GAME CLEAR No. 247 -- Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge

Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge (1991, Game Boy)

Japanese title: Rockman World
Developer: Minakuchi Engineering
Publisher: Capcom
Clear Version: Game Boy (Virtual Console)
Clear Platform: new 3DS XL
Clear Date: 8/9/25

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Why should I care?
The first handheld Mega Man game is a flawed effort but a great proof of concept.

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Due vendetta

Good ol’ Mega Man. My old friend. Years ago, I finished all of the classic Mega Man games — Mega Man through Mega Man 11 — cementing it as one of my very favorite series. I never did get to the Game Boy games, though. I think I was at once slightly dismissive of them and simultaneously leaving them as a bit of extra goodness to savor some day down the line. That day has arrived, and if Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge is any indication, the handheld series is worthy of my attention as well.

This first entry is a remix of sorts of the first two NES games. It contains four Robot Masters from Mega Man and four from Mega Man 2. They’re split into two parts. At first you can choose from any of the first four. Their stages contain familiar visual motifs and musical themes from their source games, but the actual level designs and layouts are bespoke. I think running, jumping, and shooting as Mega Man is some of the most sublime gameplay in the world, so I love this excuse to revisit some old friends in slightly new digs.

Once you dispatch those first four Robot Masters, it’s on to Wily’s castle. After charging through the castle stage, you’ll reach warp points to the final four Robot Masters. Unfortunately, they don’t get levels of their own, they just reprise the boss fights themselves. Once you beat them, you have one more boss to fight (one of the “Mega Man killers” of the handheld series as I understand it) before you pursue Wily as he retreats to his space base. There he waits to battle you with one of his classic giant machines.

It’s a totally traditional Mega Man adventure typical of the pleasingly formulaic series. Like the earlier games, it does feature some frustrating and “cheap” deaths here and there, but it’s nothing fans of the series should find intolerable. A lot of NES series stumbled in their transition to the Game Boy because of the reduced resolution. Mega Man makes a pretty graceful move to the smaller screen that is certainly compact but seldom feels compromised. If you’re not already an adoring fan of Mega Man like me, this certainly won’t change your mind, but if you’ve had your fill of his original adventures, take comfort in knowing there’s still something out there to enjoy. I certainly do.

I look forward to seeing how the series progresses on Nintendo’s monochrome handheld. Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of Dr. Wily.