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10/26/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 11 (Finale): Mega Man 10

Capcom proves once and for all that "Mega Man X" did in fact mean the letter X, and not the roman numeral 10. (Though the fact that they stopped using Roman numerals after Mega Man VII really should have been a clue already).




The game is a continuation of 9's "retro" aesthetic and overall difficult style, though they did acknowledge some fan complaints by including a difficulty select in the game as well as making Protoman playable without having to pay for additional downloadable content.  The DLC packs for this game also saw improvement, introducing THREE new stages (complete with "new" bosses and usable weapons) and being able to play as Bass.  Once again, I'll be playing through the new stages at the end of the video.

For those wondering, Bass plays much as he did in Mega Man & Bass.  The only difference is that he can't double-jump in this game.

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 10: Mega Man 9

After a complete absence on sixth generation consoles, classic Mega Man returned as a downloadable title on all three platforms, though probably not in a way that people expected.  The game's aesthetic was heavily based on the earliest NES games rather than the more recent entries, and the overall difficulty was ramped up to eleven thanks to some brutal stage design and aggressive bosses.  In short, if you're looking for a challenging Mega Man game, look no further!





For better or worse, this is also the first Mega Man game to feature paid downloadable content, which is listed below.

"Special Stage" - Adds a new playable stage to Time Attack mode, complete with an original boss at the end.  I'll be showing this at the end of the video.

"Hero Mode" - A slight modification of the base game with tougher enemy layouts.

"Superhero Mode" - An even harder version of Hero mode.

"Endless Stage" - A semi-randomly generated endless level.

"Proto Man Mode" - Same as the core game, but you now play as Protoman.  Unlike Mega Man, he can slide, charge shots and block enemy bullets with his shield while jumping; the tradeoff is that he takes double damage from anything that hits him.

10/25/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 9: Mega Man & Bass (Rockman & Forte)

Mega Man & Bass feels like an intermediary between Mega Man 7 and Mega Man 8.  The irony, of course, being that this game came out after Mega Man 8 did, and the series went back to the Super Famicom after two outings on the Saturn and Playstation. 

The main draw to this game is the ability to play through as Bass, who has significantly different gameplay mechanics and boss strategies.  In general, Bass has an easier time with the stages thanks to his double jump and multi-directional Bass Buster, while Mega Man has an easier time with the bosses thanks to his lower slide, charge shots, and more useful items.

The game went unreleased outside of Japan for several years before finally getting an internationally-released port to the Game Boy Advance in 2003.  For the purposes of this video, I'll be playing a translated ROM of the SFC version (mainly for the larger screen resolution).


10/21/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 8: Mega Man 8

We step into the era of CD technology, say farewell to Roman numerals in our titles and say hello to comically terrible voice acting.


10/18/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 7: Mega Man VII


Capcom proved that Mega Man X didn't mean the end for classic Mega Man with a pretty decent (albeit overly difficult) SNES followup.




10/16/2012

Let's Play Soul Nomad and the World Eaters, Part 6

Gig and Danette's pasts are heavily alluded to as we make our way to the secluded desert town of Thuris and confront the first of the World Eaters.

If you're wondering why I'm using a single unit and my hero's name is suddenly "P1", it's because I failed to back up my previous saves and - sure enough - my previous recording of this section ended up being unusable.  So I had to do a quick single-unit speedrun to get back here.  On the plus side, this does give us a chance to show off some animations we wouldn't normally see - almost every character has a special team attack with Revya!

We'll go back to the old team setup for the rest of the playthrough though, so don't worry.


Characters introduced this time (in order of appearance)

Vigilance, Virtuous and Resilience
Voiced by: Yuri Lowenthal, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Wendee Lee

Three gods who hint at being pawns in the scheme of someone or something called "Drazil".  Vigilance sure bears an uncanny resemblance to Gig...


Grunzford
Voiced by: David Lodge

At first he appears to be just a feeble old Redflank, but it's quickly revealed that he has a much larger role in  events we've witnessed.  Joins the party to keep an eye on Gig, Revya and Danette.



Kanan
Voiced by: ?

The Dracon leader of the cult of Thuris.  Not much else to say about her just yet.



Thuris
Voiced by: ?

The first of the three World Eaters, who plays at being a god.  False deity to the people of the town of Thuris.   Holds no particular loyalty to Gig, but that's not terribly surprising.







10/15/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 6: Mega Man VI

The franchise has its last hurrah on the NES with Mega Man 6, released in 1993.  While the game unfortunately suffered from a rushed production schedule, it does possess a few unique twists that keep it from being completely forgettable.  It also cemented its place in history by featuring two Robot Masters submitted to a Nintendo Power design contest.


10/12/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 5: Mega Man V

As we enter this series underdog, the ambiguity of Protoman's allegiance is finally made clear.  OR IS IT?!


10/09/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 4: Mega Man IV

We're now stepping into 1991, where a new villain arises (sort of) and Mega Man finally gets his iconic Mega Buster.


10/07/2012

Let's Play Soul Nomad and the World Eaters, Part 5

An alliance is forged with the Nereids as the truth begins to unfold in Raide.


Characters introduced this time (in order of appearance)

 Queen Alexemia
Voiced by: Karen Strassman

The queen of the Nereids and, unlike the rest of them, a full mermaid.  Fully intent on saving her race from the brink of extinction, even if that means making some very unlikely (and unpopular) deals.


10/05/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 3: Mega Man III

We march into what is often considered the pinnacle of the original series, Mega Man III.

10/03/2012

Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 2: Mega Man II

We move on to the second game in the series, which makes numerous improvements to the gameplay (not the least of which are Energy tanks and a password system) and features one of the most kick-ass video game soundtracks of all time.


10/01/2012

October Special: Let's Play the Mega Man Hendecalogy, Part 1: Mega Man

Mega Man needs some love in light of the recent cancellation of two promising games and this awful comic we're currently slogging through. That's why throughout the whole month of October I'll be paying tribute to one of the biggest legends in gaming by posting playthroughs of every game in the original series. So let's kick things off with the game that started it all, Mega Man.