The Story of Mega Man on DOS

[@GamingHistorian]

No, you aren't experiencing déjà vu. I originally uploaded this video on October 30th, but you lovely commenters pointed out an error in the video! I decided I would rather fix it than leave it up. So thank you! Happy Halloween

[@Cliffordlonghead]

Happy Halloween

[@aliadil2018]

Das is gut.

[@kylegreen1435]

I was 8 minutes in and it just left.... I was not happy lol.

[@Aurorawonderealisofficial]

Ok

[@Gazmj4]

what was the error?

[@SeekerLancer]

His Mega Man X port for DOS is REALLY solid given that he rewrote the game code from the ground up.

[@praystation]

Then you dont know coding. Nobody... I mean NOBODY codes from ground up.

[@Imamobile]

@@praystation Still, he had to do a lot of work. As said in the video he was only given graphics and sound effects

[@jefverstraete8574]

@@praystation How would that even work ? just writing ones and zeros and hopig something apears ?

[@duskonanyavarld1786]

@@praystation He didnt have the source code, That is what he meant.

[@davkdavk]

Assets without engine, by the sounds of it

[@DrySushi]

Rozner looked on the verge of tears describing how he did everything and people make fun of the game. He's proud of his work and he should be!

[@nozoto]

I am now less tempted to bash the game. I mean, doing this all on his own, on the side of his job, whereas he could have just sit on his couch and fell asleep before a TV screen. That dedication forces admiration. If he had a composer pal, an assistant programmer to polish the rough angles of gameplay and somebody taking care of the enemy designs (so that they look more Megamanish and less generic), the game would have ended actually decent.

[@glenngriffon8032]

Yeah I have to agree. This is a great example of why context matters. If you judge these games by today's standards they're awful but when you look at the circumstances behind them they're not that _that_ bad. Okay, they're still bad but for an early days PC game coded by one or two people they're okay. Guy did his best with very limited tools. Ask a programmer of today who's never had to work with so little memory and tell them to make Mega Man for DOS. Nowadays when you can make a game look 8-Bit but have the entire game stuffed with two gigabytes worth of data it makes you appreciate what could be done when your memory capped out around 1.44MB.

[@pallios]

The fact that AVGN made a video shitting on the game might have something to do with it...

[@makutas-v261]

BRO I WAS THINKING THE SAME, he looked so emotional talking about it :(

[@robintst]

@@pallios They were already notorious for their subpar quality prior to James making an AVGN episode out of it. But it's like anything else people shit on, it's easy to do when you don't know the true story behind it. I'm glad Norman brought this to light and we got to hear the truth from the developer himself.

[@vorenge]

Mega Man on DOS is what taught me how to use computers. I didn't know my around a command prompt until I had a reason to learn due to Mega Man. Having accidently deleted needed system files to play the game, I quickly opened up a full on DOS manual and learned the undelete command. The rest is history. Thank you Mega Man.

[@goomba008]

Cool story bro

[@SynGirl32]

I love that you do not cover the most popular games, but the ones with the best stories.

[@dopy8418]

Mega man not the most popular game ?

[@mailman7]

@@dopy8418 Mario, Minecraft,.... I love MM its my fav series but I do argee that it's not the MOST popular

[@Zellio2011]

@@dopy8418 it was a dead franchise for over 10 years before recently being revived and even then it’s not the most popular

[@SynGirl32]

@@dopy8418 This is the first time since AVGN I've heard about Mega Man DOS.

[@lyylski]

@@mailman7 But Gaming Historian talks about Mario all the time. Talking about Minecraft wouldn't make as much sense as I guess it's still kind of new.

[@gsus3918]

I've got way more respect for the MegaMan DOS games now. Most people can't program at all and Rozner did it solo. That's bad ass.

[@intel386DX]

The ugly graphics are not excuse! He should rip off the NES graphics!

[@JustSomeRandomGuyOnTheInternet]

​@@intel386DXstill, its impressive

[@intel386DX]

@@JustSomeRandomGuyOnTheInternet not the graphics especially in the MM1. MM3 have slitly better graphics thoe.

[@marcusbullock630]

the pain the people experienced upon expecting their beloved nes game was a pretty evil thing to inflict upon them. Learn to code lmao

[@Xfade81]

@@marcusbullock630 the pain experienced? get real.

[@thecunninlynguist]

the fact it was made by 1 guy and a fan at that, puts it all in perspective. Pretty admirable.

[@Tacom4ster]

This essay much better than shallow nitpicking angry reviews

[@TheErlend87]

Agree

[@TJSpyke]

It still sucks though. Yes it's impressive that 1 person made it, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a terrible game. If I was Capcom, I'd pretend it doesn't exist too

[@tetsujin_144]

To further put it in perspective "Another World" was also made by 1 guy.

