Four words best sum up Mega Man 9 - way to go, Capcom!
Mega Man 9 is more old school than new, but those who have played the newer games in the series will notice that a few elements from newer Mega Man games are present here as well, mainly the shop. As for the rest of the game, with the exception of Rush, it plays strictly like the first two games in the series. Gone
are the slide function and the charged shots, back is the button mashing as you hammer the fire button (except for those bums who opt for the rapid fire button) to rifle the shots needed to take out your
adversaries. And trust me - they're a tough lot this time around! Nearly every boss robot in this game takes
only one damage from the mega buster! You'll need to be on your toes with some of these bots, particularly if you haven't been playing Anniversary Collection nonstop before Mega Man 9 hit the download!
The main things that impressed me about this game are the level designs and the animations of the characters. Of particular note, Tornado Man's level is a sheer work of gaming art! Capcom really proved with this level alone that they can bring something new to the table, even using a format that they seemed to incorporate everything into! The spinning platforms concept was a stroke of genius, and there's a good element of challenge when you have to use them in windy conditions! And the hot air balloon enemy had
me laughing out loud the first several times I popped the balloon and had to dodge it as it flew about the
screen! This is just one level I'm talking about, the one that stood out most in my mind, but each stage in
this game has a good element of challenge to them. Those of you who haven't played Mega Man in a while, this game will remind you of just what frustrated you the first few times you played through the other games.
Graphically, let's face it - there's no way this game would stand up to the games of modern times. However, I have never been a believer of comparing older games to modern games, so if they were still doing the individual categories, this one would still get a 9 out of 10 from me. Why? Well, like I said, I believe in comparing games to their peers, and in this case, that would be other 8 bit games. Mega Man games have never failed to stand out in the 8 bit realm with their beautiful visuals, and this one is by no means an exception to that rule! The visuals alone would rate at least an 8 in that book, but add to that the animations of enemies like the hot air balloon robots I mentioned earlier, and you have a game that's great to look at for the genre it emulates! The only thing that really disappointed me about the game is the sound department. Don't get me wrong, the game does have good background music in the stages, but it seems to me that they rehashed a little too many Mega Man 2 tracks in this new game. They didn't just redo the tracks, they reused a few of the exact same tracks from Mega Man 2, including the password/continue screen, the game over screen, the stage victory theme, and the opening stage song. By and large, the audio compares to Mega Man 1 and 2, in that the original songs used during each of the stages sound like they could have also been used in those two games.
The graphics are excellent and the audio is pretty good in Mega Man 9, but where this game really shines are in its gameplay and its replay value! Today, nearly every game that comes out has achievements that you can shoot for. Some of the achievements in this game are absolutely insane, such as calling for you to beat the game without getting hit a single time and getting through levels without firing any shots! No matter how good you are, you'll have to beat the game no less than 30 times and in a span of at least 3 days to pull off everything the game challenges you to achieve. A few years back, a lot of games had a much lower replay value since there weren't the achievements that exist in today's games, and that is one thing that Mega Man 9 has going for it - maybe there are no hidden super items (or none that I found anyway), but it offers a wide variety of achievements at varying degrees of difficulty that will certainly keep players busy for quite a while, especially those who are unsatisfied until they have accomplished everything there is to accomplish in a game. More importantly, though, you will have fun doing it!
All in all, the team behind Mega Man 9 deserves to be proud for putting a quality game out there that can
be downloaded for so cheap! If it wasn't for the rehashing of several Mega Man 2 tracks, this game would, in my eyes, be just about perfect! Capcom used an old formula to bring us yet another spectacular
platformer, and they brought new elements to the table not seen in the past Mega Man games! Mega Man even has his first female adversary now! You'll be saying hello to Splash Woman, the first female boss robot in any original Mega Man game! (Yes, I know Zero had Iris to fight in X4, but this isn't Zero, nor is it the X series) Bottom line: is Mega Man 9 worth the $10 to download! You better believe it! I personally had
very high expectations for this game, and for once, it surpassed everything I hoped for! From the looks of
it, most everyone else feels the same way. Fine job, Capcom! You've still got the touch!