User Reviews (1 - 11 of 56)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Finally...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 77 / 84
Date: January 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

For fifteen years, the Mega Man series has been one of the finest game series out there. Sure, Mario may have invented the side-scrolling platformer, but it was the Blue Bomber who perfected it. Mega Man games have kept the same general formula over the years, but added just enough new things to keep the series fresh. And what better way to celebrate his fifteenth anniversary than a collection of many of the games that made the series so great? Read on to see what games make up the Mega Man Anniversary Collection:

MEGA MAN - 1987
Originally appeared on the NES
Storyline: Two scientists, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily, were working together to create robots to help mankind, but Dr. Wily betrayed Dr. Light and reprogrammed their creations to conquer the world. Dr. Light converts Rock, his laboratory assistant, into a super warrior robot called Mega Man.
Notes: This was the first Mega Man game. It was the only one that kept score, and the only one that didn't offer a way to save the game. Hopefully Capcom fixes the latter problem for this rerelease.

MEGA MAN 2 - 1988
Originally appeared on the NES
Storyline: Dr. Wily wants revenge for his defeat at Mega Man's hands. He has now created eight of his own robots to finish what he started in the first game.
Notes: This game marked the first appearance of passwords in the series, as well as Dr. Wily's hideout, Skull Castle. The original version of the game had two difficulty levels, Normal and Difficult, but with previous rereleases of the game this feature has been removed and only the difficult version has been present. It will probably be the same way here.

MEGA MAN 3 - 1990
Originally appeared on the NES
Storyline: Dr. Wily and Dr. Light have reconciled their differences, and have begun work on a peace-keeping robot. Mega man needs to find elements necessary to complete the robot.
Notes: This game introduced Rush, Proto Man, and the slide move. It is also the one that named Roll.

MEGA MAN 4 - 1991

Originally appeared on the NES
Storyline: Dr. Wily may be dead (or so everyone thinks), but there's a new bad guy in town - Dr. Cossack. And he's sent eight of his most powerful creations to destroy Mega Man.
Notes: This was the first game that allowed you to charge up your blaster. Unfortunately, it isn't perfectly executed. This game also introduced the "two fortresses" concept, as well as Flip-Top/Eddy.

MEGA MAN 5 - 1992
Originally appeared on the NES
Storyline: Dr. Light has been kidnapped, and an army of robots is bent on world domination! And it's Mega Man's own brother, Proto Man, who is behind it all!?
Notes: This game marked the first appearance of the modernized Mega Buster. It also marked Beat's first appearance.

MEGA MAN 6 - 1993
Originally appeared on the NES
Storyline: A scientist named Mr. X holds a Robot Design Contest, and announces that he is the evil genius who has been controlling Dr. Wily! He reprograms the robots in the contest to do his evil bidding.
Notes: This was the last NES Mega Man game.

MEGA MAN 7 - 1995
Originally appeared on the Super Nintendo
Storyline: Dr. Wily has been in jail for six months, but he has escaped thanks to a plan he came up with if his schemes were ever to end in failure. Mega Man must defeat Wily's robots and capture him.
Notes: This was the only "true series" Mega Man game to appear on the Super Nintendo (unless you count the highly bizzare Mega Man Soccer.)

MEGA MAN 8 - 1997
Originally appeared on the Playstation
Storyline: Two dueling robots from another world have crashed on earth. One becomes Mega Man's ally, but the other is taken in by Dr. Wily. Wily discovers a form of evil energe in the robot, which he begins using to power his creations.
Notes: This was the only "true series" Mega Man game on the Playstation. It also marked the first appearance of Duo.

MEGA MAN: THE POWER BATTLE
Originally appeared in Arcades
Storyline: Mega Man, Bass, and Proto Man must join forces to stop Wily's old creations from wreaking havoc on the world.
Notes: This game cot a consular release in Japan, but never in America (although it did show up in a few American arcades.) This will be the game's first appearance on a console in America.

