3/5 ★ – squid0812's review of Mega Man.

The first take on this quintessential series of action platformers is mildly enjoyable but also frequently frustrating. The classic Mega Man formula - fight a series of bosses in any order, claiming their powers as you go - is here in spades, and the charming simplicity of that format goes a long way. Still, a lot of the trimmings that would make some of the sequels so memorable are pretty rough here. Most of the levels and enemy designs are fine enough in the wireframe, but they don't come close to the level of charm that we would see in Mega Man 2 or 3. The bosses, while affably goofy, are mostly limited to jumping around and throwing things at you. And then there's the straight BS - the janky-ass platforms in Gutsman's level, the dreaded disappearing blocks in the Iceman and Elecman levels, all of the times the game exposes you to unavoidable damage (those hopping screw-like enemies are the worst). The four-level slog that is Dr. Wily's fortress is enough to drive me up a wall. The Mega Man ethos, evident here even in the early days, is charming enough make this more good than bad for me, but be prepared to deal with a lot of awful ideas that were thankfully ditched in later games.