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"Rarest of the GB Mega Man titles, and the best..."

If anyone's reading this, the GBA Mega Man Mania/Anniversary Collection game should be debuting in a month or so. Seeing as the game will be reissued for the GBA, I dug out my old GB cart of Mega Man V, replaying it to see if it is still any good.

Well, to be honest, it is. Mega Man V is one of the best 8-bit Mega Man/Rockman titles out there, ranking with Mega Man II and III for the NES. It is the best of the classic MM games on the GB/C/A, and still a joy to play.

''You going to review or mindlessly praise it?''

What makes you think this is mindless? I'm dead serious. When I first played this cart several years ago, I was in love. The music, graphics, bosses, even the plot was terrific. Years later, having played (and beaten) virtually all US Mega Man titles, I have to say that it is still my favorite.

''Why?''

Well, for one, the graphics are great, given the hardware this game was designed for. Released with Super Game Boy abilities (the SGB, for those that do not know, was the SNES version of the Game Boy Player, and gave the GB games limited ammounts of color to add to the games), Mega Man V was one of the best looking games on the GB.

The level designs are extremely detailed, from the machines, to the void of space, to the beautiful interiors of the boss lairs.

Enemies are animated quite well, better than many Mega Man games that came after. The boss designs are mostly play on their namesakes (like almost any Mega Man game), ranging from jokes on the roman names for the planet (Mars the God of War, Neptune = Posiden, etc) to various other references (Saturn has a ring, Mercury is made of...mercury, I guess). The animations are among the best for a Game Boy game, and are superior to any NES game. Watching the fluid (joke intended) animation of Mercury going from man to goo is beautiful.

''But I thought you were one of those 'grapx not evthng' people!''

It's ''graphics aren't everything,'' and yes, I am. And this game is Mega Man to a T, building on the good parts of the fourth GB game. The level designs are related to the bosses to a degree (Mars level is chock full of explosives, Jupiter is full of space terrain and electricity), and are well designed. The challenge involved in beating these levels usually is average Mega Man difficulty, though Venus's level has some tedious moments with bubble bouncing. The final level is actually among my most favorite in a Mega Man game, as previous GB bosses are revived to combat you. When you first play through it (assuming you played through none of the others), this can get confusing, and can lead to your doom. The third boss, Punk, owned me for a good time until I finally got his pattern down, proving that a bit of practice can be used to overcome these foes.

Speaking of bosses, all of the Stardroids (more later) are well designed, and have some interesting tactics for Mega Man bosses. Mercury shares some traits with the Yellow Devil (recast in this game as Dark Moon, by the way...), Uranus uses his level to his advantage, and Jupiter flies at the top, only vulnerable after firing his weapon. These bosses are fun to fight, though the mid-bosses in the eight levels leave something to be desired (there are only a few mid-bosses, and they usually appear twice in a level, like the Sphinx boss in Uranus's level). The Final fortress bosses (after the four revived bosses) are pretty good, and the villan's ship fight is actually a blast to fight, as it cannot be damaged in the traditional way at first.

The music is one of, if not the best parts of this game. I didn't detect any remixes, but there were plenty of original tracks, most, if not all, good. The Boss music and Boss Selection are my personal favorites among the Mega Man series (and that's saying something, by the way), and the level tracks are enjoyable and recognizable. Not the catchiest in the world, but nothing to sneeze at either. Ineresting note - the final boss music is simmilar to numerous tracks in the more recent Capcom games (like X6 and Network Transmission...).

''Wait a sec, who are these Stardroids? What villan? Everyone knows that Wily's the villan in classic MM!''

I wouldn't reveal the identity of the boss of the game if I thought it would spoil something, but I have to be honest - Wily is the boss here, and it's not really a spoiler. The almost-insane doc is ALWAYS involved in Mega Man's life (including the X and Zero series, apparently, but we shan't go there), and is here once again. Hoever, unlike normal, he is NOT the final boss, which is a first for the Classic and X series games. To date, this is the only ''traditional'' format MM game to not have Wily as the final boss (The EXE/Battle Network sidescrollers don't count - Wily was behind those things. Zero technically counts as traditional, but I won't include him yet, as there are several gameplay issues that seperate it from X and Classic).

And what are the Stardroids? Well, they are, supposedly, robots from space that are invulnerable to Mega Man's weapons, including the Mega Buster. So what does good ol' Doc Light do? Upgrades Mega Man, of course, with what might as well be the evolved form of Mega Man 3's Hard Knuckle (you shoot regular shots like always, but charging up your cannon shoots a small fist about half a screen's length out).

This item can be upgraded a few times, allowing you to grab a foe and hit them constantly and collect items in walls. This also adds a bit of strategy to the fights, as well as a bit of difficulty.

''How long is the game?''

Beat for bosses, fight a boss, beat four bosses, fight a boss, fortress. Sound familiar? Capcom probably based Mega Man 7 and 8 on this cart, as both use the boss layout and ''money'' systems.

''Money systems?''

In this game, items called P-Chips are scattered througout the levels and dropped by fallen foes. Give these to Doc Light and he makes you some goodies, from 1-Ups to the arm upgrades. You can also buy E-Tanks, W-Tanks (Weapon Tanks), and S-Tanks (Super Tanks - fills everything up).

Did I meantion that you still get the weapons from fallen bosses? Most weapons are used on hidden puzzles (Pluto and Uranus are two examples of this), and Mercury's Grab Buster allows you to regain health from foes.

''So, who is this final boss?''

THAT I will NOT reveal, as he is one of, if not the best bosses in the game. Remember fighting Zero in X5/6? Remember he was basically your equal? This guy is the same, and has quite a few tricks up his sleeve. Ironically, many of his abilities would appear in later games.

''So no Teleporting Wily?''

Honestly? None. Wily is tossed aside by the final boss, in a rather amusing (to a fan) manner. You DO see him again, but can't say more than that.

''How much is this thing?''

Well, that's a good question. I got my copy used for around US$20, and it's been known to go higher due to rarity. When the GBA collection arrives, it is unknown if the price will drop down or not.

''Which would you reccomend, given what you know of the collection game?''

I'd say to get the GBA cart, as it has more games and extras. But a true fan or a nostalgic gamer would have to get the old cart for the simple reason that it is nearly perfect by itself.

''Then why did you give it an 8?''

For one, the game still uses the accursed Complex Password system. It does include how many tanks you had, the items, and even P-chips. However, when you're on the go, it is best to have either a simple system or a save system than complex. I'm not really complaining, but this IS a portable game.

Then there's always the length of the game, and the lack of options. Once you beat it, it's over and done. Don't get me wrong, this is fun to play several times over, but most would beat it and walk off. There are no options here, and only the basic difficulty - Normal.

''Wasn't there a GBC remake?''

Ya know, I used to ask that myself. Nintendo Power used to have this cart listed under upcoming/watch list, and it stayed there for almost a year. In the end, nothing came of it that I know of, though whatever was done with it would probably be found in the GBA remake.

''So, the final call...?''

If you're a GB nut, get it. If you're a Capcom freak, get it. If you love Mega Man, get it. If you like 8-bit games, get it. Anyone else, at least try it once. It's a very good platformer/sidescroller game, and is worth the purchase. If nothing else, buy the GBA collection and try it. It should be worth it, though the music may not make it.

Again, a terrific game, one that should be played if you like anything Mega Man.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/04