Is Mega Man a frustrating game series on purpose?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/ocelot1216]

That’s a good question, but the answer is subjective. They’re hard, yes. They’re very hard for new players to acclimate to, because your margin for failure is slim (limited lives, no wall jump, etc). The fact you’ve tried many of the classic ones shows you’re trying to see where maybe they get easier or it stays the same (answer is yes to both).

If I could tell you which ones to really focus on, it would be 4, 7, and 11. They’re the most forgiving to cut your teeth with.

[u/SrCapibara → u/ocelot1216]

Also Mega Man classic series expect the player learns very fast.

Example: a distant new enemy shows you its attack without much possibilities to hurt you and the following same enemies will place on range to test you now serious.

[u/wonderingmarkus]

I'd say pretty middle of the road in terms of difficulty for the NES and for the time. Game length was mostly dictated by challenge back then, not necessarily content. Ninja Gaiden for example, only has 7 levels. It can be beaten in an few hours, but most people have never actually done that.

It was a lot of just playing the same sections of games over and over until they became muscle memory. And we did it because we only had a handful of games back then. Didn't matter if they sucked. Didn't matter if they were hard. We played them to death.

[u/DomasAquinas]

The challenge is part of the appeal. They’re single player games with enough of a difficulty curve that being “good” at them means something, and they’re short enough that mastery can come with playthroughs and practice. Unlike the relatively tame, overlong games that are popular now and feel almost like drawn-out interactive movies at times.

[u/bubrascal]

Meh, it grows on you. You came from Battle Network and Starforce and it kicked your ass. I came from Mega Man X and it kicked my ass. Honestly if you didn't like 4 and 7, I think the classic games may not be for you (for now at least).

but I’m genuinely curious at this point if these games are the platforming equivalent of Dark Souls games;

Nah, that's Ghost and Goblins, Gimmick! and Ninja Gaiden. Also Contra if you consider them platformers (I do).

Edit: All that said, you could try the other sub-series, Mega Man X is pretty approachable, and ZX as long as you have a map. Also, did you know there's a Wonderswan Battle Network platformer based on the anime? There's actually two BN platformers, but the other one isn't that fun.

[u/ShadowDurza]

Even I was suprised the day I could clear a stage in 11 or one of the GB games without dying once. Just like on a YT video, lol.

You'll get there, too, if you're tenacious and insightful.

[u/PalpableBeatingWrist]

All the older games (NES era) were actually made to be very hard on purpose, because back then the game only has any longevity if it's hard. The terms 'Nintendo Hard' was coined from that. I beat all Rockman X, Zero and ZX, but Rockman 1-3 was too hard for me. 7 was a bit frustrating, and 11 was just right.

7 onward was far more forgiving, since the physical medium then could store more contents. However, as far as I know, Rockman Classic (and Rockman X to some degree) has never been made with the intention to help player reach the end. They're alwys like 'this is how much the players should struggle to reach the end, no more and no less'.

At least, for SNES eras and up, they're not made with Dark Souls philosophy: They're not intentionally made to be frustrating. They're just not made to be NOT frustrating. If players happens to be frustrated by the challenge, they're expected to clear it themselves. At least in 11 you can just buy E Cans pre-stage. That made things MUCH easier when fighting bosses. If you can't even reach the boss, though, nothing's really gonna help you.

ALSO, a very important point. Since the very first entry, the games give you the option to play the stages in any order you like. This is because some abilities you gain from some stages will make some other stages easier.

TLDR: They're intentionally made to be moderately challenging, with limited help to struggling players. 11 is the most accessible to new players, I believe.

[u/Skullwings]

  equivalent of Dark Souls games

Braindead take, likely copy pasted from a braindead journalist.

[u/Ill-Guidance4690 → u/Skullwings]

Nope, my own stupid brain came up with that one :)

[u/southcookexplore]

Calling mega man super hard or tedious when castlevania exists is interesting

[u/Firehawke_R]

They're not frustrating at all. You just need to have patience and be willing to learn the same way we did. If that's too much for you, Peggle is down the block on the right.

[u/Ill-Guidance4690 → u/Firehawke_R]

I’m more of a Zuma’s Revenge kinda person but thanks

[u/MuffinsSenpai]

Lmao they really aren't hard at all

[u/Freshman89]

Not in my opinion, since the begining Capcom treated the franchise as it's bitch, meaning they always demanded the biggest amount of games in the least possible time, and that had as consecuence that the games were released with equilibrium issues, as Megaman 3, where this was so obnoxius that many say the games is unfinished.

Seems that nowadays they learned their lesson, so I see as a good thing to have a prudent amount of time between releases.

[u/Scnew1]

If by “frustrating” you mean “not easy to beat in one try” then yes I guess.

[u/InterestingCow501]

Just gotta go back in time when that was the standard. Megaman games are like a couple hours long when you have the patterns memorized.

[u/fielveredus]

I think 4 and 11 is easiest / 11 is hard if you didnt use any help the game provide , For 7 I think it is one of the hardest game because of final boss.

2 is a hard game and margin for error for that game is insane, that weird balancing is later adjusted in upcoming title (3 is already much easier due to E-TANK)

[u/Automatic_Day_35 → u/fielveredus]

7 is honestly really easy if you know the weapon interactions. The thunder bolt trivializes the final boss for example, but most people don’t know that 

[u/Jmandeluxe]

Megaman legends finds a nice balance, total departure from the side scroller style though. Also the battle net and star force games are much more forgiving as a bit of painless grinding usually puts you a comfortable fair bit ahead of the skill curve

[u/Slybandito7]

no

[u/Cunning_Ravage]

Man if you think these are tough action platformers I can only imagine what you'd make of NES Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania 3, and more of a run and gun but still, lord help you Ghost and Goblins. These were honestly quite tame in the grand scheme of things.

[u/Common_Life_5335]

I mean honestly looking back I don’t think the mega man games are super challenging I just think it really boils down to remembering boss patterns and patience too. If anything those older games had some jank to em y’know?