The opening cinematic (if you can even call it that it today’s age of CG orgasmia) begins with Dr. Wiley pleading I’m so sorry, please forgive me. Thus the trap is set, because Mega Man 9 was the hardest game I played on the show floor. While the original six titles were by no means a cake walk, the two levels on display here were downright brutal. Note that this is not a complaint; in today’s dumbed down age of endless save points, unlimited continues, and hand holding tutorials, it’s refreshing to see a title so gloriously unconcerned with frivolous amenities for casual denizens.
So, needless to say, I was all about Mega Man 9. Plug Man’s level, where I spent most of my time, was chalk full of nostalgic elements from Mega Man’s past. A shadow Mega Man dropping in out of nowhere to kamikaze you? Check. Bottomless pits and blocks that pop in and out of the area above them? Check. Mettaurs placed in nearly unavoidable locations? Check. Beds of spikes? Infinitely spawning enemies? Three lives? Check, check, and check. And the scary part is I don’t think they were quite done; there were sizeable portions of each level that were completely empty.
Right now it’s too hard to tell whether this gauntlet will continue throughout the entire game, or if the demo levels were just two representatives from some of the harder segments. Or, and this would be fabulous, maybe the areas here were actually some of the easier levels, which, though masochistic, could be entirely plausible. The only negative regarding level design was the absence of a boss at the end. Of course that’s going to be added in the final build, but it was a little disheartening to walk through those sacred gates only to have the demo end. Still, once can’t expect too much when the game was only announced a few short weeks ago.
If the trailers weren’t enough indication, the presentation is right in line with the original six. Every sound effect, graphical cue, and musical note was either reproduced exactly or imitated diligently. The music in particular falls right in line with the aesthetic of the previous games, and, even though those soundtracks are considered to be some of the most memorable ever created, these new tunes might become just as memorable.
After it was all said and done, I’m still really excited for Mega Man 9. The difficulty might turn off casual gamers unfamiliar with the series or anyone born after 1995, but for those of us who’s childhood weekends were consumed by battling robot masters, Mega Man 9 is a one time only gift from the hallows of nostalgia. Countless retro revivals try and cash in on an old name even when their new incarnation has little or nothing to do with the past. Mega Man 9 is a giant F you to that process, and blissfully so at that.
