Part 13: Proto IV

Stage Comments:

Damn short, so not much to add. The gimmick is very strange, but I think it's a nice puzzle that might get you killed once if you're very careless, otherwise it's right in line with MM5's general comparative tameness. Which I'm completely okay with. Palette could use work though...yeah, I'm just not a big fan of pastel at all.


Boss Comments:

Dark Man 4 combines all the abilities of his predecessors...except not really. Shields are there and...the shots he fires are the same, I guess...that could have been handled far better, eh? Which is kind of the general idea for all the Dark Man fights, really.
Still, in a vacuum, the fight isn't half bad. You have to be quick on your feet to avoid his shots, think fast to be able to damage him, and, most importantly, if you're skilled and know what you're doing, you can alleviate any tedium via shooting over the shields. I love it when knowledge isn't absolutely required, but simply adds directly to your enjoyment.
Don't have much to add regarding tactics. Shoot and/or slide the three shots. Jump the shield, should be enough to also not get landed on. Turn around quickly, unload, jump over the shield, get away from him and ready to dodge the next attack. It's pretty basic, but hectic enough to be satisfying. No real final boss caliber, though. Which is a crying shame because the game ending right here would have made pretty much no difference except I'd have less stuff to bitch about.


Spoilers the Wily stages are terrible.


Extra rant:

I didn't have enough time in the video, which is a good thing because I would have bored you to tears and sounded like the biggest sperglord, probably, but I'll take my time here to stress how much I loathe MM5's story.

It's not simply a matter of "lol so bad", it's a matter of principle. Nobody is expecting Pulitzer material, far from it. However, as always, wasted opportunities just irk me, deeply so in games that I actually like and which could have been so far better if they just had taken those opportunities. As with the great stages past us and their terrible bosses, this "reveal" takes an at least somewhat interesting premise and dunks it right into the garbage can by being obvious, retarded and, worst of all, blatantly lazy.

Nobody expects Capcom to deliver Pulitzer material. However, when they're so out of ideas that they have to copy the plot of the last game they made almost scene for scene, there's something seriously wrong in the effort department. Consider. Guy whom you wouldn't expect it of (unknown/thought to be a good guy) tries to take over the world with eight Robot Masters. Mega defeats them, confronts the guy. Just as the battle is about to end (in Mega's/the other guy's favor), Proto Man teleports in, delivers evidence that things aren't as they seem, then vanishes because he's ~mysterious~ (and a dick). It was Wily all along, big fucking surprise.
Cue the second castle with...two stages, refights, last stage with final boss. It's the exact same setup. Which is a complete waste of the at least barebones intrigue they put up with the whole "Proto Man now evil??!" thing even the original Japanese title wants to stress, because Wily being behind it is the twist nobody would ever have seen coming.

Especially considering MM4's plot was already a rehash of 3's...that's laziness on a level the game itself hasn't stooped to yet. And to be the laziest thing in Mega Man 5 is a major fucking accomplishment. Just because of that, I consider this the worst plot of the classic series. I mean, MM8 for example hat cutscenes just short of brain damage for the viewer, but you can't say it was at any point predictable what kind of batshitness would happen next, and that's fine by me. After all, Capcom's writers have no idea on how to write a credible story, but are completely in their element when they need to come up with absolutely insane stuff that also happens to look awesome (see: Devil May Cry sans 2 which has a story about on-par with this one).

And I still haven't even touched on the myriad details that make the unique aspect of this story (the framing of Proto Man) completely devoid of any sense. You can figure that out for yourself. Just this one thing: If they had crafted a better framework, some major issues wouldn't have needed to exist ever. Like...did Wily seriously build a giant fortress (secretly of course) shaped like Proto Man's helmet just to make it look like it was really, truly Mega's brother emulating the mad Doctor's ways? And another one on the side for himself just for the hell of it?

Which looks like ass, by the way. Also...





AGAIN WITH THE FUCKING BRICK!