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Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 21st June 2004
Manuals.. yes, it definitely is nice when they include full manuals. Full printed manuals for all games is best (combined into one book (the Interplay 15th Anniversary Collection does that, and it's ... quite thick...) or in seperate books, I've seen it done both ways), some kind of printed one and full scanned ones second, and just a small printed one (or nothing) is worst, obviously. I haven't heard anything about scanned manuals, which makes me wonder... and I doubt that they could fit 8 manuals onto the disc. So I'm not optimistic for full manuals... but we'll see.
As for the music, I do think Gamespot is trustworthy. But I just want more proof. And yes, what they are saying is that the Cube one has most (if maybe not all) of the remixed tracks, but you just can't access them in the remix mode, only in sound test... very bizarre and it wouldn't make much of any sense. Which is why I want more proof. I think waiting until the Gamefaqs forum comes to an agreement is probably good. Not that I'm getting this right now... I have way too many games in progress right now that I got recently... if I do get something soon, it'd be Zelda for GBA. Which is different because it's portable and thus good for vacation. :)
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
You doubt they could fit 8 onto the disk? Pfft... Trust me, that's easily done. Those booklets average about 15 pages in size, and they aren't all that large. A decent resolution of each page would take up, most likely, half a meg each. Multiply that by 8x15 and you have roughly what you can expect in space consumption. That comes to about 60 MB. Assuming the average is off, or the image size is larger, I'd stretch that to, at max, 100 MB. I'm sure they would have room for that on at least the PS2 disk, and that it wouldn't be THAT much further to get it to fit on the GCN disk. Consider just how much normal artwork they crammed on BOTH.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
http://www.capcom.com/news/news.xpml?prid=450143
This is straight from Capcom's main site. Reading it seems to confirm what Gamespot said, sadly enough, but I AM still confused as to the reasoning behind this.
Quote:The Mega Man Anniversary Collection will include the following features:
• 10 Mega Man games on one disk –
o Mega Man 1 through Mega Man 8
o Two never-before-released-in-the-US Mega Man arcade games: Mega Man the Power Battle and Mega Man 2 the Power Fighters
• Additional content – Unlock a producer interview (GameCube only), an anime video (PlayStation 2 only), hidden original artwork, and remixed music inspired by the original Mega Man series.
• All new soundtracks are available in Navi mode for the PlayStation 2.
Anyway, there ya have it. Seems that Capcom themselves has confirmed that the new soundtracks will only be in-game on the PS2 version. I still have no idea why on Earth they needed to do this though... I have a few theories. One is that they couldn't fit EVERY remixed track on the GCN disk, only some of them, and thus had to disable support for that in GCN's navi mode to prevent glitches and also the inconsistancies of music quality or something. Another is that in order to fit all the remixed music on the GCN disk it had to be compressed, so while in sound test it's no biggy that the system is running a decompression routine, while emulating the various games on the system, that would drag down performance. That last theory of mine is bull, because honestly those are NES games and the system should have plenty of extra power to throw at decompressing music.
Gamespot alone saying this is suspicious, but Capcom also saying it almost closes the door on this issue for me. So then EM, try to get the PS2 version now. Don't worry, I don't think the stores are going to be stormed for this game just yet, they should have an extra one lying around. Also, Gamestop does allow you to turn any preorder money into store credit, so yes you'll be able to put your preorder money towards the PS2 version.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - OB1 - 22nd June 2004
Which works great when everything else is super tiny. Using tiny forks and knives while eating in a long car ride is one thing, but then using that same tiny fork at home where everything is regular-sized is very awkward. And to make matters worse the d-pad placement on the GC controller is terrible.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 22nd June 2004
Quote:You doubt they could fit 8 onto the disk? Pfft... Trust me, that's easily done. Those booklets average about 15 pages in size, and they aren't all that large. A decent resolution of each page would take up, most likely, half a meg each. Multiply that by 8x15 and you have roughly what you can expect in space consumption. That comes to about 60 MB. Assuming the average is off, or the image size is larger, I'd stretch that to, at max, 100 MB. I'm sure they would have room for that on at least the PS2 disk, and that it wouldn't be THAT much further to get it to fit on the GCN disk. Consider just how much normal artwork they crammed on BOTH.
I didn't say can't. I said might not. I'm sure they could if they wanted to.
As for the music, Capcom seems to be claiming that they couldn't fit it. An absurd excuse, for anyone who has ever heard of "compression", but it's what they said... idiots...
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
Compression isn't perfect with music, and it's not infinite, but the thing is, the music IS on the GCN disk it seems.
Quote:and I doubt that they could fit 8 manuals onto the disc.
Actually, you did say you didn't think they could. Maybe you meant to say something else, but oh well.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 22nd June 2004
If you read that whole paragraph I think it'd be clear that I was talking more about what they'd bother to do than what is possible... of course it's possible to put the manuals all on the disc. I just don't know if they bothered.
And the GC doesn't have all the remixed music in the soundtest, I think. Just some of it... I mean I'd probably play with the original music anyway, but it'd be really nice to have the option there. :(
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
Well yes I did read the whole post, but that one sentence has only one possible interpretation.