MEGA MAN: THE POWER FIGHTERS
Originally appeared in Arcades
Storyline: Basically the same as the above game.
Notes: See the above game.

In addition to the games, Capcom has also promised bonus material. Among this is artwork, remixed music from the games, footage from the television series, and there is bound to be more bonus stuff as well.

All in all, these are ten excellent games, and I am very happy that they will be seeing the light of day once again. When this package comes out, I strongly recommend purchasing it. If you've played a Mega Man game before, you know how satisfying they can be. If not, you're in for a real treat. This is strongly recommended to all gamers.

Mega Man Anniversary Collection is mega-fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: August 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This collection is awesome. It contains all the original NES Mega Man games (I - VI) along with the SNES Mega Man VII and the PSX Mega Man VIII. Also, it contains the Japanese-only Mega Man: The Power Battles and Mega Man: The Power Fighters arcade games as unlockables. That's not all though! An entire episode of the original Mega Man cartoon TV series, remixed music, and concept art are all unlockable as well!

There's so much entertainment value in this collection it's ridiculous. Each Mega Man game is incredibly entertaining (and frustrating!); let alone eight of them and two arcade games on ONE DISC. Ten complete games of this magnatude on a single disc is astounding and worth $50+ alone. The game is so cheap ($30 for brand new) because newer generation gamers expect Final Fantasy XII graphics, AI, music, etc so a collection of older games may not entice them. However, Mega Man Anniversary Collection will provide you with countless hours of gaming fun as you nostalgically play through some of the best NES games ever released, along with very fun SNES, PSX, and arcade games. The unlockable extras really add to the package and are actually worth unlocking.

Each game is left intact and its entirety, except for two additions that are some nice little pluses thrown in to the games. First, the games feature some nice newly remixed music. Not all of the games do, however (the first NES games only contain a few remixed tracks). Second, there's difficulty settings and a "Navi" mode (which can be enabled in the Options menu) that provides updated life-meters, tips, and more.

Load times are cut down to nothing, the menus for selecting which games to play along with options and such are simple and easy to use, and every game looks, acts, and feels exactly like they did as the originals. This is defintely an amazing package; it's 100% perfect all the way around.

The X series and Gameboy series aren't in this collection, but Mega Man Anniversary Collection is full enough with everything it offers straight off the bat and as unlockables. However, there's even a Gameboy Advance version of Mega Man Anniversary Collection containing the five original Mega Man Gameboy games, with extras! Capcom will surely notice how well this collection will sell (it's already been sold out in a lot of places; act quickly!) and eventually release the X games as a collection, possibly with even more games and extras included.

Mega Man Anniversary Collection is a must own for any Mega Man fan, platformer/action fan, or NES-nostalgia fan. Simply put, it's for any gamer who wants a good old-fashioned (albeit frustrating sometimes due to the difficulty...but that adds to the fun!) gaming time. These games stand up to the test of time like champions. If you want gorgeous graphics, go with Doom 3. If you want a strangely cheap, extremely entertaining and addictive, plain old FUN time, go with Mega Man Anniversary Collection.

Pick this up now for the cheap price! HIGHLY recommended!

Old school gamers MUST OWN THIS!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: June 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was a strong system due to the classic game series that graced it. You had the great Zelda, Mario, Ninja Gaiden, and the RPG games like Final Fantasy and Dragonwarrior. Among my favorite series of all time happens to be the blue bomber (as we true fans called him), Mega Man. There were six on the NES as well as the 7th one for Super Nintendo and the eighth one for PlayStation. For years I anticipated a treatment like they did for Mario All-Stars (although they made The Wily Wars for Genesis, which had the first three, but that wasn't enough...), and I finally got my wish... all eight original games on one disc.

