KnockBack, Episode 21: Mega Man 1, 2, & 3
Added 2018-07-05 16:00:01 +0000 UTCIn 1987, upstart Japanese publisher-slash-developer Capcom changed the game when it released Mega Man (known as Rockman in Japan), a silky smooth, beautiful, and dynamic non-linear side scrolling shooter. By 1990, Capcom had followed up the original Mega Man with two fantastic sequels, cementing the franchise in old-school Nintendo lore. Today, on the longest episode of KnockBack to date, we dissect our love of the Blue Bomber, and discuss at length the special bond we developed over the series.
Comments
Colin is such a goober, I love him
Jake Nunley
2025-02-01 03:32:27 +0000 UTCNo interest in Mega Man, but enjoyed listening!
Colin Moriarty
2024-07-28 23:53:58 +0000 UTCOr the Super Mario World vs. Sonic 1 debate. 🤣
Brandon Soto
2019-01-08 23:20:34 +0000 UTCIf you ever do a Smash Bros. topic, I wanna hear thoughts on characters like Mega Man, Snake, Cloud, Simon/Richter. I know you both love all those characters/franchises. I remember you said you didn’t like how Mega Man played in one of the episodes. 😟
Brandon Soto
2019-01-08 23:13:10 +0000 UTCThank you! It's obviously a topic near and dear to my heart, so I'm glad that shined (shone?) through.
Colin Moriarty
2019-01-08 23:04:19 +0000 UTCGreat episode Colin. Always love hearing how excited your are about things like Dagan was with the Calvin & Hobbes / Don Bluth topics.
Brandon Soto
2019-01-07 22:58:22 +0000 UTCHi Guys! (Dagan YouTube intro voice :D) This episode was phenomenal! After listening to this I went back with a friend and tried Megaman 2 with the knowledge of Metalman's OP weapon and you're totally right Colin, it definitely "pierces the loop". I couldn't believe how much the game opened up after that. We stupidly did Heatman next though and my friend was able to do the disappearing block, but holy wow! that bit is a headache Ha Ha Ha! Anyhow I just wanted to thank you both for being such great people with great insights on a series I'd always wanted to get into, but had always been intimidated by. I loved Keiji Inafune's designs and I distictly remember seeing an old "making of" documentary interview with him while he illustrated one of the bosses on Tech TV in the mid 2000s. I loved that look so much and it, in part with a mess of other inspirations, led me to a job as an animator and storyboard artist. It's shows like Knockback that, really give the time and love and insight into these great works, that, in a lot of ways inspired people like me to get into animation, game development and other commercial artistic ventures. Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to thank you guys again for such a great show and I can't wait to listen to what you guys come up with next! Anyhow, sorry to bury the lead Colin, but have you thought about how the legacy collection would look if it had the "Wonderboy" treatment? I think that would be a phenomenal opportunity to really revamp the series and give a new lick of paint to, what is probably now my favourite NES era game series! This YouTuber, Dan Root, created this amazing video, that illustrate my point better than me I thik Ha Ha Ha! Anyhow, love your work guys and I can't wait to listen again soon! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSZjBsDggg4" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSZjBsDggg4</a>
Lachlan Pini
2018-07-25 23:12:55 +0000 UTCOh well I’m an idiot then. I’ve been checking the feed like almost every day since you mentioned it on the Seinfeld ep, I guess I somehow missed it. So in that case, thanks so much for responding and telling me lol
Kenneth thomas
2018-07-18 20:29:49 +0000 UTCAre you asking when is The Sopranos episode? If so, it was posted already.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-18 18:58:18 +0000 UTCMagnet Man I think might be my all time favorite piece of video game music. There’s a YouTube video of someone doing it on piano that is beautiful. When is the sopranos?!
Kenneth thomas
2018-07-17 19:19:08 +0000 UTCThank you! <3
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-17 06:57:17 +0000 UTCGlad you enjoyed the episode! Thanks for listening.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-17 06:57:10 +0000 UTCWhat an amazing episode and a chunk of nerdy trivia. Great job!