Anyway, whatever the reasons, the reality is clear, the PS2 version is now the better buy.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - OB1 - 22nd June 2004
Yes.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - EdenMaster - 22nd June 2004
We still get the tracks...but not in game. Absurd, utterly pointless. I may still grab the GC version for sake of the WaveBird (a big factor for me with multiconsole games), and listen to the music in the sound test. As long as I GET the music, I'm okay, really. Even if I don't get to listen to it while I play, it's no biggie, I already love all the original tunes :).
Yeah, it's still GC version for me. If it's that big of a deal, I can wait a couple months and buy it used for PS2 for 10 bucks.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
Okay, but at least now you know what you are getting. I myself do sometimes use the sound test, but I prefer to listen to the tunes during the actual game. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the tunes anyway, but this is a big factor for me. I do still wonder if ALL the tracks are in the GCN version or not (I'm hearing both right now), but I'll be sure to find out soon enough. Honestly, if they couldn't get them all on the disk, it would actually do a job of explaining why they couldn't put that feature into navi mode, but if they COULD, yes it is utterly pointless.
Oh well, PS2 version for me anyway. Wavebird eh? I suppose if I had my bed far from my TV, that would be a factor, but honestly the PS2 controller cable's length has never been a hindrance for me. Honestly, I have no interest at all in the Wavebird. Rumble isn't all that important to me, but it's more important than being wireless. Some people like it, in fact LOVE it apparently, but honestly I myself don't see the point. When I play my console games, I have a fixed distance I'm bound to anyway because I want to be able to see the game, so honestly being able to go a very far distance doesn't interest me. I don't go walking around the room playing because that would get me killed.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 22nd June 2004
I've used the wavebird. I like rumble, don't mind cords, and don't want to bother with batteries, so I have no interest in getting one.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - geoboy - 22nd June 2004
Apparently there isn't enough space on the GC disc so Capcom decided not to include the remixed tracks at all.
<a href="http://www.capcom.com/BBS/showthread.php?threadid=3839" target="yomama">linkie poo</a>
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - EdenMaster - 22nd June 2004
*grinds teeth*
One of the cashiers at GameStop is a friend of mine (You know you're a gamer when...) and he told me that the controller is also going to be a bit funky.
As I hear, the jump button will be B, and the fire button will be A.
Am I the only won who thinks that is totally backwards? It's going to be so awkward. This game is turning out to be a chore before it's even released.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
I heard that too, but I figured you wouldn't mind... Yeah, honestly that would bug me too. I mean, shoot is supposed to be the tip of your thumb, and jump should be in the middle! That's just how it should be! I mean, jump has always been A, so why would they invert it suddenly? Oh yes, they did this for Metroid in Metroid Prime as well for no good reason.
Yeah, it's annoying isn't it? Seems the music isn't even on there, but it does have some other remixed tracks to unlock. Well EM, guess you can't even listen to it in sound test... Maybe GCN gets some exclusive tracks all your own to make up for it?
I'll say this, the reviewers seem to be missing their heads when talking about this game. For one thing, MM8 was NOT the first to let you switch weapons with L and R. MM7 was (Super Nintendo, remember?). Second, it seems that MM7 doesn't have any remixed tracks at all (I suppose SNES level sound quality is "good enough"), just 1-6, contrary to what a lot of reviews say.
Honestly, it's getting to the point that reviews only focus on stupid little graphical things and not the actual added FEATURES. I want a game site that will tell us EXACTLY what will and will not be in a game in their reviews FIRST, and THEN tell us how well the games are emulated/ported/remade.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 22nd June 2004
Yeah, the reviews of this thing are pretty absurd. They don't mention missing features, don't mention included features (what, exactly, are the extras?), don't mention controls in most of the reviews... they also gave me zero confidence that they'd actually played the Cube version and not just written a review for both and posted it in both places, adding the requisite paragraph saying that the PS2 one has an anime ep and the GC one producer interviews.
As for the remix music, I really don't know yet. I mean, it does seem that it's missing from Navi mode, but is it in the sound test? I've seen things both ways...
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - EdenMaster - 22nd June 2004
Dear Nintendo,
Well, that tears it. Nintendo, I love you. I love you very much and will always follow you as a faithful fan, but this time, I'm afraid I have to buy the PS2 version.
The GCN version seems like a bare-bones way to slap the games together (which is FINE), but with all the shortocmings popping up all over the place, I'm afraid the WaveBird isn't even enough to convince me to buy this for the GameCube, now that the PS2 version is offering so much more than just some silly anime.
So in closing, my deepest regrets to Nintendo and my deepest hatred to Capcom. Thank you.
~ A very distressed Mega Man fan
P.S.: Hurry up with Mario 128, already.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
I know how it is, before all this came out, I was considering going with the GCN version regardless of my controller preferences. With things reversed, and you having to go with the PS2 version despite your controller preference, I can see how upset you could be with the whole thing. Really, this whole system exclusive feature thing is annoying. I really wish companies would stop doing that. Sorry Namco, Capcom, Ubisoft, but there are NO fans huge enough to actually buy multiple versions of the same game as they come out. And of course, this isn't new. They've been doing this sort of thing for a long time now, such as the exclusive stuff added to the Saturn version of both Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Megaman 8.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - EdenMaster - 22nd June 2004
Hey, system exclusivity can be a good thing. Minor things. Adding a special character to Soul Calibur II is one thing.
