As someone who's grown up with and lived and breathed Mega Man since the age of about five, I was particularly excited for Mega Man 11 to come out this year. I have a friend who has gone through every mainline and X series Mega Man game with me, so we cleared our first Saturday morning after it's release to dive into the game. Fast forward to one week later and I've done all there is to do in Mega Man 11: beaten it on each difficulty, unlocked every upgrade, gold medaled every challenge, and obtained every stamp in the record menu. So where does 11 fall on the Mega Man spectrum for me?
In 2005, Capcom released Dead Rising for the Xbox 360. Capcom made their entry into the world of High Definition gaming a memorable one, as Dead Rising was like no other game before it. There were a few years around and following the release of Dead Rising where zombies would rule the roost, as games from both large developers like Capcom themselves, Valve, and Activision, had games or popular game modes that had a heavy emphasis on zombies. This popularity also coincided with the rise of indie games on the PC market, and zombie games thrived there for a few years until fatigue inevitably set in. Most of the biggest zombie games and modes were first person shooters, whether it was Nazi Zombies from Treyarch's Call of Duty games, Left 4 Dead, or Killing Floor, running around and shooting zombies made quite a bit of sense.
Capcom is not known for first person shooters, and instead designed Dead Rising in a completely different manner based around what it did know and had recently experimented with. Dead Rising has a third person perspective where combat is more focused around melee weapons. Guns do exist, but they are clumsy to aim and not particularly powerful until the player has completed one of the most difficult challenges in the game, which unlocks the most powerful gun, and overall weapon, in Dead Rising.
2018 is now upon us! That means a whole new year of games to look forward to! Here's a few that I can't wait to dig into this coming year in no particular order
Spider-Man
I said no particular order, but Spider-Man is the exception. I am more excited for Spider-Man than any other game on this list by a significant amount. I have high hopes for this game as well as licensed franchise games in general. My hope is that Insomniac is able to tell a new unique Spider-Man story as they see fit and build the game they want to build around that story. Batman Arkham Asylum was so special and I believe this game can have a similar impact. I don't necessarily want it to become a franchise or even have a sequel. I just want Insomniac to put out a great game and get rewarded with great sales to match. Hopefully it's significant enough that other companies take notice of what Batman and Spider-Man have done and see that if they put their licensed properties in the hands of caring studios and don't require them to tie it to an upcoming movie (or other property), they can be rewarded with critical and commercial success that helps their brand overall. I want to see better Star Wars games, Ninja Turtle Games, Transformer Games, and of course, better superhero games in general. I believe this game is the next stepping stone on that path.
I am a child of the 80's/90's and all of the nostalgia that comes with it. The Disney Afternoon was a staple of my childhood and the Capcom developed games were a great way to play in the worlds of DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Rescue Rangers, and Talespin. Frank Cifaldi and Mike Mika of Digital Eclipse showed their love of these properties when they released the Disney Afternoon Collection on XB1, PC, and PS4. Everybody get ready, it's time for the Disney Afternoon.
Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 was recently released very much to my delight. Beyond just loving me some classic Mega Man this has been the first opportunity to own Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 on a physical format. That for me was reason enough to pick it up right away. The first Mega Man Legacy Collection was a fantastic compilation where the passion of the team involved was plainly evident, so I had no hesitation picking up Legacy 2 after that experience. Turns out I should have maybe been a bit more skeptical.....
[img width=320 height=316]https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oErLX7bYBH8/WDOY4uHTQ_I/AAAAAAAAAoc/wyoo8vNHS78pWT2QOHJMCU7pwu1UJ_CYQCLcB/s320/Gargoyles%2BQuest%2Bbox.jpg[/img] Box art scan shamelessly stolen from GameFAQs. Someone at Capcom USA should have been sacked for turning Firebrand into a green gargoyle instead of his signature crimson.
From time to time, video game companies see fit to tinker with their intellectual properties. This may be due to creative surges within the development teams wanting to try something new. Sometimes a dev team knows the formula within a given series has become stale or rote, and they feel the need to mix things up. There are examples where changing the formula has had resounding success, such as Konami's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, as well as instances where this approach completely flopped, as was the case with Accolade's Bubsy 3D. Whatever the reason, creative minds generally need to branch out to do different things to keep things fresh and flex their creative muscle.
Such is the case with Gargoyle's Quest from Capcom. It's sort of an off-shoot of the Makai-Mura series, better known as Ghosts 'n Goblins, or Ghouls 'n Ghosts. In Japan, the game is known as Reddo Arima: Makai-Mura Gaiden, which can be roughly translated as Red Arremer: Demon World Village Side-Story. Rather than starring the main protagonist of the Ghosts/Ghouls series, Arthur, it actually stars the "red arremer" enemy from the original game known as Firebrand. Based on the game's plot, it could be seen as a prequel to the original game, which you find out at the end.