THE GOOD
Not ONLY do you get the original games on the one disc, you ALSO get the two previously Japan-only arcade games, Mega Man: The Power Battles and Mega Man: The Power Fighters. The arcade games you must unlock before playing. I don't see that as a drawback because gamers must experience the original games (especially you poor gamers that didn't grow up playing it). Most of the music in the first 6 games are remixed, most of them sounding quite good; the music in Mega Mans 5 and 6 are VASTLY improved over their original counterparts. Not only that, but you have the option of playing the games in their original forms as well. Mega Man 8 doesn't change much, but remember its crappy load time between sections? GONE. The game loads very quick-paced, and I am forever grateful to those involved with the game that eliminated it. Another secret you can unlock---and this surprised me---is the first episode of the short-lived Mega Man cartoon series (y'know, the one with Mega Man voiced by a GUY, and he was also Goku??). Not just a clip, not a collection of clips, THE ENTIRE EPISODE. That's the best secret to unlock aside from the arcade games. Also included amongst the secrets are picture sets of early drafts of characters, titles, and so forth (one of the original names for Mega Man is "Knuckle Kid." What a weird name.).

THE BAD
There's few wrongs with this game, but I mention them nonetheless. First off, when I said MOST of the music is remixed, by that I mean that Mega Mans 4,5, and 6 have totally remixed music but the first three do not. You'll hear, for example, Cut Man's theme and then when the boss music comes up, it's the original 6-bit music. Not necessarily bad, but I do wish they would've remixed every piece of music. Also, most of the secrets not mentioned in THE GOOD are mostly remixed music that has nothing to do with the series. Also, and I didn't see this as a terrible thing since the controls are set in my preference anyhow, but you can't change the control scheme. That might irritate some people, but thankfully, it didn't irritate me.

OVERALL
I didn't find much wrong with this game. It's a great anniversary edition of gamers' favorite blue bomber, and I'm glad that they finally brought them over to the PlayStation 2 and Gamecube for all gamers to play (Xbox, however, got the shaft.). Not only that, but it's only around $30. That's a GREAT price for 10 classic games on one disc. New gamers, do have the patience and the initiative to try out this collection. It's a piece of gaming history and my generation of gamers understand what I mean by saying that this is one of the best game series to ever enter our fertile imaginations.

Great Stuff

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: July 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I recently hauled out my old NES and SNES to play some old school games. Since I grew up on these machines, I really appreciate the simple controls and gameplay they offer, despite the stone age graphics and sound. I loved the original Mega Man series on the NES and just had to get this for PS2 when I heard it was coming out.

I played all 6 originals, but only owned 2 thru 5, so it is great to own those that I never had. After playing them again, I just can't believe how wonderful play control is in these original games. I don't think there are any games produced since with control this tight and crisp. I think the original 6 games have better control than 7 and 8.

Some notes on each game:

MM1-This game makes me realize why I don't get upset at games as much anymore. This game is so difficult and frustrating, I still haven't been able to finish it. No E-tanks, no slide, no Megabuster, just jump, run, and shoot.
MM2-This is the first Mega Man game I ever played as a kid. I loved it then and still love it now.
MM3-Probably my favorite of the original 6 games. The tunes are the most memorable. The stages where you face the MM2 robots are quite irritating.
MM4, MM5, MM6-All similar games, all very good but not quite as good as 2 and 3. 4 is probably most difficult, followed by 6 then 5.
MM7 and MM8-I had never played these in the past. I have played both a little, and they are not as good as the NES releases. More modern technology made these much more complicated than the originals. You can't just pick up and play them and expect to get very far.

This is overall a great collection, and I had been waiting for something like this probably since the original Playstation was released.

A Great Collection of Great Games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: September 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The release of this game prompted me to buy a Playstation 2. I'd seen other great games for the system come and go, but the opportunity to play these nostalgic old NES games was all the motivation I needed to take the plunge.

On one disc, you get all 8 Mega Man games and two arcade games. The arcade games are totally worth it alone. Rather than sifting through innumerable (and often irritating) levels, the arcade game cuts to the chase: one good robot versus one bad robot.