That's a good thing, if you like Link, Heihachi, or Spawn, buy the version you want with them in it. If you don't have the system for your character, buy it for the other system, and get the same great game, exactly as it is on the other system (expect for minor things like load times), minus that character, plus a new one. That's a great way to do system exclusivity, making sure gamers aren't missing out with one version by getting another.
This is totally different. GameCube gets NO new music, NO Navi Mode, FUCKED UP button layouts, and God only knows what else they haven't even told us about, while the PS2 gets all the good stuff. That's a horrible way to market a game. Even the inital idea of interviews for one, anime for the other was acceptable, but this is so ludicrously unfair to GameCube owners I'm surprised Capcom is even bothering with it.
Oh well. It can't be helped, and there's no use getting upset about it. It's a great game, and it will be in my hands (and PS2) tomorrow, and I will be here raving about how awesome it is. See you then!
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 22nd June 2004
There IS a Navi mode. It uses the MM8 onscreen displays and stuff. It just has the old music. :)
And the button layout really isn't that bad.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
Yeah, it's there, and it's odd. Also, it seems to warn of upcoming danger. It'll be interesting to see how that works. Note that MM8 doesn't actually have that feature despite what review sites say. MM8, like the rest of the series, will allow you to blindly run into an enemy without a single warning that it's just off screen. There is only one acception to that, and that's the snowboarding sections of two levels where it will either tell you to "jump! jump!" or "slide! slide!", and it'll happen often enough that someone who just walked in might say "is it me or is rap music just getting lazier?".
I have to say that it would seem that there is remixed tunes in the sound test, but not nearly as much as the full remix of the PS2 version. So, it seems it wasn't so much Capcom so much as a lack of disk space that did it.
I have also realized something I should have realized long ago. Ya know the whole custom disk thing that Nintendo managed to get US excited about? Well, we were played for frickin' chumps. What has this custom disk thing done for US gamers... at all? How about for developers? Anything? Didn't think so. The ONLY thing that custom disk size is good for is what it was made for, copyright protection. That's only good for piraters. Essentially, piraters got Nintendo to do something that actually only ended up screwing us and developers over. Sorry, the custom disk thing is nothing to be happy about after all, in any way. They really should have just found some special incription like the other two companies and just used the standard DVD format.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 22nd June 2004
Quote:I have to say that it would seem that there is remixed tunes in the sound test, but not nearly as much as the full remix of the PS2 version. So, it seems it wasn't so much Capcom so much as a lack of disk space that did it.
After what I've heard, that's what I thought -- some remixed songs in the soundtest, but not all of them. The question is how many...
How much does this music thing affect if I'd get it? Not much. I wasn't planning on getting it right now anyway... and I don't have a PS2... but if I did, I admit, the PS2 one does look better. Even if I don't put much weight on the added remix tracks (and I don't... it'd be cool, but it's not an essential feature or something I would not consider getting the game without, for sure!), it's still a nice extra and if you're going to pay the same amount of money, why not get more for it?
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 22nd June 2004
Well of course if this was the ONLY version there was, no one would be complaining, but that's hardly the point. I mean, if Super Mario 64 was missing one of the world for example, and no one knew that it was ever a part of it, no one would complain either, but it's STILL lesser. Something being perfectly playable and great without something doesn't mean we can't complain about it not being there when some other version has it.
This won't sell systems, no, but it will sell the PS2 version of the game to those who have both GCN and PS2, no doubt about it.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - OB1 - 23rd June 2004
Blame it all on disc space. The reason we didn't get Sonic CD with the Mega Collection was because the GC disc didn't have enough space, according to Sega (though I don't buy that).
And if Nintendo uses regular DVDs for their next console while Sony will most likely use 30 GB Blu-Ray discs, again they're going to be missing out on stuff with multiconsole ports.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 23rd June 2004
Disc space... that's such a lame excuse, haven't they ever heard of compression? Sure, there's a limit, but I don't see any reason why they can't fit that music on. It doesn't make much sense.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 23rd June 2004
Compression means it has to be decompressed. Decompression takes clock cycles. Even assuming they managed loss-less sound compression (possible, such as in a zip file, but not very efficient), they would still need to store that data somewhere in the memory, in a buffer. Even if it's just a little at a time, they would still end up with having to decompress ahead to keep up with the track. The question is this, could they manage to do decompressing fast enough that they could always have it keep up with the playback of the sound itself? Yes, they are only emulating NES games when doing this, but considering that even decompressing a decent sized zip file on a current gen computer takes a few seconds, it's hardly something that would be "instant". Yes, it could be done I think, but it would have been a lot of work for what to them must have seemed like small payoff.
Developer sympathizing mode over:
Which translates to them basically being too cheap and lazy to go the extra mile to make the GCN version as good as the PS2 version.
DVD size disks as of late have really been doing a great job of being "just fine". I have yet to see a single multi-DVD game. Maybe that's just because they manage to get everything crammed in "just right" to fit, but honestly I think that a DVD is more than enough for pretty much any game a developer could put together at this point. At this point being the key word, because I think if given more space to work with, they'd take advantage... maybe... I dunno.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 23rd June 2004
It's a NES game. This is a GC. It shouldn't exactly take up the whole processor to emulate it, you know... so while the reason may actually be space, as you say it puts the blame squarely on either laziness or lack of time. Or both. But they could have done it, certainly. I mean, if they can fit a 700MB PSX game onto 64MB (Resident Evil 2), can't they compress some music?
