Collection essentials #155: Mega Man V (Game Boy)

It should be no surprise that, with SIX whole titles on the NES, that Mega Man would grace the Game Boy too. It should be noted that this is not a Game Boy port of Mega Man 5. In Japan, these Game Boy games had a more distinct title, it was called the “Rockman World” series (Rockman is Mega Man’s name in Japan). I skipped the first four, because from what I understand they have a lot of recycled content from the NES games despite not being direct ports, and they’re not all that great. However, this fifth entry is entirely original, with brand new levels, bosses and power-ups. And it’s fantastic! I’ve only played through it once, but when I did I came away thinking it was one of the best Mega Man games. At some point I’m probably gonna replay the series, and it will be interesting to see if my opinions change at all, but this one is definitely a winner. It doesn’t get nearly as much recognition as the mainline Mega Man games, and it’s pretty rare so it probably didn’t sell too well for some reason.

For more info on how Mega Man games work, see one of my previous posts.

Fans recently created a “colorized” hack of this game, so you can play it in full color! So that gives me extra incentive to revisit it someday. If only I didn’t have a zillion other games to play, that day would come a lot sooner…

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