Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2

Genre: Compilation / Action-Platformer

Players: 1, Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2 is a Compilation of two games that are, themselves, Compilations, containing the ten first numbered Action-Platformers in the original Mega Man series, with the first game originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, and with the final game in this collection, Mega Man 10, releasing on multiple platforms in 2010. I separately reviewed these compilations previously (here is my review of Mega Man Legacy Collection, and here is my review of Mega Man Legacy Collection 2), but for the sake of comprehensiveness I’m reviewing this collection of collections together here as a whole as well. I should note that this package is only available in a physical retail package, and this is also the only way to get these games physically.

Here is what I thought of each game in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Mega Man	Action-Platformer	1	C+
tl;dr While this game still has some quality gameplay, it’s overshadowed by its sequels, and age has really revealed some of its flaws. Frustrating controls that have your character sliding a little when you try to stop, level designs seemingly designed to aggravate players (including a required item presented as an optional one), and some nasty sprite flickering all add up to a game that had some great ideas, but those ideas were clearly done much better in the more polished later games.
Mega Man 2	Action-Platformer	1	A
tl;dr Longstanding fans go back and forth on whether Mega Man 2 or 3 is the better game, but whichever one is your favorite, Mega Man 2 is nevertheless a superb game that improves on the first game in numerous ways, with much better level design, tighter gameplay, more detailed and varied visuals, some of the best music ever featured in an NES game, and a more reasonable challenge level (though still absurdly tough by today’s standards). That challenge level is a large part of what keeps this game from getting an A+ grade – by today’s standards, this game still gets ridiculous in places. However, make no mistake – this is an absolutely must-play game.
Mega Man 3	Action-Platformer	1	A+
tl;dr Mega Man 3 adds a new slide move for added mobility, the new sidekick character Rush the dog, and a more well-rounded challenge level. On top of that, we have even more detailed environments, another legendary soundtrack, and some additional levels after beating the first eight to extend the game’s length using remixed stages and fanservice callback bosses. This game is without a doubt a highlight of the series and a must-play title.
Mega Man 4	Action-Platformer	1	A+
tl;dr Mega Man 4 adds some big changes to the series formula, such as the charged-shot Mega Buster, and hidden optional traversal powers, as well as the less-noteworthy helper character Flip-Top AKA Eddy. While not as iconic as Mega Man 2 and 3, this game delivers just as much imagination and variety, excellent level design, fantastic NES-era visuals and a fantastic soundtrack, and I would argue this is the most well-balanced challenge level in the original Mega Man series. All in all, I’d say this is definitely a must-play entry in this series.
Mega Man 5	Action-Platformer	1	B
tl;dr This is about where I’d say the Mega Man series starts to lose steam. There’s nothing especially wrong with this game, and it does try to do some new things like adding collectible letters strewn through stages to get the new helper character Beat, and changing how Rush Coil works, but many of the stages here start to feel samey, the challenge level feels uneven in places, and the music is largely forgettable. Not bad at all, but definitely a step down from the earlier games.
Mega Man 6	Action-Platformer	1	B+
tl;dr I feel like this game is a step up from Mega Man 5, but not as good as 2-4. The challenge level definitely feels better here, but this game still suffers from the other problems Mega Man 5 had – it’s samey and forgettable, with a disappointing soundtrack compared to the legendary second and third games. Still well worth playing, but not up to par with the true classics.
Mega Man 7	Action-Platformer	1	B-
tl;dr Changing the series formula to restrict players to choosing half of the bosses at a time, and blowing up the size of the sprites (and in turn, shrinking the size of the stages) resulted in a game that feels claustrophobic, slow, and far too easy, although on the bright side, the graphics got a huge boost by the jump in platforms and a great deal of attention paid to expressive animation.. It’s not terrible, but it’s a far cry from the high gameplay quality of the earlier games.
Mega Man 8	Action-Platformer	1	B
tl;dr Another jump in platforms, and another boost in graphical quality, and thankfully the higher resolution means they can bring the stages back to a more reasonable size while keeping the detailed sprites. However, they’re still doing the 4-and-4 boss split, and the game is still a bit on the easy side. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this game’s hilariously bad voice acting, although it’s a matter of personal preference whether this adds or detracts from the game’s charm. Overall this is a solid game, but still not up to the quality of the earlier games.
Mega Man 9	Action-Platformer	1	B+
tl;dr This game takes the series in a very retro direction, stripping Mega Man of most of his moveset he’s gained over the years – no slide, no Mega Buster, but you do still have Rush, making this game play like it was released in between Mega Man 2 and 3. And like those games, this game has visuals designed to look like an NES game, and one of the best soundtracks since those classics, as well as a high challenge level much like those games. It’s still not quite as memorable as those earlier games, but overall the gameplay quality is still pretty good here.
Mega Man 10	Action-Platformer	1	B+
tl;dr Much like Mega Man 9, this game goes for a retro look and game design. This time you can now play Proto Man, who has a charge shot and slide, as well as a shield to protect from projectiles while jumping, but this comes with a trade-off of fewer shots. It’s a nice addition, although the challenge level in this game is a bit too high for my tastes. Still well worth playing.

