LogFAQs > #905776806

One thing that seems common in them is being 2D, but where the "2D" actually matters. i.e. you explore the castle/alien planet/etc not just going from room to room sideways, but you go vertically up or down as well.

Rather than having an overworld or world map connecting multiple "levels," the game tends to effectively be a single GIANT level. You could actually make an argument that they are the truer predecessor to an "open world" game in a way than something like Zelda (NES) was in this respect (at least, if you ignore the semantics of the entire "world" being a castle or a really cavernous section of an alien planet).

Said "single level" tends to be as tall as it is long, despite being a side-view type of game and not a top-down view. This tends to result in a world that is often very interconnected (often with some time-saving connections that you require a powerup to use).

They also tend to basically revolve around you exploring until you find a boss to defeat, and then defeat said boss for an upgrade that lets you explore places you couldn't before.

...You know, on that note. Megaman would actually have very good potential for being made as metrovania style game. I mean, if Capcom can be trusted to do so.
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