Wii Warm Up: Mega Busted

by JC Fletcher { Sep 27th 2008 at 10:30AM }

Mega Man 9 is back-to-basics in more than just the graphics. Rush can no longer turn into shoulder pads, for example. There's no charge ability for the Mega Buster, nor are there the shot upgrades available in Mega Man 8's store. You can't even slide any longer. If we were going to get into Mega Man X, we could add the wall-clinging business as well.

Is there one addition to the post-Mega Man 2 world that you miss the most? The Mega Buster? Sliding? Clown Man's voice acting?

Tags: capcom, mega-man-9, retro

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Gewurztraminer says: Shinkuu Gadouken! @ Sep 27th 2008 10:51AM

It's like you're reading my mind.....

Pardon me if I sound like a broken record, but, now that it's been asked in an official capacity, yes, yes, yes, and should I?

Granted, I have yet to play MM9, so I do not begrudge it specifically, but, in general, I prefer the charged shot and added mobility that the slide/dash and MMX wall climb provide (Rush, shmush =p). I like MM, but I also like finishing my games, so yes I prefer the 'easier' X series.

That being said though, I am still looking forward to trying MM9 as Mega Man 2 and again as Protoman.

TD @ Sep 27th 2008 11:43AM

It's a great game, and I don't miss the charge or slide as much as I thought I would. What I do miss, however, is the ability to switch weapons without opening a menu. I thought the (-) button might do the trick, but it only pulls up a series of XBox style achievements, which I find kind of unnecessary. In all though, fantastic game. I hope this leads to more retro gaming development.

Roto13 @ Sep 27th 2008 11:59AM

Inafune said he never liked the charge shot because it got rid of the need to use most of the special weapons outside of bosses. Losing the charge shot encourages more variety in the way you play.

I don't know what to tell you about sliding, though. :P I don't really miss it a whole lot, but there are several times it would have been handy when fighting bosses. Jewel Man, for example.

CJLopez @ Sep 27th 2008 12:02PM

Man, for me is the Slide, I do miss that movement, was the most use full thing on the whole MM3 game.

The charge sot, i can't deny its been a great thing since MM3, but sometimes, trying to only shot charged shots is something that get you killed pretty easily, so its better to know that the only thing you can do is shoot

Nushio (NDF - Blue) @ Sep 28th 2008 4:18PM

(Replying to your reply)

As for MM9 being between 2 and 3? That makes little-to-no sense, since the ending clearly shows that Megaman has defeated Dr Wily more than twice ;-)

CJLopez @ Sep 29th 2008 11:29AM

I know, it got me too

I was like WTF!!!!! if this is after megaman and bass (he showed 9 screens, i think last one is from that one) what happened to slide and charge!!!!

Still, a good game

Nushio (NDF - Blue) @ Sep 27th 2008 12:06PM

I would've liked an in-game explanation as to why those features are missing. "Its based off Megaman 2" doesn't cut it for me.

The game sometimes feels like a quick cash job, there's a lot of missing features from it, like lack of GCube pad support, or not supporting L and R for switching for those of us that use the classic controller.

I enjoyed it nonetheless, but I found out I'd rather play a MMX (Or Megaman & Bass, or MM8) than MM9...

CJLopez @ Sep 27th 2008 11:04PM

MM9 is placed between MM2 and 3, so the time line goes like this

MM -> MM2 -> MM9 -> MM3 -> MM4 -> MM5 -> MM6 -> MM7 -> MM8 -> M&B -> X series

In megaman 2, there were no rush, only help full weapons, but now we got rush, without the submarine feature (unless I miss it, xD) and no charge.

Marzz @ Sep 27th 2008 12:31PM

I'll admit that the slide would have been handy to have a couple of times in the game, but it really wasn't designed for it. None of the bosses really had patterns that called for you sliding out of the way except maybe magma man, but his stage didn't allow for it.

Charge shot? I never used it anyway.

Also, whoever's playing MM8 in that video is really, really bad at the game. :/

Trocke @ Sep 27th 2008 3:45PM

Was the player really so bad? It wasn't a no-damage speed run, but the player seemed on top of things for the whole level.

ZombiePikmin @ Sep 27th 2008 12:41PM

Protoman can slide and charge he's gonna be DLC on October 6

Buntaro @ Sep 27th 2008 1:07PM

I totally agree.

I like the short duels with standard enemies in Mega Man games without charge Shots and utilizing the enviroment. e.g. against the Metool in Galaxy Man's stage, where you have to trigger his attack, run back, climb down a ladder and shoot him. Very clever stage design by Inticreates. A huge charge shot would have turned this situation into a no-brainer.

Buntaro @ Sep 27th 2008 1:11PM

Oops, this was supposed to eb a reply to Roto13's message

Anyway:
I didn't miss the charge shot, could also be because I don't like how strong it got as the series progressed.
I wouldn't mind the inclusion of the Mega Arm (fist attack from Mega Man V) plus the item grabbing function in a potential sequel though. It had limited reach, so using it involved more risk. Saturn could suck the arm in and leave Mega Man helpless for a few seconds. A great idea.

