The Blue Bomber returns to formula

It's one of the most hyped downloadable videogames in recent memory. When it was first announced by Capcom that Mega Man 9 would not only return the series to its roots, but sport a retro NES look and feel, hardcore gamers went ballistic. Now the game is finally here, and indeed Mega Man 9 is everything that all those ancient-looking screenshots lead you to believe it would be. Break out those parachute pants, because it's time to take a trip back to the magical 1980s.

As one who completely skipped over the NES area, I admit I was at first skeptical of Mega Man 9's radical backwards direction. "Why would anyone want to buy a game that looks and plays like it's 20 years-old?" I asked myself. I soon discovered it was because it happened to be a whole lot of fun. A tribute to an age when games still knew they were games; When people valued gameplay over eye candy; when Mega Man was an incredibly imaginative, if oft-difficult platformer instead of a series of dry RPGs created for the Pokemon crowd.

Difficult is perhaps the key word here, something Mega Man 9's gauntlet of stages can't easily be called otherwise. Between countless spike traps, those trademark vanishing blocks and only two check points per level, even seasoned Mega Man veterans will be forced to implement a careful trial-and-error strategy in order to conquer all seven robot masters (and for the first time, one woman). Thankfully Mega Man 9, while challenging, avoids being too cheap but does reward especially skilled players with achievements in the Xbox Live version (the game was released last week on Wiiware and PSN.)

Of course this review could not conclude without mentioning the retro 8-bit graphics and audio which, true to the series' humble NES roots, are as bland and tinny as you'd expect. The in-game text was purposely wrapped wrong, and there's even an optional sprite flicker function. All that's missing is cartridge blowing. Is there such a phrase as "delightfully crappy"?