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I'm trying to get into Mega Man and I need some help.

Hero of Pizza Time

Pizza Parker
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
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MCU
Gender
Human Spider
Hey ZD,

There is this YouTube streamer I watch and he streams a lot of Mega Man, so I kind of want to try the series myself. I'm not sure what game to start with though.

When it comes to systems, I have a 3DS, Wii, Switch, PS4, and PC. I would prefer starting with a game playable on the 3DS because I am bringing it with me on a trip tomorrow, but if there are no good Mega Man games to start with available on the 3DS, that's fine.

So if anyone here is a Mega Man veteran what game available for any of these platforms would be the best one to start with?
 
Im not a veteran or even much of a Mega Man fan but I quite like the X series (at least the first 4).

Im not sure about 3DS but the first four Mega Man X games are available on Switch as part of the first of two collections.
The second part of the collection has Mega Man 5-8 but they all suck so dont bother.

Mega Man 11 is on Switch too.
 

Shroom

The Artist Formally Known as Deku Shroom™
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Gender
Fun Guy
The legacy collection for the classic series is available on 3ds, and I believe it's on sale now if you get it digitally. I would recommend not starting with the original because it's a little rough, but 2 is a safe spot to start.

I like the Mega Man games a good bit, are there any in particular that you're interested in? Certain series or games?
 

Djinn

and Tonic
Joined
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The Flying Mobile Opression fortress
I think the most standard classic Mega Man game that covers everything and does not have a weird amount of extras or difficulty would be Mega Man 2. 2 and 3 are the best of the original series. Most are okay until you reach the Dr Wiley levels then the challenge rises a lot. Skip 7 and 8. Megaman and Bass is fun. 9 is okay but not amazing, 10 is a little better than 9.

Of the X series 1 and 2 are the best, 3 gets a bit easier but 4 can be insanely hard. 5 and 6 are forgettable and 7 is very difficult.

Legends is decent but does not play like the other series at all. It's more of a puzzle solver/dungeon crawler.

XZ might be a little too simplistic for you since it was handheld and did not have as many options.
 

DekuNut

I play my drum for you
Joined
Jan 30, 2011
Location
Tangent Universe
I say the original series (the Legacy Collection of course). But not 1 - that one is a little difficult to be your start. I personally finished 2, then went back and played 1. It better accustoms you to the gameplay and difficulty without being quite as hard as some of the other games. And since they're NES games, it's not like there's much story you're missing by playing 2 first.
Also, if you're an RPG fan, I suggest checking out Battle Network. Very different gameplay and world, but it's another way to get into the series.
 
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
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Australia
@Hero of Pizza Time

I've played many MegaMan games since MM1 and MM2 on the NES. 30 years on Mega Man games. So I know a lot about them.
Of the consoles you own, really only the Switch will help you. The Wii eShop is dead so you can't get anything there. However if you can get a WiiU then you might be able to get some of the older MM games. If you ever get a WiiU, let us know and I'll talk you through the good MM games on the Virtual console there

For the Switch
You have a few options here. I'll go through them and if I think they are worth getting or avoiding. I'll also list some Mega Man like games that are really good also. Mega Man like as they are made by other developers but are very similar to what Mega Man is.

Mega Man Legacy collection
This was released in two parts.
If you live in the USA you can get this on cart. If not you have to import it or download it from the eShop. Another US physical exclusive unfortunately.
The cart comes with part 1 on the cart part 2 as a download code. However you can pay for and downlaod both separately on the Switch eShop
Part 1 is games the first 6 games. All of the NES games. Part 2 is Games 7 through 10.

Of these I would recommend the first collection over the second one. Mega Man 2 and Maea Man 3 are the highlights of this collection. If you're ok with 8 Bit graphics that is as they are NES games. The game play and music though of these NES games is superb though.
The second collection is also good as they aregames from the SNES, PS1 and later games. They do add more to each game with more things to do but overall I find the first collection better.

Just note well, Mega Man 1 is very different and much harder than most of the other Mega Man games. The series started proper with Mega Man 2. That's where Capcom really nailed down a proper difficulty, not too hard and made a really fun game.

