Brassman87
CAG Veteran
I noticed that Mega Man V for the Game Boy was lacking a review. Since I'm in a Mega Man kind of mood lately, I decided to throw up a short and sweet in the game's review section. Enjoy!
Note: sorry I can't make it a link (or post screen shots), but this is my first post here and they don't let new people link yet, which is a good thing. So, you can either go to the Mega Man V game page here at CAG and look at user reviews (I put screen shots there!), or read below!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mega Man series has an incredible ability to stagnate as releases go on. The NES Mega Man games got incredibly tedious by 5 and 6, The X series wore out its welcome by X2 and X3 (with a brief respite in X5), and most reviewers don't give any thought past the first Megaman Battle Network. The Game Boy Mega Man games flip this trend on its head. The first Game Boy Mega Man was a poor rehash with only 4 robot masters. Gradually improvements appeared in later iterations, with different kinds of Wily castles, new robot antagonists interlaced between the familiar robot bosses taken form the NES counterparts, and all sorts of sub power ups. Mega Man 5 takes all of the little deviations from the Game Boy Mega Man games and puts it into a solid package.
The biggest change that is seen in this game are the Stardroids. Instead of fighting robot masters taken form the NES games, you are fighting robots based off each of the solar system's nine (Pluto still counted back then!) planets. Each stardroid has an ability that can be derived form a NES Mega Man power. Uranus has a block lifting skill like Gutsman that can toss blocks at foes or uncover hidden passageways. Mars has a missile attack (after all, he is the god of war). The stages are fun and inventive, with four Stardroids found attacking on Earth's surface, and the others found on other plants with their own gravity to give a platforming challenge.
Another change in the game that shakes up combat in Mega Man is the Mega Arm. When you find out that your charged mega buster does no damage to the Stardroids at the beginning of the game, Dr. Light decides to install a fist that can detach itself form Mega Man and clobber enemies. The drawback is that the fist only goes half of the screen across, needs time to travel back to you, and still requires a charging time. It's up to you whether to use it or use your default shot, which travels the length of the screen. This makes for some interesting battles. There are also hidden items and upgrades as well as Tango, a battle kitten similar to Beat in functionality. The end stages are fun as well, being set on Dr. Wily's space battle cruiser.
Mega Man V is probably one of my top 5 Game Boy games, and it should be yours too. It's a solid platforming package reminiscent of Mega Man 2 or 3 on the NES. The only drawback: The availability and price. Mega Man V was made towards the end of the Game Boy life cycle (it does have Super Game Boy borders, by the way!) and in very limited quantities. It almost came out included with the other Game Boy games in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection planned for the GBA, but was never released. You best bet is the occasional appearance on ebay, though ending bids end in the $30-$40 price range. If you are a determined collector, Game Boy fan, or Mega Man fan, this is game is a must-have.
...given if you can find it, of course.
Note: sorry I can't make it a link (or post screen shots), but this is my first post here and they don't let new people link yet, which is a good thing. So, you can either go to the Mega Man V game page here at CAG and look at user reviews (I put screen shots there!), or read below!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mega Man series has an incredible ability to stagnate as releases go on. The NES Mega Man games got incredibly tedious by 5 and 6, The X series wore out its welcome by X2 and X3 (with a brief respite in X5), and most reviewers don't give any thought past the first Megaman Battle Network. The Game Boy Mega Man games flip this trend on its head. The first Game Boy Mega Man was a poor rehash with only 4 robot masters. Gradually improvements appeared in later iterations, with different kinds of Wily castles, new robot antagonists interlaced between the familiar robot bosses taken form the NES counterparts, and all sorts of sub power ups. Mega Man 5 takes all of the little deviations from the Game Boy Mega Man games and puts it into a solid package.
The biggest change that is seen in this game are the Stardroids. Instead of fighting robot masters taken form the NES games, you are fighting robots based off each of the solar system's nine (Pluto still counted back then!) planets. Each stardroid has an ability that can be derived form a NES Mega Man power. Uranus has a block lifting skill like Gutsman that can toss blocks at foes or uncover hidden passageways. Mars has a missile attack (after all, he is the god of war). The stages are fun and inventive, with four Stardroids found attacking on Earth's surface, and the others found on other plants with their own gravity to give a platforming challenge.
Another change in the game that shakes up combat in Mega Man is the Mega Arm. When you find out that your charged mega buster does no damage to the Stardroids at the beginning of the game, Dr. Light decides to install a fist that can detach itself form Mega Man and clobber enemies. The drawback is that the fist only goes half of the screen across, needs time to travel back to you, and still requires a charging time. It's up to you whether to use it or use your default shot, which travels the length of the screen. This makes for some interesting battles. There are also hidden items and upgrades as well as Tango, a battle kitten similar to Beat in functionality. The end stages are fun as well, being set on Dr. Wily's space battle cruiser.
Mega Man V is probably one of my top 5 Game Boy games, and it should be yours too. It's a solid platforming package reminiscent of Mega Man 2 or 3 on the NES. The only drawback: The availability and price. Mega Man V was made towards the end of the Game Boy life cycle (it does have Super Game Boy borders, by the way!) and in very limited quantities. It almost came out included with the other Game Boy games in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection planned for the GBA, but was never released. You best bet is the occasional appearance on ebay, though ending bids end in the $30-$40 price range. If you are a determined collector, Game Boy fan, or Mega Man fan, this is game is a must-have.
...given if you can find it, of course.