Mega Man 9

Splodge · Mega Man 9

This Dueling Analogs Comic pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject:

Still only a rumor but I hope it does happen and that they don't mess it up.

http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archives/2008/06/17/megaman-9-rumors/

John Gibson

Ok, that's either semen all over the panel, or vomit.

I think I'd rather it be vomit. Thinking about a #9 of any game or movie makes me feel that way.

John Gibson

Yeah....fun. how much fun can it be after 20 someodd sequels, spin-offs, knockoffs, remakes, on and on and on?

Sure, have fun blasting away at robots with ridiculous names. If they don't end in "Man", they'll end in something else that's dumb.

Remember "Spark Mandrill" and "Boomer Kuwanger" from Mega Man X?

Someone was doing some serious drugs when they came up with that!

Splodge

Maybe, but remember Mega Man X also kicked ass.

I see your point John but have faith. They wouldn't make a true Mega Man 9 unless they had something special. Otherwise, they'd just make some Galaxy Starforce card collecting thing.

A high quality original-series Mega Man game is exactly what this generation needs (I'm talking console generation not people).

Let's hope they don't mess it up. It could go either way. Capcom look to be making good sequels to their old games these days; both Bionic Command: Rearmed and 1942: Joint Strike look to be good. Then again, the 3D Bionic Commando doesn't look all that good.

John Gibson

The problem with Mega Man is that it's the same old formula. You beat a robot, you gain their powers. It was cool for Mega Man 1, 2, and 3. But now, they're doing a 9. Sure, you can enhance the graphics, sound, and so forth, but gameplay is where it really matters. Am I going to enjoy it based on gameplay? Not based on "ooh, look at the great graphics, and cinemas".

Adding 2 or 3 more playable characters won't help much. Besides, the game is called "Mega Man", not "Mega Man and friends".

Maybe they'll take out the #9 in the title, and come up with some oh-so-clever title, like Mega Man Returns. Remember, the first MM gameboy title was called "Dr. Wily's Revenge". That was a cool idea, then they started with the numbers again. Mega Man 2 for Gameboy, then 3, 4, etc etc.

Ok, I just read that Mega Man 9 is being made for the sake of telling the story behind the creation of Zero, and how he was made by Wily.

Personally, I don't really care. I play a game mostly for fun, I don't become involved with the story, and the path of one or more characters. That's what movies and TV shows are for.

It's a little hard to have faith these days, Splodge. Surely you can understand, when they're making this many sequels, and I played Mega Man 8. Not fun.

John Gibson

If the bitching bothers you, no one's twisting your arm to hang around here.

John Gibson

Maybe I like to bitch. Bitching IS refreshing to me!

I'm condemning the concept of a fucking 9th game. Enough is enough. All they're going to do is update the graphics, and add a few new tricks, like they always do with these sequels.

And the games I review on the show, I play. You're not watching me 24 hours a day, so you cannot really comment.

I have the perfect right to bitch when I see what we're being handed. The same shit every year. And the fact that people are asking for a 9th installment of any game, unbelievable.

John Gibson

I wasn't even talking about the past. I'm talking about now.

No, I have no authority to tell someone a game shouldn't be made, but seriously, the sequel thing is getting ridiculous. How many times can people possibly play the same character over and over again before it starts getting boring?

Splodge

Some more news and screens (supposedly a scan from an upcoming Nintendo Power):

http://blue-bomber.jvmwriter.org/community/index.php?showtopic=1505

If this is real, it's looks like they're going true 8-bit on this.

I kind of have mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, I was kind of hoping they'd surprise us and revolutionise the whole thing by making the Mega Man equivelant of Super Mario Galaxy. This could be a step backwards.

On the other hand, Mega Man II is one of the greatest games of all time (the other one's are great too but that one stands out for me). So if they make another 8-bit Mega Man game equal to or better than Mega Man II, it will still be an amazing game. And the visual style in the NES Mega Man games is really cool, so I have no complaints.

Either way, I'm relieved. Alot of the Mega Man spinoffs have looked too much like bad TV anime (Don't get me wrong, I like anime ... good anime). It's great to know they didn't go down that direction. Also, I'm not too keen on sidescrollers with 3D models either.

Also, the legends are it's being developed by some of the team that made Mega Man X1-3. In my opinion, those were the good Mega Man X games, so I'm happy with that.

