The franchise has been around for decades and seen roughly half a dozen different iterations, but the Classic franchise is the only one that’s managed to thrive rather consistently. Even with the series dormant, Mega Man 9, 10, and especially 11 managed to rekindle the public’s faith in the Blue Bomber.
Of course, as consistent as the Classic franchise is compared to the spin-offs, the games do often fumble in one specific regard: final bosses. Boss design in Mega Man can really go either way most of the time, but final bosses stick out all the more. They’re what’s keeping players from the credits. A good final boss can make a game even better, but a bad one? Arguably a fate worse than death.
10 BEST: Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2’s Wily fight loses points for requiring Bubble Lead, but it’s an otherwise great sendoff to a great game. Mega Man 2 is certainly an overrated platformer, one that virtually every subsequent Mega Man game is more sophisticated than, but MM2 thrives thanks to its simple, but still elegant design.
The Wily fight isn’t difficult, but it isn’t too easy either. It’s a fair challenge at the end of the game that won’t frustrate players but will demand some semblance of mechanical mastery. As is the case with most of Mega Man 2, the game’s soundtrack really helps elevate what’s happening on-screen.
9 WORST: Mega Man 7
Mega Man 7 is a very underrated game and one of the better entries in the Classic series as far as level design is concerned. It’s very different from the first six games, but it’s by no means bad. At the same time, its flaws do stand out a bit more prominently than the NES games, especially since Mega Man X is just such an obviously better game.
Mega Man 7’s Wily fight is tedious, and really highlights the ways in which Mega Man 7 feels like an undeniable step back mechanically. It’s slower, the screen feels cramped, and Mega Man does puny damage against enemies who can throttle him into pieces. That’s fine for regular stages most of the time, but for a final boss that’s already designed to be hard?
8 BEST: Mega Man 9
Mega Man 9’s final boss is hard, but the good kind of hard. He isn’t unfair and it’s entirely possible to fight back. The fight just requires way more mechanical mastery than is typical for Mega Man, but that’s actually kind of nice. Mega Man 9 was a revival for the character so it’s nice to see that Capcom not only adhered to the series’ original philosophies but doubled down on them.
Of course, this won’t appeal to every fan, but seldom do franchises this deep into their run release a mainline entry that’s actually difficult. It’s just one of many reasons why Mega Man 9 is so good.
7 WORST: Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 is a very good game that would be a lot better if its two halves weren’t so disjointed. The first half is probably the best proper Mega Man game there is. The level design is great and all the bosses are great. Then there’s the Doc Robot stages where the game just gradually gets more tedious until it reaches its mediocre finale.
The final few stages aren’t too bad, but the final fight against Gamma is awful. It’s an obscenely difficult fight where Mega Man’s best weapon is the hardest to control in the game. This is Mega Man 9’s difficulty taken to an extreme. Either be good at the game or move on.
6 BEST: Mega Man 11
Mega Man 11 is an excellent return to form for the franchise and genuinely one of the best games Capcom has released in years. It’s a perfect evolution of the series, introducing the Gear mechanic which allows Mega Man to manipulate both his strength and speed. Moment to moment gameplay gains arguably even more depth than Mega Man X as a result.
In any other Mega Man game, 11’s final Wily fight would be just fine, but the Gear mechanic adds so much complexity to the battle. If Mega Man 12 is half as clever as Mega Man 11, the series’ future will stay bright.
5 WORST: Mega Man 8
Mega Man 8 isn’t all too different than Mega Man 7. It’s the most gimmicky of the original eight games, but its level design is good even if the end result doesn’t feel very Mega Man. Unfortunately, like with Mega Man 7, Mega Man 8’s issues pile up by the endgame, culminating in an incredibly frustrating final boss.
As there are no E-Tanks in Mega Man 8, bosses, in general, can be a far more unforgiving affair. The final boss is no different. Not helping matters is Wily’s erratic attack pattern where any attack that connects is going to deal some serious damage. It’s a frustrating end to a frustrating game.
4 BEST: Mega Man V
The Game Boy Mega Man games often go overlooked, but they’re some of the best additions to the greater franchise. Mega Man V in particular rivals the series greatest entries. It’s a smaller game in scope, but it has great level designs, interesting weapons, and fantastic boss fights.
Mega Man V’s final boss is a one on one duel to the death and a surprisingly dramatic note to end the Game Boy Mega Man franchise on. What’s particularly enjoyable about the boss fight is that it isn’t too hard. Sunstar will defeat the player if they’re playing sloppy, but Mega Man’s durable enough where the fight is able to go through phases without overwhelming the audience.
3 WORST: Mega Man 1
Like most of the original Mega Man’s non-Robot Master boss fights, the final Wily fight is on the lower end when it comes to quality Mega Man bosses. Tedious, the bad kind of methodical, and overall just a boring way to end an otherwise exciting game. Dr. Wily poses the most superficial of challenges. It’s incredibly underwhelming.
While Mega Man 1’s level design is generally quite strong, the game starts to fumble in its second half. If nothing else, Dr. Wily’s letdown of a final boss meant that there was nowhere to go but up for Mega Man 2.
2 BEST: Powered Up
Released exclusively for the PSP, Powered Up was a full remake of the first game that added a bunch of new playable characters, two new Robot Masters, a challenge mode, a stage builder, and a revamped version of the first game as is. It’s a comprehensive remake, but perhaps its most understated addition is Powered Up’s approach to the final boss.
The whole fight’s been redesigned to center around every weapon. Dr. Wily changes his type during the battle, requiring Mega Man to keep changing his weapon. It’s a great use of the series’ rock-paper-scissors concept and it’s a shock Powered Up is the only game to make use of such an idea.
1 WORST: Mega Man 10
Where Mega Man 9 was a love letter to old school Mega Man, Mega Man 10 is a far more conflicted game. It seems to want to style itself around the later entries, 7 and 8 in particular. Which isn’t a bad thing inherently, but it results in an incredibly messy follow up to Mega Man 9 that does not stick the landing whatsoever.
The final Wily fight in Mega Man 10 is an absolute joke. Taking place in space, the gravity makes it so Mega Man can jump over just about anything. Even then, Wily’s attacks are so telegraphed where the fight boils down into triggering the same tired gameplay loop until Wily dies.