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - geoboy - 23rd June 2004
An easier solution would've been to use two discs.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 23rd June 2004
Well, RE2's FMVs were reduced to pixelated ugly when they were through if you will recall...
Geoboy, exactly how do you propose they go about using two disks? Do you suggest storing half the games on one and half on the other? I suppose that would work... Remember, both the game and ALL the music the game uses need to be on the same disk.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 23rd June 2004
MM8 and the video extras on one and the rest on the other? That's the only big one...
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - geoboy - 24th June 2004
Yeah. Something like that. I dunno. I think it's a better idea than not including the remixed tracks in Navi mode.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - EdenMaster - 24th June 2004
This game now owns my soul. I seriously played for hours last night and never even noticed the time slip by. I jumped form game to game, giggling with glee at each new remixed song I heard. Spark Man's WASN'T redone! Bah.
I had an epiphany last night. I fought Metal Man, the new remixed boss battle music pounding on my speakers. As I jumped and fired at my adversary, all the while avoiding his blades and compensating for the conveyor belt's constantly changing direction. As I watched him explode with only ONE bit of health left, I said aloud words I have always known were true...
"There is NOTHING like Mega Man!"
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 24th June 2004
Which is why the series remains so much fun, despite almost inumerable sequels. And why I actually don't mind that they keep pumping them out at a rate of like four products a year (this year, MMAC PS2/Cube, MMAC GBA, MMBN3: Red/Blue...)
I prefer X, but the original series isn't exactly bad...
Just thinking of classic Mega Man reminds me how much fun those games are to play. I must get this! :)
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - EdenMaster - 24th June 2004
Well, I've blasted my way to the end of Mega Man 3, and I've defeated several Robot Masters in each game, I'm up to Dr. Cossacks Commie Castle now in Mega Man 4, and I'm sick of that annoying little flashing symbol trying to give me stupid advice like "Shoot from the ladder!" or "There's a boss behind the shutter!". I KNOW! I don't even read them anymore, but I wish there was a way to turn them off WITHOUT turning off Navi Mode, because I love the music and menus.
Minor flaws in an incredible game, I can live with it :).
Oh yeah, Dust Man's new level music is great.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 27th June 2004
Well, due to a combination of the low price and my own desire for it, I got this collection. I've beaten every single game in it now, including the two arcade games, and I have my opinion on it fully formed. Keep in mind this is for the PS2 version here.
First off, the music remixes in MM1-6 are great! A few notes though. MM1-3 don't have FULL remixing. Only a few tracks are remixed, and there's no rhyme or reason to which ones they did and did not do. You'll go into Crash Man's stage and hear some awesome music, and then the old school stuff in Metal Man's stage. Also, in MM3 a lot of the updated music isn't even a remix of the original track. For example, Top Man's updated music is actually the music from the opening stage of MM7 remixed. And yes, Spark Man has no remix, but it's okay because the original was fine. You can always go straight original music of course. MM4, 5, and 6 however have full remixing of all tracks. I guess this is because in Japan these tracks were originally released in that complete works package for PS1, and there was time between them, and they weren't really trying too hard with MM1-3...
A few notes about the emulation of the NES games. They are done almost flawlessly, and in almost every way are better than the originals. I have to assume this of MM5 and 6, but MM1-4 play exactly as they should (or as I remember in the case of MM3), so it's a safe assumption to make. I say almost due to one TINY music error. It's really nothing major at all, but I'll mention it anyway. The original music tracks aren't actually being emulated. They are actually recorded from the NES using direct feed or something and played back as music tracks all their own. I guess they couldn't get the various sound forms of the music emulated just so, so they just recorded it. Normally, this doesn't matter. However, the tracks are only so long, so after several minutes of the track repeating like it should, it will suddenly fade out and start over straight from the beginning. It's nothing major, but you may notice it every now and then if you take your time on a few levels. Doesn't hurt a thing.
I will say this. For MM1, 2, and 4, I played them from the start in navi mode since I've beaten them more than enough, and recently too, in their NES forms. For MM3, 5, and 6 though (3 due to it being a long time since I played it), I turned it off to get the pure original form first, and THEN turned it on to experience the new stuff. Keep in mind I haven't played MM5 and 6 in Navi mode yet.
On another note, my personal favorite music remix so far is Bubble Man's. It just starts out so peaceful and then goes all cool.
MM5 and MM6 are really fun by the way. I suppose I let reviews get to me, but like the rest of the series, they have all that fun charm.
Graphically, the games are BETTER than before. First off, if you have played Metroid in Metroid Prime, you will be familiar with the softening effect they applied to the NES games here. It really makes things look better than they are, and nothing is ever blurred by it or smudged in a way that makes it look worse. It's a very nice effect. Just a little antialiasing... Also, as the reviews have said, they really did a number on the NES game's slowdown and flicker. The slowdown is GONE. The ONE negative to this is that the Yellow Demon in MM1 is now MUCH harder to beat than before, at least for me. I hadn't realized that I was actually depending on slowdown all these years. With it gone, you have to get your reflexes sharpened a bit more to defeat it, but once you figure it out, just as always, it's still beatable fairly easily. The flicker is ALMOST gone. As opposed to the NES games where Megaman would suddenly vanish at certain parts of Metal Man's stage, you now see everything at all times. A screen full of enemies now looks and acts exactly like a screen with only Megaman. Keep in mind that flicker and slowdown don't affect gameplay and are really just graphical things, so the removal of them is hardly damaging the classics.
