Mega Man 2 (NES) - Retro Game Review 

This is my favorite NES game. All I can say is that Mega Man 2 is awesome and the soundtrack one of the best on the console.

Best NES game ever. I still remember the first time I played it. Best soundtrack too. ❤️

I just started replaying Megaman 2 literally this morning. I was reminded how much I had forgotten the past 25 years...and it took me awhile to get through just 3 levels. I only had this one and Megaman 3 back in the day.

I got Mega Man 2 back in 89 after the game I originally wanted was sold out (don't remember what it was). That became one of my favorite NES games.

Definitely one of the all time classics. As a kid I loved this game along with Mega Man 3. Great soundtrack too especially Dr. Wily Stage 1.

Mega Man 2 was the first one of the series I played. I've been playing through all of the anniversary collections during the quarantine (regular and X). This game reminds me of my dad's house from my childhood and will forever hold a place in my heart. Magnet Man's music from MM3 will always make me happy when I hear it.

One of the best NES games ever, with a legendary soundtrack. Great review! Love your channel!

I made the mistake of rushing through all the 6 NES games. Now, I'm taking my time to finish them again, starting from 2. And my god, I am in love with the little hopping blue bomber.

Took me back to my childhood this video did. Loved Mega Man 2, it was always a really difficult game but one of the first games I ever completed.

This was the absolute first video game I ever played. I think I was maybe 5 years old. Maybe younger. It's hard to remember for certain. Regardless, it was one hell of a way to start off my gaming journey and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Pam does it again. Another in-depth review and all around great video. Thanks and cheers.

Congratulations! You finally got to experience Mega Man! Now you can play the others knowing how good of a series it is. But this one is definitely my favorite. Back in '89, this game just blew me away! I still play it every now and then, and have the whole game memorized. It definitely has one of the best soundtracks on the NES. And yeah, last time I played it I thought it was pretty annoying having to press start and scroll through weapons, sometimes selecting the wrong one on accident. No big deal, it still kicks ass! Glad you liked it!

"Perhaps it's because I'm awesome!" Well YEAH, Pam, of course you are! :D

Pam, you have hit on a classic here. I cannot explain to you how much I love the Mega Man series, and this one brings back many many memories, especially Quick Man's stage. I think Mega Man is timeless, as long as you love platform action games. You hit it on the head, and this was an extremely enjoyable trip down memory lane through a new set of eyes.

I got this game the week it came out. I still love it

Great review Pam. I know Mega Man 2 is my favorite in the series as it is with a lot of other people. I recall beating it back in the day but have not in a very long time. Also yes such an amazing soundtrack.

The first time I completed MM2 it was amazing and shocking at the same time to watch Dr Willy's transformation.

I've just discovered your channel. Having played these NES games extensively in my childhood and watched many of your other videos, I can say that your critiques are on point and valid!

I have so much nostalgia attached to this game. Anytime I hear a track from this game it brings me right back to being a kid. I remember when I got to wiley's castle how intense it was and discovering all the different stages denoted by the skulls. I remember my older cousins telling me how to beat the last boss and I thought "yeah right bubble is worthless" then lo and behold ! Nice review Pam! It was nice to hear about the game from someone who didn't play it as a kid because if someone asked me about this game I would immediately say it has no flaws, it's perfect, best game ever. Im glad you loved it but were able to point out its flaws as well.

I got the NES classic a while ago and completely neglected this game until recently. I can't believe I didn't know how good it was sooner. I obviously had heard of it before but never knew what it was. Definitely one of the best video game experiences I've had!

Mega Man 2 was never really meant to be a challenging game, I think. The first one, on the other hand, is *way* more difficult. It almost feels like a different type of game, except for the absorbing powers from your enemies. MM2 always gets me super nostalgic though. I have some very seriously fond memories of playing this game with my brothers as a kid, and plunking out some of the soundtrack on these crazy little keyboards we got for Christmas one year. Glad you finally got a chance to experience the game!

Definitely one of my favorite NES games, very find memories and I’ve replayed it more times than I can count. You’re absolutely right about the cumbersome weapon switching interface. And for this reason I believe most people play using the default weapon, as you pointed out. But, back when this game came out, that type of thing was just all we knew. In fact, most games of the time were way worse so believe me even something like that was considered a treat.

Ahhhh dat bubble man theme tho. Takes me back.

