F*ck You, Galaxy Man

Jordan Deam has a love/hate relationship with Mega Man 9's Galaxy Man. Mostly hate, though.

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I loved this Article. Witty, and charming. Fiero is a word I'm going to add to my personal dictionary.

What a great game.

I would like to say that, while indeed a great article, in my personal opinion, Galaxy man was probably the easiest boss. Even when compared to Splash Woman when you have the ***SPOILER*** Hornet weapon thing ***END SPOILER***, he was pretty easy. Then again, I just got done playing through Megaman 1, 2, 3, and 4 again, so I was ready.

Anyway, yeah, I understand what you mean about "Fiero." My question is, what about people who don't enjoy the game, but who just play them to say they did? I never got them.

Just one thing, Dr. Wily doenst look like Sigmund Freud.

He is modeled after Albert Einstein (he is Albert Wily after all), the bastard who brought the Atom Bomb to the US of A.

Otherwise, yeah, "fiero" is all we have when we fight really hard games, and damn it feels good even if "outsiders" think we're fucktarded...

Excellent article, put a smile on my face, a good way to start my Friday. I think fiero is something that nearly all of us older gamers can relate to, it was the only thing that got me through Ninja Gaiden, I know that for sure.

I approve. I've never been able to build any legendary skills in games, but I love to play them. Consequently it feels amazing when you complete a challenge you never have before ^^

"My question is, what about people who don't enjoy the game, but who just play them to say they did? I never got them."

It might be the same reason people read classic books they might not enjoy all that much. If you've read them, you're cultured : ) Knowledge and experience garners respect in any society.

I have yet to download the game yet - the classic trip to the store excuse has been replaced by simple game overload (Disgaea 3, Hinterland, Civ4: Colonization, LOTRO, Rock Band 2, and Tales of Vesperia - to say nothing of Braid, Bionic Commando, Castle Crashers, and the rest of recent amazing XBLA lineup). And laziness.

But the article makes me want to go download the game and play it. I'm definitely looking forward to getting my ass kicked by 2D sprites operating in predictable yet infuriating patterns again.

I got Mega Man 2 on VC a couple weeks ago after a friend recommended it. I had a similar experience to what you described in the article. Still not quite done, but damn it I'm going to win it.

This is why I don't read strategy guides or use cheat codes. They eliminate what I consider to be a fundamental part of the experience.

I wonder if Fiero could be incorporated into a mechanical turk-like system to create a strong feedback loop and encourage tenacious gamers to stay with it. Such a device could use the collective power of hardcore gamers to cure cancer. Free rice already has the casual market tapped.

Mstrswrd:
I would like to say that, while indeed a great article, in my personal opinion, Galaxy man was probably the easiest boss. Even when compared to Splash Woman when you have the ***SPOILER*** Hornet weapon thing ***END SPOILER***, he was pretty easy. Then again, I just got done playing through Megaman 1, 2, 3, and 4 again, so I was ready.

Full disclosure: I picked Galaxy Man because he looked the most ridiculous. And also, because "F*ck You Splash Woman" sounds mildly misogynistic :P

Thanks for your kind words!

Good article. Though I find MM9 to be not that hard (Current all clear record 29:46). Nice read, though.

Fiero is present online, too. There's a reason why people dedicate servers to playing Counter Strike: Source's map 'Assault' - despite the odds always being weighed heavily towards the terrorists. People enjoy the simulation that - possibly - they may get severely beaten down on at any second; despite how much they may whine about it afterwards. A large challenge causes us to think harder, to produce more adrenaline and step up our game. Another clear example is an entire mod: Zombie Panic: Source which seems totally devoted to offering a fiero-esque experience for the humans; the zombies winning 90% of all maps I've ever played on. This is also why I still believe Left 4 Dead will not be as popular; sure, it is easier, more accessible and less frustrating than its spiritual predecessor, but this also means that people are going to be less... enticed by it.

Kudos on the article, Jordan.

My question is, what about people who don't enjoy the game, but who just play them to say they did? I never got them.

Completists, more than masochists.

