Even though he’s been kinda Powered Down in recent years (and I refuse to believe that
iPhone monstrosity is anything more than a protracted practical joke), there was a time
when Mega Man was still very much in Capcom’s good graces.
I know it seems tough to imagine these days, but bear with me.
Back in 2006, when the PSP was fresh and new, it was decided that what the system needed
was some good ol’ blue bomber action... but reimagined and redesigned, partially out
of necessity for accommodating the system’s 16:9 playfield, partly out of an attempt to
reach a new generation of gamers.
Thus, we have the super-chibi Mega Man Powered Up, a big-headed, cutesy interpretation of
the original 1987 Mega Man.
But don’t let the bright colors and adorable animation fool you: this is still Mega Man
1.
A game legendary for its difficulty.
Songs have been written about the abject brutality of that first offering, and to its credit
Powered Up maintains most (but not all) of that tyrannical status quo.
While the design of the stages will be familiar to those who have played the original game,
there are a number of changes; some subtle, some more blatant.
Most notable is two entirely new bosses, Time Man and Oil Man, thus bringing the game to
the now-standard lineup of eight bosses.
Also, there’s a greater proliferation of Super Arm-grabbable blocks, so you might get
a little more use out of Guts Man’s weapon.
But not content with just leaving it at that, there are also interactable objects for most
of the rest of the special weapons in the game.
These may lead to new paths through the stage, a definite upgrade for the linearity of the
original.
Granted, you’ll need more than weapons to access some sections; you’ll need a whole
new body altogether.
Ready for a paradigm shift?
Yes, rather than just letting you obtain the weapons of each robot master, you actually
have the possibility of playing as them.
Of course, the only way to do this is by defeating them without causing significant system damage
- i.e., using only the Mega Buster.
Such a peaceable submission will allow Dr. Light to fix the offending robot, thus allowing
access to that character as well as unlocking a new batch of Challenge stages for fun.
And as though that wasn’t enough, you can harness that part of you that spent most of
third grade drawing up Mega Man stages and actually make your creations playable.
There’s a full-featured level editor included, which can be augmented by collecting scenery
and enemy packs in the main game.
Create your own speedrunner’s haven or Kaizo Mega Man deathtrap.
For the new crop of potential Mega Man fan... let’s face it, Mega Man Powered Up didn’t
really hit that demographic as squarely as hoped.
The game, while being a respectful reinterpretation of a true gaming classic, didn’t pull the
kind of numbers Capcom hoped.
And I understand that.
Sometimes good games don’t sell.
(Okami, for one.)
I didn’t buy it at the time because, well, I didn’t obtain a PSP until much later.
But now I have it, and I know what I missed... as I look back at those days from an era where
Rock and the crew are at best personae non grata and at worst a kind of horrible, protracted
practical joke.
Ah, nostalgia.