Von Richter's response to the sudden rash of noobs throwing a hissy fit over Megaman 9's perfectly do-able difficulty level.
Megaman 2.
My how general gamer skill has atrophied over the years. It's SHOCKING to see people considering the piece-o-cake Megaman 2 (the easiest of the NES megamans) difficult or frustrating. Megaman 2, for it's time, is an easy game. The kind of thing even mediocre players could finish with a little practice. Nowadays it looks like people just want to watch cut scenes and mindlessly hammer buttons while being fed by a tube. Anything else sends them into spoiled whining crybaby antics.
C'mon people, stop being such lazy wimpy gamers.
Megaman 9.
Megaman 9 isn't even that tough. It's really scary that any game that is moderately challenging these days is "controversial". It's just plain absurd. If you are too chicken to play something that doesn't treat you like a little baby and requires a bit of effort and skill, then don't buy it. It's that simple.
Don't ruin it for the rest of us who have been waiting for this day to come for so long. Don't flip out at Capcom until they decide to never release a challenging game again. For the love of all that's gaming, REJOICE that SOMEWHERE, SOMEONE at these companies still cares about true hardcore gamers.
I got out of gaming as the difficulty levels descended to something your 120 year old grandma can beat on the first try. Games like Megaman 9 offer that tiny sliver of hope for well-hewn gamers like me... they give us something to care about again, a challenge, something to feel good about conquering.
It's not just the 8-bit-style of Megaman 9. It's about precision control and reflexes. When you die it's your fault. 92% of modern games are sloppy affairs lacking this kind of precision and 1:1 ratio of player interaction. Instead they are 80+ hours of repetitive fetch quests and cutscenes. Forget it. I just want to PLAY games, not act like a wimpy vegetable being force fed lazy filler. Give me tight level design over 20 hours of rendered CG cutscenes any day.
One last thing: If you can't beat Megaman 9, take up a hobby more your pace, like stamp collecting, or perhaps bird watching.
(Not that there is anything wrong with stamp collectors or bird watchers. Please, bird watchers and stamp collectors, no hate mail!)
Yeah, I'm writing a post that is totally polar opposite of this one. It's a challenge, yes. But some people don't have the time nor patience to grind this game. As much as I appreciate the game, I have no love for it.
Whaaaaaat?! Im on the final level and I have 1 hour and 42 minutes recorded on the game save. You make it sound like it takes 100's of hours to beat. I think your going crazy man.
I'm all for a challenging game, and I find MM9 very fun. But to say that every time you die, its your own fault is a little bit of a stretch. There are some very cheap areas in the game (jump off of a disappearing block right into a hard hat? check!) and the jumping sometimes reacts just as well as Eternity's Child (read: doesn't jump when I press the button [maybe its my controller]).
Its a tough game, but not completely unfairly tough.
Beating it the first time took me a recorded 7 hours, though that's probably just me saving after every failed session. Some of the bosses are Mega Man ZX tough, wherein their patterns are pretty ridiculous (Plug Man).
For benchmark, while the learning skills required are similar to Ikaruga, Mega Man 9 isn't anywhere as tough as Ikaruga.
Well I didn't mean to make it sound like that. Mega Man just always brought a feeling of frustration like no other. Don't get me wrong, I love Mega Man as a series. But I think I'm just over playing Mega Man games. I've beaten a shitload of them and I appreciate them for what they are. I'm just not looking for that type of experience in 2008.
MM9 isn't that hard... I'm having trouble with Wily level 2 (stupid 3-stage bosses), but I can get through the eight robots' levels without having to continue. It really only takes like 40 mins or so to finish all of the robots levels if you play right through them, it's not like the game is really long.
I think never using saves is key... forcing yourself to play through the levels every time you play makes the game much easier in the long run.
Yeah, MM9 is tough, but it's definitely hilarious to hear all these f'n n00bs complain about it. MM9 represents a much more purer form of game design that is very uncommon in today's games. It's beautiful.
I just got done playing through Wily Levels 1-3 a moment ago before I got a game over. There's a part in it that gravity is turned off and you're constantly floating upward. And your shots propel you in a certain direction, so you have to shoot yourself away from the oncoming spikes. It's EXTREMELY difficult, but I love it. I just love it to death!
I completely agree with you, Von. I got through Mega Man 9 on my first try with little to no problem at all. It was hard, yes, but if you've ever played even one other Mega Man game, you knew how to deal with it.
MEGAMAN 9...... NINE TIMES AS HARD AS THE FIRST EIGHT.
I agree with MR Von and Pedrovay2003. I see it this way if your not kicking the games ass than I'm sure it's kicking yours.
PS. Speaking of ass kicking, I still have a sore rump form that F-Zero story mode. Have any of you guys beat that yet?
I still think the most frustratingly difficult part of a mega man game ever was the jet-board sequence before wily's castle in Mega Man 8. I breezed through most of that game, but that part made me stop playing it until I got the collection for my GC a year later
Couldn't agree with you more vonrichter. HOWEVER, Mega Man 9 is not perfect by any means. It's fantastic that were once again treated with pixel-perfect collision and pin sharp controls but there really are some things that has evolved for a reason since the 80's.
