Mega Man 5, Proto Man's Trap!?

When Mega Man 4 came out, you could probably argue that it was in development at some capacity while the SNES was getting started. Mega Man 5 on the other hand doesn't really have that excuse. I don't wanna harp again on how Mega Man is falling behind because of a new console again, but it's worth mentioning because Capcom really dropped the ball here.

This game is problematic in more ways than one though, because, while it is starting to get dated, this game is also pretty mediocre for a Mega Man game. Not horrible, but not great. It just feels with this game, Mega Man is starting to fall into a creative slump. There are sections here and there that are decent and even a few great levels, but the game feels uninspired. Most of the weapons are useless, the bosses are just... strange, and the level design leaves something to be desired.

It is however, probably the most plot intensive Mega Man game for the NES, a feat that might have gotten some recognition, had most gamers not moved on to newer platforms. I don't hate Mega Man 5, but it is probably my least played Mega Man game (not counting the ones that outright suck).

New Features

• Brand new character Beat, a flying bird robot created by Dr. Cossack as thanks for Mega Man saving Kalinka in Mega Man 4. For some odd reason Beat doesn't work unless Mega Man collects letters of his name in each stage... THANKS A LOT DR. COCKASS!
• M-Tanks, a new E-Tank item that not only refills Mega Man's energy, but his weapon energy too! You can only carry one at at time.
• The Mega Buster now fires a new charged shot. However, if Mega Man takes damage while charging, he must recharge the shot.
• The L-Tank! I'm just kidding, it's just a prop in a cutscene and never mentioned again. (Well not till ZXA).
  

Story
A new group of 8 Robot Masters are wreaking havoc on the world following their leader Proto Man! As if that's not bad enough, Proto Man breaks into Dr. Lights lab and kidnaps him just as Mega Man arrives, seconds to late to see Proto Man's scarf falling to the scene of the crime. Worried about Dr. Light, a confused Mega Man has no choice but to confront his brother.

After defeating Proto Man's robots (and Proto Man must have a few circuits loose if he's making robot trains) Mega Man confronts Proto Man in his lair, which has sunglasses mounted on it. Hesitant to fight Proto Man, Mega Man is brought to near death when suddenly a familiar whistle is heard, and the REAL Proto Man shows up, and unmasks the impostor, who turns out to be Dark Man, a servant of Dr. Wily! Proto Man heals Mega Man and then heroically runs off like a gigantic pussy. Thanks for the help asshole.

Mega Man tracks down Dr. Wily and makes him reveal where he's got Dr. Light held up. Just as he frees him and, much to the surprise of everyone, including Dr. Wily, the fortress begins to explode for no particular reason. Using this diversion, Dr. Wily escapes, and Mega Man and Dr. Light are saved at the last moment by Proto Man, who helps them get out of the collapsing building.

A lot of people are confused about how Wily has so much time and resources to build these skull fortresses, but if you think about it, since they all collapse so easily, he obviously just cuts a lot of corners to save both time and money. That's why their so damn rickety. See, it makes sense.

Aesthetics
Once again the Mega Man games show that a lot can be done with the NES as developer's master its use. Also once again this point is moot with the new generation of games.

That said, Mega Man 5 is the best looking of the entire series for up to this point and even Mega Man 6 is a bit duller to look at comparatively. The intro cutscences look really good and detailed, the levels, while not particularly fun, are interesting to look at. There's a space level, a Vietnam level, a jet skiing level and a train level even.

The enemies aren't as memorable, as there is a lot of reused stuff from Mega Man 4 that is just tweaked slightly in appearance, like the shield attackers, who move back and forth. The bosses look detailed, but you have to wonder why the hell Charge Man exists. Stone Man also just looks a bit like Guts Man covered in gravel. The four incarnations of Dark Man are kinda lame as well, and I just think there should have been more variety in the Proto Man levels.

Overall though it still is quite good looking.

Sound
There's a couple of tracks that are decent, Star Man's is pretty good for example, but the rest of it just kinda runs together. Nothing bad, nothing great. Just background noise. As for the sound effects, it sounds like the rest of the other games.

As this series has gone on I've pretty much had less and less to say about the looks and sound but that's pretty much because there are so few significant things to point out anymore. It really becomes more apparent as the series goes on that it needs to reinvent itself. Don't worry it will though, next year.

Design
Mega Man 5 is bland but inoffensive. There's a few stages that stand out. Gravity Man's stage is a blast with flipping the direction of gravity, positioning Mega Man against a ceiling or floor and switching mid-jump. Wave Man's stage also has a jet skiing section, although I don't care for it. There is also a section that was straight out copied into Splash Woman's stage in Mega Man 9. After that, all I gotta say is, "meh." No really, that's the rest of the game. The bosses aren't really easy, but there's so many E-Tanks and extra lives you'll get plenty of tries again. Except for the final form, Wily is really easy this time around.

The worst part of this game is the weapons. The designers I guess felt the Mega Buster was a little over powered, so some enemies take a few charged shots to take down, making rapid fire mostly useless. Star Crash is a shield weapon, but it doesn't kill anything, so if you hit anything with it, it disappears and you still get hit. Gravity Hold is decent at clearing a screen, but some enemies it takes more than one hit with and while this wouldn't be so bad, there are a lot more multi-hit enemies than non multi-hit ones, and the damn thing uses a lot of energy. Power Stone is also completely useless. It creates rocks that spin around you at such a strange pattern it's practically impossible to hit anything. It's so useless that as, Charge Man's weakness, it's easier to just hit the stupid train-bot with a charged shot. Oh and don't even get me started with Charge Kick, a spiritual successor to Top Spin for most useless weapon of all time.

There was no thought into the weapons of this game. This is where it hurts it the most, but the rest of the game is just alright really. Using the Mega Buster the whole way is satisfying enough, I just wish the game had the utility of the Mega Man 2 weapons or something.

Playability
I've really ran out of things to say for now. There's no real glitches I can think of and it plays just like the other games. I'll have more to say when there's new series. I am really looking forward to X right now...

Extras

• Boss Order: The only thing I can think here that is helpful to have is Gravity Hold and Star Crash, and only Star Crash for Crystal Man's stage to avoid dealing with the falling crystals. Since I hate doing Wave Man's stage because of the Jet Skiing, I do him last. I go Star Man, Gravity Man, Gyro Man, Crystal Man, Napalm Man, Stone Man, Charge Man, Wave Man.
• One very easily missed letter to getting Beat is in Stone Man's stage there is a wall which you have to break through by using a charged shot, and then sliding underneath the wall. I don't know how the fuck they expect you to figure that out.
• Once you get Beat, he's a good cheap way to kill both Wily's final incarnation and Dark Man. Sometimes though Beat sticks to you to much though, so you'll need to dodge.
• At the start of Wily 1 there is an M-Tank, but it won't show up if you have one already, so be sure to use your last M-Tank by Proto Man 4.
• Rush Marine is gone! See, told you it was useless.
• Take a look at the screenshot where Mega Man get's Napalm Bomb. Notice the color scheme looks a lot like the first box art drawn Mega Man?

Mega Man 5 is the one game I can't really remember much about, because it's so easy to forget. I mean, I can remember very specific stuff about the games I hate and love, but this one just falls off my radar. 6 is kind of like that too, but it tries new things that do stick out more than this one. This game simply isn't good enough to recommend.

Playthroughs
Speedrun by Josh Styger
Tool Assited Speedrun by Timo Taipaleenmäki (aka. Shinryuu).