It has been two weeks since the last RetroReviewToid, but there is a special reason for this. I am talking about two games instead of one. Long has been the debate on which NES Mega Man is the best one, and I know that public opinion on DToid (as well as most people's in general) is that Mega Man 2 is the hands down winner. I know everyone has played the classic Mega Man games, so I'm not going to tell you what they're like. Instead, I am here to dispute the aforementioned claim, and inform you that, instead, Mega Man 3 is the pinnacle of the 8-bit series.

Mega Man 2 definitely made leaps and bounds of improvement over Mega Man, and in almost all aspects is equal to 3. The music for both is nothing short of stunning, each one's level design is near flawless, and both had some epic battles in Wily's castle. But there are a few differences that in my opinion pushes Mega Man 3 over the top.




Box Art

Mega Man's box art is known for it's horrific box art. Shit is rediculous, no arguing there. But I would venture to say that Mega Man 2's box art is not much better.




Still an old dude, still has human proportions, and he is still holding a hand-held blaster. This is not Mega Man. This is a creepy fuck in a halloween costume




Now for 3's boxart. Mega Man has the demensions that he has carried throughout the series, and has a chubby boyish face. And he's actually shooting out of his arm cannon, just as God intended him to.




Rush

Included in Mega Man 2, in addition to your pew!pew!pew! weapons, were several powerups that helped you traverse the various levels. These came in the form of traveling platforms that moved vertically, horizontally, and up walls. Which is nice and all, but it just lacked life. This was fixed in Mega Man 3, where you didn't have moving platforms. You had a FUCKING ROBOT DOG.



His name was Rush, and he was a badass. Part dog, part robot, part spring(okay this part isn't really that great but 2 out of 3 ain't bad), part jet, part submarine, 100% cream in my jeans.




Length

Look, I don't want to name any names(Ron Workman), but recently people have been telling me "Look Coonskin, it's not always about length!" Which I say bullshit. If you can have a quality game that is longer than another quality game, then run with it. In Mega Man 2, after you defeat the 8 robots, it's off to see the good Doctor Wily at his fortress. In Mega Man 3, once you defeat the 8 robots, it's off to see the go-

Not so fast bitch!

Before you get to go prove yourself to Wily, it's Ultra Deluxe Turbo Remix Edition of Mega Man 3. You have to play through Kaizo versions of`4 of the first 8 levels(okay, maybe not as hard as Kaizo Mario but definitely harder than the first run through). And in these levels, you get to fight the bosses from your precious Mega Man 2. See? It's like 2 and 3 rolled into one, how can it not be better than 2?


Now, I will admit that 3 had it's flaws, including several lame weapons. Top Spin? Search Snake? What the fuck Capcom? But I believe that if you look past your childhood memories of 2, go out and pick up a copy of Mega Man Anniversary Collection, and play through Mega Man 3, you will realize that it is the rightful heir to the throne of the Mega Man series.