Make the backers cry...because what's not to cry about?

So Mighty No. 9 review copies have been sent out and the critics are voicing their opinions, their rather disconcerting opinions for Mighty hopefuls. That's right, the "pros" seem to be finding as much enjoyment in the game as the general public found in the infamous trailer (that I might add was the work of the publisher - Deep Silver - not the developer, so no misdirected anger at Inafune-san folks). Here are the basic reactions so far, but brace yourself: it's not pretty.

•Action Trip's Blake Grundy: "Look for this to become a cautionary tale for crowdfunded projects from now until the end of time...Caveat emptor my friend."
55/100

•GamesRadar+'s Ben Tyrer: "Frustrating to play, and a pale imitation of Mega man..."
50/100

•Digital Spy's Stewart Andrews: "...It looks and feels like an amateurish homage to Megaman with bargain-basement production values..."
2/5

•IGN's Vince Ingenito: "Mighty No. 9 doesn’t seem to have a good sense of what was fun about Mega Man, or 2D action-platformers in general....Mighty No. 9 feels much more like a second-rate imposter than a spiritual successor."
5.6/10

And the list goes on. According to OpenCritic, only five percent of critics so far recommend the game, meaning ninety five percent do not suggest you try it out. Even old rock bands would tell you five out of a hundred IS bad (five points to anyone who gets the joke).

Furthermore, when you pull the game up on OpenCritic you are met by the following statement: "Mighty No. 9 is in the bottom 13.2% of games scored on OpenCritic" as well as an overall rating of 57/100.
To see more from OpenCritic's listings about this game, click here

While it is indeed possible that these scores are related to the very poorly received trailer that surfaced only a few weeks ago in what was either a terribly misguided attempt at marketing or an ingenious sabotage plan, it's highly unlikely that the vast majority of critics all agree on the low quality of the game solely because they were upset by a tasteless trailer that openly mocked the very people that gave money to the developers to make the game.


However, all is not lost! A few (very few) critics actually rated the game well. And in the end, critics are not the best way to determine if a game is worth buying: leave that up to gameplay trailers and let's plays on YouTube and the like.

Still, it's sounding far from promising at this point. All I'm saying is, in the words of Blake Grundy: Caveat emptor.


So what do you think? Will you be buying this one still, or have you changed your mind? Do the scores affect your opinion? Let us know...unless you'd rather not. In which case I totally won't think you're a snob...*cough*snob!*cough*

I'd probably buy it. No shame in trying it, right? (Video game review scores can be quite detrimental; many don't even trust games on their own merits and are now incredibly dependent on random user reviews and critical review scores to check something out. The developers just slap those scores on to convince you you're buying an awesome game, but you might not actually like it that much). Don't judge a game by it's scores (or box art).

Honestly its no surprise, I watch a few youtube channels that have talked about the game since it was first put on the table so to speak and not once can I recall them saying it was a great game, 

I haven't played the game myself so I can't really say how good the game is for sure ... However I feel it will play out like this..

1)this game was made under the guise of being like a megaman game pretty much, however the creators have also tried to make it different enough from megaman so that it's not precisely that.. Whether they did this to differentiate the two or if it was for legal reasons... I doubt it'll be a thing many people see as a positive.

2) This game has pretty much been hyped too much early on... It's taken forever to be released as well, This just screams disappointment

3) Not all classic game designs feel good to play anymore... Nostalgia is pretty much this games selling point.. And once that's worn off, I feel it will just be another generic mediocre game...

I hope I'm wrong.. But honestly... it reminds me a lot of Sonic 4, a game made to please fans of an older playstyle, only for it to be ruined because they tried to make it different and modern....

Crying like an anime fan on prom night? More like "Crying like all the backers when the Masterclass trailer came out".

Three million down the toilet, what a waste... Although I am infinitely glad I didn't back this. I wasn't going to buy it, then the trailer came out, and I knew I was going to hate it (Yes, I will be borrowing James Rolfe's infamous tactic here...) so I am not going to even bother buying the game.

This is what I dislike about crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter. There have been some cool things that have come out of it don't get me wrong, but more often than not it ends up like this. Something that far fails to deliver on expectations while a ton of money that could've been used for a better purpose go to waste. That's the risk when all you're going on before backing is loose ideas and concepts. If backing something on kickstarter I'd make it a rule to at least make sure those asking for money actually has something to show in terms of actual gameplay in stead of just talking about what they want to do like with Mighty no 9. That doesn't actually give any guarantee that the game will be any good. I hope those who did back it and was disappointed learn to be more cautious with what they put their money towards.

