Mega Man 11 Review

*Review based on the Nintendo Switch version of Mega Man 11*

Mega Man is in a unique place among gaming’s classic franchises. Unlike Mario or Zelda, Mega Man doesn’t strive to innovate with each new iteration. In fact, the Blue Bomber more or less settled on its formula back in the NES days, which saw no less than six entries make their way on the console. Perhaps ‘settled’ is too negative a way to put it, as the series found ways to tweak and twist its classic formula, and each entry still remained fun to play.

After a decade of classic Mega Man titles (which saw two additional entries on SNES and Playstation/Saturn), developer Capcom simply stopped making further iterations in the classic series in favor of its various spinoffs like Mega Man X or Mega Man Battle Network. Then, after a decade of dormancy, the original Mega Man series returned with Mega Man 9 in 2008, which paid homage to the NES games. It seemed like Mega Man was here to stay once again, with Mega Man 10 following suit in 2010. But after 10, the series once again left the spotlight. This time, however, there weren’t even any spinoff titles to speak of. Mega Man simply disappeared (outside of recent compilation releases of past games). Series producer Keiji Inafune left Capcom, and many thought the developer was withholding the series out of spite.

Well, after an eight-year hiatus, the main Mega Man series is finally back with the aptly-named Mega Man 11. And while it still may not be an evolutionary step in gaming that we expect from Mario or Zelda, Mega Man shows no signs of rust after his extended absence. The wheel may not be reinvented, but Mega Man 11 still finds enough new tricks to feel like a proper sequel, and not just a nostalgic retread.

“Did that enemy come from Adventure Time?!”

The first difference you’re bound to notice between Mega Man 11 and its immediate predecessors are the visuals. While 9 and 10 paid homage to the 8-bit origins of the series, Mega Man 11 looks like a proper follow-up to Mega Man 8’s more cartoony aesthetics. It’s a welcome change of pace to be honest. As nice as it was to see 8-bit Mega Man return on (then)modern hardware for the past two games, simply repeating the throwback visuals for a third time in a row may not have had the same appeal. By continuing the style of Mega Man’s 7 and 8, 11 feels like a more unique sequel paying respects to Mega Man’s most tragically overlooked gems. Not to mention the variety of bright colors and ‘softer’ character models transition really well into the current gaming age. As is expected of the Mega Man series, 11 also features a great soundtrack that – although not among the series’ best – provides some of the catchiest video game music of 2018.

“The eight Robot Masters here may not include any all-time greats, but they’re all unique to the series.”

As for the structure of the game, well, it’s exactly what you would expect: Eight Robot Masters are waiting at the end of eight different stages, which can be played in any order the player sees fit. Each defeated Robot Master gives Mega Man a new power, with each power being particularly effective against a different Robot Master. Once these eight stages are completed, Mega Man moves on to Dr. Wily’s Castle for a small series of especially difficult stages leading up to a confrontation with the mad doctor himself.

In another nod to Mega Man 8, the Blue Bomber can collect bolts throughout stages, which can then be used to purchase items in between stages. Some of these are the usual extra lives, E and W Tanks (for refilling health and weapon power, respectively), but you can also purchase special items like a shield that reduces damage by half and Beat the robotic bird, who will rescue Mega Man should he fall into a bottomless pit. You can also purchase items that will permanently boost Mega Man’s abilities during your playthrough.

“Even old favorite platforming obstacles return. Fear the disappearing/reappearing blocks!”

If the structure is the same, what exactly is new about Mega Man 11 that differentiates it from its predecessors? Well, the benefit of platformers is that, even if a series re-uses the same blueprints, the level design alone can distinguish one game from the rest. And for the most part, the level design in Mega Man 11 is stellar. The stages are lengthy, have distinctive themes that find their way into the gameplay, and provide a good challenge. On the downside, the game seems to overuse some swarming, constantly spawning enemies, which feels like an unnecessary means to make already difficult platforming sections even more difficult. Sure, past Mega Man games had some sections with constantly spawning enemies, but Mega Man 11 pulls that card a little too often.

“The Power Gear Allows the Mega Buster to go right through enemy shields.”