Tornado Man's level is easily the hardest one, Splash Woman's was surprisingly easy and so was Galaxy Man's. Interestingly, those things that grab you and pull you along are all dodgeable ^^

I just arrived at the Wily stages, and the first stage is completely brilliant (the boss too!) because it forces you to actually THINK in order to continue. I can't think of a Mega Man game that forced you to do that except MM2 : /

That specific instance by the way... the second-to-last boss... is a joke... Not because it's hard, but because if you lose you have to go grind for a full refill of Crash Bombs. That's not the cleverest design choice ever : /

Mandatory tutorials, 'casual' difficulty levels and uninspired level design has turned the current generation of gamers into a bunch of pussies. Having recently played through Rockman9, I didn't see anything out of the realm of difficulty that you wouldn't see in previous Megaman titles, aside from the lack of charge shot and sliding (which the new Protoman DLC contains, anyhow.) but again, even those weren't present until a significant point later in the original series. (Five, I think, was the debut of the Charge Shot.)

So, in conclusion, if you suck at Megaman 9, you suck. Period. You likely played through Megaman 2 for a dozen times or so, I'm sure, and know many nooks, crannies and strategies for dealing with the enemies, which let to a degree of success but says nothing of your skill. Go play an older Megaman title you're not too familiar with and you'll see what I mean.

The original poster should spend more time practicing and honing his skills than raging out and posting multipage diatribes about how inadequate the game makes him feel.

I believe his weakness to concrete is a bit of wordplay. Galaxyman is a very non-specific robot. I don't see what his purpose could be. Why the hell would he need the ability to shoot black holes that somehow relates to galaxies?

Splash woman? There are plenty of things you can do underwater with the ability to call fish and shoot tridents. Fishery herding for one. Plug man? The guy shoots electricity, he is clearly a power generator. Hornet man? Insect control and pollination. Magma man? Smelting.
Tornado man? Weather control. Jewel man? Mining, lasers, you name it.

Concrete man? Construction and destruction of items with unreal purposes. In other words, objects that are not concrete in nature.

Cosmic_Bard:
Mandatory tutorials, 'casual' difficulty levels and uninspired level design has turned the current generation of gamers into a bunch of pussies. Having recently played through Rockman9, I didn't see anything out of the realm of difficulty that you wouldn't see in previous Megaman titles, aside from the lack of charge shot and sliding (which the new Protoman DLC contains, anyhow.) but again, even those weren't present until a significant point later in the original series. (Five, I think, was the debut of the Charge Shot.)

So, in conclusion, if you suck at Megaman 9, you suck. Period. You likely played through Megaman 2 for a dozen times or so, I'm sure, and know many nooks, crannies and strategies for dealing with the enemies, which let to a degree of success but says nothing of your skill. Go play an older Megaman title you're not too familiar with and you'll see what I mean.

The original poster should spend more time practicing and honing his skills than raging out and posting multipage diatribes about how inadequate the game makes him feel.

ITT : moar hardcore than thou pretentious gamer.

Cyclomega:

Cosmic_Bard:
Mandatory tutorials, 'casual' difficulty levels and uninspired level design has turned the current generation of gamers into a bunch of pussies. Having recently played through Rockman9, I didn't see anything out of the realm of difficulty that you wouldn't see in previous Megaman titles, aside from the lack of charge shot and sliding (which the new Protoman DLC contains, anyhow.) but again, even those weren't present until a significant point later in the original series. (Five, I think, was the debut of the Charge Shot.)

So, in conclusion, if you suck at Megaman 9, you suck. Period. You likely played through Megaman 2 for a dozen times or so, I'm sure, and know many nooks, crannies and strategies for dealing with the enemies, which let to a degree of success but says nothing of your skill. Go play an older Megaman title you're not too familiar with and you'll see what I mean.

The original poster should spend more time practicing and honing his skills than raging out and posting multipage diatribes about how inadequate the game makes him feel.

ITT : moar hardcore than thou pretentious gamer.

I am not ashamed to concede this point :P

Yet it's still pompous and needlessly edgy.

I love this piece. I wish I had more to say, but basically, I've been there and it said something true and meaningful while entertaining me to no end.

Ice-Nine:

Full disclosure: I picked Galaxy Man because he looked the most ridiculous. And also, because "F*ck You Splash Woman" sounds mildly misogynistic :P

Thanks for your kind words!

Ah, okay. I was just curious... Ya' know, looking at what I wrote, I came off sounding a bit pseudo-superior, so I apologize for that.

Megaman nine is hard for the first hour. Still haven't bothered to memorize Dr. Willies stupid shit to beat it yet though but man I have played harder games then Megaman nine.

Just need to in fact play games on HARD MODE. Don't pussy out on Normal.

A very entertaining article, and pretty thought provoking. Although, really, the reason people play on harder difficulties these days is to get achievments or trophies instead of just completing the game.

Also, why did Galaxy Man cause you so much trouble? Plug Man was the hardest of the 8 by miles :P