As to the rest of Navi Mode, the navigation and hint systems, they are fairly useless. They provide you with hints and friendly robots that tell you what road to take, but considering this was hardly a maze of a series anyway, it's really useless. The hints are obvious things like "don't touch the thorns!" (why they call them thorns is beyond me, but it's very apparent that the people who translated these hints did a very poor job anyway). A symbol will appear, VERY big and annoying, in areas where they have hints for you. EM is right, they should let you turn off that symbol, or at LEAST shrink it WAY down and put it as a small dot on the life bar display. That I could ignore, and wouldn't cover up ENEMIES or THINGS THAT I NEED TO SEE :D. Yes, you can turn off navi mode altogether, but then the music is gone. The life bars aren't MM8 style, or MM7 style. They are SIMILAR, but the remade life bars are their own design. The weapons menus were only redone in MM1-3, which is just fine because MM4-6 had great looking menus anyway. One note, even though Megaman only got the Mega Buster in MM4, the remade menus show his normal P-shot weapon as the Megabuster in 1-3 now, which doesn't really make any sense. I still don't know what P stands for (I think "power"), but just calling it the Mega Buster when Megaman clearly can't charge in those games is wrong. And yes, I am certain that the charge shot is EXACTLY what the Mega Buster is, because it's explained in the beginning of Megaman 4.
As for the always-on extras, the L+R button weapon scrolling ala MM7 are useful tools that really don't hurt anything. I could say a similar thing about the circle button being a slide button (though it's awkward to use it so down+X does just fine). I will say that in MM1-3, just like using pause, when you use L or R to change weapons it should phase you out. Then the gameplay is maintained to a stuck up degree :D. The autofire on triangle is iffy. Honestly, it really IS a cheat they basically put in there. Sure, if you are The Flash and can push the button at that speed naturally, there's no difference, but for us HUMANS it's something that makes a lot of parts of the games, a LOT, much easier, and thus it's cheating. I used it in the Megaman games I own while in Navi mode simply because I knew I could beat it without it anyway. When I was playing MM 5 and 6 (oh and MM3 the first time since I hadn't played it in a while and wanted to prove to myself I still was good at it), I refrained from using it at all. Fortunatly, it's easy enough to ignore that button without it calling out to you to be used or anything, so you can always just play the games without even touching the autofire button when you want the full challange of the original game. Note that these always-on features are only in the NES games, as the later games used the SNES or PS1 controller to the full extent they could and thus no little extras could realistically be added there. No matter, I honestly had no need for them. Oh yes, one other thing, ALL th games can be controlled via the control stick, but honestly I wouldn't if I were you because this sort of game is a LOT easier to control with a d-pad.
The two Arcade games are also, as far as I can tell, emulated flawlessly. They aren't up to the originals, but they are fun in their own right. Fun thing to pass the time and a nice half hour session with a friend in co-op. Certainly not worth a buy on their own, but with the package, a fun addition. I will say I have played Power Battles in the arcade before, though I died at Wood Man and didn't want to spend any more quarters on the game. I really don't know why people think they haven't been released in America before, as I played it perfectly translated in the arcade (well maybe not perfect, but the same translation as I got in this collection).
Now, onto the last two. The SNES and PS emulation are NOT spot on. This is a dissappointment. I could understand the SNES, but the PS? I mean, playing the original PS1 game on my PS2 plays flawlessly, but this, a port TO PS2, is full of glitches?! What is WITH that? I ask you!
Anyway, onto the details. MM7 (the SNES game) is still fully playable, but there are lots of bits of slowdown in areas where there weren't before. Also, the sound is a bit sketchy. Some notes will be almost muted while others will be suddenly loud. In fact, a lot of the sound effects have a wide variance in volume unlike the original. One enemy will just kinda sputter away, but some other enemy will explode and it will freak out my cat (and me actually, I mean that was LOUD). This is NOT like the original. There are also some graphical errors and one gameplay issue. The gameplay issue is that the boxes in Spring Man's level don't rotate correctly any more. It took me FOREVER to do a task that was MUCH easier in the SNES original. That's the only gameplay issue but it's an annoying one. The graphical issue is that areas that were dark in the original are PITCH BLACK now. It's one thing to make it a little hard to figure out where the platforms are, it's another entirely to completely obscure them. Fortunatly, by the time you reach these areas, you WILL already have an item that will light up the room for a split second when used, so you can make it through. Other than that, the slowdown and the sound errors, it's a perfect emulation though I suppose. It even keeps those little codes like activating the Super Ghouls and Ghosts music in Shade Man's stage and the Megaman Fighting game with the uber code.
MM8 is a shame, it's the worst emulated game in the bunch. Honestly, they have no excuse for this. I can play the original on the SAME SYSTEM and it runs BETTER. But, I already said that. Anyway, here's the deal. Just like MM7, there are the same sound issues, only they are more pronounced here. When that first boss exploded, I thought my TV exploded! You'll have some sounds really low and subdued and others WAY too loud and deafening, and this really presents itself as a problem when you are turning up the volume bit by bit to make out some stage's background music and suddenly BOOOOOM. And oh yes, I've tried messing with the volume control master settings in the collection menu, but that only did so much. I managed to boost the other sound effects so they aren't SO off from the super loud noises, and I fixed the volume difference between sound and music in the NES games, but that's as good as it got.
