Topic: Lasting impression of Mega Man 9?

[RichterB]

I finally got to play (and beat) Mega Man 9. When it first came out, it was highly praised and called one of the best and most challenging in the series. What are people's thoughts on it now?

Personally, I didn't find it all that hard, and I'm having trouble placing it in the pantheon of Classic Series Mega Mans. Look/gameplay-wise, sometimes it feels like Mega Man 1.5, sometimes it feels like Mega Man 2.5. I'd say it's better than Mega Man 8 overall, but I don't know if it's really better than any of the others...It's not bad, it's definitely fun...but some of it seemed rushed--maybe because it was trying to do homages and be a retro/budget title. I mean, there's a "bubble" section of Splash Woman's stage that is almost identical to Wave Man's stage in MM5, and too many stages have blank or black background sections.

The Robot Masters had a simplicity about them that was nice, but also maybe a little too plain. Visually, many seemed to riff off older designs, too--Needle Man/Magma Man, Splash Woman/Leviathan, Tornado Man/Harpuia, Plug Man/Dynamo Man, Concrete Man/Guts Man... Something about the stages felt a little shorter by and large, and like they revolved around one gameplay trick (IE: Jewel Man stage's swinging platforms). I think maybe this game was designed for arcade-style speed runs? Wily's stages, outside of the first stage and the blob boss didn't seem balanced in challenge. Wily himself was more annoying than clever. I don't know. ...I couldn't really get into this one's story.

There was great music in this game, very tight controls, and Tornado Man and Hornet Man's stages were very well done. People like to bash Mega Man 4-7, and put this game as an example as to why those games were "letdowns"; but after playing 9, I really don't think it proves those games were faulty. While I agree that Mega Man 2 is special, I tend to like those middle/latter games, actually (including the overlooked Mega Man & Bass).

[shelverton.]

The only reason MM9 was praised was because it was released in 2009 (or 2008?) and not in 1993. Take MM6 for example; The game IMO is one of the best MM's ever, but the game suffered from being #6 and was bashed for not being original enough. When MM9 came out we hadn't seen anything like it for so many years, and I think people were kinda blinded by nostalgia there for a while. Having said that, I think it's the second weakest of the "old school" Mega Mans, only beaten by MM4 which is my least favourite of the entire series.

However, the NES MM concept is great and it would be kinda hard to make a really bad game, so being "second worst in the series" is still leaps and bounds above most NES platformers. I have yet to play through MM10, but I immediately felt that Capcom may very well find themselves in a similar situation as they were in the nineties; Releasing too many similar sequels waaay too fast... They REALLY should make MM11 with SNES graphics to mix things up a bit...

[Rugal]

The only reason MM9 was praised was because it was released in 2009 (or 2008?) and not in 1993.

Not because it was a good game or anything, right? Nah.. Can't be..  :

[shelverton.]

Not because it was a good game or anything, right? Nah.. Can't be..  :

You kinda missed my point here. It's a good game in a great series, but if it had been released in 1993 people would've compared it to the other games in the series and found it utterly lacking in every possible way. Much like how MM6 is hated by people for no apparent reason other than it being "same old" (which it really wasn't IMO, but whatever..). People tend to talk about MM9 as if it's better than many of the classic Mega Mans, and I absolutely disagree with that statement.

I feel like I keep bringing up MM6 a bit too much now, but still... if that game had been released today, people would've LOVED it. Just saying.

[X]

I've never played MM9 but I did see my brother play it and it was interseting to say the least. I don't know why they called this game MM9 considering that the game Mega Man & Bass is MM9 cause it happins after MM8. But 9 is interesting since they went back to the 8-bit era for this one and my brother has told me that there is a MM10 too.

-X

[Inccubus]

Not compared it to the original series? The fans over at the Megaman network and Capcom*unity did plenty of that to MM9 & MM10. The point I think you guys are missing is that it was intended to be more like MM1 & MM2 specifically. We were very harsh in comparing it and even with it's over use of level layouts from earlier games and recycled music it is still a great addition to the series and really captures the essence of what made Megman fun. No offense, but if MM9 didn't draw you in with the abundance of cut scenes (something like 3 time more cut scenes than any NES MM) then no classic 8-bit MM title will and you have likely outgrown the simplistic story telling tools of that era.