The fact that the game was constantly being delayed, that the creator seemed intent on selling all kinds of merchandise before we even knew much about the game and just how hyped up it was on top of this set it up to be one of the biggest disappointments to ever come out of the site. The trailer was basically like the final warning signal with how they seemed to insult the intelligence of their own fanbase and tried to use regular gameplay features as a selling point. I watched a bit of gameplay and they only seemed to confirm my suspicions, people thinking of picking this up are likely just better off sticking with the Mega Man series. Overall I'm definitely glad I never bought into the hype with this game.

My brother had it on pre-order so we just got home with it.We'll see how it turns out, and I might even post a review here later.

Inafune really screwed up big time. I would use harsh words, but I will be nice lol. Hell some people haven't even got their copies, the XBOX 360 version is delayed, and now I am hearing the game is bricking the Wii U. I am not gonna lie, if I feel the need to review it, I am going to pirate the game. As far as I am concerned Inafune and Comcept do not deserve one cent from me after the shady crap that they pulled.

I knew all the planned stuff before the game was even released was a bad sign. :p

What I'll do is probably watch people play the game on YT, then decide if I want to buy the game. As for buying based on it just being Mighty Number 9... no. I'll need to look at the game being played, and something tells me that I won't be that impressed...

From what I have seen from it so far, it's... disappointing. Especially for what, 4 million dollars? I really do feel sorry for the people who did back the game, and I just hope that the game isn't so awful...

Something else to take note of is that they've failed to deliver the promised rewards to the people who actually backed the Kickstarter campaign, even though they were able to get free copies of the game to critics and streamers who didn't back the game. In other words, they valued the press over the people who paid them four million dollars for a Mega Man-style game.

To be honest, I'm almost thinking of actually playing it, to see if I hate it as much as the critics do. The graphics aren't appealing to the eye, and I don't like how they value the press over their backers, but I'm really wondering if it's as terrible as they say it is. I've played a few games that received low ratings, and I actually liked a few of them, while I've ended up hating games that had really high ratings.

I can see why everyone posted here. I remember sword linking me to something to do with this....its kinda sad. How a game gets made to be a kind of a rip of a successful game. Its either A they do well or B fail big time. I don't want to judge and assume too much. But as it is already there is a lot of hate for the game. Which is the thing about it. '-'

Well, I've played the game, but I probably won't even think about reviewing it until I finish it (My brother deleted my save because I said a video was stupid, so now I've got to re-play it from the beginning again).
Anyway, I like it.It may not be as good as everyone hoped, but it's by no means horrible.What's happened here, i think, is the same thing that happened with the Star Wars prequels.Everyone wanted it to be the new Megaman game everyone's been waiting for, but when it didn't quite live up to it's expectations, everyone cries that it's the worst thing ever.

Having played it myself, I can safely say that, in my opinion, it's quite good.It may not be the very best, like no game ever was, but I think it's all right.

"I may not be the Megaman game everyone wants, I'm just the one they need right now". :Mighty Number 9.

I don't like mega man so I understand that I'm not the demographic for this game. But I will say that what they advertised in the trailer just seemed like basic features of a game like that.

I'm happy that the game got bad reception because the trailer was so ignorant as to who their backers were. (That anime joke while a lot of these backers are probably anime fans) And anyone that is so oblivious to their backers deserves to get panned.

As for Kickstarter, i'm gonna gree with Zlinqx on that one.

Ultrajeff : I agree that review scores aren't something to base a purchase off of. Knack didn't get the best reception from critics but wound up being one of my favorite games, insomuch it was my first platinum. And then there are games that get high scores and are as boring as watching the grass grow. I usually just watch a short gameplay video to see if the game looks fun. I've never really went wrong with that yet. However I do think it's a good idea to check a game out before purchase if it consistently gets flak. Better safe than sorry, right? I honestly don't want this game to succeed, but I wouldn't mind seeing Inafune succeed as a developer on his own.


Tyrian Delirium : I agree entirely with all of your points, especially the nostalgia point. I mean how many "great classics" would be considered great if they had released this year? Many great classics would flop today, and all that makes them great still is the nostalgia glasses we wear.


A user of this : And here's what I don't get: what about that game costs nearly four million dollars to make? Have you seen Shenmue III? I don't find it appealing, but a game of that quality graphically and (as far as we know fron description) mechanically speaking I can see taking millions, but Mighty No. 9? I mean no disrespect to Inafune or this development team, but games like this are made all the time by indie developers with a fraction of that income. It looks like a low grade game with high grade pay to me. I don't know.