I want to take a brief break from my usual blogs about my store to talk about Mighty No. 9 now that I've had several weeks to take it all in. If this is something you'd be interested in reading about please click the link below. If not then we can't be friends......
Unless you've had your head in the closet for the past 25 years, you've atleast heard of Street Fighter. You know, that game with men who are fighting. In the streets. And occassionally indoors when circumstances permit. However, incase you've been locked inside a bunker with Brendan Frasier waiting the apocalypse for the last quarter century, clutching your copy of Red Dawn as if it were some sort of survival guide for the Commie infested future let me sum up the gameplay of a fighting game - you punch and kick guys who are trying to punch and kick you until someone falls over, twice. Believe it or not, this formula hasn't really changed at all since then, and with good reason. It's fun. If I could make punching people my occupation, I'd give up my life of excess over at Gamestop with gusto and spend all my money on lotto tickets and cocaine for the rest of my existance.
Doesn't that box look lovely? I think it sure does, and if I wasn't poor I'd absolutely want that box. Turns out for those of you who are financially better off than me that this package will be able to be purchased, and for gaming aficionados like yourself I bet you find this package strangely exciting. Personally, I am as giddy as a school girl, and a Catholic one at that. Tee Hee.
Oh, and yes, there's other news as well. Turns out that Mega Man launches Monday, September 22 for WiiWare. Why, that's THIS Monday. Even better news, it launches on the 25th for PSN and the 1st for the 360. Won't that make you all happy. I am sure quite a few of you are probably looking to be schooled by Splash Woman, because you just like being abused like that.
All in all, great news about this throwback to retrogaming! Here's hoping that the expectations regarding this game aren't horribly dashed like another high expectation game recently did. (**SPORE**)
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-072/bf/U-072-S-01210-A.jpg[/img]Maximo: Ghosts To Glory (2002) is Capcom's effort in trying to create a modern platform game with the classic Ghosts 'N Goblins feel to it. The game was originally planned for release on the Nintendo 64, but after being delayed a couple of years it found itself on the PS2 instead.
When starting a new game you'll see Maximo returning home after war in a nice CGI cutscene. Things aren't exactly as he had hoped because Achille has taken over his kingdom and opened the door to the underworld. To make matters worse, Achille has captured four princesses aswell as Maximo's wife, Sophia. With a devastation spell, Achille sends Maximo to the underworld where he's given a chance by the Grim Reaper to resque the princesses and regain control over his kingdom.
Despite being a difficult game, the gameplay of Maximo isn't complicated at all. Maximo is restricted to four moves: a basic swing of his sword, a power strike, a downward strike after double-jumping and throwing his shield. When venturing through the five worlds of the game you'll encounter different enemies that each require a unique combination of moves to defeat.
Knowing how to defeat each enemy is critical for your success, because just like in games of the past, Maximo dies after only a couple of hits. Furthermore, you need 100 coins each time you want to save; which is only possible in the central hub-level of each world. If Maximo happens to loose all his lives he'll return to the underworld where the Grim Reaper will ask for a Death Coin to revive the fallen hero. A Death Coins is obtained by collecting 50 Blue Spirits. If you die without any Death Coins, it's game over for good. All of this results in a game that's far more difficult than other platform games on the PS2, or even modern games in general.
Needless to say, Maximo will require a lot of trial & error, figuring out how to defeat certain enemies or remembering where the next armor chest is located. To make things less repetitive, Maximo will find abilities along the way aswell as power-ups for his sword and shield. Some abilities are almost vital to survive (like the double swing or throw shield abilities) while others aren't of much use throughout most of the game (like Thunderbolt) The sword power-ups however always come in handy, as they make Maximo's sword stronger and are needed for certain abilities. To get the most out of these abilities it's best not to die, because Maximo looses all but a few "locked" ones when faced with death.
Each world features five levels that are to be completed to gain access to the world's boss and the next world eventually. Each level has its own difficult moments but luckily a couple of checkpoints can be activated, so death doesn't necessarily mean starting all the way from the beginning of the level. After clearing a level you'll get a great feeling of success that is hardly present anymore in most modern games.
Maximo's graphics match its old-school gameplay in a sense that everything (except the character models) looks a bit blocked and flat. Often, walls or floors aren't more than a single huge polygon with a texture slapped onto it, clearly showing Maximo's history on the N64. This never bothers me because Maximo is intended to feel like a 16-bit era game. On the other hand, character models are detailed and animations are fast and smooth.
The sound of the game does the job well, with nice sound effects and good voice-acting for the (scarce) CGI cutscenes. I especially like the the game's music that enhances its classic mood aswell as each world at the same time. A couple more songs would have been nice though.
