Mega Bluster

Stoutbot Industries
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Video Games
  • Updated Biweekly

Mega Bluster is an exhaustive exploration of the Mega Man franchise, tracing its winding path from NES blockbuster to retro nostalgia curio.

  1. 12/21/2023

    Ep. 17 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2

    In 1992, Sega followed up its smash Sonic the Hedgehog with a sequel purpose-built to ensure that its new mascot didn’t become a one-hit wonder. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 proved a definitive platformer of its era, spawning countless imitators and influencing even its most confident and established competitors. As Capcom prepared to bring Mega Man to 16-bit consoles, it couldn’t have ignored Sonic 2 - for better or worse. Game: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Developer: Sega Technical Institute Publisher: Sega Director: Masaharu Yoshii Producer: Shinobu Toyoda Designers: Hirokazu Yashuhara; Takahiro Anto; Ytaka Sugano Programmers: Yuji Naka, Bill Willis, Masanobu Yamamoto Composer: Masato Nakamura Released: JP: November 21, 1992 US: November 24, 1992 EU: November 24, 1992 Music Used In This Episode Ruinous Ruins by Ben Briggs and Pete Lepley Dark Waters by Mkvaff Dream Pipe by Darkesword Ethereal Skies by Pumpkin King All sourced from OCRemix.org and used under its Content Policy’s Terms of Use. If you have any feedback on this podcast, you can email clay@guilelessgamer.com.

  2. 10/23/2023 ·  Bonus

    Ep. 16: Little Samson

    By 1992, Takeru was on its last legs. In the parlance of Jake Taylor, all that was left to do was win the whole thing. In this case, “the whole thing” meant the dying days of the Famicom, and win it did. But as always with Little Samson, we are left to ask: at what cost? Join us as we put a button on Akira Kitamura’s career. Music Used In This Episode Quiron’s Mallets by Abreu Project Walking Weapons Unit by WillRock Odyssey Beyond The Falls by Vurez Good Night Li’l Man by texxsound Bubble Man (wants to get) Funked Up by Disco Dan Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra by fredrikd All sourced from OCRemix.org and used under its Content Policy’s Terms of Use. If you have any feedback on this podcast, you can email clay@guilelessgamer.com.

  3. 08/24/2023

    Ep. 15: Does Mega-Busting In Fact Make Me Feel Good? (Season One Finale)

    Let’s see if we’ve learned anything. Music Used In This Episode Odyssey Beyond the Falls by Vurez Quiron’s Mallets by Abreu Project Walking Weapons Unit by WillRock Cossack Skies2 by bsolmaz13 Good Night Li’l Man by texxsound Let There be Light by AmIEviL Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra by fredrikd All sourced from OCRemix.org and used under its Content Policy’s Terms of Use. If you have any feedback on this podcast, you can email clay@guilelessgamer.com.

  4. 08/10/2023

    Ep. 14: Mega Man 6

    As priorities shifted inside of Capcom and the third generation of video game consoles wound down, the company finally faced the inevitable: the Mega Man series simply could no longer continue on the Nintendo Entertainment System because the Nintendo Entertainment System itself would soon no longer continue on. With the franchise’s migration to next-generation hardware (or at this point, current-generation hardware) imminent, Capcom decided to try to squeeze one more drop of milk from its 8-bit cash cow. Mega Man 6 is not a triumphant last hurrah, but rather a coda. So disinterested in the game was Capcom that it fell to Nintendo to publish the game outside of Japan. So what can we learn from playing it? If anything, that its makers were likely as bored of this same old routine as its players were. The Game: Mega Man 6 or Rockman 6: Shijō Saidai no Tatakai!! (ロックマン6 史上最大の戦い!! Rokkuman Shikkusu: Shijō Saidai no Tatakai!!) Original Platform: Nintendo Family Computer / Nintendo Entertainment System Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom (JP), Nintendo (US) Release Date: November 5, 1993 (JP) March 15, 1994 Music Used In This Episode Flurry of Frozen Fury by Vurez Quiron’s Mallets by Abreu Project Yamato Spear by Joshua Morse Odyssey Beyond the Falls by Vurez Good Night Li’l Man by texxsound Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra by fredrikd All sourced from OCRemix.org and used under its Content Policy’s Terms of Use. If you have any feedback on this podcast, you can email clay@guilelessgamer.com.

