Mega Man Legacy Collection arrives this week, bringing the first six titles in the venerable series to PlayStation 4. Whether you’re opting in to revisit these old classics or taking your first steps with the Blue Bomber, there’s a whole lot of adventuring ahead of you: a whopping 46 Robot Masters to take down, plus the nefarious Dr. Wily and whatever he’s got cooked up at the end of each title. Don’t expect it’ll be easy, either; the franchise is known for its high difficulty level.
It’s become highly popular, of course, to talk about the different Robot Master bosses and which among them stand above the rest. This is a wildly diverse set of baddies, with examples of both adored fan-favorites (Cut Man from the first game and Metal Man from Mega Man 2) and the occasional dive into unintentionally funny lameness (Dust Man from 4 and Plant Man from 6). But even despite some of their more laughable designs, there’s no denying that the series’ bosses are fun, challenging battles of twitchy pattern-based action.
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- Mega Man Legacy Collection Review – Classic Fun (PS4)
You can look just about anywhere to find someone’s personal list of favorite ’bots, but it’s a bit more challenging to locate anyone discussing and rating the stages that precede these titans of mechanized malice. These are crucial pieces of architecture; after all, you’ll spend the majority of your time in each game walking across them to meet the Masters, and they’ve found homes in some truly elaborate and fantastic set pieces.
With that said, here’s a look at the best stage from each of the six games included in Mega Man Legacy Collection. These take into account the aesthetic, design, and the specific gimmicks you’ll discover on your way to meet the Big Bad at the end of the road.
The Six Best Levels in Mega Man Legacy Collection
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Mega Man: Elec Man's Stage
Elec Man’s stage forces the Blue Bomber to climb a tall electrical tower. The verticality of this level stands in contrast to the usual left-to-right formula of action platformers. As you might imagine, it’s also quite hazardous, with electricity shooting out in various places and tight quarters forcing you to take care of enemies quickly. It’s a nerve-wracking level that wins out for inspiring raw tension with its unique design.
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Mega Man 2: Bubble Man's Stage
Bubble Man might sound like one of the sillier Robot Masters out there, but neither he nor his stage should be taken lightly considering they come from the fan-favorite masterpiece Mega Man 2. This one takes place underwater, and is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and diverse locales in the series. You’ll deal with mechanical frogs, read carefully to avoid minefields, battle a robotic angler fish named Ankos, and leap in front of waterfalls. You probably won’t have much time to look at the scenery, but it’s quite striking for an 8-bit ocean.
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Mega Man 3: Snake Man's Stage
The majority of Snake Man’s stage is spent working your way around a nest of mechanical snakes. Need we say more? When you’re not climbing around on the backs of these robotic reptilians, you’re avoiding their enormous heads as they try to take a chunk out of Mega Man’s hardware. Once you’re out of the nest, you then proceed to a tower through the clouds -- where falling means certain doom. This level just has a fantastic theme, and it’s amazing to see the platforms you walk on turned into your foes.
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Mega Man 4: Toad Man's Stage
Toad Man hides out in a giant sewer -- one that also apparently gets a lot of rain. That intermittent weather condition presents the central gimmick for the level, making jumping extremely dangerous while water is pouring down on you. Beyond that, there’s just a certain appeal to the gloomy environs here, the sort of place a villainous toad robot would hide if they really existed. Which could totally happen.
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Mega Man 5: Gravity Man's Stage
This mechanic seems like old hat nowadays, but there’s still something cool about a level having separate areas with different senses of gravity. Walking along to those telltale arrows and suddenly finding yourself on the ceiling is exhilarating, as is the confusing nature of climbing “down” ladders and watching the once-comfortable controls feel a little wonky. This stage is also perfectly tied into its boss, Gravity Man, who actually uses the gravity-switching mechanic as part of his fight against you.
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Mega Man 6: Yamato Man's Stage
Mega Man 6’s stages were all based off different real-world countries, a refreshing change of pace for the series. Easily the coolest one of these is Yamato Man (called Japan Man in the original release), who as you might expect reflects Japan, the country of the franchise’s origin. Beginning in front of a scenic mountain vista, you eventually work your way through several a series of buildings mixing traditional Japanese architecture with futuristic themes, and it’s about as cool as you’d expect. Windows letting you peek outside into the red-hued sky are a particularly nice touch.
