Rank the NES Mega Man games

[Ancient Toaster]

Grew up with these games, but the only one I personally owned on cart was MM IV. I rented or borrowed the others. I was much better at these games as a kid than I am now, it's crazy!

My ranking:

MM II - The standard to which all Mega Man Games are measured. Music, Level design, Robot Masters and the Metal Blade! Iconic game. My mom rented this for me like every week from Blockbuster.

MM IV - Maybe because I played it the most, and owned it, but secondly only to Mega Man 2 in terms of music, level design, Robot Masters and Weapons. I really wanted to own a Mega Man game and when this came out it was the one and only I bought.

MM V - I like this game, but it's pretty easy. You can beat most of the Robot Masters with the really overpowered Mega Buster charge attack. Music isn't on the same level as MMII or IV. I rented it often but never bought it.

MM III - This game is vastly overrated by the Mega Man community in general. Yes, it has great music and some pretty cool Robot Masters, but it's such a pain in the ass to play. It's the most frustrating of the NES games to me, and the most difficult. I replay this one less than any of them, because I just generally don't like it. I remember renting this one several times and getting further and further into the game, only to be frustrated at every turn. I never had fun with it like the others. (Outside of MM I which is the most frustrating game I've ever played)

MM VI - I don't have a lot of experience with this game becuase I had moved on to the Sega Genesis when this game came out when I was younger, so I never got around to playing it until later. I only rank it lower than III because I have the least experience and haven't beaten it, but it shows promise of being a good Mega Man game. I'm sure after I'm done with it it will top III.

MM I - It's just not a very good game. It started the franchise but it was perfected in every way by it's sequel and it just doesn't even hold a candle to the others. It's mind numbingly difficult and not entertaining.

[Call Sign: Raven]

In order of most favorite to least favorite:

MM2 - That's my go to Mega Man game. I love it to pieces.

MM1 - While it can be easy to exploit it through glitches and the pause button, this game captures a great mood.

MM3 - Childhood favorite. Excellent balance of fun and challenge.

MM5 - Best music in the series, period. Fun bosses, but can be a little on the easy side.

MM4 - Fall in a hole simulator. Seriously, this game's design was revolved around making you fall into pits. It's still a great game; just don't look down.

MM6 - This is when the series started to suffer fatigue, and this game shows it. Pretty much the most terrible Mega Man game on the NES. The first 5 are consistently great, whereas they dropped the ball so hard with 6.

While I'm at it, Mega Man X 1-3 are the bees knees. 4 is okay, 5+ are all garbage.

[Ancient Toaster]

Originally posted by Harrison Ford:

In order of most favorite to least favorite:

MM2 - That's my go to Mega Man game. I love it to pieces.

MM1 - While it can be easy to exploit it through glitches and the pause button, this game captures a great mood.

MM3 - Childhood favorite. Excellent balance of fun and challenge.

MM5 - Best music in the series, period. Fun bosses, but can be a little on the easy side.

MM4 - Fall in a hole simulator. Seriously, this game's design was revolved around making you fall into pits. It's still a great game; just don't look down.

MM6 - This is when the series started to suffer fatigue, and this game shows it. Pretty much the most terrible Mega Man game on the NES. The first 5 are consistently great, whereas they dropped the ball so hard with 6.

While I'm at it, Mega Man X 1-3 are the bees knees. 4 is okay, 5+ are all garbage.

I definitely agree with you about Mega Man X 1-3. 4 is good too but I really didn't like the voice acting/anime influences they added to the Playstation era of X games.

[Call Sign: Raven]

Originally posted by AncientToaster:

Originally posted by Harrison Ford:

In order of most favorite to least favorite:

MM2 - That's my go to Mega Man game. I love it to pieces.

MM1 - While it can be easy to exploit it through glitches and the pause button, this game captures a great mood.

MM3 - Childhood favorite. Excellent balance of fun and challenge.

MM5 - Best music in the series, period. Fun bosses, but can be a little on the easy side.

