Pop in that code and you unlock all the extra stages and playable characters originally released as DLC for Mega Man 9 and 10. Up, down, left, right, left, right, down, up, up, down. You even get a chime sound when you nail the input. Yesterday it released Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, which bundles together Mega Man 7-10, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via Steam, and included a cheat code that unlocks all the DLC for Mega Man 9 and 10 right from the start. Well, it seems Capcom's still got an old-fashioned bone in its body. Nowadays, we rely upon modders (or amiibo, if you're a Nintendo tax payer) to break the video game rules. The game just doesn't tolerate second best, and thus harks back to a time when completing the latest game was a feat you spent weeks or months obsessing over, earning enormous playground respect in the process - not something you absent-mindedly bashed through in a weekend rental.Younger readers may not remember a time when you could unlock infinite lives, or infinite ammo, or access any stage any time by inputting a string of commands into a game. While some may justifiably wince at such cruel and arguably outdated design, it's essential for raising the stakes. Die, and in true sadistic retro style you start the level over again. ![]() ![]() Far from becoming routine, it's a constant tightrope walk, with each new screen bringing fresh hazards to navigate past. Identifying that pattern, and using it to avoid damage, is the throbbing heart of the gameplay. Everything is predictable, everything follows a set pattern. Like most great 8-bit titles (or games in the 8-bit style) the game operates like clockwork. Yet when the worst happens, you're always aware it's your fault. Just enough to drop him off a ledge, into a deadly pit, or onto some jaggy spiky thing. To make things extra tough, each impact knocks Mega Man backwards slightly. Mega Man's energy bar erodes quickly through the slightest contact with the numerous enemies and obstacles, some of which can be blasted away with your weapons (of which, more later) but there are also times when you swear it's impossible to get past a screen unscathed. Fact: Capcom used over 5000 polygons to make Mega Man look like a flat 8-bit sprite. Thankfully, Mega Man 9 is a good retro game. There's a fine line between "hard" and "unfair", though, and it's in the sliver of space between the two that the difference between a good retro game and a bad retro game becomes apparent. It just happens to have been made in 2008 for today's trio of consoles. ![]() It's absolutely, undeniably a NES Mega Man game, right down to the crunchy music, chunky colourful sprites and basic controls. Unlike Capcom's recent digital downloads, this isn't a modernised sequel or remake. Mega Man 9 is a brand new NES game for the 360, PS3 and Wii. Capcom wants to drive us to suicide, and its weapon of choice is. "Our goal is to make you cry and give up, not just on the game, or gaming, but life itself."Ĭrikey. At least a hundred times," the letter continues, now sounding more like a terrorist threat than an invitation to play. "Mega Man 9 is the hardest game ever," it proclaims. "We want to HURT YOU," it begins, in alarming fashion. If you knew the scintillating truth of what goes on behind the gilded portcullis of the games business (clue: lots of truffles) where would the magic be? Even so, the letter which accompanied the review code for Mega Man's ninth platform outing is almost too perfect not to share a little. I usually resist the urge to include snippets from press materials in my reviews, mostly because I like to retain a little fragment of industry mystique.
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