Also, the first two FMVs skip. I've checked around and this is apparently common. It's not that bad, but it's noticable and annoying. Not as annoying as hearing Dr. Light stutter and talk like Elmer Fudd mind you (seriously, he calls the evil villian "Dr. Wiwy", what were those translators THINKING?!). The later ones seem fine, but it's still pretty stupid.
Unlike the PS1 original, there is only ONE save slot (the original had 3). I really don't know why they felt they had to cut it down, but they did. Fortunatly, it's a short enough game, like all Megaman games, that playing from start to finish, finding everything, only takes a few hours anyway, so loosing that save file isn't even a big deal. One plus is that the load times are gone now. Though, playing the original on a PS2 with fast loading nearly removes the original's load times too. This IS the PS1 version through and through, meaning none of the Saturn extras are there, like Cutman and Woodman's appearence (I found all 40 bolts without either of them showing up).
Anyway, aside from MM7 and MM8 being glitchy enough to make me glad I didn't sell the originals, it's a solid collection. I'm still very glad I got it since I didn't get it for second copies of MM7 and MM8 to begin with. Also, MM7 and MM8 are still fully playable and if you haven't played the originals, you likely won't notice anything wrong except for a few of the more pronounced things I mentioned above.
As for the bonus material, let me tell you about that. There is no actual sound test. The "sound options" mentioned are NOT to let you hear the remixed tracks whenever you want, much to my disappointment. The sound bonuses are just brand new remixed tracks. Some of them are nice, but honestly the remixed tracks in the games are much better than any of the 7 or so hidden tracks. The bonus artwork is a nice way of saying "here is a slide show of little napkin drawings I found in the trash". First off, the interface is the worst I've ever seen for bonus artwork. There is none. It just shows you the pics at a fixed zoom and moves to the next. You can't scroll through yourself, or pan and scan, it's all fixed. Very annoying when every other art gallery I've seen in other games lets you do that. The actual clip art is really poor. As opposed to massive full color artwork like in other artwork galleries with a lot of attention to detail, these clips are just basic outline art, and only a few are even decently drawn. Some of them aren't anything other than random words that mean nothing to me like "Mighty Kid", which I GUESS was some alternate name for Megaman or something.
The last bonus is the originally announced system exclusive bonus (though now it seems the updated music for the NES games is also an exclusive bonus). That is to say, the "anime" episode of some Megaman series. I felt like I should have gotten another bonus just for surviving that pile of robotic dog vomit (which consists of antifreeze, oil, and regular dog vomit). Honestly, when it comes to this, the GCN owners WIN. A developer interview would have been MUCH better, and honestly saying that is an extreme understatement. This show, while it's apparent some of it was in fact made in Japan, was written and made in America, by Americans FOR Americans, and exemplifies EVERYTHING that is horridly wrong with American action shows, or what's wrong with each and every single one on the air in 1994. It has everything from an "I'll get you next time!" villian (though to be honest that is pretty much what Dr. Wily is, I'd say of all the characters in the stupid show he's closest to the original) to moronic heros that just spout out cheesy lines and saying stuff that may have been "edgy" in 1960 or so, but is just stupid now like "Hey! We girl robots are just as good as you!" (why would robots even have genders anyway? Ask Futurama! :D). Aside from ruining everything that makes Megaman great, and making the in-game stories look like Shakespear, it also completely ruined the characters. Megaman was as mutilated as Link was in the Zelda cartoon, and so was Roll. Of ALL the offenses, none offends more though than what they did to one of the coolest Megaman characters EVER, Protoman! First off, they make him Dr. Wily's creation, AND his servant. They actually made his personality into a retarded Bass, as his only goal is to prove his superiority to Megaman, but just before they accidently make a character in an American action cartoon cool, they fixed that problem and made him go about it in the most idiotic way possible. He acts like a stupid teenager rebelling against his "dad" Wily. Slap together a bunch of odd charicature voices (Cutman for example) and an annoying version of Rush, and you get something I actually would rather NOT have on this disk, staining everything that is Megaman with it's mere presence. I heard there was another Megaman cartoon series, made BY Japan though, and I can only hope it was better than this, because if that was worse... ugh... I'm certainly happy there was only one episode there. Anyway, though the character designs are these ugly American things, the actual battle scenes, since it is drawn in Japan, aren't that bad I guess. The only thing close to a saving grace, but it still belongs in the gutter. Ugh, you don't have to say it 30 times in a row! We get that Megaman can copy powers!
Okay, anyway the "secrets" section really doesn't have much of worth except a few pretty nice songs.
Well, aside from the problems listed above, the collection really IS amazing. It's something that, regardless of the system you get it for, pretty much any gamer SHOULD get. It's a VERY fun thing that should keep someone busy for at least a couple days if they have played it all before (in which case, they got it for the remixed music), or if like in my case, you haven't played a few of them, means you get a chunk of brand new games and stuff to mess around with. Nothing like staring down 8 bosses you've never seen before and saying "oh ssssnap!, well I think Stone Man sounds easier than the rest...".
I will say I certainly can't wait for my friend to get the GCN version and unlock the interview so I can watch that.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 27th June 2004
(In other news, I only just now realized that geoboy's avatar is a mod of Megaman's running sprite from the NES games.)
