Mega Man 9 (Review)

Mega Man 9 (Nintendo WiiWare)

Rated “E” For “Everyone”

Mega Man has been featured in many games over the years. Capcom has added an X, Star Force, Anniversary, Soccer…you name it, to the end of the Blue Bomber’s name. But Capcom decided to go back and add another title to his resume and bring him back to his classic 8-bit roots with Mega Man 9.

Yes, it has been a few years since Mega Man last defeated his arch nemesis, Dr. Wily. After years and years of Robot Masters scrapped by Mega Man, you would think the evil doctor has learned his lesson. Well, he wouldn’t be that evil if he had not thought of another plan to hatch. Dr. Wily has “confessed” to the world that the latest string of Robot Masters that are wreaking havoc were creations of Dr. Light. Dr. Light is then arrested and it’s up to Mega Man to clear Light’s name, defeat the evil robots, and get to the bottom of another Wily scheme.

Like any other Mega Man game, there’s a simple formula. Take one blue robot, add 8 Robot Masters, add one Wily castle, and you have yourself the perfect Mega Cake. Well, Capcom added a few little ingredients to the mix. One of the main extra ingredients is Difficulty. This game is hard…very hard. While newcomers to the franchise might just see this as another hard game, veterans know that there is certainly in an increase in the game’s challenge. Sure, once you figure out the bosses weaknesses, the bosses aren’t much to handle and that has always been the way that Mega Man rolls. So where is the added difficulty? It’s added from the moment you start a level till you reach a boss.

Enemy’s are very simplistic as they range from the normal Hard Hats to birds dropping rocks. But the volume in which some are placed in may get to you at times. It’s not an overload, but it might be more than some may be used to from a Mega Man game. And don’t forget that this is an 8-bit venture. They’ll respawn if you move out of the area you just killed them in and walk back. The layouts for levels are genius (Dr. Wily may have learned a few things over the years) as it should be for any villain that doesn’t want the protagonist to reach him. Levels are planned out very well. Spikes are where they should be, pits are where they should be, and enemies are placed strategically well. While it may seem like an easy straight walk to avoid the spikes on the wall, you never know if a robot claw will drop down and do what it’s programmed to do; grab you and drag you back into that wall of spikes. Yes, Wily definitely learned how to beef up defenses.

Another addition are the Challenges. Challenges are attained as you play through the game. They range from simple tasks (beating a boss with only your Mega Buster) to the utterly impossible (beat the game without taking a hit). These Challenges are a great factor in bringing players back to hone their skills and earn their Blue Bomber badges. You may earn some without even trying. This is great practice for online rankings as you can challenge the world to beat stages and bosses in the fastest times possible.

And Capcom will be dishing out more Mega Man 9 goodies soon in the forms of downloadable content. Game was too easy for you? You’re lying, but there will be harder difficulties to download. The more anticipated download is the Proto Man download in which you can play through the entire game as Proto Man. These downloads will add more mileage to your game.

While this game stands on top of the difficulty meter and eats it, Mega Man is not totally helpless through it all. This installment of the game actually puts more emphasis on using the newly gained robot abilities you receive from defeating a boss. It won’t make the game a breeze, but it will alleviate some of that frustration that made you break your controller/TV/system. Can’t reach a platform, Rush Coil will work. Can’t reach that 1up? Did you try your Hornet attack? Too many enemy blasts, mindless floating robots, and a pit of spikes you need to avoid? Slap on that Jewel Satellite and all you have to worry about are spikes now.

There’s not much to dislike about the latest Mega Man. You will definitely hate the difficulty of it, but that’s a great thing. Did you really want to play another simple Mega Man game you can beat in no time at all? It’s a challenge. Sure, it may seem like it’s hard for the sake of being hard, but it’s not just haphazardly made that way. All points made above show why it’s supposed to be hard and supposed to challenge you whether you are a new comer or veteran. With it’s 8-bit graphical charm, superb 8-bit soundtrack, and it’s new-gen difficulty, there’s something for everybody to like here. This game feels, plays, looks, and is 8-bit in every way and it’s done well. Just remember, it’s tough, but you’ve got Mega Man by your side to go through and die with over and over again.

Rated 5 out of 5

IGN Review