[@brycem8161]

What’s more impressive is Axiom Verge

[@Genethagenius]

After reading the excellent “Masters of Doom” book and how hard it was even for programmers like Carmack and Romero to craft side-scrolling platformers for computer, I have to give Mr. Rozner respect for what he accomplished with the “Mega Man” games on DOS.

[@robintst]

Honestly, Rozner did a really good job on his first Mega Man game for being a one-man team. Believe me, there were LOTS of computer games back then made by multiple-person teams who were actually being paid to make them that ended up being complete disasters.

[@TigerVonBruce98]

Could've been designed better though. No reason to make most of the enemies so small it was impossible to shoot them.

[@anthonyr8231]

@@TigerVonBruce98 Yeah but again... One dude. He didn't really know what he was doing, and didn't have a huge All Star team and huge resources like Capcom did with their Megaman games

[@TigerVonBruce98]

@@anthonyr8231 Making enemies that aren't impossible to hit doesn't take an All Star team. Avoiding making it impossible to not get hit by the very first enemy doesn't take an All Star team either. My fixes for those problems? Make enemies big enough to hit while standing/running. Make that dog's (first enemy''s) jump arc higher so you can run under him. I'm not on an All Star team.

[@Poever]

Noble effort, but it’s still a bad game and was clearly made too soon on hardware that couldn’t handle side-scrolling platforming

[@ShaunDreclin]

@@Poever Jazz Jackrabbit disagrees with you

[@kooyah6420]

For all its faults, the one element I really like about the DOS games that I wish appeared more in the classic series was the subtle worldbuilding. Viewing a stage’s full map shows that they actually make geographical sense. Combined with the small details like the trash in Sonic Man’s stage and the hazard signs in Bit Man’s stage, the levels feel like real-life places that serve a purpose instead of the constant “abstract obstacle course” in the classic series.

[@coreymyers5321]

Only the gaming historian can take megaman on DOS and make me care.

[@lancehouck]

Yes. I so agree Completely changed my perspective.

[@bpcgos]

Yay, that's absolutely true

[@nicholasbullock1709]

Agreed.

[@jesusaraiza9787]

yes, very few game projects are started with the idea of making a bad game, theres a lot of things behind them

[@DrWho2008t101]

lol

[@anthony7564]

Man, this game's backstory is amazing! Rozner programming those entire games by himself is incredible. Also learned more about video game ports than I knew previously, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised by this but to not even provide your dev team with original assets or code makes the job so much harder, no wonder so many ports end up half-baked. Rozner's work on those ports is truly impressive, programming games is not only his job but his passion, love to see it.

[@aaront.akabiggs631]

Never knew about this.... and yeah it's probably not the best Megaman, but damn you have to give this guy props for making the whole game in the late 80s all by himself!!!

[@TayoEXE]

On his free time after a full-time job on top of that. I'm trying to do the same, and man, I have to say, I sympathize with him.

[@cormano64]

@@TayoEXE Keep at it! Hope it pans out for you.

[@TayoEXE]

@@cormano64 Thanks! I'm actually in the middle of a global game jam right now. Still busy though. Haha

[@InfinityDz]

I've started coding a Tamagotchi from scratch on Android... and I haven't even finished *that* !

[@KapnKrowe]

Morici sounds like one of those mythical "good bosses." I can't imagine how psyched I'd be if my boss suddenly just published my fangame

[@joserubio4548]

So yesterday when he uploaded this I made a comment saying that I was happy to see evidence of a game that I never saw again since I played it at 6. And then the video disappeared and I started to question my sanity. Thankfully he uploaded it again. Gaming historian you are awesome by the way.

[@GamingHistorian]

Haha. Sorry to mess with your psyche!

[@tjlnintendo]

Its all in your head. There is no such thing as youtube. Non of this exists.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

@@tjlnintendo Not even these comments.

[@HappyCheeryChap]

There is no spoon.

[@emfs9522]

Never watched AVGN before this?

[@StalinBrosef]

Man the fact that Rozner did the whole game on his own is really cool. Dude deserves a lot of credit, even if the game isn't a beloved entry in the franchise.

[@xtremekirby07]

fortunately, there's still people who, albeit all the flaws of the games, loved the concept, story and characters behind the DOS Mega Man (like me), enough to include some of the characters in fangames (like Mega Man 8-bit Deathmatch) or even attempting to remake the game with an 8-bit NES aesthetic more fitting to the Mega Man franchise, Steve Rozner is like a failed Christian Whitehead, a pioneer to fans who became official developers for the companies that inspired them, a trend that would start just the past decade, and that hopefully will grow in the future, maybe many people mock his beloved creations, but some also apreciate them, and their legacy shall never be forgotten by the Mega Man fanbase. Thanks Mr. Rozner, I wish you the best in the future, keep chasing your dreams, just like you did back then.

