Game Discussion of The Week: Mega Man 3

Best game of the original series. One of the most underrated games of all time, shadowed by the popularity of the also great Mega Man 2. If Mega Man 2 is a 10, Mega Man 3 is like a 10.1 at least.

This is before my time, and my favorite console is without a doubt the SNES, but I still recognize this was the true golden age of best game IP releases we ever had in history.

Castlevania, Contra, Gradius, Ikari Warriors, Kid Icarus, Life Force, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, 1942, Bionic Comando, Double Dragon, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Iron Tank, Metal Gear, Punch-Out!!, Rush 'n Attack, Sky Shark, Strider, Super Mario Bros., Tiger-Heli, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Zelda, etc., there is simply no other gen that can objectively compete with that much awesomeness.

The closest might be the PS1 era with Ace Combat, Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Tekken, Armore Core, Dance Dance Revolution, DoDonPachi, Guilty Gear, Marvel Vs. Capcom, Metal Slug, Time Crisis, etc., but the NES is and will always be in my mind the best of all time.

This is the high point of the Mega Man classic series. Mega Man 2 is awesome and deserves to be a classic, but here is the thing: first of all, it's completely unbalanced, as you can destroy all the levels and most bosses just with Metal Man's weapon; also, it has zero story or characters, and the game is pretty short (none of this is really a problem, but MM3 just made all of this better). Then comes Mega Man 3: the weapons/bosses are balanced this time, so you actually have to figure out which weapon to use for each boss; the slide was added, and allows for more evasive maneuvers and even more creativity in level design; it's a much longer game, with five extra bosses (four based on MM2!) after the first eight, and only then the Wily castle levels; and, to top it all off, the introduction of Rush and Proto Man and an actual story. Also, as winnersdontusedrugs said, this was the last game before the charge shot - I don't dislike it, but I think classic Mega Man is better without it.

And the music. Oh man, the music. MM2 is great, but I feel MM3 is even better: the introductory music, the level select, the "You got a weapon" music, Magnet Man, Snake Man, the password tune... I swear every music in this game is awesome.

This was my first Mega Man game and one my first NES games; it was the first time after beating a game that I felt it had told a story. Also, the surprise of the whistle and then Break Man/Proto Man appearing as a miniboss in some levels was heart-pumping. I also remember being really surprised by the 3 Mega Man clones/holograms.

The classic Mega Man in general is one of the most timeless series of games ever, in the sense that even nowadays you can make a game that looks and plays like them and it will not feel dated - just look at Mega Man 9 and Shovel Knight. Capcom did its best with the visuals and controls - they're absolutely precise and you have full control of Mega Man at all times. Every time I play a new 2d platformer, I still rank its controls based on Mega Man - "On a scale of 0 to Mega Man, how good does the jumping feels?"

So, for such a timeless series, the very best game of it is a big deal.

I've only ever played Mega Man 2 on NES and, coincidentally, Gameboy. Am I missing out?

Spirit Bomb - MM3 is an improvement on 2, but, as Armored Core Raven said, they're still very similar games all things considered. Think of the difference between Metal Slug X and 3: MS3 is a much longer game, has some new things, but its gameplay is pretty much identical to MSX.

So, if you liked MM2 on the NES and want to play an improved sequel, go for it; if you disliked or didn't care for MM2, you'll probably also dislike MM3.