Game Review XVII: Mega Man: The Power Battle / Power Fighters

By sheer chance, what was to happen if the classic Mega Man franchise turned to the arcade outlet? Well, back then Keiji Inafune and Capcom tried this with Mega Man: The Power Battle. In a rough sense, this was essentially a boss rush-type game dealing with Mega Man 1-7, the graphics taken mostly after Mega Man 7, though enhanced somewhat.

Protoman vs. Iceman

The first game had a system where you could battle according to these formats: One mode could let you face bosses from the first 2 games, the second dealt with Mega Man 3-6, and the third gave you bosses from Mega Man 7. The player could choose from either Mega Man, Protoman, or Bass, all of which fights virtually similar. To add, two different heroes can co-op against the boss. But, it's problem is that even though it was boss rush-like, it was relatively easy, which is a huge statement considering it's side scrollers are usually challenging at best. In any case, the music for each boss was remixed, though some of those didn't have their appropriate themes. This is one aspect that I, as a gamer, couldn't criticize so much on, mainly that, especially for the first 2 games, not every single track from them was remixed. The bosses were selected via roulette, so you couldn't have a say in who you wanted to fight next. Because of this, it was by sheer luck you get to face a boss that was weak to the weapon you just obtained. As with all games in the franchise, every boss had their weaknesses, which you could adapt upon beating the one beforehand. The move sets consisted of the basic buster arm and Charge Shot, and they could dash, which differs by character. Depending on what mode you selected, you face a certain mini boss, and finally Wily. Each character also had an epilogue at the end of their playthrough, even if Wily manages to escape after defeating him.

Even with its supposed flaws, it saw a sequel called Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. For the most part, it was essentially the same game, but with a few changes and additions. For starters, Mega Man 8 was incorporated with the addition of Duo, a NPC (non-playable character) protagonist from that game. This would perhaps be the only time in the US he was actually a playable character. Next the "stories" were rearranged, so you weren't limited to the game-specific bosses of the first game. Instead, because of the new story format, some bosses were mixed in with others from different games, but still had a weakness to compensate for it. Plus, you can actually choose who to fight this time. Like before, you can play with a friend, but this time, it's a matter of who can beat the boss first. While both players got the weapon at the end in the first game, now it goes to whoever manages to get the weapon capsule first after the boss is defeated. The music score this time was remixed as well, but taken from the Rockman Complete Works tracks, which were standalone re-releases of the games for PlayStation. But again, not all characters had their appropriate music scores. Another addition, but perhaps a forseen one, is that each character had an extra move they could use on top of their initial abilities: when they obtain a certain powerup midway through the game. Two of these moves, the Mega Upper (Mega Man) and Cresent Kick (Bass), were incorporated from the Street Fighter franchise, as they are essentially the Shoryuken (Ryu) and Flash Kick (Guile). Certain powerups were also obtainable by battle, namely Rush for Mega Man, Beat for Proto Man and Duo, while Bass had Treble. The Wily Castle battles are similar to its predecessor, but the mini bosses were different. The epilogues were more closer to the games themselves, with the co-op epilogue varying by characters selected. It was thanks to this that we saw an insight on Bass' conception and the link to Mega Man X's character Zero, a matter that was never truly bridged chronologically.

Duo and Bass vs Diveman

Both games would see US limelight as bundled in Mega Man Anniversary Collection alongside the first 8 classic series games, commemorating 10 years of Mega Man at the time. In history, these would be the only Mega Man arcade titles of its time, but in terms of the franchise itself, it stands as perhaps one of, if not THE weakest link. I won't say it isn't enjoyable, but unless you're a die-hard fanatic, fanfare for these two can come and go pretty easily, there fore scoring a 6 of 10 overall.