[@jackwilson5745]

Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch's DOS Reborn map and skin packs are really good, yes.

[@anscr-hdfan4739]

damn right.

[@WA_Stokins]

I wouldn't call him a *failure.* He did his best for the time and what he had to work with.

[@Jspotstudieos]

Well. I guess some body has to

[@TheXtremeBoltGuy]

@@jackwilson5745 where do I get those? Download link(s)?

[@TheJadeFist]

I like how humanized you made this. Shows there was people behind even such a bad game.

[@garfielf3343]

Hell, the Gaming Historian could do a whole video telling the story of the R-Zone and still make me feel compassionate.

[@andrew8168]

I played it when it was new and had fun. Things were different then.

[@Pewpewpew182]

Props to this gentlemen for doing a mega man game on his spare time after working his shift.

[@methamphetamelon]

I played the hell out of Mega Man for DOS back in my teens. Played it on a Tandy 1000 with dual 5.25" low density drives and a green monochrome screen. I knew of the NES Mega Man games but had never played them, only saw them in the various gaming mags such as EGM, VG&CE, and GamePro. I remember the game ran really slow at first, I had to tinker with the various settings to get it to run decently. After that it took me a couple months before I could finally beat it, but I had fun. Particular tip I recall was that in the intro, if you jumped at the right time, the dog would miss you and you could effectively bound through the intro without getting hit or stopping. Those were good times. Also had copies of Rack 'Em, Blockout, a port of Robotron, Sargon III, and others I can't recall now.

[@Martincic2010]

I played on a 386 with VGA at the time and I had also completed Megaman on the Nintendo and I had a lot of good times with the DOS version and I never really understood why people say so much bad about it on the internet

[@apgrenus]

This gives me a lot more respect for the DOS games. While I never played them, I knew that they weren't that good but hearing the story, it gives me more respect for it. Good on you.

[@Harkness78]

There are plenty of great games on Dos, it is basically just PC games before Windows existed.

[@apgrenus]

@@Harkness78 I was talking specifically about the Mega Man games.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Well as someone who HAS played/suffered through them, I can tell you they deserve no respect. Hell, MM3 has a game breaking bug on the final level. If you're unlucky enough to experience it, there is no reloading the level as both games are "beat in one sitting" affairs. What do you get for all your troubles, if you manage to make it past said level, the exact same boss fight and ending as the first game.

[@Dj.D25]

I have played Mega Man 3 on Dos years ago. The one thing I do like about that game compared to official Mega Man games is that the levels are large and maze like.

[@Jabler-]

@@SomeOrangeCat I remember spending hours on the game only to get stuck in a spot and unable to advance any further or even die. Quit it down and never tried it again

[@piccolo3291]

Capcom: "we need money" Rosner: "ah shit, here we go again"

[@nicholasgawler-collins5754]

The title of Mega Man 3: The Robots Are Revolting is confusing. Are the robots rising up, of have they simply forgotten to wash?

[@aaron71]

hahaha actual lol

[@werdna1969]

Yes

[@TheGuyWhoIsSitting]

They're recharging but said in a really weird way.

[@zombibit4485]

Sure, they smell a bit, but they're not revolting!

[@GameOver00002]

Why would anyone dislike these videos. More like mini documentaries. All the time it takes to research, document and interview, and write a script, draw pictures, create and edit the whole project. A project like this take over 100 hours easy. To give it a dislike is crazy to me. Even if you don’t enjoy the content you gotta give credit where credit is due. You got a new sub from me and a like and a comment. Keep up the great work. 👍

[@conqueringstocks]

I totally agree with this comment. Just leave the video.. why give it a dislike? But i think its part of KZbin culture. Some just need to leave a dislike or troll.. but The Gaming Historian videos are so good they don't deserve a dislike.. I am with you!

[@DanielMonteiroNit]

To anyone thinking "all those games suck", you guys have no idea how hard was to make good games in those machines and without proper support from the original team. You probably know John Carmack from Doom, but his original claim to fame was to actually make the PC a viable platform on par to the NES

[@DanielMonteiroNit]

Just to clarify: given what was possible, those games are actually quite good.

[@Nikku4211]

It's still hard to good games on modern machines now, even with Game Maker and Unity. A program that makes programming a game easier will not make you a better level designer or any better at balancing your game's difficulty.

[@outtrigger]

I understand the sentiment, but also people should be aware that even if something is hard to make it doesn't make it good and immune to criticism.

[@asteria9963]

@@outtrigger Not all criticism is fair and relevant though. It's not like he could go back in time and do better. Besides, these games have been out for more than 20 years. Pretty sure the guys has heard it all by now. There is no point in beating a dead horse.

[@outtrigger]

@@asteria9963 by that logic, theres no point in critiquing anything old.

