Playable Proto Man coming to Mega Man 9 via DLC

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 21st 2008 at 8:00PM }

We know that gaming enthusiasts absolutely love it when game developers announce DLC for their titles before said titles are released -- that's why we're sure you'll be pleased to hear that Mega Man's morally ambiguous predecessor, Proto Man, will be available to download as a playable character in all versions of Mega Man 9 for two American dollars (160

, 200 Wii Points). His core controls will be similar to the Blue Bomber's, though he does come with a few extra abilities -- for instance, he'll be able to use his shield to deflect certain projectiles, perform a sliding manuever, and inspire heated comments about DLC price gouging on internet message boards. Neat, huh?

Tags: proto-man

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

The_Punisher @ Sep 21st 2008 8:15PM

THAT'S FERNANDO!

Sad that that's what pops in my head after looking at this article. :(

Fernando Rocker @ Sep 21st 2008 8:20PM

Slaziman @ Sep 21st 2008 8:21PM

Fernando should write a book.

"Becoming An Internet Celebrity - The Easy Way"

DanB91 @ Sep 21st 2008 8:43PM

Wouldn't the book only be 5 words long?

"Be a retardedly obnoxious troll"

Cesaria (Gamertag: Cesaria360) @ Sep 21st 2008 8:53PM

Fuck you DanB91, Fernando is a pimp. Probably the nicest guy on all of Joystiq.

Mrblonde @ Sep 21st 2008 9:05PM

Fernando is not a troll DanB. He's a awesome guy.

TFoK (Naked Peach Defense Force) @ Sep 21st 2008 9:09PM

You're right, it would be five words long. Dan, I'm not sure those are the right words. Maybe...

"Get downvoted for no reason"
"Get killed for liking Nintendo"
"Called 'troll' by actual trolls"

Something like that.

jackbauer @ Sep 21st 2008 9:26PM

If you are still alive that means jack bauer respects you or needs you to find something, or just doesn't want to carry you.

I'm sorry dan. hope you had a long life.

jcd @ Sep 21st 2008 9:33PM

Wow I didn't even know that there was a Fernando Defense Force :P

at any rate I wouldn't call him a troll, a fanboy on the other hand...

Vegnagun bwf @ Sep 21st 2008 9:55PM

I too will come out of the woodwork to support the F-rocker.

The_Punisher @ Sep 21st 2008 10:08PM

There really is a FDF, isn't there....

I still think sonydefenseforce.com is my favorite site. It makes me crack up, even if it angers some people for some reason.

Halo-.2? AHAHAHA

Blank-Mage @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:37AM

We loves you, Fernando.

Haggard (Mr.ESC resurrection force) @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:50AM

@The_Punisher

Is that site real? Reads like some ridiculous satire to me...

Raikage (Mr. ESC? Mr. ESC? MR. ESSSSSSCCCCCC!) @ Sep 22nd 2008 4:47AM

Fernando es el jefe!

Jack of No Trades 85 @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:59AM

Fuck Fernando

Any down voting justifies my point. Click away sheep.

heypaul @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:58AM

Oh, how times have changed... How many of you actually remember back to one year ago? Despite the internet seeming to illustrate otherwise, there's usually a reason one person dislikes another. You can argue that the reasons aren't justified, but regardless, you don't gain a reputation, ill or otherwise, by being the "nicest guy on all of Joystiq."

Jacksons @ Sep 21st 2008 8:21PM

Vote with your 2 dollars.

samfish @ Sep 21st 2008 11:42PM

You can bet that I WON'T!

Roto13 @ Sep 21st 2008 8:22PM

Never let a retro motif get in the way of nickel-and-diming.

But I'll probably buy him anyway. It'll be the first time I ever buy DLC, too. Bastards.

harusame @ Sep 21st 2008 8:23PM

Coming soon: Mega Man Classic Weapons. Single weapons for 100 M$ and 500 M$ for a pack of 8. Collect all 48!

Yourself @ Sep 21st 2008 8:23PM

Yeah I'd pay 2$ to play as a perfect man, an unbeatable machine, hell-bent on destroying every evil standing between man and freedom - built for one purpose: to destroy Wily's army of evil robots. Ready, willing, and prepared to fight.

Yourself @ Sep 21st 2008 10:12PM

Man, no one? Too bad.

Dr Wily @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:40PM

I guess there are no heroes left in man

Gewurztraminer says: Shinkuu Gadouken! @ Sep 21st 2008 8:25PM

I'd buy that for a dollar (or two)

Lotrfish @ Sep 21st 2008 8:27PM

Anyone remember when extra characters were unlocked by completing some challenge in game?

Good times.

Lorben @ Sep 21st 2008 8:38PM

Nonsense. The game may be retro but the people watching the cash pile are current gen. High rez, almost entirely colored brown and grey and will nickel and dime you into the ground.

BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Sep 21st 2008 8:43PM

Which is exactly WHY I won't be purchasing Protoman.

It isn't the money, it's the mentality behind it.

Instead of making this a cool unlockable for beating the game or finding some super rare, hard to locate item, or whatever... they're gonna charge you $2 for it.

Yourself @ Sep 21st 2008 9:03PM

Honestly, I find that to be more the player mentality these days than the developer. Retro gamers (myself included) are not only used to, but generally love hidden content. I'm always disappointed to finish a game and know there's nothing new left, no Easter Eggs or secret content. However a lot of people just want everything upfront. A big case of this as I recall was at the release of Brawl, plenty of haters came out saying "WHY DO I HAVE TO PLAY X AMOUNT OF MATCHES TO UNLOCK SONIC! I PAID FOR GAME NOW I WANT EVERYTHING IT'S MINE GIMME!"

