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Things were not easy for Mega Man fans in the 2010s. Between the cancellations of Mega Man Universe and Mega Man Legends 3 and the disappointing spiritual rebirth of Mighty No. 9, it seemed like all hope to see the return of the classic action gameplay and enjoyed the series was wiped out. So it's with a lot of anticipation and expectations that Capcom announced Mega Man 11, the first all-new Mega Man game in over eight years. And even though the game holds its promise of being a charming and challenging action game with a gallery of malicious robots, it makes some confusing choices that preserve it from its true grandeur.
Those who have enjoyed the adventures of our blue friend over the past three decades probably know the following gameplay: you go through eight thematic levels in the order of your choice, claiming the weapons of the final robot you defeated– and that can be used to exploit the weaknesses of subsequent boss meetings. Once the eight robots have been beaten, you head to a multi-level fortress with a final confrontation of Dr. Wily waiting at the end.
The big news this time, however, is that our hero has been equipped with the Double Gear system, which allows him to increase the power of his weapon or slow down the environment for a limited time. The Power Gear can boost the performance of the standard Mega Buster or improve special weapons with more powerful effects, while Speed Gear can help you in difficult places where synchronization or fast moving are crucial. However, these effects last only a few seconds, and after the time has elapsed, you must wait for a recovery time to complete or retrieve a special item before you can use them again, which will help you avoid relying too much on them. . You are not the only one to use this new power, because you will find that Wily's machines also use it.
What you will notice right away is that the game manages to bring out the atmosphere and charm of the show in its visual presentation. Mega Man's 3D character models, his friends and his Robot Master enemies are on the point, with subtle visual touches such as the exasperated expressions of Auto and Robot Beat robot that tries to add some humor to the game. Mega weight. The scenes themselves are filled with strangely cute, narrow-eyed robotic enemies, who set the franchise, and background elements such as Blast Man's self-ads or the weird hieroglyphs of Block Man add a touch of personality to each step. With such nice graphics, it's easy to miss the soundtrack, which is pleasant but totally immutable.
Unfortunately, the early game experience in Mega Man 11 is grueling. Veterans will certainly notice the unusual length of each step. Although you can assume that more action Mega Man is good, the length of the scene helps make the game a lot more frustrating than it should be, because the control points are little placed and that extra lives are rare. To make matters worse, you often hit the hardest parts of a stage in quick succession, leaving you little time to catch your breath. The design of the scene also tends to create areas of trial and error, such as a labyrinth of walls of spikes of instant destruction or a series of quick jumps at the end of these long levels, making the game particularly demoralizing.
In other Mega Man games, failure looks more like a learning experience than a failure; here, however, the prospect of redoing a 10-minute level loaded with tight control points, instant destruction elements, and a fight between two bosses is often painful. Double gears help a little to navigate the most difficult sections, but they always seem to run out of power too quickly to be reliable. Progress improves once you manage to build a directory of boss weapons and buy upgrades with collectible bolts found on the stages, but there is still some frustration to some elements design, like the three parts flame pursuit, which never quite disappears. And although you can play the game with a lower difficulty, giving you more lives and control points to make the hazards of the scene more manageable, he overcompensates by dramatically reducing the damage to the point that boss fights become a dull kid's game.
Of course, the levels – too long that they are – are not quite bad and there are many nice and interesting ideas. The step of Blast Man is to blow explosive robots into crates and other machines to create chain explosions, while the Impact Man has reflex test areas where you have to avoid a series of drilling robots that fly away quickly. The mid-term bosses are all great too. My favorite is the mammoth's robot skeleton invoking ice cubes on Tundra Man's stage. The Robot Masters themselves are also very fun to fight, and they will change their habits using their own Double Gears while their health runs out, keeping you on your guard. The collected boss weapons are also very fun to use, and variations of the Power Gear bring a neat touch reminiscent of the Mega Man X series.
Yet, it's easy to forget how much fun you had at other times when you're stuck by another trap in the tail of the Acid Man scene or you're struggling with the inflated walls and miserable platforms remains. It results in a final set of both awesome and disappointing levels: awesome in that they have really fun stuff and bosses. the biggest obstacles of the game in the previous stages.
Mega Man 11 is a good action game that you can easily identify with, but it's far too uneven and bumpy to resist some of the best titles in the venerable franchise. At its best, it's a great retro party with exciting boss encounters and unique gadgets. At worst, it is a frustrating experience whose too long levels throw unbearable obstacles to progress in the worst moments. But even with these problems, it's good to see Mega Man back in action, and Mega Man 11 will hopefully be the beginning of many new robotic adventures.
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