Release: December 1991      Game Boy/eShop

Back when I first started reviewing Mega Man games I started with Mega Man II on the Game Boy rather than this game. The reason why I did this was because back when I started I planned to review all the games in the Mega Man series Screwattack didn’t cover on a Video Game Vault. However as time when on I decided I might as well review the others in the series. This was also the first game in the Game Boy Mega Man series I tried. 

Story

Dr. Wily returns with 8 of his old Robot Masters to face Mega Man once again. However, Wily has created a new robot especially designed to destroy the blue bomber.

Development

This would be the first Mega Man game to be outsourced by Capcom. The other four Game Boy games would be outsourced as well by the same group behind this game except for Mega Man II. The creator, Keiji Inafune felt the game turned out great thanks to the project leader being a huge Mega Man fan. At least one new character would be added to each entry in the Game Boy series with Enker being the first who is named after a Japanese genre of music Enka. 

Gameplay

The game takes elements from the first two NES Mega Man games. You only have 4 Robot Masters to fight at the start of the game before Wily’s Castle and Station. Being an early Game Boy game the game is short, very short, the shortest game in the Classic series with a total of 6 levels. The eight Robot Masters you fight are from Mega Man 1 and 2 with the initial four being: Cut Man, Fire Man, Elec Man, and Ice Man, then the four you fight at the end of Wily Castle are: Quick Man, Heat Man, Bubble Man, and Flash Man. Once they’re defeated you fight Enker who is part of the Mega Man Killer series which is exclusive to the Game Boy games, but would eventually appear in Mega Man 10 as DLC. After defeating the first group of Robot Masters you obtain a special item called Carry which is basically Item 1 from Mega Man 2 but stays in place.

Carry

The controls are exactly the same as Mega Man 3, so that means the controls don’t have that slight slipperiness that Mega Man 1 and 2 had. The game has a password feature like Mega Man 2’s with simple to memorize dot patterns unlike later games in the Game Boy line up.

Difficulty

Although the game may be short it makes it up by having a high difficulty and having longer levels, especially for the final stages. The battles with the Robot Masters range from easy to hard but for some reason, Cut Man is way harder in this game while Fire Man is a cake walk. You can even beat him without taking any damage, something that’s almost impossible in the NES version. Battle with Dr. Wily requires you to use the Mirror Shot, the weapon you receive from Enker after you defeat him, and nothing else. If you run out, you’re screwed and you’ll have to get a Game Over and retry the entire level.

Graphics

Being an early Game Boy game I wasn’t expecting the graphics to be super detailed, but character and enemy sprites are taken from the NES versions of the game and look great on the Game Boy. The stages and backgrounds look alright but the end sequence looks great for the time and limitations of the Game Boy.

Music

Most of the music is taken from the NES games, which sound alright, but Wily’s Revenge soundtrack shines the most from its original pieces. Some themes may sound high pitched, but it’s not as bad as Mega Man II’s music.

Ice Man's Stage (Left) and Wily Castle (Right)

Wily Station (Left) and End Credits (Right)

Replayvalue

I go back and play this game occasionally, if I’m in the mood for a good challenge. It still has the typical amount of replayvalue you see in a game from the series with the option of being able to pick which stage order to go through. With its high difficulty though, I find myself playing through this game in the same order.

Overall

Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge is a short, but enjoyable enough game if you’re a fan of the Classic series. Although it has great controls and nice graphics, the difficulty at times can be unfair which may turn new comers to the series off.

If you can find the game for cheap, I’d give it a shot. You can find it on the Nintendo 3DS eShop for $4.

Overall I’d give Wily’s Revenge a 6.5/10 (near Good). There are better games in the series and I feel the game hasn’t aged as well as others in the series.

Thank you for reading my review. Feel free to leave a comment.

MegaSilverX1