It’s hard to believe that while Mario and Sonic were lucky to have three mainline sequels per console generation Capcom was able to fill out their release list with no less than six Mega Man titles on the NES alone. This is an impressive feat, but it wasn’t long before the developers ran out of new ideas for this over milked franchise. Mega Man 3 and 4 were both terribly mediocre with unnecessary new features, boring level designs, and uninspired boss characters. Unfortunately the tradition continues with Mega Man 5. It’s not a bad game per se, but this ranks among the most uninspired installments across the entire franchise. This is the culmination of every bad design choice Capcom has made in each game following the second game’s release.
Once again the peace achieved at the end of the previous game has been shattered. With Dr. Wily out of commission (for the umpteenth time) Mega Man’s brother, Proto Man, has taken the reigns as the antagonist this time around. The game begins with him taking command of a group of new robot masters and capturing his creator Dr. Light. Now Mega Man must face off against his own prototype to save the land once again. Like its predecessors Mega Man 5 is a side scrolling action platformer wherein you can tackle the first eight stages in any order that you choose. There’s a rhyme and reason for making your choices as you gain the primary weapon from any defeated boss character at the end of the main levels, and each is weak against the tool of another. Once again by default Mega Man comes armed with his mega buster that shoots pellet shaped energy bursts and can be charged up for a more powerful attack, and you can slide on the ground which is useful for getting past obstacles and dodging attacks. The main problem I have with this, the fifth game, is that it is so similar to the others that it kind of blends in with the last installment. This one doesn’t introduce anything new, and it’s easily the most forgettable.
The robot masters are new and they’re admittedly a slight improvement over those in the last title but they’re still a little boring. My favorites include Crystal Man (at least he’s not a copycat of a previous one), Charge Man (this one is interesting because his design is based off of a train), and the colorful Napalm Man (great idea in my opinion). I even liked Star Man because, although simple, his theme makes more sense than so many others out there. Others such as Wave Man, Gyro Man, Gravity Man and Stone Man are too similar to past boss characters in this series, and they’re ultimately pretty forgettable. There aren’t any terrible cases, but none are particularly inspired either. The weapons they leave behind after being defeated are decent, but they aren’t anything memorable. The charge kick in particular just makes Mega Man’s slide damage enemies. The napalms at least bounce on the ground, and the water wave causes water to spout from the ground. One of the more useful weapons here is the crystal eye which creates ricochets when it collides with a solid object. Gravity hold is also kind of interesting because it has several different effects such as freezing enemies or damaging them. Unfortunately the infamous shield weapon returns here in the form of star crash, but at least it can be thrown after being activated in this case. The weapons roster is decent overall and I do like it better than that of both 3 and 4.
Level designs are a slight step up from those in 4, and I really like some of the themes used here. I especially like Gravity Man’s stage wherein the gravity changes often leaving you clinging to the ceiling. Also cool is Charge Man’s domain in which the majority of the action takes place atop a moving train. It’s one of my favorite themes for a stage across the entire series. Star Man’s arena lacks gravity and hazards are littered across the ceiling which makes for some tight platforming and difficult areas to maneuver. Wave Man’s stage introduces the first vehicular section in the series, and it’s a nice change of pace. I’m not sure that the jungle theme for Napalm Man’s level was the best choice considering how some may consider that a political reference, but it’s still unique by series standards and is one of the more memorable areas here. Mega Man 5 may be one of the most forgettable installments, but the level design is still pretty sophisticated as far as NES platforming games are concerned. By Mega Man standards it’s a little weak though.
From screenshots Mega Man 5 is almost indistinguishable from the releases that came before it. Most of the graphics are recycled, and enemy designs aren’t vastly different. The backgrounds are a bit of an improvement from part 4 with more detail and with some decent animations to accent them. Aside from that the game suffers from all the same problems as the others. The framerate slows down to an absolute crawl just about every time that you’re facing more than two enemies at the same time. In addition there’s still a significant amount of flickering, and this can make it difficult to even see useful elements during gameplay. Other than these issues this game is decent in terms of graphics. The soundtrack is a marked improvement from the previous two titles. Charge Man’s high energy theme is enjoyable, and I also liked the music of Wave Man’s as well as Star Man’s levels too. Overall this is actually one of the best soundtracks in the entire series, and the composers almost managed to redeem themselves after 3 and 4.
Mega Man 5 is a pretty mediocre sequel, but it’s still better than everything since the second game. I like the roster of robot masters included here, and the level designs are actually pretty decent. With that said the game is still held back a bit by Mega Man’s sorry sliding and charge up abilities. In addition it’s a little infuriating that Capcom changed the formula so very little since the last release; part 5 just feels so generic after having runned and gunned your way through every installment up to this point. This is a great play, but don’t expect anything remarkable or new.
