Mega Man 8 Saturn

[Hagane Hiryu]

Hi, I'll be looking into buying this game soon and was wondering if, like the PS1 version, an art book should be included with the game, or if there is anything else that for the Saturn version. I just want to make sure I am looking for a complete copy. Thanks for the help.

[LoneCynic]

Classic MegaMan is my favorite game series ever. Here is all the information you're looking for to get the best version of MegaMan 8:

Differences between Playstation and Saturn versions of the game:

-Saturn version has an in game sub menu with various artwork from the series. The Playstation version came with an art booklet with the artwork contained in game on the Saturn version. I always viewed it as a consolation prize for the missing feature in that version.

-Two additional sub bosses are in the Saturn version that are not in the Playstation version. They are Robot Masters from MegaMan 1 and MegaMan 2. Cutman can be found in the mid-stage after defeating the first four Robot Masters, and Woodman is a midpoint boss on Searchman's stage. They retain their attack patterns from the original games and are welcomed bonus encounters exclusive to the Saturn version of the game.

-Tenguman Level has a completely different stage theme in the Saturn and Playstation versions. I personally like the Saturn version song a lot better.

-The Playstation system was able to do transparencies better than the Saturn system. As such, water and fog effects look better on the Playstation version. Yeah, the Playstation's only advantage isn't enough to outweigh all of the features that make the Saturn version superior. Just thought I'd mention it for completion sake.

Now, I don't know if you've played MegaMan 8 before, but it has some horrendous voice acting that unfortunately has MegaMan sounding like a little girl who can't pronounce other character's names correctly. Dr. Light sounds like Elmer Fudd's grandfather too. MegaMan 8 for the Saturn can be a bit pricey and difficult to track down. Since I already had it for Playstation (And the Playstation version on the MegaMan Anniversary Collection for PS2/Xbox) I decided to get RockMan 8 import version for the Saturn. Here are some differences between the domestic/import versions that you might also want to know about.

-Voices in the cutscenes, though you can't understand them, don't sound so out of place and fit the characters better. As poorly dubbed as the domestic release was, it isn't a big tradeoff.

-Introduction sequence music is different. RockMan 8 has the original intro song, as opposed to the elevator music they replaced it with in the domestic release. It is more upbeat and seems to fit the animated sequence better.

-Cover artwork on the game case is MegaMan with all the Robot Masters in the background, a much cooler piece of artwork as opposed to a generic blue background with MegaMan firing his arm cannon on the domestic release. In addition to this, the import version comes in a standard size CD case, which is easier to replace if it gets cracked or damaged. The domestic release comes in one of those larger cases that they used for Sega Genesis CD and Sega Saturn games in the USA, and they are harder to replace if they get broken and don't fit in CD display cases as easy.

-As I mentioned before, the import version of MegaMan 8, RockMan 8, is easier to track down and less expensive. It has a few features that I feel make it the best version of the game overall for any console, and is the version I recommend. Good luck in your search, and hopefully I've answered any questions you might have had about MegaMan 8. If you have any other questions about any of the original series MegaMan games, or the differences between the Anniversary collection discs, just ask them in this topic and I'll answer them for you.

[Hagane Hiryu]

Thank you for that very informative and helpful reply. I really appreciate it.

[Assman]

Odd that it didn't have transparencies with all the other extras. I've seen it done in a few games, like Astal, Cotton Boomerang, Burning Rangers and Magic Knight Rayearth.

The Saturn can't do legitimate transparency without hardware tricks. Most of the time you end up with pixels arranged in a checkerboard-esque layout to give the illusion of transparency.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Playing 8 again.

What's the trick to beating the boss at the end of Wily stage 1? I know you have to kick Rock Balls at it, but I can never seem to do it right.