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 3x3 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.
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