The Five Things I Hope to See with Mega Man 10

The month of January has passed, and that means we’re one month closer to the release of Mega Man 10. Chance are you’re getting your hopes up, because I certainly know I am. So much so, in fact, that I took the time to write down some of my biggest hopes for Mega Man 10 in this here little article. Kind of like I did before with Legends 3, except this time it’s a game we know is coming. Now without further ado, internet opinions!

#1: Endless Mode

Endless Mode was by far one of the greatest things to come out of Mega Man 9. What better a way to increase a game’s replayability than to have a stage that’s always different, and doesn’t end until you do? Endless Mode was easily the best downloadable content Mega Man 9 had to offer, and was so liked that ROM hackers started making their own endless versions of other Mega Man games. Of course there is still room for improvement, as I feel that Mega Man 9’s Endless Mode didn’t offer enough variety. It featured, I would guess, roughly 40 to 50 unique stage segments, not counting the boss rooms. After a while you got to know them all, and that’s just inevitable. But what’s more, it didn’t utilize all the obstacles Mega Man 9 had to offer, like Galaxy Man’s portals, Tornado Man’s magnetic platforms, and Jewel Man’s swinging beams.

Even if it is downloadable content again, I’m pretty confident Mega Man 10 will feature its own Endless Mode. It had better anyway, because it’s incredibly fun.

#2: All New Music

Mega Man 9’s return to its retro roots featured a return to some great sounding chiptune music as well. However, in an effort to relive the wonderment of the renowned Mega Man 2, Mega Man 9 directly borrowed some of its music, and this seemed just a bit strange. Granted, while most of the reused music was little jingles and such, people still prefer something new in all aspects. You can’t recreate the awesomeness of Mega Man 2 by trying to copy it exactly. The worst offender is menu theme, which uses Mega Man 2’s password theme. This little song can quickly get grating if you spend any decent amount of time navigating the menus. It’s especially true when looking up online rankings, which still don’t seem to load that well even a year after Mega Man 9’s release.

I will note that during my hands-on with the Mega Man 10 demo at CES, I did hear that the jingle for the stage start theme is the trademark jingle from Mega Man 2, but it’s a fresh arrangement that gives it some more pizazz. So I am hopeful of the rest of the music having its own unique qualities if it ends up being borrowed from other games.

#3: More Mega Man on Virtual Console

When Mega Man 9 came out in 2008, we didn’t just get Mega Man 9, but the first three Mega Man titles on the Wii’s Virtual Console as well. It was a great way to get people geared up for the new Mega Man 9, and I’d hoped they’d do it for Mega Man 10 as well. I even tried to find this out during my trip to CES, but Capcom’s PR wouldn’t comment here nor there on the matter. Of course, wouldn’t you know it, just as I’m considering this for the article last week, Rockman 4 gets announced for Virtual Console in Japan! And it ought to get to us as well. I’m sure there are also expectations for Mega Man 5 and 6 as well, and while I think those two are kind of weak Mega Man titles, they are still pretty decent NES titles, so I do look forward to them.

Incidentally, do you know what I’d love to see on Virtual Console? Mega Man X. Sure, some of you are probably thinking it’s being held until Mega Man X9 gets announced, but I don’t know if I can wait that long. Mega Man X is not just a great Mega Man game, it’s one of the best Super Nintendo games, period. Get this one out there, Capcom!

#4: A New Kind of  Final Boss

Since Mega Man 4, it’s been kind of a tradition that the last boss of a Mega Man game is the Wily Capsule – an escape capsule-like ship Dr. Wily operates that appears and disappears while attacking Mega Man. I’m all for tradition, but there are some things that I don’t see as needing to be a tradition. While it was appropriate for Mega Man 9, which was more focused on being a revival, I’m hoping we’ll get something a bit new in Mega Man 10, something not so predictable. I’m not saying the last boss shouldn’t be Dr. Wily still – c’mon, you know he will be. But let’s have him try something new for his last-ditch effort to stomp Mega Man. The Game Boy line of games tend to have fairly unique takes on the last battle, so there’s definitely to do something different than the Wily Capsule.

#5: Zero

We know the Mega Man series and Mega Man X series eventually— Hahaha, I’m just kidding you guys.

