Post by: WindyMan on June 26, 2008, 08:45:42 AM
The past few weeks have been pretty devoid of big news, which is understandable during the run up to E3. However, there's always that first big story that is a a sign of bigger and better things to come, and Mega Man 9 on WiiWare might just be the catalyst that triggers off a lot more big news. But I'm not here to talk about E3. I'm thrilled at the prospect of a brand-new old-school Mega Man game.
I've always thought the original series was the best, even better than the Mega Man X series. The NES games were challenging, despite their relative simplicity. Yeah, some enemies and bosses were ridiculously hard, and jumps appeared downright impossible—the disappearing “vacuum” blocks come to mind. But the beauty of the games was that you could do a lot with just shooting, jumping, and sliding. Capcom made the most out of the limited core skills Mega Man had available—not to mention the audio hardware of the NES—and as a result made one of the best action-platformer series in the history of video games, which will soon be nine games strong.
Here's some good news you might not have heard yet: Mega Man 9 is being made by the same core team that created the first batch of Mega Man X games, so you know it's going to be in the right hands. Though I have a slight worry that the difficulty will be toned down somewhat to cater to a more casual audience, my gut tells me that it's going to be just as challenging as the NES games. Konami didn't pull any punches with Contra 4, so I suspect MM9 will be in the same boat: A love letter to fans. Capcom knows its audience and that its franchises have loyal followers, so I can't imagine the game not being just like everyone remembers. It's the way Mega Man should be.
Post by: Nick DiMola on June 26, 2008, 03:55:51 PM
Post by: WindyMan on June 26, 2008, 04:00:12 PM
State-of-the-Art High-Resolution Graphics
Post by: Kairon on June 26, 2008, 04:01:20 PM
The past few weeks have been pretty devoid of big news
Then why am I prematurely graying? T_T
Post by: vudu on June 26, 2008, 04:06:22 PM
Quote
Mega Man the Way it Should Be
Does this mean no Mega Buster? ;) Seriously, the Mega Buster is the worst thing to happen to the series. At that point the robot weapons became mostly worthless in all but a few cases. I would love it if they returned to their old school roots.
I could do without the slide, too, but that's no where near a deal breaker.
Post by: Kairon on June 26, 2008, 04:11:55 PM
Post by: Nick DiMola on June 26, 2008, 04:24:28 PM
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on June 26, 2008, 05:42:19 PM
Post by: Caliban on June 26, 2008, 05:50:10 PM
Post by: Kairon on June 26, 2008, 06:09:44 PM
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on June 26, 2008, 06:39:28 PM
Post by: Yoshidious on June 26, 2008, 07:05:37 PM
I wonder whether Mega Man 9's visual style has anything to do with why Nintendo of America has chosen to hold back on releasing the NES games on Virtual Console. If that's the case, perhaps NoA will begin releasing them sometime after Mega Man 9 launches in order to capitalise upon the return to prominence of the Mega Man franchise.
Post by: ShyGuy on June 26, 2008, 07:15:06 PM
Also, Why So Serious 360 controller? nice.
Post by: KDR_11k on June 27, 2008, 03:09:32 PM
The charge buster isn't a problem if done right, of course if the weapons are designed to be more gimmicky than useful a regular weapon that shoots straight is going to be the winner but with good weapons the charge buster's appeal recedes a bit (I guess its availability would still make it more popular though...).
Post by: Morari on June 27, 2008, 05:29:35 PM
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 27, 2008, 05:54:28 PM
Post by: Rize on June 27, 2008, 07:53:50 PM
I'm beside myself right now. Although I somewhat prefer the Mega Man X series, I was a fan from the very first game, and MM2 is one of my favorites ever. Putting this on WiiWare is GENIUS.
Yeah, I feel pretty much exactly the same way. Mega Man 2 is awesomeness incarnate, but I prefer the X series (especially the first few) for the addition of wall climbing and the dashes and dash jumps. I love that sort of high octane mobility in a game and it was executed so well in Mega Man X.
Mega Man 9 is very welcome though.
Since they're pushing it as a Wii Ware game, I assume that it will cost 10 to 20 dollars instead of the 5 that an already existing NES game costs.
I also wonder if they're actually doing the program on an NES (emulator), or if they're only going to imitate the limitations of an NES (which would allow them to subtly go beyond the real limitations of an NES in terms of numbers of sprites and things).
Post by: Rize on June 27, 2008, 07:57:00 PM
I don't know... I don't like the idea of making the graphics "similar" to the original. I would love to see more modern 2D games, but with enhancements. Sprites could look so good nowadays with the increase of available display colors and resolution, so why not use it?
