Updated Classic Goodness
The original Mega Man was one of my favorite games as a kid, so this was the first game I picked up when I got a PSP. I thought it was just a really cutesy graphical overhaul that would screw up everything that made the first game great, but I was pretty far off on that assumption. This is a great adaptation of one of the original side scrollers, and I think the updated graphics help bring it to a new generation.
Graphics
This game looks great. Everything runs super smooth and the color schemes are vibrant and colorful. There may be the occasional lag when there are a lot of enemies on the screen, but this is pretty rare. The levels may not seem that unique, but you have to keep in mind that the original Mega Man was one of the first games to feature levels like this at all. Character models have been done really well, and though they bring a lot of extra polygons into the mix compared to the original, I would say that each model is faithful to their original counterpart.
Controls
If you've played any Mega Man game (actually probably any side scrolling action game) before, the controls are pretty intuitive. The game doesn't really have a lot of fancy maneuvers as you pretty much have an attack button, a jump button, and L and R to toggle through powers. I would say the updated version betters the controls a little, but there are still plenty of spots where you'll jump to your death after missing a ledge by a couple inches. But what side scroller doesn't have that?
Content
With the original 6 bosses plus 2 extra ones, this game has a ton of things to do. You can play through as Mega Man and if you manage to defeat a boss with the just Mega Buster (default weapon) you can "save" that boss and they become a playable character! You can play through the game with each character, so that's 9 reasons to play the game right there. Granted, some of the characters aren't as fun to play as as others, but it's still a cool addition. The level editor is an interesting tool as well; although, I couldn't really get into it all that much. It is cool to be able to share and download levels. Challenge mode can keep you really busy after finishing the game. I spent a lot of time trying to complete every character's challenges. They start off really easy, but the difficulty picks up fast, and they are pretty addicting since it only takes a minute to try each challenge. The ability to play the original version of the game was a nice touch.
Overall, I would say that this is a great update to one of the all time classics that you should try on your PSP if you haven't played the original or are interested in a fun action side scroller with a ton of things to do. Keep in mind that though this game may be cute it is still tough as nails. The difficulty in this game (especially playing as some of the other characters) is not for the faint of heart. It may just look like a cutesy remake that Capcom is trying to cash in on with a new generation, but there is a surprising amount of extra content and things to check out that make this game worthwhile.
