Mega Man is a series that I have had a long history with. My first exposure to the series was when my brother was loaned a copy of Mega Man 5 on NES, and I took an interest in the series. My father later surprised me by buying Mega Man 2 from a local game store and I quickly fell in love with the Blue Bomber. The series was a staple on the NES before heading to the SNES and PlayStation with 7 and 8, and then returning to a classic style with 9 and 10 as download titles. Capcom previously brought all the titles together as the legacy collection series for PlayStation, Xbox, PC and 3DS, and now the collection and sequel have come to the Nintendo Switch as well.
Playing through this collection was both a trip down nostalgia lane as well as discovering retro games I had never seen. Mega Man 1-6 were still amazing, and while I had played Mega Man 7 before, this was my first time playing Mega Man 8, 9 and 10. The emulation was spot on, and I enjoyed all the extras included. The challenges helped give a boost to the game’s replay value and the screen filter options really did allow me to recapture the classic feel of the series as I remembered it.
What put a smile on my face though, were all the extras in Legacy Collection 1 that highlighted the history of the series both in Japan and the west. You really gained an appreciation for how wide-reaching the series truly is and the impact it has had on gaming. The museum is the ultimate tribute to the series and this also leads to a negative though, as Legacy Collection 2 does not have an equivalent for this. This does make sense to a degree since the NES games are the most iconic entries of the Mega Man Classic series, but it still feels like there is a hole that should have been filled somehow.
The game does have an advantage over the 3DS version, with Mega Man 5 lacking the bug that ended up making people switch to the Japanese version if they wanted to play the game. In addition, the Switch screen itself makes the experience better, as the borders just work better here in this version. There are also new challenges to be had with MMLC2 if the Mega Man amiibo, but these are the only real addition to the Switch version. I should also mention the rewind feature has been added here ( and will be patched into the other ports as well), and this does add something interesting to the games. While some may deride it for “taking away the challenge”, in truth, its optional and is actually handy if you find yourself getting incredibly frustrated and want to move on in the game.
Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 are amazing games for Switch. The NES classics are preserved perfectly along with the Famicom version, and Legacy Collection 2 while lacking in extras, does give the complete games of the 16 bit, 32 bit and retraux eras of the games ( with the exception of Mega Man and Bass). With the virtual console not showing up on Switch as of now, this is a great way to experience classic games and see the lasting effect they had on the industry. I recommend checking these out on Switch, but be warned that Legacy Collection 2 is download only, so keep space available for the game. There is something here for fans and new gamers alike, and I do not think you will be disappointed with the work done by Capcom and Digital Eclipse. This is a good package indeed.