I love Dynatron (the electric girl) and her amazing battle, but her level feels like a neutered take on Flame Mammoth’s stage in Mega Man X, with less room to explore and more pipes getting in the way. It’s not just Countershade though - these “Robot Masters” are a little too cool for the levels they inhabit (though the intro, mid, and final bosses are painfully boring). Outside of the Countershade stage, where players are chasing down a sniper robot through a looping Capital building (essentially morphing the entire level into a boss fight itself), pretty much everything else gives off that been there, done that feel - whether it’s in Inafune’s own games or more recent platforms.

That’s only going to frustrate the audience that didn’t grow up in the era of NES and SNES platformers, but I appreciate that Mighty, after all this waiting around for it, isn’t a remedial experience.īut all of this excellent gameplay design is only as good as the scenery you’re playing it in, and sadly, most of Mighty‘s levels are too by-the-book. There are several stages with outright insta-kill sections, with few and far between checkpoints. You’ll need to really get a hold on everything too, because Mighty can get pretty difficult. One can quick dash in and out of the action, and at times the sheer magnitude of your power to traverse terrain can feel like an iconic Mario power-up. It keeps things fresh, and in no time, you’ll start to identify enemies with specific powers like a sixth sense.īecause damn, if you can ignore the look of the lackluster engine, it plays well.

I adore the idea of adsorbing powers (like speed, power shots, and armor - which you can cleverly see above your avatar here) temporarily, and having to stay on top of things constantly to have the edge. The combo system (granting players chains if they absorb foes faster) isn’t nearly as cool as Comcept and Inti Creates think it is, but it works because it encourages smart and swift play.

You get used to the systems Inafune and his team have put in, especially boosting, which is used to “absorb” enemies after dealing damage with your arm cannon shots. 9‘s gameplay hasn’t changed much since my time with the demo many moons ago.

Download dynatron mighty no 9 for free