Get Equipped with Megaman 9

When we last left Mega Man, he had just defeated Dr.Wily for the eighth time in his long-decorated career as a boy robot. He could slide, charge his Mega Buster until he was all flashy, and attach himself to his robot dog to grant him the gift of flight. What has changed since all of that happened? For starters, Capcom took a class in minimalism and learned that less is more.

Mega Man after Mega Man has been released, each further straying from the original concept as though a new layer of paint was slopped on a masterpiece until the original could not even be deciphered. Rest assured, the magic of Mega Man has returned to us like a long-lost dog.

It is immediately apparent that the graphics are not what is expected in this day and age. With such an emphasis placed on 1080i, Mega Man 9’s graphics stick out like a sore thumb. The stages are as vibrant as ever, and there is not a pixel that is out of place. Mega Man still uses the same few frames as he always did, and there is an option to turn on Legacy Mode, which adds the ever-important sprite flicker.

Graphics aside, it is the same challenging game that melted our hearts years ago. Complete with eight new robot masters, it shows off its genius level designs. What Mega Man 9 does well is create completely different environments, each with different rules to figure out. It is never anything that puts players over their heads though; the game does a great job of slowly introducing new ideas. Whenever there is a room with minimum dangers, it allows a player to practice skills that will be employed more extensively deeper into the level.

This game is also just as difficult and challenging as ever. There are near-pixel-perfect jumps to be completed, enemy patterns to memorize, and situations where something will probably try to smash you that require quick reflexes. You will not face these problems empty-handed, however. Mega Man continues to rip the powers from fallen robot masters and use them to kill their minions. Talk about a blue menace! Surprisingly, these skills that Mega Man learns actually come in handy. I found myself switching between powers to reach the robot master successfully.

Nevertheless, getting these powers is often harder than it sounds. Without knowing the boss’s weakness, a battle comes down to a heart-pumping last few pixels of life as you pray to Godman that your Mega Buster will topple your metal adversary. This batch of robot masters uses all sort of crazy tricks to kill you, but they do have weaknesses, and finding them will speed up the process. Routinely, I found myself out of breath after fighting a boss and extremely satisfied with my video game skills. I have never been more proud of dedicating the larger portion of my life to this hobby.

Mega Man 9 is not all old-school goodness. It comes complete with a time trial mode, downloadable content, and a list of challenges to complete. New play modes, a new stage, and Proto Man will eventually be downloadable–for a price. Since this game is only ten dollars, I will cut it some slack, but back in the day, this stuff would be unlocked by a slightly complex combination of buttons presses. The challenges are borderline insane. Beating the game without messing with the Mega Buster? Beat the game without being hit once? Don’t die? Beat the game five times in one day? Um, what? These are really only for the ultra-dedicated, and I commend anyone who takes on these challenges. May the eye of Dr. Light watch over you.

Mega Man 9 is a breath of fresh air and an example of a sequel made with love. When developers move away from the glamor and Hollywood-like attraction of graphics, it is easy to see their love for game design shine through. Mega Man 9 serves as a great reminder that gameplay and design should come before all else. It is an art of a game that rides a giant nostalgic wave. Any gamer would be crazy to not get swept away.