"Mega Man." When one hears it, they think "The Blue Bomber" if they're a gamer of any caliber or culture. Spanning across most consoles and at least 5 different series, Mega Man is one of the few franchises that can rival Mario in history and number of games. Its gameplay is timeless — a mark of the gaming of yore. Unlike 7 and 8, Mega Man 9 was made to appeal to classic gamers, who yearned for the days of 8-bit graphics and chiptunes. Mega Man 9 was released to PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Nintendo WiiWare in the fall of 2008. Since then, it has been purchased and downloaded by hundreds of thousands of people. Needless to say, the game hit the ground running.

If you're after a summary, take it from someone who didn't care for the classic series much: Buy this game!

Graphics

Let's start with the most apparent aspect of the game. From the instant you boot this game up, you know you're in for an old school, 8-bit game. Gone are polygons, anti-aliasing, bump-mapping, and other 3-D technologies. When you start this game, you're looking at low-frame, low-color raster art, known to enthusiasts and artists as "pixel art".

Despite some reuse of old tiles and sprites, the game still feels pretty fresh. I'd like to add that the game doesn't actually adhere to all of the NES's limitations, but comes damn close. There's an option in the main menu to turn on flicker to emulate the NES's 8 sprites per scanline limitation, which was a very neat plus if you ask me. Overall, the graphics make you remember the days where you didn't have to go to work and pay bills. And it's wonderful.

Music

I'm a fanboy of this game's music. There isn't a single track on this game's soundtrack I don't like. If you like chiptunes from the NES era, you'll like Mega Man 9's music. It's even better when remixed! From the jazzy Jewel Man to Splash Woman's tide-like music, and Wily Castle's epic riffs, Mega Man 9's music will please any classic gamer. Unless you have no taste, of course. :3

Difficulty

I've heard kids — yes, kids; people who started gaming in the late 90s and early 2000s — complain about the difficulty of games like this. What they don't understand is that those of us who are in their mid 20s or older were beating games like this when we were kids. It was not uncommon for the average NES game to be rather short, but tougher than nails. Back in those days, a game relied on its gameplay and difficulty for its longevity; not graphics. This game is a homage to that era. Personally, I hope more developers follow the trend and start releasing harder games.

Old school gamer elitism aside, the game is tough. And that's just how I like it. You're not going to beat this game for the first time without continuing. Period. Don't expect to waltz right through the game. It's going to push back, and hard! Be prepared to grit your teeth in frustration! The best part is that you'll have nobody to blame but yourself.

Gameplay

It's classic Mega Man! You run, jump, and shoot your way through 8 levels and confront Dr. Wily in his castle across 4 more levels. It's the standard formula that's endured over 20 years. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the modus operandi here. Mega Man 9 takes a lot of its level design ideas from Mega Man 2. You could call it Mega Man 2: The Sequel, since it doesn't include the powerups he got in Mega Man 3 through 6, like the slide and charging Mega Buster. That's fine, though; there's DLC for Proto Man mode, which does include those.

Speaking of DLC, there's a Boss Rush mode, Time Attack mode, and Endless Mode, which test your skills in speed and endurance. As a final icing on the cake, Mega Man 9 features built-in Challenges that will demand the utmost from even the most hardened gamer, such as beating the game without getting hit, or beating the game without missing with the Mega Buster. The game has plenty of things for you to test your skills with. There's even a leaderboard for each mode, so you can compete against the likes of other gamers around the world.

Final Verdict

If you're iffy about it, you can check out the demo if you have an X360 or PS3. Wii owners don't get that luxury, but it's not like you'll need it. If you have any appreciation for NES-era gaming and the experiences they offer gamers, buy this game. You don't need to know what happened in Mega Man 1 through 8; the story is self-containing and follows the traditional Mega Man formula. If you include the DLC, the game shouldn't run you more than $20-25 USD. That's a lot, considering the price! So stop wasting your time; go get Mega Man 9 now!

Metadata

Platform(s): WiiWare, Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade
Release date (US): 2008-09-22 (Wii), 2008-09-25 (PS3), 2008-10-01 (X360)
Genre: Action, Shooting, Platformer
Developer(s): Inti Creates, Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
ESRB Rating: E