Mega Man 10 (WiiWare, 2010)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-8 Control-8 Challenge-8/7* Story-5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8.5/7* Fun-7.5 Originality-4.5
Overall Score-7.5
*w/ a decent amount of items and the right level order, as MM
+
Some creative level design (minor puzzle element to strike man's, sheep man's levels and nitro man's levels+wily's castle, ice platforms that can also be broken by enemies - systemic elements, elevator part)
Pretty nice cutscenes overall
Good bosses overall (sheep man is kind of easy and pump man pretty easy)
Some levels have branching paths (MM6; pump man, commando man, wily 1, high path in nitro man and parts of wily's castle)
Three playable chars (Mega, Proto - slide+charge+block but can only have 2 default shots on screen at once, Bass (unlockable - enter up, down, left, right, left, right, down, up, up, down on the D-pad at title) - rapid shot+dash+can shoot diagonally and straight upwards+flight)
Replay beaten stages (but not the main bosses in them)
Difficulty options (easy and normal where the former covers up spikes and pits with platforms, unlockable hard mode (new boss patterns, more enemies))
Some breakable blocks (MM1)
MM1-7 boss cameos in the wily levels (MM8)
Gain RJ after a set amount of stages cleared instead of a specific stage
A few interesting weapons (chill - freeze enemies and some you can stand on; nearly all are useful at some point) - MM9 was better in this regard though
Pretty challenging third form of the Wily fight
Some fun optional challenges (for example beating the game using as little energy as possible, under 60 minutes or without missing shots, beat the 8 main bosses with buster only, stroller would've been fun if it was more fleshed out, three special stages w/ new music and bosses via DLC) - MM9
Don't have to pause the game to switch weapons
+/-
Save feature (between levels)
Mid-level checkpoints (a bit scarce). Start at the beginning of the level after continuing unlike in MM8
Only one shop item with a permanent effect and it should've been a default feature (energy balancer) - could've had charge shot, sliding, auto-fire (MM8), vertical or diagonal shots, more Rush upgrades, the bee shot for grabbing items that drop on spikes
The shop removes most of the challenge if used effectively (remove spike and pit fatality, buy energy, lives, 1/2 damage reducer and ammo; kinda pointless hairdo/helmetless skin item)
Doesn't feature a female robot master
Hit detection around platform edges seems more forgiving when taking it slow than when you’re moving towards the edge and jumping
Lacks most of the special items/parts seen in MM8 (mega ball, exit level teleporter, no knockback/recoil - default knockback is longer than in MM8, piercing laser, spread shot, faster shots, 5 shots on screen, faster charging, 3-5 shots at once, 2x power ups effectivity, weapons drain less ammo, faster climbing, longer+faster slide, start w/ more lives after continuing, extra life refill to 2/4 after each level)
You can only carry one m-tank at a time (any additional ones that you collect go to waste)
Mega man can no longer swim (MM8)
Protoman even has a projectile shield
Item drops disappear after a few seconds
Can’t save between Wily stages (no ammo refills)
You get to keep your bolts after a game over (so you can replay the stages where there are many of them a few times and then steamroll most of the game with bought items). Doesn't have limited bolts like MM8
Boss gauntlet before the finale
No paths exclusive to Proto or Bass (would've worked better if you could switch between them I suppose)
Off screen enemy respawning
Cutter weapon is like a slower to start version of snake man's weapon although its secondary use (which isn't explained in-game, hold the fire button down) lets you climb flat walls which is cool
-
Sometimes noticeably harder initial levels than in the classic games (strike man) and the game sometimes feels balanced for Protoman (who can slide and use charge shots by default)
Some control/interface issues (no full control config (just two modes which switches the main buttons around; MM8), slight delay when starting to move+have to turn really quickly to avoid it, still have to switch to a special weapon to refill the ammo for it, no separate button for special weapons (MM7-8), can’t buy more than one of an item at once, can't place rush coil on frozen trucks)
Trial & error (background enemies in strike man's level that pop up right next to you, boss fights, second mini-boss in strike man's level - unintuitive patterns, near pixel perfect jumping in a few parts (pump man), can stand on some frozen enemies but not others, some downward jump parts, type 1 challenges aren't explained before starting them, etc.)