I was lucky enough to play the original while it was still in stores to buy, so I went to where "you'll really flip your lid". Geoffrey says "hi" (2 clues to make it easier). Surprisingly, I was able to get a copy for $15 new at the time, so it was really kool. Every part after that was just bonus. Personally, I was partial to this one and part III. No. 3 was more fun to play through stages, as the slide technique was added for faster playability. However you look at it, there's fun in the challenges and the look is a esthetically pleasing. The one thing that surprises me is even though the versions do the same thing through the first 7, it's never the same game twice. Check out the rest in the series and see how they stack up.

I still remember the Christmas when I ripped open the first present and it was Megaman 2. Being familiar with the first game, which for some reason nobody ever mentions or reviews, I was excited to discover it had a sequel. It's somewhat surreal to discover how popular that game would turn out to be. Especially since none of my friends had it. At best some had copies of the third game.

That was my first video game, I remember beating crash man and i was such a happy kid. Never could beat quick man

when you talk about how it's cumbersome to scroll through the weapon menu, I start to think about Cyborg Hunter on the Sega Master. it requires you to use a second controller to switch your weapons. I liked your review. I've never played Mega Man on the nes since I grew up with a sms, so I'm in the same boat as you were.

one of my favorite challenges to do was to get through quickman's stage without using the flash stopper, that required not only quick reaction and timing but even dropping to the next stage in the right area

So glad to see you finally get a chance to play a Mega Man game. 2 is definitely the best one to start with, but if you get a chance, you should also try the others. I'd like to see your take on how the gameplay "evolves" throughout the series...which is to say it doesn't really, and a lot of people knock the series for that. The UI issue that you mentioned is kind of fixed finally in Mega Man 4, where they put everything on one pause screen with little pictures instead of letters next to every name. In the 16 bit games and beyond, you can even use shoulder buttons to quickly scroll through your equipment. - I think it's really cool that you mentioned this because it was never something I realized could have been off putting since I've played the game for years. Great video.

Was refreshing to see a fresh take on this game from someone that hadn't played it before. I enjoyed it.

I agree with your "brute force" and "run & gun" comments.. one reason I didn't "get" this game as a kid was that I didn't understand the idea of just charging ahead and taking tons of damage intentionally. See, if you try to completely avoid getting hit in a Mega Man game, you never get into a rhythm/flow, and you *will* die a bunch. And yes, this game's music is definitely deserving of its reputation. Brilliant.

Ah, good ol' Mega Man 2. Great review, Pam. Now I want to play through it again. And that music...

I made a chart of what weapon worked best against a particular boss. That was one of the most fun parts of he game for me.

Great video. I'm glad you were finally able to try out this game!

Great review MegaMan 2 was the first game I ever beat, can you believe I passed that Mr. quick stage part without using any time freeze I never thought of it haha

One of the best games of all-time. Even in 2021, it’s solid fun.

I like mega man's expressions when he gets hit or just his blinking the little touches make all the difference between a good game and a great game that and the music

One of my favorite Mega Man games

I forget if I commented on this review -- if not...here it is. You chose the Mega Man to play. Mega Man 2 was, by far, my favorite NES version of Mega Man. And the comment you made about responsiveness...this game was in my top 5 for that, but I have to give better "play control" to Super Mario Bros 2 and 3. But this game was way ahead of it's time in plot, graphics, control, and especially soundtrack. But I also agree with many comments about the "normal" setting -- Normal was easy, and difficult was normal.

*_Thank You_* for reminding me of one of the most enjoyable games on NES (that I haven't played in 20-25 years). It's the only Mega Man game I've played, but I loved it as a kid. Will have to play this again when I find time!

2 is great. 3 is amazing. i think 3 is probably still my favorite

The music in this game was amazing to me. Bubble man stage is my 1st fav video game song ever.👍

Probably my favourite NES game. I loved the first, and much more difficult Mega Man too. Mega Man 3 was kind of lost in me, because I had moved on to the Genesis.

Mega Man 2 was my second game for the NES (first one was Super Mario Bros. which came with the console). Played through it that same evening I got it, was totally worth it, great game.

I really enjoyed this review of Mega Man 2. It was the only MM title I played on original hardware, and even then only when I was at my cousin's house. I'm not sure if it was just my device or connection but in the first half of your video it seemed like the audio was ever so slightly ahead of the video. Good explanation of the game mechanics and showing the variety in the level design. I especially liked the music you selected to showcase. Well done.

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE MEGA MAN GAME RIGHT HERE!!! GAMEPLAY, MUSIC AND POWER UPS WAS THE BOMB!!! THX PAM FOR THE REVIEW!!

This was my game way back in the day! So badass !

