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Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

  • Summary: [Xbox Live Arcade] In the year 200X, as the advanced science of the era has created industrial robots that co-exist with humans. However, an evil genius, Dr. Wily, plots for world domination and creates his own robot army to take over mankind. Luckily for humanity, Dr. Light outfits one of his domestic robots "Rock" to fight Dr. Wily’s creations and Mega Man is born.Set after the events of Mega Man 8, multiple riots have sprung up all over the world. Whilst many people suspect that this is another plot from Dr. Wily, Dr. Light is stunned to recognize that some of the robots rioting on the TV screen are his own creations. Even more stunning, Dr. Wily appears on television to proclaim that Dr. Light is the evil mastermind behind these latest catastrophic incidents and it’s up to Mega Man to clear his creator’s name. The original 2D classic Mega Man returns, bringing the series back to its roots with retroaction-platform gameplay and NES-inspired old school graphics. Relive the Mega Man experience with maniacally themed environments, a host of power-ups, and classically-inspired bosses, each with their own unique weapons and weaknesses. [Capcom] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 32
  2. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Experimenting with Black Hole Bombs and other special weapons is great fun in Mega Man 9, a welcome departure from recent entries in the series, where an enhanced Mega Buster made other weaponry less relevant.
  2. 86
    Mega Man 9 is exactly what hardcore gamers were hoping it would be, as Capcom has come out of the gate with a game that's full of nostalgia and fan-service, but also one that truly does rival the best in the franchise's 8-bit roots.
  3. The original blue bomber returns in an all new adventure that will bring you back to the good old days of incredibly hard but simple games.
  4. A title to please fans, retrogamers and players in search of a real challenge, but most new generation gamers will find it difficult to bond with this game.

See all 32 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. This is a must have for anyone who remembers the good old 8-bit era. The game plays very well without framerate issues or screen writing problems from the old NES days. It feels like what the game creators wanted to make then, but obviously lacked the system resources to do. The difficulty is still there, too - it has not been dumbed down for the current generation of gamers. The game will be very nostalgic because it feels and plays exactly like any 8-bit Mega Man. In fact, it's almost as if a few game developers were cryogenically frozen in the mid 80s and then unfrozen just to make this game. You probably won't beat levels the first time, and won't be handed any achievements. This game will actually challenge you, and when you walk away victorious with a smile on your face, you will know it was earned. Expand
  2. Took the lame route and played MM10 first because of the Easy Mode. Mistake. The real magic of Mega Man 9 is not only in the revival of pitch perfect 8-bit era designs and sounds, but in the revival of perseverance in gaming. Being born in 1988 I never got to experience challenging 80's era games the way they were meant to be played. Mega Man 9 gave me a chance to experience the full frustrations and joys of failing again and again until every enemy location, trap, and boss strategy was thoroughly ingrained in my mind and translated to my aching thumbs. Doing so nearly forced me to love it, kind of like a brighter, catchier Stockholm syndrome. Buying this game made me proud to support a series that fully embraces the idea that the 8-bit generation games were not only borne out of limitation, but sheer love of electronic art, music, and most of all challenging the player through sheer punishment and rewarding them only implicitly. Expand
  3. MattA.
    8
    HARD! But fun. Only for those who really like the classic mega man games. It makes you work for it. But it's classic level and gameplay design. Fun. Expand
  4. Roger
    4
    I'm sorry, but this game is completely sub-par. If this is really what the original Mega Man was so applauded for, the original apparently stunk too. I'll excuse people who liked the original though, they didn't know better at the time. But in this day and age, it is ridiculous for such a poorly designed, tiny game to be so popular. This trades in advanced AI for cannons that you have to wait, count to 2, jump shoot, wait, count to 2, jump shoot. That isn't challenge, thats just boring drivel. This game completely abandons all of the advances in games, and I don't mean the pretty graphics or sound. I mean the invention of open worlds where multiple paths can succeed, the invention of strategy and tactics in games, that actually make you think and test your skills. And before you say this game requires skill, no it doesn't. Figuring out that jumping at this point to kill this enemy is not skill, I do the same thing when I try and figure out the way to open my new box of Oreos (with the seal on top) or when I first tried to open a packet of ketchup from the wrong side. Once you know how, you know how. And timing your button presses and jumps right does not constitute fun in my book. That counts as pointless repetition and joyless mimickry. If there was a way to return XBox Live titles, I would have returned this game by now. Expand

See all 8 User Reviews