good enough to be worth experiencing at least once for
all of its little oddities and curiosities, not to mention the one-time glimpse it offers
of classic Mega Man in a 32-bit format.
Most importantly, all four games benefit from superb emulation: there’s not even a hint
of input lag here, and each game’s graphics, sounds, and music are faithfully reproduced
despite representing three different generations of gaming.
While the first Legacy Collection released with some minor but notable emulation flaws
despite Digital Eclipse’s best efforts, Legacy Collection 2 appears to have no such
flaws and Digital Eclipse’s lack of involvement this time has not had a negative impact on
this collection.
In fact, Capcom’s internal teams have done some quality work here.
Of course, it’s also important to mention what isn’t here: a little game called Mega
Man & Bass.
This late-era Super Nintendo title repurposed Mega Man 8’s assets into a new game lovingly
dubbed “Mega Man 8.5” by fans, and even if Mega Man & Bass is worse than every game
in this collection, its absence here is certainly felt and feels like a case of Capcom cutting
corners.
I mean, Mega Man 9’s ending directly references Mega Man & Bass.
Its exclusion from this collection really couldn’t be more obvious.
Additionally, the only version of Mega Man 8 you’re getting here is the PlayStation
version; the extras in the SEGA Saturn version, such as special boss fights with Cut Man and
Wood Man, are nowhere to be seen.
The Saturn version of Mega Man 8 wasn’t widely played to begin with, so its bonus
content would have been a perfect fit for Legacy Collection 2 and its absence is a significant
disappointment.
So the games here are mostly great and hold up well, and the emulation quality is superb.
But what about the package tying it all together?
Well… it’s pretty standard, for better and worse.
You’ve got pretty much the same suite of bonus content that was present in the original
Legacy Collection, including a Challenge Mode that repurposes parts of each game into bite-sized
time trials, a Museum mode collecting various illustrations and other art assets from each
game’s development, a Music Player containing all the music from Mega Man 7 through 10,
and minor quality-of-life additions like optional automatic checkpoints, a CRT filter, and autofire
for Mega Man 7, 9, and 10.
There’s also a brand-new “Extra Armor” option that cuts any damage you take by half,
and while purists may scoff, it’s a smart addition that may help bring younger and less
skilled players into the Mega Man fold.
Challenge Mode represents the most significant portion of the bonus content, and it’s both
better and worse than the first Legacy Collection’s take on this feature: better because the challenges
are shorter, less frustrating, and more well suited to quick gameplay sessions than before,
but worse because it appears that very little consideration went into determining the times
required for each challenge’s bronze, silver, and gold medals.
Still, all the requisite online leaderboard functionality is there, including instantly
downloadable replays of each challenge’s fastest runs.
Meanwhile, cross-game challenges are out — so you won’t see challenges combining elements
from Mega Man 8 and 9, for example — but I see this less as a shortcoming and more
as a natural side effect of the games in this collection all coming from different platforms
and, indeed, generations.
Meanwhile, Museum Mode still houses the useful ability to practice fighting any Robot Master
at your leisure, and the art assets are an entertaining diversion for any Mega Man fan
even if the viewer isn’t as robust as in, say, Ultra Street Fighter II.
The Music Player is about as basic as you can get and I would have preferred to be able
to use it while browsing through the Museum, but Mega Man’s incredible musical legacy
means the Music Player’s inclusion is appreciated nonetheless.
Dropping in and out of each game and switching between games is just as quick and painless
here as it was in the first Legacy Collection, and each game can be played at one of three
screen sizes with a variety of borders to choose from.
There’s also a CRT filter that looks particularly great.
Unfortunately, the save system is a straight downgrade from the original Legacy Collection;
whereas the first collection lets you create one save state per game anywhere you want,
Legacy Collection 2 uses predetermined checkpoints that you’re kicked back to no matter when
you save.
Not only is this less convenient, but it also makes it harder for less skilled players to
brute force their way through tougher segments.
On the other hand, Capcom has included an Extra Armor option that reduces any damage
Mega Man takes by half, so those playe
I also noticed a couple of other minor issues while putting each game through its paces.
For example, remapping the DualShock 4’s touch pad button in Mega Man 7 prevents you
from accessing Auto’s shop until you restore the touch pad button’s default setting,
but a first-time player might not even know Auto’s shop exists if they do this unknowingly.
Also, starting a game takes you right to that game’s title screen, meaning you won’t
see each game’s opening cutscene unless you wait long enough on the title screen for
the game to play it again.
These are minor issues to be sure, but worth mentioning nonetheless.
Overall, while I do wish a little more effort had been put into the presentation and bonus
features surrounding the games and there are some minor issues to consider regarding the
save system and skipped openings, I like Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 a lot and the value
inherent in this collection is undeniable.
Even if Mega Man 8 is the obvious weak link here, it’s still a pretty good PlayStation-era
platformer by most standards and things only get better from there with Mega Man 7, 9,
and 10.
Mega Man 9 and 10 are particularly excellent, and frankly, it’s awesome to finally have
them playable on current-generation hardware alongside the rest of the series.
The lack of Mega Man & Bass is a major oversight and smacks of cut corners, but the top-notch
emulation quality helps make up for that and it’s clear a lot of effort went into that
aspect of this collection.
It may not be the new Mega Man game we all want, and the lack of a Nintendo Switch version
is frustrating and feels like Capcom leaving money on the table, but Mega Man Legacy Collection
2 once again proves there is a reason the Blue Bomber’s legacy continues to endure.