- \n
- Built for Fire Power: A custom chip packed with auto-charging that helps you attack more efficiently, plus the power to unleash double charge shots at once.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- No Chip Support: For the traditional Mega Man experience, with no added abilities, except for the ability to call in Rush, your jump-pad dog.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![](\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mega-man-dual-override-feels-like-a-perfect-entry-point-into-the-series.gif\")
Mega Man: Dual Override’s three Chip Set options.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Because I\u2019m a stubborn bastard, I chose the latter.<\/p>\n
Things didn\u2019t start out too badly \u2014 each robot master\u2019s area is made up of three stages, with the first of Twinkle Girl\u2019s not giving me too many problems. A classic mix of precision platforming, dodging enemy projectiles, and firing upon Mets (the hard-hatted enemies who pop up and become vulnerable when you get close) makes up much of the industrial-looking level, and it really felt like reactivating a long-dormant part of my brain. That Mega Buster cannon arm still feels as good as it did decades ago. <\/p>\n
Then came Big Press Don. Each stage has its own mini boss, and this giant, red, jet-packed lump of metal was my first real test. Thankfully, I still had a full tank of special ammo available to me, so I hopped into the air to reach Don\u2019s vulnerable head and barraged him with the whole nine yards. I don\u2019t know what other Robot Master this skill is borrowed from \u2014 as is Mega Man tradition, you take on the skills of your fallen foes \u2014 but it dressed me in a turquoise outfit with an orange-visored helmet alongside a \u201cgun\u201d that propelled me forward in a powerful dash. It\u2019s safe to say Don didn\u2019t like it, as a few hits drained his health bar in seconds. It\u2019s hard to make definitive calls on strategy in a demo as short as this, but I\u2019m guessing this dash weapon was his weakness; after all, finding the most efficient weapons to take on each big enemy, and the order to take them on, has long been the key to solving the overall Mega Man puzzle.<\/p>\n
And so onto the second stage I went, and deeper into the giant robot exhibit that Twinkle Girl had decided to call home. I definitely felt the difficulty creep up a little here, with the platforming in particular increasing in complexity. More moving lifts entered the fray as timing jumps became all the more crucial, especially when leaping over firework cannons that would erupt their damaging sparkles in intermittent bursts. <\/p>\n
But the biggest surprise came at the end of these few minutes of platforming when I entered the next boss room. Upon being locked in, the tech-filled room shifted into an augmented reality amongst the stars. But that was only the first unexpected thing to happen. That\u2019s because this new space is home to a copy of Astro Man, one of Mega Man 8\u2019s robot masters. This returning foe packs the same moveset as he did on the original PlayStation, complete with swooping lunges, annoying twin spheres that spin around him, and raining green meteors that deal big damage if you mistime your approach. It\u2019s a shinier version of the 30-year-old fight, but I can\u2019t help but feel slightly disappointed that no new attacks or quirks have seemingly been included. It would be nice to see Dual Override referencing the past while remixing it, rather than simply recreating old memories. <\/p>\n
On one hand, I enjoyed fighting him again. But on the other, it\u2019s also where my earlier hubris caught up with me. With neither of the more beneficial chip sets selected at the start of my run, I was finding him a real challenge to take down. Rush simply wasn\u2019t going to help me here. And so, knowing my demo time was limited, I finally gave in, restarting the stage with the energy barrier shield equipped. Smart employment of this, plus knowing when to enter the titular Override mode to increase my damage output, soon made quick work of him. Dual Override is also very kind in granting you a checkpoint just outside the boss room, letting you get back into the action within a few seconds of defeat \u2013 a \u201cmodern\u201d concession that classic Mega Man would never offer.<\/p>\n
Peculiarly, I found that second stage to be the toughest part of my demo, with the final section providing less of a challenge. Perhaps this is because it played to my skill set better. I like front-foot, aggressive battles, and that is exactly what my showdown with Twinkle Girl gave me. From first shot to last, our fight lasted less than a minute due to her glass-cannon nature. She\u2019s deadly, but seemed to be more vulnerable to my attacks, especially the aforementioned special weapon. She dashes quickly across the screen, plummets downwards like a furious phoenix, and unleashes starbursts of colourful fireworks. Weave in and out of these deadly displays, and she\u2019s yours for the taking, her weapon yours. Frustratingly, though, I didn’t get to see what her armament is called, or get to try it out for myself. I appreciate the variety I\u2019ve already seen in Dual Override\u2019s boss battles, though, and look forward to seeing what else awaits further down the road.<\/p>\n
This is the first mainline Mega Man game in almost a decade, so Capcom has had plenty of time to think about what it wants to do with the series. Some things are a constant \u2014 precision platforming, tight fights, and the vibrant, animated stages they take place on, soundtracked by toe-tapping electronic tunes \u2014 but there\u2019s enough new here to ensure it feels like a Mega Man for the 2020s. It\u2019s too early to see if these new optional chip sets, override mode, and multi-stage Robot Master encounters with increased checkpointing will be an overall positive \u2014 but if nothing else, they certainly signal the developer’s aim to make this entry more approachable. I remain hopeful, though. There\u2019s still plenty of challenge to be found here, and I had a lot of fun returning to Mega Man with Dual Override. If these tweaks mean a lot more people can set foot in a series that once offered me a gateway into video games, then I\u2019ll be more than happy.<\/p>\n
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at <\/em>@cardy.bsky.social.<\/em><\/p>\n
- No Chip Support: For the traditional Mega Man experience, with no added abilities, except for the ability to call in Rush, your jump-pad dog.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![](\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mega-man-dual-override-feels-like-a-perfect-entry-point-into-the-series.jpg\")
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