25 Best Mega Man Games #5 – #1

Before you were choosing between X and Zero, you were choosing between Mega Man and Bass in… Mega Man and Bass. This game originally game out on the SNES, strangely enough, after Mega Man 8 already came out on the PlayStation. Though the SNES version came out in 1998, it wouldn’t be until 2003 that we saw it come to the States on the Game Boy Advance. The game reused some robot masters from Mega Man 8, but that didn’t matter much. The addition of Bass as a playable character with a completely different move set made up for it.

Speaking of choosing between characters, Mega Man X4 was the first game to introduce Zero as a fully playable character in his own right. It solidified Zero’s Z saber based fighting style and his ability to get techniques that don’t use weapon energy from bosses. Unfortunately, Mega Man X4 forced you to pick a character and stick with him till the end of the game. This was also the first game to give X his iconic Ultimate Armor and Giga Attack.

But no Mega Man X game beats the legacy of Mega Man X itself. This game introduced so much. It was the first game that let you wall kick, dash, charge enemy weapons, upgrade yourself with armor pieces, and so much more. It was also the first game that caused stage layouts to change based on what order you beat them. It was the perfect upgrade to Mega Man on the SNES and it totally changed our view of Mega Man from then on.

It’s very hard to choose between the top two spots on our list. In a way, this is the endless question. Which is the best 8-bit Mega Man? Mega Man III had a lot going for it. First of all, it made you face the robot masters and stages from Mega Man II all over again. It was also the first game to feature Mega Man’s dog Rush and Mega Man’s ability to slide. The game also introduced Proto Man, though his full story wouldn’t be told until later on in the series.

However, in our opinion, the best Mega Man game of all is Mega Man II. This was a Mega Man game made in a purer time, before Mega Man needed all the bells and whistles of his current day incarnations. It was a time when most of the weapons you got from enemies were worth using in an actual stage. It was a time when interesting stage layout and skillful platforming took precedence over shops, secret areas, armor upgrades, and robot buddies. It was a time when the METAL BLADE KILLED EVERYTHING! Mega Man II easily takes the top spot in our list of the 25 Best Mega Man Games.