EDIT: That page doesn't load very well, so here's a couple of images from it

John Gibson

Ok, I visited the page, and looked at the Robot names this time.

Magma Man
Galaxy Man
Jewel Man
Concrete Man
Hornet Man
Plug Man
Tornado Man
Splash WOMAN

I swear to God, these are the dumbest names EVER. This is clearly reaching the bottom of the barrel, it's like they went to a bunch of 8 year old kids asking them to come up with some names for us, because we ran out of any.

Hence, the result is freakin Plug Man. PLUG MAN!! How do you beat him? Easy. Trick him into unplugging himself from the goddamn wall socket.

Brilliant!

GamerGirl220

Hey Necro

If you do not like hearing what John has to say then why do you continue to come onto HIS forum for HIS show. I figured by now with all the bitching you do you would have found somewhere else to go.

As far as Megaman 9 I understand what John is saying. When are we going to get new ideas and stop rehashing old games over and over again. Is it just a ploy to make money from anyone who will play anything with the Megaman name attached to it.

John Gibson

Basically, what's happening is people requested (got that? Requested) that the game follow the traditional 8-bit style. Apparently, people don't want to see 3D characters in a 2D environment. We'll give them a point for that.

Funny how it's only NOW that game developers are giving into the gamers by just asking "ok, how should we do this game?".

Didn't it used to be "We'll make a game, and if people like it, they'll buy it."?

This is what they're doing with many of the games that have been around for 20 or so years, (Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, Mega Man). They're making more and more games that have the names attached to them, and let's be honest, were all of them really that good?

No.

I've played just about all the Mario games, Zelda games, Mega Man games, and just recently, tried Castlevania on the GBA wondering "what the hell is this?"

Should game developers try to do something that's original, the idea will instantly get rejected.

Who knows? Mega Man 9 might be the game to end all Mega Man titles. Maybe after this, there won't be any more of them, and they might also do away with those ridiculous spin-offs.

Splodge

I don't think you can treat characters in games the same as you can in movies.
You can complain that they keep using the same characters over and over again but really it doesn't matter that much.

Take Super Mario Galaxy. It's an excellent game but did it really have to be a Mario game. The character model could have been anything; Sonic, Rayman, Jazz Jackrabbit, or god, even Bubsy, and the game experience would have been exactly the same.
While they were recycling characters, the reason that game is good is because they brought something to the table in terms of Level design and gameplay.

I guess my point is, that while people keep complaining that there are too many Mario games or that Nintendo among others are beating a dead horse by reusing tired characters, I don't think it matters. In certain types of games, especially action platformers, the character means nothing. It matters but it's not like a movie, where it's almost central to the experience.
You could say that it matters to you because, you like Mario's personality etc. But really most of that comes from your own imagination and very little comes from the creators of the games.

None of this applies to Megaman 9 though. Megaman 9 is going to be a tribute game, another try at making them the way they were. It probably won't be revolutionary, and it definitely won't bring anything new to modern gaming, but it could be the best of its kind and that's enough for me.

I kind of think of it like Rocky Balboa. They were making Rocky movies. The first few were good and then it got kind of tired and went downhill. Rocky V was not a good movie. Then they took a break (what was it, 10-15 years or more) and came out with Rocky Balboa. It had no right to be any good but somehow it was one of the best of them. It didn't bring anything new to filmaking or the way we think about things but it still was an excellent movie. That's what I'm hoping for from Megaman 9.

Also, there's nothing wrong with companies listening to requests from fans. Twilight Princess's change in art-style came directly from fan-reaction to Wind Waker. I really enjoyed that game and much of it came from the tone set by the visual-style, which was designed directly for fans.

John Gibson

So then why do you hang around? It baffles me. You will hear this negativity and bashing a lot. Is that what you really want?

If you wanna hear the same happy thoughts all the time, the forum may not be for you anymore.

The world isn't sunshine and rainbows, at least not here.

GamerGirl220

hey necro,

what is amazing to me is instead of making an intelligent comment you choose to just curse or insult people or attack them personally. Wow giving me the middle finger....how old are you 15.

Maybe instead of posting a photo you will only understand the meaning to, try expressing yourself with words and without cursing another person out. It maybe a refreshing experience.

