We review Mega Man 11

Mega Man as a series occupies a special place in my heart, in the same way as any other thing in my childhood, in equal parts of love and pain. I like to make fun of the series by calling it "Trial & Error: The Game", (not the first to make this joke and I will not be the last one) because at some point there is always a level where one dies a dozen times until you find the pattern. It is a series that I have conquered alone and with friends over the years and that I probably took a few weeks away from my life, after making spades that I did not have. never seen arrive. So when Mega Man 11 Last year, as officially announced as a return to old school with a hint of new, I absolutely had to get my hands on for an exam.

The story behind Mega Man 11 begins as many games in the series do. An old ox between Dr. Light and Dr. Wiley has created a world where robots and humans live peacefully in chaos. This time, Wiley apparently had the idea of ​​creating a special gear system that would allow robots to speed up and increase their power, a double gear system if you will. He was rejected by a committee of scientists on the fact that Light was on, and here we are now, years later, with Wiley in search of revenge. Wiley forces a number of robots to visit Light for control, and it's up to Mega Man to stop predictable terror.

The game is very successful in capturing the old titles of the series by allowing you to explore different worlds of thematic platforms in order to stop the robots and bring back some order in things. As with old titles, it's about beating a boss to get his powers, then moving on to the next one after you've gained a new ability to help you defeat the next boss faster. Along the way, you collect screws that will be your cash in the lab to buy items such as slip-resistant shoes to stay on the ice, and you charge twice as many packs to improve your extra capacity faster. You also always have Rush at your side, but you will need to unlock additional abilities as you go.

The dual gear system is a necessity in many circumstances, but mainly for speed. The cheap factor of this game lies in the fact that there are levels where bosses and enemies are faster than you. It's not possible to get around it without using the gears to speed up Mega Man (or slow down the time, as you wish). That said, Capcom developers have carte blanche to add more traps along the way. The other gear adds more power to your shots, but, in all honesty, I barely used it because I'm so used to pushing my way out of touch without any help other than my blaster on a normal setting. Some levels are simply cruel, like the level of fire you see below, which makes you rush through the spaces as a fire pursues you. Oh, notice, I had to program the slide option in my gamepad through the options menu, the game did not automatically assign a button.

Like all games in the series, Mega Man 11 is a test of patience. The Bounce Man level, for example, consists mainly of balloons and bounce mats. If you do not time your jumps to perfection, you will find yourself in all levels and even in some places. The level of Fuse Man has a mid-pattern that is only raining lightning from the sky that you can not avoid, even when you accelerate. You have just been punished for playing the game in general. This is the kind of thing that makes you want to break a controller after having to learn the process a few times. Fortunately, the game has save points to record your progress and record what you have done (no codes!), So you can die as you see fit and come back later to try again.

Overall, I loved playing Mega Man 11but I've also hated pieces of it. That's about what you'd expect from a Mega Man title. And there is a bit of disappointment in the end when you learn that beating the game is pretty much the end. No bonuses or special equipment to win, or at least nothing beyond the speed tests and the special challenge of Dr. Wiley that are not as difficult as they seem. It's nice to see the series come back and find its roots, and many people will love this entry. But in the same vein, it's always terribly annoying in all the parts where he's usually annoying. Mega Man 11 is essentially a comfort food for the soul of the game, that is to say, it brings you back to a time that you love while ravaging your blood pressure.