Have you ever wished that a series could return to its glory days? That it could cast off the shackles of the next-gen fervor to be a bigger, faster, and stronger game? To pluck an 8-bit page from an alternate history and remind us all that flashier graphics and longer games do not necessarily mean they’re better? Welcome to Mega Man 9.

Capcom's retro-sequel Mega Man 9 is available for download on the Wii’s Virtual Console, Playstation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade. Immediately after downloading you are greeted with a familiar title screen, and a classic introduction to Mega Man 9's story. Apparently the once evil Dr.Wily has forsaken his evil ways and is being tempted by the once goodly Dr.Light to once again attempt world conquest.

You are then greeted by the familiar "stage select"; screen where you are allowed to choose which Robot Master Boss you wish to take on first. Mega Man 9 sports some of the better Robot Masters from the series. Previous duds like Centaur Man, Top Man, and Clown Man are replaced with winners like Concrete Man, Magma Man, and Splash Woman (the first woman Robot Master!).

Upon beginning whichever level you please, you are immediately greeted by a classic 8-bit symphony. Mega Man games tend to sport great music, and this one is no exception. Deep bass drum beats and plucky arpeggios create the catchy tunes that are sure to be lodged in your brain for days.

Falling in line with the retro tunes are the archaic graphics of the NES yester-year. Mega Man 9 is stylistically on par with Mega Man 2, and being that Mega Man 2 is commonly regarded as the best in the series, this is a welcome similarity. There is even an option called “Legacy Mode” which allows you to turn on and off graphical glitches, which are intentionally implemented to mimic the limited hardware of the NES. From the creative, unique sprites of the Robot masters, to the huge, cantankerous minibosses, Mega Man 9 felt like a forgotten relic rather than a new development.

Don’t let the colorful graphics and bright soundtrack fool you, however, because Mega Man 9 will break you. The game lacks any sort of tutorial and thrusts you into a world of one-hit-kill spikes, deadly pits, and quick, aggressive enemies. You will quickly become friends with the “Game Over” screen and begin to salivate over 1-ups and energy pellets like a dog over a treat. Despite this unforgiving difficulty, the sense of accomplishment that you get from felling a Robot Master and stealing their unique power will have you coming back for more. Discovering which special weapons are the Achilles’ heel for the Robot Masters is still mega-satisfying, and will have you playing the game again immediately.

Despite all its brilliance, I would have appreciated a temporary save file for that long trek through the final fortress. While having to leave your system on overnight in order to not lose your progress does enhance the nostalgia, it simply isn’t good for your console. I also think that an inclusion of cooperative play or a deathmatch type scenario would have made the game even more worth it. The replay value is boosted by the inclusion of Time Attack modes and a “Challenges” system that rewards you similarly to Xbox 360’s “Achievements” (Beat the game without getting hit!). At $10.00 for the download, the price simply can’t be beat.

If you have a choice for which console to download it to, I recommend either the Wii or PlayStation 3. The d-pad on the Xbox 360 is notoriously sloppy, so if you can bear not earning Achievements, I would avoid playing on Microsoft’s console. Also tilting the Wii-mote sideways feels nearly identical to the classic NES controller, and that’s a good thing when playing Mega Man.

A game like Mega Man 9 makes me hopeful that we will see more retro-sequels in the future. Some classic game series simply haven’t aged well, and with virtual downloads decreasing distribution costs there isn’t a good excuse to skip resurrecting the greatness of series like Castlevania and Sonic the Hedgehog. Here's to the future of the past!

Overall: 10/10


Thanks for reading!

Dimly