It costs a lot more to create art in high resolution and high bit depth (artists of that calibur need to be paid more and more man hours are required).
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 27, 2008, 08:31:22 PM
Post by: Smoke39 on June 27, 2008, 10:15:07 PM
And Mega Man is somehow not deserving of that expense?I don't know... I don't like the idea of making the graphics "similar" to the original. I would love to see more modern 2D games, but with enhancements. Sprites could look so good nowadays with the increase of available display colors and resolution, so why not use it?
It costs a lot more to create art in high resolution and high bit depth (artists of that calibur need to be paid more and more man hours are required).
Post by: RABicle on June 29, 2008, 05:13:03 AM
There, I said it.
Post by: KDR_11k on June 30, 2008, 02:50:03 AM
- Password saves just plain suck. Kill them, give us proper saves.
- Saving during the Wily stages needs to be possible. Hey, you can continue from a game over as often as you want anyway so why not allow a save? I suspect that was done because storing your weapon charges in a password was too much work.
- In Megaman X when you pick weapon energy up and have the buster selected it redirects the energy to a weapon in need. That really needs to be implemented here too, weapon switching before and after every pickup (especially when the weapon is one of the transport items) is just an annoyance.
Post by: Spak-Spang on June 30, 2008, 11:12:43 AM
I loved the lighthearted approach to Robot Designs and the brilliant level design and game play of those games.
I felt betrayed when Mega Man went to the X series, because although the game was still Mega Man I felt that the game's new art style and direction took the series in the wrong direction. The Edgy Cool look was a horrible idea, even though it was the direction all games were going. It just saddened me to see my Mega Man go that direction.
The X series almost made me give up on Mega Man...But Mega Man 8 and now Mega Man 9 seems to be heading in the right direction.
Even after so many sequels I believe that the series can evolve and add new game play to the basic formula.
Here is what I would like to see.
1)Quick Select of Weapons. Perhaps hold down B on Wii Trigger and selection wheel pops up for weapon selecting.
2)A Double Jump, or slight hover move for Mega Man. I would love this for boss battles and targeting specific weak areas. I think the hover might actually be more interesting than the double jump... Just tap Jump again and Mega Man will float for about a second or two. (He can't move while hovering)
3)I have wrestled with the desire for Mega Man to shoot diagonal for years. I have come to accept that Although it would be a natural progression of the series, that Mega Man should not naturally shoot diagonal. Instead, I think the Robot Bosses Sub-Weapons need to take more of this sort of role. Allowing for players to not just use weapons on bosses, but use their unique attributes in tough situations, like having an attack that can shoot straight up, or diagonal...or even dual shot forwards and backwards.
4)Finally, I would love bonus feature where you can actually play as the enemy Boss Robots. I don't want Mega Man to turn into the bosses or anything...but like beating the game would allow you to run through the game as different boss robots with their unique abilities and skill sets. Obviously, this could make the game have more replay value and harder as the boss robots wouldn't absorb abilities...and it would be about selecting the right robot for each level.
Post by: KDR_11k on June 30, 2008, 05:03:43 PM
A completely developed "play as the bosses" mode would probably be too complicated to make since that would require 8 characters with different traits yet enough common ground that they can navigate all stages and all are useful... That's a hard enough task for the main game, to put that much work into a side game would be too much. I think Megaman Powered Up had alternative characters but I don't know how many.
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on June 30, 2008, 07:43:57 PM
Post by: KDR_11k on July 01, 2008, 02:26:53 AM
Post by: Spak-Spang on July 01, 2008, 12:21:20 PM
Also, I don't see why it would be too difficult to come up with a Boss mode for the game...and I don't think it would be too hard to make the boss robots feel different.
I think perhaps the easiest way to implement the mode would be to make the game more linear. Instead of choosing your level...you choose the character you want to use and then go through the levels in a more traditional fashion. Since this is a bonus mode for the game...it wouldn't be a big deal to change that aspect of the game...and if you need to continue you can save and even switch characters you are using. The effect will be the same as traditional Mega Man, trying to figure the best Robot to use for the level.
I don't see any reason this couldn't be implemented. The Castlevania games for DS have been adding additional characters and modes after you beat the game...many dramatically changing the games play system and style.
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on July 01, 2008, 12:42:45 PM
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on July 01, 2008, 12:45:16 PM
I think the level design would suffer from having to be traversable by so many different characters. To avoid that problem, every character would have to move so much like Mega Man that having different characters would be pointless.\
Well they did a pretty good job of having multiple characters in Mega Man Powered Up.
Post by: Halbred on July 01, 2008, 02:41:28 PM
I like the Mega Buster, personally. I also think that MM8 is underrated.
