Megaman - Rockman series difficulty

[jpx72]

I always wondered about the different difficulty in Japanese and EU/US versions of Rockman/Megaman games. In Megaman 2 player has the ability to choose normal/difficult settings, but this option is not present in other Megaman games. Are there difficulty/other differences between the first Rockman/Megaman games? Are Megaman 3-6 easier than Rockman 3-6?
I never played any Megaman game, I like Rockman better As many people who played their first Rockman game on a famiclone with a pirate cart. AFAIK there never was Megaman on any pirate multicart, there always was Rockman.

[MS-DOS4]

I'm fairly certain all Rockman titles are harder. I own that 6 in 1 pirate you mentioned and have sampled all 6 titles, but have only sampled Megaman 1 and 3 so I can't say for sure they're all harder than the Megaman series.

I guess they thought us Americans and Europeans can't take the heat.

[satoshi_matrix]

There's no need for a poll for something like this. The difficulty is the same for every Rockman and Megaman game save for Rockman/Megaman 2.

Megaman 2's "Normal" mode is a drastic reduction of the difficulty of Rockman 2, but the original Rockman 2 difficulty can still be selected in Megaman 2 by choosing  "difficult" mode at the titlesceen. Every other Megaman game has no difference in terms of difficulty whatsoever.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

I guess they thought us Americans and Europeans can't take the heat.

OMG I guess we can't after playing a harder Mad City & Double Dragon III. Don't jump to conclusions. Some games are harder, some are easier, & some are seriously fuX0r'ed one way or the other.

[petik1]

I guess they thought us Americans and Europeans can't take the heat.

Like Mario 3?

[lobdale]

But at least I think we can all agree that the first Rockman/Megaman is the hardest of the six.

[UglyJoe]

There's no need for a poll for something like this. The difficulty is the same for every Rockman and Megaman game save for Rockman/Megaman 2.

It could still be a neat psychological examination.  Even though the difficulty is the same, there is a perceived difference for some.  Why?

[MS-DOS4]

Perhaps the notion that Japanese games in general are more difficult as they seem to prefer a good challenge. Bullet games, etc.

It's just a stereotype?

[jpx72]

Every other Megaman game has no difference in terms of difficulty whatsoever.

Is that true? Any theories why only one game - Rockman 2 - has "easy" difficulty?
And what about other differences in Rockman 3-6?

[satoshi_matrix]

Megaman 1 sold better than Capcom America expected, but they received many complaints about the games difficulty. When it game time for the sequel, I'm sure they felt pressure to reduce the game's difficulty for North America, possible at Nintendo's request. Megaman 2 was released in 1989, and that was a big year for the NES. It's likely that they reduced the difficult so it would sell better in North America. This is what makes Megaman 2 so laughably easy in comparison to the others, even the simple Megaman 3.

As for differences between 3-6, they're completely the same save for Rockman 6 which has a slightly different opening chiptune and a fade in effect to display the title. Game content wise everything is identical.

[jpx72]

Interresting info, thanks. That just might be it (the response to difficulty complaints). I hate when companies do that.
This trend can be also seen on famiclones, the "turbo" buttons are present on all of them
I just want to add that European Megaman 1 and 2 is also easier from the US counterpart because of the slower PAL gameplay. European Megaman 3-5 are programmed better, so they run in the same speed on PAL  as they run on NTSC. Sadly Megaman 6 didn't even got a PAL release...

[Jedi Master Baiter]

This is what makes Megaman 2 so laughably easy in comparison to the others, even the simple Megaman 3.

Speak for yourself - this game was hard for me when I was a kid.

[satoshi_matrix]

Well sure, all the Megaman games are hard for kids. My point was because of the changes made for the North American release of 2, it's by far the easiest of the bunch.