Mega Man X Legacy collection
Also released in two parts.
Also the cart is a US exclusive. If you live outside the USA you have to import or hit up the eShop. Also sold in two parts just like the classic collection above.
Part one here is the first 4 games. X1 through X4. The second part is X5 through X8.
Again I will say the first collection is better. X1 through X4 are very good games. They are a little more advanced than the classic legacy games as they have more powerups to collect and more of a story but overall just as fun as the classic collection. The second X collection is alright. Though the games here are fine but overall the consensus is Capcom lost the plot a little and the games are just not as good.

Mega Man 11
Despite what most people are saying I really don't recommend this game unless you are a hard Mega Man fan. This game honestly is not that good. Poor level design, a gimick (that allowed the play to slow time or teporarily have powerful shots) that didn't work that well and a surprising lack of content for a 2018 game. Also I think the cart is another US exclusive. Import it or get it on the eShop.

Mighty No.9
A Mega Man inspired game. The short responce here is totally avoid this game. Sure MM11 is bad but it's not a total abomination. Might No.9 is an abomination. Laggy, slow, low resolution, broken, and not fun. Don't get this game.

20XX
A Mega Man inspired game. eShop only. This is a roguelike game. Where you play 10 stages over and over. You can choose to have one of 3 lives to beat all 10 stages in. The order you do the stages in and what powerups you get along the way is different in each run. There is 8 standard stages/boses plus two final stages. The first 8 bosses have 3 different difficulties. Depending on when you beat them Stage 1-4, Stage 5-7 and Stage 8. So choosing which bosses you want to do earlier and which later does matter. Also there is 4 characters to play as. Two of these you get when beating the game for the first time. Huge replayability here as each run is different and you unlock more and more upgrade options to appear in each run.
If you like roguelike games this is worth a look in.
Note Well - this game is nowhere as unforgiving as something like Binding of Isaac. The 3 life option makes the game quite beatable with not too much skill required.

Mighty Gunvolt Burst
A Mega Man inspired game. eShop only. The main gimic here is there is no special weapons earned by beating bosses. You earn parts so you can slowly modity your weapon to how you want it. Do you want it fast or slow? Strong or weak? Rapid fire? Wave pattern? Homing? etc etc. You mix and match to build your own weapon. The stages here are fun, the bosses are fun. Overall a good game.
The only downsides here are the burst mechanic and score. The burst mechanic gives you more score when you shoot things up close. Kind of pointless in a Mega Man inspired game. Also to get the best score you need to at times use a weaker weapon set up. Again pointless, just use whatever setup you find fun. I quite liked this game. Well worth it.

In Conclusion

Mega Man Legacy collection 1 - Recommended. Just start with MM2 and you'll be fine. MM2 and MM3 are total classics. Amazing games. 4 - 6 are good also. 1 is an oddball unique game.
Mega Man Legacy collection 2 - Recommended. Not having Mega Man and Bass there is a shame, but overall a nice set of games there. Good games, but not really great.
Mega Man X Legacy collection 1 - Recommended. X1 is the best game here by far. Start with that. X2 and X3 are good games also. X4 is not as good but it's still playable.
Mega Man X Legacy collection 2 - Only recommended for hardcore fans. The last 4X games are alright I guess but certainly sub par when compared to X1 - X4.

*Note Well* All 4 of the legacy collections have serious input lag. It's not game breaking but if you're coming from other versions of the games you'll certainly notice it.

Mega Man 11 - Don't reccomend it at all. Only get it if you end up being a collector and want every Mega Man game.
Mighty No.9 - Don't recommend. Do not buy this game.
20XX - Recommended. If you like less complex Mega Man games are like replaying short games over and over with different powerups each time then you'll like this.
Mighty Gunvolt Burst - Recommended. Fun and the ability to play with different weapon setups differentiates this from other Mega Man games.

A special non Switch game wieth getting.

Mega Maker - Recommended. PC only. It's a game where you and people around the world design their own Mega Man levels and play them. Think Mario Maker but for Mega Man. It's fan created but also free so well worth trying out.
 
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