The Angry Video Game Nerd Reads Mega Man 2
Indeed, you did not misread that headline; James Rolfe, aka the Angry Video Game Nerd, known for his vulgar and sometimes grotesque (albeit humorously so) reviews of some of the worst games the hobby has to offer, is not performing his regular run-of-the-mill duties for the Capcom franchise’s best-selling hit.
Rather, he is reading the Scholastic “Worlds of Power” novelization of Mega Man 2, without his usual brand of commentary, as the game’s music plays softly in the background. So unless I’ve missed something, this is safe for work, and only recommended for someone who has not read the original publication. The only other point of interest is at the start of the first video, where Rolfe briefly covers the concept of games in print:
Here is an admission: way back when the book was published in 1990, there was virtually nothing else in the way of media for Mega Man. Well, except Captain N: The Game Master, which I’m sure many will agree doesn’t quite cut it. I got this book and, in lieu of anything else, was a big fan as I was amazed at the stuff not seen in the games.
“Oh, so Mega Man is a robot that was turned into a human?” Yeah, I was pretty accepting. I even remember being upset with magazines of the day which continued to refer to him as a robot. Moreover, I was upset there was never a novelization for Mega Man 3, or the original Mega Man, for that matter.
Of course, things have changed quite a bit in the intervening years, with the Ruby-Spears cartoon and other things waking me up to the Blue Bomber still being a blue bot. I would also come across far better fiction from fans, and after that, find out there was a lot of stuff that Capcom had been holding out on us in Japan.
At least today, it’s easier for someone to get into the franchise and find out new facts about everything. And of course, we will continue our work (with your help) to make sure those facts are readily available to anyone who needs them.
News Credit: Cinemassacre, Mega Man Maniacs, RyanThunder in the Community, Pureauthor of the Penny Arcade forums, and probably some other places.
Tags: Books, Fan Film, Mega Man 2, Mega Man Classic
Filed under: Community Developments
This reminds me somewhat of the Choose Your Own Adventure Mario 2 book. Though I’m pretty sure a CYOA starring Megaman would be infinitely better than this.
@Proto
I seem to remember a CYOA Mario World book as well.
When Rolfe reached Chapter 4, I was about ready to lose any suspension of disbelief I had. XD For some reason the writing reminds me of the Ruby-Spears cartoon, only with far fewer bad puns.
That being said, it wasn’t that bad, and long-winded, obviously-made-up machine names aside, it was a -relatively- decent portrayal of Mega Man 2.
…On second thought, after hearing the “flash in the pan” pun spoken after beating Flash Man, maybe it really -is- just as corny as Ruby-Spears. XD
They DID write a novelization of Mega Man 3! I remember reading both. Much like you, I took to them just because they were the only non-videogame media at the time (and I didn’t even own an NES).
I had that book, but I lost as a kid. There was something about Stale Popcorn, and the story even had the reader going back and forth through the book depending on the chosen courses.
Nice, I’m looking forward to hearing James read through this “book”
I’ve got the book myself, but I’ve never found time to read it
I like the way they interpreted Mega Man 2′s ending.
Definitely an interesting read–er, watch. James Rolfe has a nice, not boring voice.
Kevin X Nelms: Pardon my skepticism, but I’d love to see any sort of proof of this. This is the first time I have EVER heard of such a thing.
Every article I’ve ever seen on Worlds of Power has never mentioned a MM3– including these videos.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
Nice! I made the news!
Glad I could be of some help to the community!
I can’t find the thing with a quick wiki search myself, and I don’t own it. I just specifically remember laughing at how Mega Man frantically button-mashes Top Spin as he tries to figure out how it works, until he decides that jumping while using it is the best idea he’s had all day.
I’ll keep hunting. I hope I didn’t imagine it, but I had to have been 10 or something at the time, so maybe I’m just not recalling correctly.
Lovingly owned, occasionally ill read that book. I still want ninja gaiden, castlevania 2 and metal gear…
I read this like 7 years ago in a library…
@Kevin
I know exactly what novelization you’re talking about. The webmaster of the Mega Man Home Page (it’s on the Affiliates bar) also wrote a series of fanfics, and one of them is a novelization of Mega Man 3. You can still find it on the site under “The Series”, and I even tracked down the part where he’s frantically trying to fire off the Top Spin. It’s at the start of Chapter 3.