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 27th June 2004
Quote:As for the bonus material, let me tell you about that. There is no actual sound test. The "sound options" mentioned are NOT to let you hear the remixed tracks whenever you want, much to my disappointment. The sound bonuses are just brand new remixed tracks. Some of them are nice, but honestly the remixed tracks in the games are much better than any of the 7 or so hidden tracks.
If the Cube does actually have any remixes, I'd expect it to be those...
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 27th June 2004
Yes, I imagine that's exactly what the Cube gets, especially considering the codes at GameFAQs for that version.
Oh yes, I should make something clear. The Select button has been given a purpose at long last in the Megaman series :D. Yes, I know it had a purpose in Megaman 1, the pause without menu feature, but it's more now. Actually, that MM1 pause with select thing was removed. Honestly, there was no purpose for it anyway, much like the select pause in Zelda 1. Well, you could cheat with it, but since that pause was removed, so was the glitch. Oh well, that's the ONE thing taken out of the NES games by the way. Instead, for this and the other Megaman games (1-7, not 8), it brings up a menu. This menu for MM2-6 will show your password at any time, so you don't have to kill yourself over and over again to get a gameover to see it (but since this game saves, there's really no need for it). It will also allow you to reset to the title screen of the game (but everything is still remembered, so you can either go and enter a new password or "start game" and go right back to where you left things on the boss selection menu, except in 7 where new game really does start a new game when you reset this way). The other option is the game selection room option so you can easily quite any one game at any time to start another one. Since MM8 doesn't have this select menu (select does nothing once again in that game), you have to use the all purpose reset (all shoulder buttons plus start and select at once) to get out of the game via the software. Oh yes, MM7 does use select to get into the shop, so don't worry, while on the menu where you can access the shop, select doesn't bring up that menu but rather... goes to the shop, like I said. Oh yes, in MM4-6, there is also a map feature that will show the layout of the level you are in, except for super hidden secret parts of the level (making the map feature useless except you can see how far away the next continue point is). Of course, if you haven't played some of those before (like me) you will want to avoid using those. One thing about the hints in Navi mode. 1-6 each have a specific "spotter" that is giving this information. It's basically the annoyance of Alia applied to the past. In MM1 it's Dr. Light. In 2, it's Roll. In 3, it's Protoman (odd to think that Protoman is actually more directly helping you, I guess Megaman just isn't aware of who it is that's telling him this stuff or something). In 4, it's Kalinka (and from what she says, it's sorta revealed that Kalinka is as smart as her father, wonder where Ran is... :D). In MM5, it's Dr. Cossack, and in MM6, it's Dr. Light again.
Okay, that's about all I can think to add about that. I only wish that news sites when doing a review would actually post THIS information, as this is the stuff I actully WANT to know, as opposed to things like "you can gain the powers of the enemies by defeating them". And now, I'm off to beat MM5 and 6 in Navi mode.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 27th June 2004
Oh, does MM1 have saving now? I know it saves for the others, where passwords were (EXTREMELY useful with the PWs they had by MM7... I seem to remember pictures of a large grid full of different images... maybe I should be happy I have the PC version of MMX? It has saving. :)), but what about MM1?
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 27th June 2004
Actually, MM7 had numbers. It's just that each number also had a picture assosiated with it. They wouldn't force you to write down "roll, roll, protoman, met" :D.
Yes, each and every game has saving. The arcade games of course only save the score, but even they have saving. The games automatically save after every level and when you game over. To be honest, I do kinda wish they let you decide whether or not to save on your own (a simple yes/no option during the save sequence), but it's no biggy since only 8 really has any decisions you can actually regret saving (there are only 40 bolts for buying upgrades, and you can't afford it all, even if you could, you can't hold every upgrade in your inventory)).
So yes, MM1 does have a method of continuing now. Oh yes, all the password game's save files only save what the password would record, since the password is essentially what's in the save file. MM8 saves everything the original game did (since it was a PS1 game and ONLY had saving, no passwords, anyway). MM1 records all the bosses you beat, except Wily. So, if you quit, you'll have to restart at the first Wily stage. Pretty standard Megaman recording though.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 27th June 2004
Quote:Actually, MM7 had numbers. It's just that each number also had a picture assosiated with it. They wouldn't force you to write down "roll, roll, protoman, met" .
That'd be awful... :)
But it does have a very large grid. The GB games had a 4x4 or 5x5 grid, if I remember right (getting more complex in later games), but the SNES ones had even more (X included?)...
Oh, and why can't more MM games let you save BEFORE THE FINAL LEVEL? It's awful... but most MM games seem content to save several levels before that. I think it changed with the PSX MMX games, but I don't know about any before that... MM1 for GB, for instance, saves before the first of the two Wily fortresses. Same in MM2 -- before fortresses. Same in MMX. You get the idea. And it makes those games much harder than they should be... it's probably why I never beat Final Sigma. Playing all those levels again would be hard!
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 27th June 2004
Well you are allowed to CONTINUE from the final level, but Capcom tends to be very controlling in how they want you to play the game :D.
The NES games always had a 6x6 grid or so. MM7 was when they replaced the dot grid (coordinates) with a number grid, so you just need to write down a list of numbers, so the grid got smaller.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - EdenMaster - 27th June 2004
Dark Jaguar Wrote:Since MM8 doesn't have this select menu (select does nothing once again in that game), you have to use the all purpose reset (all shoulder buttons plus start and select at once) to get out of the game via the software.
