Mega Man 9: Fanboy vs. Fresh-Face

Aug 26, 2008

Welcome to the first Fanboy vs. Fresh-Face feature here at IGN AU. What's it all about? The basic idea is that we pick the latest game in a much-loved series, find someone who's a huge fan, someone who's new to the series (or has only a passing interest) and sit them down to debate the game. It should be an interesting insight into how drastically opinions can differ based on how you feel about a series. For the first feature, we're looking at Mega Man 9, with Patch Kolan as the Fanboy and Cam Shea as the Fresh-Face.

Cam: The entire gaming community had a collective fangasm when Mega Man 9 was unveiled at E3 this year. Capcom is taking the series back to its old school roots - 2D gameplay, very basic graphics and fiendish difficulty. On the surface, that sounds like THE BEST THING EVER, but now that I've spent some time with the demo (only two levels, mind you) I'm not convinced. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Capcom is missing a huge opportunity, and is really only making a game for the super-hardcore geeks that think Contra was a walk in the park. This game could be so much more. Missing the point? Not necessarily. Patch; your opening salvo?

Patch: Games don't need to be pretty in order to be fun. Case closed.

...Case almost closed. I guess I need to write more than that to justify a debate - even when I know that I'm totally, irrefutably correct here. Mega Man (or Rockman, if you're from Japan) has gone in two directions for many years - catering almost exclusively to the hardcore with the X series and its platform, pixel-perfect jumping, firing, sliding and power uses. On the other side, you get weird tangential releases like Mega Man RPGs, card games and other mainstream 'Rockman' spin-offs that never made the jump out of Japan. I assume, if I looked hard enough, I'd find a Rockman dating-sim, a Rockman train simulator and an assortment of Rockman vertical scrolling twitch shooters in bargain bins around the tiny island nation. Clearly, Mega Man 9 sits on the side of the former.

I think what ginger-nut here has a problem with is the pared back 8-bit presentation, more than anything - am I right?

Cam: Wow, talk about jumping the gun and incorrectly assuming a whole lot about what I'm saying. I completely agree that games don't need to be pretty to be fun - gameplay is always the most important component of a game. In fact, it's this very belief that leaves me cold when it comes to Mega Man 9. From the little we have to go on right now, it just feels sterile, and retro for the sake of being retro. Again, this approach is going to please the hardcore fans - it's an almost pixel-perfect snapshot of the NES origins of the franchise, but disregarding 20 years of game design evolution seems like a weird decision to me.

Take a look at some of the other classic 2D games that have been reinvigorated while still remaining true to the core gameplay. New Super Mario Bros. is the perfect example. Nintendo didn't go back and use Super Mario Bros on NES as its template; it used the far superior and far more visually interesting Super Mario World (and to a lesser extent Super Mario Bros. 3). The result is a homage to 2D Mario gameplay that looks and plays like a modern game. More recently we had Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Again, this game stuck with 2D mechanics, but it felt thoroughly modern, with 3D characters, gorgeous animations and interesting gameplay.

I think Capcom is going in the right direction with Mega Man 9. The series - as you say - has fractured into a million different directions over the years, and it makes complete sense to go back to its 2D action-platforming roots; to embrace what make the series so renowned in the first place. I just don't think this ultra-basic gameplay and sparse presentation is the way to do it. It may look and play exactly like an NES game, but for someone like myself, who isn't a big fan of the series, it just isn't fun.

Patch: Ah, but you just ran straight into my fist with that last point; you're not a big fan of the series. By going back to its roots, Mega Man 9 embraces its community of fans; the 30-somethings who haven't touched a platformer in years and only really play emulated ROMs or casually dabble in Marketplace, Network and Shop games. Capcom is saying thank you to all the players out there who have, like me, felt that 2D has really been falling by the wayside in recent years, in favour of flashy effects, 'Hollywood-lite' narratives and incremental remakes and improvements.