The big new mechanic of Mega Man 11 is the Double Gear System. As the name implies, the Double Gear System features two new abilities, both of which are activated with shoulder buttons, and can only be used for a short duration before the Double Gear System overheats and needs to recharge. The Power Gear boosts the strength of not only Mega Man’s Mega Buster, but also the Robot Master abilities, leading to a variety of super powerful moves. Meanwhile, the Speed Gear makes Mega Man move so fast that everything around him seems to be in slow motion.

“The game’s best mini-bosses will see the Double Gear System put to good use.”

The Double Gear System is a great addition to the classic Mega Man gameplay, though it can feel a tad underutilized. The Power Gear, in conjunction with the Robot Master abilities, adds an extra element to the series’ rock-paper-scissors setup, and the Speed Gear sees some innovative uses in auto-scrolling and sub-boss sections. But by the time you finish the adventure, you can’t help but feel that the game could have provided more opportunities where you felt the gears were needed. Mega Man 11 does feature some additional challenge modes – like time trials, collecting blue balloons for points while avoiding red balloons, and things of that sort – but they aren’t exactly game-changers. So while these modes may serve as fun distractions, they still leave you wanting a little more for the main adventure.

Mega Man 11 is a tried-and-true sequel. A worthy follow-up to an iconic series that feels all the more welcome due to the series’ lengthy hiatus. The Double Gear System is a nice little twist, but you may hope that, come Mega Man 12, the series might see a more radical change. Imagine a Mega Man title with 12 Robot Masters! Or 16! Or a sequel that lets you combine Robot Master abilities! The series already has a timeless formula to fallback on, so it could use a littler more experimentation. If Mega Man 12 tries its hand at something radically different for the series and falls short, they can always backtrack with Mega Man 13. This is a hard series to cause any permanent damage to itself.

“The screens that accompany the acquisitions of new weapons are always really cool.”

The classic Mega Man formula will admittedly always work to an extent, and Mega Man 11 is as fun as ever. But considering the Double Gear System feels a little underutilized – and other than that system this is a very straightforward Mega Man sequel – you can’t help but hope that the next entry will bring a little bit more to the table in regards to newness. Mega Man 11 delivers the Mega Man goodness the gaming world has been missing for far too long, but hopefully next time around, Mega Man can push himself to be even more.

7

Coming Soon: Mega Man Month (and Other Stuff Too!)

Alls been quiet of the Dojo front for about a week now. Sorry about that, old chaps. Wanted my Top 5 Most Wanted Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Characters to pick up more steam. And it did!

But I always hate my extended breaks here at the Dojo, so here’s some stuff I’m planning for this site in the not-too-distant future.

First and foremost, I plan on making this September a tribute to Mega Man, in honor of the release of Mega Man 11 in early October. Now, I already reviewed Mega Mans 1 through 8 back in 2015, but since I recently picked up the Mega Man X Legacy Collection, I figured it’s about time I reviewed the Mega Man X games. And maybe I can squeeze in Mega Mans 9 and 10 after all this time, as well as one other Mega Man title I’ve been meaning to review for a while (three guesses what it is). If I can, I may also toss in some Mega Man-related top 10/5 lists.

Of course, I also hope to squeeze in some other reviews for movies and games. So depending on how much time I have in between Mega Mans, I have a good few other things I’d like to write about.

In the not-too-distant future, I’m also hoping to review the films of Quentin Tarantino (the first of which should be done soon), and hopefully review the three remaining Hayao Miyazaki-directed features. And yes, I still hope to start reviewing some TV shows from time to time.

There are a number of reviews and lists I’d like to finish by the end of 2018. I’m also hoping to continue my game design endeavors really soon. And while yes, that will be time-consuming and effect my website to some degree, I have zero plans to ever stop writing for this site. But learning how to make a game, combined with the financial and time investment of modern gaming, means I’ll be cutting back on my new gaming purchases starting in 2019. So aside from a few AAA games here and there, I see most of my gaming reviews in the years ahead being retro titles and indie games. Y’know, games that don’t take an obscene amount of time to complete.