MM4 - Fall in a hole simulator. Seriously, this game's design was revolved around making you fall into pits. It's still a great game; just don't look down.

MM6 - This is when the series started to suffer fatigue, and this game shows it. Pretty much the most terrible Mega Man game on the NES. The first 5 are consistently great, whereas they dropped the ball so hard with 6.

While I'm at it, Mega Man X 1-3 are the bees knees. 4 is okay, 5+ are all garbage.

I definitely agree with you about Mega Man X 1-3. 4 is good too but I really didn't like the voice acting/anime influences they added to the Playstation era of X games.

That voice acting was embarrassing in X4. I enjoyed the anime cut scenes, but as I aged they started to turn sour, too. Playstation era was just a very bad era for voice acting!

[76561198063124591]

Originally posted by Sour Sauce:

(6.) Mega Man 5. Weakest entry of the bunch. Proto Man's Fortress is garbage.

I can't agree with that. It's the weakest only because Proto Man's Fortress? The game have the best soundtrack in the series, epic variety of stages (Wave Man, Gravity Man, Star Man), well designed robot masters (Gyro Man, Crystal Man, Gravity Man), an interesting plot (Proto Man being supposedly the villan).

[TheLinkToThePast]

1) Mega Man 3. Yeah, it's unfinished, but what's there is REALLY fun. I like the Doc Robot stages more than most people. Certainly more fun than the Fortress is. Top Spin is better than people say it is.
2) 6. Why 6? I guess it just works for me. The Power and Jet adapters are fun, as are the Silver Tomahawk and Blizzard Attack, though the rest of the weapons don't really measure up. Energy Balancer's nice too. Only real other complaint is that it's...admittedly not the hardest game.
(Note: I'd put 10 and 9 here, followed by GB 5)
3) Mega Man 1. I like this one way more than most people too. Some fun weapons that sadly don't ever come back (Like the Fire Storm!), and that's what I think really makes this game. It has some issues, don't get me wrong (Footholders, ugh), but it's a solid start.
4) Mega Man 2. This one...doesn't work as well for me, in my opinion. Tearing through everything with the Metal Blade is fun, yes, but it's bizarrely unforgiving compared to the first game, considering that you lose all your Tanks if you game over (Keep in mind, the first game is balanced around them not existing), and of course, the Buebeam Trap in its entirety, but it's still a fun ride.
Mega Man 4 and 5 are tied for last, because I just don't enjoy them as much. :\ It just doesn't sit right with me, and I've only played through each of them once. I guess I'd have to say 4's a bit better than 5? I just couldn't get into these.

[Sourface]

(1.) Mega Man 4—the most complete. Coolest robot masters in the series, and all the stages are fantastic. Gameplay is insanely tight, and balanced. Stages are varied, and brilliantly designed. One of the best video games ever made.

(2.) Mega Man 3—the most rounded. It's buggy as hell, but makes up for its slow down with some of the finest stage design in the series. Only part that's BS is the Rush Jet stage in Wily's Fortress. Overall, this game kicks mega butt.

(3.) Mega Man 2—the most legendary. If this were a list of best soundtracks, MM2 would easily be the winner. It's not perfect, but MM2 is memorable, and tons of fun.

(4.) Mega Man 1—the most classic. Hardest entry in the series, but also the shortest, which makes the high difficulty and lack of a password system forgivable.

(5.) Mega Man 5—the most average. Does nothing special, but still manages to be fun. Proto Man's Fortress is just plain garbage, however.

(6.) Mega Man 6—the most annoying. Only entry from the original six that isn't very good. Robot masters are forgettable, and no stage excels beyond being mediocre at best. Plus, constantly switching between your suits is a pain in the butt.

[76561198063124591]

Originally posted by Sour Sauce:

(1.) Mega Man 4—the most complete. Coolest robot masters in the series, and all the stages are fantastic. Gameplay is insanely tight, and balanced. Stages are varied, and brilliantly designed. One of the best video games ever made.

