NWR Interactive => Podcast Discussion => Topic started by: NWR_Neal on March 01, 2010, 11:13:35 AM
Title: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 01, 2010, 11:13:35 AM
Our second game for the Newscast Game Club is Mega Man 10! It is available now for 1,000 Wii Points ($10), so get your Mega Buster ready to kick some evil robot ass.
Let's see how this game compares to past Mega Man games, see what weapons rock and what ones suck, what levels are crazy hard and what ones are crazy easy, and if Wily still is raising his eyebrows after all these years.
So everyone can be surprised, let's not keep the hidden third character under spoiler tags, and also keep other relevant spoilers under them as well. Though I think it's safe to say that Dr. Wily is behind it all. He always is.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 01, 2010, 01:17:43 PM
I, vudu, do solemnly swear not to cheat by looking up robot master order, boss weaknesses, or hidden item locations. I vow to complete the game either unassisted or--if that fails--with the help of fellow NWR members. Modern gaming has not softened my reflexes, patience or determination.
Copy, paste and replace with your name unless you're a complete pansy.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 01, 2010, 01:23:39 PM
I, Neal, do solemnly swear not to cheat by looking up robot master order, boss weaknesses, or hidden item locations. I vow to complete the game either unassisted or--if that fails--with the help of fellow NWR members. Modern gaming has not softened my reflexes, patience or determination.
I might cheat and look up who the third character is. That's all.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on March 01, 2010, 01:28:41 PM
I, DrewMG, do solemnly swear not to cheat by looking up robot master order, boss weaknesses, or hidden item locations. I vow to complete the game either unassisted or--if that fails--with the help of fellow NWR members. Modern gaming has not softened my reflexes, patience or determination.
I also promise to get further in this game than I got in Mega Man 9.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 01, 2010, 01:59:56 PM
I, Halbred, do solemnly swear not to cheat by looking up robot master order, boss weaknesses, or hidden item locations. I vow to complete the game either unassisted or--if that fails--with the help of fellow NWR members. Modern gaming has not softened my reflexes, patience or determination.
Basically, to beat this the same way I almost beat Mega Man 9 (damn you, Wily's third form!!!)
(my secret shame)
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 01, 2010, 02:13:08 PM
Ugh...Wily's third form in MM9 is such a bitch...
I hate that I won't be able to download this game until late tonight. I do know that I probably won't be getting a good night's sleep, though.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 01, 2010, 03:22:32 PM
My original save in MM9 got to Wily's Castle, but never made it far into that part of the game. I recently started over and am almost caught up. I might try to finish it this time before downloading MM10. But realistically, I probably won't be able to wait. ;-)
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 01, 2010, 06:29:56 PM
So everyone can be surprised, let's not keep the hidden third character under spoiler tags, and also keep other relevant spoilers under them as well.
If you're intent on avoiding spoilers be sure to avoid 1UP--I just had the hidden character spoiled for me. Probably best to avoid the entire Internet for a while.
EDIT #2: For what it's worth, the intro music rocks my socks off.
EDIT #3: OH SNAP--I completely forgot this game has a difficulty setting. Suffice to say, if you play on easy I'm going to make fun of you.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: noname2200 on March 01, 2010, 07:09:10 PM
I, noname2200, do solemnly swear that I am a total pansy who lost his gaming skills long, long ago, and who knows that he will never in his life beat this game, although he will reach the last level and then admit defeat.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 01, 2010, 07:38:01 PM
It's Roll, isn't it?
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Shaymin on March 01, 2010, 07:59:58 PM
I, Shaymin, do solemnly swear not to cheat by looking up robot master order, boss weaknesses, or hidden item locations. I vow to complete the game on Normal either unassisted or--if that fails--with the help of fellow NWR members. Modern gaming has not softened my reflexes, patience or determination.
I had to resort to a walkthrough for MM9 and I felt emasculated.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 01, 2010, 08:08:51 PM
Jeez--it took me six guesses before I finally found the "easy" first boss. I hate guessing games.
By the way, I also have a "no E-tank" rule. But I don't expect any of you to follow this rule unless you're real gamers.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 01, 2010, 08:19:01 PM
I'm old. I'm going to rely on my E-Tanks. Now, W-Tanks, that's another story. That's a cheatin' man's way out.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on March 01, 2010, 08:26:21 PM
Wow. Tried the first three stages on the top row and this game completely kicked my ass. Go figure.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 01, 2010, 08:31:37 PM
What's a W-tank? I collected one but haven't got a clue what it does. Is it like an M-tank?
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 01, 2010, 08:33:21 PM
It refills your weapon energy. I do not know if it refills just one or all of your weapons, I haven't used one.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 01, 2010, 08:44:04 PM
I might accidentally mean M-Tank. Whichever one fills your weapon energy. It's been a long day.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 01, 2010, 08:59:43 PM
I downloaded it on my Wii when I had a chance to stop by my dorm earlier. I'm at work until late...and it's torture.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 01, 2010, 09:19:41 PM
I, Mop it up, will do whatever I mopping feel like, because I play games to have fun.
Since I'm sort of a long-time Mega Man enthusiast with Mega Man 1, 2, and 3 being some of the few NES games I grew up with, I couldn't resist downloading this game today. I may have made a mistake.
