The first two downloadable content updates for Mega Man 9 are officially available today. The first, Endless Attack Mode, offers a new, never-ending endurance-style level, for 300 Wii Points. The second, more widely discussed update, adds a playable Proto Man to the game, for 200 points. Proto Man can slide and charge his weapon (though the blast isn't as large as a fully-charged Mega Buster), and he has a shield that blocks shots while jumping, but he also has double the recoil and takes double the damage of Mega Man. Furthermore, he can't use the Shop and he has no story of his own.
Most importantly -- and about which we are the most pleased -- the Proto Man whistle plays at the beginning of every life or every level. You can read more about the details of the Proto Man DLC here, or, of course, you could go download it! Just look in the "Downloadable Content" area of the game instead of somewhere in the Wii Shop. You wouldn't want to feel as stupid as we did.
Remember the Mega Man 9 press kit? Of course you do -- a better question may be "Have you been able to drive the Mega Man 9 press kit out of your thoughts for even a single, restful second?" Well, if you're freaking out about this item, you should take your nervous energy and put it to good use on Capcom's Mega Man forum.
The Capcom Unity staffers are picking worthy fans and handing them redemption codes for free press kits. The item is apparently hidden in the store somewhere, priced exorbitantly, but we haven't been able to find it. If you are in the mood to spend money on one of these, there's always eBay.
Looking for a little help tackling those tough bosses in Mega Man 9? Not as skilled a gamer as you thought you were when you were a young'n? Well, you're in luck.
Gamesradar has put together a nice guide on how to take out the evil robot trash, providing basic help for each boss encounter, as well as a good strategy on the order you should be battling each one. So, if you're sick of dying over and over again without getting anywhere, then check it out.
We've come to the conclusion of our latest giveaway, perhaps our greatest giveaway. Why our greatest? Well, even though we've hooked up people with plenty of copies of No More Heroes, Mega Man 9 is a shining beacon of hope that the future could be filled with more of these kinds of games. More retro revivals plz, amirite?
Well, enough of that. On to choosing our winner! It is:
Congratulations, oddfellow. We'd like to thank you all for stopping by our little corner of the internet and we wish the rest of you better luck in the future!
Ugh, I'm so sick with the obsession over Mega Man 9. WE GET IT, IT'S A RETRO GAME. WHOOPEE. No, seriously, I'm sick of my own obsession with it. I still haven't picked up Wario Land: Shake It!, de Blob, or NHL 2K9. That's mainly because I've spent every waking moment enjoying the blue bomber's latest outing. My Wii Fit board is scolding me for its lack of use, my girlfriend is feeling neglected, and apparently my judgment is slipping. But there's something about the game that just won't let go of me. The thing should be illegal for its extremely addictive nature, right next to heroin and Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips.
I usually fall behind on discussing recent games, as I like to take awhile to fully absorb and process the arts and entertainment before I comment on it. But I think my Wii's play log will testify that I've made myself quite familiar with the title. The main quest is conquered, the event challenges are being slowly but steadily checked off the list, and I'm trying my best to climb the leaderboards of the time attack levels. Without any further ego-stroking, here's the top five things we love about Mega Man 9. Then we won't talk about it for a few weeks. Promise! ... maybe.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Mega Man 9 is back-to-basics in more than just the graphics. Rush can no longer turn into shoulder pads, for example. There's no charge ability for the Mega Buster, nor are there the shot upgrades available in Mega Man 8's store. You can't even slide any longer. If we were going to get into Mega Man X, we could add the wall-clinging business as well.
Is there one addition to the post-Mega Man 2 world that you miss the most? The Mega Buster? Sliding? Clown Man's voice acting?
Arguably the two most eagerly awaited Wii games of September have something slightly unusual and wholly awesome in common: they're both 2D. Mega Man 9 and Wario Land: Shake It! have each been widely lauded for daring to ignore the third dimension, but they're still quite different in terms of how they use 2D.
Mega Man 9 rejects all modern graphical conventions, taking the player through a timewarp to 1988 with its intentionally blocky, charming sprites. Conversely, Wario Land: Shake It! is straight from the Metal Slug school of design, in that it uses painstakingly detailed, beautiful hand-drawn art. Which do the Wii Fanboy staff prefer? Read on to hear both sides of the argument!
We barely need to write anything here this week, do we?
Mega Man 9 -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points
Helix -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points
Strong Bad Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points
Helix is a dance-cum-exercise game from Ghostfire which was deemed above-average by critics, if not exactly essential. Strong Bad Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free falls into the same trap as Super Dodge Ball did in North America, in that it's a great, worthwhile title that was regrettably released the same week as Mega Man 9. And Mega Man 9, well, you know all about that. It's totally awesome and rad. Buy it.