KT Kore

I think the main thing getting people excited for this is the obvious nostalgia factor. The fact that it WILL be like all the old Mega Man games, the fact that it WILL have old school 8-bit graphics and music, and the fact that it WILL have nothing changed. I know after I first saw the screenshots and saw the gameplay footage (seen here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/...ga-man-9-first-footage_videogames) damn near made me piss my pants. I've had fun with every Mega Man Classic and X game (well, X-X3), so I don't see why this would be any different.

John may be in the minority with his hatred, but at least it's reasonable.

I, for one, however, cannot wait.

John Gibson

Thank you for calling it reasonable, buddy. Smile

The ADHD generation just says I'm a 50 year old douchebag fag who doesn't know anything.

I won't mind taking a look at it, but I won't be biased, and say at this point "I hate it".

Like I said, I'm not crazy about the concept of another sequel.

Have you noticed this is generating a mixed bag? Half want a 2D Mega Man in a 3D world, and the other half want the 2D classic MM back.

If I can get the game, I'll take a look at it, and possibly review it. We'll see what happens.

KT Kore

Yeah, I do totally understand your feelings about it, especially when it comes to Mega Man. I mean, it's pretty crazy to think about how many sequels and spinoffs its had. With every generation of Mega Man games comes an insane batch of sequels all carrying the same basic style of gameplay and premise. It seems to never end.

I guess the perks with Mega Man 9, at least for me, are that it's going back to what made me love the series in the first place. I enjoy going back and replaying some of the old NES games, so playing a brand new one sounds like gold to me. I also find it interesting to be playing NEW 8-bit game in the year 2008. The 8-bit stuff is purely a gimmick, clearly, but it's one that I'm willing to accept, loving the 8-bit generation and all.

Splodge

Kind of off-topic, but here's an 8-bit remake of Mega Man 7.
It's only for PC though. It would have been great if it had been a NES hack, still pretty cool though.

http://www.indiegames.com/blog/20...make_game_pick_rockman_7fc_m.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtggTg-qZIU&fmt=18

Splodge

This is awesome.

I'm not sure exactly where this comes from but I think it was made by Capcom.
If it was, it's pretty cool that they have a sense of humour about Mega Man's lame box art over the years.

KT Kore

^ That is too funny.

Black Flag NC

Sequels have always been a part of gaming, but Mega Man is getting a bit rediculous.

John Gibson

That's what I've been saying, brutha. Some people need a smack in the head (except the people here on the forums, and those who don't look at me as some whiny douchebag etc etc)

John Gibson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NOXqdzEnuA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ5LzctM7WY

Two Anti-Rants/video responses. Ya gotta laugh.

coldguy

PezXcore is bringing it hard and apparently missing the entire point of your position, it is quite funny. Also when he goes off on the retro vs modern I started to laugh really hard.

Splodge

I've already made my feelings clear on this. I don't really want to drag this out too much but I will just say this:

Whether or not it's Mega Man or not isn't that big a deal.

The thing is; they're making a new challenging sidescrolling action platformer.

They don't make those anymore and I'm happy that Capcom is making this because that's the kind of game, I like.

(I know we already have 8 of them but it would be good to play something new for a change).

Black Flag NC

Splodge

The new 1942 is out. I tried the demo. It was really cool. They have a remix of the 1943 music in the first stage.
Also, I think there's a new Gradius coming out on Wii. I don't know too much about that though.

Black Flag NC

launchpad25

Honestly, i'd wouldn't mind seeing a new 'Final Fight' game using the original CPS2 arcade engine, but that's just me. Very Happy

Anyways, the rant from NecroVMX sounds fair, and balanced with some good counterpoints on the whole matter. I especially like how he brings up EA, and their regurgitation of 'Madden' year, after year. (Just like how Disney regurgitates more 'Power Ranger' crap every year.) By comparison, 'Mega Man 9' looks like a breath of fresh air.

John Gibson

I don't much care for Madden, that's why I didn't bring it up, plus, no sense in having the Madden fanboys out for my blood.

I did, however, see a Madden back covering like 10 years. Dunno why you would want to do that, or who'd be dumb enough for buy it.

Splodge

http://www.capcom-unity.com/johnd...8/09/16/mega_man_9_retail_package

This is a package they put together for the press. This is really cool. I would really like to have one of these.