I beat the 8 robots and am now on Wily's porch. I picked the stage before I quit to hear the music, and it is definitely the worst Wily Castle music I've ever heard, I wondered if I were playing some Castlevania reject. The music is pretty blah and forgettable, it's quite a mess and sounds like it was created by wanna-be Mega Man composers. I'll wait until some fans make some remixes before shunning it entirely, as some of MM9's bland music was actually pretty good when composed with not-8-bit instruments.
The option to choose Proto Man is nice, despite that he stole moves that Mega Man used to know. I chose him just to switch things up, though it looks like none of the "achievement" type of stuff is available to him (and also not on Easy anyway). The slide move doesn't seem very useful, I actually forget that it is there. This is probably because the game was designed for Mega Man, who has no slide. The stage designs contain the same cheap tricks as in MM9 (or would if I didn't choose Easy), though they seem even more bland and formulaic than before. Some styles don't match the featured robots either, like Sheep Man's binary level. Shouldn't it be a farm or something? In any case, I need to play on Normal before I judge the stages properly.
Mega Man 10 has the most lolz-worthy robots since Mega Man 4. Considering that Sheep Man was the first one revealed, I expected this. Strike Man? I actually expected this guy to have something to do with "strike" as in "hit," but no. It's a robot shaped like a baseball catcher who throws baseballs. His weapon is a baseball. It bounces. Whee. Then there's Commando Man. Seriously? I sure hope he's wearing underpants. Where's Hippie Man to give me his weakness? That boss is right up there with Hard Man and Flash Man in terms of bad names. Pump Man had me burst out with laughter. He has an old-style ground water pump on his head that he must pump to create a water shield. I guess such a clearly cheaply-made robot is a sign of the hard economic times of the year 20XX.
Most weapons are lame and have very few uses other than for their respective robots, there's nothing cool like the Tornado Blow or Hornet Chaser here. It's sad when the best weapon is the Water Shield weapon, which has been used in every Mega Man game expect MM3. This almost seems like a parody; it's certainly as funny as one.
I can't say I'm disappointed as this is what I was expecting. This game is pure product, intended to tug at the nostalgia strings of old-school gamers so that they don't notice how poorly designed the game is. I guess I was just holding out hope that the game would actually be good this time around.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 01, 2010, 11:40:42 PM
Most weapons are lame and have very few uses other than for their respective robots, there's nothing cool like the Tornado Blow or Hornet Chaser here. It's sad when the best weapon is the Water Shield weapon, which has been used in every Mega Man game expect MM3. This almost seems like a parody; it's certainly as funny as one.
I'm sorry, but if you're playing on easy you have no right to complain that the weapons don't have a use other than to beat the other robots.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 02, 2010, 12:33:58 AM
I'm actually glad to hear you say that. I just beat Wily's castle and I'm going to play on Normal soon, with Mega Man. Those were just my first impressions, there are probably some things that I should hold off judging until I've played Normal. Though even if the weapons have some uses, I still can't envision them being very interesting or fun. They don't have enough energy to really be useful. I guess I'll see.
However, there is one nice thing I discovered with the Wheel Cutter. When you're holding it in front of you, you can walk up to a wall and it will carry you up. It still isn't very useful as a weapon though.
A piece of advice for those of you considering playing on Easy: Don't do it! It makes the game ridiculously easy, to the point where it is kind of boring. This is coming from somebody who thinks that Kirby games are a nice challenge, so I wouldn't say I'm a skilled gamer. I've never thought that most Mega Man games are very difficult (only Mega Man 1 seems difficult to me), you just need a little practice and to get to know the stages and enemies. I can't decide what that says about the game design, whether it is good or bad, but that's a discussion for another time. I would recommend Normal regardless of what you think of your skill.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 02, 2010, 02:31:02 AM
So I caught up on MM9 and got to the first Wily stage. I think I quit last time at the giant fire beams that you have to freeze with the Concrete Shot, and that's probably where I'll quit this time, too. I've always hated things like that, going back to Quick Man's stage in MM2. Already downloaded MM10 and should get started on that tomorrow.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 02, 2010, 02:49:16 AM
Beat three Robot Masters tonight. It was totally awesome! Sheep Man and/or Pump Man seem to be like good openers. I went with Sheepy because I wanted to play ridiculousness, and I ended up getting close to beating him on my first continue. After screwing around a bit, Pump Man seemed quite easy.
Played all of the levels at least once and the things that stand out are the sand storms in Commando Man's level, and the goofy mini-bosses from Strike Man's level.
The design of the game overall seems newer than Mega Man 9. MM9 seemed deliberately behind the times and seems in line with MM2/3, while this game seems to have a later Mega Man series feel.
I also beat Commando Man. He was a bitch, but I figured out the pattern by my final life. I found Solar Man to be a royal pain in the ass, though, as he stores your shots and fires them back at you, which sucks. I finished off the night by dying on Nitro Man when he had one hit left. Seemed fitting.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 02, 2010, 10:30:15 AM
Though even if the weapons have some uses, I still can't envision them being very interesting or fun. They don't have enough energy to really be useful. I guess I'll see.
