Mega Man 9 arrives today on the PSN!

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What a big day, huh? It has got to be the best week ever for the store. (Ro Hernandez told me to write that.)

I am honored to announce that Mega Man 9 will be available today on the PLAYSTATION Network for only $9.99. Our beloved Blue Bomber returns to his 8-bit roots in this 9th adventure of the original storyline. Here’s the rundown:

In the year 20XX, after the events of Mega Man 8, multiple riots have sprung up all over the world. Many people suspect that this is another plot from Dr. Wily. Dr. Light is stunned to recognize that some of the robots rioting on the TV screen are his own creations. Even more stunning, Dr. Wily appears on television to proclaim that Dr. Light is the evil mastermind behind these latest catastrophic incidents. Now, Mega Man must set out to stop the rogue robots and discover the truth behind the attacks. *SPOILER ALERT* (It really is Dr. Wily’s evil plot to rule the world. Shhhh!)

This project has really been a labor of love for all the hard core Mega Man fans. When I first read the game design doc for this project, I though this was some kind of joke. 8-bit graphics in this day and age? Intentional flickering and tearing? Extra difficulty levels? Whaaaat? When I started to really delve into this assignment and talk to hundreds of Mega Man fans, I began to understand that there is a certain affinity, a passion for this character. People would tell me their experiences with Mega Man 2 and how they had to sneak in play sessions to avoid their mom yelling at them for spending too much time with their NES. I started to feel better.

Inafune-san got it right with this game. This is his baby. He knew the importance of living up to the original series and how introducing “9” meant high expectations. He recruited a large team (yes that’s right), with the talent to pull this off. A team that knew what a pixel perfect jump meant. A team that understood the intricacies of classic level design, on how placing a certain enemy at a certain place would affect a person’s speed run strategy. A team that could compose an epic musical score within the limitations of 1980s technology. Try to pull off a Picasso with 4 crayons and you’ll understand that creating an 8-bit classic in this era is not an easy task. Play the game, or just try out the demo first, and enjoy the little details that scream “fan service”.

If this is the first time you’ll play a Mega Man game, you’ll understand why older gamers complain that games these days just aren’t as challenging anymore (Damn kids, jk). Be patient though and don’t throw your DualShock through your screen. I bet you’ll have a sudden itch to go back and try the level again. You’ll cuss, you’ll kick your dog and pick fights with your girlfriend. When you finally complete the level after the umpteenth time, you’ll finally realize the magic that is Mega Man.

On a side note, I know you’ll have a lot of questions, and I expect this thread to be pretty active. If I don’t get to your answers right away, it’s because I’m at the Age of Booty party introducing for the first time to the public, playable Proto Man (Horse armor, he is not). Talk to you soon!

Your friend from Capcom,
John D

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137 Comments

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  • I have it DLing now!

    Lastly!

    :P

  • OK played some last night… Forgot how hard the old megaman series were LMAO… I only had 1 hour to play but dang… the music and the graphics is really just like the old series. Loving it so far :)

  • I got the demo last night. This game is ridiculously hard. I can’t get past the third elephant without throwing the controller. It’s like the devil designed this 3 mini-boss, no health, holes in the floor challenge.

  • Didn’t think Capcom would give up so easily.

    DLC is not ownership. That’s a fact.

    I guess you don’t want my money Capcom.

  • i got the game it so freaking hard but i keep coming back for more i think if the graphics would have been better id still be glued to the tv

  • Woah, what’s with the lack of ability to charge my Mega Buster? Or is that just hindered in the demo?

    • No, you can\’t charge and slide with Mega Man. This game was patterened after MM2. You have these abilities with Proto Man however.

  • I know people are going to bash me for this but I don’t dig this game I loved the old mega man games,back then but that was then what was great then is not great now,I but bionic on day one and I love it but not mega man 9,graphic is not everything but it’s a big part of what makes a game great. I’ll love to see a lot of remakes but not like this, you do the bionic treatment and I’m sold but not the mega man 9.

    • No one should bash you. It will be hard for people who are so into graphics to understand the appeal of this game. 8-bit is an art style that was consciously chosen by Inafune-san to recapture the magic of the earlier titles in the series.

