Review: Mighty No. 9

After a protracted development cycle marked by numerous delays, Mighty No 9, the retro-inspired action platformer, has finally launched. Here’s our assessment.

Keiji Inafune, renowned as the driving force behind Mega Man, spearheaded the creation of Mighty No.9. However, game development is inherently a collaborative endeavor. Following a distinguished career at Capcom, contributing to both the Mega Man franchise and the Onimusha series, Inafune departed from his former employer, a path taken by several prominent Japanese game directors. Subsequently, Keiji Inafune established Comcept and launched a Kickstarter campaign for Mighty No. 9, a project that openly acknowledged its position as an unofficial successor to the Mega Man series, albeit introducing new protagonists and distinct gameplay mechanics.

Mega Man 2.0 ? Players who defeat bosses using only the standard weapon are rewarded with achievements.

Now, approximately three years later, we have the final product. The journey of the new robot hero, Beck, can commence. He assumes the title role, Mighty No.9, designated as the ninth in a lineage of mighty robots. The setting is not 20XX, but in many respects, the experience feels familiar. As is customary, the objective is to subdue eight rogue robots. An expectation fulfilled, wouldn’t you agree?

Beck, the protagonist, represents Dr. White’s most exceptional creation. While lacking innate special abilities, he possesses the capacity to assimilate the attributes of the vanquished eight robots, granting him a strategic advantage. These eight robots have succumbed to a mysterious computer virus and must be neutralized; however, the identity of the entity responsible for the virus remains unknown.

Familiarity with the Mega Man series will likely engender a sense of recognition upon reading the preceding description. Indeed, it would be an understatement to assert that Mighty No 9 exhibits certain parallels with the established Mega Man formula. Encompassing design, gameplay, concepts, and characters, the game evokes a sense of familiarity. As before, strategic success hinges on tackling levels and bosses in an optimal sequence, though the game offers relatively explicit guidance regarding advantageous approaches to bosses and levels. While Beck’s default weapon proves adequate in many level scenarios, confronting bosses, particularly certain ones, without the appropriate specialized weapon borders on futility, save for exceptionally skilled Mega Man veterans. Equipping the correct weapon facilitates more balanced and equitable boss encounters, potentially rendering them somewhat too straightforward. Players seeking a heightened challenge retain the option of navigating levels in a non-optimal order or engaging bosses exclusively with Beck’s standard armament.

Let’s address Mighty No. 9‘s key gameplay innovation: Beck’s ability to glide through the air and along the ground. These movements, referred to as “dashing,” are reminiscent of the Mega Man X series, representing an iterative refinement rather than a wholly novel concept. However, a novel element arises from the ability to weaken enemies through initial gunfire, followed by a dash attack to swiftly eliminate them. Skilled players can chain multiple dash attacks into extended combinations, augmenting Beck’s power and yielding power-ups. This mechanic caters to speedrun enthusiasts, offering ample incentive for repeated playthroughs to optimize completion times.

The new gameplay mechanics represent a commendable effort to introduce novelty. However, the aerial gliding capability diminishes the potential for challenging platforming segments, as the dashing mechanic trivializes these obstacles. Consequently, the challenge shifts towards maintaining combo streaks, a task significantly simplified upon acquiring Cryo’s (Mighty No. 2) weapon, which freezes enemies, obviating the need for rapid dash attacks to sustain combos. While the concept of rewarding skillful play with power-ups is appealing, the pervasive dashing mechanic introduces an element of stress to the gameplay. While players retain the option of disregarding it and traversing levels at a more leisurely pace, the desire for skillful and efficient play often prevails.

Beck fights Cryo.

The dash system accelerates the gameplay but also introduces a degree of stress. It fosters momentum and pace, but a tendency towards overambitious combo attempts can lead to setbacks compared to conventional level progression. Furthermore, discerning the precise number of shots required to weaken an enemy before initiating a dash attack can prove challenging. Over-saturation with ranged attacks may preclude timely dashing, resulting in combo breakage. Maintaining a combo necessitates memorization of enemy resilience or engaging at close range. This complexity is mitigated by Cryo’s weapon (Cryosphere), which trivializes the combo system. Employing Cryo’s ice beam, maintaining a combo exceeding 60 enemies becomes readily achievable with minimal effort.

When a successful dash attack sustains a combo, it is confirmed by yellow text and “100%”. The precise timing window is unclear but estimated to be approximately 0.5 seconds after an enemy is weakened. Cryo’s weapon greatly simplifies this process.

The quality of the levels exhibits inconsistencies. Certain levels achieve excellence, approaching brilliance at their zenith, while others appear comparatively uninspired. At times, Mighty No. 9 evokes plagiarism rather than innovation. Examples include enemies cascading from above in a confined mine passage, encountering headwinds on a high-altitude radio tower course, and navigating darkened sections with obscured platforms. However, the design rarely attains the ingenuity, intricacy, and sophistication characteristic of the original Mega Man games. If emulating, why not emulate the best aspects? Nevertheless, certain segments prove successful, such as the mini-boss encounter on Cryo’s aquatic and icy stage, a clever homage to Pong. Certain portions of the mine level effectively maintain momentum, with perilous drilling machines pursuing Beck through mine shafts, striking a balance between urgency and player comprehension.

Conversely, the same mine level suffers from an unduly frustrating and challenging introduction. This level exemplifies the game’s overall unevenness, fluctuating between frustrating difficulty, elements of trial and error (requiring experimentation to identify the correct approach), and unanticipated airborne hazards that propel Beck backward, often resulting in falls. While some sections are relatively straightforward, others border on brutality, characterized by unpredictable obstacles, airborne enemy ambushes, and knockback effects into hazards. This veers towards unfairness rather than genuine difficulty. Conversely, certain portions devolve into blandness and simplicity, with uninspired corridors and rudimentary enemy formations.

