Mighty No. 9 Critic Reviews

I had forgotten how fantastic it can feel to play a good Mega Man game. Mighty No. 9, with its wonderful boss fights and amazing combo system, is a good Mega Man game.

Mighty No.9 is a great old school action platformer. Although it doesn't reinvent anything new, it shows a remarkable game, although weakened by some ingenuity, especially technical.

It's not perfect by any means, and the overall quality is not on par with the core Megaman franchise, but still the new work from Inafune-san mixes action, platforming and difficulty spikes in a balanced way, enough to win a recommendation.

Mighty No. 9 isn’t perfect, but it is something that anyone who grew up loving any kind of Mega Man game should check out.

Mighty No. 9 will not conquer the hearts of new generations of gamers, because of the poor graphics and because it is really old school, difficult, demanding. It really recaptures the spirit of old Mega Man games, although we can see that some ingenuity of old times is lost, especially in the not always perfect level design. Old schoolers will definitely enjoy, except for the graphics.

After all the hype, controversy, and delays, the end results are satisfying. Some may be turned off by the shortness of the standard game, others may be turned off by the toughness of some of the bosses, but there are plenty of nostalgic and challenge-seeking players that will get a kick out of Mighty No. 9. There’s a hope in me that there’ll be a sequel, one that really pushes the formula forward, but for now, this is just another Mega Man game – make of that what you will.

Mighty No. 9 is an extremely niche product. The efforts of the developers do not reflect the millionaire crowdfunding campaign that gave birth to the game, but the final result is still more than decent and can be really fun for those who love this videogame genre.

Even though it's enjoyable, there's nothing particularly relevant or outstanding in Mighty No. 9. We've had fun with it, but it's technically poor and its level design is quite uninspired –definitely not what you would expect from such a successful Kickstarter and Inafune.

The big problem with Mighty No. 9 was being overrated by consumers and even by its creator. The game fulfills its objectives halfway because, despite its very bad presentation and technical problems, it is faithful to the promise to give us a challenging and fun challenge that will be loved by old school gamers.

Mighty No. 9 suffers mainly from one problem: An identity crisis. Technical difficulties aside Mighty just can’t manage to step out of MegaMan’s shadow. It feels more like a solid homage than a serious contender.

It still has a lot of baggage to unload (the 3DS and Vita ports aren't even dated yet), but most Mega Man fans will find solace in the fact that it didn't end up being a disaster. Other than the art style, of course.

Mighty No. 9 is the spiritual successor for Mega Man, but has its own identity. This is not always a good thing however. The game contains a few way-too-childish elements, but the gameplay should keep you satisfied for hours.

Mighty No. 9 is a tedious and bland platformer and while I have never played a Mega Man game before, I have a feeling that this game does little to live up to the legacy that those games had.

Mighty No. 9 began life as one of the most anticipated concepts in recent memory. While there is fun to be had – especially where boss fights are concerned – there is an overall lack of fresh ideas to bring it all to life.

While it can feel rewarding to eventually squash a boss, you’ll very rarely be having fun while doing so – and that’s a feeling that carries through the entire experience.

If you Kickstarted this game, you’ll likely be fairly satisfied with how Mighty No. 9 turned out. However, it’s far from ground breaking in terms of its visual style, has some rather rage inducing sections of the level design, and the dash is imprecise. That said, the majority of the game is fairly fun to play and it certainly captures the spirit of Kenji Inafune’s Mega Man franchise, it just lacks a certain amount of polish.

Mighty No. 9 appears to be caught in two minds about whether it wants to make a Mega Man-style game for novices or veterans, and that indecision unfortunately prevents it from being anything close to mighty. Combine the release's well-meaning but misguided attempts at accessibility with sub-par graphics, puzzles, and an insane difficulty spike towards the end, and you end up with a title that's not very mega at all.

This is one of the most obvious times that a game just tries to capitalize on what you could call the 'nostalgia factor'. It doesn't offer anything you couldn't see in any of the earlier Mega man games and it isn't even more enjoyable than any of the classic games. Just a failed product.

Not the instant classic we hoped for, but at least it can be fun for the hardcore gamers.

The point is, despite its flaws, Mighty No. 9 is a good step toward reviving the Mega Man style in all but name. Hopefully the team will learn from their mistakes and make the next game the classic fans want it to be.