Time for another top 5. Surprisingly, this wasn't conceived and written during a manic episode. Guess I don't need bipolar disorder for writing. Anyway, this top 5, like most of mine, is in no specific order. Just as I (sort of) proved that Halo 3 doesn't hold a candle to Super Mario Galaxy, I will now prove how Mega Man 2 clearly surpasses Mega Man 3. Anyone who's played both those games (up on the virtual console now) knows that they're both some of the greatest platformers to ever appear on any console, but some might argue that 3 is better than 2. Like the whole "Halo 3 vs Super Mario Galaxy", this post is just a joke. I will list five reasons how Mega Man 2 is clearly the best. I have come to this conclusion using reason and distortion of logic. I will admit 3 had some pros that 2 didn't, namely Rush the dog and the Slide move. First off, better power-ups. Let's compare and contrast, shall we? The Metal Blade was pretty much the ONLY weapon you needed to make it through a level. It could be fired in eight directions and barely used any ammo. It was even effective against FOUR robot masters! The Shadow Blade is just a "nerfed" counterpart. Five directions, less ammo-efficient, and strong against only one robot master. How about the Atomic Fire? Fully charged, it could take out Wood Man in one shot. No joke. The Spark Shock, on the other hand, just fires a small ball of electricity. Just a slightly stronger version of the Megabuster. Snake Man's weapon is just a minor variation of the Bubble Lead. And don't even get me started on the Top Spin. Better known as one of the most useless weapons in video game history. Puts Mega Man very much in harm's way and uses a seemingly random amount of ammo. I don't understand why Mega Man would need ammunition just to do a quick spin in mid-air. However, the Magnet Missile and Needle Cannon were legitimately good. Point is, almost every weapon in Mega Man 2 was useful outside of boss battles. Only a few could be considered useful in 3. Next, the robot masters in 2 aren't as gaudy as those of 3. What purpose could Top Man really serve? The same goes for Snake Man and Gemini Man. According to the Mega Man Knowledge Base Snake Man "...was created to investigate narrow areas". Right. Can Top Man's "amazing" ability to spin around relatively fast aid Dr. Wily in world domination? Don't think so. Admittedly, there were a couple I liked, namely Magnet Man and Shadow Man. Take the robot masters of 2. Did any of them make you wonder "Is Capcom starting to run out of ideas?". Maybe Wood Man, sort of. Bubble Man, diving suit robot. Quick Man, upgraded version of Elec Man. So obvious, this point doesn't need to be argued further. Mega Man 2 clearly has the better soundtrack. Now hold on fanboys, I'm not saying 3's soundtrack was bad. It just didn't completely match it's predecessor's. Some of the best (and most remixed) songs from 3 include Top Man's Stage, Snake Man's Stage, Spark Man's Stage, etc. Mega Man 2, on the other hand. Pretty much EVERY song on it's soundtrack is all too frequently remixed and hailed as some of the best music on the NES, and pretty much in all of video game history. I loved it, hence why I listed it as my second favorite soundtrack ever. But it's best song? Anyone who has listened to the soundtrack will probably say Stage 1 of Dr Wily's Castle. They're right. Just check Overclocked Remix. Ask virtually any video game music fan, such as myself, which Mega Man soundtrack is the best. Chances are, they'll tell you it's 2's. Next up, less lag in 2. Now, you might be thinking "Is this self-indulgent prick really criticizing an 8-bit game for lag? How unprofessional is this guy!?". Two things: first off, I'm not a professional video game anything, so thus I can be as biased and nonsensical as I want when it comes to games. Secondly, yes it would be unfair to criticize an NES game for lag, if I were to compare it to a game of a later generation. Remember the fast-paced, devious stages of Quick Man and Air Man? With the exception of a couple of bosses in Dr Wily's castle, you didn't run into any slowdown, but rather just some flickering sprites. Oh no, minor flickering, whatever. Compare that to the only semi-well designed levels of 3, What stage DIDN'T have slowdown at some point? I can understand that Capcom was simply trying to push the NES to it's limits, but at what cost? Painfully apparent lag? Point is, Capcom sacrificed fast-paced gameplay for some giant (and frustrating) enemies. Thanks Capcom, but please focus on gameplay. It'd be great. Finally, more innovation for the franchise. Mega Man 3 introduced the Slide move and Rush. Two new gameplay elements. What did Mega Man 2 introduce. Eight bosses instead of six, different looking pellets, "it's Dr. Light not Dr. Right", and most important of all, E-tanks. What would prove to be almost a requirement to beat certain bosses. Four innovations in 2 compared to the two in 3. So there you have it, I have once and for all proved Mega Man 2 is clearly superior to 3. In fact, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it's the best of the franchise. I'm not the only one who thinks this. And one more thing. If you didn't read the intro (shame on you) then I should probably let you know that this post is, for the most part, a joke. So try not to take it too seriously. And real quick thanks to Capcom for keeping Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Monster Hunter Tri Wii exclusives instead of porting them to the prone-to-overheat Xbox 360 and/or "How many hundreds of dollars?" PS3. But even with the evidence that these games will always be Wii exclusives, fanboys will continue to distort and reject logic out of frustration that said exclusives aren't coming to their consoles. BONUS Forum Civility Tip! Did you know that not only can the space bar be used to separate words, but also sentences?