or humiliation on others. Needless to say, the shoe would seem to fit. But you’ll notice

that the definition states pain, suffering or humiliation . When you’re deriving pleasure

from inflicting all three, that’s something different. That makes you Capcom.

See, there’s sadism...and then there’s Mega Man.

The series may have been born in 1987, but Mega Man didn’t become what it became until

1988. That’s when Capcom followed a good game with a better game...a landmark game...in

fact, one of the greatest 8-bit games ever. Mega Man 2 was that good, and in its aftermath,

Capcom faced a decision. Repeat or refine?

Of course, that question begs another. How do you refine perfection? How can you make

something so good...better? Where do you possibly go from Mega Man 2?

The answer? Mega Man 3.

Released to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, Mega Man 3 showed a developer at

the top of their game. Capcom could’ve rehashed Mega Man 2 with an indistinguishable copy.

They didn’t. They stepped back and said, “How do we make Mega Man even better?”

And to a lot of people, that’s exactly what they did.

On the most basic level, Mega Man 3 is formulaic. It’s an action-platformer with the same

foundation as its two predecessors. There are eight bosses to defeat, and the order

in which you do so is entirely up to you. After defeating one, you absorb their weapon...and

that’s where method of attack becomes important.

Each boss is vulnerable to the special abilities of another.

Add some reflex-testing action sequences and the most complex and razor-sharp platforming

this side of the Mushroom Kingdom, and you have the basic Mega Man template. But there

are a few things that make Mega Man 3 so special. One, all the gameplay tweaks, and two, the

clear inspiration that went into its design.

The soundtrack, for starters, is among the greatest ever on the NES. But what I’ve

always loved about Mega Man 3 is the diversity of its level and boss design. You go from

the ultra-mechanical environments of Magnet Man and Spark Man—which are traditional

Mega Man—to a level like Gemini Man, where this minimalist landscape eventually gives

way to a dark, almost Metroid-like underworld.

There’s a diversity here that really makes this Mega Man feel unique.

It took Capcom two years to do it, but when they finally delivered a follow-up to their

Mega Man masterpiece...it came in the form of another. From the addition of the slide

and helpful robot dog Rush to the great aesthetics and mysterious fan-favorite Proto Man, Mega

Man 3 took its blossoming franchise to another level. Its mixture of the traditional and

the creative represents a pinnacle for 8-bit game design. And even twenty years later...pain,

suffering and humiliation have never been more fun.