The Powet Top 5 – Top 5 Reasons Mega Man 3 is the best Mega Man game

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond.

Ask somebody what their favorite Mega Man game is and you’ll likely be told “Mega Man 2”. It’s the true fan favorite and widely considered the game that made the biggest leap ahead of its predecessor. While 2 is a solid game, the best thing it did was set the stage for the real greatest Mega Man game: Mega Man 3.

Slip and Slide

Many fans bemoan the charge shot and the slide – abilities that allegedly took away much of the challenge and reliance on skill present in the earlier Mega Man titles. While these two upgrades are often lumped together, Mega Man 3 gave us the slide a full game before Mega Man learned how to charge his buster. This sped up the pace of the game, made boss fights even more dynamic and strategic, but didn’t make Mega Man feel overpowered.

A pup called Rush

Mega Man 2 may have had Items 1-3, and while they were useful, they were ultimately pretty forgettable. Mega Man 3 took the idea of support items and ramped it up to 11, giving Mega Man his very own canine sidekick – Rush! Rush came in the form of three “items”, selectable from the menu screen like any other weapon: Rush Coil gave Mega Man’s jumps a much needed boost, Rush Marine allowed Mega Man to freely explore watery areas, and Rush Jet gave Mega Man to fly anywhere he damn well pleased. Rush’s jet form remains one of the coolest power-ups in classic gaming, and to this day Rush and Mega Man are practically inseparable. It’s a real “boy and his dog” story.

  

Who is that masked robot?

Throughout the game, a now-familiar whistle will announce the arrival of a mysterious character who looks a lot like a red Mega Man wearing sunglasses. He pops up a few times to challenge Mega Man, giving the impression that he’s a villain, but then he shows up in Gemini Man’s stage to help clear a path. We’re never really sure who’s side this guy is on, right up until he saves Mega Man during the game’s ending. Dr. Light recognizes the whistle, and we learn during the final ending crawl that he’s Proto Man – a precursor to Mega Man! Name another NES action game with that kind of overarching story done (mostly) without text.

Four more levels!?

Everybody expected to head straight to Dr. Wily’s castle after the eighth robot master bit the dust. Mega Man 3 threw us a curveball with a great sequence that showed us there was still a bit of fighting left to do! Four levels had to be revisited, but they were longer, darker, and more difficult. The stage graphics did a great job at making the world look like it was crumbling. This combined with the gauntlet of fighting two bosses per stage – each a Mega Man 2 boss made larger and faster – really made it feel like the end was nigh.

Capcom be trollin’

Ah, Top Spin. The least respected of all the Robot Master weapons, and long considered nearly useless by every player who tried to use it. For those of you who don’t know, Top Spin makes Mega Man spin. Like a top, you see. In order to use this weapon, you have to be in the air, and it only works if Mega Man makes contact with an enemy. It also uses a seemingly random amount of weapon energy each time you use it. Sounds like a wonderful idea. While Top Spin was quickly banished untouched to menu screens the world over, and made the subject of many a schoolyard joke, those players perhaps missed its greatest triumph – you can use it to kill the final boss in a single hit. Yep. Good one, Capcom.