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Post by Sukaruman on Sept 7, 2014 17:19:03 GMT
I say let's go for it, though I think we can all agree that Mega Man 6 was the easiest. At least when it came to the Robot Masters. Perhaps we should spin off a discussion of the various games and how difficult they are relative to each other. Like Weapons, there are a lot of factors that can skew things. "It was easy apart fom [insert factor]." is a pretty common theme. |
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Post by Otaku on Sept 7, 2014 17:23:00 GMT
I say let's go for it, though I think we can all agree that Mega Man 6 was the easiest. At least when it came to the Robot Masters. Perhaps we should spin off a discussion of the various games and how difficult they are relative to each other. Like Weapons, there are a lot of factors that can skew things. "It was easy apart fom [insert factor]." is a pretty common theme. As I don't have access to these games right now and am thus forced to rely on three to five year old memories, I'll let someone else take the lead in creating the thread.  |
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Post by Hypershell on Sept 7, 2014 20:56:25 GMT
Mega Man 3's weapons were all over the place, I'd say, in terms of usefulness. For that reason it's difficult to pass a single judgement on the entire arsenal, but if I absolutely had to, I'd rank it pretty darn high thanks to the likes of Needle Cannon, Shadow Blade, and Magnet Missile. Also, to me personally, "arsenal" includes anything with an energy meter, and MM3's Rush Jet is the obvious best of all support items.
But as for strictly the Robot Master weapons, here's my take on them, from my least favorite to most favorite.
Spark Shock: Ice Slasher proves that the concept is sound, but the main reason for it is either freezing enemies too troublesome to fight directly (read: Big Eye), or creating platforms out of hazards. Neither of those scenarios fit with Mega Man 3's design. What's more, the Robot Master most weak to it is equally weak to Shadow Blade. This makes it definitely the most useless weapon in the game, although there's no reason it needed to be so.
Top Spin: Even though it's low on the list, I still don't think this weapon deserves the flak that it receives. It's conceptually sound, the problem is the bug which is liable to drain your weapon energy if the attack is improperly timed. To merely risk damaging yourself is one thing, if that was all it'd have been fair, but to risk depleting the weapon entirely is what makes it not worth learning in the eyes of many.
Hard Knuckle: Due to the extreme speed difference, the ability to change its direction, and the fact that it's not explosive, no, I never likened this to the Crash Bomb. But if we must go this route, I hold the Hard Knuckle superior. Despite being unwieldy due to aforementioned speed, it at LEAST is functional as a direct attack. The Crash Bomb is not, as in most cases it demands you attempt to inflict damage using the excessively laggy secondary explosion, which is something I find irritating.
Search Snake: DEFINITELY an improvement over Bubble Lead, both in terms of its ability to climb walls, and the fact that it's overall faster and more user-friendly.
Gemini Laser: You basically said it all; high power, high learning curve. To embrace the "twin" element of its name I'd have preferred the laser split when it struck a wall, but I suppose the NES hardware limits would have made that troublesome (even a single shot seems to create a fair amount of slowdown depending on where you use it). The only real problem with this weapon is its single-shot-on-screen limit with no convenient means to cancel, which makes a miss exceedingly costly. If it functioned more akin to, say, Contra's laser (by that I mean dissipate the previous beam automatically when a new one is fired), it'd have been devastating.
Magnet Missile: Great idea, for sure, and excellent for hitting enemies that may otherwise be out of reach. Ammo is the only real concern, otherwise the weapon is outstanding.
Needle Cannon: I love this weapon. It may be easily dismissed as a glorified auto-fire, but in a game that predates charging, does it need to be anything else? Besides which, the "spread" and the larger sized projectiles allow greater coverage, letting you more easily strike the game's common Mechakkero enemies without having to rely on a crawling-weapon gimmick such as Search Snake if you don't really want to.
Shadow Blade: This weapon is among my favorites of the series, sorely underestimated for the fact that it's constantly being compared to Metal Blade. But with a new game comes a new standard, and even though this weapon is not capable of rapid-fire it is still extremely powerful with a lavish ammo supply, and in addition the "boomerang" effect makes it more forgiving of a miss. It's exceptionally useful in Hard Man's stage where it allows you to take out Monkings without letting them drop from the ceiling.
