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[MrBadger]

Yeah, it's been a while since I've played an 8 bit Mega Man and I honestly can't remember if I even beat any of them (not counting Powered Up) but I fancied giving this a shot, since all the news and discussion regarding a certain kickstarter game has put Mega Man on my mind.

I've been systematically playing through the robot masters stating at Galaxy Man, and some of the stages have really kicked my ass, Tornado Man especially. I've just got Hornet Man, Concrete Man and Splashwo Man to go, now. One thing I do love about this game is that every screen has something new happening on it. It's either easing you into a new concept, testing you on it or throwing multiple things at you at once, and all the 1-hit KO spikes and pits stop you from just cheesing levels with health and E-tanks. There never seems to be any areas where you're just running to the right and mindlessly killing enemies and I really like that.

On the topic of cheesing it, I'm really exploiting the weaknesses of the bosses. I know I'd probably enjoy them more if I learned how they worked instead of just spamming their weakness and hoping they die before I do, but after the shit Tornado Man's stage put me through, I'd rather not take any chances.

So how is this game's quality and difficulty regarded as far as the classic Mega Man games go? Is 10 equally good or better? Because despite the difficulty, I am having a great time.

 

[Red]

I didn't think the robot masters were too difficult, but the Wily stages gave me trouble. I'd say it's in line with mid-numbered MM games, say 3-6. Not as obscenely difficult as the first game, but no walk in the park.

Like most other Mega Man titles, the more you play the easier it gets. You can feel your skill improve as you die over and over. Your reflexes improve. You hit jumps and buster charges by reflex, to the rhyme and rhythm of enemy sounds and the terrific background tracks. More than most games in the series, 9 felt suited for speed runs, and at times felt more like a rhythm game than an action platformer.

Never played 10. Wonder how it compares.

 

[Why would you do that?]

When I first played it, I beat Hornet Man first. Now I always start with Galaxy Man, then Jewel Man (a hard stage, but the next in the food chain after Galaxy Man). Sometimes I also start with Splash Woman, who's also relatively easy.

The game is hard, though. Since you beat Galaxy Man, I suggest you go straight to Jewel Man, and if you get bored, go to Slash Woman.

Never played 10. Wonder how it compares.

I personally think 10 is one of the hardest. Even though it's not nearly as good as 9, you should definitely try it, though, it's totally worth playing. It's very... unique...

 

[toddhunter]

10 is a lot easier. Both games are just "ok" in my eyes.

 

[120v]

yeah, it's difficult by design. it's meant to go back to it's "hard" early 8-bit era roots. once your muscle memory gets adjusted you'll be breezing through it though

my GOAT mega man. be sure the check out the endless battle DLC or whatever it's called

 

[Nocturnowl]

I'd consider this the toughest of the 8 bit ones I've played (though I've never played the original in its...original form).
So basically yeah I'd say bloody hard covers it quite well, I've only fully beaten it once, the Wily stages just murder me in this one, especially the man himself.

Still my favourite Mega Man game though, great selection of useful weapons alongside strong (if occasionally cheesy) level design and the first batch of memorable Robot Masters since 3 I guess.

As for 10, it's not quite as good but still solid.

 

[Murrah]

Best of the classic series quality wise (at least on part with 2 and 3), and probably near the top of difficulty overall, though it's definitely not as hard as 1 or 3. Most of the design is totally fair, and it only really ramps up in the Wily stages. Still really bummed it's not on current gen, and I never transferred my Wii games to Wii U.

I didn't think the robot masters were too difficult, but the Wily stages gave me trouble. I'd say it's in line with mid-numbered MM games, say 3-6. Not as obscenely difficult as the first game, but no walk in the park.

Never played 10. Wonder how it compares.

10 is pretty good, but nowhere near the brilliance of 9. If 9 is a modern day 2, 10 is a modern 4; solid and totally enjoyable but never makes quite the same impact. Has a pretty weird (in a good way) soundtrack though.

 

[L Thammy]

I never got how the classic Mega Man got a reputation for being hard, to be honest.

Zero, though? Zero doesn't fuck around.

 

[John Kowalski]

Nah you're just bad

 

[OrbitalBeard]

9 is really difficult. It's also one of the best Mega Man games you can play. 10 is one of my least favorite entries but I still really enjoyed it.

 

[Mzo]

Mega Man 9 is arguably the best of the classic series. The design is incredibly tight and fair.

I have a Mr. Perfect save up to the Wily levels, and I have a couple of friends who have actually completed that achievement.