Maybe I will post updates on my game design progress here on this site, if there’s enough interest. I may even show off a few drawings/sketches from time to time. Not that I have much to show off. I’m not that good.

Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. This is an update. I hope you enjoy Mega Man Month in September, and whatever else I write. I love you people.

Reflecting on my Time at E3 2018

“Is that the real Master Sword that Link actually used in the game?!”

Another E3 has come and gone. Although this was far from my first time at the event, it was only my second time attending since I launched Wizard Dojo, which in a weird way feels like a whole different era for me (even though it’s just a wee blog). Though the fact that E3 has had a bigger attendance than ever the past two years means that the lines to actually play the games can be, well, downright evil in their tests of patience, it was overall a very fun show.

There’s plenty to be said about the mostly disappointing presentations. Whether it was Sony’s unusual format of changing revenues and taking noticeably long breaks, or Nintendo’s maybe-too-focused-on-Smash Bros.-Direct, there weren’t a whole lot of surprises, or even as much of a lineup as last year’s show.

With all that said, however, there was still plenty to enjoy. Especially for someone like me who’s just lucky to be able to attend E3’s show floor. I’ve already written some blogs dedicated to some of the games shown at E3, but now let me write just a little bit about my own experience.

Naturally, the first day for me was all about Super Smash Bros. (though I also played it the latter two days as well). Though the gameplay is familiar to the Wii U version, it feels like it’s getting the right level of polish, aiming for something of a combination of Melee and the Wii U game to make the definitive version of Super Smash Bros. Though I still have some reservations (please, don’t waste whatever new characters we get with clones!), Super Smash Bros. is one of the few games where I always get sucked into the hype before release. Since the demo didn’t have my main man King Dedede playable, I spent most rounds as Bowser (who is actually my favorite Nintendo character, so wouldn’t that make him my main man?), or Donkey Kong and Mega Man. I won more than I lost *brag brag* but I admit I made more than a little bit of an oopsie when I went into sudden death as Ridley (I’ll really have to practice that up-special of his). Anyway, I’m just really keeping my fingers crossed that Geno actually makes it in this time. Hey, Sakurai’s behind the idea, if only Nintendo can twist Square’s arm…

Other notable titles I played over the three day event were Marvel’s Spider-Man (which I wish had a more unique title) and Mega Man 11. Other titles that caught my eye but weren’t playable (at least not from what I could tell) were Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Dreams, the former of which comes from Hidetaka “Prepare to Die” Miyazaki, and the latter by Media Molecule, the creators of LittleBigPlanet who really look like they’ve upped their game.

Spider-Man’s greatest joy was simply how much it makes you feel like Spider-Man when playing it. I spent more of my time in the demo trying to find and ascend the tallest building than I did with any of the objectives. Mega Man 11, meanwhile, felt like the proper continuation of the beloved series that it should be. Mega Man 11 boasted the usual Mega Man gameplay, but with the added bonus of some fun twists on the level design.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice already looks like it could be one of my favorite games of next year. It’s interesting to see a game that follows suit with Miyazaki’s Dark Souls/Bloodborne series, but that omits the RPG elements, instead opting for action/adventure. The only downside is no multiplayer, which admittedly feels like a step back from the genius twists to co-operative and competitive multiplayer the Souls series brought to gaming. As for Dreams, well, it looks like the ultimate game-making game, with players seemingly able to make every single asset of a game (including genre, characters, environments, sounds, music, etc.). Let’s just hope the in-game gameplay doesn’t suffer as LittleBigPlanet did.

Other games I managed to play on the show floor include Team Sonic Racing, a new Senran Kagura title for PS4, Mario Tennis Aces, and Fortnite (which, believe it or not, was actually my first time playing Fortnite). Team Sonic Racing felt like a fun successor to the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing series, though the removal of non-Sonic Sega characters actually seems like a step back (after all, Mario Kart eventually added Zelda and Animal Crossing characters into the mix. It didn’t start with them then take them away). Senran Kagura is…well, it is what it is: a mindless but fun guilty pleasure. Mario Tennis Aces actually surprised me with how much fun I had in my short time with it. I mean, playing as a Chain Chomp with a tennis racket in its mouth? How can it not be great? And although I sucked in the round of Fortnite I played, I can definitely see the appeal, seeing as it feels like PUBG, but with an actual personality and additional elements like crafting. Plus, Fortnite is now free on Switch, so I have no excuse not to get it.

