Author: Yennaedo Balloo|Yennaedo Balloo
It’s not just what she said, it’s what we all said: “It’s hard.” Mega Man 9 comes to all three current gen console platforms as a downloadable game through WiiWare, XBOX Live and through the Playstation Network. After downloading it for the PS3, my friends and I were taken partways back to our youths with the 8-bit style presentation.
The game looks exactly like the Mega Man games of the original Nintendo, with simple animated sprites and very basic controls. Mega Man can run, jump and shoot, but nothing fancier than that. In spite of this, the game requires nothing short of absolute precision of skill and reflexes, and it received no shortage of angry outbursts (and expletives that I didn’t have under my belt when I played the originals more than 15 years ago).
Mega Man 8 came out more than a decade ago for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and since then Mega Man has seen other iterations across later platforms (Mega Man X for the SNES is one of my favorite games ever), but Capcom felt the sequel to the series should remain true to the original’s style and glory.
The immediate appearance of the game automatically invokes the days of yore from Mega Man’s roots, and when you start playing, you instantly hear and see what made those games so incredible. The music is catchy, each level has its own theme that is classic NES style MIDI, but also fits the action and tone of the level well.
Although the music is reminiscent of younger days and much older games, this is no kid’s game. It’s probably the most difficult game I’ve played in years. Even though it’s available on Wiiware and everyone associates the Wii with ease and approachability, this is not one of those titles. Don’t let its simple and older aesthete fool you. This game reminds its players why video games, in olden days, were not the sort of thing aimed at mass audiences, but that there were games aimed at a gaming populace that were meant to be hard.
The makers put all of the 8-bit engine to the limits of its mileage with strategic enemy placement and creative enemy designs that will execute pincers on your little sprite and cause your death with stunning efficiency. This is a game that will have you dying often, and probably cursing loudly as you do so.
In spite of the challenge, the gameplay is balanced enough that the constant deaths never feel unfair, and the challenges posed always seem surmountable. Mega Man has his usual buster gun, but no charge shot, and he can jump, but lacks the dash and wall grab ability of his “X” counterpart. This may keep things simple, but at times it can make Mega Man feel slow and a bit too simple for some of the challenges packed into the game except for absolutely flawless reflexes and execution.
I reiterate: you will get killed a lot. The extra weapons are definitely huge challenges to earn from the enemy bots in the game, and they are, for the most part, the usual sort of hodgepodge you get in a Mega Man game: some have practical uses, others are simply effective weapons, and some are simply not useful at all.
Mega Man 9 is simply fun to play, my friends and I had a good time with it when we downloaded it, passing the controller around and sharing in the numerous deaths as we powered through the game as best we could manage. Recognizing it’s fun comes with a certain caveat: none but a truly stalwart gamer would have the patience for this game. I ultimately wonder why they went with the 8-bit aesthetic, but in keeping gameplay simple there’s no reason why the aesthetics should not also match.
In the end, Mega Man 9 is a very suitable sequel to the original 8 bit series, and at $9.99 on your console of choice, it’s a worthwhile enough purchase, just not quite easy enough that I’d feel comfortable recommending it to just anyone for fear of being blamed for inducing stress that leads to a broken controller.
The Score: 7/10
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