Mega Man 3 Review

The slide is the change that stuck. Giving Mega Man a low dash reshaped how every subsequent level in the series was drawn, opening tunnels and dodges that the earlier games could not consider, and Rush replaced the item menu clutter of the second game with a dog who arrives when asked. Proto Man is the franchise's best supporting character, a whistle and a shield and a motive nobody explains for years.

The stages have more variety than the previous game and the boss weapons are more evenly useful. What drags it down is what happens after the eight robot masters. The Doc Robot stages send you back through four levels you have already cleared to fight remixes of the second game's bosses, which is a lot of running for very little new, and the whole back half feels assembled rather than designed. The cartridge flickers and slows constantly, and the difficulty curve wobbles from trivial to punishing without warning.