This is easily one of the very best Megaman 5 hacks, and the best Protoman hack of any NES Megaman game. Here, Protoman isn’t just a sprite swap of Megaman; he has unique abilities that Rock does not, just like in Megaman 9 and 10. You charge a slow, narrow charge shot, can only fire two buster shots on screen at once, and have access to the Proto Shield, which can reflect nearly ALL enemy projectiles, no matter if they be a Metool’s bullet, a Crystal Joe’s Crystal shard, or even boss projectiles such as Crystalman’s Crystal Eye! Rush Coil is also totally replaced, restoring how it worked in Megaman 3 and 4.

In addition to the new Protoman behavoir, there are many new sprites added that make the hack look very professional and canon.

The original game patch is fun, but the real enjoyment is from Second Strike.

The level layouts of every stage in the game have been altered, and are fun to explore if you know Megaman 5 well. In some stages there are even branching paths. Difficulty is higher than the original Megaman 5, but not too different from other Megaman games. This isn’t a truly unreasonable rom hack. Boss Behavour has been modified to make the bosses more difficult and aggressive, but again not to the point where the game is truly unfair. The new patterns can all be beaten without the aid of savestates.

This is a highly recommended hack.