If you're having trouble with a certain boss or section, you might need a better strategy for it. Again, the game is very fair and incredibly well-designed. Inti Creates is god tier.

 

[Frumix]

Never thought of MM9 as of an unfair one.
It's not a cakewalk because there's only ~13 stages in the game but it's not that hard.

 

[Velcro Fly]

It's harder without the slide and charge shot

Both of those are OP for dodging and killing almost anything with the buster

 

[Hugstable]

I honestly think it's the hardest game in the series overall except for Mega 1

Also 9 was amazing, I still couldn't believe they had the formula down so well all those years later. 10 was still good, but nowhere near the qualityh of 9

 

[Mzo]

I never got how the classic Mega Man got a reputation for being hard, to be honest.

Zero, though? Zero doesn't fuck around.

Zero is all about perfect runs without cyber elves, which is pretty challenging but a hell of a lot of fun. If you just want to get through those games, eat the elves and the game becomes a cakewalk.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

9 is god-like. I still can't believe it exists and that it's that damn good.

 

[woopWOOP]

It does feel a bit harder than 3-6. Challenging, but not frustrating. It's a good game!
That damn jump right before Diamond Man's miniboss room tho. Oh, how I hate those wall spikes.

I finished a few stages in hard mode once (4 at my place, 2 different at a friend's for some reason), but never finished it that way. That mode was intense, good fun. I'm probably too rusty to tackle it now tho.

Also Megaman 10 is just as rad. Plus you get the added option of playing Protoman (and Bass too, but if I remember right that's actually paid DLC...)

 

[MrBadger]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention the music is pretty great. Amazing how I didn't get sick of this the amount of times this stage got me...

Never thought of MM9 as of an unfair one.
It's not a cakewalk because there's only ~13 stages in the game but it's not that hard.

Oh, I don't think it's unfair in the slightest. I've found the level design to be really solid and the only death I can blame on the game is I'm really not sure how you're meant to tell which clouds you can land on in Tornado Man's stage. There's probably a way...

I never got how the classic Mega Man got a reputation for being hard, to be honest.

Zero, though? Zero doesn't fuck around.

I've actually beaten Zero 3 without having all that much trouble. Perhaps I'm just out of practice when it comes to classic Mega Man

I'd consider this the toughest of the 8 bit ones I've played (though I've never played the original in its...original form).
So basically yeah I'd say bloody hard covers it quite well, I've only fully beaten it once, the Wily stages just murder me in this one, especially the man himself.

Still my favourite Mega Man game though, great selection of useful weapons alongside strong (if occasionally cheesy) level design and the first batch of memorable Robot Masters since 3 I guess.

As for 10, it's not quite as good but still solid.

I see. On the robot masters, I'm actually very interested in 10's. This one has some really cool designs like Galaxy Man, but then there's the obligatory wind one, the obligatory fire one and the obligatory industrial one. 10 has some really weird ones like Sheep Man and Strike Man so I'm pretty interested to see what their stages are about.

 

[Red]

Mega Man 9 is arguably the best of the classic series. The design is incredibly tight and fair.

I have a Mr. Perfect save up to the Wily levels, and I have a couple of friends who have actually completed that achievement.

If you're having trouble with a certain boss or section, you might need a better strategy for it. Again, the game is very fair and incredibly well-designed. Inti Creates is god tier.

I tried going for a Mr. Perfect run but only finished a couple of bosses before calling it quits. Would be cool to have the achievement but it demands too much time. Props to those who've got it though.

 

[CO_Andy]

Tip: it's usually better to walk toward and not away from bosses when they attack

 

[KevinCow]

Just look at it this way: Every time you die, you get to listen to more of Mega Man 9's amazing music.

 

[Why would you do that?]

Also Megaman 10 is just as rad. Plus you get the added option of playing Protoman (and Bass too, but if I remember right that's actually paid DLC...)

In 9, you get Protoman as paid DLC. In 10, you get Protoman for free, but Bass is paid DLC.

In 10 you also get Challenge Mode included, which was paid DLC in Mega Man 9.

 

[Seven Force]

Mega Man 9 is arguably the best of the classic series. The design is incredibly tight and fair.

I have a Mr. Perfect save up to the Wily levels, and I have a couple of friends who have actually completed that achievement.

If you're having trouble with a certain boss or section, you might need a better strategy for it. Again, the game is very fair and incredibly well-designed. Inti Creates is god tier.

My thoughts exactly.

The only part of the game that feels even remotely close to being trial and error is the jump before Jewel Man's boss door, and even then, it doesn't feel unfair at all since you have the entire stage beforehand to get used to how the physics of the swing platforms work.