#5: Doc Robot

One of the most unique concepts of Mega Man 3 was an enemy known as Doc Robot. These guys emulated the Robot Masters from Mega Man 2, so it was basically getting to fight them over again, and they appeared in revamped versions of the stages you previously beat. This was a really cool concept, and I’m let down that it really hasn’t been reused in other Mega Man games (except Mega Man V for Game Boy, to a degree). Of course, it’s not so much about Doc Robot itself, but about expanding the game. It would be great to have more stages than the eight Robot Master stages and then Wily Castle. Let’s have some more in between. And how cool would it be to face the Robot Masters from Mega Man 9 again in some form? Or heck, how about various Robot Masters from all the earlier games? If you want to please Mega Man fans, then more stages and more bosses is definitely one of the best ways to go.

You know, while I might sound kind of complainy in each of my topics, ultimately these complaints center around the same thing: wanting more. And when it comes to a video game, that’s the best kind of complaint someone can have!

What do you want to see with Mega Man 10?

1up Retro Blog Reminisces About Super Adventure Rockman

Over Mega Man’s twenty-plus years in the video game business, a lot of his games have made it to the shores of North America. Heck, some have even gone to Europe.

Despite this, however, there are also a number of Mega Man titles we haven’t seen, or have been held back until new opportunities had arisen for them to be released. Super Adventure Rockman is one such game.

Released on the SEGA Saturn and Sony PlayStation in the middle of 1998, Super Adventure Rockman was a full-motion video adventures that spanned three-discs, with the animated portions being broken up by first-person segments which involved fending off foes with the Mega Buster by way of a targeting cursor. That there has always been a certain lack of a Rockman anime (not counting the Rockman.EXE series that would come years later) helped make this item somewhat desirable among fans of the Blue Bomber.

As it turns out, however, it seems that the game has more detractors than genuine fans, and chief among them is the Man behind the Mega himself, Keiji Inafune. From UDON’s Mega Man Official Complete Works art book:

“To be honest, I feel I owe the players an apology for this one . . . There was a phase when the company was basically selling Mega Man to the lowest bidder, and I really feel like this title is the worst of the worst . . . The ultimate unspoken rule about making a game that is geared towards children is that you simply cannot kill anyone, but here you have military helicopters falling out of the sky and people dying in droves. If it had been up to me, I would have at least made it so they all ‘got away safely’ via parachutes or something. Then as if that wasn’t bad enough, Roll dies… and to top it all off, the whole world is destroyed! I was like, ‘ Did they really need to go that far?!’”

Granted, there are fans who would no doubt disagree with Inafune’s assessment due to their own desire for a darker Mega Man tale. But it seems that even those who have played it feel that the game itself is rather lackluster; 1up’s Retro Gaming Blog has an entry for the game, in which the author states “As someone who played through all of Super Adventure, I have to say, Inafune’s right — this game is ridiculous as a Mega Man game.”

Personally speaking, I thought this game would make for a good Wii port– maybe clean things up a bit, change aiming the Mega Buster to work with the Wii pointer, bring in the cast from Mega Man Powered Up, and drop it into the arms of waiting fans. But from the sound of it, perhaps that isn’t such a good idea– and it doesn’t seem Inafune would get behind it, either.

In fact, in light of Inafune’s comments, one has to wonder if the game would still be considered in-continuity. Then again, there are various fans who deny X6-plus, or Mega Man Zero, or both, so I imagine people will or won’t include it in their own personal fanon of their own accord.

A Look Back at the Classic Openings of Mega Man

The classic 8-bit opening sequences of the Mega Man games for the Nintendo Entertainment System are some of the most memorable in video games, especially among fans. Who doesn’t get a little excited when they recognize the music which plays as the camera pans up what appears to be the largest tower in the city, atop which stands the Blue Bomber, ready to spring into action as his high speed theme song kicks in?

1up’s Retro Blog takes a recalls these opening sequences in 8-Bit Cinema: A Look Back at Mega Man’s Motivations, from the rather blunt title screen which appears when you turn on the first game to the eye-rolling revelation that Mr. X was the true mastermind behind Wily in Mega Man 6.

By the time Mega Man 4 rolled around, the NES was capable of some pretty heroic graphics. A little movie explaining the origin of Mega Man preceded the title screen, and it was epic for my ten-year-old mind to behold. Suddenly, the little blue robot had humanity, purpose, and a history.

Of course, he had all that in Japan from day one, while America just got box art starring the Chupacabra. Nevertheless, I still love the train-riding bit, complete with tunnel lights whizzing by. Tickets? Mega Man’s on a mission to save the world. Shove your tickets.

