It's been 30 years since the first Blue Bomber entered the scene, isn't it? I could think of how 2017 is reminding me of the fact "Hey I'm not getting any younger." or how some people teased me I was still into Megaman (or Rockman in Japan) and certain Tokusatsu series. I do still check them out (but not talk about it all the time) but I tend to remember one thing... I tend to think about how I got into the Megaman franchise and how the Blue Bomber played an impact on my life.
I remembered owning a Famicom back in the 90s and held a grudge against my parents for not getting me a Super Famicom (or Super Nintendo in the U.S.) before we got our first Playstation. Aside from Super Mario Bros. I also developed an obsession with Megaman. It was back at that time I didn't know that Megaman and Rockman are the same series. Rockman is the original, Japanese version and Megaman is the translated version for the American audience. I got hooked with the weird gameplay Megaman while having the frustration of figuring out the Robot Masters' weaknesses. I also pretended to fight Dr. Wily a lot and I mean a lot while playing these games. My first game was Megaman 3 which is probably still my favorite in the NES series until today.
It wasn't long enough before I ended up liking Megaman better than Super Mario. I guess it has to do with the fact that we soon got a Playstation. I never had a Nintendo 64 or a Super Nintendo so I had no time to play the Super Mario games. I wasn't able to play all the Megaman (or X) games that time before the Megaman Anniversary Collection series came out in two Playstation 2 games to fill that vacuum. I soon played some Megaman on my Playstation system (which is no longer operational) which were Megaman 8, Megaman X4, Megaman X5, Megaman X6, Megaman Legends, and Megaman Legends 2. Though, I still missed the Famicom games that I played. I did enjoy the spin-off Megaman Legends series which most likely happens in a different continuity though it was probably intended to take place 3,000 years after Megaman X. The way Megaman Legends series treats Classic Megaman as fiction within fiction makes it too clear it's another continuity.
What was probably the craziest thing (or not) was the short-lived Ruby-Spears Megaman cartoon. I did enjoy it (at first) but I thought it just lacks the cute factor that makes Megaman a cute character. It can be understood that the TV series was meant to be a different continuity but I wish Capcom just had a Japanese company produce a Rockman TV series. I didn't like how Capcom allowed the existence of this cartoon or the American Street Fighter cartoon that made Col. William Guile the main protagonist in the place of Ryu (for obviously cultural reasons). The first episode was even a bonus in the Megaman Anniversary Collection disk. But I still didn't find it all that amusing because I prefer the game storyline better.
I was glad to at least play more of the NES games all in the Megaman Anniversary Collection series during the last decade. I was finally able to play the first three Megaman X series in the Megaman X collection. I was able to play Megaman 2 and Megaman 4 on the Megaman Anniversary Collection. Though what I realized was that no matter how much I missed the NES games, I still find myself somewhat attached to the later Megaman games for having easier controls and moderate difficulty. I also thought of how I prefer the Megaman X series as an improvement of the Classic Megaman series. I still think Megaman X is better than his predecessor Classic Megaman.
Pretty much, it's 30 years since the first Megaman robot came into existence. I guess a lot of 80s babies were able to at least enjoy the first few Megaman games or had fond memories of Megaman. Megaman... I don't think I can completely forget my imaginary friend. I know he doesn't exist but I still don't want to forget my imaginary friend even when I'm older than he is. I know he doesn't exist but still... it's fun to consider how I enjoyed playing his games and can't wait to get Megaman 11 for the current generation systems.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY IMAGINARY FRIEND MEGAMAN!
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