NES #1 Mega Man 2

This is Mega Man's first appearance on one of my lists, but it will certainly not be his last. With so many different Mega Man games released over the years he is bound to pop up a few times. This is the one that started it all for me though, and it began with a rental from a local video store. I now own that very same copy I once rented so many years ago. Now lets get onto what makes Mega Man 2 so great.

Mega Man 2 is of course the sequel to Mega Man, following the title character as he faces off against eight evil Robot Masters. Defeating a Robot Master earns you that robot's powers which can be used to exploit weakness of other Robot Masters. After defeating all eight you must then face the maniacal Dr. Wily. Who is Dr. Wily? Well he resembles an evil Einstein who has a fetish for building giant skull shaped fortresses. This formula is repeated through almost every Mega Man title.

You play as Mega Man jumping and shooting his way through stages each with a different theme modeled after the boss representing it. At the end of the level you find the metal shutters that lead to the boss and pass through them to do battle. Defeat the boss and gain his ability then move onto the next robot who is weak against the power you just obtained, rinse and repeat.While that might not sound thrilling it was more than enough to hook me in.

The biggest draw Mega Man 2 has is the music, which is the best of any NES game in my opinion. The techno beats of Flash Man, the up tempo yet smooth Quick Man, and the tribal thuds of Wood Man's theme all unique and addicting to listen to. No theme is like another, and they become so catchy you can't help but bob your head to the music while playing.

Mega Man 2 is also a challenging game, so much in fact I have still never managed to beat it to this day. I have defeated all eight Robot Masters, but one of the stages of Wily's Fortress always proved to be my downfall. Perhaps one of these days I will acquire the skill needed to finally beat one of my favorite games of all time.

That does it for the NES, next time I'll head into super territory. Super Nintendo that is, where some familiar faces from the NES will make another appearance.