MegaMan Rock N Roll
What could of been Mega Man 12
In 2019 Dennis Engelhard releases a fan-made game he had created called Mega Man Rock N Roll. This game was done in the 8-bit style that many fans were familiar with.
As a long-time Mega Man fan myself I was incredibly excited when I saw this game. For the first time, players would have the ability to play as either Rock or Roll (Mega Man's female counterpart) and have a different take at the various levels.
However, once I started to play the game I was incredibly disappointed. This game's difficulty is 'Battletoads hard.' It required me several hours just to beat one level when the old Mega Man games only required maybe an hour or two at best.
I reached out to the developer and recommended some changes to be made as I found the game way too difficult to be considered a Mega Man game. I was met with 'that's the way it's supposed to be.' I continued to play the game trying to figure out why I was unable to get past certain parts with ease. At first, I thought it was an issue with my carpel tunnel syndrome, but for research, during Christmas break, I replayed all the original Mega Man games and found those games significantly easier to beat than the various fan-made games I was seeing.
I reached out to the community on discord and Dennis's website to provide my thoughts. I was met with harsh criticism and finally censorship for trying to share my logic that the game required an easy setting. I did some additional research and found that others who shared the same disappointment with the game were also being censored on various media by the MMRNR community.
As such I have started this website to provide a deep look into the game, with critical analysis from a design and playability perspective. As such other individuals have taken it upon themselves to limit free speech, and this website provides an outlet where others can not express themselves freely.
FAQ
Are you telling people to not play the game?
Absolutely not. Anyone in a free society is welcome to play the game (in fact you can download it here.) But this is not a Mega Man game. Mega Man games are supposed to be fun and challenging, but not to the point that you can't get anywhere.
Dude you have a lot of free time on your hands!
Not really, but I don't like Censorship. After being banned on Discord, my post was altered on Fandom and various other sites, it was apparent there is a cavalcade of individuals who support the developer blindly with no consideration for the average joe who simply wants to play a Mega Man game. In other circles others have attempted to provide feedback to the developer, only to be met with the same censorship. These individuals need to know they're not alone in their feelings about the lack of quality in the game.
Dude I beat the game!
Congratulations, you're one of the few. The hardest game in the Mega Man series were 1, 2, and somewhat 9. This game far exceeds those in difficulty. There are also numerous 'dickish' level design flaws that no credible game developer would ever put in a game. Various levels of education would outright fail you for putting in such failures in a game.
Dude if you don't like it just don't play it.
That's not the point I'm making here. Honestly, this game has a lot of potential, but it is way too frustrating to be considered a Mega Man game. A couple of slight tweaks would make a lot of people like myself happy, but the developer would rather censor thought than actually engage people in conversation.
You're being a total asshole!
Not trying to. But when a few people attempt to silence your voice you have to take a stand against tyranny. The whole point of the Internet is complete and uncensored speech, this includes speech you don't like. Thus we have this website here.
Previous Mega Man games were just as hard as this one (eg MM4).
Incorrect, the older games didn't have the dynamics this game includes but they were limited to what you could do on an NES. Thus the developers had to come up with interesting ways to make the games challenging and fun, but not frustrating.
The Good...
Brief Overview
It's not all bad here. The game itself is pretty impressive and here's why.
Exceptional Graphics
Keiji Inafune would be proud.
The game itself looks like it was created inside CAPCOM™. Some fan-made games have the characters (especially the bad guys) looking like the Intern's first day on the job. I will give credit that the game itself is well designed with graphics. There are only a few characters I would change in appearance.
Great Sound Track
8-Bit in full stereo!
The music is well written as well. I would say here once again it sounds like something coming right out of CAPCOMâ„¢.
Interesting Gameplay
Then along comes a woman!
The ability to switch between Rock (Megaman) and Roll (the girlfriend) is pretty cool and something we should have had a long time in older Mega Man games. Roll is also presented well compared to some Mega Man Fan games where her main weapon is just a broom.
Bonus Content if you rescue characters.
The idea to go on separate excursions with prior game bosses is an interesting concept, but I would argue adding this to game makes an incredibly long level even more frustrating.
A neat idea but not quite there...
The Bad...
Brief Overview
Here are the pain-points that make an otherwise great attempt completely fail.
Pinpoint Precision Actions and Jumping
Too many parts of the game that require precision pinpoint jumping or landing. This was never required in anything past Mega Man 2.
Jesus H Christ!
Capabilities not possible on NES
Too many characters on the screen at one time that would be impossible with the NES capabilities.
8-bit can only go so far!
Poor Enemy Placement
Too many characters that are too small to hit successfully without major effort.
But I swear I wasn't even close!
Too Many Spawning Enemies
Too many spawning enemies on the screen at one time, sometimes to the point of being impossible on an NES.
Don't tell me the odds!
Too Much Requirement of Speedruns
Run Forest....ummmm Megaman!
Too many situations where the user has to constantly be running through the course without running or stopping. An average user can maybe do this for three seconds, but you’re requiring individuals to do this for up to seven seconds. The worst egregious part is the upside-down castle stage for Roll. This stage is just ridiculous and not a traditional Mega Man level.
Enemies Cause Too Much Damage.
Enemies cause WAY too much damage when you are hit. Even the hard hats are annoying with the damage they can cause.
Like that really hurt...
'Dickish' Level Design.
AW COME THE FUCK ON!
Too many ‘dick moves.’ You’ll walk onto the screen and an enemy will be firing before you even have a chance to react. Or you will get to a certain spot only to be shot down by a hidden enemy. A few of these are fine, but the game is riddled with these everywhere.
Requirement of Special Weapons
Too many requirements for using special weapons. In all the original games I could easily make my way through the levels with just the buster and save the special weapons for the bosses.
But I don't have that tool YET!
Bad Power-Up Drop Rates
Not enough power-ups appearing when you destroy enemies. No way to grind to get back up to normal power. If you get hit, you're pretty much at low energy for most of the level.
Come on baby, hit me one more time!
Too Many Gotchas
Don't look down Wily E. Coyote
Way too many jumps and fall to your death situations, that are way too long, way too hard, and completely insane to try and complete. This was using sparing in old Mega Man games.
and the Ugly...
Recommendations to improve the game.
I've noted this several times but the developer chooses to ignore thee simple steps
Easy Mode Blocks
... I mean seriously...
It would not require too much time to add some easy mode blocks in several places so users could become familiar with the level. After many users complained about how difficult MM9 was, they added an easy mode in MM10. The same could be done here.
Better damage recovery.
It's only a flesh wound.
Allow Mega Man to take less damage when hit by enemies, or provide an option for unlimited lives. Some levels are pointless to try if you die the first time. You might as well kill yourself two more times and start again because you need at least two lives to get to the boss.
Better Power-Up Drops
The random drop rate of power-ups from enemies could be improved. Give easy mode players a better opportunity to actually make it to the end of the level with full health.
Look it's a golden ticket!
'Cheat' or 'Test' Mode
Give players an option to just enjoy the graphics of the game and not worry about the frustration level.
It was there in MM3!
Add Beat for Falling Down Holes
Give an option for Beat to just grab you every time you fall down a hole. This worked well for younger kids in MM11.
Just like MM11
Slow Down Mode
Cause we're old.
The kids who played Mega Man in the 80's are now older and slower. We can't react to game controllers as much as we use to. Give an old man a break to play the game a slightly slower speed.