With a few hours of Mega Man 9 under my belt I’ve got to admit, this game is FREAKING HARD. I’ve played many games since the original Mega Man series was released on the NES and later on the SNES and nothing compares to Mega Man 9 in terms of sheer difficulty. This new franchise title looks and acts like the original with all the glitches, colors, bleeps and effects of the original games.
This game is much like chasing your kids around the yard, you forget how “old you are.” Mega Man 9 challenges reflexes, hand-eye coordination, patience and persistence. You are constantly awarded with death upon death and level restarts. Just when you think you’re getting close to a leader you’re actually just encountering a harder portion of the stage.
Between the start of a stage and the final boss you’ll encounter larger single-screen microbosses who challenge your patience and skills. As it turns out, I’ve got very little of both attributes. Upon defeating a little boss I am handed another like boss which is a little tougher. Upon defeating this slightly tougher boss (after many level restarts) I’m rewarded with yet another more difficult microboss.
Mega Man traditionally allows you to wonder all of the selectable stages out of the gate but each one gets easier as you build your characters weaponry. The trick is finding that “easy” level to get you to a boss, defeat said boss and acquire a weapon of mass awesomeness. Alas, I’ve done none of these.
You can find online video walk-throughs on the Internet which can give you tips for getting around the stages but the end result is the same: patience, persistence and accuracy. Mega Man 9 teaches you that nobody is a game master without consistent practice.
The first time through a stage is a destructive mess of failure. As you restart the stage over and over you’ll learn some of the tricks to getting you through the initial enemies without taking damage. You’ll build up your arsenal of tricks for hitting enemies before they’re on the screen and mashing the fire button to freedom… until you hit your first spike.
Spikes are the bane of the Mega Man character. Mega Man isn’t a fan of little pointy objects which result in instant death. You can hit the jump button quickly for shorter jumps and longer for bigger jumps; jumping technique is required to move you through spike infested levels.
You learn quickly to never turn your back on an enemy. Turn around, ever so slightly, and walk back on the side-scrolling screen and forward again will result in the rebirth of all enemies you’ve killed. This includes bomb wielding birds, rock tossing baddies and hells fury in the form of red and green cannons.
If you’re looking to discover all the ways you can possibly lose in a game, feel your inner child emotionally crushed under the weight of 8-bit bad asses, Mega Man 9 is the game for you. The achievements will make you laugh and the difficulty will invoke that old controller tossing nostalgia.
Mega Man 9 is a challenge. If you wish to take on this challenge and prove your 8-bit weight in the world of high resolution graphic fairy tales this may be the title for you!
In an interesting interview this week at 1up.com, 
@Microsoft Points
This makes more sense, doesn’t it? I’m not sure what the deal was previously – did the games cost a different number of points in different regions? If so, it doesn’t make a difference which way you make transactions but for the customer it’s always easier to think in their native currency rather than some arbitrary points. And, if you get some extra $$$ when converting, that’s even better.
@Origin return policy
Are you sure, Jonah, that they will be able to monitor if you played through the game? One would have to read the fine print, probably, and I’m too lazy to do it 😉 They should implement some fail-safes into the user agreement if they don’t want the policy to be abused.
Anyway, seems like a good idea to demo games. People will buy them thinking they will return it if they don’t like it but a part of them will be too lazy to do that later 🙂 Win some, lose some for EA, but should result in a net gain. However, this may mean they won’t win the Worst Company in America Award next year…
@Borderlands 2 on Vita
YAY! I played the first Borderlands on my PS3 and I really liked it. It wasn’t as boring as Diablo, although the core mechanic of both games is similar – kill, get loot, upgrade weapons. Rinse and repeat. The second part coming to Vita is great news and I really hope they add some DLCs to the bundle. Still, it’s another non-exclusive game for the Vita so why even bother, right? 😉
@Next gen launch titles
As much as I enjoy indie games there’s one thing that I don’t like about the industry moving in that direction as much as it is. It’s simple – I don’t need a 1.6 GHz, 8-core, 8GB RAM machine to play Limbo… I understand that games are games and there are a multitude of great games with simple graphics but that doesn’t justify creating a new generation of gaming consoles. Unless there are developers and publishers willing to break the boundaries of what the current gen can support, I don’t even see why we need ‘next gen’ hardware. Hopefully, what’s happening now means that we will get as many AAA titles as before and, in addition, a slew of amazing indie titles.
QOTW: Nothing’s changed since last week 😛
Podcast
@Microsoft getting some sense
Microsoft points were a barrier to many people I know. Awkward unspendable amounts. Having to buy more points then needed. Not to mention that a game that is £7 looks more cost effective than a game that is 800MS points (equivalent prices). I am glad they are gone. Just have to cash in my codes and good riddance.
@Gamers can return digital titles on Origin after a week
What’s Origin?
@Bungie’s Destiny
I am really looking forward to it. I have great respect for Bungie. Destiny is an ambitious project. However, I can’t speculate on whether it will outshine Halo. Let alone Star Wars. So far all it looks like is a Halo MMOFPS. Prove me wrong Bungie.
@Borderlands 2 coming to PlayStation Vita
What’s Playstation Vita? Is it somehow related to Origin?
@Sony/Microsoft announces launch titles/line-up/window (the Internet has no clue either)
I pre-ordered a PS4 because by the time Xbox comes out in Europe my exam period will start and I will have no time. The line-up is impressive but makes not much difference. In the end, launch titles are pointless. What will sell the console are the exclusives which will come out much later in the console cycle. By the time Halo 5 comes out I will probably already own both consoles. So, for now I am going for the cheaper one that comes out earlier.
@QOTW
Very console gamer. I own practically every console that came in the past 10 years (minus PS vita which sucks). I have a laptop but it has crap specks. Much like Pavel, I stopped chasing performance as it is a very expensive business. Especially if you are not a teckie. I still have a 100 or so games on my Steam account (bloody sales), which I sometimes play.