Genre: Action
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1
Retail Price: 1000 Wii Points, 800 Microsoft points, $10
Availability: WiiWare (version reviewed), Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network
It’s official: Capcom has retro fever. Mega Man 9 came out in 2008, and Dark Void Zero, a retro-themed prequel to Dark Void came out in 2010. Mega Man 10 continues this trend. There hasn’t been much time to mull over the previous title or pine for a new one, especially when you put the gap of just under 12 years between the previous two games up against this short year-and-a-half. It sadly hasn’t worked in the game’s favor. While the latest adventure of Capcom’s most prolific character isn’t poorly designed, it’s evident that the short production cycle has greatly affected developer Inti Creates’ creativity. Perhaps Capcom should lay off the gas a bit — continuing at this pace may cause the beloved classic Mega Man style to become stale once more.
The game follows the familiar and well-worn trail laid by its forebearers except for one detail: You can take the role of either of Dr. Light’s sons. Proto Man may be an option from the outset, but it doesn’t matter whether you choose him or Mega Man — there’s practically no change to the gameplay despite the different movesets. There are eight oddly-themed levels with a corresponding robot master from which to pilfer power-ups post-victory. These extra abilities can then be used to defeat normal enemies with ease, or take down the aforementioned level bosses in no time at all when equipped with the proper weapon. It’s up to you to figure it out, or cheat and search an FAQ and make us seasoned gamers cry. Once all of them are defeated you move on to the castle of the game’s villain, a familiar face to anyone remotely familiar with the mainline Mega Man franchise and a surprise to no one.
Beep beep!
The problem with the levels, and subsequently the bosses, is that the the themes themselves feel fairly uninspired. There’s no reason why there needs to be another ice-themed character in any Mega Man game again — the same can be said about Solar Man and his flame abilities. The stages aren’t necessarily bad, but they feel too familiar — sometimes nostalgia should be sacrificed in the name of fresher design. There are a couple levels that seem to embrace this idea. Nitro Man’s stage is a fairly nice change of pace and ranks as one of the more challenging levels in the game, partially because it presents ideas previously unused in the series. Jumping onto moving traffic is a nifty idea. The boss battle is one of the game’s most creative as well due to the boss’ unique abilities and pattern.
Unfortunately Strike Man’s entire schtick is the polar opposite. A sports-themed enemy is a risky venture unless it’s party to some very clever ideas — this is sadly not the case. The level itself is straight-forward — almost insultingly so — and the boss battle does not capitalize on the potential inherent in the concept. He’s a baseball themed character who throws a dodgeball? Searching for logic in a Mega Man title is usually something to avoid — even Sheep Man’s electric abilities make a small amount of sense — there’s no excusing this.
Pictured: Mega Man screaming in terror in the face of the oncoming storm
The game’s default difficulty is also something of an issue. It’s apparent that Inti Creates heard people complain about how difficult Mega Man 9 was, so they toned things down a bit while offering an easy mode at the same time. Even on normal the game’s enemy placement rarely presents a challenge. The gimmicks, outside of the sandstorm on Commando Man’s stage, are simple to overcome. Series veterans will absolutely destroy Mega Man 10 their first time through, likely unlocking a sense of disappointment after that victory.
This problem is somewhat rectified once hard mode is unlocked, providing what many will feel represents the series’ pedigree with greater success. Enemies appear more frequently, and also in inopportune-yet-fair spots. It’s here that the usual mix between twitch-plaforming and careful planning shines through. Unfortunately it’s not available until after you complete a playthrough. It’s not something that should have been relegated to bonus status — it should have been immediately available.
Mega Man 9 felt like a sequel to Mega Man 2, which is arguably the best of the classic Mega Man titles. Mega Man 10 feels like a sequel to Mega Man 4, the first entry in the series where things felt slightly-dialed in. It’s not a bad effort, it’s just that it falls below the bar set in 2008. The game ends up an odd mixture: equal parts ‘too much too soon’ and ‘been there done that’. It evokes an absolutely average experience; playable and even fun at times, but ultimately uninspired. Hopefully Capcom will take a little more time before forging ahead with a Mega Man 11 — it would be a shame to watch them bury this series again.