Jacek Debowski
2018-07-17 05:25:45 +0000 UTCLoved this episode Colin. This was a topic I didn't realize I wanted until I saw it. MegaMan 1-3 are some of my all time fave games. Looking forward to the next segment, but admittedly I've never played 4-7 ! Gonna try to get through those before the next episode. I've never played games in the form of a reading list before
Jack Sibert
2018-07-13 22:58:22 +0000 UTCI played Tropical Freeze on Wii U a bit when I was at IGN. Wasn't feeling it.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-13 19:54:50 +0000 UTCThank you! I've seen it, but not messed with it. I'd totally love someone to make a level too hard for me. Good luck! =D
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-13 19:54:36 +0000 UTCYeah, TG16 box art was on another level. For sure. A great way to go back and play those old Mega Man games is with the Legacy Collection(s).
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-13 19:54:20 +0000 UTCLOL. He loves that show!
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-13 19:53:43 +0000 UTCI'm waiting on my copies. Impatiently. =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-13 19:53:35 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed this episode. I also really enjoy platformers like you guys and am curious what you think of arguably the two best platformers released so far this year, which are Celeste and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. These games also get knocked for being too hard which I don’t agree with.
strawhatninja
2018-07-13 13:52:22 +0000 UTCAwesome episode! Have you checked out Mega Man Maker? Maybe have a fan made contest thing where someone can "stump Colin" with a level design
Bobby Bell
2018-07-12 19:04:27 +0000 UTCI love Mega Man! A friend of mine had gotten 2 at some point (I was in junior high when it came out) and it was almost a magical experience at the time. I had played the first one prior, but 2 sealed it as something special. Now, I'm old... but the last time I messed with 2 I managed to navigate the Quickman stage without stopping time after a few tries. Man, it was neat how the patterns sort of came back to me. I will have to revisit 2 and 3 and the rest all the way through. And speaking of weird/bad box art, I was a TurboGrafx kid for a while, before eventually getting an SNES and a Genesis, and oh boy was early (most? all?) TG-16 U.S. box art horrid. It almost felt at times like they had a single individual do most of them in a similarly sad style.... Oh well! I regret nothing!
Richard Straceski
2018-07-12 16:29:06 +0000 UTCDamn, if I'd have known Dagan was going to Too Many Games, I'd have gone. I'd have bought him a game!
Jason Kelley
2018-07-12 12:27:43 +0000 UTCMega Man X Legacy Collection is coming out this month and I could not be more ecstatic. I love the Mega Man X games.
jbakes25
2018-07-12 06:26:29 +0000 UTCLOL.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-11 17:11:06 +0000 UTCI'll pay good money to watch you open a mint G.I. Joe in front of 'a bunch of fuckin nerds'.🤣
Erik Peterson
2018-07-11 02:20:18 +0000 UTCI always wished Vanquish was a GI Joe game, but I could see it that way, too! =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-09 22:50:22 +0000 UTCWhen you were talking about an open-world Mega Man, I couldn't stop thinking about Vanquish. I loved how the sliding and shooting felt, and the boss battles weren't half bad either. So if the dream Mega Man game played anything like Vanquish, that would be incredible.
Daniel
2018-07-09 17:31:34 +0000 UTCGodspeed!
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-08 17:35:48 +0000 UTCI wanna try and do that leading up to 11. We shall see!
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-08 17:35:41 +0000 UTCGOAT.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-08 17:35:19 +0000 UTCI talked about MN9 pretty extensively at Kinda Funny. Not sure I have much else to say about it, truthfully.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-08 17:35:10 +0000 UTCThank you! Value is key. I want people to get maximum bang for their buck, and I really do believe that CLS' Patreon is Top Tier in that regard.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-08 17:34:44 +0000 UTCThis episode inspired me to pick up the Mega Man Legacy Collection. It’s on my 3DS, and I am starting with 2. Wish me luck, because I have a feeling I’m gonna get my ass kicked.
Brent Lindquist
2018-07-08 07:40:45 +0000 UTCAwesome episode your knowledge of MM is crazy.. would be cool if you got the bandwidth to do a let's play season for teaching retro games 👍
Peter McCrystal
2018-07-07 22:35:10 +0000 UTCI finished Mega Man 3 for the first time recently, and I agree that it's the best in the series. Mega Man 3 also has the best title screen music of all time, in my opinion.
Cody Manninen
2018-07-07 21:30:53 +0000 UTCSuperb episode Col. Loved getting a somewhat deep dive into my (and my elder brother's!) childhood's favorite franchise. Would also enjoy hearing your point of view on what went wrong with Inafune's Mighty No.9. Haven't I missed an episode or smth already in the wild?
