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Mega Man 8 Game Review

Mega Man 8 is a 1996 platform game developed by Capcom for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was the eighth entry in the mainline Mega Man series.

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“Bass, we’ll have to take care of this some other time“

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The seventh entry was the only SNES one in the original series while this is the only 32-bit game in the franchise and the only one released for those two platforms and not the Nintendo ones. While most would say that the game is the worst in the series, I wholeheartedly disagree. It’s neither among the best nor among the worst, but right in the middle for me personally. I played the PlayStation version on an emulator.

In terms of the gameplay, Mega Man 8 is said to be too different to its predecessors and too similar as well depending on whom you ask. I would say that it’s more of the same, but that’s not really a bad thing as the series formula is excellent. You can still jump, run, slide and shoot, but also swim in one area that required it.

The health and the power-up system remained the same and that also goes for the weapons, which are mostly okay with some impressive additions, but most felt either too similar to the other games, but also unusable in some examples. You unlock the further four stages and bosses after the initial four and the mid-storyline level. There are also the bolts that you can collect and further use to buy more items. Pretty much all the regular mechanics are here and they are well used.

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The level design in this game is mostly pretty good, though the majority of the eight stages aren’t as memorable as I’d hoped they would be. Frost Man’s stage was quite interesting for including those ice skating sections, but those were immensely difficult to get through. Clown Man’s stage was another highlight as it focused on toys, leading to a lot of colorful visuals.

Astro Man’s stage was my least favorite as the mazes were ridiculously convoluted and it was impossible for me to get through them without outside help. Aqua Man’s stage was obviously overly annoying in those frustrating water levels. Search Man’s stage requires that you use a lot of other weapons to get through the levels, making for a varied gaming experience. The final stage is solid, but hardly all that memorable.

The bosses continue the tradition of being the highlights gameplay-wise. Mega Man 8 has some amazing bosses in its roster, though they aren’t as strong as the ones in its predecessor. Grenade Man isn’t particularly memorable; Tengu Man is more annoying than anything else as he escapes way too much while Frost Man is rather easy. Clown Man is the best of the initial four bosses as he’s neither too easy nor too hard.

Astro Man is a pretty fine boss and the most endearing of the bunch. Unlike its bad stage, Aqua Man was a fantastic boss and the best in this game. He has unique powers and attack patterns, making for a very interesting battle. Sword Man is also pretty cool with his sword attacks and a lot of fun to play against. Search Man is forgettable.

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As for the final stage bosses, they are all over the place. Green Devil is very odd and way too easy for a final boss. The Bass battle is by far the easiest in the entire series, which was unfortunate as he is usually quite tough. Bliking fares much better as it’s interesting in its shooting elements while Atetemino is intriguing in its requirement of precision. Wily himself is as difficult as he always is, though probably a bit easier here. He was a lot of fun to fight as usual.

The storyline is rather solid with one caveat and that is obviously the voice acting. Much has been said about the atrociousness of this “acting”, but the story is still fine if you discount that aspect. The voices were simply all wrong for the English version. Mega Man himself sounds like a little girl while Dr. Light sounds absolutely ridiculous. They are all very amateurish and mediocre.

But the story is overall solid and I particularly liked the inclusion of those anime cutscenes that made for a more epic story. The animation done on those sections was great and the mecha robot elements were interesting. The ending was quite sweet.

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The visuals overall are phenomenal. Graphically speaking, this is one of the best entries in the series. The characters are well designed, the colorful aesthetic to most of the levels was quite pleasing and the world building is solid, though far from great. I just loved the look of some levels and how well designed they were. I wished that we have seen more 32-bit Mega Man games. The sound is excellent, but the soundtrack is far from the franchise’s best. It’s fine, but not all that memorable. But the length is just perfect and the game is wholly entertaining to play through.