The collection includes six games that were initially released for 8-bit consoles. They all take place in an unspecified future and tell of the adventures of the eponymous Mega Man who is a humanoid robot equipped with an artificial intelligence, constructed by an inventor named Thomas Light. In the first installment of the series, our task is to stop the mad genius called Dr. Wily. First, we have to defeat six of his robot in any order — every one of them awaits at the end of his own world. Having achieved this goal, we can face the Doctor in the final fight. Even though we can beat him, it isn’t the end of the villain. In the next five games, Mega Man battles various robots and their creators, but it always eventually turns out that Dr. Wily is involved in every scheme.
Mechanics
The bundle consists of six titles: Mega Man from 1987, Mega Man 2 (1988), Mega Man 3 (1990), Mega Man 4 (1991), Mega Man 5 (1992), and 1993’s Mega Man 6. These productions are two-dimensional platformer games in which our task is to explore their vast maps, collect items, and to avoid traps and obstacles. The titles put great emphasis on fighting various enemies, which is made easier by a huge gun mounted on the protagonist’s arm. The campaign structure has the player defeat several mechanical bosses in all cases. Beating them lets us learn their unique attacks. Having defeated them all, we can face the final boss. Contrary to standard blows, ammunition for these special attacks is limited and has to be replenished by collecting magazines during exploration. Subsequent installments introduce new skills, such as a slide tackle or summoning of a mechanical dogs, which then appear in the games that follow.
Game modes
For veterans, the developers designed a new mode called Challenge which combines elements from all included products of the franchise and requires the player to complete increasingly difficult challenges.
Technical aspects
Mega Man Legacy Collection for PS4, SWITCH and etc. faithfully recreates all six installments of the series, although not without numerous enhancements. The original visual style remained unchanged but many of its elements were improved to make them sharper.
The developers also implemented online leaderboards and the option of recording gameplay to share it with the rest of the community. Another highlight of the game is the virtual museum that contains a myriad of information, images, and sketches that let us learn the history behind all of the first six installments of the Mega Man series.
