Genre: Action, Platformer
Year: 2008
Developed by: Capcom / Inti Creates
Published by: Capcom
Platforms: PS3, Wii, XBOX 360,
#142
Feeling Like: Cloud Man
I hated Mega Man 8. The voice acting that accompanied the cut-scenes are stuff of legend; it’s so terrible, it circles back to being hilarious. The gameplay wasn’t quite as offensive, but I still longed for the NES-style classic blue bomber. Often. The instant death sections were brutal, the gameplay seemed like everybody was walking through mud and even the visuals seemed off. I don’t know if it was because it was on a brand new system (PlayStation) or they wanted to go in a completely different direction, but it’s one of my least favorite games ever. No chance it ends up on the 500.
Mega Man 9 was a merciful return to form and then some. It’s the greatest digital chaser I can think of; Mega Man 8 was a disgusting shot of pickle juice and Mega Man 9 was a terrific juicy beer from Ile Sauvage. It’s mildly amusing to read how charging $10 for a downloadable game raised eyebrows when it was launched in 2008. I would love if a game of this quality was released for $10 today. It’s also funny how when this came out, it was a love letter to the retro and now, 15 years later, it’s become retro itself.
But a retro Mega Man will always be good. There’s a reason there are 14 Mega Mans on the 500; they had a huge impact on my gaming tastes growing up, they’re all still fun to play (to varying degrees) and the collective menagerie of songs remain among the strongest in gaming.
Everything is immediately comfortable – Mega Man looks the same, stages look like they came right out of 1987, and the challenge will harden your senses back to when you played four inches from the screen, unblinking. I’m not an expert, but I’m positive the graphics and audio are where Capcom got creative. Meaning, they cheat where they need to – it looks and sounds like games of old, but with greater hardware at their disposal, it just seems better. Mega Man 9 looks like how Mega Mans 1-6 look like in my head. That’s hard to do.
Tornado Man’s theme, man what a song!
Galaxy Man, too but the real gem of that stage is the weird teleporty jumpy things. I know, I’m a real wordsmith but this was one of the most joy-filled stages I’ve played in a long time. Anything set in space is going to get a passing grade from me, but it was the prefect mix of instant-death traps and goofy gravity defying maneuvers. Plus, that tune.
Naturally, a Dr. Wily’s Stage’s theme is one of the best.
I guess I was disappointed about the removal of the Charge Shot and the slide. I know Mega Man fans have an issue with the Charge Shot, but that was my go to for nearly every boss from Mega Man 4 and on. The slide is an even bigger removal and I think perhaps a bigger mistake in retrospect – it opens up so many potential platforming options for stages. No more going under a wall, no more timing your slides, no more quickly zipping beneath a boss while they hop above you.
That was about the only issue I had, the rest is just as I wanted. I didn’t even use a boss guide, something I’ve been very guilty of with previous Mega Mans. This time, however, I wasn’t in a rush – I wanted to savor every unique enemy, every background palette, collect every bolt I could find and try for every achievement.
There’s a ton of creativity here; using powers on certain enemies will not just damage them, but render their attacks useless. There’s a fire dragon that when hit with Tornado Man’s wind attack will extinguish the flames AND make the dragon frown comically. Or the floating movie projectors that will create false platforms. Or the elephant that careens a ball towards you. It’s rarely just “shoot enemy”, there are so many options for weapon choices or evasion requirements that every step feels like an engaging experience.
The shop was a welcomed addition. If I ever had problem on a particular section, I could always grind a bit for bolts and spend them on some extra lives, or an Energy Tank. It absolutely levels out the challenge and I can see some gamers opting out of it, but the full list of achievements is staggering, it really can only be completed by the most hardcore of players. I tried to go for a few of them, but attempting them all without cheap tactics is well beyond my ability.
Hey, there’s also a woman boss for the first time! I went for Splash Woman immediately and apparently you’re supposed to anyway, so that worked out nicely. The weapons really are a treat, I loved the concrete block that could be used to block environmental hazards and Hornet Man’s ability to send some friendly bees to attack, or collect an otherwise unobtainable bonus. After a summer of increased wasp activity in BC, it sure would be nice to run into a few with cartoonish googily-eyed wasps focused on retrieving instead of stinging.
What’s old is new again. Dr. Wily is the bad guy after all, shocker! Disappearing blocks have been around since the beginning, but I still crave the challenge of timing my jumps and working out the route to progress to the next screen. The jump, boss door and death sounds are identical. The levels are condensed, fast pace and content filled. Even getting a Game Over doesn’t frustrate to the point of quitting. I’d like to go back to Mega Man 11 again one day, but my limited time with it had me yearning for short and sweet stages, instead of marathon slogs.
Whenever I see NES games ranked and I don’t see any of the Mega Mans, I shake my head. Look, I get how important Super Mario Bros. or Legend of Zelda or Metroid are, but if you’re counting just original NES games, Mega Man 2 or Mega Man 3 are right up there with them. The controls are perfect, the formula is timeless and there’s no cryptic bullshit that gets in the way of modern sensitives. Mega Man 9 taps right into that well of nostalgia. I suppose it is silly to have this many entries in a single franchise, but when the franchise is that good, why not?
The 500 