Mega Man 11 Review
A mix of new and old mechanics provide a much-needed renaissance for the Blue Bomber
Platforms: PS4, Steam, Switch, Xbox One
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Reviewed by: John Phipps (@mistermegative)
One of gaming’s longest-standing franchises, Mega Man was a series in need of a renaissance, or at the very least, an overhaul. After Mega Man 8, the blue bomber eschewed modernity and returned to his 8-bit roots for 9 and 10. Although they were well-received, even lifelong Mega Man devotees like myself recognized his adventures had become staid and in dire need of something new. Enter Mega Man 11, a combination of the classic run-and-gun platforming you know with a beautiful visual update and a brand new gameplay mechanic in the Double Gear system. But is this enough to make Mega Man feel exciting again?
Similar to past titles, Mega Man 11 is packaged in a simple story: Dr. Wily has corrupted eight robot masters built by Dr. Light, and it’s up to you to stop him. There’s some perfunctory backstory given about the origins of Wily’s enmity towards Light, but it’s not exactly deep or nuanced. Dr. Wily was the inventor of the Double Gear system, Dr. Light felt it was too dangerous, Wily was kicked out of the cleverly-named Robot University, and he’s been angry about it since. That’s… really all there is to it. And that’s fine, because no one really plays Mega Man for a rich narrative with twists and turns. It’s all about the gameplay and level design here, and I’m EXTREMELY happy to report Mega Man 11 delivers on that better than any other game in the series.
At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking Mega Man 11 is, well, just another run-of-the mill Mega Man title, albeit a beautiful one. Although the old NES visuals were certainly nostalgic, his new makeover is absolutely gorgeous. Sure it’s not God of War, Horizon, or Forza, but then again it doesn’t need to be. Bright, crisp colors pop right off the screen and complement the fantastic art direction and character animation across all eight stages. Seriously, we’re talking best in series for a few of these. From Torch Man’s feudal Japanese realm to Bounce Man’s carnival, littered with springboards and rubber surfaces where you’re almost never stationary, I can’t think of a single stage I didn’t find fun and engaging.
Of course, one of the biggest draws of any Mega Man game are the robot masters themselves, and again, Capcom really hit a home run here. Every single robot master from Block Man to Fuse Man to Impact Man are wonderfully designed and absolutely ooze personality. And in a new twist to the classic boss formula, each robot master takes a new form or adopts new tactics halfway through the fight. Block Man becomes a huge golem, Impact Man becomes a giant drill, Acid Man sends acidic tsunamis at you, etc. And in a VERY welcome addition, upon defeating each robot master, you’re dropped into a test chamber to familiarize yourself with each new weapon you acquire upon their defeat. In previous games the only way to try each new weapon was by using up energy in whatever stage you chose next, and it’s something I’ve LONG thought the series needed.
Additionally, you can now cycle through each new weapon with the shoulder buttons, accompanied by a cool visual change to Mega Man depending on what you have equipped, another cool little tweak I’ve always wanted to see. However, I will say as I continued to accumulate weapons, I found switching between them with the shoulder buttons proved a bit difficult in chaotic situations where I needed one quickly, and found myself just going to the menu screen to select them manually.
There are other neat additions to the Mega Man formula as well. You’ll notice screws of various sizes lying around each stage and dropped by enemies. These are currency you can use between levels to purchase extra lives, energy tanks, and defensive power-ups from Roll and Dr. Light. But the most important new addition is the aforementioned Double Gear system. Developed initially by Dr. Wily, the Double Gear system is installed into Mega Man by Dr. Light to give him an edge in his battle against its inventor, and it’s mastery is absolutely essential to your survival. Pressing the right trigger will slow down time, while the left will give your arm cannon (and the weapons you receive from the robot masters) a significant power boost. There are situations throughout Mega Man 11 where things are happening incredibly fast, from the lightning quick attacks of a boss or mid-boss to falling through a level while giant metal drills are flying at you to jumping your way through an underwater cavern lined with instakill spikes.
Conversely, boosting your firepower will make quick work of many enemies and can absolutely DECIMATE a boss if you combine it with whatever weapon they’re weak against. There IS a catch, however: you only have a limited window of time in which to use either Gear, or else the system will overheat and Mega Man will be unable to utilize it until he cools down. Make no mistake: Mega Man 11 is a difficult game, and learning how and when to use the Double Gear system is practically a requirement for survival in many cases.
It sounds like I’m really high on Mega Man 11, and I really, really am. That’s not to say it’s perfect or there aren’t things I think could be better. For example, I found the music in the game to be generally completely forgettable when compared to previous entries. With the exception of Bounce Man’s extremely, well, bouncy and catchy stage theme, there’s nothing here remotely as iconic or worthy of remembering such as Magnet Man’s stage theme or Dr. Wily’s fortress from Mega Man 2. It’s by no means a disaster or a deal breaker, but given the overall excellent music throughout the series, I did find what’s on offer here disappointing and plain.
Difficulty seems rather unbalanced as well. I initially played on normal difficulty and found it frustratingly challenging to the point where I had to double check to ensure I hadn’t picked something higher. A second playthrough on casual was much more akin to what I expect from a normal difficulty setting, and it’s what I recommend for your first playthrough. However, these are small issues that don’t detract from the overall experience: Mega Man 11 is a wonderful meeting of old and new, a much-needed renaissance for one of gaming’s most venerated franchises, and my new series favorite.
Mega Man 11 was played using a “retail” PS4 code provided by Capcom
