Do you have a healthy grasp on how probability works? I don't and now I don't have a face.

Very fun short game, that really comes into its own once you've got the full array of power-ups available to you. The aesthetics are a treat to look at in a sorta gross way, and the distant dancefloor adds an audible weight to things I hadn't expected.

If only I could stop shooting myself in the face...

Mega Man rose from the dead, again! Again! Capcom's premiere lemon-blaster was brought back to us all in 2018, with all the bells and whistles one would expect of a new entry in a classic series, plus a new mechanic or two to spice things up! And it's... fine, it's fine. It's okay. I'm a little mad about it.

Mega Man 11 is a game of two halves. Getting going in the starting half is an exercise in gaining ground in inches, or was for me at least. For half the robot masters the process was to repeatedly smash my face into a wall to no avail, eating shit against some of the cheaper levels in the whole series, slowly building bolts until I could buy a few items and blow through the robot master itself. From there we have the other half of those levels, easier, goofier, more fun fare like Bounce Man's stage, which I adored, but that only provided a temporary respite, as if I was following weapon order they were in between the harsh levels. The back half of the game, though, is where things change. The second Fortress stage has a conveyor belt screen where it just feeds you those little yellow endlessly spawning fellas, and literally slides the loot from their bodies down towards Mega Man. A grinding spot! Suddenly all items are available, and the game becomes a gag through to the end, an end that also features the easiest Wily ever.

If you'll excuse me indulging myself in some wankery, this slide from annoying difficulty into annoying ease represents a poor use of flow (as in the state brought about when high skill meets high challenge to the perfect degree) within the game. You aren't skilled enough early on to make the best use of the gear system and progress smoothly, and you need very little skill whatsoever to deal with the lack of challenge found in the end run. There's no flow state to achieve, and so that magic feeling of 'great video game' can't be found here, for me at least.

There's still a lot to love. Robot Master powers now come with a proper costume change, somewhat reminiscent of Mighty No.9, but good. The powers themselves are pretty fun, and can be modified with the power gear for greater utility. The power and speed gears are a good lark, even with the timer feeling a touch restrictive. Rush gets unique buttons for Jet and Coil, rather than needing to specifically select them! I get to enjoy having the slide again! But more than anything I just felt irritable. The new powers are good but it's not always clear when you NEED to be using them to proceed smoothly. The gears are fun, but Mega Man himself feels kind of clunky compared to his 8-bit best. Rush Jet is simultaneously the worse version of itself and still too OP for skipping whole sections of game. Everything is held back by something else.

Despite all the negatives at play here, and the gameplay feeling rough, it's still Mega Man. The core is here. Even the anime-adjacent storytelling is here, for the people who like that. Fully voice-acted, too. Even in the shop. Repeating the same phrase over and over. As I buy 9 e tanks. One. At. A. Time. Roll, please. Please, just be quiet for a second.

I lost my train of thought. My point is that even with annoyances, it doesn't feel like a tribute act. Inafune isn't here and wasn't needed. The creative team understand Mega Man. It makes me hopeful for the future, even with a gap this large and with no sign of a Mega Man 12. Hopefully they get together for it whenever it does happen. Failing that, I've just finished 17 Mega Man games and am finally free of this curse. Three stars, for fun, for potential, and for ending so I can move on! Good game! I need to not play a Mega Man for a bit!