Uneven difficulty (spikes: block devil boss, 2nd mini-boss in strike man's level, strike man, chill man, nitro man, parts of nitro man's level, bosses are generally a lot harder than their levels, no rewards from mini-bosses; dips: when using the right weapon against a boss, sometimes frequent large HP drops (luck-based), most of pump man's level and boss, some parts are much easier when using a particular weapon, chill weapon is a bit OP, crusher rooms - lame version of the same idea in an earlier game)
Keep finding items that you have a full stock of such as ammo when at full ammo instead of HP even if near death (same with what eddie drops) - no MM8 exchanger item!
Sheep man's weapon kinda sucks (too situational and expensive)
Few hidden items (extra life+some health above the Wily 2 "Dr. W" sign, 3 bolts inside the first landmines after the checkpoint in Commando's level)
No health bars for mini-bosses like the fire dragon
Rehashes a bunch of stuff (water shield weapon, ricocheting weapon, MM9 shop items, various enemies, blade man and nitro man, chill man level birds, time bomb platforms, etc.)
Some slightly unforgiving hit detection (spike balls, some larger sprites)
Shielded enemies break flow at times
A few enemies are reused for different levels
Most of the level design requiring Rush feels tacked on for nostalgia’s sake (the road segments is an exception although you could use some other weapons there too)
Often can't go backwards to previous rooms/segments in the levels - points of no return (seems arbitrary and unnecessary)
Repeated birds mini-boss
Missing some of the more creative level design of the prequel (teleporters, swings, "roller tape platforms", spinning magnet rails, anti-grav segment where you steer l/r by shooting, teleportation slots, tornado fueled elevators, 1-up mimes)
Tedious second wily form unless you use water shield (long out of reach periods in-between short vulnerable periods
Sometimes less memorable music
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8.5/7* Fun-7.5 Originality-4.5
Overall Score-7.5
*w/ a decent amount of items and the right level order, as MM
+
Some creative level design (minor puzzle element to strike man's, sheep man's levels and nitro man's levels+wily's castle, ice platforms that can also be broken by enemies - systemic elements, elevator part)
Pretty nice cutscenes overall
Good bosses overall (sheep man is kind of easy and pump man pretty easy)
Some levels have branching paths (MM6; pump man, commando man, wily 1, high path in nitro man and parts of wily's castle)
Three playable chars (Mega, Proto - slide+charge+block but can only have 2 default shots on screen at once, Bass (unlockable - enter up, down, left, right, left, right, down, up, up, down on the D-pad at title) - rapid shot+dash+can shoot diagonally and straight upwards+flight)
Replay beaten stages (but not the main bosses in them)
Difficulty options (easy and normal where the former covers up spikes and pits with platforms, unlockable hard mode (new boss patterns, more enemies))
Some breakable blocks (MM1)
MM1-7 boss cameos in the wily levels (MM8)
Gain RJ after a set amount of stages cleared instead of a specific stage
A few interesting weapons (chill - freeze enemies and some you can stand on; nearly all are useful at some point) - MM9 was better in this regard though
Pretty challenging third form of the Wily fight
Some fun optional challenges (for example beating the game using as little energy as possible, under 60 minutes or without missing shots, beat the 8 main bosses with buster only, stroller would've been fun if it was more fleshed out, three special stages w/ new music and bosses via DLC) - MM9
Don't have to pause the game to switch weapons
+/-
Save feature (between levels)
Mid-level checkpoints (a bit scarce). Start at the beginning of the level after continuing unlike in MM8
Only one shop item with a permanent effect and it should've been a default feature (energy balancer) - could've had charge shot, sliding, auto-fire (MM8), vertical or diagonal shots, more Rush upgrades, the bee shot for grabbing items that drop on spikes
The shop removes most of the challenge if used effectively (remove spike and pit fatality, buy energy, lives, 1/2 damage reducer and ammo; kinda pointless hairdo/helmetless skin item)
