Mega Man 10 Review

2008 saw the release of a love letter from Capcom. Mega Man 9 became the game that defined Downloadable Content for a generation that was raised in the 8-bit days, and offered one of the most gruelling experiences available anywhere this generation. With nice, clean retro graphics, a great soundtrack, amazingly awful cover art, and difficulty that is unmatched anywhere today, Mega Man 9 etched its name into the list of great games. But can Mega Man 10 live up to that level?

Frankly, the answer is no. Capcom used the years absence to get our nostalgia meters running, and our cash out of our wallets. For those after the gruelling challenge offered by Mega Man 9 (and 2 before it), you will likely be disappointed in Mega Man 10, at least, at first. Instead of re-creating the classic games, we are privvy to a re-invention that introduces Mega Man to a much wider audience, while keeping the challenge there for us core players.

Mega Man is a relatively simple platformer: you avoid enemy fire, pitfalls, and spikes while slowly maneovering your way to the boss at the end of the level. Beating a boss gets you access to use in the other levels, which can be completed in any order you deem fit. That’s Mega Man at its core.

Of course, that would become predictable pretty fast. To throw you for a loop, various other challenges are standing in your way. On one level, a barrage of trucks can dole out some pretty serious damage if you aren’t quick on your feet. Some blocks may disappear only to reappear in another place, leaving you to fall to your death in an opening in the ground. And one particular level has a constant stream of sand messing up your attempts at movement. It’s these intricacies that allow Mega Man games their own niche.

These challenges aside, the bosses are a whole new ball game. Featuring some of the best design in the series, the Robot Masters can do some serious damage. Sheep Man is my personal favourite – he separates himself into four clouds that let lightning descend down upon the hero. Nitro Man, designed like a motorcycle (and an essentially re-used boss) spews out wheels and can dash up walls with great speed. While not all of them are even close to original, such as Pump Man who uses the rather standard water shield, many are. Of course, the most notorious is Commando Man; a Robot Master that will kill you.

Branching paths allow the adventurous to step their game up, and the cautious to pursue the end of the game without too much concern (it’ll take a few hours regardless). However, if you’re finding it easier than Mega Man 9 and want to step up your game, using the unlockable Hard Mode is for you. The bosses attack harder and faster, and platforms become fewer and farther in between.

More so, you can start playing as Proto Man right off the bat; using his shield and slide attack at the cost of getting killed way easier.

On the other hand, Mega Man 10 takes a whole new course – it has an Easy mode. While many are complaining that this takes the core gameplay away, I challenge them to not enjoy a romp through hard on either of the two playable characters. Mega Man 10 does not isolate players, it invites new ones in to join the mix. With about an hour and a half of game time in Easy, it still offers a challenge for younger players (or those new to the series). To help them out, there are more platforms, and the enemies are a bit easier to predict. It likely is a little too easy, but it’s an exercise in self esteem building. Besides, it just means more fans for the Blue Bomber, something any diehard should approve of.

Another feature diehards should approve of is the challenge mode. As it stands, there are 88 of the challenges to tackle head on. These are essentially levels with stipulations, like getting to a boss (on each respective difficulty) without getting hit. It’s not something I’ve dappled in too much as of yet, but it definitely has my interest.

That’s one feature that is entirely new, and another is the ability to quickly cycle through your weapons with the A or B buttons. Seasoned gamers may very well prefer the old menu system (which is still in tact), but I found using this setup was just more fun. Real time thrills. While it is subject to accidentally missing and landing on the wrong weapon, it is, for the most part, fairly responsive. Really, it’s just an added challenge to change weapons and avoid being hit at the same time. And you thought Mega Man 9 was hard.

Unfortunatley, not everything lives up to the standard established by prior installments. Sound wise, Mega Man 10 is lacking considerably. Much of the music is adequate, but completely uninspired and fogettable. There’s never a song that doesn’t fit – the Sports themed level has an upbeat tune – but hardly anything is actually memorable. Two exceptions are Nitro Man’s and SolarMan’s levels, which both offer great tracks.

Conversely, the old school graphics are still a delight. They’re clean and crisp, yet look the part. The moving backgrounds don’t distract at all, yet manage to please the eyes. And the foreground just looks sharp. However, a clear stand out, is the boss design: they feature nice, smooth animations, great looks, and fantastic frame rate. That is, until one of the intentional screen flickers kicks in here or there, showing just how much a labour of love MM10 is.

At the low low price of ten dollars, Mega Man 10 offers a ton of content. Playing as Proto Man feels like playing a completely different game. But, this may not be enough for everyone. Fortunately for those in that boat, April 1st will have a release of some DLC for a couple of dollars. Included are more stages, and a Mega Man character we call Bass (it’ll be like playing three unique games).

I forgot to mention that the story revolves around the Robots all getting sick by some wonky flu (reports suggest it isn’t H1N1). Personally, I think it’s a farce. Despite that, I can safely say that Mega Man 10 is one sick game. With a repetoire of bosses that merges old school with new, great retro graphics, adequate sound, and a difficulty for everyone, Mega Man 10 will stand out as the installment that reached out to all players. For Mega Man fans, seeing more people engrossed in our world is the greatest accomplishment of Capcom’s, and the reason Mega Man 10 is a must own.

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