Overall, Maximo is a double-edged sword. Novice gamers will be frustrated with the game's trial & error gameplay and cumbersome save system while old-school gamers will love the game's nostalgic feel. If you're up for a challenge, like platform games or like 16-bit games, be sure to check out Maximo: Ghosts To Glory. 8.6/10
Look at that box art. Damn. You know, most people wish for their box art to look somewhere close to what the game is like, but instead, the original Mega Man's box art is that. To me, it looks like the artist or marketing team were on an acid trip while going over / creating that box art, and that is why we have that. Certainly, some creative liberties were taken with that box art.
Anyways, I am not writing this article to talk about that, but instead this. Capcom has finally realized that they can make a lot of easy money by rereleasing Mega Man for the Virtual Console. You know, as a kid, Mario was great and all, but at least for me Mega Man stole the show. I loved that series, and well, Mega Man 2 is a masterpiece. I bet there are a lot of other people who hold a similar nostalgic value for Mega Man.
Well, fortunately for people like myself, Capcom has decided to start the hype train for the release of Mega Man 9, the game that is quite possibly going to be the hardest Mega Man of all time, if what they said is to be believed. All I know is that I want the game, and to further make me want the game, Capcom is releasing Mega Man for the Virtual Console, tomorrow. That's right, tomorrow kids, at least stateside. And even better news for me, Mega Man 2 is coming out for the Virtual Console in early September.
Let the hype train roll, Capcom, I bet you'll see some healthy sales with those two releases, as well as the release of Mega Man 9.
[img align=right width=250]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/90401ohnootter2.jpg[/img]It seems as though some of you are pretty excited. Personally I am excited. It's certainly a throw back to retro roots, with graphics meant to imitate the original NES Mega Mans. In short, it's pretty damn cool, and hopefully the game play comes through. Time shall tell in that regard.
I imagine most of you expect Capcom to release this on all console digital distribution formats. Certainly, I sure did. You might notice that I said did. Yeah, about that... Kotaku and Ars both though have some troubling news. It appears that for you Sony and 360 Owners, Capcom currently does not desire your money, as it says that Mega Man 9 is only in development for WiiWare. Wow, that's a... shocker.
To mark this development, it's time to bring out the OH NOOOO! Otter. I imagine that lots of you really would like the opportunity to get this game, but have found their prospects of getting this retro odyssey somewhat... dashed. Perhaps Capcom has been misquoted, and meant to say it'll come out for other systems later. Perhaps they really meant what is being reported by folks like Luke Plunkett. You know, he writes for Kotaku, so he is part of that bunch of respectable game bloggers, so they wouldn't wrongly state something, would they? Well, regardless, the OH NOOOO! Otter feels your pain. Since I can't feel your pain because I own a Wii, at least the OH NOOOO! Otter can.
You know, I thought the "Mega Man 9 will be done in 8-bit graphics" was an exaggeration. Something... lost in translation. Those things happen. That's why we say crazy Japanese translations like "SUPER HAPPY CRAZY FUN TIME". But you know, Mega Man 9. Wow, was it for real? Surely someone was jerking our chain, Capcom would never go back to revisit a class style of game, would they? Eh? EH?
WRONG! Turns out Mega Man 9 is very, very real. Complete with robot masters like Magma Man and my personal favorite, Concrete Man. More importantly, they weren't lying when they said it would be in 8-bit graphics. It really, really is. A part of me is saying WTF, while the other 4/5 says "Holy shit that's awesome!" Seriously, absolutely awesome, like "I AM BUYING THAT" awesome. Truly, Mega Man 9 has the potential to be quite the throw back to old school Mega Man. Here's to that. By the way, pictures can be seen at Kotaku
Another trailer has been released since the Street Fighter IV 'debut trailer.' This 'epic trailer' shows more gameplay. Also announced this week are two fighters that will only be available on home versions of the game and not in arcades. These new fighters are Fei Long and Dan Hibiki.
During Capcom's Bionic Commando "Top Secret" podcast, the series creator Keiji Inafune said that he has yet to hear from Nintendo about involving the Mega Man series in Smash Bros. He says: "Well, I really do love Super Smash Brothers. It's a great series-but, Nintendo hasn't asked me yet if they can use Mega Man in their game. I'm still waiting-we have a little bit of time left, it's not coming out for another few months. They might get around to asking us if we'd like to put Mega Man in Super Smash Brothers. Maybe if somebody from Nintendo is listening to this podcast, they'll give me a call." There is still time Nintendo! Give them a call!
Look at that box art. Damn. You know, most people wish for their box art to look somewhere close to what the game is like, but instead, the original Mega Man's box art is that. To me, it looks like the artist or marketing team were on an acid trip while going over / creating that box art, and that is why we have that. Certainly, some creative liberties were taken with that box art.