Sergey Zarnitsky
2018-07-07 12:22:50 +0000 UTCThanks for another great episode gents! Reminded me I have had Mega Man 9 languishing on my PS3 for years, will be jumping back into it this weekend, and I can't wait to get the Legacy Collection for the PS4. My very first memory of the NES was playing Mega Man on a black and white TV, loved the game then and I love it now, they all seem so much harder today though! Keep up the great work Colin, incredible value you are giving your Patrons!
Bryan Finck
2018-07-06 20:57:01 +0000 UTCLOL. Sorry about that.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-06 05:30:58 +0000 UTCThanks, ma!
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-06 05:30:49 +0000 UTCYou're right. It's a super emotional game all around, actually. The Protoman fights, the music, revisiting the (destroyed) stages, fighting the Mega Man 2 roster... even Gamma being a corrupted "peacekeeping robot."
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-06 05:30:44 +0000 UTCReally great way, yeah. Did I even say that on the show? LOL.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-06 05:30:00 +0000 UTCI loved going through again on the collection, but curse that Moriarty's Test. All this time I thought I was at least good at mega man. Boy was I wrong lol
Chris B
2018-07-06 02:05:42 +0000 UTCAlways awesome to hear the discussion and banter between my boys, but MegaMan discussion ... really something special. ❤️❤️👍🏻
BettyAnn Moriarty
2018-07-06 01:35:15 +0000 UTC💞
BettyAnn Moriarty
2018-07-06 01:33:29 +0000 UTCGoddammit, what a trilogy. I stand by team Mega Man 3 - there is something strangely emotional about fighting the robot masters from 2 again. It's like it insinuates that the robots are more than just mechanical creations. Awesome episode, my dudes!
Justin Matkowski
2018-07-06 01:18:35 +0000 UTCGood thing game pass has Mega man legacy 1 and 2 collection. Easy way to dive in
Brandon H
2018-07-06 00:22:13 +0000 UTCBut seriously tho dude this and sacred symbols premier this week? Best patreon on the market by far!
Chad Lewis
2018-07-05 21:28:41 +0000 UTCI didn't. I'll have to check that out. I was enamored with the 8-bit sprites of Slash Man and Frost Man in Mega Man 10. So dope.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-05 21:23:01 +0000 UTCLOL.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-05 21:22:42 +0000 UTCYou did it without Item 2? If so, that's baller. That's tough.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-05 21:22:37 +0000 UTCI'd love to see more by him.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-05 21:22:25 +0000 UTCHow anyone could make the case for the Mavericks? Let me know when you want to put the gloves on for that one fam!
Chad Lewis
2018-07-05 20:08:31 +0000 UTCI'm playing through Mega Man 2 right now on the NES classic. Just have Quick Man and Wily left! It's such a fun game, and getting through the Heat Man level where the blocks appear and disappear was a pretty rad accomplishment in my book.
Michael Ferrari
2018-07-05 19:29:52 +0000 UTCFor people looking for that artist from the beginning of the episode, he goes by Creative Outpouring. He had planned on doing a number of series in this style, although I haven't seen anything following the Mega Man piece.
Jason Bolla
2018-07-05 19:10:24 +0000 UTCThank you so much! I really do appreciate that. Your kind words mean a lot to us.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-05 17:37:33 +0000 UTC=D Thanks! Enjoy.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-05 17:37:17 +0000 UTCYou should correct your error.
Colin Moriarty
2018-07-05 17:37:11 +0000 UTCI eagerly await Knockback each week. The back and forth between you and Dagan is so great. Very humorous and smooth. I live each ep but this is the one I’ve been waiting for. I have great memories of my mom surprising my brother and I with Mega Man 2 back in the 80s. Can’t wait to listen. Thanks as always for all the hardworking Colin(and Dagan of course)!
Josh in Tampa
2018-07-05 16:36:42 +0000 UTC90 minutes of Colin talking PlayStation AND 2+ hours of Colin talking Mega Man! This week is great!
Zack E
2018-07-05 16:12:02 +0000 UTCI still have yet to play the original mega man games. I’ve only played the X games
Brandon H
2018-07-05 16:09:29 +0000 UTC
