What Mega Man 2 has to teach us

MoeDantes · 2011-09-07 00:59:09

Hello class. This is Edmond Dantes, Professor of Mega Manology here. Please take notes, as there will be a test.

If there is one thing in my mind right now, it's all the hype around the soon-to-be Mega Man trilogy. Recently I replayed Mega Man 1 and only minutes before writing this sentence finished replaying Mega Man 2. It was an amazing experience, and while it's recently popular to bash these two games as over-rated, they really are top-notch. My mind reels every time I play these games, because of what they have to say. This is not a trilogy about good vs. evil, but about human beings.

I rate my three favorite platform games as Mega Man 2, Actraiser, and Rocket Knight Adventures. The thing about all those games is that they're actually about something. In Rocket Knight Adventure's case it was a story about trying new things, being willing to try again and just what would happen if you weaponized a possum. They're very Christian themes for a very probably-Buddhist Konami, but hey. Actraiser was about religious warfare and how we need to realize our complicity in such a world. Mega Man 2 is about political realities in a post-Gaming Crash world, the psychology of fear in such a time, and the reactions of people trying to protect the monies. Mega Man 2 and Actraiser in particular arrived at just the right point for our social consciousness to react to them.

Not bad for games with soft-science nightmares and daydreams shooting up robots, slashing demons and beating up pigs.

One of the things that's most recognizable about Mega Man 2 is how different it is from Mega Man 1. It is a darker game. The Rock to Mega Man 1's Roll. There is a notable hard metal theme to this game, as if every location is actually a high-tech base guarded by a robot master, which stands in contrast to Mega Man 1's more "grassland/wood" theme. It makes me wonder if Mega Man 3 isn't going to complete the tetrad by having a titanium theme. I have to wonder how much Keiji Inafune planned ahead of time, for surely this progression couldn't be just happenstance!

Then there's the cast. Were it not for the fact that the protagonist is a blue robot boy who wears a crotchpiece, this game would almost be accused of being BAFTA bait.

Absolutely we must start with our hero himself. Many have criticized this version of Mega Man, notably for his voice, but I think he's the best Mega Man yet. An important aspect of this portrayal is that he's a little boy. This, combined with the obviously phallic imagery of firing "plasma" out of an arm-mounted "blaster," speaks of the youthful tendency to masturbate. That Mega Man is a robot speaks of this being almost a mechanical phase of our development. Indeed, Mega Man's entire character is of a young boy seeking direction, and not being able to trust his own judgment, instead accepts the word of his father-figure Dr. Light, trusting him implicitly. It is only through this simple faith that Mega Man is assured that he is good and Dr. Wily's robots are evil.

Let us now move on to the weakest link, Wood Man. It's noticable to even the least perceptive that Wood Man simply does not fit. And yet, perhaps his weakness is intentional: Wood Man is weak against the Metal Blade, obviously symbolic of clear-cutting, and his weapon the Leaf Shield, when Mega Man acquires it, is useful only against Air Man. Symbolically: the power of nature is so weak that the only thing it can defeat is air. Obviously, Wood Man is meant to call out the inaccuracies and lies of environmentalism, a counterpoint if you will to Captain Planet.

But finally, something must be said of Dr. Wily...

*Edmond notices that the rest of his dissertation is gone, and there are suspicious-looking chew marks in its place*

... Excuse me, I've got a dog I'm gonna go beat up.