Mega Man 10 has practically two different experiences after the title screen. Unlike the mixed bag of Mega Man 9 that crushed players old and new with its punishing difficulty, the tenth outing for the blue bomber offers an easier mode. The easy mode found inside is comparable to Mega Man 6 in the sense while it is easy it still has challenge to it. The normal difficulty is along the lines of what 9 brought but with a little edge taken off.
The bosses remain well designed and interesting to fight like they were in Mega Man 9. Chill Man and Nitro Man fight like similar bosses found in Mega Man 7. In fact most of the bosses are similar in fighting style to previous Mega Man games like Pump Man in comparison to Mega Man 5's Dive Man.
The stages also have a feel of been there, done that but it still feels fresh. Commando Man's level begins in the desert exactly as Pharaoh Man's did from Mega Man 4. It’s an element like a sandstorm in the later parts of that level that change the expectations of a player feeling the nostalgia from an older title.
One of the cooler parts of the game involves one of the final levels being a tribute to the 9 games prior to this one, and the mini bosses being a set of 3 crystals using weapons from a Robot master from each of the 9 titles. Its design like this that is present throughout the game. The robot master stages are all distinguishable from each other, and have their own pacing that separates level design of Mega Man 9 which was considerably nonstop.
Weapon wise Mega Man 10 has some devastating ones and some that feel a bit useless. Blade Man's Triple Blade attack is rarely used and doesn't do too much damage to anything. Nitro Man's Wheel Cutter on the other hand can be used as a projectile, a close range weapon and a way to scale walls.
Back from Mega Man 9 are the challenges how they are done this time adds much more to the game. Borrowing from Powered Up, PSP remake of the first Mega Man, the challenges are mini events which you race to complete for fast times and simply completing them. Challenges range from jumping tests to combat endurance levels and even rematches with the bosses on three different difficulties without taking damage. Not all the challenges are available at once and the game essentially requires you to play on Easy, Normal and Difficult to unlock all the challenge events.
Sort of new to Mega Man 10 is Proto Man, Mega Man's brother is now available from the get go instead of being a DLC. While he possess the slide and charging shot missing from Mega Man he also has a shield to block attacks while jumping. The downside of the shield is its rather useless and hard to use on purpose and will be an accidental savings of your health most of the time. Proto Man also can only shoot two pellets of buster fire at a time and takes twice as much damage as Mega Man.
Graphics and Audio wise its NES stylized, a colorful dated looking game with surprisingly still fresh upbeat music. While Mega Man 9 had some harder to listen to tracks, 10 is as good as the Mega Man 2 or 3 track in comparison In the end Mega Man 10 is worth the price of admission without a second thought. It's a fantastic game, with a lot to do after you complete your first time through the game. On the horizon the playable character of Bass will give players a third style to romp through a classic platforming experience and new levels will have players face bosses previously exclusive to the Game Boy Mega Man games of the mid 1990s.
Graphics | Audio | Gameplay | Replay | Genre | Final |
