Mighty No. 9 Reviews
Mighty No. 9 is not a terrible game, nor is it even a bad one - it's just plain mediocre. From its downright disappointing visuals to its flat music and bland-at-best level design, everything about Mighty No. 9 screams of mediocrity. And let's be clear - if this were a fan game made by a small group of devoted Mega Man fans it'd be deemed more impressive. Yet this is a budget retail title developed by one of Mega Man's lead designers, which also had involvement from Inti Creates, a proven studio with hits like Mega Man 9 and Azure Striker Gunvolt among its credits. We're not sure where things went wrong, but Mighty No. 9's finished product is just a "mega" disappointment.
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.
Mighty No. 9 is the best Mega Man game I've played in years, but all of the problems it has come from that too. Whether the gaming scene of 2016 needs a modern Mega Man is a more ambiguous question, perhaps answered by the old adage: be careful what you wish for.
Much like an anime fan on prom night, I would rather be at home playing Mega Man than here. I would rather be playing Shovel Knight. I would rather be playing most games in this genre. Mighty No. 9? More like Shitey No. 9!
It raised nearly $4 million on Kickstarter, yet Mighty No. 9 offers little but nostalgia.
The final line of dialogue in the story posits that only time will tell if "this Mighty No. 9 is a blessing or a curse." The statement probably wasn't meant to be as fitting or applicable to the finished game as it ultimately is, but maybe it was a rare moment of introspection.
Uneven in tone and execution, Mighty No 9 is equal parts fun and frustration. Inafune won't reignite the fire of his famed franchise with this initial effort. We can only hope that subsequent attempts to reboot the blue bomber turn out better.
Mighty No. 9 fails to fill the shiny blue, metallic, oversized boots of its predecessor. The game manages to capture the essentials of the previous titles without capturing the essence. Remaining true to the original design ethos from a decade ago has perhaps been too restrictive and it feels more like a HD remake or re-imagining of the Mega Man games than an attempt to breathe new life into an aged franchise, advancing it and introducing it to a new generation of players.
Mighty No. 9 is a tedious and bland platformer and while I have never played a Mega Man game before, I have a feeling that this game does little to live up to the legacy that those games had.
But it feels like instead of putting time into multiple engrossing levels to experience, the player is instead thrown into a handful of death-trap missions with inferior controls and volatile settings and told they should be having fun.
Quote not yet available
Mighty No. 9 was designed to be a spiritual successor to Mega Man. If any of that spirit was ever here, it's long since decayed. The game is incredibly frustrating, suffers from bad design choices throughout and offers only middling enjoyment .
From New Super Mario Bros. to Rayman Legends to Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds to the recent Doom reboot, we've seen games that mix twenty-year-old styles with modern visuals and new ideas and the results have been great. Mighty No. 9 isn't in the same league. Instead, it looks and feels like an amateurish homage to Mega Man with bargain-basement production values and a ridiculous difficulty level. While fans will find something to love in its hardcore gameplay and old-school character design, non-fans should steer well clear.
Mighty No.9 fails to recapture the spark of its Mega Man heritage in any meaningful way. There's not much inherently wrong with how it plays, but it is haphazardly presented and not quite as enjoyable as it could be.
Mighty No. 9 appears to be caught in two minds about whether it wants to make a Mega Man-style game for novices or veterans, and that indecision unfortunately prevents it from being anything close to mighty. Combine the release's well-meaning but misguided attempts at accessibility with sub-par graphics, puzzles, and an insane difficulty spike towards the end, and you end up with a title that's not very mega at all.
Mighty No. 9 is a trying experience, good when it works but exhausting when it doesn't.
This game will not be heralded as a classic in the same vein as Mega Man. However, the original Mega Man isn't the best either. Fans debate back and forth between Mega Man 2 and 3 as their favorites (MM3 for this writer's money). Another example is the first Assassin's Creed. Great concept, failed delivery. The point is, despite its flaws, Mighty No. 9 is a good step toward reviving the Mega Man style in all but name. Hopefully the team will learn from their mistakes and make the next game the classic fans want it to be.
Mighty No. 9 created very high expectations and could have reached a perfect formula for success but as it is, it failed to capture Mega Man's essence and doesn't build up on what its inspiration did best.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Mighty No. 9 is an extremely niche product. The efforts of the developers do not reflect the millionaire crowdfunding campaign that gave birth to the game, but the final result is still more than decent and can be really fun for those who love this videogame genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review