Mighty No. 9

Mighty No. 9 is an action platformer carrying on the legacy of Mega Man, created by a team around Keiji Inafune, which arrived on Wii U after a long and turbulent crowdfunded development backed heavily by fans of the classic series who followed the game's progress for many months, accompanied by a series of delays. Playing as the robot Beck, the player runs through a series of interconnected levels built on the classic boss-select formula, gaining a new ability after defeating each boss that can be used both to overcome obstacles and in combat in later levels.

The key gameplay mechanic is an enemy-weakening system, where enemies can be temporarily destabilized by gunfire and then absorbed with a quick dash that turns them into useful materials, rewarding an aggressive, fluid playstyle over cautious progress from cover. The level design alternates platforming passages with shootouts and occasional puzzles built around newly acquired abilities, with difficulty rising toward the final levels and boss fights that demand thorough knowledge of attack patterns. The cel-shaded visual style with three-dimensional models divided players between those it reminded of anime series and those who missed the more detailed pixel-art aesthetic of its predecessors.

The game's reception was mixed, partly due to technical shortcomings and the high expectations set by the campaign itself, yet it still found plenty of fans who appreciated the fast pace and elaborate combat system. For the genre, it matters mainly as a reminder of how challenging it is to continue the legacy of classic platformers independently of their original creators and without the original publisher's support. Today it's seen more as an interesting, not fully realized chapter in the genre's history than as its peak, though it remains a solid choice for fans of fast-paced action platformers.

Why play: If you're after a fast pace and an elaborate combat system and can forgive its technical shortcomings and unmet expectations, this is a solid, if imperfect, choice for fans of action platformers.