 

[Nocturnowl]

I see. On the robot masters, I'm actually very interested in 10's. This one has some really cool designs like Galaxy Man, but then there's the obligatory wind one, the obligatory fire one and the obligatory industrial one. 10 has some really weird ones like Sheep Man and Strike Man so I'm pretty interested to see what their stages are about.

I just wish there was more variety in expressions with the bunch in 10, I think Chill Man and Pump Man were the only ones with visible mouths, they're a moody looking bunch.

Just look at it this way: Every time you die, you get to listen to more of Mega Man 9's amazing music.

This is true

My thoughts exactly.

The only part of the game that feels even remotely close to being trial and error is the jump before Jewel Man's boss door, and even then, it doesn't feel unfair at all since you have the entire stage beforehand to get used to how the physics of the swing platforms work.

I'd sooner throw my main T&E vote towards that one grabber chap in Wily 3 at the top of the antigravity room, so dastardly.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

I never got how the classic Mega Man got a reputation for being hard, to be honest.

Zero, though? Zero doesn't fuck around.

The classic games generally aren't that difficult once you learn enemy patterns and teach yourself to expect something at every pit. 9 does have some screwy bits though. (The jump into Jewel Man's miniboss room comes to mind.)

I'm in the minority, but I like 10 more than 9 outside of Commando Man's awful stage. 9 does have the best weapon set in any Mega Man game, though.

 

[MrBadger]

The classic games generally aren't that difficult once you learn enemy patterns and teach yourself to expect something at every pit. 9 does have some screwy bits though. (The jump into Jewel Man's miniboss room comes to mind.)

I'm in the minority, but I like 10 more than 9 outside of Commando Man's awful stage. 9 does have the best weapon set in any Mega Man game, though.

Oh yeah, that one jump really felt out of place because generally this game's level design has been better than "1-hit KO zones for the sake of 1-hit KO zones" unlike something like AVGN Adventures.

I just wish there was more variety in expressions with the bunch in 10, I think Chill Man and Pump Man were the only ones with visible mouths, they're a moody looking bunch.

Yeah, I see what you mean, they are a pretty expressionless bunch.

But other than their faces, I think their designs are really cool. It seems like 9 was what you'd expect a bunch of throwback Mega Man robots to be (plus a female one to mix it up) and 10 just has robots based on any old thing

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

9 is SOOOOO damn GOOD, it is kinda difficult but not more difficult than almost any other MM game.

I wish 10 wasn't so bad after how good 9 was.

 

[The Lamonster]

I liked 10 more. It's easier too. Maybe I liked it better because it was easier?

 

[Pinky]

9 was challenging as hell, but so satisfying at the same time. I managed to do about 90% of the challenges. My top 2 accomplishments was a no death run and completing the game using only the arm cannon. Fuck that Mr. Perfect BS. There's no way I could do it.

 

[Davey Cakes]

I was a Mega Man vet going in MM9 and even then it was hard...at first.

That's the magic of Mega Man games. MM9 in particular was a great way to relive playing a Mega Man game for the first time.

Once you beat it you're pretty much all set though. At that point you've learned all of the level designs and enemy patterns.

 

[Peltz]

I was a Mega Man vet going in MM9 and even then it was hard...at first.

That's the magic of Mega Man games. MM9 in particular was a great way to relive playing a Mega Man game for the first time.

Once you beat it you're pretty much all set though. At that point you've learned all of the level designs and enemy patterns.

This is true. Mega Man games are always hard the first time, then become so easy to beat. I know it seems weird to say, but I actually think classic MM games are as much puzzle games as they are platformer games.

Once you "figure them out" the puzzle is solved.

 

[robot]

I've been playing through all 10 Mega Man games this year (plus Mega Man & Bass) and recently finished 9.

While it definitely was one of the more difficult ones, I think it was pretty fair if you're experienced with the series. It honestly became one of my favorites of the series right behind 2 & 3, and was really refreshing to have clever, challenging level design compared to 7 & 8. Plus it was one of the few Mega Man games that made great use of the weapons outside of the Robot Master fights. Looking forward to trying a Protoman run.

 

[chemicals]

I feel your pain, OP. I used to be able to beast out some 8 bit Megaman (came really close to completing mm1, beat mm2 and mm3). Even in mm4 and mm5 I could at least beat 2 or 3 of the bosses with ease. But mm9 kicks my
ass every single time.

I can't beat any of the stages. ANY!

I guess games are just easier in general these days.

