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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
Review: Mega Man 4
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:This game didn't come with the ability to save your game, but it does provide a password system. By entering in your password, you'll resume the game from where you left off - though any E-tanks or extra lives you've collected won't be restored. To pause the game, press START to bring up your weapon select menu. Time needed per session:This entire game can be completed in under an hour and a half, but if you just want to play a few levels, give yourself five to ten minutes per level.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians What violence is present is pretty family friendly, especially considering that the characters involved are robots. |
Screenshots
Screenshots are from the Mega Man Legacy Collection
Game Overview
Mega Man 4 took what made the previous games in the series great and tried to filter out the problems. For the most part, I’d say it was successful: there’s really only one part of the game that I’m not thrilled about, and that’s admittedly something of a skill issue rather than a design problem.
One of the key things this game did was solidified the series’ lore: it opens with a surprisingly lengthy cutscene that explains the origin of Mega Man before moving on to introduce the current plot. In short, a new villain, Dr. Cossack, has stepped up as a copycat of Dr. Wily. Using a similar scheme - creating eight hostile Robot Masters and having them go on a rampage - he’s making his bid to take over the world.
The stakes are a little different this time though: Dr. Light has finally upgraded Mega Man’s plasma gun to the iconic Mega Buster, which means that players can charge up for a more powerful shot by holding the B button.
Rush is also back, but oddly enough, so are the items that Rush was intended to replace. At least, this time you’ll need to go exploring to find them: they’re treated as hidden collectibles that you can find in specific stages. They aren’t explicitly necessary to complete the game, but they are very useful in a few spots.
Another useful feature is the ability to revisit cleared stages again - making this one the few Mega Man games where this is possible. Among other things, this makes it very easy to grab some extra lives or E-tanks, which is always nice.
My only real issue with this game is the final boss: it's possible for it to move out of range or cause the game to softlock. This is something that I feel should have been caught during testing, but it's not enough to ruin the experience.
Overall, this was another solid entry in the series - just expect things to get a little hairy at the end.
One of the key things this game did was solidified the series’ lore: it opens with a surprisingly lengthy cutscene that explains the origin of Mega Man before moving on to introduce the current plot. In short, a new villain, Dr. Cossack, has stepped up as a copycat of Dr. Wily. Using a similar scheme - creating eight hostile Robot Masters and having them go on a rampage - he’s making his bid to take over the world.
The stakes are a little different this time though: Dr. Light has finally upgraded Mega Man’s plasma gun to the iconic Mega Buster, which means that players can charge up for a more powerful shot by holding the B button.
Rush is also back, but oddly enough, so are the items that Rush was intended to replace. At least, this time you’ll need to go exploring to find them: they’re treated as hidden collectibles that you can find in specific stages. They aren’t explicitly necessary to complete the game, but they are very useful in a few spots.
Another useful feature is the ability to revisit cleared stages again - making this one the few Mega Man games where this is possible. Among other things, this makes it very easy to grab some extra lives or E-tanks, which is always nice.
My only real issue with this game is the final boss: it's possible for it to move out of range or cause the game to softlock. This is something that I feel should have been caught during testing, but it's not enough to ruin the experience.
Overall, this was another solid entry in the series - just expect things to get a little hairy at the end.
Points of Interest
Secondary weapon features
Although Fire Man's weapon from the first game was the first chargable weapon in the series, Mega Man 4 explored new ways to use Mega Man's weapons. The new chargable Mega Buster is the obvious example, but some of the special weapons also feature additional abilities.
It's especially useful to remember that Pharaoh Man's weapon can be charged, while Drill Man's missiles can be detonated on command by pressing the B button again as they fly across the screen.
It's especially useful to remember that Pharaoh Man's weapon can be charged, while Drill Man's missiles can be detonated on command by pressing the B button again as they fly across the screen.
Both collectible items are worth getting
The hidden items - the Wire and Balloon tools - should be sought out every time you play this game. While it might not seem like the Wire has many applications, it can double as a weapon, and the Balloon tool is much more reliable than Rush Coil, which is almost unusably buggy this round.
Miniboss happy
There are a lot of minibosses filling the stages in this game, and it sometimes dealing with them feels like fake difficulty or just grinding. Either way, it breaks up the flow of the gameplay and isn't as much fun as it could be.
The final battle feels unfair
Like any other Mega Man game, the final battle is against a vehicle manned by the antagonist. This time however, the vehicle can move vertically as well as horizontally, and frequently positions its weak point too high for Mega Man to reach. If you run out of special weapon energy, you've basically lost the game to a technicality.
Concerns and Issues
Robots fighting
Once again, we have a game where robots battle other robots. There's no gore, no violence in the usual sense, and everything involved can be rebuilt. It's a nice, family friendly adventure.
A whole stage made of bones
Skull Man's stage, as to be expected, is made up of bones and filled with skeleton-like robots. This might be unexpected, but personally I'd say it has more of an archeological vibe to it than anything.
But it might be worth mentioning that the name of Skull Man's theme is "Soldier of the Underworld", which may imply something darker.
But it might be worth mentioning that the name of Skull Man's theme is "Soldier of the Underworld", which may imply something darker.