I have to admit - my last blog post was part therapy for myself, and part table setting for _this _ post.
Everything I said about my past feelings regarding the Mega Man series are true, but here, now, in the year 2020, a part of me wants to go back and check all those old games out.
A lot of this is driven by my increasing desire to play retro games in order to document and analyze them as pieces of history. Some of it is driven by a desire to start critically analyzing video games again (something I did for a long time in my youth). I am not expecting any of these games to be unexpected gems that I will regret ignoring, but I also do not expect them to be as bad as I convinced myself they were. I am really trying to go into this without any preconceptions, and just take them as they are.
And if they are bad? I’m not too worried honestly. As long as they give me enough content to analyze and mentally chew on, then it will be time and money well spent.
Obviously the best way to play these games is through one of the many Mega Man Legacy Collections released by Capcom over the years, but I have a slight problem. Most of these collections are a mix of games I have and haven’t played - and in some cases, already own - so I’d be paying for a bunch of games I don’t need. There is one collection made up entirely of games I have yet to play, but it is the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2, which contains what most fans consider the worst stretch of four games in the entire franchise.
This leaves me with just one Collection that is, by most metrics, the “best” choice - and considering all the things I wrote about just the other day, the irony is palpable:
Released just this year, the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection contains all four Mega Man Zero games (originally released on Game Boy Advance), and both Mega Man ZX games (originally released on DS). The only game in the collection that I have played is the original Mega Man Zero, and it was so long ago that I barely remember anything about it. So while I can’t say I haven’t played any of these games, it’s close enough.
Furthermore, despite my recent dunking on Zero, there are far too many people who regard the MMZ games as being some of the best in the franchise. Regardless of my past feelings, I cannot ignore so many strong endorsements.
So this is it. I’m gonna play a whole bunch of games starring my least favorite character. Wish me luck!