Mega Man is one of the most recognizable mascots in gaming history, maybe only 2nd to Mario and Pac Man. With that, comes a huge fan base. The little blue bomber has taken on many challenges and with precise jumps and shots, has saved the world again and again. With his “new” title Mega Man Powered Up, he is at it again.

Story
This is not a true “new” Mega Man game. It is actually the first Mega Man game with many cosmetic and structural changes. Anyway, Powered Up tells of Mega Man’s start as hero. While the original game didn’t have as much of a comprehensive story, Powered Up fleshes out why Mega Man became who he is. It all started with Dr. Wily stole all of Dr. Light’s robots except “Mega” because he was, at the time, useless. When “Mega” saw this, he asked Dr. Light to make him into a fighter bot. With reluctance, Dr. Light agreed and gave “Mega” a power suit that will help him recover the other robots that have been stolen so they can be fixed. With that, Dr. Light dubs “Mega” Mega Man and the legend is born. When you encounter one of the stolen robots, they will be brain washed into thinking that Mega Man is the evil one. When you beat them, they will be fixed and all will be well in the world.

Sound
Any fan of Mega Man could rattle off one of their favorite levels theme song. This is most certainly the case with Powered Up because they have remixed the old songs with new sound samples. Don’t fret; they have also included the original MIDI songs when you play the “classic mode.” As an additional bonus, Capcom has also added voices for the characters to make them feel more alive. While some of the dialogue is dopey and the voice acting is marginal, it does add flavor to the game that otherwise would be aging.

Control
Very straight foreword controls. Powered Up doesn’t add any other Mega Man moves from newer games. The reason why the old controls were kept is because it would spoil some of the level design that hasn’t been changed. Some gamers unfamiliar with Mega Man might find not being able to duck frustrating but will adjust. The insanely hard jumps, that you have to time just right, are back in full force. Thanks to some new levels, there are even HARDER jumps to make. Dying repeatedly from falling into spikes or an abyss makes you angry and you’ll want to throw something across the room. Just like all the other Mega Mans.

As for controlling the level editor, it couldn’t be simpler. There is a nifty tutorial that walks you through all the steps needed to make a level, test it out, and publish it on Capcom’s servers for all Powered Up users to download. There is even a rating system built in for user created levels that lets the players judge what is good and what isn’t worth the download.


Oilman is no match for the blue bomber