Mega Man 9: Initial Impressions (Xbox 360)

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!

0 thoughts on “Mega Man 9: Initial Impressions (Xbox 360)”

  1. I know this is an older post, but it caught my eye. At first I, honestly, did not find most of the game to be horribly hard like some reviews have stated. I made my way to Wily’s fortress pretty quickly in the scheme of things. I had to try a few levels a couple of times, but I was never really blown away.

    Wily’s fortress is pretty much another story. That’s when the comments seemed really warranted. Some of it is incredibly demanding and the inability to save or not have to restart at the first stage if you lose all your lives is a big blow. I keep trying and get further and further each time though…

    Which is the nice thing. It’s hard, but everything about the game is doable. With a few rare exceptions (those little grapple guys that grab you and rush you into spikes in that one zero g section? come on), the game isn’t super cheap. It just rewards patience and practice.

    Very happy with it. Even with all of that, I’d still say I have a much harder time with MM3 than this one lol.

    The game has a hell of a lot more spikes than usual, though.

  2. I know this is an older post, but it caught my eye. At first I, honestly, did not find most of the game to be horribly hard like some reviews have stated. I made my way to Wily’s fortress pretty quickly in the scheme of things. I had to try a few levels a couple of times, but I was never really blown away.

    Wily’s fortress is pretty much another story. That’s when the comments seemed really warranted. Some of it is incredibly demanding and the inability to save or not have to restart at the first stage if you lose all your lives is a big blow. I keep trying and get further and further each time though…

    Which is the nice thing. It’s hard, but everything about the game is doable. With a few rare exceptions (those little grapple guys that grab you and rush you into spikes in that one zero g section? come on), the game isn’t super cheap. It just rewards patience and practice.

    Very happy with it. Even with all of that, I’d still say I have a much harder time with MM3 than this one lol.

    The game has a hell of a lot more spikes than usual, though.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Episode 329: Back AgainEpisode 329: Back Again

Gaming Podcast is back after being off for a week. This time out, there’s a Gaming Flashback as Jordan and Jonah discuss The 7th Guest, which was coincidentally just released on Steam.

This week’s news includes:

  • Xbox One and PlayStation 4 headsets compatibility issues
  • Dark Matter abrupt ending blamed on failed Kickstarter drive
  • Rockstar New England working on “next version of famous IP”
  • Fassbender on Assassin’s Creed film: it’s “definitely happening”
  • Struggling Scrolls may go free-to-play

This week’s Question of the Week, “What was your favorite adventure game?”

Final Fantasy XIII Demo For PS3 AnnouncedFinal Fantasy XIII Demo For PS3 Announced

The first demo for Final Fantasy XIII has been announced, but, it will only be available (right now) on the PlayStation 3. It will arrive as “bonus material” when you purchase Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete because the game arrives on Blu-Ray and there is plenty of room for this additional content.

The game is scheduled to be released in March of 2009 in Japan, so the United States and other territories may not get an early demo of FFXIII. Does this give everyone a reason to purchase a PlayStation 3? Nothing says it won’t be available as a downloadable Demo on Xbox Live… because nobody’s really talked to that topic at all yet.

Square Enix has publically stated they’ll start the Final Fantasy XIII port to the Xbox 360 once it’s finished on the PlayStation 3, so presumably we won’t see a demo (or a final game) for some time to come. The end result, demo or no demo, is the same: a dual release on two of the big colorful platforms in the way of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.

Wii vs. PS3 in Japan: The Console SlaughterWii vs. PS3 in Japan: The Console Slaughter

Famitsu Magazine is reporting the Nintendo console, Wii, has managed to sell 7-million units in Japan. This is roughly three times the number of Sony’s PlayStation 3, the console with superior graphics and power.

Japan isn’t about graphics and power or they’re not a fan of the high priced PlayStation 3. The three times factor seems odd, still, considering the PS3 isn’t three times the cost and really isn’t that bad of a console. Unless the titles on Japan’s console are just not as inviting, the PS3 should be keeping pace with the tiny Wii console. Sony is a Japanese company as is Nintendo and both have a very good grasp of the games the Japanese culture is attracted to buying. What’s happening here!?

“The Wii’s 7 million sales put it far ahead of its foes in the ongoing console conflict in Japan. According to Enterbrain figures quoted by GameDaily, Japanese sales of the PlayStation 3 numbered just 2.37 million units as of September 30, when the Wii had sold around 6.83 million units in the territory. Sony estimates the PS3 sold nearly 17 million units worldwide by the same date.” (gamespot)

The Xbox 360 still can’t compete against the PS3 or Wii in overall numbers, regardless to boosts when they put out a game the Japanese actually find interesting. If Microsoft and Sony learn anything from this generation of consoles, it’s that simple makes better. No, we’re not telling the developers to end the goals of hardcore gaming… we’re just wondering if branching out a bit to scoop up some casual gaming interest.