[@GentlemenMonkey]

Dude, I had MegaMan on DOS way back when. It was one of my favorite games at the time. I remember loaning it around to a few friends in junior high and one time I stuck the 3.5 floppy in my pocket and it ended up breaking and I was soooo bummed. I think I originally got it ordered through the school book fair catalog. Good memories as a kid chilling in the summer on my old IBM playing it.

[@denierlexiese]

Owned the game when it released. I appreciated it for what it was while owning the NES games. I appreciate it more now knowing it was one guy. Good on you!

[@FullTimePRO]

That's so cool how Rozner did ALL of it himself, super cool dude love the spirit of just "I just made it how I wanted!"

[@sukmykrok3388]

This makes me appreciate this game much more

[@lustechsource5197]

Hearing from a developer definitely makes you appreciate their work more. For me, even when I played a game I felt was bad, I still was amazed on how they were able to bring that game to life.

[@emmanuelajala6965]

Right? You can't help but respect passionate creators for making their work at all. Their was clearly passion behind these games, and I appreciate them a lot more because of it :)

[@bdubzdrumz]

Thank you very much for covering these titles. I had both Mega Man and Mega Man X for PC. When X first came out and I played it at a friends house I was literally OBSESSED by it. For a kid without a SNES, this definitely held its own in my mind against the console version.

[@atre5763]

Funny how Torch man, Blade Man, Wave man, Oil man, and Shark Man would be actual characters.

[@bravo6709]

Blade man too! Weird to think almost every Robot Master in that game has some sort of official variant...

[@insertobligatoryreferenceh489]

Oil Man, Blade Man, Wave Man, and Torch Man are now actual robot masters. Shark Man and Bit Man sound cool so it’s only a matter of time until they’re converted too.

[@bravo6709]

@@insertobligatoryreferenceh489 Shark Man is a Netnavi in Battle Network

[@insertobligatoryreferenceh489]

@@bravo6709 cool

[@Skallva]

@@bravo6709 Torch Man is also what BN's Fire Man was called in EU regions.

[@queencancerous5332]

The original Duke Nukem stole sprites from Megaman’s DOS port.

[@bbuggediffy]

I noticed that. Those crates.

[@CopingContinuous]

@@bbuggediffyholy shit fr??

[@MyRetroLife]

Had this on my grandparents old IBM back in 1993. Man could I get NOWHERE but it was such a curiosity

[@GamingHistorian]

Yeah, it is a tough game! The enemy patterns are really infuriating sometimes.

[@Rokabur]

For me personally, the less people who work on a game, the more leeway I'm willing to give about the quality. Like an indie game developed by one person? I can overlook rough edges if the core game is good.

[@DeAthWaGer]

This was way before processor limiting, so I remember having to turn the turbo button off on my 486 dx 33 for the game to even be playable. I'd usually just end up frustrated and go back to the NES.

[@intel386DX]

me tooo I was with 486DX2 66MHz and I have too to go in low to play this junk , it was about year 2001, I downloaded Mega Man for DOS with a modem :D from a russian web site for DOS games called Dosgames.ru :) LoL

[@t0xcn253]

Wow, this man was a major part of my childhood! I cant believe how much work he did all alone, so glad he's getting some long overdue credit! His games were a source of so many hours of fun for me, the worlds are huge and give a real sense of exploration and discovery. Superb work!

[@garrettgibbons]

I love that you have an interview with Stephen!

[@guillecephcis]

The first time I knew about this game was in an AVGN episode back in 2016. I couldn´t believe how bad it looked, but now I've seen the history behind it I have a whole new respect for its creator, his passion, time and effort creating that from scratch.

[@nicl4388]

I had Megaman 1 for my 286 when I was like 9 years old! Thanks for the nostalgia of going through the packaging. It was hard but I thought it was a pretty good port of the game, overall. That interview with the programmer was really inspiring.

[@syralight]

I believe we wouldn't have any fan games had this guy not put his foot in the door first after knocking for us. A legendary tale that is from one man who started a port on his own and paved the way for fans of all franchises to make their own fan made games. Thanks Rozner for creating Mega Man on DOS

[@lizstar3630]

Ahaha, thanks again for the speedrun shout out! Glad you fixed up the error, sorry you had to pull the video =w= Mega Man DOS is a very special game to me, and a lot of fun. I recommend everyone to actually check it out, if you go into it with a different mindset than your typical Mega Man game, and maybe with some friends, you'll enjoy it for what it is. Also you can follow my speedrun to actually be able to tell where to go, cause some levels are uncomfortably mazelike~

[@warehousedave7937]

Do you own a physical copy? It's super rare! Norm apparently has one because he films it several times in this video. I want one but it's over $100 on ebay and barely ever comes up for sale.