However, I will concede that in most ways MM10 > MM9.

[Aridale]

I havent played 10 yet but I wont lie... 9 kicked my ass. Granted I didnt try too hard for too long but it kicked my ass

[Inccubus]

9 is really hardcore MM1 style difficulty.
It took me like 3 days in 2 hour sessions to beat the first 4 Robot Masters.
On Normal it took me like 15 minutes to do the same thing in 10 so it is WAAAY easier.
The bonus Megaman Killer stages are brutal, though.

[The Last Belmont]

I finally got to play (and beat) Mega Man 9. When it first came out, it was highly praised and called one of the best and most challenging in the series. What are people's thoughts on it now?

Personally, I didn't find it all that hard, and I'm having trouble placing it in the pantheon of Classic Series Mega Mans. Look/gameplay-wise, sometimes it feels like Mega Man 1.5, sometimes it feels like Mega Man 2.5. I'd say it's better than Mega Man 8 overall, but I don't know if it's really better than any of the others...It's not bad, it's definitely fun...but some of it seemed rushed--maybe because it was trying to do homages and be a retro/budget title. I mean, there's a "bubble" section of Splash Woman's stage that is almost identical to Wave Man's stage in MM5, and too many stages have blank or black background sections.

The Robot Masters had a simplicity about them that was nice, but also maybe a little too plain. Visually, many seemed to riff off older designs, too--Needle Man/Magma Man, Splash Woman/Leviathan, Tornado Man/Harpuia, Plug Man/Dynamo Man, Concrete Man/Guts Man... Something about the stages felt a little shorter by and large, and like they revolved around one gameplay trick (IE: Jewel Man stage's swinging platforms). I think maybe this game was designed for arcade-style speed runs? Wily's stages, outside of the first stage and the blob boss didn't seem balanced in challenge. Wily himself was more annoying than clever. I don't know. ...I couldn't really get into this one's story.

There was great music in this game, very tight controls, and Tornado Man and Hornet Man's stages were very well done. People like to bash Mega Man 4-7, and put this game as an example as to why those games were "letdowns"; but after playing 9, I really don't think it proves those games were faulty. While I agree that Mega Man 2 is special, I tend to like those middle/latter games, actually (including the overlooked Mega Man & Bass).

I found it rather challenging though being able to hit the bosses consecutively multiple times without the bosses being invincible after every hit that comes into play in the previous entries lowers the difficulty somewhat but there are a lot of creative and innovative challenges. Overall I find it more challenging than most other chapters aside from 3 which is eons above the others.

[The Last Belmont]

The only reason MM9 was praised was because it was released in 2009 (or 2008?) and not in 1993. Take MM6 for example; The game IMO is one of the best MM's ever, but the game suffered from being #6 and was bashed for not being original enough. When MM9 came out we hadn't seen anything like it for so many years, and I think people were kinda blinded by nostalgia there for a while. Having said that, I think it's the second weakest of the "old school" Mega Mans, only beaten by MM4 which is my least favourite of the entire series.

However, the NES MM concept is great and it would be kinda hard to make a really bad game, so being "second worst in the series" is still leaps and bounds above most NES platformers. I have yet to play through MM10, but I immediately felt that Capcom may very well find themselves in a similar situation as they were in the nineties; Releasing too many similar sequels waaay too fast... They REALLY should make MM11 with SNES graphics to mix things up a bit...

The problem with 6 was easy bosses and rather bland stage layouts. 6 does possess the hardest wily fight out of all the nes entries and is an overall solid game and much better than the epitomi of disappointment that is 5.

