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Half-Life 2 In Japan

Ahh, the classic Mega Man games. Flawless, really. It’s a simple concept. Defeat a bunch of robots, gain access to the castle of the evil genius and work through said castle and defeat said evil genius. Well, not as simple as it sounds since it’s always a hard fought battle to get there. Capcom did this in the mid-80s with Mega Man on the NES. Back then, games were meant to be difficult but this put the power of the NES to its limits. All the original games were great in their own rights; even Mega Man 8 on the Playstation despite the god-awful voice acting. Mega Man 7 was on SNES and was done 16-bit respectively. Mega Man 8 was put the on Playstation and Sega Saturn but done in about 32-bit. So, with the current consoles, you’d think the graphics would be revolutionary, right? Wrong, Capcom have gone back to their roots and have done this game in 8-bit style. This is anything but bad, mind you. The 8-bit games were always the best ones and this game, whilst maybe not the best, deserves to be treated like the originals. There are even fan-made 8-bit versions of Mega Man 7 and 8. That’s how great they were.

Story-wise, Dr. Light’s robots are running amok around the world. Dr. Wily claims this is not his doing and frames Dr. Light by using a fake video. He tells the world he needs their money advanced to his bank account so he can supposedly build new robots to save the world. Mega Man decides to clear Dr. Light’s name and sets out on his next adventure. As you defeat more robot masters, you learn more about the story and why Wily did what he did.

The cutscenes don't really count as cutscenes, but they tell the story so they'll do.

The game is 8-bit in every way. In fact, the Options menu has a legacy mode which gives you the chance to turn the screen flicker on. It’s not just in the graphics department, though .The sounds and music are appropriate too. This is the best Mega Man game in terms of music. It isn’t long before you find yourself humming away such catchy tunes. It’s also 8-bit in the way of difficulty. You remember how hard the originals were? Capcom have thrown in the difficulty of yesteryear by using their expected methods. Things like water physics used so could potentially jump into some ceiling spikes, cheap kills and tough bosses that make you get disappointed in the difficulty of most games of today. Some stages (Jewel Man’s in particular) are practically made for people who like to punish themselves. You’ll find yourself cursing in no time but it’s then that you realize it is supposed to be like this. Capcom and Inti Creates aren’t going to let you off easy.

8 fresh faces. Whose ready for an ass-beating?

There are a few features to this game as well. Throughout the stages, you’ll collect screws which you can exchange in Dr. Light’s lab for items. Stuff as simple as 1-ups and E-tanks can be bought, alongside other things that you can only use once and then have to buy again like the Eddie robot (who made his first appearance in Mega Man 4 onwards) whom you can summon down so he can give you a random item. You can even give in 20 screws to play as Mega Man without his helmet (though it returns as soon as you die).

Another nice feature are the challenges. Once you’ve kicked Wily’s backside, you can do a bunch of other things afterwards. There are a few simple ones such as “Defeat a Robot Master with just the Mega Buster” or “Defeat a boss without getting damaged.” There are a few challenges that sound ridiculous, though i.e. “Complete the game without getting damaged.” There are 50 challenges but completing them serves no purpose other than a time waster. They are strictly for the truly dedicated (and it has been done. YouTube it).

Speaking of challenges, there’s also an online ranking system. Every time you finish the game, you are shows how you did for time. Currently, my record stands at about 52 minutes. The current record holder is a fellow by the name “Pizzaboy” who has finished the game in no less than 16 minutes. That’s insane to say the least. There’s also a Time Trial mode that sees challenge one stage with full weapons and see how you do. There are individual rankings for those as well.

Finally, there’s downloadable content. The game itself is downloadable on all three consoles and the extra you will have to pay a little extra for. Things like Super Hard Mode which needs no describing, Survival Mode that just sees you keep going until you die (your score is measured on “screens”) but there’s one in particular that caught my attention… Proto Man Mode. You play as, well, Proto Man. Mega Man’s brother who made his first appearance in Mega Man 3 as your rival. What’s different between him and standard play? Well, in standard play, Mega Man can’t slide nor charge the Mega Buster like in previous games whereas Proto Man can. Also, whenever Proto Man jumps and doesn’t fire a weapon, he holds up his shield which can reflect shots (though it’s more of a timing puzzle when used against bosses. It is, however, very hard. For starters, Proto Man takes double the damage that Mega Man does. And whenever he gets hit, he gets hit back further which can be a real nuisance if near a bottomless pit. Another thing that slightly annoys me is that Proto Man doesn’t collect screws and therefore access the shop which is very annoying when it comes to playing in Wily’s castle. For an extra 200 points though (or whatever you’re using to play), it’s worth it.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

All in all, Mega Man 9 is only recommendable to those who have played some of the originals. If you haven’t, think wisely. It’s a true test of skill and determination and really reminds you of how difficult games were back then.

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