Mega Man 3

Voices of: N/A
Developer: Capcom
Directed by: Masayoshi Kurokawa
Rating: E
Genre: Action Platformer
System: Nintendo Entertainment System
1990

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: Mega Man and Dr. Light work together with a reformed Dr. Wily on a peacekeeping mission. However, he soon encounters multiple antagonistic robots.

Review:
Tim: The Mega Man franchise was so much fun on the NES. The games were coming in rapid succession- the original in 1987, the first sequel two years later, then this 3rd game only a year after that. I did read that the designers were crunched for time, which put undue stress upon them. That doesn't surprise me- it's really surprising they delivered this game just a year after the previous one. Mega Man 3 does a ton right. It continues the look and feel of the franchise, takes the same approach, but with slightly better graphics. I really did notice them here, the developers pushing the visuals a bit.

Like the previous two games, this one is all about what 8 Robot Masters Mega Man will face. Magnet Man is such a cool villain. All of the robots in this franchise are fun, but he definitely looks especially cool and has a great weapon. Hard Man has kind of a dumb name, but his bulk makes him interesting. Top Man also has a bad name, but is an interesting opponent. Shadow Man has a great name and the ninja-star wielding boss is certainly a standout. Spark Man was fun, too. Very similar to the original Elec Man, but enjoyable. Snake Man was really cool- very much pushing the boundaries of what these Robot Masters could be. Gemini Man's design was really effective. Finally, you round out with Needle Man, again, an interestingly designed opponent. I was impressed with the overall robot designs. You would expect some similarities in the third game, but the designers really added some cool, interesting new ones. You also have to deal with the mysterious Proto Man, as he shows up as a mid-course boss on various levels. Fun AND mysterious! As a whole, these bosses are definitely tough.

For the end game bosses, you actually have to fight another Yellow Devil. Definitely, one of the most challenging Mega Man bosses. I was familiar enough at this point that while rage inducing, wasn't quite as bad as the first time around. The Mega Man holograms were a fun, unique challenge. Then, of course, you have to fight ALL the Robot Masters once again. Sigh. It prolongs the game. Fortunately, I still felt pretty comfortable with them and took them out without a TON of trouble. That brings you to the final boss, which was challenging and pretty fun. It definitely took me several tries to learn the patterns and mechanics, but it wasn't horrible.

I do want to stress that I played this game on the Switch collection version, so I repeatedly used Save Screens. I would play through a screen, when I did it flawlessly, I would save. Is that how the game was meant to be played? No. Do I care? Also, no. I wanted to beat this game and do it all myself, but the repeated levels, playing again and again through stages to hit every jump perfectly? No thanks. I was much more interested in doing a screen at a time, mastering it, then moving on. Does this make the game easier? Sure, in some ways. I still did it all, though. As much as possible, I tried to do all the boss fights from beginning to end without saving. I did save between the multi-stage final boss, yes.

So, Mega Man continues to be a major franchise on the NES. Three games in 4 years is impressive. Each one follows the same formula, but they feel unique. This game is definitely challenging and there were moments of frustration, but such a great sense of accomplishment seeing it through to the end. This franchise probably doesn't get the respect it deserves. The games seem light, but they are quite challenging. This third game was a lot of fun.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Mega Man, Mega Man 2