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Post by Sukaruman on Sept 8, 2014 4:11:50 GMT
Mega Man 3's weapons were all over the place, I'd say, in terms of usefulness. For that reason it's difficult to pass a single judgement on the entire arsenal, but if I absolutely had to, I'd rank it pretty darn high thanks to the likes of Needle Cannon, Shadow Blade, and Magnet Missile. Also, to me personally, "arsenal" includes anything with an energy meter, and MM3's Rush Jet is the obvious best of all support items. First, welcome to the forums, Hypershell. Well written, I definitely agree that the weapons are all over the place in MM3. There is definitely a wide range selection, not to mention the introduction of Rush. Indeed, Rush Jet in MM3 is amazing. As for the Spark Shock, personally I like that weapon. I remember using it a lot when I played the game as a kid to get through some tough spots. Otaku, I might create that thread if no one else does. Probably not tonight though.  |
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Post by Otaku on Sept 8, 2014 16:04:33 GMT
Well said Hypershell; while I enjoy hearing people's thoughts on the matter, thank you for going that extra step and giving us a nice, detailed analysis of "why" you did or didn't enjoy the weapons, including some factors in the game as well. Perhaps in the increasingly unlikely instance we get some sort of "update" that would justify, we could get a Gemini Laser that actually "splits" each time it reflects? Even if this halved each shots damage potential and the weapon became rather Energy hungry, it could lead to some fantastic effects. I wonder if, on the ol' NES, anyone had thought of having it essentially "pause" the game and have only the laser and its reflections being animated. I mean, lasers are supposed to be amazingly fast... ...okay, enough fantasizing. A bit more on point, including support weapons, the Rush Coil is easy to underestimate. Part of this is because the designers did not underestimate it; there are places that were supposed to be out of reach except for [insert technique], and the designers made sure not to leave access to the Rush Coil. A good example is in the Gemini Man Stage (regular version); if I remember correctly Break Man shows up and opens up access to the subterranean portion of the stage, and if you hug the left wall you can get access to a power-up, but if you don't it is just out of reach for the Rush Coil. In general, however, the Rush Coil allows players of all skill levels easier navigation of stages plus access to the occasional "out of reach" area, goody, etc. The Rush Marine is the low spot of the original three Rush items, but it isn't its fault per se. First, as it is an unlocked mode for Rush, there is a legitimate reason for not making it integral to the first eight Stages (obviously does not apply to Doc Robot or Wily Stages). Being overly generous in the game's design (and another reason I view the game as "easy"), the sections where you can use it, it is pretty optional. You can get by simply on foot (optional Rush Coil usage) or with the Rush Jet instead. Indeed the stretch in either the Gemini Man Stage or the Doc Robot Gemini Man Stage (I forget which, or if it was both) that would seem like "the" place to use the Rush Marine are actually more rewarding for not using it, because going by foot or with the Rush Jet can give you access to all the power-ups along the path - the Rush Marine does not. Part of this is because of how potent the Rush Jet is... but I really think the mistake is that you aren't "protected" in the Rush Marine. If its Energy meter depleted instead of your life bar... actually, we might be busting it out to shoot at bosses. XD I think I'd have been okay with that... but the realistic solution was, as usual, stages interactions that made it the better choice. The Rush Jet is just amazing. I can't remember, but doesn't it work underwater? That might be the one single change I'd make to it. Everything I would change would be in the games themselves; part of why it seems overpowered is that unlike the Rush Coil, the designers didn't "Rush Jet proof" a lot of sections to keep it from seeming overpowered. I have no problem with it not draining when Mega Man is not on it, though I guess if you needed the realism I'd just have anytime Mega Man jumps off/lands on it cause it to drain, removing the infamous trick to reducing its fuel consumption. I've no qualms about its amazing performance otherwise. If we hypothetically need the justification for the alternatives over the year, I'd just make things like Item 2 faster (with the "Super Arrow" faster still) and the trade off is that plus perhaps relative fuel efficiency. |
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Perhaps we should spin off a discussion of the various games and how difficult they are relative to each other. Like Weapons, there are a lot of factors that can skew things. "It was easy apart fom [insert factor]." is a pretty common theme.
