E3 Disclaimer: Kombo's E3 previews are designed to inform you of what each game at E3 plays like, and what we think of what's shown. These previews are not reviews, and we reserve final judgment of each game until it is finished and released. These previews offer an honest opinion of what a publisher chose to demo at E3. So, without further ado, read on.

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What the Game's About
Over two decades ago, a little blue robot kid who called himself a man stormed onto the NES and for a time became the most beloved 2D platform hero right behind Super Mario himself. The classic style Mega Man series left the NES in 1994 (one of the console's final releases), and the series branched off from there. Mega Man X, Zero, and Battle Network all saw success, but the original blue bomber was left nearly forgotten as time went on. Now we're getting a real Capcom produced sequel, and they're taking it back to the old school in Mega Man 9 with the form he was most successful in…8-bit.

What's Hot
We got so many Mega Man games on NES for so many years, we began to take them for granted. Amazing how warm of a welcome the little blue guy can get after being slammed 14 years ago as being the "same crap over and over." Chalk it up to nostalgia, but now just feels like the perfect time for a classic Mega Man game. Nobody at E3 or otherwise will say one way or the other, but the Wii version (the primary version) of Mega Man 9 feels like real 8-bit code, rather than a modern game engine with old art assets. There's sprite flicker, screen panning, and enemies disappear and re-spawn the moment you scroll them off. All the music is 8-bit with no liberties taken. There's no way to be sure, but it just feels like original 8-bit code. As they say, if you're going…go all the way. The difficulty is off the charts, but it also ramps up more gradually than the older games did. The game benefits from not having to stick to that 11 month development turnover the older titles had. Otherwise, everything looks, plays, feels, and behaves exactly as you would imagine it should.


"The block puzzles are just as hard now as they were then.


What's Not
Depending on who you are, Mega Man 9 can suck for most of the same reasons it can be awesome. It's 8-bit. Not everybody is going to be supportive of going back to a 1980's-90's art style. Some are going to say it looks primitive and crappy and we should move on. No doubt nostalgia has something…okay, a lot to do with it. But realize that 8-bit retro style is really in style right now and selling childhood memories makes a lot of money. Also, the difficulty level is going to sneak up on you. Yeah, you were good at Mega Man as a kid (as was I), but when you play it again after a lot of years, you're in for a rude surprise. This game will slap you around the room like a bouncer in a bad Korean brothel. Whether that's good to you is debatable, but one thing is for sure. It's Mega Man, and Mega Man games are supposed to be difficult. Deal with it.

Outlook
People are going to eat Mega Man 9 up simply because there are definitely more lovers than haters. We need more platformers, and it's just the right time for a game like this. It plays the nostalgia card, sure, but it's also just a great game. The newest concept isn't by default the best concept. Old ideas can be fun…otherwise we wouldn't be excited for the ninth installment of a franchise that has fundamentally changed none since 1987.