Mega Man 9 (2008)

I've been playing the numbered Mega Man games in order for the last few years. They're not really my favourite games, but they've always had a certain charm, and I wanted to challenge myself to beat them all before playing Mega Man 11, which I picked up on sale like two years ago and haven't played yet.

In 1996, Capcom made Mega Man 8, which is in my opinion the best in the series (that I've played). It looked great, was just the right difficulty level, had interesting level design, and I loved the upgrade options.

12 years later, they decided to go back to their roots and make another NES-style game in Mega Man 9. I see the appeal, but in my opinion they were just going back to a time when the games were objectively worse. No sliding, no charging the Mega Buster. But worst of all, they brought back the punishing difficulty and ramped it up.

Like Mega Man 7, at times, I was flabbergasted at what they expected me to do with three lives. And yet, I did it. And it only took me about 6 1/2 in-game hours. So is the difficulty worth it? I don't know, but there is some sense of satisfaction in overcoming a challenge like that.

The really frustrating thing is the how they actually punish you for failing. The first time I made it to Wily, I was out of Energy Tanks. The final stage of the Wily fight is really tough, and it takes time to figure out the patterns, and it's really helpful to have special weapons. But getting back to that point after a game over takes so long, and you only get to practice for a few seconds before being sent back. I eventually gave up, deciding I needed the Energy Tanks.

The next day, I started all the way back from Wily Stage 1 and managed to crawl my way all the way back to Wily, and since I preserved my Energy Tanks this time, I was actually able to beat him first try. But just the fact that you have backtrack so much every time you fail, and lose your items if you use them, makes it really frustrating. I for sure spent more time in Wily Castle than the rest of the game combined.

So yea, is this a good game? I don't know, I guess so. I'm glad I beat it.

Rambling I finally beat this game after about 10 or so years of owning it. It was the first entry in the classic series I’ve played, so I was hoping to enjoy it more than 8. I think the salt and frustration is currently clouding my view of the game right now, but I actually enjoyed it less than I thought I would. It feels like the games on the NES, all the triumphs along with the flaws. Mega Man doesn’t have a slide or a charge shot, which makes it feel like the entry closest to MM2. The enemies that come out of nowhere, insane hit stun right into pits, the lack of checkpoints in long stages; all of these make this game pretty tough. I think the fact that I was out of practice soured my enjoyment because I expected to struggle less than I actually did. I was hoping to do a no items and no special weapon playthrough, but after failing at the final stage over and over I gave up on that goal. Luckily, the game offers a screw shop to mitigate some difficulty by letting you buy upgrades and tanks.

Protoman As hard as the game is normally, you can actually play as Protoman (may or may not be DLC) which makes the game even harder. Protoman has a charge shot similar to the one in MM4, a slide, and a shield while jumping. All of that is offset by him taking much more damage and only being able to have 2 busters on screen instead of 3. So even though he has a charge shot, he actually has less DPS than MM because of how long it actually takes to reach full charge. It doesn’t help that he loses charge when he takes damage.

Final thoughts Despite my frustrations, I still think it’s a fun game and probably in the top 3 of games in the classic series. It may be first game bias speaking, but in the very least, if you are a fan of how the games were on NES, I don’t think you can go wrong playing this iteration.

1001 Games - #889

Pros: near-perfect recreation of the original Mega Man style, excellent chiptune soundtrack

Cons: retains punishing difficulty of retro games

Recommendation: Essentially a new NES game, it is a relatively game with extremely high difficulty to make sure you don't finish it the first time you play. Mega Man 9 rewards dedication and patience. I would say this game is best for those who have mastered the original classics (2, 3, and 4 in my opinion) and are looking for more.