The Hall of Shame 07.16.08: A Rant on Mega Man 9

Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 07.16.2008

So over 10 years later, this is how we continue the classic series? I'm very disappointed.

This week's Hall of Shame is a personal rant rather then an induction.

For a while my friends tried to convince me that a Mega Man 9 had already existed. It was supposedly the game that finally ended the Mega Man story arc leading up to the X series. Whenever I tried to ask them of proof, they would usually give me a very weak excuse like it's only out in Japan or they heard it from a website. I think my friends were either getting their info from rumor sites or were confusing it for Mega Man & Bass. It had been over 10 years since Mega Man 8 came out, and it looked like Capcom would never make the ninth game in the series.

But then a few weeks ago, Capcom announced Mega Man 9, and I got very excited. A game I thought could only exist in my mind was going to become real. I felt like we were FINALLY going to get closure for the series and come full circle with the over-arching story. So when I finally got the details of what Mega Man 9 was going to be like, I was very disappointed. In fact, I'm almost pissed what Capcom is doing.

So far, here's all the details we know about this game: Mega Man 9 will be going back to the basics by playing and looking exactly like the NES Mega Man games did. The charge shot, sliding, and ducking have all been removed to make it feel like you're playing Mega Man 2, widely considered the best of the series. You'll have to fight eight robot masters (one of them being a woman, a first for the series), then defeat Wily. Rush, Beat, and Eddy will tag along to help you out. The game will be available for the three consoles downloadable services (WiiWare, XBLA, and PSN), will cost around $10, and is being developed by the same team that does the Mega Man ZX games for the DS.

So what problem do I have with this game? They're calling it Mega Man 9. So after more then ten years, this is the Mega Man 9 that Capcom is finally going to give us? They should be calling this game something else, because THIS GAME IS NOT MEGA MAN 9! Way to destroy everything I ever hoped this game would be Capcom.

This game is about as much Mega Man "9" as Mega Man & Bass. Some people called that the unofficial Mega Man 9, but it's more like Mega Man 8.5 rather then a direct sequel. This game claims to be the ninth game in the classic series, but I'm calling bullshit on that. The Mega Man 9 I know would be the one to finally end the 20XX saga and explain what exactly happened before the events of Mega Man X. The rest of the Mega Man series ended their stories (Mega Man X6* leading to Mega Man Zero leading to Mega Man ZX, Battle Network leading to Star Force), so why can't the classic series? Why are we left to assume everything from the given facts and having to use fan fiction at best? Did Mega Man ever really fight Zero? Did Zero ever actually get released before Mega Man X? Did anybody actually die at all? If I have to naturally assume what happens in the storyline, then it's not a very good story.

*I know the X series doesn't end with X6, but where do X7, X8, and Command Mission actually fit anyway?

Speaking of story, the one in this game is that Dr.Wily is accusing Dr.Light of being the villain, so Mega Man has to fight all these robot masters to prove his innocence. I'm going to take a wild guess at what happens: Dr.Light is actually innocent, Wily was behind the whole sham, and Mega Man will defeat Wily once again, but not kill him because he's all righteous and stuff. We'll probably get a message about how this war between reploids and humans will seemingly never end (because Capcom doesn't want it to) and unless this somehow ends with Mega Man fighting Bass or Zero at the end, or getting something that contributes to the X series, this storyline will be as non-canon as the Game Boy Mega Man games. The game's storyline is simplistic, but I don't mind games having a simplistic story, because at least you're not beating yourself over the head trying to figure out the plot. But they are calling this game Mega Man NINE, as in the one that comes after EIGHT, thus having to continue where that game's story left off. Are you going to throw out your entire story just to please the fans that prefer how the Mega Man games used to play? What about the people that are waiting to see Mega Man fight Zero, or have one last epic battle with Bass? Am I the only one that cares about this?

Also, I have a hard time taking this game as an official sequel considering the platform it's on. They're releasing for WW, XBLA, and PSN. The downloadable game services rather then the consoles themselves. A series as big as Mega Man and the one game many fans have been waiting years to see actually exist should not come out as just some cheap downloadable title! Look at Final Fantasy. That series has a game on the WiiWare, but it's more like a spin-off title. Imagine if Final Fantasy XIV was going to be available only as a downloadable title for the PlayStation Network. Would you really believe it was the next big Final Fantasy game? Unless you can download a 20GB game through the PSN, I doubt it.

You want to go back to the old school style of Mega Man? Go right ahead. I'm sure the game will be great to play. I think it's awesome that we have a new downloadable Mega Man title, and would love to see more classic series do the same. But don't tell me that it's Mega Man 9, because that would mean you're moving forward since Mega Man 8, but instead you're intentionally going backwards and are calling it Mega Man 9 just to make sure people are guaranteed to download this. So after Mega Man 9 gets released, what then? Will there be a Mega Man 10? Will that be the real continuation of the series or the same old school style of play? Are we EVER going to get official closure for Mega Man's story?