The Yellow Devil: DEFEATED!!!

Art by NeterG

Some people call him the Yellow Devil. Some call him the Rock Monster. You could also call him a Cyclops. He goes by many names. But to many, he is one nightmare of a boss, particularly in the original Mega Man game.

It has long been my shame that I've never been able to best the Yellow Devil on the NES Mega Man. When Mega Man Anniversary Collection hit, I could only defeat him by playing on Easy. Even when I tried my hand at facing him again on Normal years later, I still couldn't take him down. When I played Mega Man on an emulator, I had to use save states to defeat him. It seemed like no matter how many times I went up against the Yellow Devil, I could never defeat him on the default difficulty. For all my skill at other games, this one boss just continued to crush me.

I'm playing NES games on a  newly acquired console (you'll find out about it soon, promise) and I decide to do a usual run of the first Mega Man. Now if I'm playing a game of the original Mega Man that isn't on an emulator or Anniversary Collection, I usually just play a certain way. Said way goes like this; beat the six robot masters, make it to the Yellow Devil, get owned, despair and then quit. I actually died twice in the first Wily stage. After those two deaths, I thought "Why keep going? When I reach the Yellow Devil, I'll just end up dying like always." And yet, I kept moving. When I made it the boss chamber, I equipped the Thunder Beam, walked inside and moved out of the way so I could better dodge the income pieces of the Yellow Devil. I already felt like he'd won the fight before it even started but I still kept going. Usually I know when I'm beat at a game (I haven't TOUCHED Battletoads in nearly 10 years), but something wouldn't let me quit this time. When the Yellow Devil came together, I hit him and dodged the next round of pieces and hit him again. And then it dawned on me. I was doing much better at dodging him and hitting him than I ever have in my whole life. Suddenly evading the fast-moving pieces didn't seem all that difficult. Sure, I took a few hits, but this was by far the best fight I'd ever given him. I made sure every single hit count. This particular version of the Yellow Devil has a smaller hit window than his successors. On top of that, you literally only have one second to shoot or else he goes to pieces again. And each time that eye was open, I pumped it full of Thunder Beam. It didn't take long before I had more energy than he did. I could already taste the win. When the final shot rung out, it was the Yellow Devil who disappeared.

I WON!! I DID IT!! After years of humiliating defeats, I'd finally beat the Yellow Devil! And I didn't use save states or a pause glitch! I beat him fair and square. The biggest thing that stood in the way of me conquering the original Mega Man had been removed. After that, finishing the rest of the game was pretty simple. For the first time in my life, I finished the original NES Mega Man cartridge.

I now know that I can take out the Yellow Devil whenever I play the first Mega Man title. He's no longer the unstoppable juggernaut I used to think he was. It may have taken years but I finally accomplished what I thought I'd never be able to do. If you think the Yellow Devil can't be defeated by skill, keep trying. I'm living proof that it can be done.