???History has a tendency to repeat itself. In terms of the video game industry, the words "history" and "Nintendo Entertainment System" are synonymous. While highly revered in its day, the eight-bit NES is remembered as a much simpler, primitive system.
???Now, in a time when games are judged almost solely by their graphics, Mega Man 9 has been released. Its visual style, reminiscent of the classic NES games, is a breath of fresh air.
???"... If we wanted to do this thing right, we should do it in the classic style" said Producer Hironobu Takeshita in an interview with www.1up.com.
???After multiple failed attempts in the past couple decades to adapt to the three-dimensional video game universe, it became obvious that Mega Man's fun was in its simplicity. Gone are the grandiose graphics of today's console games.
???The storyline, in classic Mega Man tradition, serves as somewhat of a superficial backdrop to hold the game together. There is nothing remotely clever or original about this, but Mega Man's popularity was never attributed to its storytelling expertise.
???The game consists of eight side-scrolling levels. At the end of each stage, the player must defeat a robot-master. Upon defeating one of these robots, the player will then gain the adversary's ability. As the game progresses, the player gains more and more abilities.
???After defeating each robot-master, the player must travel through several more stages and defeat Dr. Wily. It's a simple formula, but it worked perfectly in the late '80s and early '90s and it still holds true today.
???Also noteworthy is the game's soundtrack. The vast majority of games produced these days often contain larger-than-life, fully-orchestrated pieces. However, Mega Man 9 also stays true to its eight-bit roots in this regard. Simple, yet catchy computer-generated riffs permeate the game, solidifying the retro feel of the entire experience.
???Additions such as online leader boards, downloads and new challenges keep the game from being entirely old-fashioned. Similar to the achievements of many Xbox 360 titles, these challenges range from completing the game without getting hit to defeating a certain number of enemies.
???The game is not perfect, however. The old NES games were notable for being not only fun, but also challenging. While Mega Man 9 is by no means an easy game, Mega Man elitists will have little trouble conquering it.
???Despite this, Mega Man 9 is an excellent game that will surely tug on the heartstrings of retro gamers. For everyone else, this is a great example of how something so simple can be so fun. After all, that's what games are supposed to be.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