To this, Capcom responds “Chupacabra indeed. Of course, we can’t all be perfect and there are some bad apples in the bunch (Mega Man 3, where you at?).”

That said, which Mega Man openings are your favorites? I’m partial to Mega Man 2’s, though Mega Man 4’s origin story was delightful.

Personally, I’d love to know what might have been for Mega Man 3, had they opted to create one for it.

The Decade in Review: 200X – 200X

About a week ago, Heat Man came to me and said “you know, it’s going to be the year 20XX soon. You should write something reflecting that.” And then he went and wrote his own article, so now you get two of these things.

With that said, let us take a look back on the decade that was, and all of the many wonderful and bizarre turns of events which took place.

The Robot Revolution

The new millennium got off to an amazing start, as in the year of 200X, roboticist Dr. Thomas Light kick-started the robot revolution, advancing the practice a thousandfold and creating robots to help assist mankind throughout their everyday lives. In addition to robots designed to fulfill nearly every purpose you could think of, he also created a series of six special “Robot Masters” which would lead other robots in fields such as demolitions, antarctic exploration, and more.

Reports state that there were originally eight of these mechanical marvels, but that the last two had been recalled due to issues of ethics, including some allegations of racism. Dr. Light denied any malevolent intent on his part in the designing of any of his robots, shortly before the ill-timed appearance of Roll, his housekeeping robot, who was designed to resemble a pre-pubescent schoolgirl.

Such controversy would have to be put aside, however, as in the year 200X, one Dr. Albert Wily took control of the Robot Masters and the many legions of robots that had made themselves a part of our everyday lives, and threatened to use their combined might to take over the world. The American press made attempts to paint Wily and Light as partners, though this would later be refuted as it was revealed the two doctors in fact shared in a longstanding rivalry, one in which Light was said to always come out on top in.

As such, the rivalry would continue as Dr. Light would repurpose his robotic lab assistant. Giving DLN-001 “Rock” a suit of body armor, a helmet, and an arm-cannon capable of launching compact balls of plasma at high speeds over great distances, Dr. Light christened his champion as “Mega Man,” and sent him straight into the heart of the invaded territories to bring down Wily’s armies.

Amazingly, the plan worked, as Mega Man was able to infiltrate and defeat the six robotic overlords and their master, who hid away in his multi-leveled fortress of terror. Some say he would not have found success without the ability Dr. Light gave him to obtain the abilities of his fallen foes. The fighting was over, but the peace was not to last.

Some would blame the revolving-door nature of our prison system, while others would point the finger squarely at the administration in charge of the government at the time. Regardless of the cause, Dr. Wily found himself a free man in the year 200X, and began his effort to rule the world once again in earnest. This time, he created eight war machines of his own design and sent them out into the world. And once more, Dr. Light deployed his “super fighting robot,” Mega Man, to combat the threat.

The battles were long and difficult, but Mega Man triumphed once again in what many would say was his greatest conflict as he brought Wily’s empire to its knees once again.

In an astounding turn of events, the year 200X would see Dr. Light and Dr. Wily make peace at long last as the two decided to collaborate on an enormous peace-keeping robot known as “Gamma,” which would be energized by crystals obtained from eight mining colonies. How such a creation would actually manage to keep the peace was never fully-disclosed, as a new robot revolt would occur on the mining colonies.

Once more, Mega Man was sent to quell the revolutionaries and retrieve the energy crystals necessary to power Gamma. Upon putting an end to the final Robot Master and sending back the last of the crystals, eight new overlords appeared to wreck the mining colonies, leading to Mega Man taking further action to put an end to the conflict. It was during this time that Dr. Wily would reveal his true colors as the mastermind behind the revolt, turning on Dr. Light and stealing Gamma away to a newly-constructed fortress.

Once finished with his business in the mining colonies, Mega Man would give chase and hunt Wily to the depths of the villainous Skull Castle, where Wily would turn the full force of Gamma on Mega Man himself. Mega Man would persevere and triumph in the end, though wreckage containing robot parts and what some believe to be recycle-friendly video game cases rained down, crushing the mad scientist once and for all.

A tragic end, but at least the world may finally know peace from robotic terror.