As for the slide, I like how it opens more ways for evading enemy attacks, but I think it should include an uncancelable standing up animation at the end, to remove the overall speed advantage sliding has over walking.
The way it works in the exisiting games, Mega Man is faster, less likely to get hit, and he can stop it at will with little risk, therefore I think an additional malus is required.

TheOverlord#2 @ Sep 27th 2008 5:52PM

Item grabbing tool? You do know that the Hornet Chaser(Hornet Man's weapon) will shoot bees that'll hit enemies and grab out of reach items? There are even some items in a couple stages that require the bees to get items.

Buntaro @ Sep 28th 2008 2:35AM

I'm aware of that, must have forgotten to add this in my post.
I prefer the Mega Arm though:
Hornet Man's weapon takes the item right to Mega Man from virtually any angle, while the item grabbing upgrade for the Mega Arm requires Mega Man to stand or jump right in front of it.
This combined with the Mega Arms limited reach creates more interesting situations.

Cartoon Guy @ Sep 27th 2008 1:10PM

I miss nothing.

The video above proves my point that Megaman became too slow outside of the NES games. They wanted to add more detailed sprites, which is fine, but they sacrificed timing for detail.

Mega Man 9 is a great call back to the good ol' days. It doesn't need pizazz. It doesn't need a charge shot or a slide. It was built for strategy. (i.e. when to jump and shoot)

With incredible level and enemy designs, I feel this game is pretty much perfect in every way.

KingKRule @ Sep 28th 2008 11:55AM

I totally agree with you. What im loving about Megaman 9 is the speed. The fact that I can blaze through some levels in 2 minutes is awesome to me. I think the charge shot and the slide is just uneeded fluff that takes away from the running and gunning skill.

mechevar21 @ Sep 30th 2008 8:46AM

I gotta agree 100% with you and of course with KingKRule. Going into Mega Man 9 I was thought I was really going to miss the slide move, but it turns out the gameplay is much more crisp without it.

I personally hope the Mega Buster is gone and dead. That annoying charge sound will haunt me to the day I die.

hellhammer @ Sep 27th 2008 1:16PM

They could make a new Mega Man X title to reflect the first 3 games in the MMX series

and I'd be Capcom's sex slave.

Go1denchi1d @ Sep 27th 2008 2:36PM

Man, there were so many instances in MM9 that I wanted to slide. Its still built into my hardware! The charge up, shoulder pads, and other accessories I could live without. Although, Beat as a weapon would be pretty handy...

Abscissa @ Sep 27th 2008 6:56PM

I *really* miss the sliding (I've always thought Mega Man 3 was better than MegaMan 2 anyway). I also miss the lack of DLC nickel-and-diming, and the promised GC controller port support (so I can use my PS2->GC controller adapter).

Other than those three things, I don't miss anything else. I never used the L/R weapon switching. I liked MegaMan 6's rush adapters, but they did make it less like MegaMan 2/3. I like MegaMan X's wall jump, but I don't think it belongs in the original series. The charge shot I've always been mixed about. It's kind of nice, but anytime it's available, there's too much temptation to wind up playing most of the game holding down the charge button and hearing the charge noise, both of which get kind of annoying. The 2D passwords were memorable, but I'm glad to see them replaced with an 8-slot.save system.

Abscissa @ Sep 27th 2008 7:02PM

I also vastly prefer MegaMan 8's version of the bolt system.

Buntaro @ Sep 28th 2008 2:44AM

Oh yes, MM8's "grab'em-once-and-they're-gone" bolt system felt better.
It's been some time since I last played MM8, but I think it was possible to grab most or even all hidden bolts without revisitng stages, so planing your shopping trips ahead was possible.

seaniccus @ Sep 27th 2008 7:08PM

My first MEgaman game was MM3, so at first it felt a little odd without the slide, but I got used to it quick. The charge was never all that important to me.

I didn't think i'd like megaman 9, but I'm impressed. It's great, and the most fun i've had on my Wii in awhile.

Patius @ Sep 27th 2008 11:37PM

Its a brutal game, but like always, the boss battles are easy after the first one thanks to the weapons.

Krosskull @ Sep 27th 2008 11:41PM

@CJLopez: Not to come off like a dick, but Mega Man 9 takes place exactly where the number implies.

At the end of the game, after defeating Wily, he begs for mercy (as usual), and then Mega Man calls in Rush and creates 9 images, all of Dr. Wily begging for mercy, and they're all from the previous games, from the original to Mega Man & Bass (8-bitized, no less).

Personally, I think I miss the slide the most, but I think I'm actually really ok without the charge shot. Either way, I anxiously await Proto Man.

TX2 @ Sep 28th 2008 12:04AM

The more moves you give megaman, the less focus the game has on all the other aspects of gameplay. Even the blockier graphics left the game able to do pixel perfect platforming segments.

The Platforming in MM9 was top notch, and puzzles centered around the 8 special weapons were well applied as well.

More games should have the Focus Megaman9 has.
Sonic Team could learn something from this.