Mighty No. 9 arrived in June 2016 after years of delay and over $400% raised through Kickstarter. The game promised to bring back the feel of classic Mega Man games, and it mostly delivers on that promise — but only mostly. This is a game of highs and lows, and the lows land harder than the highs justify.
Trailer, via IGDBcom.
Beck and the Virus
The premise is simple and familiar. Beck is the ninth in a line of powerful robots, and he is the only one not infected by a mysterious computer virus that has turned his fellow Mighty Numbers against their human creators. The game opens with a massive robot uprising, and Beck is tasked by Dr. White to hunt down his siblings.
The story leans heavily on its Mega Man roots. Dr. White created the nine Mighty Numbers, and during one competition a cyber attack infected them with a virus that made them crazed and rampant. Beck’s job is to save them by absorbing their Xels — a process that restores their original personalities and sends data back to Dr. White, who is trying to find the cause of the outbreak.
The cast is small but well-defined. Beck is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in English and Ayumu Murase in Japanese. His partner, Call, is voiced by Julie Nathanson in English and M.A.O in Japanese. The game also brings in Gregory Graham, voiced by Scott Whyte in English and Takehito Koyasu in Japanese, who runs Cherry Dynamics, the world’s largest supplier of robots.
The Levels and the Xels
The game is structured around twelve stages, though the first eight are freely chosen in any order. Each stage ends with a boss fight against one of the other eight Mighty Numbers. After those eight, a final set of levels unlocks, leading to the final showdown.
Beck’s main ability is AcXelerate, pronounced like “accelerate.” It lets him move quickly and cross large gaps, and it is the key to getting through most of the game’s hazards. When Beck weakens an enemy, he can AcXelerate through it to absorb Xel, a substance that grants temporary enhancements.
Those enhancements come in three flavors:
- Red Xel increases attack power and lets Beck shoot through walls.
- Green Xel increases speed, letting Beck run faster.
- Yellow Xel increases resistance to damage.
There are also blue enemies that refill the player’s AcXel Recover 1, which can be used to heal Beck. Call cannot absorb Xel but can boost further than Beck and can use a Patch service bot to activate a shield.
The Problems With the Game
The game’s biggest weakness is its presentation. The blend of 2D and 3D artwork and animation is uneven, and the music is competent but forgettable. The game’s difficulty spikes without warning.
The controls are solid, but the game’s pacing suffers from repetition. The first eight stages are all variations on the same formula, and the final four add new challenges rather than cosmetic changes. The boss battles are often memorable, but the filler between them drags.
The game was originally scheduled for April 2015. It was delayed multiple times before release, and the final version shipped for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One in June 2016. Linux and OS X ports followed in August 2016. The PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS versions were planned but never released.
| Platform | Release Date |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One | June 2016 |
| Linux, OS X | August 2016 |
The game’s troubled development is part of its story. The Kickstarter campaign reached its minimum goal within two days of launching in September 2013, but stretch goals pushed the total funds to over 400% of the original target. Comcept then funded another project, Red Ash: The Indelible Legend, through Kickstarter, which drew accusations of mismanagement from fans.
Final Verdict
Mighty No. 9 is a game that captures the spirit of its predecessors but falls short of greatness. Its best moments — the boss fights, the clever level design, the sense of discovery — are genuinely rewarding. Its worst moments — the rough visuals, the repetitive middle stretch, the sudden difficulty spikes — are enough to sour the experience.
The game’s failure to live up to its promises leaves a bitter taste. A game that asked for so much trust from its backers should have delivered more consistency.
Score: 5.2 out of 10.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