The Dot-EXE Boom

While the internet has existed since 19XX, it is in 200X that it began to take the world by storm, as networks connecting people, places, and information would come to criss-cross the globe, making communication easier than ever. Unfortunately, the World Three (aka “WWW”), a fiendish terrorist organization determined to rule the world, began to use the networks as a way of committing their various NetCrimes as they worked toward a greater plot known as the “EndGame.”

The Official NetBattlers, a body established to help quell such crimes as those committed by the World Three, refused to disclose publicly how the full scenario played out. One Official NetBattle, Eugene Chaud, did make a remark to the effect of “@#$ing kids,” however.

Three months later, the absence of the World Three would give rise to a new organization that would strike fear into the hearts of web-denizens, the NetMafia Gospel. This organization would prove itself to be short-lived, but unfortunately, the following month would also see the return of the World Three. It was not long after staging a fake NetBattle tournament that the organization would once more be put to rest.

Things took a turn for the worst five months later, as it was discovered that a meteor was on a trajectory with the Earth. A new NetCriminal organization known as the Nebula Crime Syndicate would attempt to interfere as officials sought out a capable NetBattler to infiltrate the bizarrely-composed meteor and stop it before it could strike the planet, causing untold devastation. Fortunately, they failed in their efforts, but the syndicate’s ringleader, Dr. Regal, may have escaped after a faked suicide attempt in which no body was found.

More Games and Merchandise Than You Can Shake a Stick At

In addition to all of the excitement of the past decade, many video games were made to celebrate the adventures of the Blue Bomber. They are listed as follows:

• The Misadventures of Tron Bonne (200X)
• MegaMan Legends 2 (200X)

• Mega Man Xtreme (200X)
• Mega Man X5 (200X)
• Mega Man X6 (200X)
• Mega Man Xtreme 2 (200X)
• Mega Man X7 (200X)
• Mega Man X: Command Mission (200X)
• Mega Man X8 (200X)
• Mega Man X Collection (200X)
• Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X (200X)

• MegaMan Battle Network (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 2 (200X)
• MegaMan Network Transmission (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 3: Blue/White (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Chip Challenge (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 4: Red Sun/Blue Moon (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 5: Team Protoman/Team Colonel (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 5: Double Team DS (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar/Cybeast Falzar (200X)

• Mega Man Zero (200X)
• Mega Man Zero 2 (200X)
• Mega Man Zero 3 (200X)
• Mega Man Zero 4 (200X)

• MegaMan Star Force: Leo/Pegasus/Dragon (200X)
• MegaMan Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian/Zerker x Ninja (200X)
• MegaMan Star Force 3: Black Ace/Red Joker (200X)

• Mega Man ZX (200X)
• Mega Man ZX Advent (200X)

• Mega Man & Bass (200X)
• Mega Man Anniversary Collection (200X)
• Mega Man Powered Up (200X)
• Mega Man 9 (200X)

And these are just the American releases!

200X was also a special year for some super heroes to get back to their roots; for Spider-man of Marvel Comics fame, this meant pawning off his marriage to the devil in order to return to a 40-year old status quo. But for Mega Man, it simply meant dialing back things to 8-bit and getting back to basics in graphics, sound, and gameplay. Both were bold moves, but time will tell as to which one pays the greater dividends.

In addition to a plethora of games throughout the past decade, there has also been a ton of merchandise made, including (but not limited to):

• Action figures from Jazwares based on the Classic, X, and Zero series.
• Action figures, PETs, Battle Chips, and other toys from Mattel based on NT Warrior, the Viz licensed version of Battle Network.
• NT Warrior anime, DVDs, and manga by Viz.
• Trading cards based on the Classic, X, Zero, and Legends series by Artbox.
• A four-issue comic book series based on the Classic and X series by Dreamwave.
• DVDs of the Classic-based Ruby-Spears animated series from ADV.
• The Mega Man: Upon a Star DVD from ADV.
• “Official Complete Works” art books based on the Zero, Classic, and X series by UDON Entertainment (with the last two arriving in just the nick of time).

Plus, as the decade closes out, we know that 20XX will kick off with a bang, as Mega Man 10 has been announced for March, plus not one but two manga series are in the pipeline for an early 20XX release from UDON: Hitoshi Ariga’s Mega Man Megamix and Shin Ogino’s Mega Man ZX. And if that wasn’t enough, there is also a triple-threat cameo of Zero, Roll, and MegaMan Volnutt in January’s Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.