Mega Man 9 hit WiiWare (and the PS3's service) this week, and is just around the corner for Xbox owners. We won't hold it against you (much) if you're not getting it on the Wii (for shame). We just want to know if you got it (or are going to), and if so, is it all you dreamed of and more? We heard from several people when JC's review debuted, but that was days ago. The way some of you were playing, you're probably now stuck in all-new areas.
What's the best way to show off the fact that you've been spending the last few days of your life being punished severely by a video game? Other than the murderous look that comes from spending too much time in Dr. Wily's Castle, we think that the official Mega Man 9t-shirt is the most effective method of sharing your pain.
Capcom's online store is now taking preorders for the black shirt featuring the American Mega Man 9"boxart" for shipping on September 30. It costs $24.95 plus shipping, which is actually quite a bit more than the game costs -- but it's entirely worth it when you consider that the "proprietary MegaWeave™ technology provides improved gaming performance in Mega Man® 9 and all other Capcom titles." Sorry, Roll's Item Shop shoppers -- Capcom doesn't accept screws!
[Minor update: it appears that leaving an item in your cart and then backing out with your browser's 'back' button triggers a survey pop-up that, when completed, nets you 10% off your purchase!]
You may know this from reading the operations guide or from trying it, but in case you don't, Mega Man 9 does not recognize GameCube controllers -- despite previous information leading us to believe that it would. We had yet to try it, satisfied with the Wiimote and the Classic, until alerted by tipster "fatcatfan." We switched on the Wavebird, kept close by due to frequent Chibi-Robo, and ... didn't play Mega Man 9. Confirmed.
This is especially bad news for people who ordered RetroPorts specifically for Mega Man, or who expected to use the Hori GameCube pad. Please don't let it stop you from buying Mega Man 9.
The retro-styled Mega Man 9 could easily have been a cynical cash grab from Capcom, a hastily-thrown-together game that was just good enough that the NES fans who bought it wouldn't be outraged. But, while it was no doubt conceived as just such a low-budget, high-profit project, Capcom and developer Inticreates went far beyond the Mega Man tribute album it could have been.
Instead of a pretty good game that reminds people of Mega Man, they've created a real Mega Man game that compares favorably to the very best of the series. For ten dollars.
No VC or WiiWare games are being released in Japan today, probably because of the Shuubun no Hi holiday. They'll be out tomorrow instead. But since the releases have all been scheduled, we'll go ahead and lay them out now.
Three games get the "Super Dodge Ball treatment" -- our unofficial term for the phenomenon of a game being completely ignored because it isn't Mega Man 9, regardless of quality. For games like the adorable Wagyan Land, a platformer about a little monster who attacks by yelling "wa," "gya," and "da," and Capcom's Forgotten Worlds, this is a shame. For the PC Engine port of The Ninjawarriors, not so much.
What is this? Could we be doing what you think we're doing? Oh yeah, baby, we totally are. We're giving one lucky Wii Fanboy reader a free copy of Capcom's retro-revival, Mega Man 9 ($10). It's too good of a game to keep to ourselves, so we reached deep down into the Wii Fanboy coffers (it's just a coffee can under our bed, but you get the idea) and sprung for enough points to gift the game out. How do you enter for your chance at the game?
To enter, just leave a comment here (with a valid e-mail address!) and tell us what your favorite Mega Man boxart is (hit up the gallery below if you missed this). There's a catch, though. You must be a current and legal resident of the United States with an American Wii (sorry, Canadians, we have to leave you out of this one; blame the gifting system and not us!) and 18 years of age or older. You may enter once per day between now and Sunday, September 28th at 11:59pm ET. The contest comes to a close that night and we'll select a winner via random drawing the next day. Questions? Check out the official rules.
Here in the Wii Fanboy dungeons, we've been squeezing bouts of Mega Man 9 in between blogging today, and have already made an exciting discovery in the game's manual (note: you can browse this without even purchasing the title): an apparently complete list of downloadable content.
According to this, five pieces of DLC will become available in the near future, including a Hero (ultra hard) and Superhero (so hard you'll cry) mode, a new Time Attack stage, the chance to play as Proto Man, and the utterly hardcore-sounding "Endless Attack," which is essentially a stage without end. These range from 100 to 300 Wii Points apiece, and you can check up on prices and release dates after the jump.
The first two downloadable content updates for Mega Man 9 are officially available today. The first, Endless Attack Mode, offers a new, never-ending endurance-style level, for 300 Wii Points. The second, more widely discussed update, adds a playable Proto Man to the game, for 200 points. Proto Man can slide and charge his weapon (though the blast isn't as large as a fully-charged Mega Buster), and he has a shield that blocks shots while jumping, but he also has double the recoil and takes double the damage of Mega Man. Furthermore, he can't use the Shop and he has no story of his own.