I can't speak for all weapons, because the only one I've unlocked so far is the ice weapon. However, I found it very useful against the flowers in Solar Man's level. Those things can be a bitch without it because in most places you have to dodge the fire arches at the same time which makes it hard to get 4 Mega Buster shots off at once.
Played all of the levels at least once and the things that stand out are the sand storms in Commando Man's level, and the goofy mini-bosses from Strike Man's level.
I agree that Commando Man's stage rocks. I also liked the cars in Nitro Man's stage.
I think the best part of the stage design is the branching paths. So far I found two stages where you have a choice as to what path you take. There's not just minor changes, either. In one of the stages one path was significantly harder than the other, but you got an E-tank for your troubles. In the other level, you would only fight the mini-boss if you took one path but that one was much shorter than the alternate path.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 02, 2010, 10:33:48 AM
I hate the cars in Nitro Man's stage! And by hate, I mean "they're really cool but they beat the hell out of me in the beginning."
The branching paths are really cool. I think it was Commando Man's stage where I was having trouble with one part, and then I went and tried other levels. I came back, happened upon the other path, and had a lot more fun with the stage.
I'm hoping to get through this by the weekend, but if not, I have plans to play this game all night with a few friends on Saturday after we go see Anamanaguchi.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 02, 2010, 12:05:38 PM
Wow, branching paths? They were in MM6 but I didn't expect them to return in these revivals. Maybe the next game will have a jet pack. ;-)
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: noname2200 on March 02, 2010, 12:55:10 PM
So I caught up on MM9 and got to the first Wily stage. I think I quit last time at the giant fire beams that you have to freeze with the Concrete Shot, and that's probably where I'll quit this time, too. I've always hated things like that, going back to Quick Man's stage in MM2.
For that part, forget about using the concrete shot and just use Rush's spring ability to reach those ladders. It's much quicker and easier, although you still have to use timing to avoid that second beam.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 02, 2010, 01:17:13 PM
Played about an hour last night. Love it so far, though it definately feels different from MM9. It's more in the style of the later-era MM games. More gimmicky, with more ridiculous enemies and bosses. I beat Pump Man and Solar Man but got my ass handed to me in Nitro Man's stage. I got to Commando Man, but timing my jump to avoid his earthquake stomp AND his missile is really tough.
I intent to at least beat Sheep Man tonight, 'cause his stage is ridonkulous!
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 02, 2010, 08:22:55 PM
All right, I'm just curious about something, and I hope the lot of you are willing to offer me some insight.
Are all of you Mega Man fans? When did you first get into the series? How many of the ten Mega Man games have you played? Which aspects of the series do you like? What is it which attracts you to the 8-bit NES style instead of seeing the series progress?
I'm starting to wonder if the only reason I like the NES Mega Man games is because I grew up with them. I didn't really like MM9 that much and I think 10 is even worse. Everyone seems to like them though, and I just don't get it. Maybe heaing about why you folks like them would clear some things up.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on March 02, 2010, 09:53:22 PM
Just beat my first ROBOT MASTAH this evening, the incomparable Sheep Man. Was actually pretty easy, after doing a few run-throughs last night.
Mop it up, I played all 6 NES MM games when I was a kid, without any cheat codes or Game Geneie help. It was something of a pride point for me. When I got MM 9 last year, I was very excited but the game was so much harder than any of the MM games on NES that I was turned off.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 02, 2010, 11:10:34 PM
I don't actually think MM9 is any harder than the original NES games, but that seems to be a common debate. Maybe it's not worth getting into here.
I failed out of the first two levels I tried in MM10, but on my third choice, I beat Nitro Man on the first try (thanks to an Energy Tank that I found in the level). Put down my screws/bolts for the Energy Balancer, too. The level design and music seem to be very good so far. Loving the little interface tweaks, like separating weapons from items on the sub-screen.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Shaymin on March 02, 2010, 11:11:31 PM
Update: 4 of 8 Masters down. Solar Man, Sheep Man, Chill Man, Pump Man. A list provided will be burninated in the matter of a peasant's thatched-roof cottage shortly.
My first Mega Man was 4, but I rented 2 and 3 a LOT when I was a kid. I've beaten 1-9 by way of the Anniversary Collection (Gamecube version), and wish 8 would die in a fire.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 02, 2010, 11:35:10 PM
Still really enjoying it, just got to Wily's castle. Solar Man gave me so much trouble, until I used the Water Shield and wrecked him. The game's pretty awesome so far. I think Zach made the point that Mega Man 9 felt like it was an early Mega Man game, and Mega Man 10 feels like a riff off of the later ones. That definitely seems to be the case.
I played Mega Man 1, 2, 3, and 6 when I was younger. Then I kind of disliked the franchise until Mega Man 9. I recently got really into the series with a few friends.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Sundoulos on March 03, 2010, 09:38:28 AM
I haven't really played 9 beyond the Galaxy Man stage, so I have no real basis for comparing it to early series games. I think that the stage turned me off because I felt like there were a lot of cheap deaths in the game. I'll probably try to pick it up again after playing through this.
