Grave Gamer News & Views — beck

Introducing The Mighty No. 9: Help Fund Classic 2D Action Done Right

With Mega Man M.I.A. on Capcom’s front (unless you count getting slapped around by Nintendo’s roster, that is), there’s been a two-dimensional hole in the gaming world yearning to be filled.

That’s why I’m especially pleased to turn you onto The Mighty No. 9, a sly spiritual successor to Mega Man’s 8 and 16-bit roots from the Blue Bomber’s own father, Keiji Inafune.

Living two breaths past the conceptual stage, Inafune’s own studio, Comcept, is attempting to return “classic Japanese side-scrolling action” to us by way of, well, us, through the crowdfunding magic that is Kickstarter.

Centering on a jumping, blasting robo-boy by the name of Beck, our hero is the only automaton not affected by a rampant computer virus that has everything with a chipset in it gone bonkers. Being the ninth and only virus-free member of group of elite, militarized robots means there’s eight horrible bastards Beck must destroy lest the world is taken down a notch.

Anyone skilled at handling a mega buster will find the primary gameplay pitch for Mighty No. 9 more than an eensy bit familiar what with the ability to tackle stages in any order and collect powerful upgrades after felling a boss. Beck’s skillset is more versatile than that, however, as he can commence radical transformations like sprouting magnetic limbs allowing him to scale walls or becoming an obstacle trumping tank. These and many more badass ideas are still being tinkered around.

Comcept has set a $900,000 funding goal on their Kickstarter page with the intention of releasing for PC through Steam (and other DRM-less means), but with enough funding, the team hopes to launch for Mac, Linux, and even home consoles. As per the norm, donating certain amounts opens up different tiered packages that net you a wide berth of goodies from beta access and exclusive swag to a physical printing of the game featuring either English or Japanese packaging.

Drop $10,000, though, and you’ll get to pick Keiji Inafune’s brain over dinner in Japan. And if you can shed that much green poundage, you probably won’t even flinch at eating the travel expenses yourself – which you’ll have to. It’s Kickstarter, man. They’re accepting money, not giving it away. Sheesh.