  • John,

    You are awesome and you actually take the time to reply to just about all our comments. I wish many of the other people on the PS Blog would do that! Anyways my opinion of the game…ITS AWESOME!!! This is the hardest game in my life (including Mario World ROM Hacks)! Regardless, it is frikkin awesome…go for Mega Man 10 PPPPPLLLLZZZZ! lol thanx

  • By no means I’m saying mega man 9 is a bad game I just fell that we should always strive to move forwards,I understand the nostalgia that a game like this brings to people,I grow up with the 8 bit games but why not take advantage of the new technology that we have at our disposal and maximize the experience. furthermore I fell that a lot of developers should take a cue from how challenging mega man is, cause now a days that’s an ingredient that most games are missing.

    Kudos for taking your time to answers our questions.

  • ^^^ MM9 is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich graphically..but it sure tastes like a steak! Would you rather it the other way around? Have a great looking steak (game) that tastes (plays) like a dull old pb&j?

    and @John – thanks for the response about the resource issue with the trophies. it makes really good sense.

  • one more thing, john – do you have any update on the “retail” MM9 packaging giveaway/sale thing?

  • I’m old enough to have played Megaman on NES back in the day and this is perfect! Only problem is I think current games have softened me up! Been years since I have played something this difficult!

  • John Diamonon replied on September 27, 2008 at 8:09 am

    “DLC is the future my friend.”

    With Comcast, AT&T and Bell (in Canada) throttling internet and download speeds as much as they are?

    You’re kidding yourself.

    On top of that – the fact that

    A) there’s a strong chance that I won’t be able to play DLC when I upgrade a console (IE For PS4)

    B) DLC is not actual ownership.

    You are wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

    Why does Capcom want to so badly alienate a part of its consumer base?

  • Add me its Dann7978, i send you an invite like a week ago but you didnt respond.

  • well john still waiting to see if u accept my buddy invite and still waiting for the mega man 9 sale of the snes classic i havent seen any info anywhere on it and i know its come with a voucher for the game so when will we hear about it that the only thing holding me back from buying mega man 9.

  • Hi John Diamonon

    i was asking myself will the Mega Man X series
    continue ?

  • Ok, I went ahead and got the PS3 version, mostly for the superior d-pad. I do have a few gripes, and a few raves. Here’s my evaluation, thus far:

    I’ve gotta say, if it’s modeled after MM2 for lack of charge & slide, then why are Eddie, Beat, & even Rush around (as well as the store)?

    The “Challenges” feature makes the lack of trophy support all the worse, reminding me of how Uncharted has it’s own tracking system, as does Devil May Cry 4… at least you’ve already helped voice the thousands of complaints we’ve made on the blogs, here :P

    Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, the game has actually been quite fun. I had a blast today at my friend’s house. We watched his son (about 12, grew up on PS2 gen) fail horribly at this game, and me make it look easy. Good to show these youngins’ what gameplay is all about.

    The lack of 16:9 support is disappointing, but the graphics are very clean and crisp, much nicer than an NES could ever look on a HDTV (though not as nice as mednafan’s 1080i widescreen filtered scaling).

    This game is most certainly worth the $10. The controls are smooth and responsive, the graphics are crisp, and the gameplay is right on par with Mega Man 2 in terms of jump timing, shot timing, and overall fun.

    On a side note, I talked to Mali Boi again the other day, and he’s got several instrumentals with various videogame samples, if you want a way for him to submit some examples, just forward me the info.

    Add me on PSN, too – DJ_Pyra-C

  • So I guess Capcom is too scared to answer back.
    This just proves that I’m right and Capcom is wrong about DLC, because they can’t even come up with a decent argument to back up their point.

  • haha! I win and Capcom loses! I’m right and Capcom is wrong!

  • Great game!(as always)
    Please bring the X series to de PlayStation Store.

  • Let me get this straight, is mega man 9 a port or it’s designed like that? I suppose the nastalga is there…but for like 9 secons and you wonder why the hell would anyone want to play this. If you want to remember your childhood, pull out your nes or get an emulator. This thing is just a waste of money. I love bionic commando, now that’s a remake done right

  • Thank you for releasing this great game on the PSN.I hope you release more mega man titles on the PS3!!

  • Hey John,

    I’m following megaman series since 1 and I really enjoyed megaman 9, it was perfect.

    Say congratulations for all people from megaman 9 team.

    it is a masterpiece.

    thanks

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