Mega Man 4 was a breeze to get through; Capcom apparently dialed back the difficulty level from Mega Man 3. Still, we aren’t achieving Mega Man 2 levels of greatness as far as level design and bosses. The rock paper scissors boss fights are more or less gone, as a number of weapons, not least the Mega Buster, work fairly well against different bosses. Now we see a “charge shot” on the Mega Buster, which would sustain to Mega Man X and onward. Capcom attempted improve the graphic fidelity are here as well, although the NES could do only so much.
We’re also hitting the point where boredom sets in. This is the fourth numbered entry on the same hardware; Capcom couldn’t stop. More to the point, Mega Man games were coming out on Game Boy, Game Gear, and later Sega Genesis. Capcom was that sure they had a quality product, though they weren’t totally wrong. Between Mega Man and Street Fighter, Capcom made a big splash early on, and didn’t see as iconic a franchise again until Resident Evil. I enjoyed Mega Man 4 but I was itching for better hardware most of all.
3/5
Blimps Go 180 