Mega Man 2 vs. Mega Man 3

Another of my many obsessions is the Mega Man classic series. Being a fan, every now and again searching the internet for fan communities, have come across a fierce debate that seems to defy fans worldwide. That debate would be Mega Man 2 vs. Mega Man 3. Both are NES classics, no doubt, but which truly deserves the most admiration of the fans? To determine that, we'll be seperating it into a few categories to find out who has the edge. Those categories will be: Difficulty, Level Design, Boss Design, Character introduction and Weapons.

Difficulty: Mega Man 2

Mega Man 2 was of the age where difficulty was there, and man was it tough, but it wasn't impossible. It made you really work for it, and your success hinged entirely on how bad you wanted it. When you finally did win, it served as a positive reinforcement loop. You wanted to keep going. Mega Man 3, however, didn't have that. It didn't let you choose between normal or difficult. It wasn't nearly as hard as 2, meaning it felt more like a breeze. You plowed through the game like it was nothing, and it wasn't enough of a challenge to want you to keep going. Japan must've figured American kiddies were too impatient.

Character Introduction: Mega Man 3

While 2 had some interesting enemies, 3 ultimately wins in the category of introducing new and exciting characters. They introduced Proto Man, a highly interesting and mysterious character that kept you guessing, and Rush, Mega Man's faithful dog sidekick that proved very useful. Both felt like welcome additions to the series and added a fuller cast to the game. Mega Man 2 felt bare in comparison to the cast of colorful supporting characters in 3.

Boss Design: Mega Man 2

Mega Man 2 far and above has more memorable bosses than 3. Yes, also rather silly (Wood Man), but there was just something about the ensemble of Mega Man 2s bosses that felt fresh, varied, interesting and quite intimidating. The likes of Quick Man, Metal Man and Crash Man remain in my mind as some of the coolest bosses in all of video games. 3, on the other hand, delved even further into ridiculousness with bosses such as Top Man, Snake Man and...sigh....Hard Man. Those bosses didn't feel as conpelling, not nearly as interesting, and never stuck in my memory. They were kind of...there. They felt more like a nuisance than anything.

Level Design: Tie


This one is so hard to nitpick at, I can't help but simply tie them. The level design in both are just so masterfully crafted that its truly a shining example of how side scrollers SHOULD be designed. They are creative, challenging and force you to think a little, and all that shines through. So in this category, both games have outstanding level design, so they tie.

Weapon Design: Mega Man 2

YES, I REALIZE THE METAL BLADE IS BROKEN. But, it's not as effective as you've been led to believe. Out of every robot master in 2 only Metal Man, Flash Man, Wood Man and Bubble Man are weak against it. Only half!! Every other robot master is immune. That aside, 2 had better balance of its weapons, as every one of them was extremely important and useful throughout the entire game. In 3, you just had to rely on three: Hard Knuckle, Shadow Blade and Top Spin (which sucked regardless.) Every other one in 3 was either too unweildy to be practical (Gemini Laser) or was just plain useless (Search Snake). In 2, you were left no choice but to utilize every weapon in your arsenal.


WINNER: Mega Man 2.

It was close, but yes, the hype is true. Mega Man 2 is truly the superior game. 3 has its perks, but is ultimately bland compared to the masterpiece that is 2. The bosses, weapons, difficulty and everything else in 2 were all perfectly fine tuned to give a great, memorable gameplay experience, and excels in areas where 3 fell flat on its face. So there you have it.