I already said something in this thread about Blaster Master severely needing a balance patch, but I've been reminded of that game again, because I was playing Fester's Quest today (which might as well be a Blaster Master game ), using Maeson's European Gameplay Changes patch, and it went down very smoothly.
Fester's Quest has a similar power up system to Blaster Master but unlike Blaster Master, Fester's gun doesn't lose power when he takes damage, rather, there are de-buff items he must avoid. It's almost impossible to make it to the bosses without taking damage, and the bosses border on unfair if you aren't fully powered up. Blaster Master also has no continues, when you die four times, it's game over... But Fester's Quest on the other hand, has no lives, and if you die once, you go back to the beginning of the game, but you keep your power ups, and all the bosses are still dead... I kind of prefer this system to Blaster Master, especially since Blaster Master would be better suited for something like that. But I'm not saying that's what I want for Blaster Master, that would just be better than what it currently has. I think ideally, Blaster Master should just have infinite lives, since the checkpoints are pretty harsh anyways.
On the subject of Fester's Quest, I think it's bosses need balancing even with the European Gameplay changes. It feels like the only way to beat the bosses after the second one is to save your invincibility and healing potions... also this is less gameplay and more aesthetic, but I really think the game needs a color pallet adjustment. Less brown and dead looking grass, and more blue-ish green to make it look like the game takes place at night and match the look of the spooky box art.