Nice review. Your review reminded me how I first played it as a kid before I mastered as an adult. I agree with needing to know what Items #1-3 do on the Wily stages. I got stuck on Wily stage 1 as a kid because I didn't know what Items 1-3 numbered items did. I would have liked to have know how you would have done during the disappearing blocks during the Heat Man stage if your boyfriend would have never have told you about what Item #2 did. One sign that you are a good Mega Man 2 player is if you can do the Heat Man disappearing blocks without using Item #2, but using Item #2 is fine for a first time player & it did help you knowing that for the Wily stages. The menu for boss weapons & special items got better with Mega Man 4. That is when it was on one screen & did a better job of what the weapons were, so they did improve on that as the series went on.

Did you get the music stuck in your head after? It always happens to me when I play a Mega Man game.

Now you're digging deep into my childhood. As you may guess from the icon, I have been a Mega Man game for a very very long time. And 2 is what many consider to be the best in the series. I'd differ, but I'm glad you had a good time with it. If you ever play 3, you'll find it to be the EASIEST in the original series. Now I gotta go play the Legacy Collection on the Switch. Nostalgia, man!

Mega Man 3 is my favorite. It was the 2nd one I played after part 2 & I spent weeks playing it & finally beating it. I remember watching some video game show I think it was Johnny Arcade who showed that the Top Spin would kill the last boss.

Hello from the future!! It's good to see this channel, AND that you aren't too beaten up by all of the Megaman Fanboys out there who will have already likely slammed you for having a game channel and NEVER have played ANY Megaman games!😁😁 This game is one of my favorites. I used to rent it from my local video store.I spent a lot of time with it. Retro gaming is fun and I'm so happy to see new people experiencing the same issues as we have. I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself. This is great video, Pam. I'm glad that you got to experience Megaman 2, and hope that you have had more time with all the others in the cannon. Keep up the great work!

i played megaman 2 back when it came out and every now and then over the years. i can't believe i never knew that time stopper trick for quickman's level. me and my friends used to always run super fast through that part.

Your reviews are very well done and well produced! Great work! You deserve more subs ;)

Crush Mans stage is my favorite in MM2 because in the "hall" where the ground drills are,you can 1up at random up to maybe 5 1ups and fully recharge your weapons.Most helpful stage evah(I love to say it with an attitude)!

This intro was amazing

Excellent review again Pam!

Haha, I played MM2 when it first came out and had a blast with it. It took awhile but hard mode became super fun, ah the memories 😊

Oh...I played this alot as a kid, never new about the "items".

I really like your reviewing style. You lay out the stuff you like and dislike in an informative and interesting way. Now if only I could commit to a Mega Man game despite dying every 5 seconds. XD

For the life of me, I don't remember referring to these games as platformers until after the N64 generation of console introduced 3D gaming. So, as a game, it wasn't that "platforming" was ever a focus. A shooter is more appropriate though, like you said.

One of the all time best games ever made, on any console, period.

Mega Man 2 was the first Mega Man game that I beaten back in the 1989. The original game was a little bit more tougher but I did beat it later after part 2. Then when part 3 came along I already had the great Mega Man skills and I beat it in 2 days, true story. I've always enjoy Mega Man 2 the best.

Classic!.. one of my most played games when I was a kid.. one of the few NES games I owned. Got it cuz I remembered liking MM1 which of course is much harder. MM2 was hard too but played it so much got good at it. I remember when I 1st got to Dr. Wily, the alien version. I called my friend knowing he beat it. How do I fight this guy nothing hurts him!?.. Bubble Lead.. what a sad weapon to beat the last boss but gotta do what you gotta do! Thanks for the review :)

Great game. Really the high point of mega man. Blaster master and battle toads were my nightmare

My favorite original Mega Man is #3. I actually played 3 before any of the others, and #2 is probably the most difficult.

It's been years since I played this, but I think this is the game in which you can repeatedly press "start" to avoid damage. Pressing "start" goes to the menu, then pushing "start" goes back to the game, but Mega Man beams back into the scene, so in that interval, he can't take damage. Repeatedly pressing "start" can result in projectiles passing through where Mega Man is standing.

My order since childhood: Metal Man Bubble Man Wood Man Air Man Heat Man Crash Man Flash Man Quick Man Any other order just feels wrong to me, and not sure why I started that order, but there it is.

