"Mega Man 9" is a risk. It marks a return to a style long since abandoned by the industry fused with the advancements of today.
One of those includes the ability to sell consumers additional game features through downloadable content. "Mega Man 9" on WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network are all rigged for additional content -- but at a cost.
This is a stark contrast to the last time Capcom tried to reinvent "Mega Man" in a remake of the original, PSP's "Mega Man: Powered Up," whose downloadable content was free. But PSP games are also threatened by piracy.
That's not the case with "Mega Man 9." Some vocal consumers have cried foul at Capcom's decision, but let's break down exactly what you're paying for and examine whether previous games that tried similar models (remember the "Lumines Live!" debacle?) found success. Then, tell us what you think.
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As Tracey John lamented on Wednesday, "Mega Man 9"'s difficulty might be a reason for people to stay away from the game. A demo, however, is no big deal. A demo is safe.
Or is it?
Nintendo doesn't have WiiWare demos, so Capcom didn't produce one. On the PlayStation Network, however, Capcom released a one-level trial of the blue bomber's 8-bit return to form.
Except this demo includes one of the most difficult stages: Concrete Man.
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"Mega Man 9" is really, really hard. As I argued yesterday, it's designed like that.
If you're not a hardcore "Mega Man" player, yet still want to join in on the old-school fun, there's something to keep in mind: remember you can buy items.
Stores with purchasable items were not introduce into the "Mega Man" series until much later, but it's a concept that's been kept in "Mega Man 9" for good reason. Within the store, you can swap screws you have picked up for such useful items as:
* Mystery Tank -- Refills all of Mega Man's energy and weapon energy
* Guard -- When used, you only take one-half the damage in that stage
* Spike Guardian -- Protects Mega Man from touching a spike
* Beat Call -- Saves you from falling in a hole
* Eddie Call -- Brings Meg Man a useful item
Most of the items are available for a one-time use, but when combined with one another, can help reduce the difficult of a particularly challenging stage. You'll need to spend time collecting enough screws to play with all of them.
If you want to lower the difficulty curve in "Mega Man 9," it is possible -- you just have to work for it a bit.
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Is ‘Mega Man 9′ The Hardest ‘Mega Man’ Ever?
Thirty-two minutes into playing my WiiWare version of "Mega Man 9," I have only managed to defeat one robotic boss.
Remember me breezing through most "Mega Man" stages without dying? That is not the case at all with "Mega Man 9." In fact, it's the exception; I'm barely making it past the first checkpoint before rediscovering the Game Over screen.
I've never had this much trouble with a "Mega Man" game before. There are a couple of reasons for that...
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With "Mega Man 9" dropping next week, we're not going to make it through the entire old school "Mega Man" games before the new sequel drops.
But at least we're ending on a high note. "Mega Man 5" is the best in the series after "Mega Man" and "Mega Man 2." It's also the most challenging.
Part of that comes from subtle tributes paid to those games in the design of "Mega Man 5." Part of it because it's just a really good platformer.
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It's hard to believe it took three sequel before Capcom introduced the ability for Mega Man to charge his blaster.
No matter how many times I replay the "Mega Man" games, I always try to charge the mega buster. It's an old habit from obsessing over the "Mega Man X" series.
Because of that, however, I barely used the charge ability in "Mega Man 4." I've found that's not really a big deal, thankfully.
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It's all downhill from here, right? I'm done with "Mega Man 2."
Fortunately, that's not entirely true. "Mega Man 3" is also a terrific game, it's just not as magical as the last sequel. It's a little hard to top an all-time classic.
While playing through "Mega Man 3," however, I got the feeling that series creator Keiji Inafune envisioned the first three "Mega Man" games as a trilogy. Even though the characters and world would live on far after this one (and Inafune would stay involved), there are many signs the first three games were seen as a singular whole.
Let me explain.
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"Mega Man 2" is my favorite video game of all time.
Can you understand why I might be a little excited about "Mega Man 9," given that Capcom has publicly said it's being modeled after my favorite game ever?
I play through "Mega Man 2" at least once a year. It's a good reminder of old school game design and to keeps my invisible platforming skills sharpened.
Continuing what I'd started last week, I decided to play through "Mega Man 2" again.
[Image Credit: Wikipedia]
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I have "Mega Man" on the brain, thanks to "Mega Man 9."
The new 8-bit Capcom platformer ranks among my most anticipated games of 2008. September can't come soon enough. In fact, it is pretty soon.
I've decided to play through as much of the original "Mega Man" series as possible -- one per week or more -- before "Mega Man 9" is released to the masses. That meant, of course, I had to start at the beginning this week: "Mega Man 1."
While playing, I started making a list of things that Id forgotten that make the first "Mega Man" such a difficult experience to play through:
[Image Credit: Wikipedia]
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I recently interviewed the two Capcom developers overseeing the new "Mega Man 9" game, the throwback game coming to all three consoles' downloadable gaming services this fall. This new "Mega Man" game is 8-bit and designed to look and play like the original ones on the Nintendo Entertainment System. So we talked about the look, the gameplay, which of the "Mega Man" games players should play before playing "MM9," and other stuff.
And I asked Inafune if -- maybe -- there have been too many "Mega Man" games?
Hit the jump for all the answers and a good trashing of the priorities of modern game developers. Read more...
