A new year brings along new games to play and look forward. While 2015 has a ton of content coming out for every platform (seriously, this is insane...!) it's also a year where I really want to play the older titles-- going back to the 'roots' of gaming, I suppose! It would have made more sense to do so last year since it was an underwhelming year of releases, but I've recently managed to rejuvenate my interest in gaming again (thanks, Bayonetta 2). I hit a rough patch last year where I was totally disinterested with games in general. This year, I plan to change that.
My lack of exposure to classic franchises is a problem. I love gaming, how did I go so long without ever playing the original The Legend of Zelda or Castlevania!? I need to play these games at some point. I was born in 1990, which means I really didn't start playing a lot of games until I was about 7 or 8 years old. I grew up with the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 1, which both had their fill of classics, but I missed out on a lot. Off the top of my head, this is what I missed out on--Final Fantasy, Castlevania, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mega Man, Metal Gear Solid ... the list goes on. It was only until the PlayStation 2/GameCube/Xbox era where I really started getting into games and even still I was unaware to those beloved franchises, to a certain extent.
Thanks to the likes of the Virtual Console, I now have a method to play these games (legally) all while being portable. The first series that I decided to take on was Mega Man. I wanted to play Mega Man because it's a series I've wanted to play for a while now, and 2014's Shovel Knight got me in the mood to finally visit the games from the Blue Bomber. The original games are all available on the 3DS which is convenient for me. I carry mine around to play on my commute to and from work everyday, so why not! I bought the original Mega Man on the 3DS Virtual Console yesterday and it's been kicking my ass.
Mega Man is not extremely difficult, but it does make you realize how easy games have become these days. I'm craving a challenge and Mega Man seems to fit the bill so far (until Bloodborne in March). I've defeated all Fireman, Bomb Man, Cut Man and Gut Man so far. I cheated a bit (as advised by @JordanElek) and I looked up the boss order. I did it in the completely wrong order, despite noting down who to tackle first in the 3DS' Game Notes.
From what I've played so far some enemies have a pattern, so you need to learn how to dodge them--like the Killer Bullet enemies from the Bomb Man stage. There's other enemies which you can avoid and some that you can't, and you'll need to learn how to jump at the right time and aim at the right moment. I've found it to be pretty tricky, but the more I've been playing the better I've become at it.
When I first started to play, I tried running through the levels as quickly as I could, while trying to defeat all the enemies as I rush through the level. I've since changed my tactics because that's obviously not going to work. This is what happens when you're usually an impatient gamer! So it's time for me to learn to be patient and tactful. I've died a lot in the game. Most games these days are pretty lax with little consequence for making mistakes. Clearly, Mega Man is not that kind of game. Seriously though, I'm really bad at these games ... if there was a way to broadcast 3DS games on Twitch, I would--for your entertainment.
I'm also planning on writing a weekly blog about what I've been playing. Ever since I finished school I haven't had a chance to brush up on my writing skills, so why not talk about video games?
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