Splodge

It's out in America today. Hopefully it will hit Europe this Friday.

If anybody has a chance to try it, let me know how it is (just don't spoil the boss order).
It got a good review on IGN. They said that it was almost as good as 2 or 3 and that even though it followed the formula, the level design was good enough to keep things fresh.

They also announced Protoman as a downloadable character. I'm not too keen on DLC, especially when it's something that should have been in the game in the first place. Still, all together, it's 1200 Wii points. For me that's still a good price for this game.

Also, there are probably a few Mega Man purists who don't think Protoman should be playable, shouldn't be a part of the main game - it's a Mega Man game, Mega Man should be the only playable character.
I know I didn't like it when they introduced Axl (and to a lesser extent Zero) as playable characters in the Mega Man X games.

Splodge

It came out on Friday here on the Virtual Console. I downloaded it at midnight on Thursday and have been playing it for the last few days.

I really like it. It's pretty obvious I wanted to like it before playing it but even still it exceeds my expectations. I think it might well be my favourite in the series (I'll wait till I finish it before I commit to that).

Quick Review:

What's Good:
- The Level design is the best in the series - honestly the best 2D platforming I've done in a while. Really unique levels that stand out from anything that's been in the series so far.

- Story. The story's lame but it's still cool to have the cutscenes between levels. They're funny, not really taking themselves too seriously, without being too much of a joke.

- Challenges. I'm not an Achievement whore (I think that's the term). I don't need a 'Gamer Score' to prove I like playing games. But even still, Challenges help add to the value of a game. It's cool to aim for these things and to achieve them (Like get through a whole level without getting hit or Beat a Robot Master with just the Buster etc.). Mega Man's already an intense gameplaying experience but this makes it doubly so.

- Time Trials. I'm not nearly good enough to be a ranked Mega Man speedrunner but I do enjoy trying to get a personal best. It's also cool that now speedrunning is regulated. People have been speedrunning for years but in this game all the rankings are guaranteed to be genuine (and not tool assisted).

- Back to Mega Man 2 style gameplay. I never liked the slide or the charge shot and I'm glad that they're gone. With the slide, gameplay was sloppy and loose. Without it, it's really twitch-gameplay - relying on micro-adjustments to left and right and calculated jumps. I prefer proper run and jump twitch-platforming to the Mega Man 3 style of game.

What's Bad:

- Weapons. The weapons are all pretty cool but they're not that unique. The Laser Trident is just a weapon you shoot - really just a better version of the normal gun with a different graphic. Other weapons shoot in different directions or home in on targets. They're good but I wish they were more unique (like the Metal Blade or the Crash Bomber etc.)

- DLC. I said earlier that I don't mind Proto Man being DLC. That's cool. But now it looks like they're charging for harder difficulties. I think it's crazy to charge for a higher difficulty mode. That's definitely somthing that should be included in the game.

I'm glad that this game was made and it definitely sets the series back on the track of the earlier (the best) games.
This game is definitely in the the top 2 Mega Man games (maybe the top spot) and one of the greatest games ever made.

But after this game, I'm starting to side with John. Maybe 9's enough. I don't know where they can take it from here. They can still make great platforming levels but is that enough to justify a wholly new game.

I don't think they should make any more games in the series (at least not without some kind of change or at least a better story). I do want to play some new Mega Man - It's always fun to learn a new level. But if they make new levels, they may aswell just release them as downloadable expansion packs to this game instead of as a new game.
(They'd most likely use alot of the same assets and the same engine, so why not just make them expansions. It might actually be cool to release a couple of new levels a month for a few years. It would definitely keep the game alive and would keep people aiming for the new rankings).

EDIT: Also the Music rocks

John Gibson

Splodge

The Problem I have with rom hacks is that there is no professional polish on most of them.
They're usually incomplete and buggy, sometimes resembling the original game too much.

Also, for some reason, people always try to make them way too hard. I'm up for a challenge but sometimes it's just impossible.
There's a Link to the Past hack called Parrallel Worlds. You have to go through the entire first dungeon with three hearts and no sword. The dungeon itself is about as hard as one of the later dungeons in the original game, so it's a real challenge.

I'd rather leave Capcom in charge of Mega Man. Rom hacks are cool but they're normally a shallower experience.