I also keep wishing that Capcom would give us more Powered UP games (PSP). The first one was great, and I was hoping they'd continue the series.
Post by: vudu on July 01, 2008, 02:51:11 PM
I like the Mega Buster, personally.
The Mega Buster is a fine weapon. The problem is it greatly reduces the importance of the robot masters' weapons. The game no longer plays like Mega Man. It also kind of sucks because it breaks up the game play as it becomes necessary to constantly pause to charge the Mega Buster for a few seconds after every enemy you kill.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on July 01, 2008, 02:55:09 PM
Heck, I knew how to use the boss weapons. Quick-change on the fly, and blast through the stages without pausing to charge up your regular spitballs.
Post by: Spak-Spang on July 02, 2008, 09:50:12 AM
You design the levels for Mega Man to go through.
Then as a BONUS mode you can select bosses as playable characters.
They would have their own attributes:
Different jumping/control in water,
Different Attacks obviously,
Different Slides and such,
Possibly Double Jumps.
The bonus mode would be about trying to select the best character to get through the stages...not just the best weapon to beat the bosses.
I understand, that it wouldn't work perfectly...that is why it is a bonus mode. And if you are worried about selecting the wrong character for the level...another means they COULD do it, is by doing it in a Challenge mode.
There would be several individual challenges within levels after you beat a game.
Like, get through a part of a stage without taking damage.
Other challenges could be to beat specific levels with a boss character...and then the designers are putting that boss character in the level KNOWING, that character can make it to the end of the level.
Problem solved...and replay value enhanced.
Post by: KDR_11k on July 02, 2008, 11:25:01 AM
Post by: Spak-Spang on July 02, 2008, 12:52:47 PM
This thread to me, was about Mega Man the way it should be...and these were the ideas I had as a very devoted Mega Man fan, that loved the original story, and ascetic of the original series...and would love to see more in that series.
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on July 02, 2008, 01:07:15 PM
Post by: Spak-Spang on July 02, 2008, 01:31:29 PM
Post by: Halbred on July 02, 2008, 03:13:11 PM
Post by: Plugabugz on July 03, 2008, 04:31:40 AM
So i'm looking forward to this.
Post by: Spak-Spang on July 03, 2008, 12:29:09 PM
You will be in for a treat if you play Mega Man 9, since you have never played Mega Man before...because it will be a fresh take on a classic series, and I am sure the level design in this new one will to top notch.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on July 03, 2008, 01:26:35 PM
PROTO-SHIELD
Post by: Spak-Spang on July 03, 2008, 01:41:49 PM
I always hated the X series because every game had one of those auto scroll levels where you had to react split second to beat the level and it was insanely hard...and annoying.
I also thought that although the animal robots looked cool, they did not have the charm and silliness of the original robots.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on July 03, 2008, 02:05:05 PM
Hey, I loved Mega Man 8. I have loved all the traditional Mega Man series games...
I always hated the X series because every game had one of those auto scroll levels where you had to react split second to beat the level and it was insanely hard...and annoying.
I also thought that although the animal robots looked cool, they did not have the charm and silliness of the original robots.
X1, X2, and X3 did not have auto-scroll levels. Where've you been?
And MM8 had some auto-scroll slide platform thing portion (in fact, why were these so prevailent in the 32-bit games? Cuz Capcom was lazy, just like most other aspects in those games). Negative love points.
Post by: KDR_11k on July 03, 2008, 02:37:59 PM
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on July 03, 2008, 04:07:42 PM
Post by: Nick DiMola on July 03, 2008, 04:23:59 PM
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on July 03, 2008, 04:25:07 PM
No sliding? That's kind of lame. I am happy about the Mega Buster being absent though.
Opinions from people who love MGS4 don't count though. Duh!
Post by: vudu on July 03, 2008, 04:26:39 PM
Post by: Spak-Spang on July 03, 2008, 05:30:58 PM
And I like Mega Man's difficulty.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on July 03, 2008, 06:08:17 PM
Oh...you know I guess I was wrong. I just remember playing one of the later X games and it had some incredibly hard game that was just annoying.
And I like Mega Man's difficulty.
Difficult doesn't have to be "awful", which those auto-scroll stages were -- poor excuses to not develop clever and creative platforming stages, otherwise "JUMP AT RIGHT TIME TO AVOID MASSIVE DAMAGE."
Post by: Spak-Spang on July 03, 2008, 06:21:44 PM
Which is why I love the other Mega Man games...because they usually are not too difficult or cheap. You just have to get into the Mega Man groove.
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on July 03, 2008, 06:55:49 PM
Post by: KDR_11k on July 04, 2008, 02:48:05 AM
