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Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land It’s not everyday we get a new trip down memory lane. In that sense Mega Man 9 is a very special title (at least for me) as it comes out today on Wii. It isn’t only because Mega Man is the first game I can recall playing, but because it’s a new adventure in the 8-bit world that my generation started gaming in. I sometimes sit and wonder how weird it’s going to be when 3 or 4 years from now we hear someone from the next generation of adult gamers say that the first game they can consciously remember is Super Mario 64 or Metal Gear Solid. What was the first game you remember?
Before I forget, for those of you who haven’t made up your mind whether to get the game or not, we have some new images from Mega Man 9 after the jump. You can download the game today on WiiWare for 1000 Wii Points, PS Network on Thursday for $9.99, and Xbox Live on October 1st for 800 MS Points.
The Mega Man 9 invasion begins, and on the Nintendo Wii he’s bringing backup! This week’s Nintendo Wii update not only brings us the WiiWare version of Capcom’s retro redux on the blue bomber (1,000 points), we also get the Sega Genesis classic Vectorman (800 points), which is also the story of a robot going up against evil robots, but this one can turn into a mechanical fish.
It’s not just a robot parade though. We also get some hot sports action with Super Dodge Ball for the NES (500 points), one of the most beloved dodge ball simulations ever created, and PLÄTTCHEN twist ‘n’ paint (1,000 points), a WiiWare puzzle shooter from Bplus for up to 8 players with over 300 levels of gameplay that fills out the required obscure titles I’ve not heard of slot in this week’s update (hit the jump for a screenie).
So, which Mega Man 9 games are you planning on picking up?
Proto Man — Mega Man’s dying brother, originally from Mega Man 3 — will be playable in Mega Man 9 via DLC that becomes available the week of Monday Oct 6. GamesRadar is reporting the news with two tiny developmental screen shots (jump), illustrating Proto Man’s slide and charge attacks — which Mega Man is not capable of doing in this game.
It sounds like Proto Man will play close to the original guy, too:
Proto Man can deflect most bullets with this shield, but larger blasts will still cause damage and push him back twice as far as Mega Man. Being struck also interrupts his charge shot. All the Rush adaptors change to Proto adaptors as well – Proto Sled, Proto Coil etc.
GamesRadar reports that Proto will cost $1.99/200 Wii points/160 XBLA points.
Mega Man 9 — Proto Man DLC On the Way [GamesRadar, thanks reader Kevin A.]
So we knew back in July the names of the new bosses for Mega Man 9: Galaxy Man, Concrete Man, Tornado Man, Plug Man and Splash Woman. GamesRadar has another exclusive on this subject: concept art of two of them — Splash Woman and Plug Man — plus the weapons you win for defeating both (Laser Trident for the former; “Plug Ball” for the latter. Sounds like a wad of tobacky to me.) Plus they have some more screens. Weekends are made for eye candy (and, once upon a time, Michelob) so, enjoy. Mega Man 9 has three separate release dates: WiiWare on Monday, PlayStation Network on Thursday, and then finally Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Mega Man 9 Exclusive Boss Reveal [GamesRadar]
Interesting comment from Bionic Commando (the big, new one) producer Ben Judd. Speaking with Videogamer about the success of Bionic Commando Rearmed, he says:
It’s a game that’s been done by a Japanese publisher so even though it’s doing extremely well, that information hasn’t really sunk in to their side. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Mega Man 9. That right there could set our internal strategy. If the Mega Man 9 stuff is successful we might see more retro games like that. But if ultimately Rearmed is more successful, they could come back and say ‘people really want these high def, high quality remixes, they don’t want just the old stuff’. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Sure we can find room in our hearts – and our wallets – for both styles of re-release, Capcom.
Bionic Commando Interview [Videogamer][Image]
While it’s only been a few months since we first heard about Capcom’s retro Mega Man 9, it feels like we’ve been waiting forever. Well the wait is nearly over, as the first and second releases of Mega Man 9 hit next week! September 22nd will see the game show up via WiiWare, which should make the Weekly Wii Update a little more exciting than usual. Then on the 25th the game will appear on the PlayStation Network. Finally, after weathering nearly a week and a half of insufferable taunting, Xbox 360 owners will be able to download the Xbox Live Arcade version on October 1st. Looks like it’s WiiWare for me!
So now that we’ve gotten those dates out of the way, show us the boxes! Mega Man 9 Release Dates! [Capcom Unity]
Get with the wrestling, Fahey. Capcom announced today that, thanks to popular demand incessant shrieking, they’ll be making the brilliant Mega Man 9 “retail” press package available to the public through their online store. To refresh, you’ll get a cardboard box and a replica NES cart, and maybe even the assets disc that was sent out (ie a bunch of screenshots and artwork). But if you want one, get to your sprinter’s blocks: Capcom say they “just can’t get our hands on enough of the raw materials to make as many as we would like”, and that as such, when they go on sale, they’re going to be “exceedingly rare”.
Capcom Store News you can Use [Capcom]
Is this the retail packaging for Mega Man 9? Of course not, Mega Man 9 is a downloadable game, but that didn’t stop the folks from Capcom from creating this spectacular packaging to send out to their friends in the press, making me wonder just how close a friend you have to be to score one. I’ve done plenty of things I’m not proud of in the past.
Anyway, it’s a throwback to the NES days of bad box art hiding a good game, complete with budget price tag and NES game shaped disc holder. A work of art. A must-have, yet can’t have, unless Capcom does good and places a few up on the Capcom store for us to wrestle over. Hit the jump for another drool-worthy view!
Capcom’s retro-and-then-some Mega Man 9 was always due for a September release, we just didn’t know when in September. Do now. It’s been announced that the game is due for release in Japan on September 24, for 1000 Wii Points. No word yet on a date for North America or Europe, but with Capcom being so hot for the West lately, it shouldn’t be too much later.
I’ll tell you a secret: I got kicked out of arts and crafts in fourth grade. I was too busy beating up flirting with Patrick McHellen to pay attention to stuff like glue sticks and foldable tabs.
But if I hadn’t gotten booted, maybe I would’ve been able to make this…
