WHOO it's been a while. Sorry folks, I've been somewhat preoccupied with RealLife(tm) recently, especially since I am gonna move to Germany soon. Haven't written a blog in ages! My most humble apologies to my readers. The reason for the move is simple. I have found a job in Germany, translating video games.
Fuck Yeah.
So, I figured why not, I'll do a review of the new (or not so new, in 2011) Mega Man 10 on the Wii virtual console. Or Wii ware, or whatever the fuck it's called. I've already voiced my opinion about the name Mega Man, so I'll leave that out. But Mega Man 9 was received with praise both domestically and overseas. It seems many fans of the series were eager to play Mega Man with 8-bit graphics. It's true, All Mega Man games (not the spin-offs, the originals) were on the Famicon, (that's the NES, English speakers) except for 7, 8 and Mega Man & Bass. 7 was OK, 8 I think is too experimental, but I do recommend Mega Man & Bass. It's a tough game, but fun. ANYway, I digress. Mega Man 9 was a throw back to the Mega Man many players fondly remember. So, Capcom decided to do the same with Mega Man 10. The question is, how does it compare?
Personally, I actually liked 10 better than 9. I realize I am a complete minority in this, most people say 9 hit the nail on the head, 10 was kinda lacking. And don't get me wrong, 9 was great. But 10 had trickier bosses, trickier stages, unique weapons, and I felt it was more fun to play. My understanding is it didn't go down so well in the US because of its "too serious" story, goofy bosses (Sheep Man got the heat) mediocre music (for a Mega Man game) and hard-to-use special weapons. And yes, Sheep Man's weapon is almost completely useless. But I think 10 was more of an appeal to Japanese humor and sensibilities. Its story is not tongue in cheek to Americans, but it is very corny and enjoyable to Japanese people. Of course, I'm not Japanese, but I grew up here. So shut up.
The enemies too, what a lot of Americans don't get is that the bosses, more often then not, are SUPPOSED to be laughable. Sheep Man uses lightning as an attack. Why? The OFFICIAL EXPLANATION is that he is using static electricity stored in his wool. I mean sure, he's also a reference to "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" but still. Come on. You are taking the game WAY too seriously if you are complaining about the bosses.
The stages are more unique and fun to play through than 9. 9 had some great gimmicks, but 10 definitely makes better. Some enemies power up if they attach to parts of the stage, there are blocks that disappear if you land on another block of the same color, the middle-bosses require thought and skill, it's all and all just a lot more fun to play through each level. I found myself constantly wondering what the game was going to throw at me next. But yes, be warned. It is FUCKING HARD. But this time, since some people (aka WEAKLINGS) complained that Mega Man 9 was too hard, there is an easy mode. I mean, it's a good thing for beginners, but my feeling is that if you're playing a Mega Man game, go balls to the wall. Beating it on Easy Mode is like being proud of winning a fight against a 5 year old. If you want that sense of accomplishment, go Normal, at LEAST.
Next, the weapons. in 9, many of the weapons had secondary uses. The black hole bomb could suck up otherwise-invincible enemies, the tornado weapon increased your jumping height, the concrete shot could be used as make-shift footholds, etc. To be fair, not quite the case with Mega Man 10. But in 10, you are given a remarkable control over the weapons themselves. The baseball weapon ricochets off walls, allowing you to hit enemies in otherwise unreachable locations. The command bomb allows you to change its direction of movement twice, making it possible to clear out enemies behind walls or on the ceiling. The 3 way blade weapon fires either upward or downward depending on whether you are on the ground or in the air when you shoot. YOUR skill makes each weapon either useful or useless. So stop complaining and practice.
Except for Sheep Man's weapon. That thing, even I have to say is virtually useless. At best maybe it could be used as a impromptu barrier to prevent enemies charging you, but otherwise it won't hit ANY enemy that is moving.
