How do you keep a traditionally retro platforming series like Mega Man moving forward in a modern age? Simple: Don’t overthink it. That seems to be the mentality behind Mega Man: Dual Override, at least. Capcom’s first mainline Mega Man game since 2018’s Mega Man 11 is keeping things old school with a tried-and-true 2D action-platformer rather than a radical overhaul.
I got a first taste of that in a one-hour hands-on demo that showed where Capcom is striking a balance between classic action and tasteful innovation. Based on what I tried, Dual Override feels like an uncompromisingly retro Mega Man game, right down to the one-directional shooting. It’s exactly what the purists crave, but I’m already curious to see if uninitiated players will be prepared for the challenge.
If you want to know just how faithful to the series’ roots Dual Override is, my demo started on a familiar 3×3 grid of stages I could select. It seems that we’re in classic Mega Man territory, where you can select stages in any order, get power-ups from beating bosses, and use them to get an edge in other stages. The only stage available in the demo took me through three levels, culminating in a fight against a bubbly boss named Twinkle Girl. (As you will soon learn, you would be a fool to underestimate her based on the name.)
The lead up to Twinkle Girl was standard Mega Man fare. I hopped and shot my way through 2D stages, plinking away at Mets (your basic Mega Man enemies) and charging up shots to take down bigger foes. There were some standard platforming challenges in between, as I navigated moving platforms and firework-shooting obstacles. Aside from stopping to grab a hidden bolt here and there, it was all straightforward enough as I cleared levels and beat the bosses hiding at the end of each. It gave me enough time to appreciate the illustrative art style, which approaches the feel of a playable anime.
There are a few small systems that help Dual Override stand out. The first is Chips. Before a level begins, you can choose to equip a chipset that gives Mega Man a special move that works on a cooldown. I only had access to three in my demo: a damage-absorbing shield, a double-shot, and trusty old Rush, who I could summon and hop off the spring on his back. (There will be more to choose from in the full game.) It’s a small choice, but one that gives you a little control over your playstyle. For instance, the chipset that gave me the double-shot also auto-charged my blaster for me. That goes hand-in-hand with the powers you collect from beating bosses, which you can scroll through and equip on the fly. I only had access to one extra ability during my demo: a dash attack that I mostly used as an evasion tool.
The headline feature is the titular Override ability. It’s essentially an ultimate power. Activating it when charged briefly sends Mega Man into a superpowered state. The catch is that he’s left vulnerable for a bit once it runs out, stuck in an overheated state that leaves you unable to charge shots. I mostly found it useful at the tail end of boss fights to melt the last third of enemies’ health bars. It wasn’t terribly worth the risk outside that context, especially since all the regular enemies I faced during the levels could be dispatched in a charge shot or two.
Those extra touches don’t take away from the core Mega Man experience — and that experience is getting your metal ass kicked up and down the block. Even with some generous checkpointing, the demo got shockingly tough. It took me a few tries to take down the second boss, a floating enemy who tossed two bouncing orbs around the screen. That was mostly just because I was getting acclimated to the plinky, one-direction shooting. The third stage gave me the most trouble thanks to some very precise platforming. One section had me jumping off of metal balls before they exploded, all while avoiding shots from little enemies that floated in my path. Even the slightest mistiming sent me into the pit below, forcing me to start from the checkpoint.
The hardest challenge, though, was Twinkle Girl. I went into the fight with my Rush chipset, which granted me no extra perks. Big mistake. It felt like I was fighting a Hollow Knight boss as Twinkly Girl dogwalked me with exploding firework bullets, ground slams, and charging dashes. It took around 20 minutes worth of attempts before I got the timing down and could lock in. It certainly felt like a boss from an NES action game, with lots of careful shooting and precise dodging to claim victory.
I can appreciate Dual Override’s commitment to old school design. I mean, we’re talking about a game where the enemies respawn the moment they roll offscreen — that’s how you know Capcom means business. Will players have the patience for a game that sticks by its forward-shooting guns, hair-tugging platforming challenges and all? Considering that Mega Man 11 went over well enough with fans, I don’t imagine Dual Override will have trouble finding its audience. I just wouldn’t be surprised if younger players, who weren’t forged by hard-as-nails NES platformers, find it antiquated. It is antiquated, to an extent, but that’s its main selling point too. Jump, shoot, die a lot, repeat. What else should a Mega Man game offer?