Vimm's Lair: NES Reviews - Mega Man 4

Nintendo
Mega Man 4

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.33
8.28
8.32
8.39
Votes: 88
Reviews: 5


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Reviewer: Nathaniel Date: Oct 5, 2008
The fourth release in the epic Mega Man series on NES, I had hoped this one would blow Mega Man III out of the water. I was sorely disappointed. VERY sorely disappointed.

The plot is pretty creative; Dr. Cossack, apparently, is the new evil genius behind the attempts at Megaman's destruction, and thusly, the domination of the world itself. If you're reading this, and haven't played the game yet, I won't reveal the plot. But it IS a great plot once you play it and it unfolds. There's even a nice Megaman history lesson at the beginning of the game.

But that's when the good points start becoming...ah...fewer.

Graphics: 7
Nothing really jumped out at me. Same basic NES backgrounds, not all too dissimilar from Mega Man III. I guess a couple of stages had some nice backgrounds, such as Skull Man's or Drill Man's. Other than that, nothing spectacular.
The sprites were pretty average. He [Megaman] also seemed a bit...flat. He was not as robust as the previous titles. But I did like the tiny light show that was Megaman's Mega buster charging; green and blue and white (thankfully, not Megaman himself) all going haywire.

Sound: 4
I don't know about anyone else, but I hated a lot of the sound in this game. Only a couple of tunes stood out for me, like the bouncy boss battle theme, and maybe Dust Man's theme, which had almost an eerie quality to it. All the other tunes, to me, sound rather dry and dull. Others had too much scratchiness to them.
The sound effects were about the same, although I didn't enjoy Megaman's buster charge sound effect going the whole time you had it charging, drowning out a lot of other effects, plus the music. I think they could have put a LOT more effort into the sounds of this game.

Gameplay: 5
I didn't like the control at all. To be honest, Megaman felt very sluggish, and trying to make it onto platforms without missing was near impossible, for example, Bright Man's stage. Those moving platforms were hell to judge, especially with enemies coming at you. Also, Megaman was quite hard to control movement-wise. He seemed to hesitate ever so slightly, and the slide wasn't as easy to execute as in Mega Man III. I was amused, though, by the fact that you could charge up your mega buster when sliding.

The Mega buster itself was, for its debut, OK. The fact that you didn't lose the charge when you got damaged was a nice touch(and a saving grace). But trying to aim it in a jump, or trying to get it charged up quickly in battle, was hell.

Two new items, balloon and wire, were added to the weapons fray. And the wire could sometimes be used AS a weapon, which was cute. I didn't like the changes in Rush though; the jet just shoots across the screen like Megaman II's jet sled, although you can now change the height on the screen. There is no Rush Marine; would have been useful in Dive Man's stage, like fighting the whales or dodging those pesky stingrays and exploding mines(and those darned SPIKES!!), or in Wily's castle, when you're underwater in SPIKE HELL.

Other than that, gameplay, for me, wasn't good. Not like the previous titles, or even the titles to come(V & VI). But that's just me.

Overall: 6
So overall, this game wasn't too terrible for me. I think the fact that I just like all the other titles better affects the rating slightly, but many would agree that this game wasn't as great as it could have(or SHOULD have) been.

The only positives for this game, for me, are Wire & Balloon, the plot itself, the Mega Buster...

Everything else just doesn't live up to my expectations.

Rather disappointing title, considering by 1991, NES games had improved. This one should have blown Mega Man III out of the water. I liked Mega Man V much better than this one, and even Mega Man VI, for me, outranked this one.

But as I said earlier, not a bad Mega Man game.

 

Reviewer: Austin Date: Mar 24, 2007
I truly agree with Koopa there, this in my opinion is easily the best MegaMan game for the NES. It really does have its own "feel" to it that is so unique and classic that its almost impossible to not like this game. Even the introduction storyline sequence has great animation, awesome music, and is simply great. My favorite intro of any MM game for the NES.

Graphics: 9
For the NES, these are damn good graphics. Nintendo has always paid good attention to detail- i mean, look at toad man's level. The splatters of the raindrops on the ground for crying out loud. I also love when you get a new weapon- the screen that comes up- I love the little attempt at 3-D look by using perspective. Its so awesome.

Sound: 10
This is a bit biased here, because there is something about the select level/select boss screen music that just gets me in my soul. Its just so awesome, I really could never explain. Besides, all the sound effects are decent and almost every level has a nice and/or catchy tune (easily the best array of music of any MegaMan game) Oh! and the noise when the boss first appears and when you obtain a new weapon

Gameplay: 9
Gameplay is of course similar to all the others, (not saying I don't like the gameplay of the MM series) but its just such a nicely polished game that I cant give it anything less.

Overall: 10
Simply, my favorite MegaMan game for NES. This is a must-play for everyone and anyone. This is most definitely a 10, theres not much else you could ask for from a MegaMan game (at least one that's well over a decade old)

 

Reviewer: Seth Koopa Date: Aug 9, 2005
Upon first playing – upon first glance of the cartridge, in fact (which was a foreign version, with an impressive picture of all the robot bosses facing Mega man from all sides) – I instantly fell in love with this game, the Mega man nut I already was. I just loved the whole attitude of the game – it felt (and still feels) so uncompromisingly different from the previous Mega man games. In that lies Mega man IV's great strength, allowing it to follow up to Mega man III, and it does it with head tall.

