Personal
There are a lot of video games out there, with their own series, genres, and everything else. One day I came up with an idea that involves video games for a month. This idea is called “Theme of the Month”. I did this because I thought it would be fun and make playing games a little more interesting. You can read my experience with this, if you want to know more.
Post Discussion
- Theme of the month
- What is it?
- Trying it out
- Mega Man Month
- The End Results
Theme of the Month
What is it?
Theme of the month is choosing a topic and only play particular games, based on it. This can be a series only, genre only, or anything that has a similar gameplay style. This idea can be broad from playing only 2d platformers to a detailed theme of playing only Kirby games. It is a casual idea, so I never finish the games, or set a schedule to play them. I can play any day and anytime in the month. The only rules I gave myself was to only play games that fits the themes.
Trying It Out
The first thing I do is coming up with a topic, and then think about all of the games I want to play for the month. I will use the most recent one as an example of my experience with it.
The Mega Man Experience
Mega Man EXE Anniversary
This choice came to me because in April 14th, 2023, Capcom was releasing a collection of the Mega Man Battle Network games. I was excited because Mega Man Battle Network was a really good series that I liked growing up. I was surprised that Capcom gave it so much attention with its add on features, the marketing, and they even put the anime show on YouTube for six months, including a live stream marathon.
To celebrate this, I wanted to do Mega Man games as the theme. Not just Mega Man, but games that remind me of it. I will share the six games that I played for Mega Man month.
Note: When I do Game Theme of the Month, I choose games that I already have and don’t purchase any.
Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon
I don’t have the collection, so I went back and played the Game Boy Advance game of Mega Man Battle Network Four: Blue Moon instead. I chose this one because I remember I was doing the new game plus. I wanted to get all of the double souls and obtain more battle chips. Both versions are included in the collection, and I will play Red Sun next time.
Mega Man Battle Network Overclocked
Doing Mega Man month gave me a reason to finally play this. Mega Man Battle Network Overclocked is a fangame that takes the first game and remake it into 3D. The goal was to be like the original, and this fangame actually feels as if I am playing the Game Boy Advance series. I was amazed to see Lan and the world of the game as 3D models. I like how crisp the battle chip art looks and the music is remade. One of my favorite things is the dialog boxes has been changed to see the body of the characters and having expressions. This is made by one person, and he even added quality features from the newer games.
If you want to try out the Battle Network games for the first time. You should play this because its free and easy to access on PC. The only bad side to this fangame is, it’s only the first two parts of the game, and the creator is no longer working on it. If you are a fan or not, I think you should check it out anyway.
Mega Man Network Transmission
The battle chips had to function different because of gameplay difference and it was cool to see.
During the time of the Gameboy Advance Battle Network games, another one was made called “Mega Man Network Transmission” for the Nintendo GameCube. This one took the Battle Network gameplay and changed it into a 2d action platformer, like the classic series. It works, but I wish it was in English and the difficulty is really high. The game feels off because there is no adventuring in the real world. All you do is select areas on a map and the level starts. At least it kept the PET menu and there are Navis inside the levels sometimes.
The music is really good, and I liked it was in 3D too this time. I wanted to play it because I found out there is a secret boss, and I never seen all of the battle chips.
Mega Man 11
I had this game downloaded for a long time and this was my first time playing it. I grew up playing the Mega Man X games and this was my first classic Mega Man game. The main concept is the same, but its tone, level design, characters, and controls for Mega Man is different. So far, I am enjoying this one and my favorite part is anyone can play it. If you don’t know, Mega Man games are very hard in difficulty, and I mean all of the Mega Man series. I think the challenge hurts Mega Man as a brand, because it keeps people who are not skilled at intense games away.
However, Mega Man 11 actually is made in a way that I think everyone can play. It has four difficulty options, and the new gear mechanic makes the game easier and not necessary to complete. If you really master it, you can play the entire game without the speed or power gears. Another part is purchasing items, extra lives, and energy tanks that makes this simpler for casual players. I think Mega Man 11 is the best game for someone to play as their first Mega Man game.
Protodroid Delta
Mega Man X is my favorite Mega Man series, but I didn’t play it for the theme of the month. Instead, I chose a Kickstarter game I backed named “Protodroid Delta”. The reason is because this is a Mega Man X game in a 3d space, similar to Mega Man X7. The creator wanted to be better than X7, and It has when it comes to controlling the character, the targeting system, and depth perception. What makes it different from Mega Man X is: you don’t die instantly from death pits, no wall jumping, and a mechanic that forces you to use both the buster and saber sword. That, and the diversity in the cast of characters is what I like the most about this game.
In the game, you progress through a story, get an ability from the bosses, find capsules, and learn sword attacks from another protodroid who reminds me of Zero.
Summary
This game is set in a solar punk world where four rulers own territories, causing mischief in the world. A doctor created the main character “Delta” the first protodroid to reason with them to change their motivations and actions. When they don’t cooperate, you face their mechs in a battle with her equipped buster and saber sword.
The challenge rooms are like the Splatoon single player levels.
This has the difficulty of a X game in all areas, and it has hidden challenge rooms with a reward at the end. A cool thing for the X fans is the attribute armors that comes with different stats. Its an indie game so the level count is less than Mega Man X titles, but they last for a while to make up for it.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3
I finally received my physical copy of Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 and I decided to start it for Mega Man month. This independent game feels like Mega Man X but looks like Mega Man Zero and ZX. That is because some of the developers in Inti Creates worked on those games. The series is action base with platforming and has an anime aesthetic.
You play through levels as Gunvolt with his gun tagging mechanic and electric powers. In these games you level up, equip gear, and learn special skills.
Summary
This game is set in a modern day with better technology. There are people in the world who have powers called “Adepts” and Gunvolt has the ability to use electricity. What makes him special is the Azure lighting is a legendary septima that tried to be copied to humans by experimentation. Gunvolt was the only one who survived this, and now he uses it to stop the same corporation that did this called “Sumeragi”.
The story dialog is in cutscenes and during gameplay, to tell you more about the world and what is going on with the characters. It is optional to turn it On or Off.
In Azure Striker Gunvolt three, you play as Kirin who have a different play style that is close to Zero. She is close range, uses a sword, and gains new skills from defeating the bosses. This is combined with the tagging system, and she can do a quick lighting slash (for faster gameplay) because Gunvolt shared his powers with her.
This game has a gotcha system like cell phone games, but you get the rewards from completing levels.
My thoughts so far
I am having fun playing as Kirin, and the gotcha idea does not bother me because its optional and I am used to replaying Gunvolt levels anyway. The rewards are items you equip that makes the game easier like Mega Man 11. The game made Gunvolt temporarily playable because he is access through a meter that goes down. The name is Azure Striker Gunvolt, but with every title you interact with him less. Besides Gunvolt’s reputation, the game’s story effected the series as a whole too, but just playing the game alone, is fun and well-paced.
The End Results
That is the end of my Mega Man month theme list. I have a good time doing these, but it does feel restricting from only playing theme titles and nothing else. I do this idea a few times a year, and it makes me realize how the games are different from each other.
I wrote more for the indie games because they are smaller, and not known. If you are a Mega Man fan or not, you can check out the videos to see how they look. Doing this made me like the Mega Man series more now than I use to. I don’t recommend trying this unless you really feel like it. It’s just an idea to make playing video games a bit different. The game theme of the month rules is all up to you. I chose old games, a fan game, and independent titiles for verity.
What theme ideas would you like to try?
Let’s talk and learn about games