NOISEREDUX PLAYS GAMES
  • Blog
  • Blog

mighty no 9

6/21/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
It's pretty hard to talk about Mighty No 9 without mentioning Kickstarter. I suppose crowdfunding is still a pretty big deal. But it seemed like there was a time there in the mid-twenty-tens when every new game was a Kickstarter campaign filled with hype and promises. And sure, we got some good games out of the fad. But we also saw a lot of gamers throwing a lot of money at all kinds of weird ideas. Remember the Ouya?  
 
Mighty No 9 got a lot of hype when its campaign launched in 2013. It was to be created by Comcept, the new company that Keiji Inafune was running. He, of Mega Man fame of course. The game would be co-developed with Inti Creates, a company made up of ex-Capcom staffers who had worked on the Mega Man Zero and ZX series. Oh, and the game was a straight up spiritual successor to Mega Man. It all sounded too good to be true. If Capcom wouldn't make new Mega Man games, then who better than this team with actual honest-to-goodness experience?  
 
Early screenshots looked promising. Our new hero, Beck (whose name sounds nothing like Mega Man's original Japanese name "Rock") looked a heck of a lot like an HD reimagining of the blue bomber himself. And I mean, great! Because Capcom had released Mega Man 9 and 10 previously, but clung to a retro NES look for those games. Here we were going to get a brand new modern version of the formula. Everything sounded legit. There were scientists in lab coats, there were robot bosses who would grant you new abilities once defeated – it all seemed tried and true. 
 
Fast forward to 2016, and after delays and failed promises I think gamers were starting to feel a bit of crowdfund-fatigue. Not just with this game, but with the whole thing. Again, remember the Ouya? And the thing is, given the pedigree of who was working on this game, and the semi-promise that this would be our new Mega Man series, the stakes were really high as was the media exposure. When Mighty No 9 finally hit consoles, it was panned by critics and seemingly hated by gamers. 
 
Although I picked up a copy on deep discount back in 2017, I never actually got around to playing the game until 2022 when I kind of shrugged and figured I'd give myself a chance to see how it really was now that all the dust had settled. I tend to be a bit of a gaming optimist. I like to try to look for the good in even failed games. So I went into this one with an attitude of "it can't really be as bad as everyone says... right?" But, after spending the past two nights with Mighty No 9, I can confidently say "it stinks!"  
 
Things start off on a kind of good note, though. The opening level which is meant as a sort of pseudo-tutorial is clearly inspired by the opening of Mega Man X. I like that. And so I started the game thinking that maybe there was enough nostalgia and fan-nods to make this one enjoyable. But then the game itself started and... meh. 
 
The big change in gameplay is a new mechanic where you don't just kill stuff, but rather you weaken enemies and then dash through them to gain some kind of buff (to your strength, shield, or health). It's not a horrible idea, exactly, but it completely changes to flow of combat verses what you'd be used to in a Mega Man game. Why not just kill enemies and let them drop these buffs? This addition, to me, adds a whole lot of tedium to even getting through a level. 
 
Speaking of levels, the level design is pretty awful. Traversing stages feels like a mix of simply walking to the right and sometimes doing simple platforming, and then suddenly being confronted with ridiculous insta-death traps or poorly placed platforms and enemies. It's such a mixed bag that's only made worse by the shockingly long load times and lousy checkpoint section that often has you going replaying the tedium to a degree worth of just quitting the game out of disgust. 
 
I really had to force myself to stick with this game for two solid nights. And I only did so because I wanted to give myself the chance to see each stage and fight through bosses to check out new weapons. But as I trudged forward, what I found was that these weapon upgrades were often fairly useless. In the few hours I put into this game, I never bothered with the upgrades. Or rather, I attempted to use them at first only to find that they weren't actually helping me in any meaningful way and that I was better off to just stick with the stock blaster.  
 
I kept telling myself that I'd suffered through worse games than this for the sake of experience. I kept trying to push myself to just stick it out and see Mighty No 9 to the end. But I just can't do it. It's such an unlikeable game.  
 
