After many years and many tears, Mega Man finally (mostly) resembles himself. I'm still concerned about that snail, though...
Bright Man looks particularly befuddled.
Europe opted not to give a damn this go-round and settled with stealing the American cover.
PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER: Capcom
DEVELOPER: Capcom
GENRE: Action
RELEASE DATE: January 1992
Mega Man IV
begins and ends with Mega Man riding atop a train, helmet off, wind
caressing his blue/black hair. There's no explanation within the game
as to why Mega Man is taking a train. Does it symbolize anything or
does Mega Man's mop top just look cooler with a breeze blowing
through it? Personally, I believe that he's riding to Dr. Cossack's
lair. Since Dr. Cossack is Russian, Mega Man is likely traveling in
the former Soviet Union (the Union collapsed the month this game was
released in Japan). I'm no expert on the Russian land, but I would
imagine that, outside the larger cities like Moscow and St.
Petersburg, it could be potentially hard to drive a car or even a
flight vehicle, given harsh weather and undeveloped roads. A train
might be the only way Mega Man can access Cossack. After the game is
over, Mega Man returns back home to Dr. Light's lab, perhaps on the
same train that took him there. He has grown attached to them,
because they are, much like he is, a mechanical machine built for a
good purpose. As long as someone keeps them fueled, they will
continue to run – and have meaning.
It's
hard to fully dislike a Mega Man game, as they all essentially have
the same formula, but Mega Man IV
is certainly one of the lesser entries on the NES. For the first time
since the series began, it felt like Capcom was resting on their
laurels. While the stage design remains solid, the boss design and
the music seem underdeveloped. Dust Man? Ring Man? Dive
Man? What in the world, Capcom? According to the "Mega Man:
Official Complete Works" book by Udon (and in all honesty,
Wikipedia, who sources the book), the Robot Masters selected for the
game was the result of a design contest that took place in Japan.
There were over 70,000 submissions. 70,000! How did Drill Man or
Bright Man or Dive Man beat out 69,991 other submissions?! Sorry to
rant, but it boggles the mind. Mega Man IV
also introduced the extremely controversial Mega Buster. It's a
charge technique for Mega Man's Plasma Cannon, allowing him to
release more powerful regular shots. Many reviewers and players found
that it lessened the difficulty, but I actually found IV
to be the hardest behind the original. The stages were pretty easy to
breeze through, but the bosses – particularly the Wily battles –
were quite challenging, with the Buster or without. For me, the
Buster was best used on the larger enemies, like the Snail or the
Levitating Pair of Eyes. The other new and adorable addition to this
game is Eddie, the tiny red robot that shows up simply to give you an
item. You never know what he's going to give you, but more often than
not, it's something good. Even if it's not, he's too darn cute to
hate. Other than those two new additions, Mega Man IV
plays exactly like the other games, sans the inspiration of II
and III.
The
cinema scene gives you a brief recap of the last three games – Wily
threatens Earth, Mega Man defeats him, hooray! - before explaining
Mega Man's new mission: to defeat Dr. Cossack. I love the title
screen. A spotlight shines down on Mega Man's unworn helmet. It's an
amazing image that's, frankly, too significant to be in Mega
Man IV. Think back to the
mournful opening theme of Mega Man III:
that's where this helmet belongs. Now listen to this particular title
theme. The composer, Minae Fujii, tries to cram too many notes in
this piece, yet fails to evoke emotions. The theme starts out solemn,
somber, transitions, sounds briefly epic, then transitions and ends.
Aside from the helmet, a waste of an opening.
As
you may have gathered, I'm not a huge fan of the bosses in this game.
Many of their designs are clunky and strange (Toad Man reminds me a
lot of Air Man, while Dive Man is Hard Man with a spout attached),
while a scant couple, like Skull Man and Pharoah Man, are still
pretty cool. The order I beat them in for this go-round: Toad Man,
Bright Man, Pharoah Man, Ring Man, Dust Man, Skull Man, Dive Man,
Drill Man.
Toad
Man's claim to fame has to be the rad graphics throughout his stage.
The dark, stormy night as the stage begins and the flowing water
throughout the sewers are both rendered extremely well. The stage
looks cold and brutal, but it's one of the best stages in the game.
The music too is some of the best. It's one of the few stages that
even tries to drink from the well of enchanting melodies of the
previous two games. Toad Man himself is incredibly easy. While he has
an acid rain attack, his typical modus operandi is to jump if he's
near you. A phat ton of Mega Buster should do the trick and reward
you with his weapon, the sounds-like-a-rejected-scented-spray-name,
the Rain Flush.
PHAROAH MAN
Ah
yes, his eminence. Pharoah Man looks as evil and powerful as one
would hope. His stage is an underground sand museum, with rows of
spikes, bats, and robotic mummies that fling their heads at you (do
you remember the first time you saw one of those things?
