Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Rock Man 2: Basic Master 1.2 by Tatsu changes everything for Rock Man 2: enemies, Robot masters, weapons and a lot more! Some quality of life features from later MM games were incorporated and new Items that you start the game with!

SO HOW IS IT? There’s a lot to enjoy with this hack! I played version 1.2, which added some new features and fixed the (according to reviews) the broken ring weapon  which a player could use to destroy everything. Thankfully I didn’t find the ring weapon that broken in 1.2. I did like how it traveled with you and seeked out enemies and did multiple damage, but it did still seem a bit broken. Since I’m on the weapons might as well discuss them first. The weapons are interesting and some of them seem like a combination of the weapon abilities from previous games combined into 1, like Plug Man’s weapon is Elec Man’s weapon combined with another one. Others include the normal guns and throwing other projectiles. I still don’t get Snake Man’s weapon but liked how Stone Man’s (?) weapon let me get some free energy capsules. Speaking of gear, you start with 3 Items compared to vanilla where you earn them while fighting. First one is Eddie popping in to give you a Life or Weapon refill capsule, even during a bos fight! I liked this ability to choose which you want rather than rng. Second is the ability to float anywhere, but it still doesn’t save you from falling into pits. Great to save you from navigating yoku blocks. Third is a weapon refill at the cost of a life. Oh you also start with the Weapon Rebalancer from later games that refills weapons when needed!

Stages all look great and have great looking backgrounds and foregrounds but are a bit long and seem really empty. There’s not a lot of enemies to fight, stage gimmicks to learn, or platforming which is kinda a shame. I did like the way Gemini Man’s stage played out with the ice and water sections. Flame Man’s level is a dumb maze and I usually hate mazes. It’s one of those kind of mazes where you have to figure out how to get through a section (hint: go up and down ladders). The Wily stages were shorter and sweet though, again with little to do except for running and climbing from point A to point B. Oh and the beams from Quick Man’s stage in vanilla are back, but they move slowly and don’t kill in one hit. That surprised me. Music is really good in this and was a hodgepodge of tracks from various Mega Man games and other series. I think my favorite was the 9-bit version of the stage intro track from Mega Man X4.

Robot Master fights have different ai then what we’ve seen of them in their vanilla games, and some even will throw basic enemies out during a fight. I really liked Snake Man’s ability to shed his skin and attack you, and Gemini Man’s duplicate ability seemed like an upgrade from his attacks in MM3. Ring Man going into a pocket dimension(?) to attack you was neat too. Some the Wily bosses are from various other games including the Wily machine and fights with Wily himself (the old man loves Red Bull). I was surprised with some of the bosses where I found myself in a Pokemon battle and fighting someone from the Zero series. The boss rush felt like it was like that from MM1: one enemy after another in the stage, but thankfully the game drops life refills between battles and there is a checkpoint halfway through. Prepare to be shocked what happens at the end!

The game is challenging, but most of it will come from the boss fights and partly navigating stages. As mentioned, there isn’t a lot to do in the stages so players can find themselves getting through them pretty fast. I like how stages have some elements from various classic MM games. The maze in Flame Man’s stage can go to hell though. It’s one those repeating screens type mazes until you figure out how to get through by going up or down the right ladder (hint, hint). Aside from those issues I do recommend this and had a good time. Oh, and dialog and scrolling text is in Japanese too. Have fun!

I GIVE ROCK MAN 2: BASIC MASTER 4.5 OUT OF 5 E-TANKS!!

GAMEPLAY VIDEO:

LINKS:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3382/ – Rock Man 2: Basic Master

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