All in all, the years of 200X to 200X have been pretty good to fans of Mega Man, and with any luck, 20XX will be just as good– maybe even better. After all, there’s a lot more 20XX to work with.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

IGN: In Defense of Mega Man 10?

Does Mega Man 10 need someone to come to its defense? Apparently so, as IGN has elected to do the honors. Perhaps it has something to do with the fairly strong amount of apparent anti-Wii sentiment that seems to be coming from the site as of late, but with the game also appearing on Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Network, who can truly say for sure.

According to JGonzo at the Capcom*Unity, “there is no need for a defense of this game, as it targets a specific audience and gives them exactly what they want: retro Mega Man goodness.” But IGN has done so anyway, and here we have a couple of excerpts:

But what makes Mega Man 10 great isn’t its innovation, but its lack thereof. Mega Man 10 isn’t trying to break the mold and deliver something new and extraordinary. Instead, it’s trying to deliver something tried and true, something that’s been delivered plenty of times in the past. And that’s totally fine, since the Mega Man games on the NES provided some of the purest gameplay experiences in history, replete with crisp 8-bit graphics and some of the most famous MIDI music ever created. And as if that’s not enough, Capcom is even willing to make fun of itself and its treasured franchise, with laughably bad period box art and a Robot Master reveal — Sheep Man — that could only be considered tongue-in-cheek.

I implore the skeptics and loudmouths to do one thing. Sit down and play an old Mega Man game. Ignore Mega Man 9 completely, and go back further. If you don’t have access to an NES and the old cartridges, break out that Wii, go to the Virtual Console, and drop $5 on a game like Mega Man 3 (my favorite game of all time). Remove yourself from the critical and snarky internet age, and place yourself in, say, 1990. Let the classic music enter your ears as you browse the stage select screen. And then play. Experience the 8-bit Mega Man series’ influence on gaming culture. Imagine a simpler time in gaming when gameplay was the be all-end all, the king of the block. Immerse yourself in the 8-bit sights and sounds, the difficult and rewarding play. And then come back here and tell me you aren’t impressed with what that game not only did, but continues to do.

Not to cross my fandoms here, but this reminds me of something I think “Diamond” Dallas Page once said about wrestling: “Those who get it, there’s no need to explain; those who don’t get it, no amount of explaining is ever going to do.” I imagine there are exceptions to the rule, of course, but I think for the most part, people have their minds made up about games such as this, regardless of the reasoning behind their creation.

To find the full editorial, click on over to IGN here, and leave your own thoughts in the comments. All I ask is that you spare us the usual “I’d rather have Legends 3/X9/ZX3/Zero 5/Battle Network 7/Star Force 4 sentiments, as I think that really sort of escapes the point of it all.

Review: Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star – The Case for Content

Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star, Capcom’s “plus alpha” remake of MegaMan Battle Network for the Nintendo DS, was released in Japan last week. Having had the chance to play the game and try out its new features, I’m here to give you my impression of this title. I must warn, this review contains a fair bit of spoilerish information concerning the game. I’m normally not this candid about a game that has yet to release in North America, but considering the kind of game Operate Shooting Star is, it’s hard to get around. Regardless, if you don’t want to be spoiled you should not read on.

Now, there’s something I want to make clear right away about my impression of Operate Shooting Star. It is not a remake of MegaMan Battle Network. It IS MegaMan Battle Network, with some additional features thrown in. If you have played MegaMan Battle Network before, you have essentially played this game already. “Plus alpha” is a Japanese expression that roughly means “a little something extra,” and in Operate Shooting Star’s case the emphasis is on “a little.” I can’t say this is a bad game though, because I do like the original MegaMan Battle Network. But I cannot understand why this game needed to be made. It is truly disappointing just how little new content was put in this game when you consider the whole package.

Since the game essentially is MegaMan Battle Network, I’ll only bother to discuss the game’s new elements. The largest new addition, of course, is what gives the game the subtitle of “Operate Shooting Star.” Capcom has made a lot of effort to hype the game as a crossover with MegaMan Star Force, a “dream collaboration” between both MegaMans. Star Force MegaMan, aka Geo Stelar, even makes a large, mysterious looking presence on the game’s box design.