The save-system for example, I realize its just a substitute for the password screen but not being able to save for the last 4-5 levels? Fuck that, I have a life to attend to.
What annoys me the most though is how the latter levels require you to have a certain amount of ammo to certain weapons to be able to complete it. There was one time I didn't have any ammo left on concrete shot, sitting there with 6+ lives and not being able to exit the level manually was one of the more idiotic things ever.
The game is just littered with really bad design choices, and I don't think they are an aspect of retro gaming that needs to be brought back.
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Mega Man 9 will make you its bitch the first time through. After that it's delicious cake.
Try playing MM 9 with no saves or energy tanks.
OKAY, YOUR PENIS IS REALLY BIG. WE GET IT.
SOUNDS LIKE GAMERS NEED TO MAN UP A BIT.
Yeah, I'm writing a post that is totally polar opposite of this one. It's a challenge, yes. But some people don't have the time nor patience to grind this game. As much as I appreciate the game, I have no love for it.
More in the future.
Kryptinite
Whaaaaaat?! Im on the final level and I have 1 hour and 42 minutes recorded on the game save. You make it sound like it takes 100's of hours to beat. I think your going crazy man.
I'm all for a challenging game, and I find MM9 very fun. But to say that every time you die, its your own fault is a little bit of a stretch. There are some very cheap areas in the game (jump off of a disappearing block right into a hard hat? check!) and the jumping sometimes reacts just as well as Eternity's Child (read: doesn't jump when I press the button [maybe its my controller]).
Its a tough game, but not completely unfairly tough.
Beating it the first time took me a recorded 7 hours, though that's probably just me saving after every failed session. Some of the bosses are Mega Man ZX tough, wherein their patterns are pretty ridiculous (Plug Man).
For benchmark, while the learning skills required are similar to Ikaruga, Mega Man 9 isn't anywhere as tough as Ikaruga.
Of course, difficulty is all relative . . .
@jack
Well I didn't mean to make it sound like that. Mega Man just always brought a feeling of frustration like no other. Don't get me wrong, I love Mega Man as a series. But I think I'm just over playing Mega Man games. I've beaten a shitload of them and I appreciate them for what they are. I'm just not looking for that type of experience in 2008.
Man this post is going to make heads explode.
MM9 isn't that hard... I'm having trouble with Wily level 2 (stupid 3-stage bosses), but I can get through the eight robots' levels without having to continue. It really only takes like 40 mins or so to finish all of the robots levels if you play right through them, it's not like the game is really long.
I think never using saves is key... forcing yourself to play through the levels every time you play makes the game much easier in the long run.
Yeah, MM9 is tough, but it's definitely hilarious to hear all these f'n n00bs complain about it. MM9 represents a much more purer form of game design that is very uncommon in today's games. It's beautiful.
I just got done playing through Wily Levels 1-3 a moment ago before I got a game over. There's a part in it that gravity is turned off and you're constantly floating upward. And your shots propel you in a certain direction, so you have to shoot yourself away from the oncoming spikes. It's EXTREMELY difficult, but I love it. I just love it to death!
<3
MAH PENOR IS THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS BIG
EVERYONE IS TEHR NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBBBBBBB
THAS HOW LONG MUH E PEEN IS TWO.
Megaman 9 is so unfairly hard it's what killed ghandi.
but yeah, I haven't played it, though I agree with Von, what's the point of a game where you can't die?
Yes, Prey, I'm looking directly at you.
Yes, no game is hard. All you have to do is beat it.
I completely agree with you, Von. I got through Mega Man 9 on my first try with little to no problem at all. It was hard, yes, but if you've ever played even one other Mega Man game, you knew how to deal with it.
MEGAMAN 9...... NINE TIMES AS HARD AS THE FIRST EIGHT.
I agree with MR Von and Pedrovay2003. I see it this way if your not kicking the games ass than I'm sure it's kicking yours.
PS. Speaking of ass kicking, I still have a sore rump form that F-Zero story mode. Have any of you guys beat that yet?
I still think the most frustratingly difficult part of a mega man game ever was the jet-board sequence before wily's castle in Mega Man 8. I breezed through most of that game, but that part made me stop playing it until I got the collection for my GC a year later
Couldn't agree with you more vonrichter. HOWEVER, Mega Man 9 is not perfect by any means. It's fantastic that were once again treated with pixel-perfect collision and pin sharp controls but there really are some things that has evolved for a reason since the 80's.
The save-system for example, I realize its just a substitute for the password screen but not being able to save for the last 4-5 levels? Fuck that, I have a life to attend to.
What annoys me the most though is how the latter levels require you to have a certain amount of ammo to certain weapons to be able to complete it. There was one time I didn't have any ammo left on concrete shot, sitting there with 6+ lives and not being able to exit the level manually was one of the more idiotic things ever.
The game is just littered with really bad design choices, and I don't think they are an aspect of retro gaming that needs to be brought back.