I'd agree with the assessment that Mega Man 10 feels like some of the later games. Right now, it reminds me a little of four, but I've only played (and defeated) the Solar Man, Sheep Man and Pump Man stages. If there's one thing that I feel that's missing so far, it's the giant animal robot designs that were present in 2, 3, 4 (I can't speak for later games).... I sort of feel like many of the enemies I've seen so far are fine, but they aren't that visually interesting either. (What's up with the cursor enemy in Sheep Man's stage? Seems a bit surreal.)
@Mop It Up: I'm 33 (old), so I was young enough for Mega Man 2 to be my first exposure to the series when it came out. I saw the cool writeups that Nintendo Power did on it back in the day, and I just had to rent it...a lot. There's just something about that game that makes me still rank it as my favorite Mega Man ever. I still think there's something about the music and stage design in that game retains something that just isn't present in many of the sequels. I went back after that and played through the original game. I'll admit that I had to use the Elecman weapon cheat on the Yellow Devil/Rock Monster; the prospect of having no saves or passwords will do that to you if you're just renting the game.
Later, when Mega Man 3 was published, I bought it and played it constantly. It's probably my second favorite in the series. It's one of those games I would pick up and play repeatedly, mainly because I felt that the slide mechanic added a lot to the gameplay, I felt like having the mobility of the slide move helped to even the playing field a little, and I still miss that move in 9 and 10. I kind of feel like it was lame to give it to Proto Man. Anyway, if I ever pull out my copy of the Mega Man collection, 1, 2 and 3 are still my favorite games to play. To this day, I'm probably good enough at 2 and 3 to beat all of the robot masters with the normal gun. I don't think it's just nostalgia, those were really good games for the time.
I felt like some of the games began to get stale after that. I have played 4 - 8 at some point or another, but I never cared enough to make my way through the Wily portions of the game. I like 4, though I felt like they were really starting to recycle ideas/weapons there. The robot masters and stages of 5 & 6 just felt uninspired. 7 was decent/fun and had a bit of nostalgia factor (Wily stealing old robot masters from the Robot Museum), but I've never made it all the way through it, through. 8 is just an abomination; let us not speak of it.
If I were to decide to go back and try to beat any of the old games, it would probably be 6. I like the robot part upgrade mechanics that were available in that game.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 03, 2010, 01:11:53 PM
This seems like a good place to post this.
Mega Man 10's Secret Extra Robot Masters Revealed (http://www.pressthebuttons.com/2010/03/mega-man-10-extra-secret-robot-masters-revealed.html)
FUTURE DLC SPOILERS AHOY!
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 03, 2010, 01:16:27 PM
Played and beat all the NES Mega Man games and all the MMX games prior to 7, which I never played. I would like to find and play X8, though. I've heard it's good. Also beat Powered UP and Maverick Hunter X.
I love the series. It's very bare-bones twitch gaming with a lot of layout and pattern memorization involved, but it's so pretty and revels in its retro goodness that I don't care. So you could say I'm a big Mega Man fan.
@Vudu: Seriously?!? AWESOME!
I was going to play more MM10 last night, but Bioshock 2 was $20 thanks to some Blu-Ray movies I didn't want anymore, so that...kinda sucked me in.
Strike Man's stage = Tomahawk Man's stage.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Shaymin on March 03, 2010, 10:26:33 PM
So I'm saved now at the final sprint to the finish. Thanks to sheer repetition, I now have 5 E-Tanks and the dreaded M-Tank (which is being reserved for the boss reunion).
There is one section just past the halfway point of the second stage where we nearly had a WiiHaveAProblem incident - breakable ice blocks over bottomless pits and a spike well at the end = much rage. Especially with a checkpoint BEFORE the annoying miniboss.
The first level of the castle has some nice fanservice in the form of one boss from each of the first 9 games. If you want the easiest time and extra E-Tanks, go through a breakable floor, then ignore the second breakable floor and go down.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 04, 2010, 03:45:11 AM
Well, I beat the game on Normal. It took only and hour and a half, though having advance knowledge of the stages from playing on Easy definitely helped. I'm still disappointed in the special weapons, some of them are just lame and most have specialized uses. There aren't really any weapons that I could see myself using for an entire stage like in previous MM games, partly because they lose energy too fast. The music isn't very good either, it just isn't very melodic and catchy. I don't know terms for analyzing music so I can't quite say much about it. The few tunes that were okay were Solar Man, Pump Man, Wily Castle 3 and 4, and the credits. One thing I do like is the absurdity of some of the stages, like Strike Man's sports themed level. I also find the bosses to be unsurpassed in ridiculousness, Pump Man still cracks me up when I fight him. My final verdict: This game is all right, but like MM9, I don't feel as if it is as good as the original NES series. It is better than MM8 though, and possibly MM7.
Now I need to decide if I want to subject myself to Hard Mode. I played two stages, Sheep Man and Pump Man. The latter I used two energy tanks to beat, and the former I used four. If the lot of you think the normal game is difficult then Hard Mode will make you cry. I think I'll need to wait until I get a Classic Controller as the Wiimote on its side just doesn't cut it for the kind of reaction time needed.
@Mop It Up: I'm 33 (old), so I was young enough for Mega Man 2 to be my first exposure to the series when it came out.
