The UTD Mercury

Media Credit: James Woolley

Many hours during my childhood were spent playing the first Mega Man on a the original GameBoy.

There was something appealing about pitting the blue bomber against an army of robots to get cool guns, and I was too young to notice how many hours were wasted before I managed to beat the game for the first time. Fans of the classic will have reason to celebrate and players new to the series will get a look at how Mega Man started.

Capcom's newest game, Mega Man 9, takes the classic series in a new direction. While most companies take the opportunity to remake old games that look better than the original, Capcom took their graphics back a decade and made a new game. As a fan of the series, it's great being able to play through a game with new material and a classic feel.

Players will face new enemies and bosses to get weapons to defeat Mega Man's nemesis, Dr. Wily, once again.  There is a story that is revealed as the player progresses through the stages, but the traditional Mega Man story of "run right, jump, and shoot" still applies. Capcom removed the more advanced mechanics like the sliding from Mega Man 3 in favor of an authentic old-school feel.

The game stays true to its roots down to the 8-bit graphics and MIDI sound.  Levels have a limited color palette that emulate the classic look, and players can choose to play with 'traditional' graphical performance that mimics the slowdown from the early Mega Man games. The music may lack stunning orchestral melodies, but the plinking tunes are very catchy and memorable, especially if you trudge through the same difficult level repeatedly.

The game certainly has the unforgiving gameplay of the classics, and chances are you'll have to endure some trial-and-error in order to make it through the game. The frustrations from the first few Mega Man games are present here, as traps tend to get you killed the first time through and jumps that aren't perfectly timed lead to spikes, lava, and endless pits.  

The difficulty might be enough to deter some players, but thankfully players can collect bolts from defeated enemies in order to buy extra lives and other useful power-ups.

The enemies are mostly new, but fit in the same vein as classic baddies. Finding out the best way to beat a certain enemy will make life a lot easier when juggling obstacles and shooting at giant robot spiders. And of course, the bosses all have bizarre rock-paper-scissors weaknesses that make no sense. Part of the fun is discovering the boss-robots weaknesses, since most people wouldn't instinctively guess that concrete blocks are best used against robots that make wormholes.

While most of the game features old-school material, there are several new additions that add replay value. There's a list of challenges for players to complete, from defeating a set number of enemies to beating all the bosses with only a sliver of health left. 

A time-attack mode is available for players who want the bragging rights for beating the game the fastest. According to Gamespot, Capcom also plans to release downloadable content with a new character and increased difficulty levels, in case the game wasn't challenging enough.

Many companies have taken old games and remade them with new features, but making a new game in a series with lower quality graphics and sound is almost unheard of. It takes less effort to make, appeals to the fan base, and is perfect for download on all current consoles.

It will be interesting to see whether other developers try the same approach since most companies seem more determined to push the envelope rather than appeal to their origins.

Mega Man 9 has all that a fan of the blue bomber could hope for. It's a great game to play through if you miss the style of the older Mega Man games, and any friends that watch are sure to get some cheap laughs from your mistakes. While the game doesn't offer anything groundbreaking in terms of graphics, sound, or story, for $10 it offers plenty of new material with a retro style.

Mega Man 9 is available for download on the Playstation 3, Wii, and XBox 360, and is a great game for anyone willing to overlook some frustrating sections.

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