Mega Man is back once again for his 10th reincarnation and this time its personal (just like Mega Man 1 through 9). The Blue Bomber was missing in action for many years, but Capcom brought him back in 2008 in his original 8-Bit form. This is the 2nd Mega Man game in 2 years, and the series looks to be here to stay. Should Mega Man stay is the million dollar question. You can decide that after checking out this review.
The story of Mega Man 10 is simple and direct. Mega Man’s sister Roll gets a virus called Roboenza, and while Dr. Light and Mega Man tend to Roll, the illness spreads throughout the world. At first it seems that Roboenza is only making robots sick, but in typical Mega Man fashion, robots start to go wild. Dr. Wily then shows up talking about how he was attacked by infected robots and he needs help building some kind of medicine machine to cure the robots. Dr. Light and Mega Man eventually agree to work with Dr. Wily and Mega Man’s brother Proto Man shows up to offer his help as well.
As far as additions and gameplay is concerned, this is just like any other Mega Man. There are a few things I would to point out. One being, that like its Mega Man X counterpart, players are now able to switch weapons in game via trigger buttons without going to the start menu. This turns out to be a very useful option when playing some of the later castle stages. Speaking of stages, this seems to be the most pit filled Mega Man game every. Might wanna call this one Pit Fall 10. All Mega Man games have spikes and pits, but this time its seems like the developers decided to test a man’s will with the way some of these pits are set up. It will take patience, self control, and knowledge of your surroundings to complete some levels in this game. Anyway, there is no need to worry too much about it. Once you get the Rush Jet to ride across some of the stage, its smooth sailing from there.
If you are not a dedicated and patient Mega Man player, there is now an easy mode for you to choose from. Easy mode decreases the amount of enemies that you face in a stage, adds red floating platforms in pits that you normally might have died at, and it also decreases the different number of attacks that each boss has. Hard mode will be available once you complete the game. The numbers of enemies are increased, the stages have slight structural differences to give you more places to die, and the bosses have new attacks that will shred you to pieces in seconds. Other modes include the return of Time Attack mode that has a worldwide ranking system, and the addition of Challenge mode. Challenge mode offers 88 small, but sometimes crazy difficult task for you to complete. This is a great add-on that increases the game’s re-playability.
The biggest addition in MM10 is the option to play the whole game as Proto Man at the start of the game. Proto Man differs from Mega Man in a couple of ways. The first is his ability to power up his Mega Buster. Mega Man lost that technique for some unexplainable reason and Proto Man has picked it up. Proto Man also has a shield that he uses whenever he jumps that is able to deflect many enemy attacks. What I consider the most important difference between the brother’s is Proto Man’s ability to slide. It’s such a simple feature, but when it comes to dodging the bosses attacks, he has the clear advantage over Mega Man. The only thing better about Mega Man is that he is tougher than his brother. Proto Man loses any where between 2 to 5 more life points than Mega Man whenever he is damaged.
Overall, Mega Man 10 is a worthy sequel in the series, but the nostalgia people got from Mega Man 9 is gone. Also, Mega Man 9 is the better game in general. The lackluster weapons and unparalleled stage design take away from the aura of this being a classic game in the legacy of Mega Man. Another thing that I would like to note is that the music in Mega Man 10 is below average. It does not have the usual instant catchy tune vibe that Mega Man games are recognized for. The music in Mega Man 9 is head and shoulders above this latest edition. With that being said, this is a solid release from Capcom. If you have the tiniest desire to play this game you should do so. It’s easily worth ten bucks. Even if you have to play on Easy mode, there are enough challenges to keep you busy and interested. Just don’t play Normal and Hard mode without any resolve. You may find yourself throwing the controller on the floor just like they did back in the NES days.
