Mega Man 9: A Review

Here it is, my thoughts on Mega Man 9. Before it came out, it was the one game that I can only speak for myself can say I was looking forward to it. Sure, it didn’t have the next-gen graphics but it wasn’t necessary and brought it to its true roots. The NES Mega Man games were at their strongest and it was probably Mega Man’s best showing bar none in this particular series. The last Classic game that came to North America was Mega Man & Bass in 2003.

The story in this game is different and it has to do with Dr. Light being framed for crimes involving his robot masters. That’s right he has other ones outside of the ones from Mega Man 1. This is the first Mega Man game since the very first one to not have robots created by Dr. Wily. It is once again up to Mega Man to save the day and find out something I think everybody all ready knew. You know who the main villain is and it should be no surprise. He is to that like Ganondorf is to Link if you think about it.

What you do not have would be the ability to charge your Mega Buster and of course no sliding adding to it being a bit of a challenge. This game goes back to pre-Mega Man 3 actually but at the same time you also have Rush, Beat, and Eddie or Flip-Top but in limited uses. Rush Jet is like the one from Mega Man 5 and is like on autopilot can be moved only in vertical directions. Flip-Top is quite limited as you have to buy him in order to use him.

You also have the first female Robot Master being Splash Woman but it is a simple battle. Part of the level reminded me of Wave Man and some of the levels actually could have indirect themes from previous Mega Man games if you look at it and play it through. One part I noticed that was interesting was that they did the Wily Castle introduction with the theme from Mega Man 2 before beginning the Wily stages. That was actually a nice tribute.

The game play is smooth as it can get. If you have played the original Mega Man games on the NES then you should have no trouble adjusting to it because it plays just like those ones. There really isn’t a lot I could say on that front. The challenge is there and to be honest I’m glad to see a challenge. There hasn’t been a game with a major challenge in sometime and this is going back to basics. You see, games of the past were more challenging in my opinion than what you see at this moment in time.

There is a difference in this game and once again it holds of having something different about every single Mega Man game ever made. This one has 50 challenges to complete and some are very difficult to even pull off properly but can be done with a lot of time and patience. There is the Endless Stage, which you play until you die and that is pretty fun to try out. I should also point out that there is a Proto Man Mode so for the first time since Mega Man Powered Up, you play as Proto Man. While he charges up his buster and slides, the downside is that he can be damaged more so than Mega Man. There are two other modes I believe going to be added soon enough.

The game is available on the Wii, 360, and PS3 via download in their respective parts. If you want a game that can challenge you a bit, then I say go for this game. This is a game to get especially if you are a major Mega Man fan. I’m not going to spoil it for you as far as what happens and the whole story but you’ll find out for yourself.