Mega Man: Dual Override Direct Feed Gameplay + New Details

Gamescom is officially underway, and press are already getting hands-on with the playable Mega Man: Dual Override demo, which features Twinkle Girl’s stage from start to finish.

And that’s only scratching the surface. Early impressions have revealed a ton of new details, including how stages are split into three distinct areas, the Custom Chip System, an expanded Special Weapon system, scoring mechanics, and much more.

 

Rather than each Robot Master having one long stage, each main boss appears to have three shorter areas associated with them. In the Twinkle Girl demo, selecting her brought up three separate areas to choose from instead of dropping the player straight into a traditional stage.

Each area is considerably shorter than your traditional Mega Man stage. Denfami says a first run took roughly 3–5 minutes, while an experienced player could blaze through an area in under two minutes. However, the shorter length does not mean the stages are any easier or less substantial. Each one contains its own set of challenges, enemies and bosses.

At least one of Twinkle Girl's three areas ends with Astro Man R, appearing as what the article calls a "replica robot". His movement and attacks closely reproduce his behavior from Mega Man 8, but he also has new attacks, meaning these returning bosses are apparently more than straight recreations. 

Before beginning the demo, the player chooses a preset Chip Set. The article says this particular pool of chips is specifically for the demo; in the final game, players will apparently equip several individual Custom Chips to create their own personalized setup.

The demo offered three configurations:

• Survival-focused: gives Mega Man a temporary Barrier and an E-Tank.

• Attack-focused: provides auto charging and a Double Charge Shot, allowing two charged shots to be fired in rapid succession.

• No Chip Support: meant to resemble traditional Mega Man gameplay. Interestingly, Rush is available here and is apparently classified as a Custom Chip.

Custom Chip actions such as Barrier, Double Charge Shot and Rush were activated with the controller's trigger buttons.

Pressing the shoulder buttons activates Override. While Override is active, Mega Man temporarily becomes much more powerful and gains attacks such as the Final Charge Shot. The writer compares it to an evolved version of Mega Man 11's Double Gear.

Unlike Double Gear, Override does not require Mega Man to be near death to use it. Once the Override energy gauge reaches the necessary amount, it can be activated regardless of his remaining health. The article also notes that some Custom Chips may automatically activate Override when Mega Man reaches critical health.

Now, there's a bit of a catch here: Override only lasts for a limited period. Once it ends, Mega Man enters an overheated state, temporarily restricting some of his attacks and abilities. 

Special Weapons have also been expanded through a new mechanic called Power Shot.

Essentially, every Special Weapon can apparently be used normally or in a more powerful form. The writer compares this to the enhanced Special Weapons obtained while using Power Gear in Mega Man 11, except now the powered-up version is available directly with the press of a single button.

The demo included a Special Weapon called Jet Stinger, an aerial rushing attack similar to Pile Driver from Mega Man 11. In its normal form, Mega Man's rush stops when he hits an enemy. When used as a Power Shot, however, he pierces straight through enemies and keeps going. Enemies hit by the attack can also be knocked sideways into others.

One especially interesting detail is that the game has a scoring system. The article describes this as the first proper score system in the classic series since the original Mega Man.

Scores are calculated based on factors including:

• Completion time
• Damage taken
• Number of retries
• Consecutive enemy defeats / multiplier bonuses

The game also records clear times, giving players incentives to replay the short areas for both high scores and speedruns.

A few other noteworthy details:

• The demo did not have Lives but the full retail game will.

• Sliding now has its own dedicated button.
  
  
• The right stick Special Weapon shortcut from Mega Man 11 returns. Pressing R3 switches back to the Mega Buster.

• Ladder climbing also feels slightly faster than in Mega Man 11.

• Bolts are hidden collectibles again (Mega Man 8)

• The Charge Shot's Guard Break property returns, allowing charged shots to break through certain enemy defenses.

• Visible checkpoints from Mega Man Powered Up return.

• New English voice cast. Voice actors unknown.

Finally, Proto Man is not at all playable in this particular demo. Perhaps that's something we'll see in the future, maybe around Tokyo Game Show.