****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
As the title says, I think the game is worthy of five stars. I can't remember the last time a Mega Man-like game grabbed me like this - maybe 1997's Mega Man X4? It's been a long time, and yeah, in saying that I'm throwing shade at the Mega Man Zero games, which aren't that good in my opinion outside the amazing soundtracks from Ippo Yamada and the other members of the III crew.Anyway, I think there is a way to fittingly describe why I like this game so much. At the beginning of the game in the intro level, we see a gaggle of robots running away from the Virus Army's attack. This may seem small in the scheme of things, but this moment actually puts a huge smile on my face. You see, this reminds me of the Mega Man X series. All during that series we are told about Sigma's war against humanity - however, we never actually SEE humanity (or a proxy for humanity) in any of those games. Yes, I guess the Day of Sigma video in Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X does fix this in some way, but that destruction still feels detached because it's not in the actual game. I get this isn't exactly a fair comparison because many of the Mega Man X games are older, but man, after this small moment in Gravity Circuit I realize how Capcom's games are a little more hollow for not showing more of the conflict. And for those who are gonna say "well, Mega Man Zero showed more of the human drama/toll" I absolutely don't care because, again, I didn't like that sub-series outside the audio.Additionally, there is also the way Gravity Circuit handles what is its inspiration. Unlike a game like Timespinner (which is great but WAY too eager to carbon copy things from other company's games that it borders on copyright infringement) Domesticated Ants games takes things from Mega Man, X, Zero and Legends and does its own spin on them. You’ll be experiencing the story (yes, I like the story in a Mega Man game, hahaha) and you'll see how this bit is a remixed take on something from Legends, this is a remixed take on something from X and so on and they make it their own in the end. Honestly, I can't wait to see what happens in the next game - I just have one request. Please, please DO NOT run this franchise into the ground like Capcom did with Mega Man. I beg of you, please cultivate this correctly and not kill my buzz with a bunch of horrible games at the end. Even when I consider the good games, the bad Mega Man games (X sub series being the main offender here) still cloud my memories and make me curse Capcom's name to this day :(Then there is the soundtrack by Dominic Ninmark that scratches all the right itches. People may be more familiar with Dominic's work in Mega Man X Corrupted, a Mega Man X fan game where his work on the music really feels like only redeeming feature of that game. Anyway, I ordered a copy of the European collector's edition of the game from Pix'n Love Games to get his music on CDs, but despite the release dates of "March 2024" and then "Spring 2024" it seems this has been delayed, which brings me too......the delays for this version. I'm sorry, but I'm a bit peeved about this. Look, if I hadn't ordered one of the copies I ordered for inclusion in a charity raffle and the delays making it impossible to include it in said raffle I'd probably be more charitable here, but knocking back this US/Canada physical three months was INFURIATING, especially given every other territory had a physical copy for MONTHS even prior to the original March 28 release date. And yes, before anyone says it, I know I could have bought an import copy and solved my problems since the Switch is region free but I wanted a copy with the ESRB rating on it so people bidding on it could understand the ratings easier. Still, given that this is essentially a very niche game, I guess I should be surprised this got a non-Limited Run games release to begin with :PIn the end, if you like Mega Man you should definitely buy this. If you have never heard of it and haven't played and are a Mega Man fan, it's a great game you're missing out on. I have high hopes for the sequel but again, please Domesticated Ants, don't pull a Capcom and make a slide into an abysmal video game hell with this franchise. I don't know if I can handle another unmitigated disaster like that again.
