UPDATE: It seems setting your Xbox to 480p and normal screen settings helps a little bit with the blurry factor of the game but still doesn’t quite bring it up to the Wii version crispness.

Ah Mega Man 9, long awaited sequel to the one Mega Man series people my age grew up playing. Last we saw, our hero Mega Man was battling Wily in the 32-bit era with Mega Man 8. Waiting this long for a revival of the classic Mega Man series might have been one of the smartest decisions Capcom has ever made. Going back to the retro roots would be another, but there are many people who are disappointed thinking of the MM9 that could have been. Personally, I think it’s great they went back to the roots.

Mega Man 2 was my first experience with the series and by far one of the favorites and most balanced one of the lot. Mega Man 9 jumps right back into that, albeit with hard mode auto selected (if you remember in MM2 you were able to select between normal and hard). This isn’t a bad thing. Getting stuck on a couple stages and bosses is to be expected, but the sense of accomplishment you get when you achieve victory generally out ways how pissed off it made you dying over and over. I myself had to attempt 4 stages before killing my first boss.

I’ve been holding onto this review for a while because I wanted to wait until the Xbox version was released. I’m actually kind of glad I did for a few reasons I will go into below.

In Mega Man 9, Wily is finally captured and the world is at peace once again thanks to  Rock’s alter ego, Mega Man. Without warning, robots start wreaking havoc all over the world. Everyone assumes Wily has escaped again until news reports show that at the center of the chaos is Dr Light’s own creations. Wily addresses the public letting the world know he can stop these robots but he needs money from the world to help him. Thus Mega Man jumps into action to clear Dr. Light’s name and figure out what Wily is up to.

There’s the standard Mega Man fare. Eight robot masters that must be defeated in order to make your way through the game, each with a weakness to another robot master’s weapon. There’s been a uproar in the community about one boss in particular, Splash Woman. I thought it was an interesting addition; however I believe she was one of the weaker boss fights.

The gameplay is the Mega Man you know and love transposed from Mega Man 2. This means no charged shot (with the exception of the fire weapon) and no sliding. I’m a little disappointed in the removal of the slide. Its addition to Mega Man 3 really added a lot to the series. However some item power ups from later in the series were added. E tank was standard fare for recharging energy, M tank recharges all weapons and health, spike protector saves you from one instant spike death, Eddie drops in to give you a random item, Beat saves you from falling down a hole once, one item recharges weapons with the lowest energy without the need to have it equipped and the last two items I find the most interesting, Roll’s costume change (which aside from changing her clothes in the story and store screens seems to have no effect on the game) and Mega Man sans helmet. The latter I though was a cool little addition that, while it seemed to have no effect on gameplay, is just neat. The only problem with it is your helmet comes back upon your first death. And you will die. A lot.

For a game that has had 64 Prior robot masters, the bosses in this MM game seem surprisingly fresh. Capcom also took the liberty of messing with the rooms you fight the bosses in. With the exception of MM1 and 2, the majority of bosses just had a square room you would fight them in. Most of these bosses have smaller rooms, raised floors or a lowered roof. While a small change, it does require you to take a different approach to defeat bosses.

The level design is top notch. It’s considerably difficult in some areas, but that is part of the Mega Man legacy. Jumps that require perfect timing, gaps you can only cross if you jump at the very edge, it’s all there. One of the things I thought was a little overboard though was in Jewel Man’s stage. There was a pendulum ledge that you have to swing yourself by walking back and forth and the jump you have to make has spike along the edge so if you swing too hard or don’t jump just right, you are dead. Luckily this happens right after a checkpoint in the stage.

There is also a Time Attack mode available for competing with friends for the fastest time through a stage. You are given all boss weapons and let loose into the stage to finish it as fast as possible. I thought this was a cool little way of extending game life as I have fun competing with my friends (see geometry wars 2 friend leaderboard)

All and all it is a game that I would highly recommend to Mega Man lovers everywhere. If you aren’t a Mega Man fan, or never played one, try the demo on Xbox live arcade and PlayStation network. It’s worth it to at least try the demo.

Now I’d like to go through some of the differences between the two versions of the game I’ve played.

Graphics:
The biggest glaring difference between the two is in video quality. The Wii version wins here hands down and I’ll explain why. This version looks exactly how a Mega Man on a NES would have looked. There’s no filtering at all. It is presented to you in all its pixelated glory. I’m sure some are reading that previous statement and thinking, “Ewww pixels? I want my smooth sprites.” The problem with that thinking becomes painfully clear in the Xbox version. The filtering added to that version blurs the image and dulls the colors by an incredibly noticeable amount. There is one section where the Xbox wins though. The Wii version has a bit of a screen flicker (not to be confused with the sprite flicker option). What I mean is the screen ever so slightly bounces up and down. It’s enough to cause some graphical glitching in Splash Woman’s stage while riding the bubbles. It’s barely noticeable otherwise and honestly, until I played the Xbox demo, didn’t notice it. Other than that, the game is standard NES fare with the option to have sprite flickering if too many things are on the same line (which with it on I never noticed). One last problem with the Wii version; do not play the game with your Wii in 16:9 mode. Set it and your TV to 4:3. The ratio correction software built into the game causes slight screen tearing and vertical pixel warping.

Sound:
Xbox wins here. WiiWare titles don’t have enough space to do things uncompressed and the compression on the music and sound effects is noticeable between the two versions. The music is good, but I’m not sure the tunes are as catchy as previous Mega Man games. I found myself humming the original boss and victory themes as the new boss theme feels really dull.

Ranking:
Xbox leaderboards win here. I had so many problems connecting to the Wii leaderboards. Most the time I’d get an error telling me I tried to make too many connections to Nintendo Wifi. The thing that worries me is Xbox leaderboards in arcade titles are very hack-able (this problem ran rampant in the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night release with people beating the game in about 5 seconds). I’m not sure of the integrity of the Wii boards but there’s not really be a precedent set there yet.

Final Verdict:
If you are a videophile, 100% go with the Wii version. Audiophiles, the Xbox version. I don’t have a PS3 to test that version, but it will more than likely be similar to the Xbox version. If you’re interested in competing with others, it’s easier on the Xbox version. Honestly though, the blurry filtering of the Xbox version makes me feel like I need glasses. I was planning on purchasing both versions since most people I would like to compete against don’t have Wiis, but with the blurry filtering, I’m not sure I’m going to both picking that one up anymore. This game is a must buy for whatever system you decide to purchase it on.

Before writing this review, Gerry completely played through the Wii version of the game and played through the demo level on the Xbox version. Gameplay analysis is based on the Wii version but the Xbox version should not differ.