My original MM Ranking:

2>9>11>5>6>4>3>10>7>8>1

I think 3 is overrated. A long time ago I thought it was as good or better than 2 but while the core concept is great (more levels, more moves, Rush features), the actual level and boss design isn't as good and subjects you to way more BS/unfairness. 1 and 3 were both really bad for that.

I also didn't much care for 7 or 8. the art style, speed, gameplay, and feel of those games just felt off. Not bad games - none of them are - but wow I just didn't feel right playing them.

the first 6 were all immensely solid. 9 was outstanding, 10 was pretty good, too. 11 was also outstanding and the only non-8-bit game in the series I loved. I'm actually kinda surprised that, as of the time of this writing, not a single person has voted for 9, but there is a vote for 10.

For me a thing that puts MM3 in the bottom of the list, of the MM games I’ve played, is that you have to play each level twice (if I remember correctly) or something simillar. I’m usually not that fond of games that artificially lenghten the game in that way and no it’s not the same as backtracking in open world games like original Metroid.

I much prefer MM1 over MM3.

In Mega Man 3, you replay 4 of the 8 robot master levels. The levels are remixed quite a bit, and each has you fighting the robot masters from Mega Man 2, in different bodies. Actually one of the things I like most about the game. I wouldn't really call it artificially lengthening. I'm sure it was done that way to cut costs a bit, but it's still offering a different challenge. But to each his own.

As for 7 and 8, I think they're definitely worse than 4-6, but at the same time they offer a different feel. It's very rare that I'll actually replay 4-6, or 1 really, because I'd just rather play 2,3,9, or 10. But sometimes I'm in the mood to play 7 or 8.

Also, I keep remembering there are more Mega Man games. Mega Man and Bass should be included. There's an argument for Mega Man V on Gameboy too being included as it's a good standalone title.

So... my revised rankings would be...

Mega Man 2, Mega Man Powered Up, Mega Man 9, Mega Man 3, Mega Man and Bass, Mega Man 10, Mega Man 1, Mega Man 7, Mega Man 8, Mega Man 4, Mega Man 5, Mega Man 6. 

Yeah, this 'artificial lengthening' argument doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The levels were different and unique, simply using the same tiles and aesthetics while having different layouts and bosses. Saying it's 'artificially lengthening' the game is like saying Mario games are artificially lengthened because more than 1 level uses the same brick and background patterns. 

I don't hate 3 or anything, I thought all the IDEAS were great (sliding, Rush, the Doc Robo stages, etc), I just thought the actual game and level design was often pretty cheap and bullshitty. There's a time and a place for trial-and-error combat but I don't think they did it well in MM1 or MM3. the rest of the series is fine, but those two were just infuriating at times. 

**Edit** It's also why I really liked Elden Ring's boss mentality. something like 75+ unique bosses, reused multiple times. So while you fought the Night's Cavalry like 5 times throughout the game, each one had a slightly different weapon and moveset and environment. It's nice to try similar fights with different qualifiers. IT's a good way to add more to your game with minimal effort. all these people complaining about how Elden Ring is bland and repetitive is missing the point. The game still has more unique content than any other FromSoft game, ever. 

I think it may just be flawed memory. The games are pretty old, and maybe they just remembered going into the levels again without remembering that they're different. 

I honestly don't remember anything feeling especially cheap about Mega Man 3, but I haven't played it in a while. I try not to compare it to Mega Man 2, because Mega Man 2 was the only one I played as a child, and has way too much nostalgia for me to be unbiased. Compared to Mega Man 9 though, it just wasn't as good, or at least wasn't as memorable, because while I can remember a lot of particular details and parts of 9, and even 10, I can't do the same for 3.

Anyway, I keep remembering more Mega Man games. This time Street Fighter X Mega Man. This was a fan game, but it was given an official release from Capcom. And it's 100% FREE and it fucking rocks, so if you haven't played it you should. Honestly up there with the best of them.

https://megaman.capcom.com/sfxmm/sfxmm_dl_uk.html

Yeah, that's often the case with games you played when you were a kids. If you tried it again today, it may be better than you remembered. Like I remembered X3 being absurdly difficult from when I played it as a kid, but it's really not that bad.

It's been the opposite for me lately with the X series. When I played them on the SNES, I could use my thumb to shoot and jump, and my index finger to dash at the same time. Now, the thickness of the controllers and the face buttons layout don't let me do that anymore, as a result, I'm havong a harder time with the X series now. I used to beat them with relative ease... not anymore lol.

Couldn't you just map a shoulder button to dash? Pretty sure all of those games allow you to remap buttons.