Some of these games are more fun than others, though:

Mega Man (1): The birth of it all. This was out before the game really found its bearings. The reproduction here is true to the original, and it is insanely difficult at parts. It's good to have, but one of the least played in the series. 3/5

Mega Man 2: Arguably the best. This is the most fun, the most playable. I never tire of this game. Classic characters like Metal Man and Bubble Man, classic old skool Nintendo electronic music, classic game platform. A perfect game. Having the opportunity to play this game is why I bought the disc (and thus a Playstation 2). 5/5

Mega Man 3: A good game. Not my favorite in the series, but definitely still worth a few replays. The characters could have been more creative and diverse. This game introduces the "Slide" move and Mega Man's dog, Rush. 4/5.

Mega Man 4: Another fun game. It's more diverse than the third installment. This game introduces the Mega Buster. Great characters with awesome weapons, like Pharoah Man and Ring Man. 5/5.

Mega Man 5: These were Nintendo graphics at their best. Enemies like Star Man and Gravity Man made the game very replayable. Though in a lot of ways, this version seemed to be more like Mega Man 3 in that I felt a little bored at times during the game. Still an awesome installement. 4/5.

Mega Man 6: To a lot of people, the sixth installement is a new installement. I don't think many people were aware of 6 because it was released during the sales peaks of Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Consumers weren't buying old NES games anymore, so this game got brushed aside. Still, it's a lot of fun. It's like playing a brand new game. The best part is the Rush Jet Pack adaptor that lets Mega Man fly! 4/5.

Mega Man 7: This was the only Mega Man game to be released on Super Nintendo. This is bright and colorful, and the graphics are incredibly detailed in comparison to the old 8-Bit games. The characters are pretty interesting, and their dynamics are fun. High replay value. One character even looks and acts a lot like Wolverine from the X-Men (Slash Man). It's a new game, but it stayed very true to form for the series. 5/5.

Mega Man 8: The last installement. It was released on Playstation 1. The game has its ups and downs. There are times when it is really fun and challenging, like in the regular levels and defeating the bosses (Tengu Man, Sword Man). And there are times when the game is so unbearingly frustrating that you are discouraged from replaying it (the first level of Wily's castle, beginning with the snowboard sequence). This game has made innumerable engine improvements to the series, including the ability to save games and half-way points and mini-bosses during the levels. It's a shame these advancements were made around Mega Man 3 or 4. 3/5.

Anyway, this collecton is worth picking up. One of these games is bound to become one of your favorite video games ever. They are fun, and simple, and mindlessly entertaining... just the way video games are supposed to be.

- Rob

Uh-oh....a game that separates the generation of players

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: September 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

So....a collection to finally show modern-day gamers how hard it was "back in the day" to play games. I'm not a kid and i can honestly say I thought the day would never come. Personally, i think players today are spoiled by cheats and secrets and such, that assist them in conquering a game. Code books, maps, walkthroughs, all that mumbo jumbo that just get people to the end of the game without the endless hours of practice...doing the level over and over and over and over......it was frustrating then, but beating a game was so much more satisfactory.

I remember the days when you had to sit down.....and beat a game in it's entirety (NES) in one sitting because you couldn't save! not so with the megaman series (part II and on), but that didn't necessarily make it easier. With lives popping out of thin air very rarely, you really had to learn the rhythm of each individual stage to avoid damage....as WELL as the bosses. You had to know which weapon worked best on each boss.....know which order to defeat them....learn the pattern of attack...and after 8 grueling stages and boss battles.....You still had Dr. Wily to tend to...which meant an additional 6-8 stages as well as playing each boss all over again including Dr. Wily himself!

This made you great. Hours of mashing buttons, playing the same levels over and over again, just to die 2 inches after the last place you fell, or were destroyed. I'm reading reviews of people saying that these levels are too hard, or the bosses seem impossible. Well kids, thats how it was then, when we were your age. If we can do it, so can you. Try spending less time whining and crying about the difficulty and put a little mroe focus in actually playing the game. You'll appreciate it alot more. ;-)

All fans MUST own this collection

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Mega Man Anniversary Collection (2004). Capcom's first compilation collection featuring the first six NES Mega Man games, the seventh game on the SNES, the PSX eighth game, and two never before released arcade games.