I've never played on a NES before, was never a Nintendo person but I of course heard about MegaMan quite a lot in the day. Based upon this video it's easy to see why the game series was and is so loved 😀😃

The music! Nostalgia

I got this game back in the early 90's. I actually beat the game 28 years later when I decided to take another stab at it and looked up the boss order online. As a kid, I had no idea there was a certain order you needed to tackle the bosses in and I just assumed the game was way too hard, lol. Edit: It was interesting watching your gameplay. As silly as it sounds it never occurred to me to use weapons obtained from bosses in the levels, i only used them when fighting other bosses, lol.

My cousin had this and I remember borrowing it for so long, he almost forgot I had it!

1:54 The correct order is: 1. Bubble Man 2. Flash Man 3. Quick Man 4. Metal man 5. Wood Man 6. Air Man 7. Crash man 8. Heat Man ... you're welcome

Mega Man Legends will always be my favorite

Great review. 😉So then i started playing Mega Man games, but they're challenging as heck. I enjoyed playing the 10 on the Wii.

The flashing screen right as you beat the boss at the end of the video reliably causes my TV to turn off. Blasted IR remotes..

Awesome review! I was waiting for you to mention the music :D Honestly when in comes to a game having great music, I can most of the time forgive some of its flaws. I hope Mega Man 2 has made you want to play more mega man games! They're pretty great!

Much more pleasant than MM1. Have a lot of good memories of that game playing with my friend.

Apparently I'm the only one who's sickeningly awful at Mega Man. You beat the game having never played it and here I am not being able to beat a single level. Good insight on the game from a less experienced perspective.

I recently reviewed the first game. Damn this series is hard. Great review :)

While Mega Man 2 is great, my personal favorite is Mega Man X on the SNES. There's room in the levels to explore for upgrades, the story is larger scale, and the challenge is more reasonable.

Though Megaman 2 was great game, Megaman 1 is still my favorite from the Megaman series coz It's the first Megaman game I played back in the day on my Famicom. It was, I think the hardest Megaman game. It doesn't have Rush nor the Energizers and no passwords too so you've got to finish the game in one go. Took me I think almost 6 hours to beat the game after 3 months of playing it. I've got to choose only one game I could buy at the store that time and I narrowed it down to 2 games. Rockman/Megaman or Bomber King/Robowarrior, I chose Rockman because the cover art was so nice. I bought Bomber King after a month.

Finally, someone else who appreciates stuff like that little turret room boss, and the Quick beam challenge. I always like hearing a newcomer's perspective on things I have liked pretty much my whole life. :D

I've played video games for 30 years and Megaman 2 is still my favorite game of all time.

the music alone makes it one of the NES's best! Dr, Wily stage one cmon?! I get amped to this day hearing that shiz!

How horribly underrated this channel is. This chick isgreat at formulating opinions and has a very relaxed voice and narration. Great for bitter old men with a serotonin deficiency like me

Great review! You should do a review on Bionic Commando for the NES.

You should also try mega man x for the snes or even reviewed it another great mega man game

My favourite Mega Man game and possibly just downright favourite game in general! Interesting to get your take on it as a 1st time experience. Oh man, figuring out the disappearing platforms parts sure does suck the 1st time around. And that damned Dragon has ended many of my 1 life runs! You surely touched on the toughest parts of the game adequately :)

I love all of the NES Mega Man games. I recently played through them all on the 3DS collector's edition, which let me toggle between Mega Man and Rock Man (Japanese) versions (last time I did this was once upon a time on the GameCube, sans the Rock Man feature). The Difficult setting in Mega Man 2 is actually the Normal Setting in Rock Man 2, I learned. I'm most fond of Mega Man 3. Dare I say, it's superior. I might be a little biased because Mega Man 3 was the only game in the series I owned on the NES growing up. But I remember playing part 2 at a friend's house and not liking it as much. Yet having played all the games in order, comparisons are fresh on my mind. The music from the 3rd game is the best. The gameplay is solid. Rock/Mega Man doesn't slide when he lands on the ground, like he does in parts 1 and 2, instead he stops on a dime. Part 3 introduces the slide ability! The levels are more creative, and it's neat to revisit the four corner boss stages in dystopian fashion. All of the robot masters from part 2 return in part 3 for a rematch. Lastly, the ending is so wonderfully nostalgic. As for the other sequels, the canon sort of goes downhill for me, but a gradual downward slope, still fun. On this last run I paid more attention to how each game offered something new, like in the later games you don't fall off of ladders when you switch weapons, and other extra tidbits to keep things interesting. Anyhoo, I'd love to see a review of Mega Man 3 when you get the opportunity. ^_^

Fun game. MM2 is about as synonymous with the NES as Mario. Generally most people end up playing it sooner or later when it comes to playing NES games just like how everyone eventually plays the Mario games for the system. It's a great game, though I usually prefer MM4 over it by a slight hair.

