It seems that your article has ruffled at least one set of feathers this morning…not my own, I might add…I don’t even have feathers.

I don’t have a problem with the repackaging of old games but if the repackaging is minimal it should come with a much lower ‘budget price’ and shouldn’t cost the same as an old game which has had a lot of love and care put into updating it in some way.

I just hate the idea that some fat cat is sitting back rubbing their hands and thinking “ok, ‘old school’ gamers will have loved this game when it was first released, I have a great idea, let’s ask them to pay for it again!”

Well, I mentioned repackaging of past games because this is effectively what has been done here.

It IS a new game created from scratch but, as you say, this is something which has most likely been knocked up in no time at all.

I just hate it when nostalgia is the main force behind any purchase.

I have never even been an advocate of the idea that the amount of fun you can have with a game should directly equate to how much it costs, which is an argument many companies like to hide behind when pricing games, because if that’s the case then surely purchasing a cheap NES off Ebay is the smartest way to go?

I don’t care if it took 2 days or 2 years to make. As a MegaMan fan, I absolutely love that they went and made another “NES” game. The game plays perfectly and I think if they tried to do anything more, it would’ve just diluted the gameplay. I wouldn’t be opposed to a kind of “higher resolution texture swap” as an option for people who seems to think graphics make the game more fun. It would still be a tile-based game though so I’m sure graphics people would complain about that too. It would even be interesting for me to play through that way, but ultimately, I would want the NES style. I would venture to guess that in general, the people interested in graphics aren’t into old school gaming anyway. This was made for the fans, and if graphics people aren’t fans, then they don’t have to be. Here’s hoping for MegaMan 10 NES style!

And this is why companies get away with remaking titles such as Pacman, over and over again, because some people will by any old retro thing which is thrown their way.

I love games.
I love good graphics.

It isn’t as though I think the two must meet in order to create a good game I just happen to appreciate a little more effort before someone asks me to part with my cash.

So don’t buy it. I purchased it on launch and don’t regret my purchase. People complaining are mostly graphics whores or those too young to ever have played any of the NES originals… which the author of this post seems to be since he references the 360/PS3 versions more than the Wiiware version which was the lead SKU.

Possible reason as to why the author chose to focus his attention on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions:

The Megaman games have a strong connection with Nintendo and so the news that this game will be available on the Wii is not as interesting as its appearance on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

(or because he doesn’t own a Wii)

“So don’t buy it” <–I fully expect this type of response.
I guess you only have an opinion on things which directly affect you, right?
That is what is known as a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) attitude.

If I don’t purchase this game then I have no right to an opinion on how much the game will cost? Is that what you’re saying?
Well, you’re wrong about that, the price of such a game will have an effect on similar games which are released after it.
If a similar game comes along and makes me want to part with my cash then it will be priced according to how successful similar games have been.

It’s simple. If a company releases a game they knocked up in a few days (I realize it would have taken longer than this) instead of spending more time on it and it sells really well, what do you think the quality of their next title will be like?

I really didn’t think there’d be such a debate about this!

Honestly, I think that it’s a really interesting project if nothing else. Why not create a “new” NES game after all, and show all the modern gamers what it’s all about? To be fair, we appreciate modern games technology because we lived through the “golden” 8- and 16-bit eras, but most of the younger gamers out there weren’t so fortunate.

This is like a blast from the past for us, and like a history lesson for them, all packaged up as something brand new for less than the price of a NES and a copy of the original Mega Man on eBay. What’s not to like?

Modern, slick-looking platformers like Castle Crashers are fantastic, and do have their place, but I still think there’s room for Mega Man 9 in the market too.

Give the people what they want!

Check out:

seanmalstrom.wordpress.com

For a great article on why many so called ‘hardcore’ gamers seem to be afraid of MM9’s 8-bit graphics.

As for me, I just beat MM9 WiiWare and I think it’s one of the greatest games released so far in 2008! I want to see MM10 in the same style. I for one hope with all my heart that we see more new 8-bit/NES games in the future. Bring on new Mario’s and Castlevania’s! 8-bit for life!

@ Tigervamp

While I won’t begrudge your stance that the game isn’t worth the $10 asking price (that’s a personal decision, after all) I do take issue with your claims that it’s a “rush job” and that the decision to go retro was more a cynical marketing ploy cooked up by suits than a decision on the dev side.

On the first point, just because visually the game is done in the 8-bit style does not mean that it is simplistic or that creating such a game (and making it polished and entertaining) is an easy task. To assume that would be to place way too much emphasis on a game’s graphics when determining what a game is worth.

There are countless design elements that go into creating the average game. To call MM9 a rush job is to discount its superlative level design, its overall polish (the game is immaculate), its ease of play, and its balance, which successfully walks the line between challenging and cheap. Accomplishing this is no easy task. (Just look at the latter NES Megas… or any number of modern games that fail to accomplish any of these feats despite the advantages of superior technology.)

Your second point is going to come down to personal opinion. You assume that the suits at Capcom looked at a new Mega Man done in an “antiquated” graphical style and thought, “Slam dunk. There’s no way this can fail.” Personally, I can’t see that being the case. If anything, a new Mega Man with tripped out HD graphics would have been the sure bet, the one likely to be championed by the suits. The path they chose was definitely riskier, I think, with a higher probability of backlash. But again, that’ s all speculation.

For my money, the game is definitely worth every penny. I spent the better part of yesterday blasting through the game with my bros, passing the control around, cursing wildly with each death, grooving to the midi, and generally just having a good old time. Definitely recommend it if you can look past the presentation (or, gasp, learn to love it) but one way or another you definitely have to try it — maybe when the game goes down in price?

Hahaha, that’s a good scam, but you won’t be getting my hard earned lucre, man. LOL

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised whenever you do decide to play it.

I have to say I REALLY doubt the 8-bit graphic style in this game was a mandate passed down from the higher-ups or suits.

This game was created by Inti Creates (a company formed by ex-Capcom staffers who worked on , amongst other things, the early Mega Man X games). Inti Creates is responsible for the mostly wonderful Megaman Zero and Megaman ZX games fro the GBA and DS.

Now why is this a big deal? Because Megaman ZX Advent (the second DS game) has an unlockable retro/8-bit style level known as “Mega Man a” (as in ancient).
This team snuck that little tidbit in there, so obviously they must have some love for classic Mega Man 2D gameplay and retro graphics. (as do a lot of people… have you seen all the Mega Man 2-inspired vids and animations from 2chan? Most are on youtube…)

I dunno, seems more likely they pitched the idea to go retro themselves… >_>

(PS – I’m not some Mega Man super-fan… I only own three MM games total. >_<)