Mega Man 2 was the first one I played as well, and I'm sure that is part of why it is still my favourite. Not that it isn't a great game or anything, but since it was my first experience then it was something more special than the others. I agree with you about the stages and music, I can't quite describe what it is but MM1, 2, and 3 all seem to have a quality that is missing from the later games. In the case of the music, I wonder if it is because MM2's music was composed with those 8-bit instruments in mind, whereas MM9 and 10's music was not. The reason I wonder this is because I've heard some fan-made remixes of MM9's music that I thought were good and better than the originals, but many remixes of music from MM1, 2, and 3 just don't sound right.
I also think that they shouldn't have given the slide and charge shot to Proto Man, those two things opened up some nice gameplay opportunities.
Part of why I got into the series is because my older brother would tease me that I couldn't beat any of them. I wasn't all that into the games at first, but hey, if it means shutting up an annoying brother then that was my prize and motivation for playing the games. I have not beat MM1 though. Don't tell my brother that.
Mop it up, I played all 6 NES MM games when I was a kid, without any cheat codes or Game Geneie help. It was something of a pride point for me. When I got MM 9 last year, I was very excited but the game was so much harder than any of the MM games on NES that I was turned off.
I'm kind of surprised when people say MM9 is more difficult than the NES series as I don't think this myself. However, I wonder if that's because things have changed. How long ago did you last play those Mega Man games? Perhaps MM9 was difficult partly because you weren't used to the series anymore. As for me, I played them a lot back then and it was so long ago that perhaps I don't remember the old games being overly difficult since they aren't anymore.
Also, please do not call me "Mop it up."
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on March 04, 2010, 08:17:38 AM
Sorry, I will strike it from my vocabulary.
I played Mega Man 2 on VC pretty much immediately before Mega Man 9 came out in 2008, and found it to be INCREDIBLY easy compared to MM9. Now, I know there's something to be said for the fact that I've played it before, but these games are more based on stage memory and reflexes, and having played the game 10 years prior doesn't really help you when you come back. I think Mega Man 9 is several orders of magnitude more difficult than Mega Man 2, almost to a comedic effect. Also, I had MM Collection on Gamecube a few years back, and played through the first 3-4 games before I put it down and ended up eventually selling it. I don't remember having nearly the problem with those games that I would eventually have with MM9.
I'm still only one robot master into MM10. I tried to play through Pump Man's stage last night and found it too frustrating, so I quit out. I'll take another stab at it tonight.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 04, 2010, 09:28:30 AM
I got to Wily Stage 2, but then backed out to show someone a robot master level. Now I'm back on Wily 1, and I keep on messing up in moronic ways.
At this point, I'll probably tackle it on the weekend. I got the Monster Hunter Tri demo and Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing yesterday.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Sundoulos on March 04, 2010, 12:53:53 PM
Sweet. Can we look forward to hearing your Monster Hunter demo impressions on the podcast? I'm not sure I can find the demo around here and am really on the fence about getting this one, but Lindy's NWR Monster Hunter club thread is tempting me.
I'm hesitant to get it because I just don't have that much gaming time to set aside these days. Getting married and having children can do that to you. Incidentally, it's also why I haven't been able to play Mega Man 10 since the first night I downloaded it.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 04, 2010, 01:39:32 PM
I'm sad that everyone--except Drew--seems much father into the game than I am. I've played for almost 2 hours and I've only managed to beat two robot masters (Chill Man and Sheep Man). I figured out that I can use Thunder Wool to make quick work of Dive Man so now it's just a matter of using the awkward weapon to claim my third boss.
I'm finding this game much more challenging than Mega Man 9.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 04, 2010, 02:17:07 PM
I'm not much farther than you, vudu. I played for a long time last night, beat Chill Man and Sheep Man, then got fracking OWNED by the last four robot masters. They all do ridiculous amounts of damage to you, and it seems like I've gotten myself into a situation where I got all the wrong weapons, and none of these last four bosses are weak against any of my weapons.
Looks like I might have to power through one of them with a bunch of E-Tanks. I'm noticing that the bosses in this game do TONS of damage to Mega Man. Boss order seems unusually important this time around.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Sundoulos on March 04, 2010, 02:28:23 PM
I have heard comments that the robot masters in MM10 can still be challenging even if you are using the "right" weapon.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 04, 2010, 05:25:13 PM
I have heard comments that the robot masters in MM10 can still be challenging even if you are using the "right" weapon.
When I got to the end, I talked to some people about the boss weaknesses. I'm pretty sure I was way off :/ so I can't really comment on this. I did use some E-Tanks on the bosses though.
Also, I'll be writing up some impressions for NWR on Monster Hunter Tri (my bad for not saying that in response to Sundoulos' other comment) in the next day or so. I want to play it a little more before I do. And I think I'll be mentioning it on Newscast, though I'm not sure how in-depth I'll get. My early thoughts are that it will be awesome online, but I don't think I'll be playing it offline too much.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 04, 2010, 05:38:56 PM
Online? How would you play it online? You mean leaderboards?
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Sundoulos on March 05, 2010, 11:01:03 AM
Beat Chill Man last night. I couldn't guess who to tackle next, so I tried the Blade Man and Strike Man stages. Didn't even make it to the boss on the Strike Man stage. I did make it to Blade Man, but I guess that I didn't have the right weapon. I never even came close to killing him just using the Mega Buster.
