E3 2008: Hands-on Mega Man 9

via IGN


Dr. Wily wants your cash. Robots are going wild all over the world, wreaking havoc and disrespecting public property, and the infamous Dr. Albert Wily has called a primetime press conference to claim that he's not responsible – but he'll happily step in to stop the madness, for a price. Just call his toll-free number and make your pledge today.

That's how Mega Man 9 begins, and the Blue Bomber leaps into action once again to clear the good name of his creator, Dr. Light, who Wily also takes the time to blame for the current robot rampage (in-between his appeals to his watchers' wallets). The game's full 8-bit cutscene intro sequence was completely intact here at E3, which was refreshing – because the rest of the demo was, sadly, limited.

There were no bosses. There were no special weapons. There were no profile pictures placed in the classically styled eight-window stage select screen, and even then there were only two stages you could select. It was about as limited a look as you'd ever get at any game.

But yet, even having experienced only a fraction of what the full release of Mega Man 9 will present, it's still easy to report that this new old game is on the right track to recapture that retro feeling. I spent the week before E3 purposefully playing through each of the first six classic Mega Man titles from the NES, and with that context established it's easiest to classify Mega Man 9 as something of a mash-up of those 8-bit adventures.

The gameplay is firmly rooted in Mega Man's earliest adventures, Mega Man and Mega Man 2 – you can only run, jump and fire, while more advanced techniques like sliding and charging your Mega Buster aren't included. But the style of the game is more in line with the later NES editions, Mega Man 5 and Mega Man 6. The enemy designs feel more similar to those series installments, and effects like the explosions that result from a large foe's destruction are taken straight out of those last 8-bit titles.

The mish-mashed feeling gets even stronger when you consider the inclusion of collectible bolts, which are ultimately used as currency in Auto's shop – that's an element that wasn't introduced to the series until it had already left the NES, as its first appearance was in the SNES Mega Man 7. The character of Auto even makes his 8-bit debut here, looking intentionally less detailed and colorful than ever before. It makes you wonder what Bass and Treble are going to look like in NES style. (They didn't show up anywhere in this demo.)


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