Mega Man 2

Choose the next problem

The stage selection screen makes failure useful: a difficult route can be left behind while you win a weapon elsewhere. Metal Blade’s generous aim encourages experimentation, though its strength makes some alternatives harder to justify. Quick Man’s beams demand something quite different from the slower work of climbing ladders and lining up shots. The closing fortress is less accommodating, particularly when an encounter punishes you for having spent the wrong ammunition.

The sequel expanded the opening selection to eight bosses and introduced E-Tanks, giving players a reserve of health to manage. Three support items create temporary ways across gaps or up walls. These additions help explain why choosing an order is more interesting than merely selecting which background to see first.

Keep something for the fortress

Try several stages before treating one as the compulsory opening. Use acquired weapons during the levels, as well as on bosses, and preserve a health reserve for the fortress. The final stretch deserves patience; its resource traps are a weaker part of an otherwise flexible game.