[@lizstar3630]

@@warehousedave7937 I sadly do not, I **wish** I did! I'm sure I'll be able to get one some time, but I'm also always on a lookout =w=. For the speedrun, we actually have to use emulation to get a specific amount of cycles, since the game speed is tied to computer cycles. You could probably get an actual DOS machine to be exactly 1444 cycles through shenanigans, but I don't wanna go through that agony. So I'd just be getting a physical copy for collecting, but what a collection it would be!

[@ZipplyZane]

@referral madness You can type Lizstar Megaman into the KZbin search and find her GDQ runs, at least.

[@nikolaiostrander2214]

thank you for making this video. we all forget often that there are real people with real stories behind even what are considered wacky "bad" games. It was some wonderful light shed upon such a notorious game, and i'm glad now I can understand and appreciate this port of one of my favorite games. again thank you.

[@sahaprocks7751]

Dynaman has to come back for Mega 12 or else...

[@GamingHistorian]

I think he is my favorite Mega Man DOS robot master. His shoulders are just so broad, it looks comical

[@sahaprocks7751]

Wow Gaming Histrorian I thought you'd never heart my comment thanks 😊

[@zombibit4485]

Gaming Historian i like volt man more

[@jeremyriley1238]

True. I mean, if Torch Man could return for Mega Man 11...

[@JadeMythriil]

Would you consider dynamoman and dynaman the same?

[@jamesg1827]

Really inspiring to hear stories about projects like these that are single handedly developed by one passionate person :) Even if the Mega man Dos games aren’t exactly masterpieces by any means, Rozner’s handy work should be commended.

[@l1uchill]

This is a great story of hard work, compassion and success. I feel like he did a great job on these games as a one-man then two man team. He accomplished something and proved he could do it. Gotta respect the hustle!

[@Syke1337]

This was some seriously interesting history, and kind of inspirational. The idea of making a fangame, and then the company saying "hey, nice, want us to sell it as an official product?" is I think something most fangame makers dream about.

[@TetsuDeinonychus]

It helped that he already worked for the company anyway. :)

[@hyperlitestud]

My experiences with honey: You saved $0.06 with Honey! Congratulations!

[@theultimatekfbfan2721]

I don't know why I laughed so hard at this

[@corwinchapman8270]

You consistently provide fresh perspective on the history of video games that no one else on this platform does. You are an exceptional human, thank you for the videos.

[@fredskull1618]

At least in this version, Mega Man can die of dysentery. So that’s pretty cool.

[@misfit1nx865]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ValensBellator]

That was really cool to hear the background of those games! I hope he and his brother are able to complete that RPG passion project of theirs!

[@williamsanborn9195]

This video was very interesting! I only knew about the Mega Man games on MS-DOS via the Angry Video Game Nerd, but I didn’t know the history behind them. Keep up the great work, Norm! (I posted this after watching the video fully for the second time)

[@devdachief]

Gaming Historian hit another grand slam! I’ve learned so much about video games and their humble beginnings over the last year from you, and it’s honestly rekindled my love for video games so organically. Thank you for always putting out such outstanding, quality content!

[@DonYagamoth]

Games such as this are the reason, why I don't make fun of 'bad' games. There's always a story behind every game - A Passion project, a fangame, first steps, trying out something new, corporate pressure from people who have no idea about games, and many more reasons Thank you for bringing this story to us, I hope Rozner has a lot of success in the future \o/

[@marbardan]

13:23 that song gives me that local58 ptsd.

[@akaJughead]

Great video Norm! This one is particularly nostalgic for me. I had Mega Man 3 on NES when I was a kid, and I let another kid borrow it. What I didn't know, was that he was moving to another state in 2 days, and I never saw my game again. My Nintendo broke not long after, so I decided to replace Mega Man 3 with the DOS version. Needless to say I was very disappointed. Still the game does strike a certain nostalgic chord for me, and to see you do a whole video on it is pretty awesome.

[@deezy81]

Hope you replaced that game, then replaced that friend.

[@intel386DX]

I feel sorry for you LoL

[@moogle847]

As cool as it is that you are talking about a game that I used to own, the fact that you have a shot at 3:23 of the walkway between Emens Auditorium, Bracken Library, and the Teachers College of Ball State University just made my day. Thanks for the nostalgia of a place that I have been to.

[@moogle847]

correction from 3:23 to 3:37 is all BSU.

[@8bitbros]

I looked for this last night because I thought I saw a notification for it. Couldn't find it. Glad its back!

[@jrich5795]

The fact that he doesn't have over a million subscribers is a tragedy. The work he puts in to each video is astounding. Real life interviews, Obscure background information, and just overall amazing research.