Then I tried the Nitro Man stage...holy crud! I think I can take it if I try it again, but those train cars/trucks/whatever certainly took me by surprise.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 05, 2010, 11:56:00 AM
I have heard comments that the robot masters in MM10 can still be challenging even if you are using the "right" weapon.
Well for instance, although Pump Man is technically weak to Sheep Man's weapon, it's extremely hard to hit him with it. You're better off just using the Mega Buster. Luckily, Pump Man has a pretty easy pattern to avoid.
If anyone's having trouble on Blade Man, my strategy was to stay behind him (or under him at least). There are only five places in the room he can ever be, and there are multiple safe spots for each position.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Killer_Man_Jaro on March 06, 2010, 02:42:50 AM
I bought this yesterday evening and played it for about 40 minutes. I've only beaten Strike Man thus far (by the skin of my teeth - if his last attack connected, I would have been dead) and had a stab at Blade Man's level, but stopped after repeatedly getting knocked back off that seesaw platform into the abyss.
Enjoying it so far. I'll give more in-depth thoughts once I'm further along. I can't comment on the soundtrack much, as I've heard just two songs -- that being said, I really like the music I've heard. Strike Man's stage has the familiar fast-paced main melody which we expect from Mega Man music, injected with a very fitting sports-themed tune.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Sundoulos on March 06, 2010, 09:01:41 AM
Yeah, I thought they did a good job with Strike Man's theme. The Sheep Man, Blade Man, Solar Man, and Nitro Man themes are pretty good, too.
I knocked down the rest of the robot masters last night; Nitro Man, Strike Man and Commando Man fell pretty easily. Still had trouble getting Blade Man, but I followed Johnny's advice above and finally got him.
I'll probably tackle Wily's Castle before the weekend is up.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 06, 2010, 12:39:58 PM
If anyone's interested, I just found a great strategy for the castle mini-boss in Blade Man's stage.
Use Water Shield and jump up to the weak points--the shield will hit them in rapid succession and he'll go down really fast.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Sundoulos on March 06, 2010, 04:44:23 PM
I'm finding this game much more challenging than Mega Man 9.
I never played Mega Man 9 at length, so I decided to start that as well for comparison. So far, I'm having an easier time with some of the bosses in 9, but I've found that the stages I've played, Galaxy Man and Splash Woman, have a steeper learning curve than many of the stages in 10. Mostly that's because of the spike placement in both stages. The boss encounters in 10 seem a little harder, though.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 06, 2010, 05:19:25 PM
I played Mega Man 2 on VC pretty much immediately before Mega Man 9 came out in 2008, and found it to be INCREDIBLY easy compared to MM9.
Did you play Mega Man 2 on Normal or Difficult? The Normal mode is actually an easy mode of sorts that was created for the North American release, and the Difficult mode is the original Japanese difficulty. In either case though, I do think MM2 is the easiest game out of the ten. I believe the reason for this is because they were addressing complaints that the original was too hard, so at this point they were trying to find the sweet spot of difficulty.
If you find Mega Man 10 to be frustrating, then have you considered playing it on Easy first? I think it might be a good idea, so you could learn the stages for when you play on Normal. The reason I started on Easy is because I didn't want to be spending an hour just trying to beat a stage. That isn't fun for me, and if it isn't for you, you should consider switching. Also consider using Proto Man, as he is easier to use than Mega Man.
Well for instance, although Pump Man is technically weak to Sheep Man's weapon, it's extremely hard to hit him with it. You're better off just using the Mega Buster. Luckily, Pump Man has a pretty easy pattern to avoid
I think you're not using the weapon right. The weapon can penetrate Pump Man's Water Shield, so you just have to anticipate where he is going to jump and put a thunder cloud there. You can defeat him using just three shots if you're crafty. Like most things in Mega Man games, it's pretty easy once you figure out what to do.
The boss encounters in 10 seem a little harder, though.
I think you're right about that. It would seem that their patterns require a bit more precise movements in order to not get hit, so there is less room for error. When you first meet a robot, I'd recommend studying them to learn their pattern before you get too aggressive and start blasting them.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Shaymin on March 06, 2010, 09:45:58 PM
So I finished it tonight on Normal, without the guide. Used about 20 continues and ended up having to loop Pump Man's stage for the free E-Tank and boatload of screws for more. Final time was 4h14m, which is actually shorter than I thought it would be.
The last three Wily stages range from frustrating to awesome. Frustrating: If you're trying to get every item before the boss reunion, be careful - I had to continue BEFORE the reunion because I was trying to grab an extra E-Tank Awesome: The whole leadup to the last stage - you go up, WAY up, run into the screws from MM2 to replenish everything, and get one of each Tank (E, W and another M) just in time for the final boss.
You unlock Hard Mode after beating the game, which if 20 continues on Normal is any indication I will be avoiding like the plague for the time being. I do want to try Easy and maybe do a Protoman run before I try Hard mode.
Ending spoiler: There's a hook for Mega Man 11 at the end. If I had to bet, they'll probably put it out next fall.
If anyone's interested, I just found a great strategy for the castle mini-boss in Blade Man's stage.
Use Water Shield and jump up to the weak points--the shield will hit them in rapid succession and he'll go down really fast.
