Title: Mighty No. 9
Available On: Windows, Linux, PS3, PS4,
Developer: Comcept, Inti Creates
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: Action, Platform
Official Site: https://www.mightyno9.com/
Release Date: June 21st, 2016
Where to buy:
Mighty No. 9 is an action-platform game where you assume the role of Beck, the ninth unit in a set of combat robots. In this 2D side-scrolling adventure, you’ll find yourself fighting your fellow robots who have been corrupted by some type of computer virus. You must save your friends and find out just who the evil villain is behind this diabolical scheme. Mighty No. 9 is a call back to the Mega Man games and closely relates to its predecessor in gameplay and appearance. Can this title capture the same magic of the original games which it is based upon? Well for me… no.
Anytime I write a review, I try to be as fair as possible. I really try to avoid bashing games because as someone who went to school for Game Development, I know it’s not an easy process to create a game. Mighty No. 9 is actually the result of a Kickstarter campaign that reached its minimum goal in just two days. After numerous delays the game finally released in June and with all the hype, it has really failed to live up to expectations.
I literally had to force myself to play this game at times because I was tasked to review it. For me, it just wasn’t fun in the least bit. I found Mighty No. 9 incredibly difficult to play. In fact, I think I would have had more luck looking for a unicorn, under a rainbow, next to a leprechaun with a pot of gold than beating a level in Mighty No. 9. Now I did eventually beat a few levels but it took me forever. The majority of the time my deaths felt so cheap. If you don’t have some of these levels memorized, then forget getting through it on the first try.
While the retro feel of Mighty No. 9 was a nice throwback, the majority of the game was not. One of our streamers here at The Nerd Stash recently played Mega Man on our Twitch channel and it was a lot of fun to watch. So when we got a review copy of Mighty No. 9 I was eager to play because Mega Man was one of the first games I remember playing and it was so much fun.
Since Mighty No. 9 released, there have been some complaints about the graphics. For me, I didn’t really mind the graphics. The game went for that retro feel and for the most part, achieved it. What really got me about Mighty No. 9 was the load times. When I play a game like GTA V, I don’t mind a longer loading time because I wind up in a massive world with multiple players. When I’m playing a title by myself and facing two or three loading screens before I even start playing, it’s just asinine.
As you play through Mighty No. 9 as Beck you’ll have the ability to dash, shoot and jump throughout a level. As you weaken enemies you will be able to dash through them and destroy them. Doing this will start a combo and also grant special limited abilities. Dashing through multiple enemies and creating high combos will increase the score you receive for each level.
You will, however, only get a limited number of lives and if you exhaust those lives it’s back to the very beginning of the level. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself finally getting to the stage boss, only to lose all my lives and go all the way back to the beginning. After doing that two or three times, I quickly found myself browsing my games library to play something else.
The challenge mode in Mighty No. 9 consists of a number of stages, each with different modifiers. One stage I found myself having to reach the end with my dash and attack turned off. In another, I had to destroy all the targets within the set time limit to complete it. This challenge mode feels poorly thrown together and offers little in the way of satisfying gameplay. Numerous stages had me muttering, “Are you (very bad word) kidding me!”
Some may find the difficulty in Mighty No. 9 enjoyable. I don’t mind a difficult game, but I want my deaths to feel fair. I want to feel like I had a chance, but numerous times in Mighty No. 9 I didn’t. Since its release the game has received largely “mixed” reviews and I think even in that case, most are being incredibly fair. While I appreciate the work put into a game of this nature and our site being given a review copy, this is not a title I can recommend.
Mighty No. 9 has eight levels that you can play in any order you wish. I did like this because I found if I found myself stuck on one level and frustrated, I could switch to another to change the scenery and try something else. An additional four levels will unlock after beating the initial eight. You will also be able to use the powers of your enemies after you defeat them. While it’s enjoyable to acquire different weaponry, I found myself sticking to my main gun most of the time.
While the challenges and main campaign can generate some excitement and test your reflexes, ultimately I think most will just wind up frustrated. This does not feel like the game we were so excited for when the Kickstarter campaign launched. Project lead, Keiji Inafune, even said this during a live stream of the game on Twitch:
“I’m kind of loath to say this because it’s going to sound like an excuse and I don’t want to make any excuses. I own all the problems that came with this game and if you want to hurl insults at me, it’s totally my fault. I’m the key creator. I will own that responsibility.”
Have you played Mighty No. 9? If so what did you think? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20_oDS4k0ro[/embedyt]
- Gameplay: Largely frustrating, filled with cheap deaths
- Graphics: 2D side-scrolling with some 3D models. Retro feel
- Sound: Very bland voice acting
- Presentation: Call back to Mega Man falls far short of expectations
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