[@jasonblalock4429]

OK, I'm genuinely surprised to learn that the same guy who made the DOS MM1 & 3 also made the Mega Man X and Super Street Fighter 2 ports. DOS Mega Man was the first truly crushing disappointment I ever experienced as a kid gamer. If I'd known it was the same guy, I never would have bought the later games - and they were honestly pretty good. Especially SSF2. It was the first genuinely good SF2 port on PC. (I even had that exact edition of Mega Man X, with the pack in gamepad. It wasn't very good, but it was occasionally useful - like for SSF2.)

[@Boogie_the_cat]

The fact that the intro stage went so far as to have a security camera above the entrance door! How cool and forward thinking was that? Much respect to Rozner for making his dream come to life.

[@MaxOakland]

I noticed that cool little detail too! Maybe he would’ve been able to make some great games with a larger team

[@mpg01]

True gamers remember when he uploaded this yesterday then removed it.

[@williamv0242]

yeah why was that

[@Artoliann]

I do lol

[@override7486]

Yeah, why? Not even explanation in descr.

[@ryans.1900]

@@williamv0242 he used a homophobic slur to describe dr. wily jk i dont know

[@Kaimax61]

I click the vid yesterday, and its already privated... sad gamer

[@fvillamil82]

I have to say this has got to be one of your best episodes. I will agree with most of the comments from the folks here that it was great to hear from the actual person that created the game. Kudos to you for doing the research and bringing Mr. Rozner. And to Mr. Rozner, maybe the game didn’t get the love it deserved but glad to see it exposed here for people to appreciate it.

[@Megapig9001]

An angry time traveling nerd once said: “Mega Man, on DOS!”

[@Davethe3rd]

Mega Man... on DOOOOOOSSSSSSSSS!!!

[@theloanranger2632]

Sheesh there's still hardcore losers that can't stop obsessing over AVGayN ? Get a life 😂

[@ELPRES1DENTE45]

He not only shredded these games, he also tore apart this guy's Waldo & Darkwing Duck projects as well. I'm sure that there's even more than that. AVGN has possibly tore this guy more new assholes than any other individual.

[@speedy316uk]

@@theloanranger2632 he is still popular and yes this has painted the Megaman games on DOS in a new light for me personally and I think this chap did really well to do these games on his own and get them out there. but AVGN doesn't really do the historical research thing and maybe he wasn't aware that they were made by just 1 guy who was working with no resources. AVGN has both been given passes to E.T. and Indiana Jones on Atari based on the fact that they were both 1 man jobs

[@colwellalec]

@@DEXWrecksOfficial What are you, 12?

[@realstrangewabbit]

i can't read the title without hearing the AVGN yell "MEGA MAN, ON DOSSSSS!"

[@cyanthelouie]

megaman on 2

[@aliadil2018]

Mega-Man on DOS: When they ask if you're fine, and you say you're fine but you're not really fine. Edit: I mean no hate towards the game, as it was made by a single man in his free time. Respect.

[@SuperBartman2000]

...at all

[@toopienator]

Gotta love the dead memes that are still funny but died a long time ago.

[@forregom]

@@toopienator Let Us Meme It Again!

[@toopienator]

@@forregom You are granted the permission to.

[@thebackgroundguy9491]

Ow. The edge.

[@LucidGhostbuster]

This.. This is excellent gaming history right here. I was like 5 the first time I played Mega Man. I didn't know anything about DOS. But I put that floppy disk in and figured it out on my own. After about 20 attempts of entering the proper C: code I finally got it right. My uncle who owned the computer had gotten out of the shower and realized I switched over from Ninja Gaiden without his help. It was then he knew. I would make a great programmer and be an awesome gamer. If had known as a kid being a gamer would lead to being a professional gamer... Man I would have not done anything else aside from going to school and playing videogames. Awesome video. Thank you for the nostalgia as always!

[@MicahBuzanANIMATION]

The dedication it takes to make any game is inspiring.

[@remotecontrolaxe]

Wow, fascinating! Even as someone who considers himself a fan of Mega Man and someone who cut his gaming teeth on games 1-3 on the NES, I had no idea these existed. Awesome stuff, keep up the good work!

[@onesneakyboigaming7575]

Literally every AVGN viewer: Mega man on DOS? *M E G A M A N o n D O S*

[@TheJamessanjose]

hes gonna take you back from the past

[@iWillUseMyOwnName]

to play the shitty game that sucked ass

[@Pawts]

He'd rather have a buffalo take a diarrhea dump in his ear

[@WH250398]

He'd rather eat

[@CapAniki]

A rotten assssss "o"

[@miketurns202]

Great to hear you are taking on new ventures with grad school...we love you Norman and wish you nothing but success!!

[@GianfrancoLaRotta]

Do history of Action 52 and Cheetahmen next!.

[@robintst]

That would be great but even Norman wouldn't be able to track down Vince Perri, the dude's a ghost. Supposedly he borrowed money from the mafia to fund that business outing and he's been in hiding ever since. Can't say for sure how true that is but it's been the narrative for a few decades now.

