Play Rockman 2 - Dr. Wily no Nazo (Japan) Online

Game Overview

Rockman 2 (or Mega Man 2 if you grew up outside Japan) is where the series really hit its stride. You’ve got eight Robot Masters to take down, each with their own ridiculous theme—like Metal Man throwing saw blades or Bubble Man… well, blowing bubbles. The levels are tough but fair, and beating a boss lets you steal their weapon, which always feels awesome (Heat Man’s stage still gives me nightmares, though).

They added E-tanks here, so you can actually heal mid-level instead of dying over and over. And thank goodness for the password system—no more leaving your NES on overnight. The music? Absolute fire. Wily’s fortress theme still gets stuck in my head decades later.

It’s one of those NES games that holds up weirdly well, even if your thumbs might not agree after a few hours.