Review: Mega Man 9 WiiWare

System: WiiWare (Also on PSN, Xbox Live)
Genre: Action/Platformer
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: Capcom
Original Release: 2008
Cost: 1000 Wii points

SCORE: 8.5/10

For years Mega Man fans thought that Capcom was finished making classic Mega Man games. It was thought that players would have to just be content playing the titles of the past to get their fix of the blue bomber. So when Capcom made the announcement that Mega Man 9 was in development in the summer of 2008, to say that fans were excited would be an understatement. Not only was Mega Man 9 a revival of the traditional franchise, it also, quite literally, took the series back to it's NES-style roots. Mega Man 9 is without question, one of the most polished games in the series.

Its a typical day for the citizens living in the year 20XX. Typical that is until robots start rioting all over the world. Turns out these aren't just any robots that are causing a ruckus. These robots were constructed by the world's number one robot expert, Dr. Light. Even the good doctor is shocked to see his creations are causing such devastation. There's even video footage of Dr. Light trying to coax Dr. Wily into joining him in his quest for World domination, but he refuses. Now why would Dr. Light, a man who has spent the last dozen games doing good, try to take over the world? Something is screwy (cough cough Wily cough) and it's up to Mega Man to clear his mentor's name.

This reminds me of that really annoying platform segment at the start of Guts Man's stage in the original Mega Man. Except this one here is much harder. Off five robot masters, get Rush Jet and then tackle Tornado's Man's stage if you don't have much faith in your platforming skills.

Mega Man 9 is just like any other game in the beloved classic franchise. The first eight stages can be selected in any order you like. Once you make it to the stage boss and defeat him/her (yes, there's a woman this time around), you'll be able to wield their weapon. Still following the rock-paper-sicciors gameplay, each robot master is weak to another's power and finding out who's weapon defeats who is the key to eliminating your foes quickly. Of course if you prefer a challenge, the game by no means forces you to face the robot masters or the final stage bosses using the weakness. That's the beauty of Mega Man games; no two people will play them the same way.

Behold, one of the most broken Mega Man weapons of all-time.

You can expect the same tight controls the series is known for. Mega Man moves and jumps with ease, but don't expect him to slide and charge his Mega Buster. In an attempt to simplify things, Mega Man functions exactly the way he did in the first two Mega Man games. This forces you to become even more adept at evading enemy attacks in a game that can already be quite challenging at first.

Splash Woman, the series first female robot master is also the only one in the game that takes the most damage with just the Mega Buster. Hmmm...

If this is your first Mega Man game, be warned. The series is known for it's difficulty. Novice players are likely to die a lot and even veterans may take a beating until they get the hang of how certain sections work. Mega Man 9 can be difficulty but by no means is it impossible.

The arsenal Mega Man acquires in Mega Man 9 is extremely useful. 

The shop makes a return and unlike Mega Man 8, screws are not scarce. Screws can be used to purchase items such as extra lives, E-Tanks, the ever-useful spike guard, and the energy balancer.

The game does offer a few odd balls among the bunch of robot masters (Plug Man, Jewel Man), but even taking them into account, you've got a bunch that really is hard to dislike. Even better the the weapons you get from them after they fall. Splash Woman's Lazer Trident is almost the equvilant of the Metal Blade. It can be used in rapid succession and it hardly uses any energy. Hornet Man's Hornet Chaser homes in on enemies and picks up screws and other power ups for you. Jewel Man's Jewel Sattelite is the best shield weapon. Ever. It can deflect bullets from Mettols and Machine Gun Joes and it will only go away if you leave the screen, or it hits a super strong opponent. Mega Man 9 has one of the best arsenals of weapons of any Mega Man game.

One would think that Capcom would take the game in a new visual direction. Instead, it looks exactly like the first six NES games. It may look like an NES title, but it seems to brim with more detail (in the game's intro especially) and there's not an ounce of slow down, though flicker can be turned on if you desire to further emulate this being an NES game. What's more, even the game's musical score sounds like it could have been done on the NES, though this along with the graphics, really aren't a negative. One of the many reasons Mega Man games have been so popular is thanks in large part to the music and Mega Man 9 does not disappoint. The music is catchy, energetic, and very andrenalyn driven. If there's one fault with the audio, it comes from some reused music. Six jingles were lifted straight out of Mega Man 2. As great as Mega Man 2's music is, some new jingle themes would have been nice. That said, you'll be humming Mega Man 9's original tracks for days.

Mega Man 9 does offer something no other Mega Man game has before: downloadable content. Proto Man becomes playable after you fork over 200 points and he can slide and charge his shots. However, those nifty abilities can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. Proto Man not only takes double damage when hit, but he gets knocked back even further as well. To add insult to injury Proto Man can't even access the shop nor does he have any story. It sort of feels like he was a tacked on extra. The Endless Attack mode is more worthy of you spare points. You get one life to last as long as you can in a randomized endless stage, complete with the robot master battles from time to time. There's also the rather challenging special stage that pits you against Fake Man, one of the robot cops that arrests Dr. Light. There's also Time Attack mode for those of you feeling speedy and looking to compete with other players across the globe, or if you wish to compete with yourself and best your own times. You've also got a sizable list of achivements if you're looking for bragging rights. These range from simple tasks like finishing the game, to more gruling stunts like completing the game without taking any damage. Along with the Time Attack and Endless Attack modes, Mega Man 9 has some good replay value to what was already an outstanding game.

Proto Man is playable but only pick him up if you want more of a challenge.

It was a long time coming and many thought they'd never see it, but Mega Man 9 was worth waiting for. The old-school visuals should please long-time fans along with the retro-style music. Mega Man fans should get this bargain game without hesitation. If you're playing a Mega Man game for the first time, this certainly isn't a bad place to start, just be prepared for a rough start. You really can't go wrong with this one.