Before they went defunct in 2002, Minakuchi Engineering worked on 40 video games. Unfortunately, with the industry being the way it is, we still don't know what half of those games were. It's only through their partnership with Capcom that they received any of the recognition they deserved. I'll admit, until the whim struck me a day or a week ago, I was perfectly content with never writing about another Mega Man game again. Yet, here I sit, plinking away at the keys until something resembling a coherent thought is formed about Dr. Wily's Revenge, the first entry in the Game Boy series. My only reasoning for dancing on the edge of the abyss is to show respect for a developer who clearly "understood the assignment".
However, as it's been the case lately, I'm using a romhack. Roll-chan World replaces Rock Man with his sister Roll Woman. The sprites and artwork look professional as heck. It's clear that the creator did a fantastic job. There aren't any other changes, so feel free to give it a try if you're like me and have gotten tired of Mega Man's face. Anyway, I didn't bother to check if there's a story to this entry, so I can only assume that Dr. Wily wants revenge for the three straight ass-kickings he received in the preceding NES instalments. This time around there are six stages, instead of the usual 12 or so. Despite this, an average playthrough can swing anywhere from 25 minutes to your entire miserable life. It goes without saying, but if a developer who knows the first three games inside and out gets a crack at making one of their own, they are not going to hold back. There are still unlimited continues and passwords, but checkpoints are rare and mercy is rarer still.
Anyone even halfway familiar with this game knows that I'm playing with some Z-grade hyperbole, so pardon me as I dial it back a bit. What Dr. Wily's Revenge represents is a knowledge-check. If you go in not knowing what to expect and are unwilling to learn, then you're going to have a bad time. Strictly in terms of mechanics, this is close to a 1:1 conversion. Controlling Mega Man (or Roll-chan) will take maybe an additional minute to get used to. In particular, tapping right or left during a jump seems to carry them just the slightest bit further than usual. Other than that, the heroes still acquire powers from the Robot Masters they defeat, the invincibility period they get after taking damage is still enough for them to survive an errant fall onto spikes or lava, and shooting from a ladder will prevent many headaches.
Like I inferred, Minakuchi Engineering knows Mega Man inside and out. The obstacles presented in each of the six stages feature representatives from the first two NES games as well as some entirely original creations. There is comfort in familiarity, but it's short-lived. Cutman's stage features an eclectic mixture of rolling buzzsaws, conveyor belts, and spinning blades. Those screwy turrets that fire spread shots also make frequent appearances. There's a lot to contend with, and I'm not saying that just because I like padding reviews out with extraneous words. The first four stages are easily 1.5 to 2 times longer than the player would expect. Cynically, this is another example of how early handheld games stretch the content. It's particularly noticeable once you lose a life and get kicked backwards.
While I wouldn't even dream of calling Dr. Wily's Revenge unfair, it is quite grueling. Endurance and determination are required to see this adventure through to the end. Avoiding the dangerous pits is one thing but doing so while maintaining a decent amount of life is where the game gets really dicey. Mega Man is a larger target than usual, so even if almost all damage is avoidable, that doesn't mean you won't be getting kicked around a lot. Since the pre-boss checkpoint is further away than before, stray hits really start to add up. All this contributes to a unique level of difficulty. There are plenty of "hard sections", and they're often placed next to "not-so-hard" and "oh wait that's even harder" sections. Everything must be taken as a whole in order to succeed. From a level-design standpoint, it's really impressive.
Whether the player is going to appreciate it or not is another story. At one point while playing Cutman's stage, I realized that Mega Man's health was really low. Normally, this isn't a big problem, since enemies respawn and drop recovery items... right? I ask myself this question because I just killed 30 or so of the screwball turrets and got a big bag of nothing for my trouble. Also, to respawn this particular turret, I repeatedly jumped between tiny platforms situated over a bottomless pit. This is me losing my mind. Perhaps the frequency of health items could've been dialed up a little bit. Then again, maybe that's asking too much. Elecman's stage starts off with the classic disappearing/reappearing blocks over a spike-bed. Afterwards, there's a tricky jump, and then more blocks. The fact that there's even a section full of easy to farm enemies following that ordeal tells me I should be grateful for whatever I'm given. I think the game just likes to keep its players on a short leash, always reminding them of who's actually in charge.
Oddly enough, Cutman is one of the toughest bosses in the game. While the developer clearly paid a lot of attention to creating severely challenging yet sufficiently balanced stages, the Robot Masters are mostly afterthoughts. Dodging Cutman and his shears is a highly improbable task. Go into the fight with full health and hope for the best. It's a crap strategy, but it's all I got. The other bosses fall quickly to the weapons they're weak to, so there is that to look forward to. I'll also add that the weapons are massive help outside of boss battles. One or two well-timed shears can obliterate those giant jackhammer bots. Electricity is good for most any situation, and you'll want to keep a full clip of Heatman's weapon when facing Dr. Wily himself.
Hang on, I must be getting ahead of myself, because Heatman doesn't show up until the 5th stage. In an interesting twist, the boss of the first Dr. Wily stage is four Robot Masters from Mega Man 2. They also drop their respective weapons. Next up is a duel with the Game Boy exclusive Enker. This is a buster-only challenge and is my pick for best fight in the game. The boss has an easy to recognize pattern, but this is still more than enough to put him above almost everyone else. The rest of the Robot Masters seem content to drunkenly run from one side of the screen to the other, throwing projectiles every few seconds. I mean, it's probably the best plan for dealing with Mega Man that I've seen. Why jump around and create windows of opportunity for the hero to avoid their attacks? Just walk into him repeatedly until he dies.
As much as I'd like to continue using sarcasm (or a brick) to bash the lousy bosses of Dr. Wily's Revenge, there's still the fifth and sixth stages to deal with. This is the part where the gloves come off to reveal creepy robot claws designed specifically for mishandling the most delicate parts of the body. The second Wily stage is no less than 3 times longer than any other stage you've seen in a console Mega Man game. There will be moments where your heart will sink at the sight of a stage that simply refuses to end. The disappearing/reappearing blocks over a spike bed make a return... twice! Adding to the cruelty is that they create a rhythm that worms its way through your skull, only to switch it up, potentially causing Mega Man or Roll-chan to eat spikes. If that wasn't brutal enough, imagine the poor players of yesteryear who couldn't turn off their Game Boy without losing progress. For whatever reason, there isn't a password for the final stage.
The first entry in Mega Man's Game Boy saga isn't what I'd consider to be a maniac-only affair, but it's clearly more sadistic than what fans of the first few NES games are accustomed to. There's some cleverness to be seen early on. The combination of enemies and obstacles from multiple other games gives each stage an identity all its own. By the end, however, there's not much left besides the pain. This isn't a bad game by any stretch, though I think my younger self might have made the right call by ignoring it entirely.
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