This actually works well on all of the minibosses. I'm not sure what weapon is more broken, the shield or Blade Man's.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 06, 2010, 11:26:08 PM
Yeah, that's how I got past the castle miniboss and the soccer miniboss.
Got to Wily's castle last night. The stages are too long. The second one, with the conveyor belts, is just cruel sometimes.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 07, 2010, 12:51:15 AM
20 continues? Wow. Reminds me of when I played Mega Man 2 at five years old... If you want to keep your sanity, do not play Hard Mode.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Killer_Man_Jaro on March 07, 2010, 01:46:12 AM
Update: After getting a Game Over on Blade Man's stage (again), I decided to move on. I've beaten Sheep Man and Pump Man now; I will go for Solar Man next. It's helpful that four of the Robot Masters are elemental, so I can apply Pokémon knowledge to finding the weaknesses. I don't know how I'm going to work out how to effectively damage the others, though past experience says I'll guess it wrong before I guess it right.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 08, 2010, 01:40:44 AM
Mega Man bosses don't always follow logic when it comes to weaknesses. But if that strategy is working for you, go with it!
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Killer_Man_Jaro on March 08, 2010, 01:48:50 AM
Funnily enough, this element weakness theory did work. I beat Solar Man and Chill Man last night. 5 down, 3 to go. Now I'll probably guess wrong because, as you said, there is no logical way to discern which of the remaining three would be hurt by Chill Spike.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 08, 2010, 02:56:27 AM
I had my "Mega Man 10" night with two of my old friends last night. We rocked through the entire game on Normal in something like five hours or so of controller-passing fun. I really enjoy the game, though I still think MM9 trumps it. The Wily stages are pretty damn good. I think I like those better than the ones in MM9.
I did check out Easy mode and Proto Man today, though. Some of Proto Man's dialog is freaking awesome. Easy mode makes me laugh, but I have to say it's nice to have a way for less experienced gamers or Mega Man players have a way to actually succeed in the game without suffering through a lot of trial and error.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Sundoulos on March 08, 2010, 09:18:18 AM
Funnily enough, this element weakness theory did work. I beat Solar Man and Chill Man last night. 5 down, 3 to go. Now I'll probably guess wrong because, as you said, there is no logical way to discern which of the remaining three would be hurt by Chill Spike.
If you use it correctly, the Chill Spike makes sense once you actually figure out who to use it against. Interestingly enough, I noticed that it does far more damage when allowed to land on the ground and forms the spikes than it does if you just blast the enemy robot directly with it. It's a nice touch.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 09, 2010, 01:51:49 PM
I beat it last night. SO happy they built a grinding stage in before the final Wily fight. I needed all those extra items because I'd used them all during the robot master marathon and first two Wily fights. The final Wily fight was pretty easy overall...I was happy they didn't stick me with the cheap saucer battle from MM9. Now I'm gonna try playing it on Easy just to see how easy it can be.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 09, 2010, 09:19:11 PM
Commando Man's stage is BRUTAL. I haven't even made it to the boss himself yet.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 10, 2010, 01:05:28 AM
Five of the eight robot weaknesses make a surprising amount of sense in this game. That has to be some kind of record.
I thought I'd drop a couple notes for those who haven't noticed. For one, I just realized that Proto Man receives double the damage as Mega Man does. He also gets knocked back a little farther. You'll have to concentrate more on not getting hit if you use him. Now that I've realized this, I've started Hard Mode again with Mega Man, though I don't know how far I'll try to get.
Here's something I noticed with Strike Man's weapon: The more it bounces, the more damage it causes. I think it might reach full power when it starts to flash. This thing is like a lame version of Gemini Laser... I don't know where they got it from that baseballs are pink.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 10, 2010, 01:48:28 PM
Commando Man's stage is BRUTAL. I haven't even made it to the boss himself yet.
Odd, because I thought Commando Man's stage wasn't bad. I think Strike Man's stage is the hardest out of the 8 robot masters.
I love Commando Man's stage. It's a bit tough, but it's just so cool. Strike Man is tough if only because of the two mini-bosses. I hate those damn things! It's funny how nerfed they are in Easy mode, though.
FYI, we're recording Newscast tonight, so if you have any game-winning final thoughts, drop them in here today. I think I might try to do a quick run-through of the game before the podcast tonight, or at least replay the Wily stages. I beat them with my friends at about 4 am, so my memory is a little hazy.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on March 10, 2010, 03:04:02 PM
I haven't even GOTTEN to the Wily Stages yet. I'm about halfway through the robot masters. It's not that I'm not enjoying the game, but it's not really grabbing me any more than Mega Man 9 did.
Anyways, I'm hoping to get through the eight bosses and to the Wily Stage before recording Newscast tonight.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 10, 2010, 03:04:43 PM
I finally beat Commando Man this morning. The key was (finally) learning the pattern to those jumping parachute bombs in the sandstorm areas. My first thought was to use the Water Shield, but that doesn't help much. The trick is to jump OVER the parachute bombs as they are coming DOWN. There is a small but safe timing window before the next one launches upward. Also, you have to be patient; trying to make any of the jumps with sand blowing on the screen is just suicide.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 10, 2010, 03:08:36 PM
You can also shoot the bombs as they're coming up--it gives you a much larger window to cross the gap.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 10, 2010, 03:10:07 PM
Odd, because I thought Commando Man's stage wasn't bad. I think Strike Man's stage is the hardest out of the 8 robot masters.
