Take a look at the above video detailing the Galaxy Man level from a fan-made Mega Man 9 HD Remix project that is currently being developed. What is your reaction? If you are like me, you will initially think it is cool-looking, then scoff at the boss design on the stage select screen, then think it is cool-looking again once the playable section begins, then miss the classic Mega Man animations, then just decide that you think the game looks better in its 8-bit roots.
Don't get me wrong, I respect the guy that is making this game -- I mean, I have no technical expertise whatsoever -- but, ultimately, what's the point? Two years ago everyone got excited about Mega Man 9 primarily because of its old school aesthetics. Taking them away is like taking away the heart of what a great, retro Mega Man is all about.
The video does have its moments, and it is really fun and interesting to watch ... but I just think Mega Man 9 should be left alone.
What do you think? Are you impressed by the HD remix? Would you like to see the game finished (before Capcom most likely freaks out)? And, most importantly, why must everything high-def be so "hardcore"? Listen to the sound effects when Mega Man grabs a 1UP or enters the boss room. "Let's rock and roll!" should never be said in a Mega Man game. Ever.
Chad Concelmo is Destructoid's features editor. He loves hanging out with awesome people. That's why Destructoid makes him so happy, since it is full of THE MOST AWESOME PEOPLE OF ALL TIME! Also, dolphins.
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I can respect the guy for the effort that went into making it HD, but I'm with you Chad on it looking better in 8 bit. A lot of the animations look really weird to me too, like Mega Man's running.
I guess this could be cool for the few people who didn't want to see Mega Man 9 go back to its 8 bit roots.
If they wanted to make an HD version of 9 it should have looked like 8 as well as used the sound effects of 8. I thought the stage background was interesting though, still prefer the original over this fan made version.
I don't care for their "Style", or lack of it. I do with however, that these Retro remakes 9 and 10 were SNES graphics. Those games were some of the best visuals and color pallets on the whole system.
When I look at these NEW ones I think,"Did you even try?".
I read this on Joystiq, and they reported that the creator, Eric Ruth would not be creating the rest of it, mainly to avoid any possible litigation by Capcom over it.
I like the idea but the whole point of a HD version is to improve the graphics rather than ruin the art style. Ironically this comes the same guy who did the exact reverse to Left4Dead and made that awesome. Perhaps it's only cute if you downgrade the graphics?
@x1251 (When the fuck did you climb back out of your hole?)
We're insulting it because in our opinion it's ugly. No one mentioned that it wasn't "authentic or any of that stuff you made up so you could argue against points that weren't brought up. If I believe that the so-called HD version looks worse than the original then that has nothing with it being 8-bit but rather it being ugly.
Being the guy who comes in to tell everyone they're a moron only works if you're right or at least semi-respectful about it. Unfortunately now you just look like a dick.
Whatever, some guy did this for fun. He did a nice job with it too. Sure, if Capcom bought this out from him and tried making a buck off it, I can see the point of bitching then. But this is a fan project pretty much. You guys are pretty much assholes, including Chad. Sure, Mega Man should "officially" be left alone. Does that mean nobody should make their own fan art of the series?
Seriously, who cares if the game looks better in 8 bit or what the point of this is? It was something cool the guy decided to try out, and it turned out pretty decent.
If Mega Man 9 never came out and this was an HD remake of, say Mega Man 5 instead, you guys would all be wishing for Capcom to do something similar.
Look, if someone goes and puts out something like this, they better be prepared for the backlash if it's not true to form. ESPECIALLY if your paying homage to something that everyone has a pre-concevied view of.
If I'm putting out shitty artwork, I want someone to tell me so I can learn from it. As much as I hate to say it, this HD "remix" lacks a lot of what Megaman fans have come to see as stylistic regulars from the series. The character designs are like this weird Ameri-anime approach and just doesn't work for the subject matter.
@ Chad Concelmo - Why on earth would anyone get excited over a game because of old school asthetics?
Everyone who loved Megaman was excited because they miss Megaman from when it was good. If anything, what they really want is for Megaman to come back in the same force as Mario, with a game of the year level effort using the beloved gameplay of the NES version, a Megaman game which once again attains the legendary status the series once had.
What Megaman (Sonic, and other old series) fans want is a 2D gameplay revival, titles with the gameplay they grew up with (2D platforming in these cases) and the budget of Halo. What they do not want is a retro revival based on 8-bit graphics and 2-bit developement teams.
That said, this doesn't make the fan version good. I simply dislike being told what my opinion is, that I should find the appeal in a megaman remake in an out-dated cheap graphical style when the actual appeal of an old-school return is that the old games were the best in the series.
I'm not impressed by a game that's clearly out-dated to begin with. Late 80's (early 90's) games get way too much slack for being late 80's (early 90's) games, whereas N64 remakes (late or mid 90's) are subject to harsh criticism. It's ridiculous.
It's not the point of whether or not someone's trying, the only thing that matters is the end result. You don't get graded for effort in schools, you only get graded for the end result. In this case, then end result doesn't look particularly good.
Why does nearly every obsessive videogame fan feel the need to make a cover or remix every goddamn iconic theme in electric guitar! It doesn't make any of us any cooler, so knock it off.
Congrats on being the first person so far that's liked the style of the game without unnecessarily insulting everyone who didn't. Have a cookie or something.
