Capcom's Blue Bomber (which sounds more like BomberMan's nickname) played a critical part in influencing 2D action platforming. I feel like I've talked about it quite often, so no need to belabor the point on that. But the first Mega Man was a pretty rough experiment at certain seams (trying vertically themed levels was always a weakness of the original series), leaving room for sequels to improve upon an effective formula. Mega Man 2 is not only highly revered, but widely considered to be the best in the series.

Developed in 1988 for Nintendo Entertainment System, Mega Man 2 made some tweaks and changes from its predecessor for an overall much more enjoyable experience. Speeding up the gameplay, some of the most memorable stage music on the NES, and showing off some more intuitive level design, it makes sense why MM2 is so highly revered. It was the peak of the franchise, Mega Man 2 dominated the sales chart for the series, until Mega Man 11 finally dethroned it nearly three decades later. 

The core philosophy of Mega Man 2 picks up from where the last game leaves off, blending the ebbs and flows of action platforming with unique levels and clever enemy placement. Each Robot Master has a pattern and a weakness to another Robot Master's power, and the bosses this time around aren't the simple pushovers from the first game, they are a little tougher, as well as the Wily stages. New stage hazards and environmental hurdles like being underwater are included to keep a player aware of their surroundings and how you navigate.

Mega Man 2 introduces the Energy Tank, allowing Rock to replenish health without having to rely on item drops from enemies. The sequels also tried out various gimmicks Mega Man could use, like platform elevating rockets and such to nab hard-to-reach items, before settling on Rush, his robo-dog companion, introduced in Mega Man 3. Were it not for the fact that Metal Man's Metal Blade was completely busted, I'd say it'd be peak Mega Man. Probably due to a programming oversight, the blade is overpowered and no enemies or Robot Masters have much of a resistance to it. In some of the future ports, this bug has been corrected, but if you discovered this glitch back in the day, you could trounce this game. 

The graphics are also a little more sharper, there are some different animations and more stylized color and background choices. Going back to Bubble Man once again, the vast waterfall is relatively impressive to see on the NES. Metal Man's stage also sticks out with its detail. When I was a kid, I was often inspired by the animated gears rotating in the background, and my sketchbooks full of made up video games (clearly ripping off the stuff I played at the time) were full of those gears. 

Mega Man 2's legacy is cemented in stone as being one of the NES' staple third party titles, and made Mega Man a household name. While I do like Mega Man 3 way more (better gameplay and music. No apologies), MM2 established elements that would remain in the franchise for the foreseeable future.

From its opening, the raucous OST, the stages, the game is a cornerstone of design, but also one of the first classic video games that began the nostalgia kick in early YouTube days. For the original series, this one certainly has a legacy, the significant hurdles jumped over the first one are very apparent, and it's great to revisit. And the other reason I can't rank this one over 3, it cemented that the stupid "DDVVVVD!!" blocks were here to stay. I hate those things, and I'll give demerits to any Mega Man that included them.