Graphics: 9
All previous three Mega man games look and feel different. And this is no exception. Upon first glance of the boss select screen, you get the new ‘freedom’ of the game. Yes, there is no better way to describe it than that, and the graphics get that across quite well. Okay, enough riddles; the boss characters are mostly as well rendered as ever – with the possible exception of Bright man, in my opinion (I don’t recall him having a projectile nose). The levels are all very well rendered, but you need to play the game to really see the graphics at work.

Sound: 9
In my review for Mega man III, I said that I felt that game held the best soundtrack of the first three Mega man games. And I haven’t changed my mind. To be truly honest, I can’t decide where I really stand with MMIV’s soundtrack. One moment, I love it (such as in Dr Wily’s fortress, especially the latter tune) – another (Dr Cossack’s levels), I feel it’s drab. There is a factor that my feelings may rely largely on –

The foreign cart of this game, which I got used to, had its score running one key down and at a slower tempo. I remember that I loved the music (though not as much as MMIII’s). So when I got the European version, I couldn’t make peace with the music now running a key higher and the tempo faster. Listen to a song in your head and change the key and you will find what I'm talking about.

Nevertheless, the game’s music is mostly really catchy and captivating – Drill man, Dust man and Bright man are all excellent examples. No matter how unnecessarily fast I feel the music still runs, it’s great and sometimes touching, earning the score its high rating. While Mega man III was packed with tunes I love, this soundtrack, while not as mind-blowing, is a definite thumbs up.

Gameplay: 9
True, the slow pace of the game does take a while to get used to, but that’s unique for this game. And the game has lots of meat to it. For the inexperienced, MMIV presents a great challenge. For the more seasoned, know what to do and you’ll make it through okay.

The boss characters bear the feel of the game upon their shoulders. And they are strong here and don't let the feel down. The boss characters are really imaginative and some are quite captivating – Drill man, Dust man and Dive man are all examples that I can make.

To help you on your way, you are given the new feature of the Mega buster, a super gun that you can charge to blow devastating shots. If that feature weren’t in place, this game would be almost unbeatably hard. The option to visit levels is revived from the first Mega man game, giving you better chances to replenish on your stores should you have depleted them (which is unlikely), and to collect two additional parts; Balloon and Wire, which are very useful to reaching those high places that Rush can’t reach.

Overall, this game should appeal to most Mega man fans with its boss characters, its music, its levels and challenges and, above all, its feel.

Overall: 9
Uncompromisingly different from the previous Mega man games - it just 'feels' so unique. Not as impacting as Mega man III, but a very good game all the same.

The ever-mysterious Protoman even makes a small appearance here. His role in MMV is much bigger, however.

 

Reviewer: Vega21 Date: Jan 2, 2002
More about the same… but worse! This is the worst Megaman game of the entire series.

Graphics: 5
The graphics are like the first game, or even worse.

Sound: 6
The music, not bad, but nothing special…

Gameplay: 6
And not very playable, though I think this isn’t as difficult as the other ones.

Overall: 6
I’d incorporated another feature: ORIGINALITY = 0. Sometimes I smile when I read an “ironic” sentence in the introduction: “The story repeats itself”… yes, certainly! Even the music of the presentation of each boss is the same to Megaman 1 or 2. Moreover, for instance, Dive Man stage is very similar to Bubble Man’s one in 2#, and… in short, several things like these… This game might be perfectly a hack one done by anyone. Anyway, in this case, is included the “Mega Buster” :) or, the same said in different words, an option to shot more powerful gunshots, although, in my opinion, it is not very useful in this game.
Nevertheless, there are some fun details in various stages, for instance in Bright Man (with the best graphics, I think), where you have to mount grasshoppers; or in Pharaoh Man, you begin in a desert and afterwards you go on into a pyramid…
I remember that, some years ago, I read in a review about videogames an advertisement of a contest where Capcom was looking for new designs and names for the bosses of this game, and anyone could send (to Japan!) his/her drawing and name of the robot. I took part, but… nothing! :P However, I am not sure if that was a contest for Megaman 4 or 5…
Well, with regard to the game overall… a shame because it could have been much better.

Maybe the people of Capcom knew it’d be difficult to do this game better than the previous one and, because of that, they were frightened ;)

 

Reviewer: Tricob Date: Jul 4, 2001
After playing this, it seemed like this was more of a sequel to #1 than of #3. The graphics are a real embarassment next to #2 and #3, the ""Mega Man"" character is (unnecessarily) changed (and shrunk), and many parts are simply too slow-paced for many fans (example: In the ""Ring Man"" world, it has a hippo on a one-leg table shooting poisonous rolls of lipstick at you). The game engine actually seems to be slower than ever, or maybe it's just me.

Many parts are *very* good, though - such as ""Toad Man"", where you start out in the rain (which pushes you slightly to the left when you jump), and these little guys are using umbrellas to float down to the ground and then shoot their umbrellas at you after landing. The ""Pharaoh Man"" world is also pretty good, with these mummies showing up using rotating walls, and using their heads as weapons. This is probably the funniest Mega Man you'll ever play!

The game is at its worst with the super-duper-cheesy boss in the first Dr. C world, and a *very* annoying final showdown with Dr. W.

Anyway, this game is good, just not great.