It takes a certain type of man to admit that a character named “Plug Man” whooped his ass. It takes another type of man to understand that statement and offer up his shoulder to cry on. Well if you are like me and recently purchased Mega Man 9 from the Xbox Live Marketplace you’re going to need that support friend stat.
Imagine the hardest game you have ever played. Now give that game a brain. That’s Mega Man 9. This game is hard as hell, but that shouldn’t surprise any avid Mega Man gamer. Making your way through the nine themed levels is a true gaming challenge. There were multiple cases where I felt the game’s AI was adapting to me and learning from my approaches, only to do something unexpected and blow me away. I really can’t stress how hard this game is.
However, even with a difficulty that high, the game is still surprisingly fun. Mega Man 9 has been made with the most hardcore Mega Manners in mind as being the ultimate in nostalgia. The presentation for everything from the boss selection screen to the cinematics scream original Nintendo. The music of Mega Man 9 is also presented in all its midi glory. And since you’ll be playing these levels over and over again trying to get through them, the music will become awfully familiar and it’s good to know that you’ll be humming songs that are actually catchy instead of annoying. Only time will tell if I remember these tunes as well as those of Mega Man II which I’m still singing to myself some 15 years later.
The game-play is also classic Mega Man. Shoot with one button and jump with the other while switching between armors by pressing “back” and selecting which one best fits the situation. There is nothing more to the controls making Mega Man 9 one of the easiest games to pick up and play currently on the market. That means all you have to worry about learning are the level designs in order to survive.
Mega Man 9 is one of those games that will give you a reason to play it for months. This is solely because you will have to perfect your gaming skills in order to complete it. But that also means that when you do finish the game you will feel a sense of satisfaction that no current generation game can deliver. Don’t expect checkpoints every two minutes, a recharging heath bars, or an infinite number of lives; Mega Man 9 is for the gaming elite. It’s proof that gamers who completed original Nintendo games are still the pinnacle of hardcore. Mega Man 9 is as close as we will get to those days long past and helps remind us how easy we have it.
Crave Online Rating: 8.5 out of 10