See, I think Strike Man's stage is quite easy (relative to the rest of the game, that is). As I hinted earlier, I'm finding Blade Man's level to be rock solid. It's the damn seesaw segment over the bottomless pits - the enemy placement on that bit is pure EVIL!
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 10, 2010, 03:59:14 PM
If memory serves me correctly, the seesaw comes back in a Wily Stage and is even more devilish.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 10, 2010, 04:05:50 PM
It's underwater, and there are shrimp-bots attacking from both directions.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 10, 2010, 04:08:25 PM
It's underwater, and there are shrimp-bots attacking from both directions.
Oh yea. Eff that part...
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 10, 2010, 05:36:56 PM
I'm not sure what you folks plan on discussing on the podcast, but the one thing I'm curious about are your thoughts on the retro style. Why do you feel having an 8-bit NES style is better than progressing the series?
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on March 10, 2010, 05:49:55 PM
Yeah, that's definitely one thing I'd like to discuss as well. One of the questions I threw around in the email thread as we planned the episode was "can this style of game exist in perpetuity, or are they going to eventually wear out their retro welcome, so to speak"
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 10, 2010, 05:55:47 PM
I'd like them to revisit the art style of MM8, which I liked. I also like Jonny's RFN suggestion that they continue the SNES MMX games in the same art style.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 10, 2010, 06:37:10 PM
Personally, I'll take the 8-bit style of MM9 and MM10 over he wonky retro-look of Konami's ReBirth series any day.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 10, 2010, 11:30:11 PM
I hate the Block Devil and all other Wily bosses like him. And of course, he's weak to Thunder Wool, a weapon so hard to use that you have to arc it above the target to do any serious damage.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Halbred on March 11, 2010, 12:11:32 AM
Yeah, all Devil bosses are evil. None moreso than the MM9 version, though.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on March 11, 2010, 01:29:08 AM
I hate the Block Devil and all other Wily bosses like him. And of course, he's weak to Thunder Wool, a weapon so hard to use that you have to arc it above the target to do any serious damage.
I don't find that to be the optimum weapon to use. Instead, you should use the Triple Blade. Yeah it technically does 1/28 damage, but if you're up close then all three blades hit and it does 3 damage. Plus, when the eye appears underneath the platform to make the blocks jump, you can hit it with the Triple Blade by doing a soft jump and firing in the air. Just make sure you enter the battle with full Triple Blade, and be sure you refill it on the next stage!
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Shaymin on March 11, 2010, 07:39:44 AM
You can also use the Rebound Striker for good effect on it. That's what I picked by accident when my original choice ran out of energy and it worked really well.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: NWR_Neal on March 11, 2010, 09:25:33 AM
Triple Blade is so awesome. It's one of my favorite Mega Man weapons.
I'm still infatuated with this game even though I've beaten it completely twice, and fought the Robot Masters many many times.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on March 11, 2010, 07:54:39 PM
I must not be observant because I literally just found the challenges section of the game. It's mostly great! There are a few ridiculously hard/stupid challenges (especially towards the beginning of the list) but there are a lot of really fun--and challenging--ones. I'm surprised no one else has mentioned them!
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Shaymin on March 11, 2010, 09:02:19 PM
So for shiggles, I decided to try Easy Mode and Protoman simultaneously - beat it in 1:01:44 and got the achievement for no continues.
They add the item from Mega Man 1 that restores everything on the spot - and there's two in every level. Add in the much easier enemies and it's even easier than beating 4 for the nth time.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: vudu on April 17, 2010, 01:13:01 PM
After taking more than a month off from MM10 I finally came back to it this morning to beat the Wily stages. I think this is easily the worst Wily castle ever. The stages themselves weren't too bad but the bosses were pretty horrific--excluding the Crab boss.
The 3 bosses of the first stage were particularly bad. Not only was the art design pretty bad but their weaknesses seem to be completely random--you're really gonna try to tell me that Wood Man's not weak against Wheel Cutter?! Completely ridiculous.
The bosses seemed really hard for no reason other than for the sake of making you use E-tanks. As Jonny mentioned before, the Devil in Wily stage 3 was truly evil and I think it's impossible to beat Wily's first form in the 4th Wily stage without taking damage.
After beating MM10 it really makes me want to go back and replay MM9--it's a much better game in my opinion.
Title: Re: Newscast Game Club Discussion - Mega Man 10
Post by: Mop it up on April 17, 2010, 04:50:50 PM
The weaknesses of the Wily Archive bosses are based mostly on their weakness from their respective games. Wood Man's weakness was Atomic Fire, therefore making Solar Blaze his weakness in this game.
I feel Mega Man 9 has the worst Wily stages of the series (and some of the worst stage designs overall). It's full of cheap tricks and traps that are pretty much impossible to avoid unless you know what's coming. There's also a part in the second stage where you need to make a pixel-perfect jump to avoid a low ceiling and get over some spikes. The boss of that stage is also one of the cheapest and most boring bosses that I've ever seen, though the Block Devil in MM10 is pretty bad as well.