No, all you have to do is press start to bring up your menu, and then press select, then it will give you the option of returning to the game room.
I've found myself, numerous times, beating all eight Robot Masters, quitting, then starting anew. I've always thought that fighting the Robot Masters was the funnest part of the games. Sure, Wily's fortresses are fun and challenging, but I still prefer beating the stuffing out of the Robot Masters.
It's strange how some music is redone and others not. As DJ pointed out, Magnet Man and Top Man's music is nowhere to be found in Navi Mode (although the tracks they have now are pretty good), while all the stages in the later games have remade music, but only a few in the early games. I must say, I do like the new music for Guts Man, but I think they could have done much more with catchy tunes like Quick Man's, Metal Man's, Snake Man's, and for God's sake Spark Man's!
Well I can't complain. This is one of the best console games in my collection, now. There is a definite group of games in my collection which fit into a very exclusive category named "Extreme Awesomeness". Such entrys into this category include SSB:M, Animal Crossing, Soul Calibur II, MGS Twin Snakes, FFX, and now, I can proudly add this collection to the elite.
...
Now I have to go kill Needle Man again.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 27th June 2004
One thing I like doing is nailing down the "circles" of weaknesses. In MM3 for example I found there are two circles, with Snake, Needle, and Gemini in one, and the rest in the other.
Thanks for telling me I can push select in the pause menu to exit the game by the way.
I think I figured out what's with those tracks. I was playing the two Arcade games when I realized that the music for a lot of it is EXACTLY like the music in the remade tracks for MM1-3. I think that when first making the collection remakes on PS1 long ago, they actually just threw in the already remixed tunes from the arcade games as an afterthought, and thus didn't even bother with songs that weren't remixed in the arcade games. The two levels with music that isn't even a remix of the original tunes are kinda odd, but they too are from the arcade games. I suppose when they got around to making MM4, they likely had some sort of rave review for the music in Famitsu or something and decided to expand on it by actually remaking ALL the music tracks into original remixes. Honestly, I do kinda wish the tracks in MM1-3 were all fully remixed, but it's no biggy. Yeah, I'd like to hear Spark Man's tune remixed, and Metal Man's as well actually, but oh well. At least Heat Man got the special treatment :D.
Anyway, I don't think I'll ever get tired of this collection. It's something I'll be popping in every now and again when I want to romp through a game or two from start to finish (there's really no other way to play these games than from the very start actually, the save system is just there for those who get stuck long enough they have to stop playing but want their progress kept track of). I'll be playing the original versions of MM7 and MM8 when I want to play those, but for the rest of the series, it'll all be this disk.
Oh yes, EM, I was of the understanding you had yet to play MM8 before this collection, so I must ask, how did you like it?
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 27th June 2004
That's a question... are 7 and 8 as good as the NES games? I don't miss the X stuff from NES games, but I notice it more from SNES games... like not being able to cling to the walls, etc... and they just don't have the same nostalgic graphics. Better graphics, but not as good, if you know what I mean...
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 27th June 2004
Not really, if you want naustalgia, play the originals. If the later ones were remakes, it'd be one thing, but they are sequels, and you have to expect them to look better on better systems. They maintain the same basic look anyway.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - A Black Falcon - 27th June 2004
Similar look, but I think it looks more cartoonish... though I'm not sure if that's because of making it more cartoonish or just being able to draw more detailed stuff on a SNES. :)
And yes, the classics provide the original style (and nostalgia), which is why those 6 games are definitely the highlight of this collection, I'd say.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 27th June 2004
Um, okay then.
Anyway, I just realized something. They changed the ending to MM7! I didn't notice it for some reason before, but beating the SNES game I finally realized it. There are a couple scenes they don't show. First off, there's Megaman walking away from the burning heap of Wily's Laboratory Castle. Considering the dark nature of the ending, it really makes it seem odd how Megaman starts looking angry and peaceful and back and forth. Then, there's a scene of Bass and Treble looking over a cliff that was cut out. Finally, there was the whole scene of the Megaman gang inside Big Eddie getting a photo taken. I guess MM7 really got cut up in the whole port process... That sucks.... Still, I have the original SNES copy so it's fine. They also left in the important parts of the ending.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - EdenMaster - 28th June 2004
To be honest, DJ, I haven't played MM8 in the collection yet :). I've just been taking my time through the older games. The only reason I knew about the menus in MM8 was because I accidentally went to far trying to get to MM7, so I had to quit :D. I have the original though, so I'll tell you if I notice any difference.
You know what's weird? Months ago I downloaded a Heat Man remix, and the Heta Man music in the collection is the SAME song! That certainly adds to the theory that they just threw in some older remixes and not new ones redone for this collection. I also had a Dust Man remix that somehow was lost (probably when I had to clear my HD), and it's the same too.
I noticed that too, regarding the music in the arcade games, but I just figured they applied the new music to them as well as the games, never occured to me that the reverse might be the case.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Dark Jaguar - 28th June 2004
From what I remember playing the real arcade game, the music is exactly the same, so yes I think it's a safe assumption to make. Regarding those remixes you downloaded, I think it's a safe bet that they were copied off the Rockman Complete Works games someone imported and posted them online.
So you have the original MM8 then? Alright then, for some reason I thought you once said you hadn't played that game before...