Zlinqx : I agree. I'm a big fan of Kickstarter campaigns on the rare occasion that they're run right. You should have a demo of some sort before posting the project, don't pitch some concept that may or may not even have an outline drawing of a character. And in hindsight I guess we should have expected poor results when they decided to mimic another game. That almost never turns out well. Here's to hoping that Yooka Laylee is an exception to that rule.


HeaveyMetalGamer : Yeah it wasn't handled the best, and personally I found it tacky that they were planning a show and more before the game was even developed. Counting your chickens before they hatch? Check.


ZeroTails : Right? That was a bad sign right from the start. And as it's been said already, they made it part Megaman part something else and what people asked for was Megaman, so many will feel like they were given a poor excuse for a successor.


NobemberJoy : I didn't know that. :/ And from what I've seen it doesn't look terrible, but it doesn't look good either. Judging by trailers alone I'd say the 54/100 (I think that's what it averaged last I checked) looked accurate. I'd play it but only if it were a PS+ bonus, or someone gave it to me, and possibly if a friend recommended it highly enough and I caught it dirt cheap on sale. Otherwise I'd pass. Then again I don't like Megaman.


Eniitan : That's true too. When you mimic another game and hype it as such, it seems they do either do great or fail big time. Hit big or miss big, no middle ground really.


Spidey243 : That doesn't surprise me too much. While I don't think it looks good, I don't think it looks terrible either. I suspect most megaman fans will be mostly disappointed with this as it's nothing like what they were told it would be to begin with. It isn't a successor to Megaman, it's a game that draws some inspiration from Megaman. Big difference. Glad you liked it though.



imamonster : And that's an accurate statement I think. They did hype up pretty basic controls, and they really lost my interest when they referred to it as a "dashing simulator". So basically they're telling us you can dash in multiple directions (had that since NES, right?) and score points using combos. It sounds very basic. Maybe it'd be fun, I don't know, but it's been presented poorly since the start I think.

Also this is a huge reason i never back anything on kickstarter.... its essentially a pre-order of something that isnt even in its most basic form... It just makes no sense to me... Your paying money for an idea, most of which are never going to see fruition and will never see day light... 

Also you see a concept... things always deviate from concepts due to money restraints/ time restraints/ or just whim/ new opinions... it happens in media all the time so yeah.....

Save your money and just look at the hundreds of games by indie developers... it'll be much more worth it. 

Yeah, I don't understand Kickstarter because you are essentially an investor, but without the payoff investors get at the end. You'll still be paying full price for the game. But you can throw even more money away if you'd like. I don't know, maybe I'm not rich enough to understand it.

But for what it's worth, Yooka-Laylee, and Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero look great.I hope they show off that not ALL Kickstarter projects are freaking scams...

A lot of people are saying the game tries too hard to mimic Mega-Man. I guess one of the reasons the launch wasn't great was because of all of the delays the game suffered. The PC and XBox 360 versions have been further delayed.

I do not have much experience with Kickstarter, seeing as I have only backed two games so far - Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero and Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove. When Mighty No. 9 was first announced, I was wanting to back the game, seeing as it was a spiritual successor of Megaman made by Inafune himself, which seemed promising considering Capcom wasn't doing much with the franchise at the time. As hyped as I was for MN9 at that point, all of the controversial stuff that happened between then and now (licensing deals for the franchise before the game came out; the Red Ash project and the backlash it generated; the Masterclass trailer), my interest had declined bit-by-bit, but I was still hoping the game would be decent. Considering all of the mediocre to negative reviews that the game has gotten since, I cannot help but admit my disappointment, and wonder if my inability to pay for the Kickstarter was a blessing in hindsight. I'd still like to try the game for myself one of these days, but I think I'll wait until the game goes on sale or when I have more money to spend. The whole experience does seem to send a precedents about how these crowd funding projects, even when headed by prominent game developers, could always turn out below everyone's expectations. At the very least, I am glad that Kickstarter has been able to bring about great games like Shovel Knight and Freedom Planet, and I'm definitely looking forward to other, more promising ventures such as Yooka-Laylee, Bloodstained, and Shantae.

make the enemys cry like a anime fan on prom night

I'm going to try it, but I'm sure it's as bad as they say, no trailer is going to make the scores that low.
I wasn't sure how I felt about the dashing for points mechanic when it was shown, it looks awkward, and that trailer really portrayed just about everything badly.