[X]

MM's 1 to 4 for me were the definitive titles of their day. To me MM5 kinda felt like it was missing something (Probably the music since the four previous games had good tunes). MM6 did little to deliver what MM5 had so in short both 5 and 6 had issues (Namely the music IMO). I loved MM7. It was the direct sequal and, storywise it recounts what happened in 6 then picked up where that game left off. The music was better and not just because it was a SNES game either. 7 Also saw the return of several classic bosses such as Gutsman rebuilt and Protoman. Sweet! I did hear that Cutsman was in the game but as much as I played the game I failed to find him except in the newspaper scene in the story intro. MM8 I felt was a little dissapointing. Name Mega man's voice acting. Since when is he talking like a little kid?? That's just messed up. A far cry from what we've seen in the MM1 and 2 artwork. Mega man & Bass aka the original MM9 is hard as hell for me and half of that is collecting those damned data discs hidden about the game. I still have yet to play the downloadable MM9 and 10 so I'll wrap this up.

-X

[RichterB]

Hmm... In a lot of ways, I liked Mega Man 5. The Protoman/Darkman story was interesting, and the game has probably the most serious-looking collection of Robot Masters in the series (Napalm Man, anyone?). These are some bad dudes: http://freexbresse.free.fr/mmf/megaman5/intro/mm5int01.gif Gameplay-wise, you've got Gravity Man's level with the upside down sections, collecting the letters for Beat, the spinning disks that are sort of the precursor to Tornado Man's rotating platforms, Wave Man's level is a unique water level, and Star Man's level is probably the best "space-themed" level in the home console Classic series games. Oh, and Crystal Man's level could be very tricky.

Mega Man 6 was, to me, the most "produced" game in the series. It feels super polished, to the point of over-polish. Hard to explain. I suppose it makes it feel less quirky than older Mega Mans, but I liked it. The Robot Masters were really cool and different, and I liked how they linked them to a world competition and Mr. X. I don't care what people say, Centaur Man was an awesome idea. I have mixed feelings about 4 and have trouble separating it from 5. I think last time I played through both, I thought 4 was better overall, but something seems a little "sterile" about 4 at the same time. At the end of the day, as classic as the earlier Robot Masters are, I sometimes feel Mega Man 5-7 had the coolest collection of bots.

Mega Man 7 is right up there with Mega Man 2, IMO. An excellent title. Mega Man 8 felt too gimmicky and watered down. Mega Man & Bass is a little rough around the edges, but vastly superior to Mega Man 8. I thought 4, 5, and 6 delivered musically just fine. #8 left a lot to be desired, though. The Gameboy Mega Mans were all pretty good (II being the weak point); but Mega Man V for Gameboy with its unique space-themed robots was special.

From what I've seen, Mega Man 10 is a little more creative in its Robot Masters than 9, but I'll have to wait and see. I'm going to give Mega Man a break for a bit.

[Bloodreign]

I've never played MM9 but I did see my brother play it and it was interseting to say the least. I don't know why they called this game MM9 considering that the game Mega Man & Bass is MM9 cause it happins after MM8. But 9 is interesting since they went back to the 8-bit era for this one and my brother has told me that there is a MM10 too.

-X

Mega Man and Bass is considered Mega Man 8.5, it even says so within the games programming, so Mega Man 9 is really Mega Man 9.

As for making Mega Man 11 with SNES style graphics, no thanks, while Rockman and Forte was a very nice game, Mega Man 7 felt a little too claustrophobic, much like the Gameboy Mega Man games the sprites  seemed a little too chunky for their own good. Difference being the GB Mega Man titles were great if not original, Mega Man 7 not so much.

[shelverton.]

As for making Mega Man 11 with SNES style graphics, no thanks, while Rockman and Forte was a very nice game, Mega Man 7 felt a little too claustrophobic, much like the Gameboy Mega Man games the sprites  seemed a little too chunky for their own good.

Well, I guess you have a point, though I didn't mind the giganormous sprites in MM7 too much... I do prefer the Mega Man X sprites though. Maybe they could make Mega Man X9 instead, with SNES graphics? That would be sweet.

[Inccubus]

If they ever do 16-bit graphics for classic Megaman again they should definitely revisit the Wily Wars graphics.
Those were pretty sweet an kept close to the original sizes.