[@robintst]

@Flandre Scarlet Oh yeah, totally. I forget who it was by someone maybe 8 or 9 years ago was trying to get to the bottom of it and managed to find a email that Vince Perri supposedly was using and asked if he was the genuine article and the reply came back in all caps "WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THIS." It's suuuuuper sketchy stuff.

[@HoopyFroodood]

Norm, you're one of maybe three content creators that I feel safe in liking the video before I've even watched it. As always, I never regret it. Thank you so much for being one of the few SERIOUS gaming channels out there. I think maybe only Summoning Salt approaches your level of professionalism.

[@dontGetMunsoned]

Ahoy is another good one on their level.

[@Mani-aX]

i remember this version, it was given to me from a family member. I had a tandy 1000 - 286/8mhz - 640k/RAM and a 20mb hard drive. It would only run if 4 color cga mode. but i play that game over and over.

[@MishKoz]

13:42 this part kept throwing me off because I specifically remembered hearing the background music used in an episode of Local 58

[@Seabass_The_Bass]

I knew I wasn't the only one that figured that out!

[@maskedriderweaver4122]

Wow, I played (or tried to play) the MM3 many years ago. I never heard the story of these games before. This is incredible, and suddenly MM3 doesn't seem quite so bad, since it was converted from something else entirely.

[@michaellaverty7349]

This is what I love about your work. Games I would normally give a quick glance at and dismiss are given a whole new context and appreciation through a dive into their history.

[@d-fens1612]

Damn. Well done, Rosner. If I could code at all, I would be freaking brimming with joy if I could make the first level. And the sad thing is I'm fully serious.

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

This was awesome, man! What a fascinating story and getting to hear from Rozner himself was really cool. The sacrifice to the altar of Doug was worth it.

[@Nolasco.]

Thank you for a great video as always and I just love the art work of personalities in your stories 💕

[@JazGalaxy]

Strangely, this is the best video this channel has ever done. It get overwhelmingly FAIR. Not making fun of a man’s work, but not blowing smoke either. I love this original topic because it’s something the internet has t hashed to death alrrady

[@Sliider36]

hey cool, i also still have that floppy disk. the same exact one. its with the rest of my retro collection- one of the few 3.5" disks i still have from those days. my interest is absolutely peaked for this episode. great idea!

[@octavinadinugroho1446]

Dang it... This makes me cry a lot.. Man.. Your NEW BIG FAN here from Indonesia.. ROCKMAN is always be an 80th icon for Video Games in here..

[@Rationalific]

Amazing. Knowing that one person programmed that entire game really takes it from a lackluster effort from a company to a stellar accomplishment for one man!

[@xt3100]

its like RCT was programed by one guy.

[@Matthew-ei8hp]

the way he made the game is pretty badass. ive never played any mega man game, or this one either, but making a game all by yourself is no small feat and I can recognize that!

[@WoddCar]

Me: mom can I have mega man 1 Mom: no we have mega man 1 at home Mega man 1 at home: 9:50

[@krealyesitisbeta5642]

Hah

[@amirpourghoureiyan1637]

If all you had was your parent's PC, then it'd be a good deal for a young kid as they're not going to care if it keeps them occupied. Compared to other DOS ports from Konami like Metal Gear and Contra, this can actually be fun.

[@amirpourghoureiyan1637]

@ShitpostingAtheist with how impossible some NES games can be, DOS MM1 is pretty tame. Ghost & Goblins on NES is awful and still managed to have an audience.

[@WoddCar]

@ShitpostingAtheist mm2 was better

[@lpfan4491]

Most NES games aren't that good. Heck, some games like Zelda 1 straight up needed their manuals to be anywhere near playable, that is why the game's a whole mess and a half to play nowadays. The key factor is that without those projects, the videogame landscape wouldn't be anywhere near as advanced as it is today.

[@eromnis]

Congratulations on Grad School, you do really thoughtful work. I appreciate your snark-less tone and genuine interest in exploring the context in which all games were created. You, sir, are the National Public Radio of gaming journalism.

[@davidabest7195]

Kind of an insult. NPR is trash.

[@andyunderhill2586]

Norm! I was in the middle of watching this yesterday when you took it down 🤪

[@karls91]

Hey man, just wanted to say thank you from South Africa. Your calm and wholesome demeanor has kept me sane during 2020 and also given me a magical distraction. Karl

[@shadeknight6537]

I like how Rozner called Mega Man a "very intelligent game" when the footage shows Foot Holders, one of the most poorly programmed enemies in the game.

[@lancehouck]

You are the greatest Norman! I love Mega Man so so much. Even though you did a series on Mega Man way back in the day, I would love one specifically for Mega Man 2... similar to the Super Mario 3 episode. Thank you so much! Keep up the great work!

