IGN: In Defense of Mega Man 10?

Does Mega Man 10 need someone to come to its defense? Apparently so, as IGN has elected to do the honors. Perhaps it has something to do with the fairly strong amount of apparent anti-Wii sentiment that seems to be coming from the site as of late, but with the game also appearing on Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Network, who can truly say for sure.
According to JGonzo at the Capcom*Unity, “there is no need for a defense of this game, as it targets a specific audience and gives them exactly what they want: retro Mega Man goodness.” But IGN has done so anyway, and here we have a couple of excerpts:

But what makes Mega Man 10 great isn’t its innovation, but its lack thereof. Mega Man 10 isn’t trying to break the mold and deliver something new and extraordinary. Instead, it’s trying to deliver something tried and true, something that’s been delivered plenty of times in the past. And that’s totally fine, since the Mega Man games on the NES provided some of the purest gameplay experiences in history, replete with crisp 8-bit graphics and some of the most famous MIDI music ever created. And as if that’s not enough, Capcom is even willing to make fun of itself and its treasured franchise, with laughably bad period box art and a Robot Master reveal — Sheep Man — that could only be considered tongue-in-cheek.

I implore the skeptics and loudmouths to do one thing. Sit down and play an old Mega Man game. Ignore Mega Man 9 completely, and go back further. If you don’t have access to an NES and the old cartridges, break out that Wii, go to the Virtual Console, and drop $5 on a game like Mega Man 3 (my favorite game of all time). Remove yourself from the critical and snarky internet age, and place yourself in, say, 1990. Let the classic music enter your ears as you browse the stage select screen. And then play. Experience the 8-bit Mega Man series’ influence on gaming culture. Imagine a simpler time in gaming when gameplay was the be all-end all, the king of the block. Immerse yourself in the 8-bit sights and sounds, the difficult and rewarding play. And then come back here and tell me you aren’t impressed with what that game not only did, but continues to do.

Not to cross my fandoms here, but this reminds me of something I think “Diamond” Dallas Page once said about wrestling: “Those who get it, there’s no need to explain; those who don’t get it, no amount of explaining is ever going to do.” I imagine there are exceptions to the rule, of course, but I think for the most part, people have their minds made up about games such as this, regardless of the reasoning behind their creation.

To find the full editorial, click on over to IGN here, and leave your own thoughts in the comments. All I ask is that you spare us the usual “I’d rather have Legends 3/X9/ZX3/Zero 5/Battle Network 7/Star Force 4 sentiments, as I think that really sort of escapes the point of it all.

TMMN Staff