Topic: PREVIEWS: Mega Man 9

[Nick DiMola]

Mega Man is back with a spiritual successor to the second, and most highly regarded, entry in the series.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=16383

 As recently announced, Mega Man is returning for the ninth entry in the mainline series on WiiWare later this year. Despite being the ninth game in the series, Mega Man 9 will look, sound, and play much like a sequel to Mega Man 2.    

In a follow-up twist to the plot of Mega Man 8, the robots which are stirring up trouble in Mega Man 9 are not born of the evil Dr. Wily, but rather Dr. Light.  Light learns of this by noticing the rioting robots on TV.  During the broadcast Dr. Wily blames Dr. Light for the evil deeds, causing Mega Man to embark on a quest to clear his creator's name and get to the bottom of the story.    

Players are privy to more than a dozen new levels with over 50 new enemies to battle, including bosses. Players will also be able to track their scores on an online leaderboard system and compare them with other Mega Man players around the world.    

Longtime fans will be pleased to note that original character designer Keiji Inafune has returned to direct the design of Mega Man 9's characters, retaining the authenticity of the original titles.    

Mega Man 9 will be available on WiiWare later this year.