Terrifying...). There's a special Wire accessory you can acquire by taking a hidden path along the sinking sand. It's cool, but not necessary to complete the game. The music has promise, but much like the opening
intro theme, tries to cram about four musical directions into one
theme and fails. It sounds harsh, I know, and I really don't hate the
music for this stage or Bright Man's, for that matter. It just sounds
like the work of a young composer, trying to hard to impress his
elders. There's no restraint, and while that can work in a musician's
favor at times, Mega Man's themes have always been about the
juxtaposition of two moods: melancholy and determination. That's not
to say the themes can't and shouldn't grow, but the growth has to be
organic, not forced. But I digress. Pharoah Man is deprived of his
crown quickly, no thanks to the Flash Stopper, a machine that freezes
time, yet still allowing you to shoot. Such a shameful end to an
awesome boss.
Do
you, Mega Man, accept Ring Man as one of the eight bosses presented
to you in Mega Man IV?
Speak now or forever hold your peace. Well... it could be worse, I
suppose. How do you make a stage based around the concept of a ring?
If you're Capcom, you say screw it and construct a stage with prismic
platforms and Gargantuan Hippos with missiles and all sorts of crazy
crap. The stage is futuristic Mega Man at his finest, and it makes
little to no sense. There is a bit of a haunting echo in the bridge
of the theme that's quite agreeable to my ears, but other than that,
the music is Mega Man-by-numbers. Finally, Ring Man tosses his Ring
Boomerang at you (::stifles guffaw::), but he is no match for a few
charged Pharoah Shot. Hey, even Ring Man has to hail to the king.
Dust
Man's entire stage is made of robot scraps, and that's as visually
unappealing as it sounds. This is certainly one of the uglier and
more annoying stages of the bunch (only the furnace of burning metal
towards the end looks legit). Little bombs will come up from pits as
you jump over them, leading to many a demise, and at one point, the
entire stage turns into a trash compactor and tries to squish Mega
Man amidst the rest of the scrap heap. Clever, sure, and most
definitely annoying. Dust Man throws dust cubes at you, but why worry
when you're packing the Ring Boomerang (::chortles::)? After he's
gone, don't forget to brush the dirt off your shoulders. (obviously, the player in the video is not abiding by my boss order - skip to around 2:30 to see Dust Man's stage).
Say
what you will about skulls and bones being misused as symbols for
nefarious groups/gangs: they still look rad. Setting Skull Man's
stage in a "Robosaur Boneyard" (Capcom's brilliant wording,
not mine) is another stroke of genius. While the stage never gets
radically difficult – there are no large enemies, no long stretches
of spikes or precarious platforming – it feels as though it could
fall apart at any second, and the luscious shades of purple and red
throughout are a sight to behold. Too bad the theme starts out
promising, but never gets off the ground. If any stage could use a
fantastic theme, it's this one. Skull Man doesn't fluff around, but
he can't handle dust in his bones. The Dust Crusher is your ticket
out of the boneyard, and a few well placed cubes should crumple him
completely.
Ugh,
Dive Man. What a disgrace (man). At least your Sea Base is crawling
with challenge. Moby Dick's got nothing on a whale that shoots out
napalm bombs, and those Spiked Jellyfish Creatures aren't anything to
laugh at, either. There's another special accessory you can get at the bottom of an unassuming pit. It's a balloon that allows you to stand in mid-air. Like the other one, it's a neat feature, but mostly unnecessary. Lots of nasty little jumps in low-gravity water will
ensure some swearing, but you'll reach Dive Man in no time, and when
you do, equip that Skull Barrier for me, would ya? That jerk attacks
you like he doesn't want to live anymore, which is good. A few hits
with some Skulls and his underwater grave is permanently sealed.
One
of the best, if not most consistent musical themes, kicks off the
final boss stage and purveyor of all things drill-related, Drill Man.
Finally, Fujii-san finds the right balance of mournful dedication in
the melody, while leaving in a couple transitions that mark the piece
as his own. The Ore Mines that make up Drill Man's base of operations
is relatively bland and uninteresting (who likes the color salmon?
Anyone?), save for one section involving non-stop falling trash, and
jumping on switches to make the ground appear. Once that's over and
done with, Drill Man points at you with his naughty (drill) bits and
the battle is afoot. Too bad he didn't count on the power of Mega
Man's jumping war cry, and of course, Dive Man's Dive Missile. A few
of those puppies would explode any drill head foolish enough to
tackle them.
STAGE 1
Look
at that lightning! Look at Cossack's Citadel of nightmares! This
stage, in particular, is a slippery customer. Ice is everywhere, as
is Capcom's most unimpressive enemy ever, the Slinky. The
Russian-inspired theme is very fitting, though. Also, it's always
cool to start a stage in the day, and climb higher and have it turn
into night. Mothraya is your first boss, and an uneventful one at
that. Would you kindly slap it with the Ring Boomerang?
This
stage is an indoor affair, and coincidentally, you'll be using a lot
of the Rush'n Jet (dear God, please stop my horrible puns/jokes,
amen). Beds and blocks and enemies of spikes are on the menu, while
space watches you from Cossack's evil windows. The green/purple color
combo for this stage is particularly pretty, despite being
Joker-esque. The Square Machine, a large constantly moving entity
(just watch the video), needs to be "dusted" out of
commission, if you know what I mean.
