Mega Man was at the peak of its popularity with 2 and 3. After that a lot of people stopped paying serious attention. This always made me sad. As much as I love the first few games, some of my favorites games are later entries with 7 possibly being top of the list. A lot of people don't really think the later Mega Man games contributed anything to the series, but I do not concur.

For example the main reason I respect Mega Man 5 is because it offers some level design concepts few other games in the series have. Though not every stage was terribly creative, it really tapped into the potential some of the settings had. Previously I thought this was a kinda of rare thing. For example Magnet Man's stage in Mega Man 3 had those flying magnets that would pull you off the ground in the beginning. Awesome, but they were harmless and nothing else in the stage was especially unique. Mega Man's always had good level design, but V really spiced things up with some very creative stages. My absolute favorite is a low gravity space stage where you can jump all the way to the top of the screen, starting out with flying meteors and following up with space-helmet Mets that fly. Admittedly the game is is about half great and half average, but it's well worth a play.



Mega Man 7's stages didn't have ideas that were quite that extreme, but the stages were still fairly creative in more subtle ways. Every stage very consistently follows a theme and uses it to its advantage. Spring Man's stage is littered with sections of springs that can send you flying every which way, which is retarded fun. Burst Man's is rigged with time bomb platforms and thick water that lets you float to the surface. The gimmick is that the water level changes while you're floating at the top, with various hazards both above and below you. For the final example Slash Man's is littered with hatching eggs, running dinosaurs you hitch a ride on, and even a T-Rex chase/sub-boss. Graphically the stages felt like they really came to life in a way previous games couldn't pull off, and you won't see random things like giant cats and chickens for no noticeable reason like in older games.

Mega Man 7 also tried to make the story more of a central part of the game, allowing you to actually see various characters outside of the end credits. Not much, but moreso than before by a long shot. In the prelude intro scene you'll see several characters including Dr. Light just as Wily escapes from jail. This is actually a fairly big deal for the series, considering I can scarcely think of times I've actually seen him in a game. He will actually give you briefings on your weapons whenever you beat a boss.



Alright, so maybe he said something useful once or twice. Another character that makes his debut in the intro stage of 7 is Mega Man's new rival Bass and his canine Treble. It would be quite possible nobody would even know who Bass was if not for Mega Man 8's relative popularity, even though he's been in about 5 games and was playable in several. Initially Bass plays himself off as an ally then feigns injury in a later stage. This inevitably leads to complications.



Remember those armor adapters that Rush used in Mega Man 6 to give you things like a jetpack? Maybe you don't but you could get those. Bass messes the whole place up while you're gone and steals that stuff to use on you in a later fight. Speaking of which, you can get such armor for yourself. There's actually another character introduced in Mega Man 7, and he introduces a feature to the game that's very useful. Introducing Auto, essentially the game's shopkeeper. Previously shops had appeared in the classic Gameboy games, but never in a console release. This was incredibly useful, especially when you were hitting the final stages.



Auto himself has a hidden item in the game too that gets you access to more shop items and discounts. Like I said, there's tons of hidden stuff. This particular thing is why I love the game so much. Among the best items is an armor adapter similar to what Bass steals from you, allowing you a double jump and high powered fist cannon. One of the hardest to find is Beat from Mega Man 5, who now saves you from bottomless pits

Some of the hidden items require you to take advantage of your weapons, which is another new thing for the series. You can burn down trees, turn on power generators, and freeze lava. Probably the single greatest hidden feature is also the most well hidden. Protoman is hiding in three areas of the game. They're extremely tough to find minus one. If you find the first two, he'll give you hints. If you find those and then the third, he'll fight you for the first legitimate time since Mega Man 3. You know what you get when you beat him? It's pretty fucking awesome.



Between the armor and the shield, this is a great combo. The shield will stop all kinds of things, including jets of flame and small enemies that try to fly into you. There's more hidden beyond this, but these are less so items and more like cheats. Holding down B while selecting Shade Man's stage will play Ghosts and Ghouls music through the stage. Neat, but inconsequential. Next when you beat the game you'll find a string of inconspicuous numbers. It's actually a password that gives you a full inventory and leaves you back at the final stage. Holding the triggers while activating it will send you off to a hidden 2 player mini-fighting game. Consider this the prelude to Mega Man: The Power Fighters.

I won't go over the music, but it's a nice change of pace because the songs try to suit the mood of the stage and deviate moreso than in most Mega Man games. Again, it does a better job of holding a theme than before. Some of the songs are also quite catchy. All in all, I really love Mega Man 7 and have gone through it many times. I probably haven't made the most convincing case for the game, but if I've convinced anyone to play it I'm most pleased. Mega Man 7 is readily available in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection.

BONUS ROUND
There's actually one important game not included in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection. It was never released in the states aside from a poorly advertised Gameboy Advance port which came out around the same time as the Collection. It's a similar case to how A Link to the Past wasn't included in the Gamecube Zelda Collection. It's a huge shame that most people have never heard of or tried this game.

Everyone thinks that there wasn't a game between Mega Man 8 and Mega Man 9, but there was. Mega Man and Bass/Rockman and Forte was a SUPER NINTENDO game actually released and set AFTER 8, and is known as the unofficial Mega Man 9. The code name for the project was actually ROCK8.5.

In hopes of exposing more people to the game, I'm going to make it one of my upcoming Wryviews. As one of my favorite titles it'll be a fine test of my ability to be objective. Mega Man fans that never gave it a shot, stay tuned.