Doesn't feature a female robot master
Hit detection around platform edges seems more forgiving when taking it slow than when you’re moving towards the edge and jumping
Lacks most of the special items/parts seen in MM8 (mega ball, exit level teleporter, no knockback/recoil - default knockback is longer than in MM8, piercing laser, spread shot, faster shots, 5 shots on screen, faster charging, 3-5 shots at once, 2x power ups effectivity, weapons drain less ammo, faster climbing, longer+faster slide, start w/ more lives after continuing, extra life refill to 2/4 after each level)
You can only carry one m-tank at a time (any additional ones that you collect go to waste)
Mega man can no longer swim (MM8)
Protoman even has a projectile shield
Item drops disappear after a few seconds
Can’t save between Wily stages (no ammo refills)
You get to keep your bolts after a game over (so you can replay the stages where there are many of them a few times and then steamroll most of the game with bought items). Doesn't have limited bolts like MM8
Boss gauntlet before the finale
No paths exclusive to Proto or Bass (would've worked better if you could switch between them I suppose)
Off screen enemy respawning
Cutter weapon is like a slower to start version of snake man's weapon although its secondary use (which isn't explained in-game, hold the fire button down) lets you climb flat walls which is cool
-
Sometimes noticeably harder initial levels than in the classic games (strike man) and the game sometimes feels balanced for Protoman (who can slide and use charge shots by default)
Some control/interface issues (no full control config (just two modes which switches the main buttons around; MM8), slight delay when starting to move+have to turn really quickly to avoid it, still have to switch to a special weapon to refill the ammo for it, no separate button for special weapons (MM7-8), can’t buy more than one of an item at once, can't place rush coil on frozen trucks)
Trial & error (background enemies in strike man's level that pop up right next to you, boss fights, second mini-boss in strike man's level - unintuitive patterns, near pixel perfect jumping in a few parts (pump man), can stand on some frozen enemies but not others, some downward jump parts, type 1 challenges aren't explained before starting them, etc.)
Uneven difficulty (spikes: block devil boss, 2nd mini-boss in strike man's level, strike man, chill man, nitro man, parts of nitro man's level, bosses are generally a lot harder than their levels, no rewards from mini-bosses; dips: when using the right weapon against a boss, sometimes frequent large HP drops (luck-based), most of pump man's level and boss, some parts are much easier when using a particular weapon, chill weapon is a bit OP, crusher rooms - lame version of the same idea in an earlier game)
Keep finding items that you have a full stock of such as ammo when at full ammo instead of HP even if near death (same with what eddie drops) - no MM8 exchanger item!
Sheep man's weapon kinda sucks (too situational and expensive)
Few hidden items (extra life+some health above the Wily 2 "Dr. W" sign, 3 bolts inside the first landmines after the checkpoint in Commando's level)
No health bars for mini-bosses like the fire dragon
Rehashes a bunch of stuff (water shield weapon, ricocheting weapon, MM9 shop items, various enemies, blade man and nitro man, chill man level birds, time bomb platforms, etc.)
Some slightly unforgiving hit detection (spike balls, some larger sprites)
Shielded enemies break flow at times
A few enemies are reused for different levels
Most of the level design requiring Rush feels tacked on for nostalgia’s sake (the road segments is an exception although you could use some other weapons there too)
Often can't go backwards to previous rooms/segments in the levels - points of no return (seems arbitrary and unnecessary)
Repeated birds mini-boss
Missing some of the more creative level design of the prequel (teleporters, swings, "roller tape platforms", spinning magnet rails, anti-grav segment where you steer l/r by shooting, teleportation slots, tornado fueled elevators, 1-up mimes)
Tedious second wily form unless you use water shield (long out of reach periods in-between short vulnerable periods
Sometimes less memorable music