Let me start this entry off by saying this: I'm an avid
Mega Man fan. I've played most iterations of the series to completion and there will always be a soft spot in my heart for the mini blue bomber. I still remember the first time my Dad brought
Mega Man home for me to play and enjoying every minute of it. I have very fond memories of
Mega Man but also very frustrating ones.
When I was younger, my parents didn't have all the money in the world and I was lucky to get maybe 2 or 3 games for Christmas. Keep in mind that Christmas only comes once a year and sometimes I didn't receive a game at all. I appreciated this so much because it made me into the gamer I am today. Only getting a few games a year made me, dare I say, fall in love with games like
Mega Man. I still remember the first time I beat the very first
Mega Man and how much joy I got out of putting in the time and effort to memorize every level down to perfection. I appreciate the fact that Capcom didn't attempt to make an easier
Mega Man title and love the thought of younger gamers getting the chance to experience such a game of this nature. They kept the game the way it was suppose to be: nice and challenging.
Fast-forward to 2008 and now I'm in a position financially to buy pretty much any game I desire. No longer do I have to choose one game and stick with it for a year. This brings me to my first point:
I don't want to have to remember a game's map to get into or through it. Video games become an outlet from the day-to-day drag that is normal life. I work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and I use video games as my primary source of entertainment. When I play a video game, I want to be at peace and most importantly enjoy the time I spend with it. That's not to say that I don't enjoy a challenge, because I have beaten both
Ninja Gaiden games multiple times and still enjoy the challenge. Granted
Mega Man and
Ninja Gaiden are two different genres of games, but they are still challenging nonetheless. All I'm saying is
Mega Man offers up a different type of challenge that I no longer enjoy.
I think one major reason I'm really just not that into
Mega Man 9 is the simple fact that Capcom chose not to carry any of the game mechanics they introduced post
Mega Man 2 into this game. Where's my slide? Where's my charge shot? One deciding factor for me to continue buying a game in a franchise is because the new title has more innovation on the previous games.
Mega Man 9 does not deliver for me in this aspect. I want my games to evolve not backslide. Being that this is pretty much
Mega Man 2.5, I know the experience I'm going to get with it and it's not going to vary much. Nostalgia is a powerful sedative and can give you rose tinted glasses when viewing past experiences with games. I have fond memories of the series and would like to keep it that way.
So that's pretty much it. I'm sure the game is amazing and don't think that I'm saying that it's a bad game; that couldn't be farther from the truth. I just want to give everyone a perspective of someone who enjoyed his time with
Mega Man in the past but wasn't bitten by the nostalgia bug this time around. If you haven't played a game like this, I encourage you to do so. I think playing any NES game, especially one as challenge as
Mega Man, will give you a new appreciation for the games you play today.
Now, when they release a 2D Metroid, I'll be all over it.
(# 0) on 10/07/2008 11:22
(# 1) on 10/07/2008 11:22
I think you and I are in the minority here about the way we feel about MM9, it just isn't for everyone. But for those that get it, this is as good as it gets.
(# 2) on 10/07/2008 11:28
The tragedy here is that the concerns you bring up, memorization and gimped moveset are addressed, separately, by the two mutually exclusive DLC items that dropped yesterday. Endless Mode makes it kind of a game about reacting (with just a little less memory required) and Proto Man brings the Charge and Slide back (though ultimately he dies way easier than Mega).
(# 3) on 10/07/2008 11:33
I didn't even realize that Proto Man brings the Charge and slide back into the scene. I'm sure when there's not a ton of games to play, I'll run back to this and play the hell out of it. But just like last year, there's a ton of new games that are battling for my attention this holiday.
(# 4) on 10/07/2008 12:27
(# 5) on 10/07/2008 12:50
My love for the game aside though, I can totally understand why others like Yojimbo and yourself are not fans of Mega Man 9. I have to agree with you that if a new 2D Metroid comes out that will be THE BOMB!
(# 6) on 10/07/2008 12:59
I'm seriously tempted to get this for PS3 so I can play it, but I haven't played since MM3, which I enjoyed immensely, but I've got a pile of games already and this one is just lower on the list. I have yet to play any of my downloaded titles enough to actually believe that I got my money's worth out of it.
