For my full review of this game, please see a review of Mega Man 9.
OK, OK. I'm being facetious. But the point still stands – this is Mega Man 9. Which was Mega Man 1 – 6. With 9, it was a little unexpected. The Mega Man team was bringing Mega Man back to his roots, placing him where many (myself included) thought that he was his best. That game didn't tread any new ground. It was an intentionally retro game, one that could make you feel like you were right back in the 80s or early 90s again.
Why is Mega Man 10 such a letdown, then? Well, it's not because it's a bad game. It's not. It's a good to great game. In fact, if you've never played a Mega Man game before, then this might be the one to get. It offers an easy mode that makes Mega Man's notoriously challenging platforming and run-and-gun combination quite a bit easier to get into (almost a little too easy… isn't there some sort of happy medium between "pull all my hair and teeth out" difficulty and near-boredom ease?) and the price is right at $10.
But you can't call a game Mega Man 10 and not have the collective weight of every experience that someone has had with the series pull it down. It would be as if someone like Square were to make a game called Final Fantasy 15 or whatever, but then have that game essentially be Final Fantasy 4. The numbered sequencing implies progress, growth. Mega Man 10 sort of signals regression.
If Capcom would like to continue their retro revival of the Mega Man series, I'd suggest that they look back to their 16 or 32-bit games for inspiration. Some of those games are complete garbage, but it could be a chance to do what they couldn't back in the day. Or to consider moving Mega Man into the present in their numbered series. I'm certain they could make a pretty kick-ass game on the Wii as a third-person shooter if they wanted to.
So in the end, Mega Man 10 occupies an interesting place. Considered in and of itself, it's a completely successful, fun, challenging game. But with all of the external factors around it – namely that Mega Man 9 came out only a year ago – it's hard to make an unqualified recommendation. It's easy to get a little bit worked up about how this is, in my opinion, so clearly a cash-in, but if you're in the mood for some nostalgia, go ahead and download away. Save your money if you have 9, though. This is the same game.
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This has always been the problem with the Mega Man series. The original NES games are great, but after Mega Man 3, start to grow more redundant with each successive iteration. Mega Man X on the SNES was excellent, and then the series began to backslide once again. Even the first Mega Man Battle Network game was an interesting concept initially, but title after identical title just dragged the series down.
The unfortunate thing about Mega Man is that unlike the 2-D Castlevania games, which have basically been allowed to progress while retaining the essential hallmarks of the series, Capcom cannot find a way to allow the Mega Man series to progress. The series attempt to go 3-D was botched horribly, but I still hold out hope that the Blue Bomber will make a real comeback someday.
Or you know, Capcom could just fucking make Mega Man X-4. That would make me happy.