Mega Man: The Wily Wars (MD, 1994)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7 Control-7 Challenge-8
Level Design-8 Frustration-8 Fun-8 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Three classic games in one cart plus an additional game mode (Wily Tower) with new levels and bosses and in which you get to pick between all the weapons and items you've collected in the previous games
Save feature
Good bosses overall
Some large sprites
Choose your own path
Invincibility time works against spikes in MM1
Low gravity in the water in MM1
Somewhat harder cut man and bomb man boss fights
New boss mug shots in MM1's stage select screen
Fixed pause glitch
Fixed hit detection for the clouds in Snake Man's level
Faster screen transitions compared to MM1 NES (no delay before and after the transition)
Easier to jump onto a lower platform from above while pushing against a wall (MM1)
Improved backgrounds overall (especially in MM1)
Faster bomb weapon detonations (MM1)
See each individual game for the NES for more
+/-
Easier to dodge the smiling helicopter enemies in MM1
Easier to climb frozen fire pillars in fire man's stage in MM1 (they can be at full length which makes some parts easier)
Much easier Fire Man (only shoots one beam at a time)
Slightly slower rate of fire and bullet speed for MM (some enemies have slower bullets as well)
MM3 title screen music in MM1 (no music in the original; lazy but better than nothing)
Quick Man is much slower but takes 1 instead of 2 damage per shot from the buster
Flash Man also takes 1 instead of 2 damage per shot from the buster
You no longer lose all E-Tanks after a game over in MM2
Some boss AI is slightly different in all three games
The crocodile traps in MM3 activate more quickly
Still can't replay beaten levels in MM2
Placed items (except 1-ups) in MM1 no longer respawn when exiting and re-entering the screen they were on (can be bad towards the end where you need to save up on weapon energy for some parts)
Sometimes different enemy HP (mini-bosses in MM3 take fewer hits)
Easier second to last boss in MM1
Easier first Wily boss in MM2 (slower rate of fire)
Slower rate of fire for the blue dog mini-bosses (MM2)
Somewhat harder Dragon (MM2)
Slower rate of fire makes most bosses noticeably harder with the buster (and even with a special weapon vs. Wood Man),
-
The controls have some slight delay when starting to walk from a standing position (worse than in MM2 and 3 on NES)
The sound quality could’ve been better overall (no DAC/drum samples, lack of dual channel leads for echo effects, some notes seem off)
Doesn't fix most flaws of the NES games (much easier if boss weaknesses are exploited, can't pause while your bullets are on screen, falling off a ladder after pausing, some tedious enemies (green guy with a ball and chain in MM3, easy and repeated Proto Man)
Some dark and saturated colour choices that don't always fit
More slowdown in parts than on the NES (Yellow Devil, Wily Machine 1 in MM1)
No Easy mode in MM2
Slight movement delay after using some weapons (items in MM2, shadow blade in MM3)
Some sprites weren't remade properly (Proto Man is the same size as on NES and has the same number of animation frames)
Magnet missiles (MM3) are slightly glitchy
Rush is blue in the weapon select menu (MM3)
Purple carrots (MM2)
Boss energy fills up a bit slower before you fight them (MM1)
Somewhat slower magnet beam (MM1)
Much harder to kill the ostriches in MM2 due to the lower rate of fire
Slightly disappointing death animation for the tank (should've looked like some of the bosses in MM3) and Wily's Machine (no explosion sprites) in MM2
Notes:
-Regen Debug 0.97 has an overclocking feature that lets you play the game without any slowdown (set it to 808 cycles)
-Game Genie codes can let you play the EU game in 60hz and unlock Wily Tower right away
Level Design-8 Frustration-8 Fun-8 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Three classic games in one cart plus an additional game mode (Wily Tower) with new levels and bosses and in which you get to pick between all the weapons and items you've collected in the previous games
Save feature
Good bosses overall
Some large sprites
Choose your own path
Invincibility time works against spikes in MM1
Low gravity in the water in MM1
Somewhat harder cut man and bomb man boss fights
New boss mug shots in MM1's stage select screen
Fixed pause glitch
Fixed hit detection for the clouds in Snake Man's level
Faster screen transitions compared to MM1 NES (no delay before and after the transition)
Easier to jump onto a lower platform from above while pushing against a wall (MM1)
Improved backgrounds overall (especially in MM1)
Faster bomb weapon detonations (MM1)
See each individual game for the NES for more
+/-
Easier to dodge the smiling helicopter enemies in MM1
Easier to climb frozen fire pillars in fire man's stage in MM1 (they can be at full length which makes some parts easier)
Much easier Fire Man (only shoots one beam at a time)
Slightly slower rate of fire and bullet speed for MM (some enemies have slower bullets as well)
MM3 title screen music in MM1 (no music in the original; lazy but better than nothing)
Quick Man is much slower but takes 1 instead of 2 damage per shot from the buster
Flash Man also takes 1 instead of 2 damage per shot from the buster
You no longer lose all E-Tanks after a game over in MM2
Some boss AI is slightly different in all three games
The crocodile traps in MM3 activate more quickly
Still can't replay beaten levels in MM2
Placed items (except 1-ups) in MM1 no longer respawn when exiting and re-entering the screen they were on (can be bad towards the end where you need to save up on weapon energy for some parts)
Sometimes different enemy HP (mini-bosses in MM3 take fewer hits)
Easier second to last boss in MM1
Easier first Wily boss in MM2 (slower rate of fire)
Slower rate of fire for the blue dog mini-bosses (MM2)
Somewhat harder Dragon (MM2)
Slower rate of fire makes most bosses noticeably harder with the buster (and even with a special weapon vs. Wood Man),
-
The controls have some slight delay when starting to walk from a standing position (worse than in MM2 and 3 on NES)
The sound quality could’ve been better overall (no DAC/drum samples, lack of dual channel leads for echo effects, some notes seem off)
Doesn't fix most flaws of the NES games (much easier if boss weaknesses are exploited, can't pause while your bullets are on screen, falling off a ladder after pausing, some tedious enemies (green guy with a ball and chain in MM3, easy and repeated Proto Man)
Some dark and saturated colour choices that don't always fit
More slowdown in parts than on the NES (Yellow Devil, Wily Machine 1 in MM1)
No Easy mode in MM2
Slight movement delay after using some weapons (items in MM2, shadow blade in MM3)
Some sprites weren't remade properly (Proto Man is the same size as on NES and has the same number of animation frames)
Magnet missiles (MM3) are slightly glitchy
Rush is blue in the weapon select menu (MM3)
Purple carrots (MM2)
Boss energy fills up a bit slower before you fight them (MM1)
Somewhat slower magnet beam (MM1)
Much harder to kill the ostriches in MM2 due to the lower rate of fire
Slightly disappointing death animation for the tank (should've looked like some of the bosses in MM3) and Wily's Machine (no explosion sprites) in MM2
Notes:
-Regen Debug 0.97 has an overclocking feature that lets you play the game without any slowdown (set it to 808 cycles)
-Game Genie codes can let you play the EU game in 60hz and unlock Wily Tower right away