LogFAQs > #956533416

12. Dr. Wily 2 (Mega Man 10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZhyAqthTpg

There was a time at one point where a Wily stage theme could basically sound like anything - Mega Man 7 and 8 provide some prime examples of this that don't follow an obvious template, instead experimenting with different versions for what the game's ultimate stages should sound like. But I think starting with Mega Man 9, and continuing with 10, 11, and every fan game ever made, there has been a sort of effort to recapture the lightning in a bottle that MM2 Wily 1 had - MM9 Wily 1 was the most obvious example, so it's no surprise that Ryo Kawakami is also responsible for this one as well. And it's the one I consider most successful! It's a real guilty pleasure, for sure, but I'm a sucker for this brand of dramatic, high-octane Wily theme - if I wasn't I probably wouldn't have made this topic and agonized over it for several months. So yeah, this is more or less right out of the Wily playbook but I love it, it swings hard and it delivers in all its corny anime glory. I kinda feel like a little kid again listening to this one. It's suitably intense for what's probably one of the most long and difficult stages in all of Mega Man canon right in the heart of... right, I keep forgetting MM10 wasn't the series' swan song. Hey MM11, remember when there used to be more than one Wily stage theme? Anyway, Kawakami is an unheralded name, but between ZX/ZX Advent and his contributions to 9 and 10 he has a lot of really solid crowdpleasers. For me, this is the crowdpleasingest of them all.