One of the key video game series franchises that helped make the NES system great along with Mario, Zelda, Metroid and others was the Mega Man series. For those who are unfamiliar, the series revolves around a blue robot who must overcome the evil Dr. Wily and his robotic minions by tackling on each stage in any order. What set MM apart from the rest was the fact that you could steal a boss's weapon once you beat him and use it throughout the rest of the game. The fun part was always trying to guess which weapons worked best on the bosses. It's amazing that the series has progressed this far, continuing on the SNES with MM7 and the PSX with MM8. Growing up with most of these games, it's hard to believe that Capcom's little blue hero is already 15 years old. If you're an aficionado of the series, you know how difficult it is to find some of these games in their original cartridge formats, especially MM1 and MM7, which are ultra rare and fairly expensive on their own. I never owned MM7, so it's great to finally have it now. When I heard that Capcom was releasing all 8 of them on one disc, I couldn't resist buying this classic collection. After all, when you've got 10 games for only 30 bucks, what's not to like? How does the MM Anniversary Collection fare? Check out the list of many positives this game has, as well as the _very few_ negatives:

POSIVITES

-For the most part, ALL EIGHT GAMES ARE LEFT IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORMAT. This is good, because the graphics, sound, gameplay, and music are all intact and you get the same experience as when the games were originally released.
-EACH GAME CAN BE SAVED VIA A MEMORY CARD. Of course, you can still copy down the passwords if you wish on all games except 1 and 8.
-THERE ARE NOW DIFFICULTY SETTINGS ON ALL SIX OF THE ORIGINAL GAMES. Previously, the only game that featured difficulty levels was MM2, but now all the games can be tackled on easy mode for beginners. All these games feature lots of challenge, which is the way MM games were always meant to be.
-THERE ARE TWO GAMEPLAY OPTIONS AVAILABLE: ORIGINAL MODE AND NAVI MODE. Original mode is simply the games the way they were originally created. Navi mode on the other hand changes a few aspects of the game, such as a modernized life-bar, menu, level maps (4-6 only), and hints are provided at key points of the levels if desired. Most MM gamers won't really need these hints, but I'll put it this way: If you need to look up a strategy guide after reading all the hints that are provided, then there's something seriously wrong with you.
-NAVI MODE ALSO FEATURES REMIXED MM MUSIC. Most of these remixed tunes are great and stay true to the originals. MM's 1-3 only feature certain remixed tunes, all taken from the Mega Man Power Battle arcade games. MM's 4-6 on the other hand, show the most benefit, as all the tunes are remixed. Skullman, my favorite MM theme, never sounded better, and all of MM6's music is just AWESOME now.
-One modernized improvement to the original NES games that all fans can appreciate is THE ABILITY TO CHANGE WEAPONS WITH THE L AND R BUTTONS.
-YOU CAN UNLOCK LOTS OF BONUSES BY BEATING EACH OF THE GAMES. This includes stuff like original artwork, music, and the two Power Battle arcade games. The best bonus of all though comes from beating MM8. I won't spoil what it is, but it is certainly a welcome, pleasant surprise to any fan.
-Speaking of MM8, THERE IS NOW NO LOADING TIME WHATSOEVER IN THIS GAME. In fact, there are no loading times on any of the games, only between the games themselves, which means more gameplay time.
-Mega Man: The Power Fighters is much better than the first game because you have more characters to play as, more options on stage select, more moves, and multiple endings depending on which characters you beat the game with.

NEGATIVES

-As much as I like the remixed music in MM1-3, it's kind of odd that only a few of the tunes are remixed. For instance, you're playing through Elecman's stage and hear the awesome new music, but when you reach the boss, it only plays the original music.
-At first, it's hard to get used to playing the NES games with the PS2 controller, but you'll get accustomed to it eventually.
-For some strange reason, the music in MM7 sounds very quiet in comparison to the other games.
-Mega Man: The Power Battle can be beaten in only 5 minutes if you rush through it. I'm not kidding.
-I didn't care much for the bonus music tracks you can unlock. They don't have anything to do with the series.

