There are two important things to note about my review.
One, I kickstarted the game because I wanted a new Mega Man game, and I'd prefer one in the vein of X and Zero, not the NES style.
Two, I had read a lot of bad things about the game before I played it, which I'll to some extent cover.
So let's start with technical stuff. The game runs really well, I had solid 60FPS with my oldThere are two important things to note about my review.
One, I kickstarted the game because I wanted a new Mega Man game, and I'd prefer one in the vein of X and Zero, not the NES style.
Two, I had read a lot of bad things about the game before I played it, which I'll to some extent cover.
So let's start with technical stuff. The game runs really well, I had solid 60FPS with my old gtx 660 card, and load times are really short. With the game installed on a brand-new 5900 RPM hard drive (not SSD) the load times are for the most part a second or two, allowing leaving and entering levels quickly and easily.
There is, however, one major flaw on the technical side, and that's the fact that the borderless window mode doesn't work, at least not for me, not even with the help of external applications. I had to play either in a smaller window or fullscreen, which is unfortunate but ultimately didn't matter much.
Next, we have graphics. The graphics are good for what they do, but not impressive in any way. This might be to ensure it runs well on multiple platforms, but it's a bit sad to see anyway. Some more work on more commonly seen things, like explosions, would have been welcome. Overall, though, as long as you like the style the graphics do their job well. The game runs, as I said, smoothly, and it's easy to predict hitboxes and such most of the time. There is a tiny issue in one or two places with the 3D graphics causing perspective issues, there was a door I didn't see because I was too close, and some pits are difficult to see the edge of at some angles, but it works well for the most part.
So, controls. I played the game with a controller that looks like an X-Box one but is made for the PC. The game responds really well, I couldn't feel any delay between pushing a button and the character responding. Air control is pretty good, and there are a few really tight squeezes where it's needed, so I'd say the controls are the best, most well-polished part of the game.
There is, however, a few important things to note for any Mega Man fans; you can dash as many times as you want without landing, and there's no charge attack.
Also, switching between your extra weapons/forms is a bit awkward until you get used to it, since I at least found no way to do it on the pause menu, instead you have to go through them all while the clock's running.
Story is not what I consider Mega Man's strong point, and Mighty no. 9 follows suit. The voice work is, in my opinion, functional. I would probably prefer to play without it. The story is essentially there to give you an explanation for running through the maps, it's not really good. It's not really important though, this game is about the action, not the story.
Level design is, for the most part, good. There are a few maps with a few too many instant death mechanics (I can recall three, your mileage may vary), and I think I skipped a lot of the water/ice level, but I'm not sure (which should say something). But it's good at teaching you how to do stuff, it looks great, the music is wonderful, and as long as Avi isn't talking everything's really nice.
Boss design is also, mostly, good. They're designed with two things in mind, there's no charge attack and you can dash like a maniac. If you're not good at pressing buttons fast, this is to your detriment. I didn't find it a big issue, the most I had to play through one of the "main eight" levels was three times due to a extra nasty boss, but generally their difficulty seems in line with most Mega Man games, which is what we wanted with the Kickstarter. Right?
As mentioned, the music is great. The rest of the sound design is also spot-on with the exception of the voice work. I doubt it's the voice actors' fault, though, it seems they went for a very cartoony direction with the story, which I guess is fine, but it means many people are better off skipping most of it.
Finally, there are several game modes beyond the story mode. I havn't tried challenges or the boss rush, but if you're the type who wants to do everything there's certainly a lot of it compared to your average Mega Man.
Conclusion: the game is not super impressive in every way. Then again, it's not bad either. It is pretty much exactly what I wanted from the kickstarter, so I'm very satisfied.
If you didn't kickstart it, should you buy it? If you've played and liked Mega Man after the NES era, especially if you liked the X and Zero and series, this could be exactly what you want.
If you don't like games that challenge you, or you can't press buttons really fast for extended periods of time, this probably isn't for you. It's designed to be demanding of the player, perhaps slightly more so than its predecessors. And I havn't even tried higher difficulties yet.
In the end, the game does exactly what it was supposed to. It's Mega Man but not. And that's why I liked Mighty no. 9.… Expand
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