I definitely need a break from Auditing homework.
So, I got a good passionate response out of PB:
No they're not. The hazards in this game are the same as any of the classic games. Just like with Spikes and Horizontal Death Beams and other hazards in the past, It takes trial and error and memorization. Just like MM1-6, once you know the hazards, the games are easy. MM9 put spikes in the nasty places, just like MM1-6 did. Jump at the wrong time, jump the wrong way, or miss, and you die. Standard 8-Bit MM gaming. Nothing's changed. If anything, due to the lack of the Slide, they are actually harder to avoid, as taking away that element makes moving through the game more difficult.
The Hoppers in ShadowMan's stage can very easily be shot once they jump, just like the floating tops on JewelMan's stage can be easily shot while falling. As for troublesome enemies, they is always a way to deal with them, in every 8-Bit MM game, so that points kinda moot. If anything, due to lack of Charge Shot, MM9's enemies can be more annoying than MM4-6's.
The only game in which the large Jumper enemies CAN'T be shot down in a reasonable amount of time is MM1. That's what Ice Slasher is for. It's why MM1 is still the hardest 8-Bit classic game there is. Also, you really don't need to Jump Spam in general in most MegaMan games. However, the Octopus in MM9 requires such Jump Spamming, so that's really a moot point right there. Most MM games have 1 or 2 enemies like that. Some have none. MM4-6 had the Charge Shot, which made such Jump Spamming pretty much unnecessary.
Replace useful with overpowered. Look, I'm not denying the usefulness of MM9's weapon. However, they really are tremendously overpowered. I think. to make up for the lack of Charge Shot, they overpowered the weapons. But, going by that, the weapons are just as good as MM1-4. I don't count 5 or 6 because there's no reason NEVER to not use the Overpowered Charge Shot. However, in MM1-4, I used the Weapons constantly and they got me through the game no different than MM9. Metal Blade, Pharaoh Shot, Magnet Missle, Elec Beam, and others.
All bosses have logical patterns. Patterns which can easily be dodged. Some are harder than others, but it can still be done. Just like with MM9.
See Hazards post up above.
Graphics are 8-Bit and not all that different. I believe Gauntlet said that MM5's were better, but I honestly never really payed attention to graphics in 8-Bit MM games. Music is fantastic, no doubt, however I like some themes no better or worse than MM1-6's themes as well. Controls are pretty much exactly the same. On a personal level, MM1-6 beats out MM9 due to the NES Advantage.
Absolutely disagree. This is not coming from any kind of favoritism or bias. I love MM9 a lot. It's one of, if not, my favorite game release of this year. If you like MM9 better than the previous 8-Bit Games, that's all well and good, along with your personal preference. However, for the reasons you stated in this post, absolutely not. If anything, due to the lack of Slide and Charge Shot, it's actually a worse game than the other. I don't miss either of them at all really, but still, there's no reason to take them out other than nostalgia. I'm perfectly fine with that, mind you, but it's still might suck for other MM fans out there for them to just simply remove a staple of gameplay like that.
Hazards: I've still gotta disagree on this one. These puzzles seemed fairly reasonable compared to, say, MM5's disappearing blocks in the after-game stages. Granted, you could sit there and watch those, but they were more complex than either Plug Man's blocks or even Hornet Man's Rollout platforms. Perhaps not as an absolute, but I can safely say that you don't have to memorize the puzzle layouts of MM9 (certainly if compared to those of previous games). And the strange part, the majority of my opinion on that is based on how narrow the required jumps involved are. Puzzles are fairly straightforward unlike Dust Man's junk compactor; look, I shot a one-square hole for me to slide through, can't I just go on? Geez.
Hoppers: I hear ya on the Charge Shot. I'll admit, I was a bit disheartened to see the MM4 charge shot rather than the MM6, 7, or 8 shot which has a wider range. Regardless, what makes Hoppers more annoying is their placement relative to Mega Man's entrance onto the screen. I don't believe the enemy regeneration rate factors into those little guys, but it sure makes Mega Man 2 annoying.
Jumpers: Agreed, though I would say that a proper Mega Man game should be able to be beaten without using any special weapons. If Mega Man 2 ever did have Challenges, "Clear the game without using any Special Weapons" couldn't be one of them, thanks to the 2nd Wily Stage boss and Alien Wily.
Weapons: They're definitely strong, and I love it. But the good weapons to use take a very large chunk of energy. You don't even have enough weapon energy for Tornado Blow to finish Magma Man. As far as Plug Ball and Laser Trident go, well, we're used to having good weapons at a low cost, like Metal Blade. There should be at least one of those.
Sidenote - Gauntlet, actually, Plug Ball's even better than Bubble Lead. It goes up walls, follows around ceilings, and even erases Tornado Man's gusts of wind. Not to mention doing decent damage and taking very little weapon energy.
Boss Patterns: But you've got to admit, MM9's bosses don't have very random movement patterns like Quick Man and Flash Man. Shadow Man's randomness...well, double-edged sword, here. He either jumps high or low three times, then either slides or uses Shadow Blade. Still, it's enough to where considering how far he moves, you don't really have time to get far enough away to evade attack. Same for Hard Man.
Graphics: For all the trouble Inticreates went to to be "authentic", the "fades" in MM9 are way too fluid (between stage select/boss intro/game over/weapon get/etc). That said, everything else still meshes well, and the only ambiguity on hitboxes that I could find was on Magma Man. You could have done a short hop, looked like you didn't even touch him, and BAM, you're hit. And as far as controls, maybe there's not much difference between 2-5 and 9, but 1 sure has some issues.
Even for all its ups and downs, MM9 can be more fun than some of the older, supposedly "harder" games. Perhaps they are, but is it due to player error, or design flaw? The decision to remove the Slide? Eh, that I can let go. Sliding makes the bosses far too easy. Charge Shot? Yeah, that one I have a bit of an issue with, too. But, it seems like they designed this game to compensate for the loss, and yet didn't explain in the story why.
I can see why people wouldn't like MM9 for all the subjective reasons. Story, graphics, people might actually be really turned off by the concepts of Jewel Man and Splash Woman; we know Inafune was nervous about how people would react to her. There's just a really good chance that, objectively, it has the fewest design flaws, even if it removed or attempted some things.
I guess writing responses is where I shine. I'd never have recalled all this on my own.
Keep those thoughts coming!
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