You draw an interesting comparison with New Super Mario Bros. and Bionic Commando: Rearmed. But these are games that, for a fairly obvious reason, are pushing a different agenda - as game releases that are designed to cater for the masses with broadly appealing graphics. They're also prepping the public for a full-blown console sequel - Super Mario Galaxy for Wii, and Bionic Commando on 360 and PS3. They're refresher-courses, if you will.

So is Mega Man 9 retro? Yes. Sterile? Far from it, my friend. This is Mega Man. It's all about the gameplay - the purity of running, jumping and firing; memorising patterns, mastering timing and making each boss your bitch. You will die a lot. Over and over again, in fact. It is frustrating - but it's not a mainstream game like Mario, which is frankly too easy for many core gamers out there. By sticking with purely 8-bit presentation, it's almost like Capcom is waving a giant 'hardcore only' flag in a way, and it does so without apology.

Cam: I hear ya, but my point is - why make a deliberately exclusionary game that anyone but those core Mega Man fans won't particularly enjoy? Why not try and reinvigorate the series? Wouldn't all those fans want Mega Man to be relevant again? Wouldn't they want other gamers to discover the joys of the series? Capcom can still make a challenging game that appeals to all those old school fans, at the same time as bringing in the rest of us. It can still make reference to classic characters, enemies, scenarios and themes. It can still keep the gameplay simple. But for god's sake, make it interesting. Make it fun!

'Oh, look out, those birds are going to drop rocks on me!' 'Oh no, some robot elephant is flinging a ball at me!' Lame.

In terms of your point about Capcom saying thank you to players that felt that 2D has fallen by the wayside, I'd again dispute that this is the best way to do that. I love 2D gaming. I love how precise the control can be, how clean cut your interaction with the world can be. Mega Man 9 has this, and yet it doesn't draw me in. It needs more. I also love really good 2D art design, and again, as a Fresh-Face, Mega Man 9's look simply isn't appealing. I found the 2D platforming in Super Paper Mario hugely visually appealing. I thought Odin Sphere looked amazing. Sure, Mega Man 9 may look the same as it used to, but why not make the most of the power of modern consoles and the screen real estate on offer to do something that will truly woo all gamers back to the glories of 2D? I know I'm going to get crucified for saying this, and I know it's because I don't have any real vested interest in the series, but I think Mega Man 9's visuals lack style. It may be authentic, but - outside the admittedly awesome cutscenes - it's a personality-free zone.

Patch: Heathen! So let me get this straight - the look isn't appealing, so that makes Mega Man 9 a game that's not worth your time? Oh god. I will hurt you.

Should we go down the list of games that are ugly as sin but are awesome to play? Good lord - you can take your pick of Wii titles there; then there's Animal Crossing, N+, Tetris, even fricking Pong. It's gameplay - basic visual representations that stand in front of streamlined concepts. Mega Man 9 doesn't lack style - it segues with the first five or so games in the series and is immediately identifiable as a Mega Man game. Actually, there's a term for this kind of brand identity recognition: iconic. There you go. Mega Man 9 is all about returning to that golden era of game design with an instantly recognisable icon and pure gameplay. I'm sold. But I'm a fanboy. And maybe you've just moved on from 8-bit and can't go back.

Also, it was probably also really cheap to develop, so that's a big plus in my books. Huzzah!

Cam: And now you've run straight into my fist. Something like N+ is super stylish. That's an excellent example of a game with simple mechanics and simple visuals that looks fresh and plays just as well. But again, the lack of visual panache is only a side-issue here; I just haven't seen anything in the gameplay that would make me want to play this ahead of all the other great games available on the console download services. Have I moved on from 8-bit? Maybe, but it's far more likely that I'm just not the target audience... that's fine, but as an old school gamer I'd like to be. Tell you what - as we see more of the game and get our hands on more complete builds, we'll have another chat and see if - with more of the gameplay revealed - I change my tune. I'll be man enough to admit I'm wrong.

For now, you can all have your say on the issue in the comments thread. And by 'have your say', I of course mean 'tear me apart limb from limb'.