The long wait came to an end for me yesterday afternoon when I traded 1,000 Wii Points and 66 memory blocks for Mega Man 9. Once the stage select screen appeared I felt as if I’d stepped back in time. After all these years I found myself looking at the new batch of Robot Masters with absolutely no idea where I should begin. It was disconcerting to step into a Mega Man game after all this time and not know the magic order needed to efficiently destroy the bosses. I decided to start with Galaxy Man which was a fitting warm-up. I destroyed him easily enough and decided to move on to Tornado Man, and it was here that I began to see just how my 8-bit Mega Man skills have deteriorated after years of neglect.

I spent the next hour sampling every other Robot Master stage. Out of the remaining seven bosses I only managed to reach Splash Woman and Magma Man (but was unable to defeat them). Mega Man 9 is kicking my ass, old-school style. Like its predecessors, however, whenever I fail, I see what I need to do differently the next time to avoid extra damage and death. Practice makes perfect. There’s a level of frustration associated with the original Mega Man games, and over the years memories of that aspect of the experience has sort of dropped away. We remember the awesome music, the creative characters, and the beloved sprite art. The disappearing blocks, deadly spikes, and poorly timed jumps are as much a part of Mega Man as the positive elements. Mega Man games would not be as enjoyable without elements both good and grueling.

We don’t see as many sadistically designed games in the modern era as we did in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Mega Man 9 doesn’t bring just the 8-bit visuals and sounds back for an encore. It also brings the frustration and pain, and you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to stock up on as many energy tanks and extra lives as I can afford.

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