To add further insult to injury, a couple years later Capcom shocked everyone when they finally delivered Mega Man 11 – an honest to goodness HD modern take on the real deal Mega Man formula. While it wasn't perfect, it certainly blew this game out of the water. And while I think Comcept's intentions were good, I highly doubt we'll ever seen a Mighty No 10. ​

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Games

    All
    1943: The Battle Of Midway
    Aladdin
    Alex Kidd In Miracle World
    Aliens: Fireteam Elite
    Arise: A Simple Story
    Axiom Verge
    Bad Dudes Vs Dragon Ninja
    Bionic Commando
    Black Jack
    Blade Runner
    Blood Bowl II
    Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon
    Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
    Bulletstorm
    Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
    Castlevania
    Castlevania: Dracula X
    Castlevania: Harmony Of Despair
    Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
    Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
    Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow
    Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
    Castlevania: The Adventure
    Catherine
    Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers
    Chorvs
    Columns
    Contra
    Crash Bandicoot Warped
    Crystalis
    Dead Cells
    Dead Rising
    Deathsmiles
    Destiny
    Destiny 2
    Diablo II
    Diablo III
    Dig Dug
    Digimon Survive
    Dishonored 2
    Doom
    Doom (2016)
    Double Dragon
    Double Dragon IV
    Dragon Blaze
    Dragon Quest XI
    Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
    Ducktales
    Elden Ring
    Everybody's Golf
    Fallout 4
    FIFA 18
    Final Fantasy Type-0
    Final Fantasy VII
    Final Fight
    Fortnite
    Friday The 13th: The Game
    Frogger
    Galaga
    Genshin Impact
    Ghost Recon Wildlands
    Ghosts N Goblins
    Ghouls N Ghosts
    Gley Lancer
    Grand Theft Auto V
    Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
    Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Telltale Series
    Gunbird
    Gunstar Heroes
    Haunted House
    Ikaruga
    Islanders
    Jeopardy (2017)
    Layers Of Fear
    Legacy Of The Wizard
    Life Force
    Life Is Strange
    Life Is Strange: Before The Storm
    Lumines
    Madden NFL 18
    Madden NFL 23
    Magical Drop III
    Maniac Mansion
    Mappy
    Marvel Vs Capcom 3
    Mega Man 3
    Mega Man 5
    Mega Man 7
    Mega Man X
    Mega Man X2
    Mendel Palace
    Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
    Midnight Suns
    Mighty No 9
    Minecraft
    Monster Hunter World
    Monster World IV
    My Friend Peppa Pig
    NHL 94
    Operation C
    Overwatch
    Pac-Man
    Paladins
    Persona 4 Arena
    Persona 5
    Phantasy Star II
    Phantasy Star Online 2
    Phoenix Point
    Railway Empire
    Red Dead Redemption
    Red Dead Redemption II
    Renegade
    Resident Evil 3 Nemesis
    Resident Evil 5
    River City Ransom
    Rocket League
    Rogue Legacy 2
    Rygar
    Saints Row: The Third
    Samurai Shodown (2019)
    Shadowgate
    Shadowrun Returns
    Shining Resonance
    Slay The Spire
    Sonic CD
    Soul Hackers 2
    Spelunker
    Stardew Valley
    Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
    Street Fighter III
    Street Fighter IV
    Strider 2
    Super C
    Super Castlevania IV
    Super Dodge Ball
    Super Hydorah
    Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
    Tales Of Vesperia
    Tecmo Bowl
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
    Tetris Effect
    The Quarry
    The Secret Of Monkey Island
    The Walking Dead
    Thimbleweed Park
    Toejam & Earl
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
    Tunic
    Valkyria Chronicles 4
    Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
    Wonder Boy
    Wonder Boy In Monster World
    XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen
    Xevious

    Archives

    December 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    September 2013
    July 2013
    December 2012
    July 2012
    March 2012
    November 2011
    July 2011
    February 2011
    October 2010
    August 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2009
    August 2008
    July 2008
    November 2007
    August 2006
    December 2004
    October 2003
    December 2001
    September 2000
    June 2000
    January 2000
    December 1999
    September 1999
    October 1998
    November 1997
    October 1997
    September 1997
    March 1997
    February 1997
    June 1996
    September 1995
    January 1995
    November 1994
    April 1994
    January 1994
    December 1993
    November 1993
    October 1993
    September 1993
    December 1992
    July 1992
    February 1992
    December 1991
    October 1991
    February 1991
    December 1990
    October 1990
    September 1990
    July 1990
    June 1990
    April 1990
    March 1990
    January 1990
    December 1989
    October 1989
    May 1989
    December 1988
    March 1988
    February 1988
    December 1987
    November 1987
    October 1987
    July 1987
    June 1987
    May 1987
    April 1987
    December 1986
    October 1986
    June 1986
    May 1986
    March 1986
    September 1985
    April 1983
    February 1983
    January 1983
    February 1982
    September 1981
    August 1981
    December 1980
    September 1977

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.