(2.) Mega Man 3—the most rounded. It's buggy as hell, but makes up for its slow down with some of the finest stage design in the series. Only part that's BS is the Rush Jet stage in Wily's Fortress. Overall, this game kicks mega butt.

(3.) Mega Man 2—the most legendary. If this were a list of best soundtracks, MM2 would easily be the winner. It's not perfect, but MM2 is memorable, and tons of fun.

(4.) Mega Man 1—the most classic. Hardest entry in the series, but also the shortest, which makes the high difficulty and lack of a password system forgivable.

(5.) Mega Man 5—the most average. Does nothing special, but still manages to be fun. Proto Man's Fortress is just plain garbage, however.

(6.) Mega Man 6—the most annoying. Only entry from the original six that isn't very good. Robot masters are forgettable, and no stage excels beyond being mediocre at best. Plus, constantly switching between your suits is a pain in the butt.

That's better.

[WesleyB]

#1: Mega Man 2

The game that turned the series into a famous franchise. It was an honest effort to deliver the best they could out of the bare concept the developers laid out in MM1, while working on it as a side-project with no budget. Great weapons with new mobility tools, kickass soundtrack, and the ability to choose the easier difficulty makes it the go-to game for anyone who wants to experience Mega Man for the first time.

#2: Mega Man 6

One of the last NES games and it really shows - amazing pixel-art with distinctive locations and enemies accompanied with a fantastic soundtrack. Rush was turned into adaptors, with Jet Mega Man being my absolute favorite out of all the mobility tools. Pretty easy for Mega Man fans, but I find it the most well-done game out of all six NES titles.

#3: Mega Man 3

Despite being pretty rushed (pun.. not intended?) it is still a mighty-fine Mega Man title on its own right. The slide maneuver brought in new mobility-related possibilities. Boring Item 1/2/3 were turned into a cute robot-dog with Rush Jet eliminating all semblance of challenge out of the window. The soundtrack is as good as MM2's and MM6's. The only thing that brings the whole experience down are the Doc-Robots, pathetic fights with "Break Man" (both of which feel like a waste of time) and the easiest Wily Castle ever.

#4: Mega Man 1

The game that started (and almost prematurely ended) the franchise. Very rough all-around, with some levels faceplanting you into the Great Difficulty Wall. Despite all of that, I still play it from time-to-time with it being my most replayed Mega Man title of them all simply because of it's short nature. That and I get the kicks out of perfecting the no-damage glitchless run on Yellow Devil for the Nth time.

#5: Mega Man 4

The game that I desperately want to like more than I possibly can. This is where the pixel-art started to get real good, and the soundtrack ain't shabby either. The "new villain" concept brought a breath of fresh air (with a cold russian breeze, nonetheless) and the Mega Buster became ingrained into Mega Man's DNA as a very useful offensive upgrade. What ultimately brings the whole game down is the level design that has a fetish for bottomless pits and a sea of spikes. That and some of the worst gimmicks of all Mega Man levels.

#6: Mega Man 5

My second-least favorite classic Mega Man for two reasons: a) It's the most bland and boring title in the series (rivaled by MM8) that does nothing new or better than MM4, with no semblance of challenge whatsoever aside from few pixel-perfect jumps, and b) THE SUCKIEST ARSENAL OF WEAPONS IN THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE. And that's counting the X, Zero and the rest of the sub-series. The charged up Mega Buster is a far better option than the 90% of the weapons. People give a lot of ♥♥♥♥ to Top Spin from MM3 as the most useless, impractical weapon out of them all, and yet that's what I call the Charge Kick. And Power Stone is absolute garbage (..not the games). The robot masters are pretty pathetic to beat too, with Star Man getting a special star in that regard. Most of the tunes are average for Mega Man title, and the plot despite the premise is the most forgettable out of them all, excluding Mega Man 1.

P.S. I didn't realize a lot of people don't like Mega Man 6..