So, music. The music in this game, to be true, does not match 9. It's not bad, far from it, but not memorable like Mega Man 2's Wily Stage music, or many of Mega Man 9's songs. Which is a little bit of a let down. One of the defining qualities of Mega Man is its kick-ass music. But oh well, you can't have everything. I tend to be more forgiving of a video game if it is overall enjoyable, but I do understand for some people music is a critical factor. So to each his own.
So, yeah. There you have it. That's my two cents on Mega Man 10. It is more tricky than 9, which is a plus for me, but also I realize I'm kind of a minority. Give it a play, and think for yourself. I had fun, anyway.:)
Oh, and the Wily stage? FUCKING AWESOME. How people could NOT like that is beyond me. Just play it.
さて日本語で！
いやはや、またしても久しぶりになってしまいました。読者の皆様に申し訳ないです。実は私、ドイツに行くことになりまして、はい。
なぜにドイツかというと、ゲーム翻訳の仕事を見つけたからです。
そう！これぞ我が夢！我が覇道！
我が生涯に、一片の悔いなし！
「完」
いやいやいや、終わるなよ。レビューだ、レヴュー。うん。そうそう、日本語ではレビューだけど実際英語での発音はヴュー、ウに”つけた音なんだよね。 Reviewだし。ま、そんなことより。
ロックマン１０！ヽ(*・ω・)人(・ω・*)ノ
うん、楽しみにしてたんだ、これ。９と同じく、ファミコン風につくられたWiiウェア。最初からブルース使えるし、９が難しすぎた
で、評価はというと、一般的には９の方が良かったと言われてるみたいね。やっぱり９はボスも武器もステージも音楽もまとまってて良かったし無難だったからかな？実際、１０の方がいろいろとトリッキーではある。俺はそこが好きなんだけど賛否両論になるのもわかるかな？
まずはステージ。これは文句無く９より個性的。仕掛けも敵も作りこみが違う。ステージ毎の個性が強く、プレイヤーを飽きさせない。特殊な色のブロックに立てば同じ色のブロックが全部消えたり、画面外からトラックが突っ込んできたり、砂嵐で前も後ろも見えなかったり。中ボスもユニークで倒し方を考えなければいけない奴ばっかり。難易度は高いけど楽しい。
次にボス。....シープマン？ネタですよ、ネタ。
ちょっとふざけた奴もいるけどそれぞれ個性的で難易度も適度。明らかに強弱こそあるものの、理不尽ではないし戦ってて楽しい。今回特殊武器のクセが強すぎるので、弱点武器を使ってもあてられないってことはある。自分はそこが好きで、「弱点武器使えば雑魚」なんてのは楽しくない。武器がトリッキーだからこそボス戦が楽しめるんじゃないか。反射すればするほど威力があがるバウンドストライカー、二回まで飛ぶ方向を変えられるコマンドボム、ジャンプしてるか着地してるかで発射角度が変わるトリプルブレード、
音楽は...ちょっと残念だったかな？別に悪いわけではなく、ステージに合った曲がそろっているけどいままでのシリーズの様に心に残る曲ってのがあまり無かった。特に９は音楽面ではがんばっていたからそれでかえって物足りなさが目立つことになってしまった。これが一番の心残り。後は本当に好きなんだけどな。
相変わらず今回もチャレンジとかあるのでやり込み要素も豊富。ダウンロードでブルースも使えるし、ボリュームは大きい。
そしてワイリーステージは一度プレイすべき。マジで。あれは感動した。ネタバレはしないけどロックマンファンなら絶対やるべき。カプコンの愛が伝わってきた。
総評として、９より確実にトリッキーになっていて、万人向けの完成度だった９に対して好き嫌いが分かれそうですね。自分はクセのあるゲームが好きなんでこれは９より楽しかったんですが、人によってはボスや音楽、武器の使いづらさが気になりすぎるかもしれません。でもワイリーステージまでは我慢してプレイすべき。うん。
と、まぁ、久々のレビューはこんな感じで！また出来るだけすぐに新しいのを書きます！