Title Remixed

Mega Man 3 on the NES has some of my all-time favorite video game music. One of my favorite tracks comes from the title screen. MM3 doesn't have a sweet visual intro like its predecessor MM2 has. There's no view of Mega Man standing on top of a building with his helmet off, hair blowing. All it is is the title screen staring back at you while one of the best songs in all of Mega Man plays. It starts off nice and slow but about 30 seconds in it picks up, takes a beat and you're like "OH SNAP!"

Not only is the original NES track amazing, the many remixes that have since followed are some of the best I've heard in the history of video game remixes. I kid you not. There are a lot of talented remixers out there and I thank each and every one of them for doing pumping out the killer tunage on this song. Here are some of my absolute favorite remixes for Mega Man 3's title screen.

• Start to Playing: This one has some piano, some rock and some jazz. Like the original NES tune, when it picks up the pace, you'll be floored.
  
• BlueLightning: This is long but very enjoyable with lots of changes here and there. Over 8 minutes of techno.
  
• The Passing of the Blue Crown: What we have here is a slowed down rock version of the title theme.
  
• IntroJazz: Man, I love this. A slow, jazzy version of Mega Man 3's title screen with excellent use of the flute. Very soothing track.
• SnowBroIntro: You could probably play this song at a club and most of the people in the place (unless a few are Mega Man fans) wouldn't even know it was inspired from an 8-bit game. Only thing they would know is that it freaking rocks.
• A Robot's Journey of Rock: Wow. Every second of this song is all kinds of awesome. All 2:07 of it. There are not enough words to describe how amazing this is. Wow. Just... wow.
• A Hero's Death: Another rock based intro but really good.
  

8-bit Mega Man 7

The good stuff with Mega Man just keeps on coming. First Mega Man 9 gets confirmed last week and Sunday night someone linked some YouTube videos of an 8-bit version of Mega Man 7, one of my favorite games in the series.

Developed by Mend, the game is just what it sounds like. All of MM7 in its 16-bit glory scaled down to 8-bit. Visuals, sound effects, music, everything about this game looks like the 8-bit NES MM titles. If you've never seen your favorite games downgraded, it really is an impressive feat. The game can be downloaded in the link provided above. I haven't played the game but I've watched a lot of the videos and I gotta say, Mend has done an excellent job.

I've always loved MM7's music and it sounds awesome in 8-bit form. Just download the tracks and enjoy. The week's just started and this is already one of the best things I've come across on the net.

Sucking At Older Games

Worst thing about playing an older time you haven't played for some time? You may have to rebuild your skills and rhythm. The last two days have been a painful reminder of this when it came to old-school gaming over the weekend.

I had a Mega Man itch I've been wanting to scratch for a while now. The announcement of Mega Man 9 made the need to scratch that itch all the more easier. So I fired up Mega Man Anniversary Collection and played my all-time favorite Mega Man game, Mega Man 3. Now MM games are usually the type I can go without playing for a while and still come back with all my adeptness and pattern memorization well in tact. Maybe both of those called in sick because I was looking like a scrub during more than a few areas of Mega Man 3. I actually got hit when I fought Proto Man in Magnet Man's stage. I died in Top Man's stage twice in the same area, the one where you have to jump over those spinning tops. Missed by jumps by ridiculously short ranges in Snake Man's stage. Man, I'm just glad I was the only gamer in the room to actually see this happen. Thankfully, I was still able to beat the game. I mean, I knew I would, I just didn't expect to look so out-of-practice.

Pulled out Super Mario All-Stars to play Super Mario Bros. Lost my super mushroom to some flippin' Goombas in the first level. Died to a Goomba in world 3. Death by Goomba. In a Mario game that's like the worst way to go out. Even worse is dying and then restarting at a spot where the Hammer Bros. Any other Mario game I'm OK with being small around Hammer Bros. but in Super Mario Bros. I really feel screwed. I got to world 4, decided to save & quit. No way I was gonna deal with Lukitu after so many deaths.

Mega Man 9 Not Exclusive To WiiWare

Well I'm a little surprised by this news, but not too much. Mega Man 9 is in fact, not exclusive to WiiWare, which should make those that didn't like the idea of MM9 being on Nintendo's unique console pretty happy. Anyone that owns a next gen console will be able to get their hands on MM9. The title is also coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PSN. So everybody wins. Is that cool or what? I know I said that MM9 being on WiiWare was a smart move on Capcom's part, but really, if they can get the game to every system, more power to them and more play to us gamers.

Mega Man 9!!!

Mega Man is by and large my all-time favorite video game character. Ever. Sure, I was exposed to the plumber and his bro before the blue bomber and some of the Super Mario games are among the best on this planet, but Mega Man is just instant win. The robot masters, the tricky levels, the weapons, I love it all. So its only fitting that I'm incredibly stoked to find that the rumor of Mega Man 9 is in fact true. The rumor alone had me giddy but now that MM9 is ago? I'm as giddy as a school girl.

When the rumor started, we were told that MM9 would be an old-school MM game. Now that we've seen some actually screens we know just how old-school they plan to make this game. We're talking 8-bit NES sprites here. Some folks aren't too pleased with the retro look of the game. I admit that it wasn't what I was expecting but I'm not let down by the look of the game at all. 8-bit Mega Man games are still some of the best looking NES games out there (yeah, I know that doesn't mean squat to a lot of people, but hey, I'm old-school) and I'm just happy Capcom finally put a 9 at the end of the words "Mega Man."

The screens here are from the latest/upcoming Nintendo Power and from the looks of things, we're in for some good old fashioned platforming that we all know and love. I can't remember a MM game where there weren't those annoying appearing/disappearing platforms and I'm positive they'll show up in this game. I still get nervous falling through those long spike pits in MM2 and MM3 so I wouldn't be surprised if the developers threw those in there just so they could screw with us even more.

MM9 will be available on the Wii on WiiWare and some gamers aren't too happy about that. Personally, I don't mind it being on the Wii at all. In fact, I think its a good move. Mega Man Powered Up & Mega Man Maverick Hunter X both sold poorly on the PSP and I don't really think an old-school MM game on the PS3 would fare too well. Of the three next gen consoles, the Wii is the most affordable so that, to me would seem like the safest bet for Capcom. Now I just need a Wii. Now more than ever I want a Wii.