Mega Man 11 (2018)

For the most part, this game follows the same formula as the previous 10 Mega Man games. The new feature it adds is the double gear system, which I quite liked; it adds something fresh and original to the gameplay. It was cool that the bosses use the gears as well, effectively giving them a second "phase" and making the boss fights a little more interesting. This is one of the easier Mega Man games I have played, due to being able to use the speed gear to get through tricky sections and the ease of stocking up on energy tanks at the shop, but there is a hard mode if you want extra challenge.

I did miss the retro 8-bit aesthetic of Mega Man 9 and 10, and I was not at all impressed with this game's soundtrack, especially compared to 9 and 10's. But overall, this is a good game. It is fairly short (I finished it in a single evening), but there are various challenges you can play that add additional content.

I bought this game years ago, and I finally got around to playing it after working my way through the rest of the main series. And after doing so, I can say that 11 is my favourite entry!

It was so lovely seeing Mega Man finally brought into the modern gaming era. The same nuts and bolts are present, but with a much improved UI, tons of upgrades, and difficulty arc that lets you set your challenges.

The levels are long, and some of them are quite tough, but this is balanced out by the fact that you can stock a whole bunch of extra lives, energy tanks, and weapon refills, in addition to all the bonus upgrades that you can toggle on or off. The more you play, the stronger Mega Man becomes, and the easier the levels become—but only if you want them to be.

I also really liked the main gimmick of time-bound time-slow and power-booster. It took some getting used to, but it really added an extra element to the gameplay, especially when combined with the weapon upgrades.

Highly recommend to Mega Man fans!

THE GOOD

1. Graphics are lovely
2. The option to buy lives and health refills makes this a lot more accessible to non-hardcore gamers
3. The controls are smooth as ever
4. Upgradeable parts are very helpful (although getting one never feels as cool as upgrades did in Mega Man X)
5. It's Mega Man! And Rush!

THE BAD

1. Health and ammo pickups are rare
2. Difficulty balance is off. Most levels are fairly straightforward, but you can suddenly run into a segment that feel infuriatingly unfair
3. Rush is mostly useless
4. It's not Mega Man X :)

PROS

• Attractive character and enemy designs
• Smooth controls
• Classic charge-and-blast action is as satisfying as ever
• Gives me hope for Mega Man Legends 3 😭

CONS

• The Mega Man formula is dated, mired by trial-and-error and cheap deaths
• Level design is passable at best, obnoxious at worst
• The late game boss gauntlet is lazy and should've been done away with ages ago
• New systems fail to meaningfully improve upon Mega Man's core mechanics