Mega Man 9: The Ambition's Revival!!

That box art is brilliant isn't it?

For the longest time the game industry was just working with what it could work with given the technological limitations of the time periods. The original Mega Man games vaguely look anything like the concept art that conceived them. There wasn't a ton of thought given to game design either. Yeah, ideas were had that were tested out here and there, but the whole concept of studying games and seeing what works and what doesn't wasn't there. Many games of this era have really arbitrary puzzles, mazes and jumps in logic to solve. It was a simpler time and having a big time hit was as much luck as it was effort.

Jump forward to today. This is probably the first era of gaming that design is really widely studied from game to game. Mega Man as a franchise is all over the map as far as design goes and many lessons from previous games don't carry over into the next game. The few really bright spots in the series are so much better than the standard entries in the series that one wonders if the good design of those games can be attributed to luck and ambition. Even after 20 years of games, Mega Man's peak is still at Mega Man 2, the second game in the series. To many fans, nothing will top Mega Man 2, and despite how you would figure nostalgia might cloud many fans memories, Mega Man 2 actually stands up quite well today still. The question to Capcom and Keiji Inafune is how do they recapture the spirit and fun of the Mega Man 2 game in a new Mega Man game?

Enter Mega Man 9, the game that can be summed up as a scholarly examination of Mega Man 1 and 2. Take what works from the Mega Man games, eliminate what doesn't and reel in those lost Mega Man fans with an unbecoming retro style that until recently was pretty of from a major title from a major company. So did Mega Man 9 meet expectations?

New Features

• This game is a step back in graphics... on purpose!
• Say goodbye to charge shot and sliding
• Online Leaderboards and Downloadable Content
• Achievements

Story
Eight of Dr. Light's former robots have gone crazy and are attacking the city. Dr. Wily is on tv leading a revolt against Dr. Light when Light is arrested by the robot police. Mega Man with the help of his friends, vows to clear Dr. Light's name by stopping the robots.

Of course it turns out Dr. Wily is manipulating events behind the scenes and Mega Man tracks him down and goes to stop him. Wily is defeated and begs for Mega Man for mercy. Mega Man replays the last 8 games to Wily through a hologram on Rush showing how sick of this he is, but Dr. Wily tells him he really means it this time! He takes him to Dr. Light who is held in a cage but Proto Man jumps in and tells him that it's a trap! Mega Man doesn't listen and Dr. Wily escapes. Mega Man finds Dr. Light and they rebuild and reprogram the robot masters to continue to serve humanity.

Where's Bass you might ask? He has a cameo, but apparently he's under repair. Bass just doesn't fit into the retro style this game was going for. The story is pretty simple but the simplicity of this game is kind of the point isn't it?

Aesthetics
Obviously the Wii, PS3 and 360 are much more capable in the graphics department than this game puts out but seeing as how this game wasn't meant to compete with next-gen graphics that isn't surprising. I would be wary of any review that gave this game a high graphics score as this isn't a graphically superior game.

That's why I grade on aesthetics, how the game looks for what it is. This game looks good in it's fake 8-bit style and it feels like playing a classic from the past. It looks better than any of the NES Mega Man games taking advantage of the fact that it only has to take on the guise of an 8-bit game. The detail in this game would have been amazing back then, but it's delightful enough for old and new fans alike.

There's inspiration from the whole franchise all over this game as well. Inti Creates put their own little touches to this game that the most devoted fans will notice. Don't Tornado Man and Splash Woman remind you of two certain characters from the Zero series?

Sound
The music in this game is fantastic and easily competes with the bests of the series. Most tracks are inspired by other games tracks but all have their unique flare to them. Mega Man 9 is a good game even if the sound is off, but it would never had come to the greatness that is Mega Man 2 if the music wasn't amazing and I can say the music in this game delivers.

The rest of the sounds are lifted straight out of other Mega Man games, complimenting the style well.

Design
Ah, but here is the clincher isn't it? Mega Man 2 stands the test of time as great game design, and it did it without sliding or charge shots or armor capsules or biometals or swords or servbots. Mega Man 9 is taking on this challenge as well by doing more with less. It can't be Mega Man 2, but it does do a lot to feel like it.

Mega Man 9 features some really tricky platform challenges and each stage has its own set of gimmicks, enemies and minibosses. The game feels really unique from one another and most of the challenges stand out from the rest of the series. Tornado Man's stage is my personal favorite with the spinning platforms. The stages are pretty tricky in a few spots and there are a number of instant death spots that may put off beginner players who will find Mega Man 9 deceptively hard. Experienced players will probably find Mega Man 9 to be relatively easy once they figure out the little tricks and traps. Luckily for new players most of the particularly devious traps have checkpoints close by.

The bosses are great, providing just enough challenge to be fun without ball bustingly difficult. When I first played the game, I unwittingly chose Tornado Man as my first boss, and incidentally he's probably the hardest robot master for most players. I did beat him after a few tries, but one of my friends had a hell of a time with the level. Another fun boss is the Double Devil (yeah, you read that right) and Wily's first form is really fun.

The weapons in the game all have their uses, and clever players will find the game even easier with proper planning. Hornet Chaser is a fantastic weapon that shoots bees out that go get items for you, concrete shot builds platforms and Jewel Satellite is probably the first ever useful sheild weapon. Actually, it's almost over powered as it can reflect shots back at enemies.

If you do have some trouble with the game, Dr. Light's lab is readily available with E-Tanks, extra lives, the energy balancer and a few other nice items if you have the right number of bolts. Dr. Wily is tough, so stock up if you're new.

Downloadable content features playing as Proto Man, harder difficulties, an endless stage, and an exclusive special stage. None of it is particularly must have, but an extra $8 should get you everything if you want to check it all out. In addition are the achievements which are pointless but fun if you are like many Mega Man players and wish to attempt to handicap yourself in certain ways. There is also a time attack mode and online leaderboards for the best times, but good luck beating them, some of the fastest times are around 20 minutes. The game isn't really all that long either, probably a little more than an hour and a half on your first go, but the price is right at $10.

Playability
I had zero control issues with this game and personally haven't experienced any bugs. It's as well polished as you would expect from a 20 year old series.

Extras

• Boss Order: I like to get Jewel Satellite early myself as I find it the most useful weapon, but I can wait on it. Tornado Man's weapon is great too, so sometimes I go Tornado Man, Hornet Man, Splash Woman, Jewel Man, Plug Man, Concrete Man, Galaxy Man, Magma Man.
• Concrete Shot will freeze those lava beam things. It's not entirely necessary to win, but Wily 1 is a lot harder without knowing that. Concrete Shot is also great for taking out minibosses.
• Speaking of the Minibosses, the magma dragon is very susceptible to Tornado Blow and the Black Hole Bomb.
• A great trick to use on the Double Devil is to Black Hole Bomb him, pause the game and select the weapon again, that'll give you time to fire off another Black Hole Bomb.
• If you have a choice of which system to get this game for, Wii's controller is shaped like an NES controller when on it's side for true Mega Man authenticity. However, PS3 and Xbox 360 feature HD graphics... of an 8-bit looking game... yeah well the game is fun no matter which console you buy it for.

Mega Man 9 is a must own, not just for Mega Man fans but for video game fans in general. At $10, you just can't beat how great a deal it is! Is it as good as Mega Man 2? Well it's very close and a hell of a lot of fun. This game proves you don't need top of the line graphics to make a block buster game.

Playthroughs
Mega Man 9 Speed Run by Steven 'Master ZED' Ellis