Mega Man 9: Unlocking Proto Man

Sep 25, 2008

Me and Proto Man go way, way back. An age-old nemesis, the rouge-like "minion" of Wily calls no man master, attacking when he wants, saving Mega's butt time and time again, and - like the true hero he is - enters to a timeless tune no matter the occasion.

We got word that Proto Man would be part of the downloadable content for Mega Man 9, but at the time weren't allowed to speak of such things, so we focused instead on the full review, which basically told everyone and anyone out there with a Wii, PS3, and 360 to go out and buy one of the hottest retro rebirths we've seen in a long, long time.

But there's more to the package. Yes, you're going to have to pay for it, but after going hands-on with Proto Man Mode, and busting up the eight master robots once again, we can tell you that this should be the easiest two bucks you've ever spent. Proto Man is the real deal on Mega Man 9.

Outside of a few otherworld experiences (Battle Network, and Power Battles included) players have never really had a chance to play through a full game of Mega Man with the scarf-wearing superstar that is Proto Man. In Mega Man 9 though, he not only is a playable character, but has his own mode, which is stand-alone for various reasons. You won't be able to use Proto to gain worldwide rankings or unlock challenges, but you will be able to squeeze another few hours out of your purchase with ease, and this is a harder, more diverse game of Mega Man 9 for an extra $2.

The changes are basic, but they make a huge difference. For starters, Proto Man can slide, so you've got instant evasion against low-hopping enemies and a few specific bosses (it saved our butt a few times on Magma Man, but don' t bother trying to slide under Galaxy during his second attack phase; it won't work). This would also let you get into a few pesky little areas that you otherwise couldn't go, such as the large bolt hidden on Plug Man's stage, but that brings us to the second major change for Proto Man Mode, which is the lack of a store and bolts, also eliminating support items, and extra E and M tanks.

That means that instantly, Proto Man's mode is a tougher run through the game, as you'll now need to grab the M tank provided in the Wily stage during your final run through to the end, you won't have any free E tanks to buy and muscle your way through bosses, and with no treats to purchase, you'll need to hit every jump and save every pellet of life.

Speaking of life, Proto Man is gimped in this category as well, taking double damage on everything (and also knocking back double distance when hit), now making boss collision and energy enemies serious problems, as they can take up to half of Proto's bar in one hit. To counter this, Proto Man has the charge shot, which - in standard Mega Man fashion - is worth three regular shots, and he can also jump and block fired bullets, deflecting regular shots, and nullifying attacks like flames and other elemental offense. As a few notes on the reflect and charge shots, the charge shot will be nullified if hit while charging, and the reflect won't work when using Jewel Man's shield.

In addition to those functional changes, the game also has a few little changes based on using Proto Man. All 1UP icons in the game are now Proto heads, and like the gun recharge pellets, will strobe whenever Proto Man is charging (another faked NES Easter egg). All of the stages also take into account Proto Man's sprite, so the Shadow Mega Man enemies are now Shadow Proto Man, the ink attacks in Spalsh Woman's level will turn Proto Man all-black, and Proto will have a Proto Coil and Proto Jet, rather than RC and Rush Jet.

We're nearing our final encounter with Wily now, but it's going to be one heck of a fight, as the lack of E tanks, added damage from enemies, and tiny changes (Proto's run animation is different from Mega's, so hitting that perfect "last pixel" jump is a bit of a trial and error process at first) will make things much, much harder. Still, anyone that dropped $10 on Mega Man 9, and is having as much fun with it as we are would be foolish in ignoring Proto Man Mode for another $2. For the price of a burger and coke off the dollar menu, you're getting a new character, more fan service, in-level changes, slide, charge shot, jump deflect, and a "hard mode" of sorts all in one. It's well worth it.

Proto Man will be available for download the week of October 6th for WiiWare, PSN, and Xbox 360.