Ah, the Mega Man franchise. Since 1987 the Blue Bomber has been a hero to all good robot children everywhere. On his journeys he foiled Dr. Wily's plans nine times (if you consider Mega Man & Bass to be a part of the game-canon), destroyed more than sixty Robot Masters, and obliterated thousands of drones. The Mega Man games are true classics. And then we have the Gameboy games. The Gameboy games, from I-IV, weren't all that original. Except for the three-four last bosses of each game all the Robot Masters were just taken from NES games, had their colors removed, and then thrust into two stages, each with a selection of four Robot Masters. It then basically worked like any Mega Man game, except that they evilly left the 'go back and kill all the Robot Masters again, Loser Man!' part out *sniff*. Surprisingly, the games were still enjoyable, and made for great games to play when you're on the go. But I'm here to review a specific game, that being Mega Man III. In Mega Man III you find yourself back in the Robot Master-fighting business. You must choose between four bosses from Mega Man 3 (Snake Man, Gemini Man, Shadow Man, and Spark Man), then go through a level mostly shorter than its NES counterpart, and then fight the same exact boss from the NES game. Once you're done with all four, you'll continue to the next phase, after which you'll assault Wily's Castle yet again in another effort to capture the dastardly Mad Doctor. The game works pretty much the same way it did in Mega Man 4. You can jump, slide, charge up your buster for an attack with three times the power of a normal shot, and use the weapons of nine (you read it right, NINE) of the bosses you'll vanquish on your journey. The controls are very responsive, so you won't be able to blame a numb 'A' key for a lost life. The graphics are great for the classic Gameboy, and so is the sound. It's almost impossible to distinguish the music from the different Robot Master's level music in this game from the NES counterpart, and the few original tunes you'll hear here and there are very well done as well. Now, for the problems... There aren't really any, except for the game being almost a downgraded (remember, no color) mix between Mega Man 3 and 4, with only a few original levels, bosses and tunes tacked in the end. The gameplay isn't innovative at all either. It's a noticeably short experience as well, even when compared to the other Mega Man games. The levels are shorter than their NES counterparts. You should also note that after you're done with the eight featured Robot Masters, all you're left with are two half-levels, and a single final level. If you want to buy an old game that'll be enjoyable and perfect for outings, don't forget to pick this up... That is, if you find it anywhere.
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