8. Mega Man 4 (1993)
After the frustrating (but enjoyable) challenge of Mega Man 3, Capcom seems to have realized that the main demographic for the series (especially in North America) were younger players who couldn't cope with the higher difficulty present in the first three games. This led to Mega Man 4 feeling like the start of a more "kid-friendly" approach to the series. This game introduces the New Mega Buster which allows you to charge up a more powerful shot, making it simple to kill most enemies with one blow. Also, the item drops from enemies becomes far too giving. If you have the patience, you can farm enemies for extra lives. This makes veteran players, who grew up with the difficulty of the original games, pretty hesitant towards this game and the consecutive two entries. The colors in this game look strangely washed out and bland, but the level design is pretty solid. The robot masters for this one are decent, with the exception of two: Skull Man and Pharaoh Man. These two would be worthy of any "Top Ten Robot Masters" list. The music is fine, but it's the story that helps this game out. The first game to introduce a "fake" villain and a castle you have defeat before fighting Doctor Wily would become a staple for the next two games. Mega Man 4 is an acceptable entry, but not incredibly memorable.