Fifteen years ago, a publishing company called Capcom released a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System called Mega Man. What does this mean for you? It means this year marks Mega Man's 15th anniversary! It means it is time for celebration! It is time for cheers! It is time for Mega Man Anniversary Collection!

Reading this, you are now pausing to ask a few questions. Since when is the 15th a big anniversary? (Answer: since Capcom elected to make it one.) What is the traditional 15th anniversary gift? (Answer: Crystal.) Would Mega Man like a crystal vase? (Answer: Smart money says yes.)

Okay, so you have committed to buying him a gift. But what of the man himself? Despite his long and distinguished history, Mega Man remains an enigma to all but the initiated. He does not have the instant appeal or recognizability of Mario or Sonic or Crash. Indeed, he may be the longest-serving character in all of video gaming your mother has not heard of.

Mega Man is a robot who lives, if that is the right word, sometime in the future. The dates are imprecise. Sometimes it is 200X, sometimes it is 20XX. Sometimes we are not even told what year it is. In any case, the era of Mega Man is decidedly futuristic. There are robots all over the place, many of whom are friendly and like to help out around the house. There are many tall buildings, most of which seem to have drawn architectural inspiration from the CN Tower and the Seattle Space Needle. There are evil floaty things that hover in the air and shoot balls of death.

The floaty things are mostly the work of the evil Dr. Wiley, whose name is also sometimes spelled "Wily." Wiley once worked with the kind and helpful Dr. Light, but one day, after the fashion of Darth Vader, he turned evil. Thereafter, he devoted his life to inventing robots that would help him take over the world. Dr. Light responded in kind, assembling a defence corps led by none other than Mega Man himself.

Long story short: Mega Man is a friendly little blue robot who looks like a preteen boy, except that he has a flame cannon where one of his arms should be. In a long, long series of games since the late '80s, he has boldly fought off scores of Wiley's minions, never once losing his smile or his can-do attitude.

Mega Man Anniversary Collection contains the first eight Mega Man games, with all their blippy pictures and honky sounds reproduced intact. It is partly a greatest hits collection, partly an exercise in nostalgia, and partly an effort to get hardcore Mega Man fans to pay more money for titles they already own.

The very first game in the series, Mega Man, is actually pretty good. In it, Mega Man must walk to the right and shoot anything that moves, while climbing ladders and jumping across canyons. Near the end of each level, he must fight a boss robot, which always carries has a name indicating his particular strength. There is Cut Man, Guts man, Fire Man, Bomb Man... you get the picture. When Mega Man wins (and he always does, even if it takes many attempts), he acquires that robot's powers.

Mega Man 2 goes like that too, but introduces us to Bubble Man and Wood Man. Mega Man 4 gives us Toad Man, Drill Man and Dive Man. Mega Man 5 goes several better with Napalm Man. The flow is the same, level after level and game after game: Mega Man walks to the right, Mega Man learns to shoot in new and fierier ways, Mega Man saves the day. It is old-school, side-scrolling, 2D, fiendishly difficult platform-shooting. Imagine the original Super Mario Bros. with more weapons and fewer coins and you'll get the idea.

Is it fun? Yes it is. Last year's transcendent Viewtiful Joe was a gushing tribute to games just like these eight. It's worth the effort to see the originals. Especially if you missed them the first time.