Given the success of the first legacy collection (which was the first six NES games), Capcom went ahead and compiled the second half of the franchise for sale. While the NES games were consistent and released yearly, the classic series' jump to the SNES and beyond was rockier. And I find this second half of the series more fascinating because of it. As good as the NES games are, the 'more of the same' critique holds sway. Given that this collection has significantly fewer games than the first one, it's appropriate to go in-depth with each game.
We begin with Megaman 7, which was a victim of bad timing. No one would call MM7 a bad game, but it would inevitably be compared to the new X series (X2 was released in the same year). MMX was a direct evolution of the classic franchise, presenting the same formula whilst expanding the players repertoire of abilities. X and classic Megaman are doing the same thing, only X allows you to do it in a greater variety of ways. MM7 was unfortunately competing with X, and it doesn't fare well.
Which is why I believe this game was overlooked in its time. Nowadays I'd say it's overlooked because of its slower pace. It doesn't make for a bad game, but it's definitely more sluggish than anything before it (or after). The sprites are large and colorful, which is nice. But that also means the field of view is smaller. Because of this, they reduced Megaman's movespeed. The boss fights are also slower, with longer fight patterns and Megaman barely capable of damage. Regular enemies also take longer to kill.
Like many other people, I consider MM7 a game that is...just there. It's a beautiful looking game that adds some flair to the franchise; but it also isn't anything new. There's more backtracking, and I liked some of the levels. But there's not much to say in what it does right.
Megaman 8 would arrive roughly 2 years later; I immediately noticed the expanded field of view. So you get the same playfield as the NES games, with similar enemy counts. The game is faster because of it, and enemies don't take 2 to 3 charged buster shots to dispose of. The music is also better, and I'd say the platforming is competent. I also enjoyed the cutscenes, even if the voice acting is laughably bad. It's part of the charm.
This sounds like I'm queuing up a 'it's better than MM7' paragraph, but I wouldn't go that far. Most of the levels are fine, but Frostman and Tenguman's have these on-rails sections that I don't care for. It's an attempt at changing things up that doesn't work. It's re-used in some of the Wily stages. Also didn't care for Astroman, which has a maze puzzle gimmick. That's almost half the levels.
I did like Swordman's stage, which required powerups from different stages to traverse. But otherwise the game felt like a mixed bag. And it's a shame, because I really enjoyed controlling Megaman in 8. It's the new graphical style of 7 (somewhat) with the controls of NES. But it tries 'new' things outside of platforming that just don't stick.
After MM8, the classic series would lie dormant, being overtaken by the X franchise. We'd get many spin-offs of the franchise before the X series died after Capcom tried taking it 3D. Meanwhile we'd get a retro-game revival with the advent of online shops (Xbox Live, Playstation Live, Wiiware/Wii shop). While indie devs were doing retro-styled 2D games, the Wii Shop was bringing back NES and SNES classics to modern audiences.
Capcom rode the wave and we got Megaman 9, an NES styled modern Megaman. Developed by Inti Creates (the devs behind Megaman Zero), MM9 Mimics MM2. Meaning no slide or charged shots. Even though we subtract game mechanics it is the most creative game in the franchise thus far. You'd think they'd run out of ideas by now. I vaguely remember particular level gimmicks being repeated throughout prior games, but MM9 has some very unique ones. I won't go through them, but I was impressed. The enemies are likewise very unique.
I don't have too much to say about MM9 (or 10 for that matter) because it's classic NES Megaman, but with new ideas and stupendous soundtracks. MM10 (released in 2010) feels like a direct continuation of 9, with much of my praise carrying over. The only things I'd say as a negative are that I didn't care for Nitroman's stage and I didn't find the soundtrack to be as catchy overall. But that's not to take away from the high quality of 10, it's just that 9 is that good in comparison.
The only game missing is Megaman and Bass, which is arguably the 'real' MM9. It's not a numbered title, but the collection feels incomplete without it. It's also missing save states, which is odd. It's not as if save states aren't a thing in PS1 emulation. Instead we have 'checkpoint' saves, which function as infinite lives. The extras are of the same quality and variety as the first collection.
The games vary in quality and ideas more than the first collection, and that's probably why I find this one more fascinating. Because I wouldn't call any of the games bad. Either way, it's a must if you have the first collection. Which you should.