 

[thesurfshop19]

Splashwo Man

LOL

I loved MM9, although truth be told I couldn't beat many of the main stages. Still, it was a great throwback and arguably, Shovel Knight before Shovel Knight. That rock remix still blows my mind too (YT link).

 

[ElFly]

I normally beat Splashwoman first or second, and then used her weapon all the time, it is better than the default blaster. Buy the recharging weapon energy thingy.

The Wily stages are a little harder, but this is prolly one of the easier 8 bit MM games, just somewhat harder than 5.

10 is hard as fuck, though. I gave up at some boss in the boss castle.

 

[vagabondarts]

I was a Mega Man vet going in MM9 and even then it was hard...at first.

That's the magic of Mega Man games. MM9 in particular was a great way to relive playing a Mega Man game for the first time.

Once you beat it you're pretty much all set though. At that point you've learned all of the level designs and enemy patterns.

Exactly. I always hoped they would release 9 & 10 on 3DS but I understand why they haven't.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I remember 10 being easy. I got it Day 1, and quickly got through the whole thing and I tend to suck at Megaman games.

On the other hand, 9 kicked my ass and the only Boss I found simple enough was Gravityman. The others kicked my butt...especially that Elephant Mini-Boss on that one stage.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I actually got the "Almost Invincible" achievement (beat game without continuing) on my first try.

I'm good at platformers (but absolutely suck in other genres).

 

[jogu]

Can't wait for the 1-6 edition to come out and play all 1-10 in row

 

[MrBadger]

Okay, I've beaten all the robot masters, time for the Wily stages!

I have to say, the stages certainly got easier for me the more I progressed through the game. It's great how the Robot Master powers are actually pretty useful as well. I've not bothered using the shop thus far, but since it looks like these stages actually require use of the powers, I'm going to have to.

I remember 10 being easy. I got it Day 1, and quickly got through the whole thing and I tend to suck at Megaman games.

On the other hand, 9 kicked my ass and the only Boss I found simple enough was Gravityman. The others kicked my butt...especially that Elephant Mini-Boss on that one stage.

Yeah, I just got off that stage. The elephants are simple once you get into a rhythm of shooting them and jumping, but they're a real pain in the ass at first.

 

[Tobinishi]

Played through it around 50 times now and managed to only get hit once during a playthrough. Unfortunately never managed a perfect run

So it's actually quite easy with some practice

 

[MrBadger]

There's one finicky jump in the underwater part of Wily 2 that keeps getting me...the level design is usually hard in a fun way, but moments like that where you just brush the side of the ceiling or hold the button for slightly too long are just annoying. I'll try this again later and hopefully have better luck then.

Played through it around 50 times now and managed to only get hit once during a playthrough. Unfortunately never managed a perfect run

So it's actually quite easy with some practice

To be fair though I imagine most games are easy after 50 playthroughs

 

[Blues1990]

To be fair, this game was designed to kick even the most seasoned MM player's ass, so don't feel distraught if you are struggling.

For me, Mega Man V (GameBoy) & Mega Man VI (NES) are my favourite games in the series, but MM9 is a rock-solid game. I need to replay it again.

 

[evilromero]

I liked 10 more. It's easier too. Maybe I liked it better because it was easier?

Same. I do think MM9 has the better levels and is overall more memorable to me. But like everyone main MM title, I get to the second or third Wily stage and just give up.

 

[Gren]

I concur with the notion that, outside of some Wily stages, it wasn't too bad.

I will say that Jewel Satellite farming made it significantly less frustrating than it could've been as well.

 

[theMrCravens]

I remember 10 being easy. I got it Day 1, and quickly got through the whole thing and I tend to suck at Megaman games.

On the other hand, 9 kicked my ass and the only Boss I found simple enough was Gravityman. The others kicked my butt...especially that Elephant Mini-Boss on that one stage.

Wasn't the difficulty setting in 10 set at Normal at first ?

MM10 Hard mode probably = MM9 in terms of difficulty.
Even bosses had an extra attack pattern.

 

[toddhunter]

I liked 10 more. It's easier too. Maybe I liked it better because it was easier?

I liked 10 better too. 9 was way harder and probably better designed for the most part. But it was harder in the annoying Megaman ways like spiked blocks and those fucking blocks that phase in and out over a pit.

I just didn't find it that fun.

 

[devonodev]

My favorite classic Mega Man game, and it's not even old enough to be classic.

But yeah it's pretty hard.

 

[Exr]

Yeah its a fantastic game, one of my favorite Megamans. It takes practice but the level design really has a rad rhythm and you get into this flow when you play.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

The Wily stages are very difficult in 9.