[Ancient Toaster]

I'm not entirely sure that I understand the issue with MMIV and bottomless pits. It seemed like that game had just as many instances of that as did the previous games, unless I'm missing something...Mega Man 2 and 3 both had several levels where you have either enemies or some sort of gimmick that can make you fall in to a Pit.

[Bat Credit Card]

[UPDATED]

1. Mega Man 5: Yes, to anyone's surprise. I love Mega Man 5, sure it has a weak arsenal but there is something about it that I love

2. Mega Man 3: It is like Mega Man 2 with slide, that's about it

3. Mega Man 1: Really nice one to start off with, very basic although there is mass difficulty which is great for super fans

4. Mega Man 2: I used to adore Mega Man 2 until I realized it was overrated and buggy as hell.

5. Mega Man 6: A great one to wrap up the NES titles, but the story was bland along with the characters.

6: Mega Man 4: Oh, I have a bone to pick with this one. the levels are overdone with holes and I CAN NOT BEGIN TO TELL YOU ABOUT WHEN I PLAYED BRIGHT MAN , over difficulty makes Mega Man 1 so high.

[Ancient Toaster]

Still don't get the MM4 hate and the complaint about holes and pits. Every single Mega Man game has pits..

What game are you guys playing, did I play a different Mega Man 4 than everyone else?

[Professor Q]

I basically agree with the original post in terms of ranking except I'd put VI ahead of III.... Maybe. I really hate the weapon selection in III, but VI also has a lot of wasted potential (And not a particularly good weapon selection either.)

I think in terms of arguing which of the original 6 is the best, I'd say that IV and II go head to head with II edging it out in my opinion. IV definitely has the best polish, but there is some boring level design going on in there with no super challenging levels to enjoy and no real reason to feel like you absolutely need any of the Robot Master weapons (Especially since it's when they added the Charge Buster.)

If we're arguing the entire classic series, I'd say 9 is the best one. I keep pining for a Steam Release.


And as long as we're bringing up the X series, I think 1 and 3 are the best (In that order.) I really kind of dislike 2, but that's mainly because of the RNG involved with collecting the zero parts. While I can agree that X4 is "Okay", I have a blast playing as Zero and it's really the only one that's actually good that involves his gameplay. I like playing Zero enough that I'm willing to put up with X5 for him - but X6 really just kind of sucks.

[KoolRanch]

Mega Man 2 - The first game to do everything right. Yeah, you could say some of the bosses in the Wily Castle are cheap; but that doesn't really mess with the enjoyment I get out of this game overall. Also, normal mode is perfect for people who would like to get into the franchise.

Mega Man 6 - The quality of this game is through the roof with the excellent visuals and the very detailed music. The Rush power-ups in this game are cool (but not as good as MM3's) and the amusing (and the possibly accidental) satirical story. The only problems I had with this game is the extra Wily Castle as it just felt like padding. This game is also another good one for newer players (some people argue that that's a bad thing but I really don't mind).

Mega Man 3 - Almost as good as the last two. The Rush power-ups, the more interesting story, and the slide makes this game amazing. However, the Doc robot stages and the annoying lag are big set backs. This game does have a harder difficulty then most of the classic series, just in case you were wondering.

Mega Man 1 - This game hasn't aged very well, but I still respect it as it's a classic. The only three things that Mega Man 1 does better than all the other games is the challenge, the magnet beam and the overwhelming feeling of reward when you acomplish a stage.

Mega Man 4/5 - Can't decide which is better or worse of the two. Mega Man 4 has some unfair level design and 5 just feels a bit too generic, even with all those changes. They both also have a second Wily Castle at the end (you already know how I feel about that). They aren't bad games by any means, I just don't find myself returning to these two as much as the other four games.

[Beef Hammer]

3
2
1
in that order
everything else is garbage until the X series...

[KoolRanch]

Originally posted by Beef Hammer:

3
2
1
in that order
everything else is garbage until the X series...

Hope you don't take this the wrong way, but do you have reasons why you think MM 4-6 are bad and will you be willing to share them? It would be nice if you could.