As of the writing of this article, the Mega Man franchise is now 32 years old. The original game debuted on December 17, 1987 for the Famicom in Japan and on some unknown date in December as well for North America on the NES. In this timeframe, the series has gone on to produce dozens of mainline sequels, spinoffs, comics, animated features, and much much more.
The Blue Bomber has even inspired fans from across the globe to spread the good word of Mega Man from fan games, hacks, fan art, and even music. This truly is the icon of Capcom. So in celebration of this momentous occasion, we went back through the annals of Mega history and pulled out what we think are the five best games and the five worst. We made sure to only highlight one of each sub-series per category to keep things a little more interesting and diverse.
10 Best: Mega Man X
The first Mega Man X was the perfect evolution of the series. It took the franchise into so many knew heights for a new era. The graphics were obviously better too. Levels now could be replayed and even contained a litany of secrets to make X stronger. On top of that it balanced the difficulty to something more manageable. No longer did fans have to sweat over memorizing every pixel in order to not fall to one’s death. In terms of the classic formula, this is the best the core series ever got.
9 Worst: Mega Man X7
On the other hand Mega Man X7 is an example of how far this franchise can fall. It would have been great if it reached the same heights as the original jump from NES to SNES, but Capcom made a horrible mistake. It looks ugly, plays awful, and is downright annoying. No one wanted tons of dialogue in Mega Man X. Also, for that matter, who asked for a creep like Axl? He is the Jar Jar Binks of this series.
8 Best: Mega Man Legends
Mega Man X may be the best classic game, but Mega Man Legends is the greatest spinoff. Taking the formula and turning it into an adventure game seemed like an unlikely combination at the time, but it proved to be more than outstanding. The art still holds up thanks to the cel-shading, but admittedly the camera is not great. Everything else though is still terrific. Capcom, get back to work on Mega Man Legends 3! This spinoff series is deserving of better.
7 Worst: Super Adventure Rockman
Super Adventure Rockman is a PS1 and Sega Saturn game that released on June 25, 1998 for Japan only. It is an interactive adventure game that seemingly takes place around Mega Man 8, or at least uses the same style as that game. It’s not that the Mega Man universe is incapable of telling a compelling story, but when one thinks about games in the series, people tend to think about the action. That is all to say this game is not fun, or interesting.
6 Best: Mega Man 3
Which Mega Man game is the best in the original series is often debated although most fans gravitate toward two choices: Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3.
While both are amazing examples of NES games that still hold up, the third entry is the way to go. The sequel polished up what the first brought to the table and top of that the third spruced the formula up even more.
5 Worst: Mega Man 7
The worst game in said original saga is Mega Man 7. It honestly didn’t make sense at the time. The first six games were for the NES and in order to capitalize on the new hardware, aka the SNES, Capcom created the revolutionary Mega Man X series. By the time this game came out then, the classic formula felt slow and clunky for a SNES game. It’s really not worth anyone’s time.
4 Best: Mega Man X: Command Mission
By this time Capcom had already made a successful RPG spinoff via the Mega Man Battle Network franchise. This then was more of a copy of Final Fantasy X. It’s hard to put into words just how popular Final Fantasy X was for the PS2. What we can extend as evidence are two games that copies that game’s battle system. There was The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age along with this Mega Man X spinoff. Not amazing, but it is good.
3 Worst: Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge
Speaking of Mega Man Battle Network, Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge is a spinoff that turned it into a card game. Instead of cards, players used chips instead. It is one of the worst-reviewed games on Metacritic for the Game Boy Advance.
The big problem is in its speed meaning it is incredibly slow to play. On top of that, it felt like a mini-game that should have appeared in a main entry.
2 Best: Mega Man ZX
Mega Man ZX is a continuation of the Mega Man Zero series. It takes a lot of those elements of somewhat Metroid like exploration and skill mechanics, and tweaks them just enough to make the gameplay better. It also balances out the difficulty because those original four Mega Man Zero entries were hardcore.
1 Worst: Wily And Right no RockBoard: That's Paradise
Wily And Right no RockBoard: That's Paradise is another Japanese exclusive if that name didn’t make it obvious. This one launched for the Famicom on January 15, 1993. It is a spinoff of an older series called Itadaki Street, which Western fans may know as Fortune Street. Anyway, players choose a character and go around the board, Monopoly-style, buying up properties as they go. The selection is limited and overall it is just barren. This may work better now as a game since the series has grown richer with content. For those curious, there is an English fan patch.