Beginning on May 1, 2014, a classic Game Boy / GBC Mega Man game will launch on the North American 3DS Virtual Console each Thursday of the month. The first game is up to you , but after that we’ll likely be going in chronological order. That means (assuming it doesn’t win, of course), things kick off with Mega Man II, originally released in 1992.

If you’re not familiar with the black and white Game Boy games, you wouldn’t be at fault for thinking the handheld versions were mere ports of the NES originals. But no! In fact they’re clever remixes of two NES games at a time, plus loads of new content. And even the content that repeats tends to present itself in a distinct way.

In the case of MMII, it blends elements of NES Mega Man 2 and 3, so you get eye-rubbing, reality-questioning screens like those below. An Air Man weapon with the Rush Jet? Sliding in Mega Man 2? Besting Needle Man with the Air Shooter?

Each of the GB games (save V) mixes things together in this way, creating a game that is more than a mere “recycling” of old assets. I’m sure many fans would agree Mega Man IV is a perfect example of this – but today we’re talkin’ MMII!

You get familiar levels, bosses with new weaknesses, brand new Wily graphics and in some cases all-new story elements told through cutscenes. In some ways, certain GB games move the plot forward – or at least intensify it – more than their corresponding NES numeral.

As an example of new content, the weirdo Wily level (with its Persistence of Memory-style clocks) and Quint, the jackhammer-pogo-stick-riding Mega Man from the future make appearances at the end. But no matter what Wily throws his way, Mega Man always prevails – even a daring battle in space ends with another loss.

Harsh! But somehow he lives to fight another day.

Vote for Mega Man II, III, IV, V, Xtreme or Xtreme 2 in our poll!