Superb platforming, adequate shooting; could it be any effing harder?
Gameplay: The game is a platformer, much like Metroid, you can only shoot horizontally, and most enemies are below your chest; just to make them harder to hit, and most need to be hit multiple times. Also, Megaman is slow, so enemies hording up and rendering you unable to move is commonplace. Horizontal jumping is almost as bad as Ice Climbers, and it is a game that depends of platform jumping, I have shut the game off many times in frustration. Respawn locations are sparse, and one lifebar may seem good, but it goes down fast. Health is almost nowhere, and there is no way to change the difficulty. I have beaten many games, and I am in no way a poor gamer, but the game actually PUNISHES you for playing it sometimes! At one point, there is a ladder leading to a health kit, I go down the ladder, get the three pieces of health, then go back up the ladder. Three turrets spawn just then, and no matter what you do, you are shot down to the bottom of the ladder, unable to do anything! And if you stand still, they target lower and you die. Just for picking up a health kit, they kill you. Cruel programming designed specifically to piss gamers off. So why is this game forgivable? Why not a 2 or 3 because of how it is near-unplayable due to difficulty? Because despite my constant stream of curses during gameplay, it is fun. Multiple bosses, great varied locations, and whenever you (barely) conquer a near-impossible area, you get a warm fuzzy feeling that is the opposite of gas. Framerate, does however, tend to drop when enemies spawn over and over again in a tiny spot. 5/10
Graphics: Holy hizzle, these are some purty daggum gud NES graphix, erm hmm. Megaman has facial expressions of sorts, and is well animated. The backgrounds are simply beautiful for NES, the little lights in the background that flash different colours are my favorites. Enemies all have distinct personalities in how they look. Perhaps the Mega Man series has the best graphics in terms of NES games, and it deserves nothing less than a ten in this department. 10/10
Music: Wow, another strong point, it seems all focus of making the game playable for people in general was thrown out to make the game have such great graphics and music, that players want to punish themselves playing it; just to see and hear the bloody game! Music is perfect, some of the most complex midis you'll find on the NES. You even hear multiple computer-ized instruments going to town in almost all of them! I hate giving away two tens, but I am afraid there is not any flaws whatsoever in the sound department. 10/10
Replayability: No two player. Eight stages, of moderate size, there are some hidden routes here and there. Nothing worth playing for years straight like say, Paper Mario or a Final Fantasy game, but still better than some other platformers. 7/10
Overall, this game gets a 7.5 outta 10, not too shabby.