In actuality, though, the Star Force connection this game has is incredibly weak. It amounts to little more than a side story about Geo needing to go back in time 200 years to stop ClockMan, an out-of-control experimental Net Navi who has kidnapped Harp Note. You first get the gist of this story in the game’s prologue, which curiously is separate from the game itself – you can only watch it from the title screen, and return to the title screen when it’s finished. Aside from that, this involvement only plays into a single additional scenario, where Geo finally does arrive in the past to stop ClockMan, who has taken Roll as well. The event itself is pretty fun and feels fresh, though it’s fairly short. The banter between Lan, Geo and Omega-Xis is very entertaining. What’s truly surprising, however, is that the event doesn’t take place until after the ElecMan scenario, which is well three fourths into the game. By this point you’ve probably forgotten that this game had any connection to Star Force, especially since the previous scenarios are exactly the same. What’s more, once the Star Force scenario is done, it’s back to Battle Network as usual. The event makes no impact on the rest of the game’s story.

Of course, after this event you can choose whether you want to play as BN MegaMan or SF MegaMan in battle. SF MegaMan generally has all his abilities from his own series. He charges automatically and rapid fires when you hold down the B button. Pressing Y generates his shield, and pressing X enters his lock-on mode, which lets him warp in front of enemies to perform chip attacks. This is way better than BN MegaMan, who doesn’t have such an easy time with short ranged attacks, although using X to lock on is a little cumbersome. SF MegaMan’s demerits are that he cannot use Program Advances, and if he’s hurt in the middle of a lock-on attack he’ll become paralyzed for a few crucial seconds. As much fun as he is to battle with, the game is nearly over by the time you get him.

The other major new feature is the Star Colosseum minigame. This is also available from the title screen, and can be played with up to six people wirelessly using just one copy of the game. The main competitive mode of this minigame plays out in the style of the game’s overworld view. Players, who can use either BN MegaMan, ProtoMan or SF MegaMan, compete to gain the most stars in either a free-for-all match or a team match. Stars appear on the overworld to be collected, but you can also steal stars from opponents by attacking them. The catch is, every player has a rock-paper-scissors attribute, and your attribute has to best theirs (i.e. if you have rock, you can only steal stars from people who have scissors). Aside from stars, other items appear on the field that can be activated with the B button. You can only carry one at a time, and there are items that can change your attribute, give you a temporary advantage, or set traps for other players.

Additionally, there is also a Vs. Bass cooperate mode. Instead of collecting stars, all players must work together to defeat Bass by using bombs on him. Bass is capable of knocking players out in one hit, though knocked-out players can be revived if another player comes to touch them. The game is over if Bass is defeated or if all players are defeated, but Bass is definitely challenging, as he continuously hunts players down, and becomes faster as his HP decreases.

I was only able to try the Star Colosseum mode with one other friend, but we both had a bit of fun playing it. We definitely enjoyed the Vs. Bass mode the most, and though we tried about seven or eight times we couldn’t defeat him. The star capturing competitive modes are a little more complex but just as frantic. I don’t think my friend got into as much, especially since he couldn’t read Japanese, so he wasn’t sure what was happening all the time. But it was still fun, and I imagine it can get extremely exciting and chaotic with six people. The matches are short but sweet, lasting roughly three to five minutes.

There are other additional features in the main game of Operate Shooting Star. The internet areas now have maps in the lower screen which can be helpful, though personally I think it would have been more helpful to make different areas of the internet have a different visual style, as all the successive Battle Network titles did. The game’s battle system takes a few elements from Battle Network 2, such as the inclusion of * coded wildcard chips, limitations to the amount of same chips in your folder, and the amount of chips you can gain with the add button. There are also a few new chips, a couple new program advances, and slight graphical updates here and there (mostly some new character mugshots).

All in all, though, Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star is largely identical to MegaMan Battle Network of the Gameboy Advance, and I can’t really feel that its new features justify the game’s existence enough. The story is the same, the graphics are the same, the music is the same and unarranged, aside from the title theme (the Star Force event and Star Colosseum use music directly from the Star Force games as well). All this sameness makes for a rather tepid attempt at an exciting new game.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s not a big issue that what they did use from Battle Network isn’t updated at all. I can accept the same graphics and same music. Some believe they make the game feel dated, but I don’t think this is a major concern. What is a concern to me is, since Capcom did just port over so much of Battle Network’s content, why did they not very much new content? Why couldn’t they throw in more new scenarios, or switch up the game’s events a bit? Why couldn’t they add more new Navis and new enemies? As I’ve mentioned before, enemy characters are one of the biggest draws to Mega Man games, and having more new Navis would have made this game much more appreciated. As it stands, the only new Navi really is ClockMan. And I’ll give it to OSS that ClockMan is a pretty cool new character, if not very unique at the least (his personality is quite eccentric). But if you knew that Operate Shooting Star were to only include a single new Navi, would ClockMan really be your first choice? I didn’t think so.