@Evergreen
So no one's allowed to complain about someone doing a bad job if they can't do better? That line of thinking only applies if your making something worse. So yes if I made a Megaman remake people considered ugly and then told off this guy for doing the same thing I would be a complete hypocrite. Otherwise I'm just acting like every other critic known to man.
Why can't we just say it's a pretty bad looking remake and leave it at that. If you disagree that's fine but don't tell other people they have to like it because they're not making something that's better.
@x1251
I have no idea what the hell you're trying to prove at this point? You seem to have ignored everything else I said because you couldn't find anything to really wrong with it and have now decided to debate the meaning of "authentic"?
And before we were insulting each other. GoldenShowerZero is just petty name calling.
I think it's very impressive, the graphics are great looking (character designs could use a little work), but ultimately unnecessary. People wanting old school megaman would prefer the original NES-style graphics, and people wanting a graphical revamp of megaman wouldn't be satisfied with the graphics. The effort would have been much better spent developing an original game with some original mechanics.
My favorite videogame series of all time will always be old school Mega Man, but I wouldn't mind seeing Capcom take a shot at HD Mega Man with the kind of detail seen in Muramasa, A Boy and His Blob, or Shank. Mega Man X9 perhaps?
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Contest:
1:00 PM on 03.07.2010
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Jesus christ, this is horrible
I guess this could be cool for the few people who didn't want to see Mega Man 9 go back to its 8 bit roots.
When I look at these NEW ones I think,"Did you even try?".
Well, call me "retarded," then. :)
Those are just completely awful drawings.
So yeah I'm also with cataract
that and i dont understand why all the powerups are smoldering like they are.
that and classic mega man's health bar should NEVER be a solid gradient, regardless of art style.
@x1251 (When the fuck did you climb back out of your hole?)
We're insulting it because in our opinion it's ugly. No one mentioned that it wasn't "authentic or any of that stuff you made up so you could argue against points that weren't brought up. If I believe that the so-called HD version looks worse than the original then that has nothing with it being 8-bit but rather it being ugly.
Being the guy who comes in to tell everyone they're a moron only works if you're right or at least semi-respectful about it. Unfortunately now you just look like a dick.
Seriously, who cares if the game looks better in 8 bit or what the point of this is? It was something cool the guy decided to try out, and it turned out pretty decent.
If Mega Man 9 never came out and this was an HD remake of, say Mega Man 5 instead, you guys would all be wishing for Capcom to do something similar.
Except it didnt'.
If I'm putting out shitty artwork, I want someone to tell me so I can learn from it. As much as I hate to say it, this HD "remix" lacks a lot of what Megaman fans have come to see as stylistic regulars from the series. The character designs are like this weird Ameri-anime approach and just doesn't work for the subject matter.
He's making (finished?) an unrelated fan game in the 8-bit style. He should focus on similar projects so he doesn't have to worry.
I don't see you trying to make an HD remake of a Mega Man game.
This just misses the entire point of improving graphics; if they do not improve on the experience, graphics are worthless.
Did we do the electric slide yet?
Everyone who loved Megaman was excited because they miss Megaman from when it was good. If anything, what they really want is for Megaman to come back in the same force as Mario, with a game of the year level effort using the beloved gameplay of the NES version, a Megaman game which once again attains the legendary status the series once had.
What Megaman (Sonic, and other old series) fans want is a 2D gameplay revival, titles with the gameplay they grew up with (2D platforming in these cases) and the budget of Halo. What they do not want is a retro revival based on 8-bit graphics and 2-bit developement teams.
That said, this doesn't make the fan version good. I simply dislike being told what my opinion is, that I should find the appeal in a megaman remake in an out-dated cheap graphical style when the actual appeal of an old-school return is that the old games were the best in the series.
It's not the point of whether or not someone's trying, the only thing that matters is the end result. You don't get graded for effort in schools, you only get graded for the end result. In this case, then end result doesn't look particularly good.
If you're going to do something, do it right.
Congrats on being the first person so far that's liked the style of the game without unnecessarily insulting everyone who didn't. Have a cookie or something.
@Evergreen
So no one's allowed to complain about someone doing a bad job if they can't do better? That line of thinking only applies if your making something worse. So yes if I made a Megaman remake people considered ugly and then told off this guy for doing the same thing I would be a complete hypocrite. Otherwise I'm just acting like every other critic known to man.
Why can't we just say it's a pretty bad looking remake and leave it at that. If you disagree that's fine but don't tell other people they have to like it because they're not making something that's better.
@x1251
I have no idea what the hell you're trying to prove at this point? You seem to have ignored everything else I said because you couldn't find anything to really wrong with it and have now decided to debate the meaning of "authentic"?
And before we were insulting each other. GoldenShowerZero is just petty name calling.
It doesn't look that great at all, but I guess it's just some guy having fun.
My favorite videogame series of all time will always be old school Mega Man, but I wouldn't mind seeing Capcom take a shot at HD Mega Man with the kind of detail seen in Muramasa, A Boy and His Blob, or Shank. Mega Man X9 perhaps?
It really does nothing for me, though. Mega Man music usually gets me all excited, when this music just seemed 'bland'.
And yeah, the whole point of 9 was to jump back in time and be old school Mega Man.
Thank God it isn't.