Total time with the huge additional level was around the 8 1/2 mark of total playing (we played on co-op). Pretty good length for a platformer and very much worth it with my dollar-per-hour criteria, particularly when you include the challenges (they are HARD) and, if you pay for Live, the multiplayer modes. Toss in the search for the Yashichis (BTW, they actually had one way back in the original Mega Man; that REALLY obscure and retro) and you've got tons of gameplay for your $10, much more than what I've seen in the vast majority of other downloadable games for the same price or even more.
Overall, I think it's quite a good remake. And it is a remake not a reinvention. It keeps the spirit, gameplay mechanics, and overall fun of the original game very well in tact. You mostly get a 2 1/2 update of the classic game with some minor tweaks such as picking up barrels, a change in how you hack, updating the weapons, changing the vast majority of the end-level bosses (for the better IMO; they were pretty lame where all you were doing was shooting the "core") while updating a few others, and adding in a very large, pretty tough 13th level which is about the size of 4 or 5 levels on its own. Other than these changes, it's very faithful, right down to the look and layouts of the levels, placement of enemies, movement of the blobs and platformers, and the tricks you can use to go through the levels.
It's actually TOO faithful as a lot of the issues with the original game (21 years ago now) are still there. The arm doesn't always seem to go in the direction you want it to and there are a TON of "cheap" level designs and character placements, which is an old trick to make a game harder and/or last longer. Far too often you die or have to take a leap of faith because you can't see what's coming up. This is especially true in certain parts of the new last level. It took us a good 3 hours or so to get through it often because we were just taking leaps of faith to see what was coming up or because you need precision timing on the arm and often it goes straight instead of diagonal. It just feels cheap in an old NES way and something you would have hoped they would be able to fix with 20+ years of advancement.
These unnecessary shortcomings are a pain and a little frustrating but not enough to take away the enjoyment of the game. It's still very much worth the $10 particularly if you're a fan of the original or love old-school platformers. Actually, it's really a game only for those who are fans of the original or old-school platformers. If you didn't grow up on those and love them, you'll probably dislike this game. It sure as hell ain't gonna turn anyone away back to the good side of The Game. It would have been nice to see a little more tweaking in the gameplay and level designs and fixing of the arm to take away the cheap death (I can't imagine how great this game would have been if it were at the level of the Mega Man PSP remakes; it would be the best $10 game I've ever seen) but don't let that sway your decision. You'll still have a blast playing this game.
And if you though the original one was "hard", this one is probably harder because of that enormous and tough last level. Great if you like a nice challenge in your games
Overall, I think it's quite a good remake. And it is a remake not a reinvention. It keeps the spirit, gameplay mechanics, and overall fun of the original game very well in tact. You mostly get a 2 1/2 update of the classic game with some minor tweaks such as picking up barrels, a change in how you hack, updating the weapons, changing the vast majority of the end-level bosses (for the better IMO; they were pretty lame where all you were doing was shooting the "core") while updating a few others, and adding in a very large, pretty tough 13th level which is about the size of 4 or 5 levels on its own. Other than these changes, it's very faithful, right down to the look and layouts of the levels, placement of enemies, movement of the blobs and platformers, and the tricks you can use to go through the levels.
It's actually TOO faithful as a lot of the issues with the original game (21 years ago now) are still there. The arm doesn't always seem to go in the direction you want it to and there are a TON of "cheap" level designs and character placements, which is an old trick to make a game harder and/or last longer. Far too often you die or have to take a leap of faith because you can't see what's coming up. This is especially true in certain parts of the new last level. It took us a good 3 hours or so to get through it often because we were just taking leaps of faith to see what was coming up or because you need precision timing on the arm and often it goes straight instead of diagonal. It just feels cheap in an old NES way and something you would have hoped they would be able to fix with 20+ years of advancement.
These unnecessary shortcomings are a pain and a little frustrating but not enough to take away the enjoyment of the game. It's still very much worth the $10 particularly if you're a fan of the original or love old-school platformers. Actually, it's really a game only for those who are fans of the original or old-school platformers. If you didn't grow up on those and love them, you'll probably dislike this game. It sure as hell ain't gonna turn anyone away back to the good side of The Game. It would have been nice to see a little more tweaking in the gameplay and level designs and fixing of the arm to take away the cheap death (I can't imagine how great this game would have been if it were at the level of the Mega Man PSP remakes; it would be the best $10 game I've ever seen) but don't let that sway your decision. You'll still have a blast playing this game.
And if you though the original one was "hard", this one is probably harder because of that enormous and tough last level. Great if you like a nice challenge in your games
I was there on that fateful day, were you?