There has been some comparison of this game to Ace Attorney on the DS. After all, it’s the same game as the Gameboy Advance version, with the same characters, same graphics and same music, with a single new scenario and other minor new features. However, this argument is rather flawed. First of all, just because Ace Attorney does it doesn’t necessarily make it a fine practice. But more importantly, before its DS porting, Ace Attorney was only available in Japan. While the new features in the DS port were to test features they intended to include in the series’ fourth installment, it was also to see how well the game would sell in North America and Europe. Of course, the game was eagerly enjoyed in those regions, which prompted the more hasty porting of the second and third titles for the DS as well. Still, I cannot imagine Japanese consumers had much reason to purchase these ports (although the original port did have a new scenario, and an additional secenario in a game like Ace Attorney amounts to much more new content than does an additional scenario in a game like Battle Network). Since MegaMan Battle Network has already been released worldwide, it will not enjoy this same advantage the Ace Attorney games had.

Additionally, people have also argued that this is a typical Capcom “cash-in;” that it’s a simply made game to maximize profits. However, I disagree with this argument as well. While I can’t imagine this game did take a whole lot of effort to make in a year’s time, I also can’t see it being that profitable since I think most Mega Man fans will realize there’s not much new going on here. Imagine this. Capcom could have instead made a brand new entry in the Battle Network series, with new characters and events, and still had a Star Force crossover and the Star Colosseum minigame. They could have still used many assets from the previous games, such as character and environment graphics, combat systems and other engines, and so on. But the game would be much more attractive for having actual new content. Such a game would not take too much more effort to create, but would easily be much more profitable because people ultimately buy (and don’t buy) games for their content.

So I cannot honestly understand the purpose this game was made. It’s hardly original. It’s a poor excuse for a cash-in. And I don’t feel Capcom had a need to make a game just to gauge how much people are still interested in Battle Network. The strong worldwide sales of Battle Network 6 should alone prove that. The only conclusion I can draw is that Capcom just needed to buy time as they work on the direction they really want to go for Mega Man’s future. I can only hope whatever they’re working on is worth it for this disappointing excuse of a remake. With the excitement that Mega Man 9 created in 2008, 2009 will look pretty pitiful in comparison with this being Capcom’s only offering for Mega Man.

In the end I can only recommend Operate Shooting Star to people who have never played the original MegaMan Battle Network, or to fans who are just really excited over Geo and other Star Force characters entering the game, however briefly it may be. And again, it’s not like Operate Shooting Star is a BAD game. It’s just hardly a new game, and I don’t think it lives up to the hype Capcom of Japan drove up for it. I just want to make sure you understand what kind of game you’re getting if you do decide to purchase it once it comes out in the western regions.

Mega Man’s Worst 2s

Running on nearly 22 years now, there are a lot of Mega Man games out there. A lot are good, some are legendary, and some just kind of stink. However, there is an unwritten rule, so to speak, that Mega Man gets better the second time around. The most obvious of these examples is Mega Man 2. Mega Man likely would not be Mega Man without Mega Man 2. Another example is MegaMan Battle Network 2, which brought many improvements to the battle system, had better designed maps and even more interesting characters.

But there are exceptions to the rule! Not every number two in Mega Man is gold, but is more of a… number two. Yes, we may be Mega Man fans here, but it’s not all milk and honey.  We’re discerning! Thus, I’ve picked three Mega Man successors that just don’t live up to the original that came before it, starting with the one I feel is the most abhorrent.

The winners!

Mega Man II
For: Game Boy
Released: 1992

Mega Man II (we use Roman numerals to denote the Game Boy titles) is possibly the first example of a truly awful Mega Man game in the series history, but since action platformers were so popular at the time, people may not have realized it right away. Granted, I can’t see anyone arguing that Mega Man II is awesome. Even Keiji Inafune admits that the game was outsourced to people who just didn’t “get” Mega Man, and apologizes for its awfulness.