[@smkx91]

Gaming Historians voice is so soothing. He should do professional documentaries.

[@brentalfloss]

He makes a living doing documentaries. Sounds pretty professional to me.

[@aaron71]

These aren't?

[@Stoonk]

12:08 "I see every once and a while on /v/ people talk about it and they just dont get it" He goes on /v/? lmfao

[@kieranstark7213]

MegaMan has always been a favourable franchise at heart. But it would have been the best up to the ranks of Kirby and Pac-Man (1980 - 2014) if it weren’t for the Mega Man DOS hexalogy (meaning series of six instalments), Mega Man 1 & 3, Mega Man & Bass (GBA) and Mega Man X6-X7.

[@Choralone422]

Excellent video! I had always wondered what the story was with the Mega Man games on the PC. Thank you for sharing this! I also think it's important to remember that in the late 80's and early 90's the world of games on the PC was VERY different! Up until around 1993 most PC's sold did not include any sound except for the PC speaker which is basically a beeper. You could add an Adlib or Sound Blaster ISA card after 1987 for mostly mono FM sound, but those cards started at $129 in late 80's dollars (equivalent to nearly $300 today!) Also, 256 color VGA was first introduced in 1987 but 16 color EGA was the standard for graphics until 1990-91 for most programs or games as VGA cards were much more expensive than EGA ones for quite some time. Computers like the C64 or even the Amiga were more popular than the PC for non-console gaming up until the early 90s as both of those computers had better video and especially audio built into them at that time. Thankfully technical innovation on the PC really took off in the 90s and hasn't really slowed down ever since!

[@tan_nerd07]

Despite this game's shortcomings, I actually enjoyed it! But I just like Megaman in general, so maybe that's why.

[@amirpourghoureiyan1637]

In the 80s, unless you wanted an endless game like Pac-Man or Tetris, most PC games with plot were pretty sub-par so this would've been amazing to anyone used to bad Arcade/NES ports. Things only started to pick up when the Adlib sound card and VGA graphics were in everything, games like Wolfenstein and Wing Commander made the PC viable for games after years of beeper sound and 4 colour graphics.

[@tetsujin_144]

This reminds me of one time I was on the road with a friend of mine, we were hungry so I said I was gonna get a sandwich at Subway. He didn't like Subway. I said, well personally I like sandwiches. And he was like, yeah, I do too, that's why I don't like Subway.

[@tetsujin_144]

@@amirpourghoureiyan1637 You know what's really sad is the Tandy 1000 sound (really the PC Jr sound but it was Tandy that popularized it) was actually pretty decent. Not on the level with Adlib or a MIDI solution but it had decent polyphony at least on par with a typical 8-bit machine. DOS didn't have to languish with no decent sound support for as long as it did. The computer platforms tended not to have a lot of polished platformers like the NES and SNES but they had their own thing going on, with adventure games like Kings Quest or Ultima, CPU-intensive flight simulators, etc. I don't really agree with the idea that PC Mega Man would have seemed amazing to people used to PC games - especially in 1990 (Wing Commander also came out in 1990, of course...) - personally in those days when I was playing a shoddy port of a game, I think I was pretty aware that I wasn't getting the real deal.

[@amirpourghoureiyan1637]

@@tetsujin_144 It's just how it goes, Sierra was one of the few good developers on the platform but people weren't interested in PC gaming till the 90s came around. Most games for DOS targeted the stock PC with CGA and beeper sound as that's what most home users would invest in, the Tandy 1000's obscurity outside of America didn't help and PC compatibles were incredibly poor value for gaming when compared to other systems that would cost a fraction of the base desktop. In the 80s, anyone in the States who wanted a computer for gaming went for a Commodore or an Atari computer, there was a greater catalogue of games available and that spawned a better standard of games on each platform. Things changed when expansion became more desirable on a desktop in the 90s, and the PC was one of the few platforms that had the foundations to be modular at a time when most gaming computers were self-contained and went obsolete quick.

[@arieljones4595]

I didn't know anything about the DOS Mega Man games and therefore haven't played them. But, that man, programming every bit of them by himself is amazing. My hat is off to him. He should be proud.

[@onionheadguy7094]

"Why did you drop out of school?" "I corrected the teacher twice, im way smarter than him" "Were cutting you off"

[@irfanafendi4837]

...Who are you referring to? 🤔

[@keiharris332]

That is an amazing feat of strenght. A solo developer is super rare, let alone a solo developer that actually finishes a project. Big kudos, I wish I had half the chops this guy does

[@Mattzombie6]

did you get to ask him "what was he thinking?" when he talked about making darkwing duck?

[@darkwingdave79]

I STILL have my DOS copies of Mega Man 1 & 3 (boxes included). These two are my personal treasure that I ABSOLUTELY love and adore growing up.