And
for the first time ever, ladies and gentleman, a Mega Man stage that
moves on its own. It's not as masochistic as it sounds, thankfully.
Just some well-timed jumps and avoiding projectiles, the usual. This
stage is about as easy as they come, and the Cockroach Twins,
mechanical spiders that walk all around the walls (yeah, definitely
not cockroaches), are
easily defeated with some om-nom drill bits.
Dr.
Cossack's last stand? Dah, comrades. Mega Man's in some kind of space
base and it seems every enemy that's made an appearance throughout
the game is trying to attack him. The stage has quite the rip-roaring
theme. It's a bit all over the place, but the bass part – which
stands completely separate from the melody – is scrumptious and
completely makes the song. Dr. Cossack appears with coke-bottle
glasses, a beard, and a snide look. His claw machine attachment is
downright silly, and some dust cubes will make short work of him...
but wait. Turns out Dr. Wily has been behind Cossack all along,
kidnapping his daughter in order to control him. Protoman releases
Kalinka (?!), re-uniting the family, and Wily appears, cursing
Protoman's name and vowing to "break" Mega Man, despite the
fact that he's 0 for 3. Hubris and large eyebrows do strange things
to a person.
DR. WILY'S CASTLE
As if
I wanted to write any more or you read any more, here we go again,
with another castle.
Stage 1 is your stereotypical Wily construction, with plenty of
Metools to impede your progress. Outside of a spikey water section,
there's absolutely nothing to concern you here. The boss is a giant
Metool that looks awesome and goes down quick with the Ring Boomerang
(::snickers::).
This
Prince-themed purple affair doesn't do much to challenge the Blue
Bomber. Two castles really feels like too much, and I get the sense
that Capcom was feeling pretty tired by this point. How many more of
the same enemies can they throw at you, or for that matter, what
stage designs that don't feel like rehashes? Stage 2 – like Wily's
Castle as a whole - is competent, but completely uneventful. The
Tako Trash is the boss, a larger version of that red creature that
spews out projectiles from both his mouth and head. Again with the
Ring Boomerang (::chortles::) and that's that.
Stage
3 is the obligatory beat-every-boss-again-because-we-feel-like-it
stage. Once you prove your point the second time, it's time to
challenge Wily and his amazing Skull Head Machine. The first part of
the battle is incredibly easy, if you stand almost directly
underneath the head. You can completely avoid its projectiles, charge
your Mega Buster, and hit the thing, leaving you unscathed. The
second part – the skull explodes and there's Wily! - is a bit
trickier. Wily encroaches on your space, like a nasty old man,
leaving you no other chance than to thrust your drill bits in his
old, wrinkly face. He'll explode, fly away...
But
he's not dead, oh heavens, no. This actually might be my favorite
Wily boss battle out of all the games. I love that he's completely
hidden in the dark until the light projectile – his own weapon –
briefly gives him away. It's enough time to get a charged Pharoah
Shot or five on him, and he's toast.
He
gets down on his knees, as per usual, but this time, he escapes in
his Wily Mobile, leaving Mega Man to get out of his castle before it
explodes. Mega Man escapes, of course, and gets on the train. A
symphony of colors (and surprisingly moving music) plays in the background, as the train moves
through the Russian countryside, the city, and finally, to Dr.
Light's cottage and lab. As always, he's happy to be home.
Mega Man IV
might not hold up to the previous three, but I'm not surprised that
Capcom didn't hit greatness this time around. This was the fourth
game in almost as many years. Considering Mega Man V
came out later in 1992 – the same year as Mega Man IV!
- it's almost as though Capcom
was holding their own head underwater in order to finish the final
three games before the demise of the NES. Perhaps Capcom tried to
complete Mega Man IV
with the same drive and passion as they did for the other games, but
a key element – let's call it "heart," as cliche as that
is - feels lost in translation here. Still, for Mega Man
IV to be as fun as it is to
play, and still
disappoint, speaks to how great this first batch of original Mega Man
games were. After II and
III, fans expected
every Mega Man game to be great. After IV,
they settled for less or moved on.
B
I think the funniest thing about the whole series thus far (barring your barrage of PUNishment for this post) has to be the poses struck by the bosses. They're what make ME snicker and chortle.
ReplyDeleteIt also occurred to me that MM and Wily's relationship is much like Bats and Joker's: No killing allowed.
Yeah, it never really dawned on me how awkward some of the box art really was. Tremendous review and only 2 left! Then Action 52! Kidding, no way ANYONE could go from all 6 Megamans right into the poo-swamp of the NES =P
ReplyDeleteI think what annoys me the most about the mega buster is the fact that, while I have fond memories of many of the tunes from 2 & 3, for the next three games I just have memories of that charging sound effect. Also, my thumb gets tired from holding down the button all the time.
ReplyDelete