Back in the day before the rise of GameFaqs and the like, stumped gamers would seek solace in video-based walkthroughs to aid them in their time of need. Case in point, this retro-tastic Mega Man 2 video guide from the now-defunct Game Player's magazine, which recently surfaced in this century thanks to Retro Realities.
Yes, there's certainly a lot of inaccuracies and "well, duh!" moments throughout, but I can see how this would be helpful way back when. That or you could have picked up one of these.
Credit: Mega Man Network
I swear, the names these guys give the enemies. How in the hell to thh Pipis look like flying FISH of all things? -_-
ReplyDeleteThose flying fish...
ReplyDeleteDropping their lots of other tiny flying fish...
Ahh... Game Players... I'd almost forgotten how utterly putrid that mag was. If you think the tips & hints are bogus, you should dig up an old copy and check out their reviews.
ReplyDeleteMetalman's Buzz Saw sure is helpful against those flying fish in Woodman's stage. This has got to be the worst guide ever.....
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen this featured on Seanbaby a few years back.
ReplyDeleteI loved how much Seanbaby ripped at this. XDD
"Flying Fish"
ReplyDelete"Exhaust Bubbles"
Implying that special weapons are actually different characters.
Oh wow. I needed the laugh today.
The funny thing is that Mega Man 2 isn’t hard… at all… but whatever. Cool video anyway. Gotta love the '80s. I remember this stuff like it was yesterday. XD
ReplyDeleteI love how they don't even mention Alien Wily, the ONLY boss in the game I had trouble with as a kid. But whatever, it is very nostalgic. I had a subscription to Game Players back in the day.
ReplyDeleteHeh heh... "The Flashman." Sounds like a DC ripoff.
ReplyDeleteStill, this did teach me something new: I didn't know you could fire the Leaf Shield upwards...
Ash Paulsen - actually, try doing QuickMan's stage without the Flash Stopper. Or HeatMan stage without Item 2. Or beating WoodMan on hard mode without Metal Blades.
ReplyDeleteIf you know the optimal order of stages then sure, it's easy (discovering it for yourself is trial and error, which is bad design, even worse in MM1). Otherwise it can be tough.
Lol, watching this again just for kicks.
ReplyDelete"FlashMan's not too hard to beat", while the player is completely getting run over.
I love how he didn't realize you can destroy the giant fish in BubbleMan's stage by hitting the bulb on their head and instead advises the player to walk through them. You take major damage for touching them so I'm sure this advise actually makes it harder.
Oh, and I gotta get one of those Supersonic controllers. Notice the claim of "higher scores" is officially "based on US National Video Game Team trials".
This is lulz in one of its most purest forms.
ReplyDeleteTo everyone who's made fun of the inconsistancies of this guide: Please bear in mind, we didn't have access to a large portion of the resources we do now. Some things can look like other things to other people and sometimes, ignorance can lead to people doing things we might find to be stupid. Don't you remember the first time you played Mega Man II? I do. I thought that stage select screen was a character select screen.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, sure it's funny to laugh at how utterly clueless we all seemed in the past, but we were all there at some point or another. No matter what you might think, this game was pretty damn hard back before we played it 100 times over and learned every little thing about it. ;3
Dhylec -
ReplyDelete"try doing QuickMan's stage without the Flash Stopper
I do, routinely.
"Or HeatMan stage without Item 2"
I do, routinely.
"Or beating WoodMan on hard mode without Metal Blades."
Okay, this I don't do routinely, but I have done it.
My point is, I'm not saying Mega Man 2 doesn't have challenging moments or sections, but overall it's an incredibly easy game, and nowhere near deserving of the "it's so damn hard" rep it has. There are several Mega Man games that are harder than 2 -- 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 10 to be precise.
Pretty much any Mega Man game is easy once you know the optimal order of stages. Why does Mega Man 2 get a pass?
Can't blame them for the "Flying Fish", it was used in the game's manual! And poor "Dr. Wiley" got some naming issues in early games, even in-game in MM3.
ReplyDeleteAs the game has over 20 years, many have practice to defeat Air Man without weapons and pass through Heat Man's stage without Item 2 and Bubble Lead.
@Dhylec:
ReplyDelete"[...]actually, try doing QuickMan's stage without the Flash Stopper."
Been there, done that. In fact, I've beaten Quick Man himself without the Time Stopper plenty of times. Flash Stopper is actually the name of Bright Man's weapon, by the way. Don't feel bad, though. That mistake seems to be pretty common among the fanbase. Even I've gotten them mixed up.
"Or HeatMan stage without Item 2."
I've pulled that one off before, too. It's even easier to do in Mega Man 9's Endless Stage.
"Or beating WoodMan on hard mode without Metal Blades."
Oh, I've done that one plenty of times, as well. That is, if using Atomic Fire counts (which is actually his primary weakness).
I love how on the difficult part of the heatman stage he has no problems then in his words uses the 'jet sled' at the top of the screen. Why doesnt he do that from the start at the bottom?
ReplyDelete