Mighty No. 9 Reviews
Mighty No. 9's dash mechanic is a lot of fun, but bad art, imprecise hitboxes, and awful level design make the experience extremely frustrating.
Despite its pedigree, Mighty No. 9 doesn't seem to have a good sense of what was fun about Mega Man, or 2D action-platformers in general. There are brief moments where its pieces come together, but even then it's hamstrung by its visually joyless art and animation. The soul of the Blue Bomber just isn't here, and worse yet there's no endearing personality of its own, and as a result, Mighty No. 9 feels much more like a second-rate imposter than a spiritual successor.
A tribute to and evolution of Keiji Infaune's Mega Man, Mighty No. 9's moments of brilliance are tempered by its preposterous challenge.
As an homage to Mega Man this is almost a complete failure, especially given the only successful elements are those that have the least to do with the original games.
Frustrating to play and a pale imitation of Mega Man, Mighty No. 9 is unlikely to command the same reverence as its older cousin.
The kind of nostalgic gaming that makes you want to play the original Mega Man games instead
This feels like an answer to why Capcom isn't making Mega Man games anymore
Mighty No. 9 is occasionally fun and inventive, but it fails to leave a lasting impression.
Mighty No. 9 contains the seeds of a good platforming franchise, but for now they're exactly that: Seeds. In its current state, Keiji Inafune's intended successor to the Mega Man series lacks creativity, joy, and character – not to mention several weeks' worth of polish.
Mighty No. 9 is a lot like your Uncle Steve. You know, the one that still lives in his hometown where he played varsity football in high school. Uncle Steve never fails to remind you of this, just as he never fails to remind the waitress bringing him his coffee. She is too young to know who he is, but he's quick to point out the picture hanging near the entrance. The best quarterback this town has ever seen, he tells her. She smiles and laughs, too sweet to tell him that thirty years was a long time ago. Mighty No. 9 tries to hold onto its legacy, resting on its laurels while the rest of gaming world has left town a long time ago. We paid for the coffee out of pity now, instead of hope. Because Uncle Steve was always going to let us down from the start.
I can't say that I'm exactly disappointed with the end result. It still has a lot of baggage to unload (the 3DS and Vita ports aren't even dated yet), but most Mega Man fans will find solace in the fact that it didn't end up being a disaster. Other than the art style, of course.
If you Kickstarted this game, you'll likely be fairly satisfied with how Mighty No. 9 turned out. However, it's far from ground breaking in terms of its visual style, has some rather rage inducing sections of the level design, and the dash is imprecise. That said, the majority of the game is fairly fun to play and it certainly captures the spirit of Kenji Inafune's Mega Man franchise, it just lacks a certain amount of polish.
Mighty No. 9 then is definitely a missed opportunity, not only in terms of crowdfunded gaming but also as a homage to what made the Mega Man games so great in the first place.
In its day, Mega Man went from a pioneering force in action game perfection to the poster child for redundant, cookie cutter sequels that failed to push the genre forward. Mighty No 9 does present a few concepts that feel like they could have been the next iterative step. Even if it had avoided its many pitfalls and baffling design choices, though, it's likely a few decades too late for such minor improvements.
Mighty No.9 is a great old school action platforme. Although it doesn't reinvent anything new, it shows a remarkable game, although weakened by some ingenuity, especially technical .
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Even with dull visuals and a little too much reliance on the past, in a world where Capcom has seemingly forgotten that the Blue Bomber exists, Mighty No. 9's enthralling boss battles make it an okay substitute to fill that void for the time being.
Mighty No. 9 follows the Mega Man formula to a tee, and that's both a blessing and a curse.
Regardless of how much you like the Mega Man series, in Mighty No.9 you're unlikely to find a game that comes close to that legacy.
Mighty No. 9 can have its moments when its platforming and shooting tickles that same nostalgic bone that makes us love Mega Man, but its poor design makes it more frustrating than novel.