In short, every single game in this collection is well worth playing, except perhaps the first Mega Man, which is punishingly hard and features some control issues as well as technical flaws. However, all of the other games in this series are at least decent, with the real highlights being Mega Man 2, 3, and 4.

It bears mention that these games are not individually accessible on your Nintendo Switch’s menu screen, nor are they all included in one in-game menu. Rather, each is accessible within its own compilation, with games 1-6 in the first Mega Man Legacy Collection, and 7-10 accessible in the second.

That makes this as good a time as any to mention one of the greater flaws in this collection – the physical version of Mega Man Legacy Collection 1+2 requires a 3.3GB download to play Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, so bear that in mind when deciding which version of the game to get.

In addition to the games themselves, players have multiple settings to make for a smoother gameplay experience – there’s an optional CPU Speed setting to reduce slowdown (it doesn’t stop the sprite flickering present throughout most of the earlier games though), there are multiple resolution options, the option to play these games in their original Famicom format, and every game in this collection supports a rewind feature and save states – something that is a godsend for those who don’t want to have to re-play stages hundreds of times to burn them into muscle memory so they can actually beat them.

Beyond this, the game offers a wealth of support content in the game’s menus, including a Challenge mode with a selection of remixed sections from multiple stages for players to compete for the best times on leaderboards (with more challenge levels unlockable with Amiibo), a full music select menu, and a huge museum of box art, manual art, production art, concept art, and a “database” detailing every character in each game, their background, and weaknesses.

Also, I should note that this collection is far from comprehensive, even if we’re just looking at the original Mega Man series. It doesn’t include Mega Man 11, available separately on the Nintendo Switch, nor does it include any of the Game Boy games or the Genesis release, Wily Wars. Also missing are Mega Man and Bass, the two Mega Man Power Fighters games, and Mega Man Soccer. Who knows, maybe someday Capcom will release a Mega Man Stuff We Didn’t Put in Other Collections Collection…

One other thing here that should be mentioned before we wrap this up. When this collection was originally released, it was priced at $40, which is $5 more than these two collections cost to download separately on the eShop. However, in the time since, it has dropped down to a far more reasonable $30. $3 per game is a pretty good price when the games are consistently this high in quality. I suppose the games in the first Mega Man Legacy Collection are overall better than those in the second, but the second collection is still pretty good.

All things considered, Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2 is an excellent Collection of Collections, with ten games that are almost all still well worth playing, and three of those games that are true classics. And while the inclusion of only the first of the two collections on the cartridge is disappointing, and the initial price was insultingly high, that price has since become much more reasonable, and the package is overall well worth getting, especially for fans of the genre.

tl;dr – Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2 contains the first ten numbered games in the original Mega Man series in a physical release, with nearly all of those games being great, and three of them being absolutely phenomenal. What’s more, this package comes loaded with bonus content, and after initially being overpriced is now a better value than buying the two Legacy Collections separately… at least if you don’t mind the 3.3GB download required to play Mega Man Legacy Collection 2. However, save for that flaw, this is an excellent collection of great games that should be considered a must-have for fans of Action-Platformers.

Grade: A

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