Mega Man 9

"Prepare to die...alot"

Before we start this review, there is something that needs to be clarified. I have infact never turned on a megaman game in my life. Me, being born in 1992, unfortunately did not get the pleasure of growing up in that particular era. I can say however, that even though this game is (extremely) difficult, you will be guaranteed an awesome adventure through the world of megaman while having a blast every step of the way.

GRAPHICS-4/10
The graphics are...well, 8-bit. I am aware that the developers meant for them to be this way. I think it's great they went out of their way to ignore current technology and took the time to stylize the game the way the previous 8 megaman games in the past. This is an incredible bit of fan service, and although I certainly cannot give this section a high score, I couldn't imagine the game with any other graphic style and I am sure this game would stand out among the other mega man games and not be considered a "true" sequel if they had went the modern direction with the game.

GAMEPLAY-9/10
What you basically do in Mega Man 9 is go through stages and collect new weapons from the bosses that you kill. But man is it so much more. Get ready to repeat the same sections in the same levels over and over again until you finally master it. Believe it or not, it gets addicting...but the accomplishment you feel is unbelievable. As you beat bosses you get new weapons which make the other stages in the game just a little more easier.

The story is pretty basic but it does a good job of keeping you interested. It is told through little cutscenes that appear every so often. Something like this of course could only help a game. Again, kudos to the development team for making 100% of the artwork in the cutscenes out of pixels.

CONTENT-10/10
Thanks to the new (or perhaps old) function Nintendo allowed known as PaytoPlay, Wii games including this one now have the option to purchase downloadable content, where you can pay a few dollars to acquire more gameplay for your WiiWare or Wii game. Mega Man 9 recently released 2 pieces of downloadable content with more scheduled to release in the near future. The game already packs so many hours of gameplay onto one (speedy) download, including achievements, time trials, and a story mode. These features plus the ever-growing amount of PaytoPlay bonuses lead me to grant this category a shiny ten out of ten points.

SUMMARY-
In my opinion, coming from someone that has never played a previous megaman game, this ten dollar WiiWare offering delivers. I will check out past mega man titles for sure now. Whether your an old-school gamer by heart or a nine year old who's just been gifted his first console, find ten dollars and pick this game up, you wont be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/08

Game Release: Mega Man 9 (US, 09/22/08)