This comment makes it crystal clear to me that you don’t understand the fundamental principle of gaming: gameplay = fun. nothing else matters.
you can play chess on a grid you draw yourself with letters on little squares of paper. it is just as fun; you should try it sometime. the beauty of chess is the phenomenally deep strategy in the game. it has absolutely NOTHING to do with what the pieces are made of or how they look.

that comment along with your bigoted slam on the amish (i’m sure they’re plenty happy and healthy without modern technology, thanks very much… they live that way for a reason, they’re not idiots) are a flashing neon sign showing me just whose articles to ignore in the future. cheers.

actually some of the finest chest sets today are made of stone and precious metals detailed in the pain staking tradition of craftsmen and are prettier than plastic pieces sold by hasbro or milton bradley. just because there are newer ways to make things doesn’t make them better. however i do agree with your right to say how you feel and if you were disappointed with the title no one can change that and if it pisses people off too bad. people have different tastes or expectations, so we can agree to disagree.

@ ageman

i would only by this because the formula resembles what i loved as a kid. so yeah there is nostalgia factored in, but i don’t just buy anything capcom shoves down my throat. the only other game in my library from capcom in years and years was zack & wiki, which was also a fine title.

@ eden

finally i don’t think you have to be born before 1980 to enjoy this title, but it definitely helps. being born right on the verge (1979) the original mega man titles will be how i always remember the little blue bomber, so it does make sense we are the targeted audiendes not 12 year olds who are hopped up on monsters and beating hookers senseless. there are a lot of us who will buy this game, so it makes perfect sense for capcom to give fans what they want at a good price. it also doesn’t mean they are going to limit the franchise re-invention to 8-bit titles or even make anymore ever again.

mykie: I assure you, this article was fueled by nothing but genuine disappointment. I hold the Mega Man series near to my heart. This article was not, as you say, written as “contrary for the sake of being contrary.” Although you are right about one thing; I do hate when bands sell out.

deepthought: I knew my armor would be tested with this one, and I figured it would hit a nerve. But someone needed to say it; clearly, a substantial number of people share my disappointment.

siavm: The means of distribution is irrelevant. Whether it was downloaded, bought at Wal-Mart or beamed through space, there is still justifiable reasons to be disappointed with Capcom’s decision.

Krist: Thanks for understanding. At least with Chrono Trigger, though, it gives people a chance to play a classic game without spending the crazy prices it fetches on eBay these days. Chrono Trigger remade for the DS, though it is a mere port, still serves a purpose somewhat.

Anyway, a lot of commenters here seem to be missing that this seems to be -purely- about nostalgia, objectively speaking, megaman 9 is a step backward, not forward. Sure enough developers put effort in level design and music, but there’s nothing in there to truly progress the series….. so I think people calling capcom lazy for making this game is more than understandable.

The people who are commenting right now (mostly) are the people who would eat anything Capcom throws down their throat ANYWAY, so of course they’re gonna come in here and have a little comment-crusade (like that’ll change anyone’s mind anyway…).

Most people who feel the same way as me, the article author, and a few commentors here, should’t be wasting their time commenting. Don’t know why I am – most of you are thick-headed anyway and believe anything Inafune tells you. Seriously. I could give countless examples of how this is lazy, but far too many people skim comments anyway so I wont waste my time.

Actuallu…..for those who do read comments, let’s take a look at some stuff.

Super Mario Bros 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J31klTM6q78
Even for a NES title, this game looked pretty damn good. Look at how much colour is on the screen at one? I can count up at at least 6 or 7 colours on screen at once. And this is a classic NES game.

Super Mario Advance 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYpWDoSiF44
This is the same damn game as above. The gameplay hasn’t been tweaked, no integrity was lost, the “fun” factor is still there. The graphics are not 3D, but still gorgeous. Look at the damn backgrounds! They’re fantastic! Look how beautiful Nintendo was able to make a classic NES game with a slight paint job. The fun or retro feel you’re all whining about wasn’t touched at ALL, and it looks fantastic. You can tell they put a lot of polish on this one.

What’s that you say? Graphics like THAT aren’t possible on the NES, you crazy fool!!! To this I say – it’s not a NES game. It’s a WiiWare game. They can do whatever the hell they want… Examples?

Zelda : Four Swords Adventures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJxLvrsnwBg&feature=related
Take note especially of the effects added to the game. It’s primarily a 32-bit sprite-based game on Gamecube hardware. All characters, items, environments, etc. are sprites. They are pixelated like a retro game – but Nintendo actually uses the extra system power to add nice, subtle effects like smoke, sparkles and the like. This is an extreme, mind you, and I’m not saying Capcom should use 32-bit graphics etc. – but they could have at LEAST used SOME of the Wii’s power for added presentation… This trailer shows NOTHING.

And lastly, for those who are “purists” or whatever you wanna call yourself, I have one more example that you should take a look at. You all keep whining about MegaMan 8 and the tiniest of things….I’d like to say “shut up already”, but I wont. No matter how attractive the game looked in my eyes, I’ll lower myself to your “8-bit only FTW” attitude.

MegaMan 6 (NES)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIBcpowkU3A
Above, is MegaMan 6 for the NES. The last NES MegaMan game released way back. You don’t even have to watch the whole video – the first 30 seconds alone get my point across. Look at the backgrounds. Look at the beautiful shading the NES was capable of. The backgrounds looked fantastic, actually. Sure, Mega himself is still the same sprite, but you can see how much effort went into making this one of the best looking of the NES MegaMan games. You can’t deny it – it’s a job well done and gameplay aside, I feel MegaMan 6 was the highpoint of the serious presentation-wise. That being said – look at the MegaMan 9 trailer again… At most a see maybe 3 or 4 colours on screen at once when we KNOW that the NES can do more. Things are barely shaded in MegaMan 9, when we KNOW they can be.

I’m not gonna go on, because most of the raving fanboys are gonna miss the point anyway, but I just want you to know what Capcom COULD have done while still being retro – and they didn’t. They decided to maximize profit, minimize effort.

-Age

I think it’s a little too soon to be making predictions about Capcom’s intentions. There’s something to be said for simplifying graphics to bring more focus on the gameplay/level design. One has to admit that people _have_ been clamoring for more retro stuff. Now, whether Capcom _should_ have cashed in on said nostalgia? That’s the real question here.