Retro Review: Mega Man 3

Player(s): 1
Platform: NES, Mobile, Wii, PS3, PS2/GCN/Xbox (via Anniversary Collection), PC/3DS/PS4/X1/Switch (via Legacy Collection)
​
Is it possible to improve on Mega Man 2, often considered the pinnacle of the series? Well regardless of how possible it is, Capcom certainly tried their hardest to make Mega Man 3 unique and fun in its own way while retaining the identity the franchise had built for itself.

Top Man's stage was odd considering its theme in relation to the boss.

As with its predecessor, Mega Man 3 works to add something substantial to the gameplay while still being deeply rooted in the familiar. This game, arguably, adds the most interesting mechanic in the franchise: sliding. Adding this provides a completely new form of navigation, creating more interesting scenarios for obstacles and enemy battles. Not only this, but it also enables a more frenetic environment, making the game more engaging as a whole. The other interesting thing that MM3 brings into the picture is the introduction of Rush as your companion, removing the generic ‘Items’. It’s merely an aesthetic change, but it does add some much-needed personality. Finally, there’s the addition of Proto Man, Mega Man’s secret guardian and brother, who constantly tests you throughout the game. Beyond this, Mega Man 3 is the same old Mega Man, with some new approaches.

Not sure why Shadow Man's stage has lava, but the aesthetic is nice.

This time around, it seems like Dr. Wily has decided to reform and work with Dr. Light to create the ultimate peace-keeping robot: Gamma. They discover that they need to travel to other planets to acquire special power sources, sending Mega Man to complete this task. Mega Man discovers that the guardian robots of each planet have gone rogue, and he must fight through each of them to get what he needs. Of course, as was generally the case back then, the backstory is told primarily through the game manual. It’s not a particularly complex story, but it’s clear that they were trying to establish a more interesting narrative to try and create a compelling universe, rather than a simple game that has no relevance.

Magnet Man employs magnets. Naturally.

More importantly, the game takes place on other planets! Aesthetically, this leads to some really fun designs. About half of them feel very much like the kind of things we’ve seen in the previous games, while others are designed with a very foreign feel. My favorite design, both in stage and in its boss battle, is Gemini Man. It looks to take place on a crystal-based world looking out into space, and is very fun to navigate due to some odd obstacles (such as egg-like things that release tadpole-looking things when destroyed). Then you get to Gemini Man himself, who has a cool ricocheting laser that introduces an unpredictable but still fair mechanic into the fight. It’s this sort of thing that the game shoots for: bringing unique things into the mix while staying rooted in the familiar. Every boss, along with their stage, has some kind of gimmick. The biggest plus here is that, like Mega Man 2, all of your tools and weapons are useful.

A taste of the weirdness of Gemini Man's stage.

After you defeat the 8 main Robot Masters, you are presented with 4 new remixed versions of stages in the game with 2 surprise bosses in each stage. It’s a very cool concept, but ultimately feels like an excuse to recycle content already in the game in order to force longevity out of the game. Despite the glee of fighting against some old Robot Masters with completely different weapons and the new sliding mechanic, Mega Man 3 would ultimately have been a better game had these stages been removed or at least cut in half.

The bosses of Mega Man 3.

As a quick side note, as with all the other games in the series, all versions play similarly except for the slight slowdown in the GCN/PS2/Xbox releases in the Anniversary Collection. My most recent run through this game was on the Nintendo Switch version of Mega Man Legacy Collection, and it plays absolutely wonderfully on there. Every version except the original has the ability to create save states on top of using the password system to save progress.

One of Proto Man's many surprise appearances.

Beyond this, the game is very detailed, looks pretty, continues the tradition of having very catchy tunes and most importantly, has very tight and responsive controls. At the same time, despite its admirable attempt at keeping things fresh, it’s the first time that the series starts to feel formulaic. That being said, it’s still a worthy addition into the franchise and does a great job of standing on its own. Mega Man 3 is definitely one worth checking out.
​
- Teepu

---

Gameplay: A
Graphics: A+
Sound: A
Value: A

OVERALL: A

Pros:
+ Unique setting leads to some fun aesthetic designs.
+ Sliding mechanic helps the Mega Man formula feel fresh.
+ Lots of bosses make for a relatively lengthy game for the genre.

Cons:
- Franchise fatigue is starting to flash its teeth a little.
- An attempt at an interesting story is lost due to most of it being told outside of the game, within the game manual.
- Lots of bosses and stages also make the game feel like a drag at times.

---