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| MEGA MAY brought Mega Man mania to SuperPhillip Central this past month, including such gems like Mega Man Legends and Mega Man: Powered Up. |
It was a Mega Man-themed month, but we also slipped in and tackled some indie treats, too. That spoken of Mega Man theme started our month with two titles featuring the Blue Bomber, both on the original PlayStation--though one in 3D and one in 2D. Those were Mega Man Legends and Mega Man X5, earning a B- and C+ respectively.
From there, we took a brief detour from the Blue Bomber to Decline's Drops, punching and platforming its way to a wonderful B+ grade, before revving our engines and turning to Mega Man: Battle & Chase (B-).
Two more indie and indie-adjacent titles entered into the month, one falling short of true excellence with Elementallis (B-) and one that simply fell short in general with R-Type Dimensions III (C-).
Last but certainly not least, I did what was essentially a retake of my very first review ever with a look at the charming and magnificent Mega Man: Powered Up, powering up to an A-, serving as this month's best grade given. Rounding the month out was Rockman & Forte, an import review, and this extremely difficult Mega Man game earned a C.
More reviews are planned for the month ahead, as well as lots of trailers from all the big names in gaming, so stay tuned to SuperPhillip Central. It's going to be a busy month. In the meantime, check out the SPC Review Archive for every review ever posted on this site. Have a wonderful June ahead, all!
Despite its growing pains, especially when it concerns the camera, targeting, and somewhat stiff movement, Mega Man Legends serves and served as a successful first 3D outing for the Blue Bomber. The amount of charm within the cast of characters, Kattelox Island and its inhabitants, and game in general is off the charts. I'm still amazed by how emotive characters were for a game released in 1997. If you can deal with some occasional jank, some periodic clunkiness, and some frustrations every now and then, you'll get great and charming action-adventure game featuring Capcom's famous super fighting robot.
On its own, Mega Man X5 is another X-cellent entry in the series, and the last entry in the series until X8 that was of a high quality, in this fan of the Blue Bomber's opinion. Of course, it's difficult to ignore X5's predecessors and review the game in a vacuum. With the sub-series' past as a point of context, Mega Man X5 did let me down back when and somewhat does now. As time has gone by and gone on, I've come to appreciate Mega Man X5 more, flaws and all. It may be a bit of a step down from past entries, but it also can stand on its own two feet as an enjoyable game all the same.
Decline's Drops (PC, NSW, XBS) - B+
This mishmash of Super Smash Bros. gameplay and Yoshi's Island-like level design is one that I certainly enjoyed and can see myself coming back to in the future. Minor aggravations and gripes did pop up, and the difficulty of the game may be off-putting for many not used to Smash Bros. and its particular style of melee gameplay (and heck, even for those who ARE used to it). Overall, though, if you can dig a gorgeous hand-drawn 2D platformer with plenty of personality, charm, and character, as well as lots of action and platforming goodness to adore, then definitely "drop" what you're doing to take on the drop of a different variety with Decline's Drops.
Mega Man: Battle & Chase (PS1) - B-
Battle & Chase is brimming with charm, is a unique and more importantly, fun take on the mascot racing game, and I'm sure if more people got to play it, they'd find a lot to like about the game, too.
[Elementallis] doesn't reach anywhere near the same highs of the Zelda series it's inspired by, but it does bring some new ideas to the table. While I would have liked less chatty interruptions in the game, more required elemental interactions, and a greater use for these elements for solving puzzles instead of the same rote solutions, I did like exploring the overworld for secrets, how organic exploration in general was, and the simple visual charm of the game. Elementallis may not have absolutely floored me in its 15-20 hour adventure, but it did impress all the same.
R-Type Dimensions III (Multi) - C-
It's hard to recommend playing R-Type Dimensions III over the original, especially if you're a purist or diehard fan of the 1993 SNES classic because of these oversights. They make the game much more challenging and pretty much to an oftentimes unfair degree. Those new to the series or game might not mind these issues as much, but the game will essentially curb stomp these players unbeknownst to its dastardly, dire difficulty. The added bells and whistles like switching between 2D and 3D mode, Infinite Mode, and the two-player co-op mode--to name a few--are great additions, but are they worth suffering through a flawed, botched R-Type III remake over the original? Unfortunately, the answer is an emphatic "no".
Mega Man: Powered Up (PSP) - A-
All of the additions, from the lovely art style, voiced characters, stellar presentation, awesome remixed tunes, to the gameplay inclusions like playable Robot Masters, new areas and alternate paths in familiar stages, and the superb stage creator, prove that you can teach an old robot new tricks. And you can do so in a mega magnificent way, as Mega Man: Powered Up does. The level of difficulty might be off-putting to a fair amount of players, but for me, I absolutely adored nearly everything about this re-imagined remake.
Rockman & Forte [Mega Man & Bass] (SFC) - C
...overall, Rockman & Forte has the bones of a good game. It's sizable level of extreme difficulty will put off most players, and heck, even many tried and true fans of the Blue Bomber. There's a lot to like here, but then the game proceeds to punish you for playing it. Rockman & Forte is a game I entered wanting to love, and did actually love starting out, but then I ended up with only really tolerating it by the time I rolled credits.
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It was a race to save the planet from imminent destruction in Mega Man X5 |
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