Oh boy... This one's a tough one to review. So, I can say for sure that if you are someone who despised the surrounding Development Story of Mighty No. 9 and hold a personal gripe due to Kickstarting it or your grudge for Keiji, then you can go ahead and skip this game as it's fairly average of an experience.

Me however? I played this at the request of a Friend who trolled me by purchasing this game as a Gift for me last year during a Mega Man X themed month of streaming. And I thought, "Eh what the hell?" Lo and behold, I actually came to... Enjoy this game. Why? Well...

For the past decade, I have only known everything bad about Mighty No. 9. The development history. The kickstarter. Keiji Inafune's attempts to bank on his Mega Man history to try and start a new franchise without any of the effort. All of that. Yeah, we all been there. And to those who haven't, hello! Welcome to a Mighty No. 9 2026 review! So, with all that under my belt, I was just thinking "Eh, I don't need to pay any mind to this since Mega Man was dead and the creator of MN9 just wanted to cash in on the drought."

Then I played the game. And, I can tell y'all. This game is MID (Good). Usually, we all like to correlate the word "Mid" to a bad experience. But, when your expectations for something has been battered to the ground, beit by hate of the surrounding context of this game or just how this game looks and presents itself in general, then you finally give it a shot at no additional cost. Well, yeah. This game actually kinda is a solid enough title as an Action Platformer. Sure, there's the hiccups and level design and boss pattern quirks that may piss you off, but as someone who's played many Platformers of varying difficulties my whole life, this is just the norm for me.

That being said, my personal enjoyment out of this game is the Ray DLC. This year for Mega March Zero (my current theme for a Stream month), I purchased the Ray DLC. And, just like the Speedruns I've seen with her, playing as Raychel is actually really fun for me. Her design? Looks like Zero. Her playstyle? The definition of a Spin Dashing Sonic on steroids. The potential for speedrunning (casual/serious alike)? Perfection.

I do hold an appreciation for this game for being a still solid enough platformer despite it's terrible hand it has been dealt. And I would encourage if you are willing to let past grievances go, give this game a shot. It constantly seems to go on sale for less than a Fast Food Meal after all.

VoDs Channel should have my RAY DLC Playthrough up soon! Otherwise, my Mighty No. 9 base game playthrough is up! Check it!

Played a few levels over an hour and here is my take. The graphics are... Fine. The gameplay is tight and movement feels great if not just a little floaty. The absorb system sure does do a thing. Not too impactful unless you are trying to go for scores, but does allow you to speed through a level. The buffs they provide are minuscule. Boss fights are clean and interesting. Level design is quite something. I like it for the most part. Good classic feel but man you will hit parts in those levels that just ramp up the difficulty and test your platforming. Luckily a little trial and error and you'll get it the next time. Beat one Boss in my hour and from her ability granted it felt good. From what I've play It is a wonderful throwback and a great way to pass the next year waiting for the next Mega Man game. I don't get hate train on this one. I will for sure be finishing this game. Worth the $20, wild to pass it up at $2 on sale.

I've first heard about this game when it was first announced on Kickstarter by the character designer of the Mega Man series. I got the Wii U version then got the PS4 and PC version years later, I've beaten both versions and sometimes play them when I feel going back to them.

Mighty No.9 is game that at first seems like a classic Mega Man game but it really isn't. The game requires you to make use of Beck's Xel Dash to go through the stages and damaging enemies after weakening them with your shots, the gameplay feels like its own thing because of this which is both good and bad.

For the bad, Beck is 2 dashes that only have one difference. There's the normal one you use on ground and in the air, then there's the low version of the dash that's only used in one stage. It doesn't really help or make sense considering when you're through a tight space with the normal dash, it automatically lowers Beck to go through it. I feel like this should've been part of the normal dash but isn't.

The weapons you get the Mighty Numbers range from either okay or bad, Dynatron's power is one of the bad ones. Unlike how it worked for the boss, Beck's version of the weapon is bad. It doesn't stick onto the surfaces and only works if it hits an enemy, its one of the those moves where it'll only work if it hits an foe. Pyrogen's power is also bad despite its strong damage, it relies on charging it up to increase its range and deal more damage. There's other weapons that do a better job that what Pryo's power can do. This is more apparent when you try to do damage against other bosses that aren't Cryosphere who is weak against it.

The stages range from either good or bad, some of them gave off Mega Man 2 vibes but not to the point where only one weapon can work. The ones that are bad are mainly those that have a lot of instant death spikes in some sections or enemies and hazards placed in that way where you need a weapon to deal and get around with them. Beck's Buster is good but doesn't have that effectiveness, he lacks not charge shot which is both disappointing and boring.

Call's stage is probably the worse one out of all of them. Through out the whole game, it was about using your speed and skills to get through the stage and take out enemies that get in your way. The Prison is stage where you're supposed to be "stealthy". you have to avoid the security robots as if they see you, they'll attack you. Despite this, there's no other punishment besides getting caught in their range of sight. There's no doors that lock up or enemies spawn when they see Call, your main way of going through the stage is collecting the keycards that open the door. This makes Call's stage least of a "stealth" level.

For the good, the controls feel nice and the game has a section where you can learn about the other mechanics and items you find in the stages. Beck's movement and abilities require a lot of knowledge and skill, making him seemly hard as first but he'll fun to play as when you understand and get used to how he plays. Mighty No.9 relies on you getting combos by finishing off enemies, these are done by using the Xel Dash on one that's weaken after using your buster or other weapons. If you dash into them early it'll be 100%, doing this against multiple enemies without hesitating or interrupted by attacks will increase the number of the combo, the higher your number, the better your grade will great upon beating the stage. This is what makes the game different from Mega Man, it relies on you using your speed and knowledge to get good combos instead of just causally going through it at a slow pace.

It's even more fun when trying to get every achievement and beating the game in every mode. I've enjoyed it a lot as I like the feeling of going through every stage and trying out different weapons that I can use to deal damage on the enemies and bosses, I've found 3 good weapons that are good for keep the damage going, Battalion, Cryosphere, and Brandish. These make the game fun.

If you're looking for a platformer shooter that relies on skills and speed, this is the game for you.