Sadly, I never got the chance to play Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, because the lines were always too damn long. Same goes for Kingdom Hearts 3. But hey, I’ll probably play them eventually. Besides, I got to meet the REAL Pikachu and Eevee in person! That counts for like, 10 demos of the games.

Being able to play all these games was great of course (even if the lines could be insufferable), but just the experience of being at E3 is fun in itself for someone like me. Basically, it’s like Disneyland: wait in monotonous lines most the day, get rewarded with a few moments of quality entertainment, and overall you just enjoy being there. The experience was made all the better, however, by little things like conversing with other people with similar interests while I waited in those aforementioned lines (one particularly interesting individual in line for Smash Bros. also wanted Geno to make the roster), seeing a Solaire cosplayer fat-roll his way through the exhibit hall, walking right passed The New Day and getting a photo with Charles Martinez!

Yes, another E3 has come and gone, and while most will be discussing the big, news-y aspects of the event, for me, it was just blast being there, and am itching to return next year.

Mega Man 11 is the Real Deal

I don’t get this “Mega Man 11” thing! It just looks like Capcom is trying to rip off Mighty No. 9!

All joking aside, I got to play Mega Man 11 at E3 today (after an excruciatingly long wait in line), and walked away very impressed with the game, which is now on my radar as one of my most anticipated titles of the year.

When Mega Man 11 was first revealed, a lot of fans were disappointed with the new visual look, and wanted another 8-bit throwback title. Personally, I think making another 8-bit entry would have felt a bit tired by this point. Besides, Mega Man 7 and 8 weren’t 8-bit, so it’s not as if Mega Man 11 is the first entry to go against the series’ NES roots.

“At least the long line included monitors with fun questions and factoids about Mega Man’s history. This was by far my favorite one.”

One concern I did have though, was that the new look may have meant a new direction for the series’ difficulty, and maybe ease things up a bit to grab a new audience. I’m not one of those people who demands that every game be extremely difficult, and that any game that’s on the easy side is automatically bad. But in Mega Man’s case, the difficulty is as much a part of the series as the Blue Bomber’s ability to steal the powers of defeated Robot Masters.

Although only one stage was available in the demo (Block Man’s), it proved to be pleasantly challenging. Perhaps more importantly, the challenge was brought about by some creative ideas in the level design, with the standout moment being Mega Man navigating through confined rooms which are on a conveyor belt heading for an insta-kill grinder. Mega Man has to shoot path-blocking stones, and navigate the rooms by jumping and sliding in order to escape them and, by extension, escape the grinder. But once one such mini-room is completed, there’s another one in line on the conveyor belt.

It’s concepts like that why platformers remain one of gaming’s greatest genres. Even with a template as old as Mega Man’s, getting creative with the level design is all the developers need to make things feel new again.

Additionally, Mega Man now possesses an ability to slow down time for a short while, with certain level elements and enemies taking advantage of the mechanic. One enemy hides within a spinning wheel, which has only a small opening for Mega Man’s blast can make it through. While Mega Man can time his blast to destroy the enemy under normal conditions, the enemy’s wheel spins fast enough to make it difficult to get the timing down. That’s when slowing down time comes in handy, as it turns the small opportunity to hit this particular enemy into a much bigger one.

The time-slowing mechanic is a fun little twist on the Mega Man formula, and hopefully a few similar mechanics are introduced to keep things fresh.

From what I can gather from my limited experience with the game, Mega Man 11 looks to not only revive the series after a notably lengthy absence, but also adding to the series’ norms in ways to make it feel like a proper continuation for the franchise, and not simply a throwback.

I was tentatively excited for Mega Man 11 when it was announced, but after playing a stage of the game, it’s really looking like the Mega Man title the gaming world needs…especially after Mighty No. 9.