(# 7) on 10/07/2008 13:41
(# 8) on 10/07/2008 14:00
People-who-don't-enjoy-mega-man-as-much-as-everyone-else-or-maybe-even-dislike-it club...UNITE!
(# 9) on 10/07/2008 14:09
Actually, the third paragraph is especially relevant to my interests. I play games to have fun, to relax, to enjoy myself. Mega Man doesn't provide that. It's like trying to learn astrophysics in my leisure time. It might work for some, but it's a head-against-wall chore for me. Mega Man is a novelty for a niche crowd. Nothing more.
(# 10) on 10/07/2008 14:23
(# 11) on 10/07/2008 15:01
(# 12) on 10/07/2008 15:02
Isn't every game really just a matter taste?
(# 13) on 10/07/2008 15:07
That said, I hate the game for being exactly like it's ancestors.
(# 14) on 10/07/2008 15:49
Then I reached Wily's stage and I gave up.
All previous MM games had a wonderful sense of balance, they where challenging sure but never cheap, you never felt you died because of poorly placed things, I always felt I died because I fucked up, MM9 lacks this.
For example, there's an area in Wily's castle where you are being dragged upwards via gravity, the 2nd section like this has wall to wall spikes and you have to move very carefully using your buster for momentum, move to fast, you die, move to slow you die, I reach the ladder in this tough section and all off a sudden an enemy swoops down and slams me against spikes and kills me. No warning of the enemy being there.
That's romhack levels of sadism and complete bullshit, another thing that pissed me off was the item system, see I made it to area 2 in wily's castle and opted to buy some items, I return to Wily's castle and I have to beat area 1 all over again.
It seems Capcom forgot to make the game fun and most importantly, BALANCED, nobody likes retarded difficulty spikes.
(# 15) on 10/07/2008 15:50
(# 16) on 10/07/2008 16:12
That's romhack levels of sadism and complete bullshit, "
lol nothing new there, man. Things come off the screen without indication in every Mega Man game, all the time, that you have to react to. you just got pwned. Pick yourself up and try again :)
@ Dexter
"I've said it before... Mega Man's gameplay style is no longer relevant to SOME OF today's gamers. "
I fixed that for you. :) I game today . . .
But I can see where that can be frustrating.
(# 17) on 10/07/2008 16:18
Last night I finally completed Mega Man (1), after it took me playing over the course of 3 days with cheats (like the Pause Trick) and some FAQ help with Dr. Wily's castle.. I still kinda suck but not as bad at least, and I'm getting better.
(# 18) on 10/07/2008 17:05
I've played and beaten Megaman 1-8, Megaman X 1-8, Megaman Zero 1-4 and Megaman Extreme 1 and 2.
Nothing like what I described happened to me in any of those games, it is something new, its something that comes out of nowhere and kills you instantly for no reason. Its retarded enemy placement for the sake of calling something "difficult".
I'm 25 years old and I barely have the patience for that shit anymore, I'll play a game on the hardest difficulty sure but I want to be actually challenged, not die because of shitty gameplay mechanics.
(# 19) on 10/07/2008 18:30
Its not much different from things that jump out of pits when you jump over them, causing you to fall into the pit and die, in my opinion. Or the Bike obstacles in a couple of the later Megaman/ X games. And just taking Mega Man 9 in itself, those guys showed up near precarious spikes in Galaxy Man's stage. Having been lovingly caught by one, I realized their potential and proceeded accordingly.
Hey, I got caught by it too, and it was definitely a major "WTF" moment. But now I know.
For what its worth, I'm 29 and have plenty patience for it. :)
I dunno. I kind of appreciate it as another element of caution in an already tricky situation. Maybe I'm taking a very permissive, almost japanese approach to it, but who was I to assume that little bit of space next to that ladder was safe to just jet over to? Maybe I should have seen it coming, maybe not. But upon realizing the danger, I know what the game is expecting me to accomplish.
But, certainly, I see how its frustrating. I just wouldn't consider it bad design, considering the truly shitty games I've played.
(# 20) on 10/08/2008 12:21
You're right... Those robot elephants are a bitch!
Mega Man fans rejoice!
Thank you Capcom!