Cy4n has 13 chronicles

1. ABT: Bombin' In Blue Once Again
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Oct 04 2008

   Mega Man is back. Bitches.
   
   Since the late 1980s, the little Blue Bomber has defended our consoles from the evils of Dr. Wily and his hoard of robotic minons, appearing in countless titles spanning more than 10 platforms. The first six of the "official" Mega Man games (the "pure/classic" series, not to be confused with the "X" series, or the "Legend" games, or... any of the others) all showed up, in sequence, on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the seventh game on the SNES and the eighth on the PS1... and ladies and gentlemen, I've had the pleasure of playing Mega Man 9, released to the masses.
   
   Even with the adjustments made to the series over the years - enhancements like the Charge Shot, "Haduken" (a variation of the Charge Shot), the Power Slide, collected bits and pieces of a more powerful suit - Mega Man 9 is back to the core basics. You can jump, and you can shoot. That's it. This game is as classic as has been released recent years, even taking an aesthetic cue from the original title; that's right, it's completely an "8-bit" game. The difficulty level? Classic as well... one wrong move and you're back to square one.
   
   Let me put it this way: I've been playing platform games for years. I've played MANY a game of MM over my life span. I was regulated to a "Game Over" the first time I played it AFTER THREE MINUTES.
   
   Unforgiving indeed.
   
   There are eight levels to begin the fight, and while I know there are four stages after the originals are defeated I can't say what they're like... I still haven't gotten there yet due to the sheer agonizing amount of HARD this game is. The original titles were known (and in some cases, reviled) for what we call in my family "those f*ckin' disappearing bricks" (if you've played before, you know what I mean), the lack of speed in the water levels, the "impossible" jumping sequences... but for some reason, they're not really enough to get me - or many other players - to give up. One of the aspects of games of this difficulty is the feeling of accomplishment when that single jump is done, or when that sequence is finished up, or when you get past that one boss without taking a single hit... something clicks.
   
   But when you beat those bosses, you take in their abilities for use throughout every other level you play through. Some of the weapons work against certain other bosses, allowing you to defeat them all the faster... or slower, if you want a MAJOR handicap.
   
   This game is as basic as they come, which is perfect for the XBLA, PSN or WiiWare marketplaces as there really aren't any instructions needed. The bulk of the game only needs the jump and shoot buttons, and while it would've been nice to have on-the-fly weapon adjustment a-la Mega Man 8, heading to the screen I guess is a bit more classic in its own right, so it keeps with the pace Capcom was trying for.
   
   It's not often gamers get exactly what they want, OR exactly what they expect... this time, speaking just for myself, I got EXACTLY what I was craving: timeless, challenging, nostalgic-yet-new old-school flavor wrapped in a tasty, pixelated package.

   
   

   ---

   Send To A Friend

Cy4n has 0 comment s on this chronicle.