  5. 07/27/2023

    Ep. 13: Mega Man IV

    With two Game Boy Mega Man games under its belt, Minakuchi Engineering had built up enough expertise to feel confident pushing boundaries. Developed in an environment of expanding scope and increased technical sophistication in handheld gaming, Mega Man IV introduces narrative and mechanical flourishes surpassing some NES entries’, while also adding an economy and improving on the game’s presentation. But even with these improvements, Mega Man IV gives us the impression not of something that was continuing to thrive, but rather of something that was beginning to wind down. The Game: Mega Man IV, or Rockman World 4 (ロックマンワールド４) Original Platform: Nintendo Game Boy Developer: Minakuchi Engineering Publisher: Capcom Release Date: October 29, 1993 (JP) Music Used In This Episode Electrolytic Man by ambient, MaJIN_SaN, tomatsu Rock My Socket by Nostalvania The Jazzassin by Nostalvania Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra by fredrikd All sourced from OCRemix.org and used under its Content Policy’s Terms of Use. If you have any feedback on this podcast, you can email clay@guilelessgamer.com.

  6. 07/13/2023

    Ep. 12: Wily & Right's RockBoard: That's Paradise

    The first real attempt at a true expansion of the Mega Man brand was a Japan-only board game simulation based on Monopoly starring the least popular characters in the franchise. Like Monopoly, it is not a good game. But it also wasn’t the first or last game to take its inspiration from the time-honored pastime of gathering ‘round the table with the family to roll some dice and move some pieces of plastic. Rockboard demonstrates some of the limits of Mega Man as an intellectual property. I wouldn’t recommend it! The Game: Wily & Right no RockBoard: That's Paradise or ワイリー&ライトのロックボード ザッツ☆パラダイス Wairī ando Raito no RokkuBōdo Zattsu ☆ Paradaisu Original Platform: Nintendo Family Computer Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Designer: Yoshinori Takenaka Artist: Keiji Inafune Release Date: January 15, 1993 (JP) Music Used In This Episode To The End of the Sea and Sky by Lemonectric and Phonetic Hero Gravidade by Leandro Abreu, André Pastore, Helton Lima, Leo Quintão, Marco Lima Metal Man Goes Clubbing by Disco Dan Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra by fredrikd All sourced from OCRemix.org and used under its Content Policy’s Terms of Use. If you have any feedback on this podcast, you can email clay@guilelessgamer.com.

  7. 06/29/2023

    Ep. 11: Mega Man 3 - The Robots Are Revolting

    What is the line between “game” and “fan game”? Stephen Rozner’s return to Mega Man forces us to ask and answer that question with the third game called Mega Man 3. Mega Man 3 - The Robots Are Revolting actually introduces several concepts that the series would take years to come back to, but it remains hamstrung by the same issues that crippled its DOS-based predecessor. Should you play it? No. Should you listen to this episode? Yes. The Game: Mega Man 3: The Robots Are Revolting Original Platform: Microsoft Disk Operating System Developer: Hi-Tech Expressions Publisher: Capcom USA; Hi-Tech Expressions Designer: Stephen Rozner Artist: William Rozner Release Date: 1992 Music Used In This Episode Good Night, Li’l Man by texx sound Cossack Skies2 by bsolmaz13 The Jazzassin by Nostalvania Gemini Salsa by MkVaff Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra by fredrikd All sourced from OCRemix.org and used under its Content Policy’s Terms of Use. Referenced in this episode: Action Button Reviews Pac-Man by Tim Rogers The Story of Mega Man on DOS by Norman Caruso If you have any feedback on this podcast, you can email clay@guilelessgamer.com.

  8. 06/15/2023

    Ep. 10: Mega Man III

    It’s becoming harder to write these Mega Man recaps as repetition becomes the series’s primary trait. But for the purposes of analyzing Mega Man III - the second of three games bearing some variation of the title Mega Man 3 - I’ve decided to adopt the mind of a newcomer. We know that this is our 8th proper Mega Man game, but what this episode presupposes is: maybe it’s somebody’s first? The Game: Mega Man III, known in Japan as Rockman World 3 (ロックマンワールド３) Original Platform: Nintendo Game Boy Developer: Minakuchi Engineering Publisher: Capcom Release Date: December 11, 1992 (JP) December 1992 (US) Music Used In This Episode Cossack Skies2 by bsolmaz13 Bubble Man (wants to get) Funked Up by DiscoDan Gemini Salsa by MkVaff Cutman Sonata by MkVaff Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra by fredrikd All sourced from OCRemix.org and used under its Content Policy’s Terms of Use. If you have any feedback on this podcast, you can email clay@guilelessgamer.com.

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About

Mega Bluster is an exhaustive exploration of the Mega Man franchise, tracing its winding path from NES blockbuster to retro nostalgia curio.

Information

  • Creator
    Stoutbot Industries
  • Years Active
    2023
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Stefan Claypool
  • Show Website
    Mega Bluster