LogFAQs > #954767496

35. Yamato Man (Mega Man 6)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6ST9

Is this a spicy pick for best Mega Man 6 theme? Honestly, I have absolutely no clue what the consensus best theme from this game even is. If I asked a bunch of people who have played MM6 I have no idea what answer would come back. Probably not Centaur Man. That's about it. I think Yamato Man's a pretty crowdpleasing theme, though? This one always instantly energizes me to want to play this stage - the melody hooks are good and memorable but the real meat here is the harmony. The second square wave spends almost the entire time harmonizing the lead square wave, and yet not only does this track not sound all that sparse, it provides a lot of pleasant surprises in this track. For repetitive stage themes like these, something I ask for is a reason to keep coming back to the theme - some particularly interesting element that tickles my ears and drives my curiosity. In Yamato Man, it's the harmonies. Everything up to :12 and then from :37 onwards is an interesting instructive lesson on two-part harmonies for the NES, and isolating that underlying second line is a nice exercise for would-be transcribers. Anyway, those parts really keep me coming back to this theme.

Final Mega Man 6 Ranking:

1. Yamato Man (35)
2. Blizzard Man (40)
3. Centaur Man (47)
4. Flame Man (57)
5. Plant Man (62)
6. Wind Man (65)
7. Tomahawk Man (80)
8. Knight Man (88)
9. Mr. X (98)
10. Dr. Wily (99)

Thoughts: Oh, yeah, I guess that's it for Mega Man 6, huh? Nothing scratching the top 30, but nothing falling below the top 100 either. High floor, low ceiling is how I feel about this one. It's a really good soundtrack, nontheless, especially once boss themes and the like are accounted for. Lots of good writing, although it's not as brilliant as 5 while also lacking the sheer creativity of 4. Of the first six games, I guess it just narrowly edges out 1, but I like the rest more - 6 stands out the least. But it's still good! All the NES-style MMs are treasures.

Regrets: None whatsoever. 98 might seem harsh for Mr. X, but top 100 is all songs I like and I merely like Mr. X. I wouldn't change this ranking one bit.

34. Top Man (Mega Man 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dgtHw-uAxY

Someone's gonna have to help me out here, because I swear to god this theme reminds me of some particular genre of music, but it's escaping me. It's definitely a rock 'n roll vibe, but it reminds me of something more specific and I can't pin it down. Like every 3 theme, it's good. I've overlooked it for a while, hasn't really been one of my particular childhood favorites, but something about it has kind of grabbed me as of late as I've realized that all of the elements of this theme really get their hooks in me for some reason. Moreso than any other track from 3, this one really relies on repetition, each little bit getting played out 4 times before moving on, but it certainly makes each part memorable. I like that sort of tremolo (I feel like there should be a better word but I'm blanking) effect on the lead at :18 that leads into that very 3-characteristic vibrato, it has a lot of character.

33. Heat Man (Mega Man 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIDIZKVjmR4

This may be only a 25 second loop or so, but goddamn if it doesn't make the most of those 25 seconds. There's not really a lot here - half of those 25 seconds are basically an introduction section, then an A section, then... back to the intro! It always seems kind of like it's building up to something but never gets there. But goddamn, it rocks. The bassline is just so ahead of its time - I like how the triangle wave continues it into the "A section" - and the use of the square wave to create that weird tom-like percussive effect in the intro is rad. Very MM2 thing to do. What's really cool about that is that it seems like the theme was kind of designed for the yoku blocks in this stage - the fact that the square wave plays a secondary role means it can be used for the yoku blocks instead, which I'm not sure they intended but it works well. My favorite thing about this theme, though, is that it sometimes gets kind of fucked up when you play the actual game - the sliding effect on the sound of the yoku blocks doesn't get fully overwritten, and it starts to slur the notes of the melody sometimes, and it makes it sound really cool for some reason and it's always a weird, pleasant surprise when it occurs - it gives the theme some variance in an unexpected and unpredictable way.

32. Dr. Wily 2 (Mega Man 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MROwI0bwAb8

Welcome to the very hottest take on my list! Finally, we're here. If all this song does is give you a headache, that's fine, I admit it's not for everyone. But I always look forward for the part of the game where this theme kicks in. This one's all about texture and about the psychological effect it creates. It's just so different from all the other music in the game - you've got all these jamming themes, and then here's Wily 2, and it's just this nonstop, repetitive motif that keeps rising and escalating, and I don't know why but I love it. It just winds up for so long, by the end of the loop the tension is just ready to snap like a rubber band pulled too taut, until there's that sudden release of pressure with that loooong slide back down to the start. I don't know what to say except that it tickles my ears just right, and it seems all too appropriate for the latter Wily stages. It's a really defining part of Mega Man 2 for me.

31. Dr. Wily (Mega Man 5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5YIJ_-WlNM

Another undeniably cool MM5 track and another undeniably cool Wily theme. Like most Wily themes, it isn't the most memorable theme from its game (I have a feeling that a lot of people might find this to be kind of strange but I do think it's the case), and I don't have a lot to say about it specifically. It's got a great opening hook and a lot of really cool harmonization and yet I find myself forgetting why I liked it so much about halfway through sometimes before that transition into the C section at :40 that really gives it an extra burst until the end. Like every MM5 theme, it's gratuitous in a good way - it's a nice, long loop, and I could almost imagine it coming back to the start at :40, but then it turns out the theme still has a lot left in it. A more than suitably climactic final stage theme.