These are just a couple of gripes in an otherwise perfect game compilation. 5 Stars. You won't find any of the X games here, but perhaps that will be another collection released someday. Old fans of the series shouldn't hesitate purchasing this fine collection. If you're a newer gamer who only prefers 3D games with fancy graphics, then don't bother with this. However, if you're a newer MM fan who wonders how the series began, then it would be well worth your time to snag this stellar collection, as you've got TONS of gameplay time guaranteed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Hey blue boy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

For fifthteen years, Capcom has kept the Megaman series alive by consistently giving us Megaman game one after another. The series was so well taken, that spins off the game were created. But no matter how many games there have been using the same formula; there is all but a singular series that makes it work so good and it all started on the 8-bith Nintendo Entertainment System. For the first time, long-time and newcoming fans have been given a royal treat, all eight Megaman games on one disc.

The plot is pretty much identical through the course of all eight games, Dr. Light created two coexisting robots who lived in harmony and peace, their names were Rock and Roll(Get it). Then, the nemesis rival of Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, created eight robots of his own. With the fear of terror on the way, Dr. Light rebuilds Rock into a major fighting machine known to you and me as Megaman.

The Megaman games have a certain style that differentiates from other action games. You start off by selecting one of eight side-scrolling 2-D stages, from there after passing the level you come across the boss of each stage. The boss fights usually resulted in having to logically find a pattern or strategic method of gaining success. This sometimes was something as simple as using a certain weapon that would counter-attack the boss' abilities. When you defeat a boss you can use their signature weapon for later use, after all eight stages have been trampled it's then time to head off towards Dr. Wilys' main fotress.

It would be all too easy yet unfabashed to say these games are way behind the times. I'll be fair, and I believe anyone who is going into playing this little collection should. The graphics are 2-D levels with some momentarily parallex. The sprites are very basic as are the locations since they are seperated accordingly to theme, there are 'snow levels', 'fire levels', 'factory levels', 'mountain levels', 'air levels', etc. The original Megaman may not hold a torch compared to the modern marvel of today's games...it was a work of art at its' time and I assure you that Gutsman and Cutman were very good character designs, ones that still up-to-this day are eye-catchy. Megaman 2 had the most memorable intro of the bunch, after a small script introduces the game, Megaman can be seen atop a skyscraper with the equally awesome disco-savvy theme song kicking in. Megaman 3 introduced the sliding manuever while Megaman 4 brought forth extra animation for Megaman including the charge shot. The two most different looking games are Megaman 7, a release on Super Nintendo Entertainment System --the graphics were touched up, the storyline a bit beefier and the enemies were much smarter. And then there was Megaman 8, complete with anime-like cut-scenes and beautiful hand-drawn 2-D visuals.

I think for 30 dollars or probably even less, you cannot go wrong with buying Capcoms' lovely little compilation set. There are eight games here, all fun to play, I swear you'll say only one more level, then I'll quit and then find yourself up until 3 in the morning trying to beat Wily. There are two bonus arcade games never before seen in the U.S., of course you'll have to complete all eight games before you can unlock them. Trust me, it can be done, if you have a hard time with any of the games don't blame the controls. Capcom set-up a very easy system brought down to just jump, slide, shoot and run, so you have only yourself to reprehend. In a day and age full of online-gaming, advance graphics and hybrid genres, it's fastidious to sit down and play a celebrated package of games like this. Rather you pitch new school or old school; Megaman is truly one of the most revolutionary series and should be given the time of day from you.

