In stark contrast to the graphics-intensive Playstation 3 and the online-multiplayer focused XBox 360, the Nintendo Wii has occupied somewhat of an odd position in the gaming scene. At first, it seemed like Nintendo was going for simply a wide-audience appeal rather than focusing on its core gamers. It's great and all that Wii Fit, Wii Sports and other family friendly games have gotten people of all age groups swinging wiimotes in rhythm, but every time I see a news story about Alzheimer's patients enjoying Wii bowling, a small part of my inner-gamer dies. Somewhat recently Nintendo has recognized its neglect of brand evangelists- people like me who grew up living and breathing Nintendo - and thrown them a bone, in the form of Virtual Console and WiiWare.
Many older games that would be otherwise unavailable outside of eBay or garage sales are now sold in the Virtual Console on the Wii Shop Channel. Not only are they capitalizing on older titles that would otherwise not be earning them any scratch, but they are creating the possibility of re-booting old, neglected franchises. Maybe the numerous cash dollars spent will get Nintendo to finally realize that fans want(and would pay for!) a TRUE sequel to Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars. Or a remake of Super Mario Bros. 3- with tougher level design, achievement features and an online competition mode. Or an official translation of the Japanese-only title, Mother 3- whose English predecessor Earthbound initially sold poorly due to shoddy marketing and would almost certainly garner huge sales numbers at minimal cost. But, I digress.
The first title I picked up on my Wii was Mega Man 9. Sold in the Wii Ware section of Wii Shop, Mega Man 9 is a new title in a very old series, which dates back to the genesis of the NES. MM9 is most certainly a shout-out to the core gamers of which I spoke. After years of updating the Megaman franchises with spiffier graphics, unnecessary storyline and tottering dangerously close to anime-icizing the Blue Bomber, publisher Capcom(who is also famous for the Resident Evil franchise) returned to its pure, 8-bit roots to great effect.
With most of the unnecessary trimmings stripped away, Mega Man 9 plays exactly like its predecessors (a few of which are available on the Virtual Console- Mega Man 2 and 3). MM's objective is the same, defeat 8 Robot Masters using their weapons against one another, then confront longtime nemesis Dr. Wily. The biggest change in this entry in the series is the ramping up of the difficulty. Capcom developers seem unbelievably cruel at parts in this game, and many jumps and bosses are extremely unforgiving. The crippling difficulty, believe it or not, is what makes it fun- challenges are to be had in each level, and this game is not an easy, beat-in-one-sitting kind of game. I have yet to finish the game myself.
Another beauty of this title is the addition of the achievements system, a common trend in modern gaming. Once the game is beaten, you have the ability to go back and complete certain extra challenges (defeat x level in under 3 minutes, beat y boss without being hit, etc.). Speed runs are encouraged, as best times worldwide for completing certain levels are ranked on an online leaderboard, greatly increasing replayability.
One of the minor aspects of the game I was most impressed with was the handling of the sound and music. Almost all of the sound effects were exactly the same as in the original games. The music throughout the game is equally excellent. As a fan of video game music (and its modern incarnations chiptunes, bitpop and the like,) I much enjoy Concrete Man's level music- an interesting mix of funk and jungle beat, almost remniscient of Drums and Bass artist Pendulum, though perhaps a bit of a stretch.
Nintendo truly has a goldmine on their hands. Rather than having to focus on developing original, technology/graphics intensive "cutting-edge" games, they ought revive old franchises of games. Adding new features, creating remakes or a small bit of level-editing to classics cannot be nearly as expensive as creating entirely new franchises, and the channel through which they are selling makes it incredibly easy for both the distributer and the end-user. Just like Hollywood churns out sequels and remakes like clockwork, so should Nintendo. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.
--Reviewed by Dan McDonnell
Interesing reading, while you see the revival of old titles good (and, myself too,at some point) Nintendo needs to know that if it does abuse of it, they may give the impression to the end-user that they just are living from the past, wanting huge profits and zero inversion.
In the other hand, the case of Rockman 9 (Mega Man 9) being a success despite their -low graphics- is the perfect example that a good game do not need edge-bleeding graphics.
As a old-school gamer (and a rockman old-style fan) I always dislike the new wave of gamers generations... that think that a game is as good as its graphics... and not relating as the overall challenge.
Of course, I have read complains that claims that because rockman 9 has no 3D edge-bleeding graphics, makes it a bad game...
Good games last forever, if not, why old rockman games are still so popular? ;p
Posted by: Kadai | June 24, 2009 at 07:20 AM
I have always been a big fan of Wii and Mario. Now, aside from Aion Online, I have something else to look forward to. Sometimes it gets too boring playing Mario and Luigi and to have 4 players at the same time is really exciting.
Posted by: aion guides | September 25, 2009 at 04:14 PM