This was a very good review of Mega Man 2. :) It's definitely the most popular Mega Man game of all time, and it deserves all of the praise it gets. Though personally, I am a bigger fan of Mega Man X for the SNES since it was my first Mega Man game, and I kinda felt spoiled when I've started playing the classic Mega Man series after Mega Man X. In my opinion, the Mega Man X series is superior to the classic Mega Man series, and I highly recommend you check them out. (you will really love playing as Zero by the way)

No way you uploaded this....I just beat this game and the Gameboy version today O.o I also agree, the controls for switching weapons in this particular Mega Man game are a pain -_-

Awesome review. Would love it if you did a review of Mega Man X at some point!

Good video. B.T.W., the order I do in Mega Man 2 which works best is Air Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Quick Man, Metal Man, Bubble Man, Heat Man, than Wood Man. That pretty much mostly assures you have good weapons to use against the next robot master you face, while being able to collect all the items you'll need in the stages as well.

MEGA MAN 2 probably had the best, most memorable music in the series, even though some of the newer games had great music as well: Pharaoh man, Solar Man, Galaxy Man, Splash Woman, Spark Man, Dive man, etc. I think it's important to look at Mega Man as an evolution of SUPER MARIO BROS. It's almost as if the developers thought: "I like throwing fire with Mario - but if I get injured, I lose the power". They ultimately decided "GIVE MARIO A GUN"!!! MM came after Metroid so my guess is that they gave MM an arm cannon in the same vain of Samus Aran. I love the balancing they offered through item farming by killing respawning enemies. If TMNT and many other games offered this, the difficulty which is often criticized wouldn't be so bad. The UNLIMITED CONTINUES and UNLIMITED LIVES (1 ups farmable from enemies ) was a great way of balancing the game as well. They expect you to push through the game and if you die, you just have to get better and continue to push on to the end. BOO BEAM TRAP and the ALIEN are examples of bad game design. To have both the traps and their walls invulnerable to everything but crash bombs IS NOT FAIR. The player should be able to defeat both with the standard Mega Buster. In the later games the mega buster can pretty much kill any and everyone because they know that most players won't have all available boss items . And the reason that's important is because this game lets you choose boss stages at will so there's no telling what weapon you'd have at what time - until the final stages - which forced you to have all weapons. The Boss Order SHOULD NOT MATTER. You should be able to approach every stage at will - equally without needing prerequisites - right up until Wily's castle. I recently played through all the Mega Man classics: 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10. I tried 7 but it was boring. I actually played through 2 first, and then 1 (on an emulator) and then 2 and 1 again on the Mega Man Legacy collection before the rest. MEGA MAN 10, I enjoyed because they gave you shoulder button access to your weapons so you needn't pause each time. Pausing is bad game design because you can fall off a ladder when switching and die. I found myself CONSTANTLY having to work around bad game design in the first few games. DID THE FORGET THAT YOU HAVE A SELECT BUTTON? Why not just use the SELECT BUTTON for live item switching??? Anyways: MM10 fixed it. I also like the ITEM evolution from the poorly explained Magnet beam to the ITEM 1, 2 and 3 to RUSH and then onwards to Mega Man having Rush & Beat - and finally Mega Man having a JETPACK. The Jetpack was awesome and fun. Very well balanced. These games would have been so much better with more text explanations of the enemies and the items. There were many situations where knowing a boss weapon could help would go very far. I didn't realize the Metal Blade was overpowered and I didn't use it as much as I could have. I didn't realize ice could free fire plumes - I got burned more than I needed to. I didn't realize you could pause Magma plumes in MM10 using the chill beam. All these things are important to know but there's very little explanation. The QUICK MAN STAGE killed me so many times I cheated to get past it and then came back wiser after watching RU-vid videos. I DID NOT KNOW I COULD USE THE TIME STOPPER to PAUSE THEM. This is a great review. I'm gonna subscribe. Hope to see more from you.

What more can I say about this game that hasn't been said already? Mega Man 2 was the first game I played in the series. By the way, did you know that there was a Mega Man character on school binders in 1984, before the video game series started? I just recently learned that myself.

Definitely give Mega Man 3 a shot as well. Many regard it as the best in the series, and I'd wholly agree.

The Robotic Dragon chase scene always triggers my heart to beat too fast with adrenaline and ALWAYS FU** UP in it...still fun though.

The sliding Dash move from MM3 would have helped so much but MM3 hadn't happened yet.