Man, where to begin on this one? The game controls feel strange and sluggish, even compared to the rest of the Game Boy titles which could not be as fast paced as the NES games due to the restricted screen size. Hit detection is a bit off, making it impossible to avoid enemies sometimes. And this despite the fact that a lot of the enemies and bosses are oddly shrunken down in size, although Mega Man himself remains the same size. On the other hand, some oddities work in your favor: power up items restore more of your health than before, and bosses don’t have any period of invincibility when damaged. Many of the bosses can quickly be slaughtered with the Mega Buster. You can even shoot through Wood Man’s shield!

One of the worst points of the game is its sound. Almost none of the music is from the games Mega Man II borrows its content from, and all of it is high pitched and grating (though the melodies themselves aren’t horrible, and can be done more justice). Many sound effects suffer the same fate. They’re much too high pitched, or just sound otherwise lame.

However, the thing I despise most about Mega Man II is Quint. He is, in my opinion, the worst character in the entire Mega Man franchise. I could write a whole article just on how stupid I think Quint is. But instead I’ll just explain the story behind Quint. He’s actually Mega Man from the future, who Dr. Wily kidnapped by using a time machine and modified him into his own battle robot. Oh, and he uses a pogo stick to fight. Who honestly thought this was a good idea? Mega Man from the future? A pogo stick? I can see what it is they were going for. They wanted to make another enigmatic character with a surprising background to mirror Proto Man’s role in Mega Man 3. But seriously, a POGO STICK?

And if that weren’t enough, Bandai later made their own Mega Man game for their Wonderswan handheld where Quint is actually the main enemy. Except he’s not Quint, but the rejected robot Dr. Wily produced while trying to modify the future Mega Man. In other words, he’s the robot that was too crappy to be Quint. This makes Mega Man II worse by association.

The only good thing I can say about Mega Man II is that it ended up being the first Mega Man game I ever beat, and increased my confidence toward beating the others.

MegaMan Star Force 2
For: Nintendo DS
Released: 2008

The Star Force series really got it rough. It was rejected by many classic Mega Man fans for being different, and because so many classic fans are cynical, crotchety old men anymore. But it was also rejected by a good deal of Battle Network fans for simply not being Battle Network, even though the series is very similar. However, I thought the original MegaMan Star Force was a delightful game. It had an interesting storyline, a battle system that let people set up attacks more easily compared to Battle Network, and it still had vestiges from Battle Network such as Navis and being able to go inside of machines. Say what you will about Star Force, the game still managed to sell nearly a million copies worldwide, and that’s pretty good for a first time.

But then came MegaMan Star Force 2. What I dislike about Star Force 2 is how much it disregards what came before it. There are no more Navis, but instead weird, cartoony looking material wave things. There’s also no more going inside of machines – everything takes place on the wave road. While this might not seem like a big deal, it takes away from the game’s theme of how advancements in technology can also be dangerous.

Moreover, though, it disrgards its own predecessor. One of the neat things about the first Star Force is how we could watch Geo grow as a character as he helped other characters. They all came off as pretty integral characters, but now suddenly they’re either gone or unimportant. Remember what a big deal it was for Geo to start going to school? Well there is no school in this game! What about Aaron, who was a close friend of Geo’s father’s and the remaining link Geo had to his father? He just stands around now and offers little bits of advice. Oh, and then there’s Sonia. She wanted to create music from her heart, not to be a part of the industry. She was inspired by her mother, who had passed away. Geo showed her that that was alright. Well, now she’s fully back in the industry, and even appears on advertisements all over the place. Good going, you sell out.

Instead of characters which Geo had close relations with, we get dopey villain characters who like to be bad simply for the sake of being bad. And while the UMA angle was interesting, ultimately they’re characters no one’s really going to care about or remember. Even Rogue, who’s just a rip off of Bass, who wasn’t terribly interesting to begin with.

That aside, everything else just feels mediocre. They removed most of the touch screen aspect to game missions that the original had. The music is bland and cartoonish. There’s nothing really even space themed about the game. What happened to the satellites that governed the Earth? What happened to connection with the FM planet?

If there’s one thing I can say in defense of Star Force 2, it had a good battle system. Being able to combine the Tribe transformations was a neat idea, and it’s also the first game that lets people play wi-fi battles together. Furthermore, Star Force 3 would eventually come along and pull the weight of practically all of Star Force 2’s shortcomings. It was that much better of a game, and yet it failed to attract people to the series, probably because of how bad Star Force 2 was. