Mega Man 11

Mega Man has been one of my favorite video game franchises since my NES days. So picking up Mega Man 11 for $15 (08/2019), to me, was very tempting.

I’ve always liked Mega Man’s concept of defeating the bosses and absorbing their power, and then using my new abilities to defeat other bosses. And Mega Man 11 was just that. The entire playthrough took me a little over 6 hours total. Upon completion, the game really felt like it belonged in the NES catalog. But, it got me thinking. Is that a good thing?

The actual game play was very reminiscent of an old NES Mega Man title. With some challenging level segments and bosses with odd powers. You choose one of the 8 levels from a grid, fight through the level, encounter the boss, beat the boss, use the power in future levels, and once all bosses are defeated you take on Dr. Wily. There were parts that reminded me of my childhood Mega Man adventures but…

I have some complaints.

First of all, let’s start with the voice acting. It is really awful. There were times when playing it that I had to actually turn down the volume out of sheer embarrassment. The actual writing is really pretty crap too. Mash those buttons to skip.

Second, there were parts of the some levels that were aggravatingly unpredictable. Mega Man games have been known to be challenging until you learn the patterns, and with practice you will succeed. But, there were points that just infuriated me. The Torch Man level comes to mind. There are sections in this level that you are being chased by a wall of fire. The objective is to make it through the section with out the fire catching up to you and insta-killing you. We’ve all seen this mechanic. But in this game the wall just seems crazy unpredictable. This wall of flame appears in three different sections of the level. There were times when I could breeze through the first section no problem, and on the second or third section, be destroyed over and over and over again no matter how well I navigated the obstacles. I would then restart the level (after game over/ continue) and be decimated in the first fire wall section. Restart and just breeze through all three sections even with missteps. It’s chaos and not at all fun.

The Bounce Man level was also quite annoying. When all surfaces are covered with bouncy balls and death pits, frustration is assured. It wasn’t until my 5th try at the level that I figured out that you can hold the jump button to get extra height when bouncy on the balls. The previous plays found me trying to expertly tap the jump button just before landing on the balls to get the extra height. This strategy ultimately end in frustration. Maybe let somebody know when there is a supremely easier way to navigate this bouncy ball pit of death…thanks.

Third, let me circle back to a previous point. This game felt much like an old NES game in a lot of ways. In this case, that is not a good thing. I would argue in most cases, that is not really a good thing in 2019. This game offer very little in originality. It simply felt derivative. And as a modern gamer, derivative gameplay does not make for a memorable experience. And sure at $15 bucks, do I have the right to complain. Eh, probably not. But at $10 bucks (or less), it would be quite a bit more forgivable to simply rehash old Mega Man game mechanics.

Sure there were a few new things. The double gear feature gave you the ability to temporarily slow down time, and the ability to do…um do something else. That something else, I honestly don’t know what it is. And the time shifting I used so seldom that it really doesn’t warrant mentioning. The double gear feature could have been disable in my opinion as I found it more of an annoyance than an actual ability. Skip.

And there was a store where Dr. Light and some other weirdos would sell you their wares. I did use the store quite a bit, not because it was a great addition, but because some of what they were selling (extra lives, boots that kept you from dying when stepping on spikes, and a bird that saved you when you got launched into a death pit…I’m looking at you Bouncy Man level) kept me from tossing this game right in the trash. These cheats helped me finish a game that at times got really damn annoying. I guess that’s a good-ish thing.

There you have it. Mega Man 11, an “okay” game that probably didn’t need to exist, but does.