Only hardcore fans of the series need apply

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: June 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Mega Man Anniversary Collection contains the original Mega Mans 1-6 (NES), Mega Man 7 (SNES), Mega Man 8 (Playstation), and Mega Man Power Battle 1-2 (Japan-only arcade games). For those unfamiliar with the Mega Man series, it's a 2-D side-scrolling action/platform jumping game. The main gimmick of the series is defeating each of the 8 robot bosses, and using the weapons you gain from them to exploit the the weakness' of enemies/obstacles in the game. Each game has been faithfully recreated, with lightning fast load times and no more slow-down than what was in the original versions. Hardcore Mega Man fans will be pleased to know that all of their passwords and tactics from 15 years ago have been ported over intact. However, the older Mega Man games (mainly the NES ones) haven't aged so well...the primitive gameplay and graphics can't squeeze the same replay value out of them as pick-up and play classics like Ms. Pacman, Centipede, and Galaga. Mega Man 7, 8, and The Power Battles have a more polished feel to them and are enough to justify the purchase of the collection despite that fact. Ultimately, this compilation is best reserved for those who have played through the old games and understand them from a nostalgic perspective. You've been warned...younger fans who have been weened on fancy 3-D graphics and dual-analog stick gameplay probably won't find much to get excited about here.

Superior to its GameCube counterpart!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

After rushing out to get the GameCube version of the game (enjoying wireless controls and faster load times as my primary decision to get GC over PS2) I was EXTREMELY disappointed to see that the controls for GC were backwords. B as jump and A as shoot? You can't smoothly execute it. The rapid fire is so far away from the B button it was pointless. Also, the start button and Z buttons I felt were reversed as well. I dont know how many times I went to switch an item and hit the hint menu button instead. The following day I went and purchased the PS2 version to retain my sanity. PS2's controller is almost perfect for this operation. I give the following reasons for my 4 stars:

1. Correct Button Placement.
Since the original games were for Nintendo then SNES and finally PSX, it was obvious of what the layout should be as they are all relatively the same. They now have an "X" feel to them with the one button slide same as the one button dash of X. The rapid fire is helpful and is not confusable like the GC counterpart.

2. Accurate Menu's
The Select/Start placement is identical to the 3 predacessor systems. GC only has a Start button in the middle and it doesnt serve for the weapons change... the most used button between the two (in fact, SELECT did NOTHING for most of the original games as it is--The Sonic Mega Collection folks got it right as far as putting the exit menu as Z).

3. A BIG digital pad.
You would be a crazy person to use an Analog stick on this game. GC's is okay but when it comes to directional weapons FORGET IT! You end up missing a directional shot half of the time since its tough for the controller to distinguish diagonals from cardinals. The alternative for GC, is a tiny digital pad that looks like it was made for a toddler. At least PS2 has a full size digital pad with seperated sections... meaning easier diagonal execution. The PS2 Analog is way off for my liking (I think you can figure out the reasons for yourself--hint, its like having a semi-truck steering wheel driving your subcompact car).

4. L/R Weapons and Rush/Item Selectibility
Since the PS2 controller has two sets of L/R buttons its possible to save an incredible amout of time for selecting Weapons (L1/R1) and Rush/Items (L2/R2). It is a shame they didnt think of some kind of Energy Tank refill shortcut like (L3+R3). Gamecube only has a single L/R set since the Z is used for the weapons menu already.

What I felt could have been better about the controls:
The Dualshock II has pressure sensative controls and the game only accepts a DualShock II controller. The DS2 control buttons have a "gummier" feel to them (giving you a lack of jump distance confidence at times) since they are for pressure sensativity. Of course all the prior systems didn't use pressure sensative controls so I wanted to swap the DS2 for my original PSX but the game will pause until you put a DS2 back. The only difference in the buttons of the original and DS2 are two analog pads that are completely USELESS otherwise.

As far as the rest of the game, the remixed music is pretty good... (I think music for 6 is kinda scratchy). It's unfortunate they didn't implement in-game options controls to adjust the sound levels. The autosave is cumbersome... it should be adjustable to the user's paranoia level... I personally don't think its necessary to save between every little minor plot piece (Maybe the PS2 HD is faster for saving--don't have one to know if it does).

I just hope they get smart and have the X Anniversary Collection in development fast.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next 

Actions