Japan always gets better coverart.

Okay students, class is in session. Please pull out your Nintendo and plug in Mega Man 2 for today’s lesson of Games You Should Have Played. If you do not already have a copy of Mega Man 2 on the NES, it is available in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection released on the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox, and is currently on the Wii’s Virtual Console for a grand total of 500 Wii Points, otherwise known as $5. Yes, this one will only set you back $5.

The Mega Man franchise has somewhat of a stigma nowadays since it constantly releases an update every year that doesn’t seem enough like a totally new game to justify the purchase. Back in the times of the NES there was only one Mega Man series and it was just called Mega Man. The first game came out and became a standard for the use of a non-linear progression through the game (you could choose any of the 6 stages to play through in any order), and each Master Bot you defeated rewarded you with a new weapon.

The Master Bots were each weak to one other weapon, so by beating Guts Man you get the ability to throw rocks, allowing you to defeat Cuts Man extremely easily. This is known as the Rock, Paper, Scissors style of gameplay that Pokemon would later go nuts with.

All of these Bots can kick your butt...except for Bubble Man.

The first Mega Man game is good, but it wasn’t until Mega Man 2 that the franchise took off and became a legend. Instead of just 6 Master Bots, there were 8 (the series standard). Levels were perfectly designed, bosses were interesting, the difficulty was just hard enough without being overly frustrating, and the game was just fun, the most important factor in all games.

This is a game I’m going to consider a skill-building game. To be good at platform shooters, this is one of the games to start with. When you develop the needed skills here then you will be a stronger gamer in the future. No tutorials, no holding your hand through the stages, nothing to make it overly complex.

This is a proving ground for young gamers. The older generation had to prove their worth on the field of Mega, now it’s the new generation’s turn. Mega Man 9 may be out on Wii Ware, Xbox Live Arcade, and Playstation Network, but Mega Man 2 shows where it got its roots.

Robot fish. You fight robot fish. Go play this game!

Go find a copy of the game and at least get to Wily’s castle for the absolute best track available on the NES. Kids, the music in this game is so deeply imbedded in the minds of older gamers that we’ve considered having these songs played at our graduations, weddings, and funerals. Respect the classics and indulge.

You won’t have to spend more than a day to power through the game in one sitting, though it does have a password system for the scrubs who need a few tries or have other things to do in between gaming sessions.

The best game ever, no arguments.

Time for more Games You Should Have Played. We’re not playing around anymore (so to speak).  It’s time to get all Zelda on your heinies as I’m bringing out my favorite game ever, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Once more, no excuses. Originally released on the N64, later ported to the GameCube in the Master Quest pack and then again in the Collections Edition with the first two Zelda games on the NES and Majora’s Mask. Currently it’s on the Virtual Console.

You’re not spending more than $15 on this game no matter how you slice it, and for a game that consistently tops lists of Best Video Games Ever, that’s a deal. Any time the game isn’t #1, it’s only because the list-maker doesn’t want to give the same answer everyone else gives. Doesn’t matter, Best Game lists only go as high as #2 anyway, because #1 is always taken by this game.

The Gold Standard

Even the title screen gets you going.

Personally I advise finding the original Gold Cartridge edition of the game since a few things get changed in later versions, such as the Fire Temple’s music and blood’s color going from red to green. Not huge, but I likes me some HARDCORE!

Really though, any version is going to deliver in every way possible and here’s why: Z Targeting.

There are two worlds. The world before Z Targeting, and the world after Z Targeting. I refuse to live in the former. Z Targeting refers to clicking the Z button of the N64 controller to lock onto an enemy or an item, allowing you to strafe around them. This is how a 3D space works in an adventure game. A lot of games seem to forget that this is the standard for how to play a game. Super Mario Bros decided that platformers go from left to right; Ocarina of Time decided that 3D adventure games need a targeting system that actually works.

Perfection is an Understatement

Storytelling and pacing in Ocarina are perfect. But no one makes you play through just the story. You can go do all sorts of side quests. That’s the beauty of the game. I can spend a day searching for Gold Skulltulas, planting beans, finding Heart Pieces, earning rupees, and I won’t even go NEAR the story.

Yes, that's really the most important item of the game.

Everything makes for a great experience. Link, the hero (you should know this), goes about his journey to save the land of Hyrule.  At this point the concept wasn’t quite clichéd just yet.

Boss battles are fun and original, dungeon layouts are spectacular, and characters are vibrant and memorable, even if they’re just side characters. But for me it all comes down to the final fight with Ganondorf. The first time I played through the game I had no idea what would come next, and when I saw what I was up against I was beyond excitement.

New homework assignment for you now.  Go play Ocarina of Time. It may be tricky for a few of you, mostly because before you can play a Zelda game you have to figure out how to get in the Zelda Mindset. Once you have that down, there isn’t a puzzle you can’t eventually solve. And if worse comes to worst there are always walkthroughs online.