The game exhibits moments of brilliance, showcasing its potential. However, these instances are too infrequent, with certain levels almost entirely devoid of them. In the final levels, once all eight robots’ weapons and abilities have been acquired, Mighty No. 9 shines through segments and puzzles necessitating the strategic application of specific weapons. For example, the sniper boss Shade’s rifle (Countershade), with its ricocheting projectiles, is essential for activating a button to progress, while another segment necessitates Avi’s airborne capability (Aviator), enabling Beck to descend through a shaft filled with lethal, electrically charged thorns. In another late-game level, Beck’s robotic colleague, Call, assumes the protagonist role. Lacking the Dash ability, this level reverts to classic Mega Man mechanics, requiring enemies to be defeated through conventional gunfire. Call retrieves keycards, evades robots equipped with yellow searchlights (reminiscent of stealth games like Metal Gear), and confronts one or two bosses. Had the entire game maintained the quality demonstrated in these final stages, Mighty No. 9 would have achieved a higher caliber.

The boss encounters represent a highlight of the game. Initially, they may appear excessively challenging, but engaging them in the correct order, equipped with the appropriate weapon, renders the encounters more manageable. While the optimal strategy may not be immediately apparent, players will learn the bosses’ movement patterns and methods for maximizing damage output through repeated attempts. The difficulty strikes a generally appropriate balance, providing a satisfying challenge.

Graphically, Mighty No. 9 has not fully met expectations. The color palette sometimes appears muted and washed out, creating a lackluster impression. The level of detail is modest, and the environments occasionally feel sparse and underdeveloped. The simplicity of certain 3D models, particularly in the backgrounds, fails to impress. While this may be partially attributable to insufficient optimization for newer consoles, even by the standards of new Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 releases, a greater level of visual fidelity could have been anticipated.

From a design perspective, the game is more commendable. The aesthetic echoes Mega Man with its cartoonish manga style, now rendered in 3D using polygon models rather than pixelated sprites. The game’s visual presentation resembles an extension of the lesser-known Mega Man Legends series, with the angular and vibrant polygons also evoking titles such as Ape Escape or Knack. The overall impression is somewhat more childish and less captivating, lacking the charm often inherent in Nintendo’s games. At times, the visual design feels like a regression rather than a significant advancement from the Mega Man series, lacking the finesse of the classic Mega Man titles for the NES.

Group photo!

Compared to many other games, Mighty No.9‘s design is reasonably appealing but occasionally suffers from a slightly unpolished visual presentation, especially in light of inevitable comparisons with the Mega Man series’ levels and courses. Conversely, the distinct and eccentric personalities of the eight robots resonated strongly. They include the pyromaniacal Pyro, Cryo with his penchant for puns (“N-ice to meet you!”), the hyper-stereotypical Soldier robot Bat, the flying reporter Avi, and the lone gunman Shade, whose rifle, hat, and raspy voice would be at home in any Western film. The eight robots overshadow the comparatively bland Beck, a problem that Mega Man never suffered despite his taciturn nature.

Shade and his fantastically large hat. His shots ricochet off walls, ceilings, and floors, promising an engaging battle.

The soundtrack is generally satisfactory. While lacking timeless tracks destined for enduring popularity, it avoids the grating Japanese whining rock that plagued portions of the Mega Man X series. The catchy melodies and atmospheric synthesizers effectively establish the appropriate ambience.

Mighty No. 9 occasionally leaves a slightly artificial and uninspired impression. One suspects that Keiji Inafune may have been motivated by a desire to replicate past successes, potentially seeking to recoup the revenue generated by Capcom’s Mega Man franchise. Mighty No. 9 is not a poorly executed game; rather, it is a competently crafted Japanese-designed action platformer. However, inspiration and innovation are sporadic. Despite the new gameplay mechanics, Inafune and his Comcept colleagues have largely focused on recycling familiar elements, albeit with a degree of style.

Perhaps the creative spark diminished amidst the development challenges, which led to delays and minor technical imperfections in the final product. Developing independently for the first time can be arduous, and Mighty No. 9 has been developed for and released on virtually every available format, including the older Playstation 3, Playstation Vita, and Xbox 360 consoles.

Mighty No. 9 as an animated TV series could look something like in the picture. There are plans for such.

Ultimately, Mighty No. 9 falls short of the high expectations that many harbored. Keiji Inafune himself acknowledged and accepted responsibility for certain technical shortcomings during a livestream, describing them vaguely as “problems.”

A significant number of critics have been harshly critical of Mighty No. 9. While I do not entirely concur with their sentiments, Mighty No. 9 is a commendable game within its genre, albeit not on par with the strongest entries in the Mega Man series.

The original Mega Man also required a sequel to fully realize its potential. Hopefully, Keiji Inafune and his team will be afforded a second opportunity to refine the game concept and focus resources on a select few formats. The potential inherent in both Mighty No. 9 and its developers warrants renewed confidence and the chance to create a world-class Mega Man-inspired game for the 2010s. If such a game is to be made, it is unlikely that Capcom will be the ones to do it. Eliminating ineffective elements, refining the levels, seeking inspiration for new and engaging level designs (or borrowing successful ideas from older Mega Man games), and building upon the existing foundation of Mighty No 9 could yield a masterful sequel. As it stands, the game is a solid offering with some flaws, an enjoyable experience that could have been even better.

Mighty No.9 is superior to its reputation, exhibiting moments of brilliance, but ultimately not quite reaching the heights of its primary inspiration.