As some of you may know, I’m a bit of a Mega Man nerd.  Now, when I say Mega Man I mean Mega Man, not Mega Man X, Z, Battle Network, .EXE, or any of that other crap.  The Blue Bomber was my first real videogame hero and the original 6 MM titles for the NES will always hold a special place in my heart.  Also, I have a Mega Man tattoo… true story.

That said, I’m extremely disappointed with how the series has been butchered over the years.  Capcom has cut, mangled, and molested the once-proud gaming icon to the point that the core gameplay of the original is literally nowhere to be seen.  That’s all about to change though, as Capcom has been thoroughly pimping its brand-spanking new 8-bit Mega Man game.  I, for one, am ecstatic that the series is returning to its roots and going fully retro for its new iteration, and Capcom just ramping up my excitement with a new batch of Mega Man 9 screenshots.  The shots show some of the classic sprites that gamers who enjoyed the original might remember fondly, as well as some completely original assets that we’ve never seen before.

Regardless of where this game eventually lands, I am absolutely jumping off the walls in anticipation.  I strongly urge any of you that never got a chance to enjoy the original titles to attempt to hunt them down in their retro form on the NES.  If you can’t manage that, then just go ahead and pick up the Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the PS2 or Xbox (Compatible with the 360) and get psyched up for the return of The King!

[See also: Mega Man 9 gallery]