My Life as a Gamer - Part 3 - The Robotic Rock

When my gaming addiction was budding and it didn't seem like anything other than good, fun and easy games existed I came across a game that changed my perception forever. Even as a 5/6 year old I knew art when I saw it and if this game was a painting it would be the Mona Lisa. Easy to admire, interesting to observe, but difficult to fully grasp and comprehend. This game is of course Megaman 2. From the opening Capcom jingle, to the final desperate struggle to Dr. Wily, Megaman 2 positively shines. The blue bomber rightfully holds a place in my top 10 favorite game characters of all time and here's why.

Every hero needs to stand on a tall building, with the wind in their hair and contemplate their mission.

Megaman 2 was one of the first, somewhat, non-linear game I ever played. Sure the levels all go left to right and there's only one path to each boss but, it's the order of the bosses that makes it so compelling. You can choose any level you want in any order you want, at any time you want. You have the power! Be it Air Man, Quick Man or Metal Man, each has their own unique strengths and weaknesses and depending on your choices you may end up playing the ultra, mega hard version of the game. As a small boy this was simply incredible. I couldn't fathom that the game could do something like that and I was convinced that the game could think. It was determined to stop me from winning, so I was doubly determined to beat it. There was no way the I, a boy of flesh and blood would be beaten by the grey box of doom......But I was, many many, many times. I took the wrong path through the bosses and saw my little blue champion explode over and over again. Thus the seed was planted in me for what all gamers eventually develop. Nerd Rage. Being 5/6 the rage was relatively tame and easy to control, but it was ever present, bubbling under the surface and ready to explode at any instant. Eventually the idea of beating them in the correct order came to me. Slowly I began to realize that order and gain more confidence in beating the game. The nerd rage was kept in check and I finally beat the last boss, who for me turned out to be Quick Man, or so I thought.

MegaMan has obviously "puffed" the Magic Dragon

As Quick Man's body disintegrated, I remember doing my first "Completion Dance of Excitement"TM. I was ecstatic...for about 4 seconds. After I defeated Quick Man, the game revealed to me its true self. Not only was I not finished, I was faaaar from finished. WHY?! Why is it doing this to me! Nerd Rage rising my "Completion Dance of Excitement"TM morphed into my first "Unbelieving Defeated Foot Stomp of Death" (Patent Pending). All this dancing and stomping and grunts of dismay had attracted the attention of my Dad.

"What the bl***dy hell is going on in here?!", "Nothing Dad, I promise". I knew I had to hide my true nature for it would be shunned by society. They've never accepted beasts. Think of Frankenstein, Dracula or the kid you used to have to "get off ground around".

"Well, whatever you're doin', just stop it. If you can't play quietly and without screaming at the TV you won't play at all". Oh this won't do, this won't do at all. This game is trying to get me banned. It wants me to get mad enough so my Dad stops me from playing, that way I'll never beat it. Well not in my house!
With renewed calm and determination I continued down the path to Dr. Wily, the devious creator of the 8 robots I had just destroyed.

I wonder if Crash Man's name has anything to do with what that guy in the middle does?

I picked up the controller, selected Dr. Wily from the level select and hit Start. This has to be it, I thought. Oh how wrong I was again. This game hates me. I hate it, its stupid, it's too hard and I never want to play it again. This was exactly my thoughts when I realized what was in front of me before I got to Wily. Apparently the crafty devil had built two of each of the bosses, as well as a giant dragon-bot. And to make matters worse he lived at the end of the longest, most dangerous road I'd ever seen. Seriously, why would an evil genius live in a castle surrounded by swamps, forests, saw mills, laser death traps and fire breathing robo-dragons, He's obviously an idiot. At least I have all my powers, these guys will be cake. And they were, at least at first. But the levels got progressively harder, the bosses more than twice as tough as when we last danced in battle and the normal baddies were now super baddies. Geez, Dr. Wily really doesn't want to get caught! After many nights and days of trying, dying and trying again I finally made it to Wily. Haha you old geezer, you're going down!His door contracted upwards and I jumped into the screen so MegaMan would hover in the air for a few seconds as the screen scrolled. (N.B. Many years later Trinity would copy this move in the opening scene of the Matrix). With trepidation, sweaty palms and the devil inside ready to burst I faced Wily. Quick Man's Laser will do the trick, Wily is going down. SoI used the laser. Wily's health barely flinched. Saw blade? Same thing. His hover car of death was making short work of my health bar and even after beating his robotic army twice I still couldnt even scratch his paint. Why wont you die?! The beast was anxious, but I kept it in check. I hadn't come this far just to get banned. I tried every weapon twice, and nothing worked. All I had left was the useless weapon I hadn't bothered with as every other enemy I faced had laughed it off. Bubble Man's bubble beam. As if bubbles can kill a super death carI thought, but what choice did I have. With a brand new health bar after being freshly trounced by Wily I equipped my Bubble Beam and entered the boss room once again. No lives left, it was do or die time. If i dies again, I would certainly get banned after the NES had been drop kicked through the TV. I couldn't let that happen. I had to win. I readied myself and Wily dived at me. I fired my pathetic Bubble Beam.......

Wily's health dropped by almost a 1/4. WHAT THE HELL?!I couldn't believe it. The one weapon that could do no harm to anything else in the game, could apparently obliterate the end boss. I fired again and again, pumping round after round of sudsy water at the old crazy haired coot and he went down. He went down hard. I was victorious. I had beaten the unbeatable game. I was the king of the NES!

"Hey Leo" Dad called from the front door as he came in. "I got a new game for ya to play" It was serendipity, not that I knew what that was back then, but a new game just as I finish an old one. "Yay Dad! What is it?" "Well I thought you'd like it. It's Megaman 3!" THE BEAST AWOKE!

Next time - There's a "Super" Nintendo? Yes son but you're banned remember?