Mighty No 9 review for PS4

What can be said about Mighty No 9 that hasn?t been said across the internet since it was released last week? Well, I could say it?s great and get castrated for it, but then I would be lying. This felt like another visit down Tony Hawk lane (see my review here) where I?m doing most of you a favor and taking one for the team by playing this train wreck of a game. Most likely, I?m one of the only people out there that didn?t contribute to the Kickstarter campaign for Mighty No 9 back in 2013.

The game has one unique history. The initial goal of $900,000 was fulfilled and surpassed within days, breaking records on Kickstarter at the end earning $4 million dollars. Developer Comcept and creator Keiji Inafune of Megaman fame, had their plates heavy and the pressure was on to create a spiritual successor to Megaman, since Capcom has neglected the character for years.

On paper, I can see why everyone was on board. From the cleverly designed campaign video hinting Capcom and Megaman references, to the early concept art showing the new protagonist ?Beck?, it looked like the team was well on its way to making this all a reality. Then the campaign ended and things got quiet, even for the backers. The game hit more stretch goals than I feel they could handle. This included being released for nearly every platform on the market.

There were bound to be development hiccups, but I never expected them to have so many troubles that the game was delayed several times. This also left the backers in the dark, getting little to no updates via the Kickstarter page. Mighty No 9 was once a hot topic for his success in the crowdfunding ring, was now in the hot seat.

Now, back to talking about the actual game. It?s simply MEH. Mighty No 9 is the cookie cutter equivalent of any popular franchise getting a miserable clone. It?s inferior in every possible way, and left a bad taste in my mouth after forcing myself through several levels. Everything that the ?Megaman? franchise was loved for, has been thrown at the waste side.

Inafune promised a lot when it came to the initial Kickstarter announcement, such as a much better visual design, not only for our hero Beck, but for the level and even sound design. Early concept art showed a somewhat cel shaded design and even the character art looked reminiscent of the old Blue Bomber. What we were given instead is a game that looks like it could run on an iOS or Android device. It may be because the game had to be designed for nearly every platform on the market.

The controls are decent and simplistic as you would expect. That?s one of the only things going for the game. Then, you have this new way of defeating your enemies, which involves you shooting them, followed by dashing right into them to absorb their powers. Sounds counterproductive to what we were taught playing games when we were younger, no? You would be correct if you said yes. Touching enemies is bad and has always been bad. This isn?t something that Comcept newly implemented. It?s just even more bizarre to actually try it.

Wait, it gets better. No, actually it doesn?t. The levels are as bland as the drawing board they were designed on. Everything feels generic, even the enemies you face. The bosses are a bit of a better take from the game as they play out like the traditional 8 bosses you face in Megaman. Each have a unique pattern you need to learn and will gain their powers upon defeating them. The music is the last part that I felt really took away from the experience. The sound levels weren?t balanced, and even when I tried to tweak them, the most I would hear is the dull voice acting. It really is such a shame this game won so many people over, yet the devs couldn?t get it right, even with the extra time.

The last things I wanted to touch on was the ?Ray? DLC. The DLC was a stretch goal from the Kickstarter which allows you gain access to the ?Zero? like female character. You must defeat her in order to use her in the main game. She is one of the better parts of the game as she has a light beam like sword attack and her dash does damage. The one downside to her is her life is always depleting, leaving you to be extra careful as well as to get as much health from fallen enemies. Ray is a much more enjoyable character, even with her handicap. You get her included in the physical launch copies of Mighty No 9. Her expansion is also available for $4.99 digitally.

The last note I leave you with is don?t bother to watch the end credits if you make it that far. Seriously, they clock in at over three hours. Why? Because Comcept lists all of the backers which is over 60,000 fans. To make matters worse, they aren?t even listed by name, but instead by backer number. Good Lord, so far I think this was my Tony Hawk of 2016 despite me being slightly more generous.

Rated D for Dud.