The attitude, I guess, is that you're entitled to everything in the game regardless of your skill or dedication. If you have this attitude, it probably means you don't know what a "game" is.

Mike @ Sep 21st 2008 9:27PM

@Yourself: I'm pretty sure the point of games is to have fun, so I'm at a loss to explain why you think it's wrong and somehow misguided to want to avoid all the hard work to just have mindless fun. Games aren't supposed to be for the gifted few and those who feel like they need to suffer to get to the enjoyable parts. That's the exact opposite of what games are supposed to do.

Mr Khan @ Sep 21st 2008 9:27PM

@ Yourself

I agree totally. DLC should be limited to expansion packs, imo. New stages, new enemy types, new playmodes, etc. Hidden characters and the majority of hidden stages should be unlockable.

I enjoy having to unlock things, i don't enjoy having to pay and/or waste storage space buying things i could've earned the fun way

Yourself @ Sep 21st 2008 9:57PM

Games are supposed to reward you for playing well. Though it's a weak comparison: A baseball player doesn't get to play in the MLB just because he bought a baseball bat.

Games are supposed to have structure. If you consider playing a video game hard work, you either A.) need to get a job or B.) need to find a new game to play, because obviously that one isn't any fun. If you think any game can be reduced to mindless fun, then why not just play Bejeweled? If the fun is totally without thought or structure, than every game is inevitably the same. There need to be rules and rewards, and, moreover, progression.

A primary element of gaming is satisfaction (not equatable to fun). From whence comes satisfaction? Completion and development of skills. If the way you play a game in the first hour is the same as in the last, then the game has failed to progress. This is clearly evident in competitive games, say CoD4, where it is legitimately difficult to have fun if you don't get better at the game. But in a single-player game, the feeling of satisfaction can't simply be derived by winning, because the opponent is oftentimes trivial. The player may feel there is no point in becoming particularly proficient, because there is no one there to see - and therefore, the introduction of awards.

We can see this in Achievements and Trophies, but to an even greater degree in unlockables. I know that if I put time into the game, if I develop skill, I will earn either recognition or reward. Otherwise, it every game does merely boil down to Bejeweled.

A last note: you aren't entitled to anything more than what the developer decides. When you pay $50 for a game, you aren't buying the source code. You're buying the right to run and play the game as it was intended.

SuperGayParade @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:09AM

K, time to start writing for Joystiq. That was better than 80% of the crap on this website :)

Tiptup300 @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:23AM

Yeah, I remember the good ole days where on adventure games i would always do each level 100% before I left.
Beat the level, find everything hidden, goto the next. Repeat.

Now I just want to get done because I know the game won't give you a pat on the back for all your work like they used to.

Actually, thinking about it, there's not really any more adventure games akin to Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Rocket: Robot on Wheels, or Mario 64 anymore.

Cutty @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:09AM

Commendations, Yourself. That's the best comment I've read in a long time and I fully agree. I'm happy to see that somebody made the distinction between fun and satisfaction, especially since the two are totally different things and one is a derivative from the other.

serotoninzero @ Sep 21st 2008 9:04PM

Sliding move? Can't mega man slide since 3?

Monkeys Suck @ Sep 21st 2008 9:04PM

Yeah, but they used Mega Man 2 as the influence...no sliding...damn.

AwesomeTown (RROD'd) @ Sep 21st 2008 9:13PM

Yea, but this is trying to be as good as Mega Man 2, so no sliding. Which kinda sucks, because I like the slide.

AwesomeTown @ Sep 21st 2008 9:44PM

I'm another victim of the comment system. :(

Zippy5150 @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:21PM

And yet, they included Rush in the game, who didn't appear until Mega Man 3. Odd, that.

Fernando Rocker @ Sep 21st 2008 8:28PM

Well... I need to stay awake until 2 a.m. to download the game, or get up in the morning at 6:00 a.m.

Can't wait to play this game.

Decisions, decisions...

=p

CJLopez @ Sep 21st 2008 11:39PM

that makes two of us

Blank-Mage @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:45AM

Man, why won't Square make a retro Final Fantasy and make MY avatar relevant?

ysdarkfact @ Sep 21st 2008 8:30PM

2 dollar DLC for a ten dollar game is fucking ridiculous. Especially since it's an nes sprite that costs nothing to make.

Miles @ Sep 21st 2008 8:38PM

Don't worry, since "retro" automatically equals cool and fun, not many people will complain.

I'm still trying to figure out why playing a game that looks like it was made in 1987 makes it so great in the first place.

sicsided @ Sep 21st 2008 8:53PM

because time machines and ways to get over a "the new thing" aren't available yet.

Monkeys Suck @ Sep 21st 2008 8:55PM

A. Nostalgia

B. Looks don't make a game, gameplay makes a game, and that's what made the older Mega Man games great...they focused on gameplay rather than making it look pretty.

C. Capcom said that they used Mega Man 2 as the main inspiration, and to most NES gamers, Mega Man 2 was the best of all the Mega Man titles.

Look past the graphics, man.

playwhutyalike @ Sep 21st 2008 9:14PM

Back in the day, Mega Man's graphics were the best. The use of bright colors and the cartoony character design had all the kids at school talking.

I can't wait to hear what the kids at school have to say about Megaman 9 after I lure them into my van to play it on the Xbox.