Mega Man 11 Review (PC)

excellent
key review info
  • Game: Mega Man 11 / Rock Man 11
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: Yes  
  • Reviewed on:
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)

Mega Man 11 is one of the few games out there that will spark instant melancholy in the hearts of people even before playing it. But, it can also break the hearts of the same people if it doesn’t rise to the expectations.

Some game should remain a memory, and there is a simple reason why. The memories we have from a good event in our lives are usually much better than the event itself and are shaped by the contemporary environment surrounding that event.

Let’s take the example of the first game you ever played. For me, it was something I programmed on an old HC computer. I didn’t have any tapes, and it was three pages of code from a book. Whenever I turned the HC off, the game would vanish, and I had to start all over again.

But it didn’t matter, because I loved every second of it. The same can be said about the original Tetris or Super Mario. They were the best things I tried at that time and left me with a vivid impression. If I were to replay all of these games today, I would be terribly disappointed in them. I’m not even mentioning the fact that I wouldn’t have the necessary patience.

Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
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When I heard about Mega Men 11, my heart sank. I immediately figured that I would probably be disappointing, no matter how much effort the creators put into the game. There was no way it was going to be as good as my memory served me. I was wrong.

Story and gameplay

This is Mega Man, so don’t expect anything remotely interesting or even funny from the story. Even with this setup, I don’t really care that the story is lame, uninteresting, and presents virtually no incentive, at least for me. I want just to survive the levels and beat the boss. I don’t really care about the background stuff.

I know that there are some purists in the wild that might care about Doctor Wily (hihi), and his evil plan to use the Double Gear system. Of course, he’s controlling some massive robots that are the bosses for each level. As I was saying, it’s no exciting or interesting, but it’s there, and you have to deal with it. In the greater scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.

What’s important in Mega Man 11 is the gameplay, and I’m sure that everyone feels that way. It’s one of the rare games in which the gameplay is the motivator to keep going. In fact, your failures are much better to make you go back and retry; and then a few more times, just for good measure. You have to keep in mind that even if you’ll try and try again, there is no guarantee that you’ll succeed.

Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
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I don’t remember the games being so difficult, but I think that I was a lot more patient and much better at playing platformers. Finding stuff online or seeing better players wasn’t possible a couple of decades ago, so I had to get good on my own.

The game is structured in a really interesting way because all of the levels are available from the start, and you can choose what you want to play. Although, you will notice that some levels are somewhat more accessible than others. Although to be fair, easier is a very relative term, and it stretches its meaning depending on the situations.

Most of the time, it’s just a matter of timing your jumps and firing the weapon at the right time, but I could swear that some luck has to be involved, at least in some way. If we also take into account the difficulty levels, we’re looking at the perfect game to break either the controller or the screen.

Of course, all of Mega Man’s tricks are present. You can shoot and charge the shot, but you’ll be picking up various weapons from the robots you’ll defeat. I highly recommend starting from the top left corner, as the first boss gives you the ability to summon rocks, and that’s helpful later on.

Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
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The main improvements are the two gears; one used for slowing down time and the other to provide more damage to the weapons. Both have timers, and the punishment is that you can’t use them if you run out the clock. The game is built around them, and you better learn to use them and fast.

All of the levels are very different from one another, both regarding design and gameplay, and I can’t state this enough. As soon as you finish with one boss, you’ll brashly move to the next one, thinking that you’re on fire. The truth is that you’re probably going to get crushed right away because many of the strategies that you’ve just learned no longer apply. Also, screw the laws of physics that you’ve just adapted to, the next level won’t respect them.

The is no doubt that Mega Man 11 is a love letter to the fans because, despite the clear modern tone of the game, it’s still pretty close to what we were playing back in the day. Well, I say back in the day, but it’s not really that. The previous Mega Man 10 was launched back in 2010 and the one before that, Mega Man 9, in 2008.

Graphics and design

You see, Mega Man 11 is the first one in the series that drops the pixelated graphics (which were still being used by Mega Man games until 2010) and uses a 2.5D engine with hand-crafted backgrounds. And if there is one thing that we fear, it’s the move from old school to new graphics.

We can count on one hand the number of times when a game moved into the 3D world with success, but I’m happy to say that Mega Man 11 is definitely one of them. Before playing it, I had some doubts that the transition was going to be smooth, but I’m happy to say that I was wrong.

Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
Mega Man 11 Review (PC)
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The textures and the engine are precise, which means that they are punishing as well. If there is a mistake made, I know that it’s from me. Mega Man 11 is good at showing you just what a poor player you are.

I need to mention the design because it’s hard to describe how the game is built. When you first start it, you will notice that it seems simple and bland, but I choose to say that it’s deceptively simple. There are layers and layers that cover the fact that it’s punishing and not friendly. It makes players feel like they can beat it with ease. If the game could laugh, it would be rolling on the floor watching you trying to pass an obstacle that should be a walk in the park, only to fail miserably.


The Good

  • It's difficult and fun at the same time
  • Beautiful hand-drawn graphics
  • Great variation

The Bad

  • Would be nice for Capcom to improve the recipe

Conclusion

The fact that I like Mega Man that much, and this game, in particular, doesn’t mean that the current iteration is perfect, by any stretch. I'm aware that it works because it sticks to the old recipe, but this is also the biggest problem. And here it goes.

I know that some of the people won’t necessarily agree, but the game needs to improve and innovate. Despite the fresh coat of paint and beautiful graphics, it’s still the same old gameplay hidden underneath; just more of the same.

I would love to play a take on Mega Man that’s built with the present in mind, and not linked to the past. As it stands right now, I have no problem saying that Mega Man 11 is probably the best in the series, but it’s also showing that the series has to come up with something new, especially now that they’ve shown what’s possible.

story 0
gameplay 10
concept 9
graphics 8
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 9
Editor's review
excellent
 
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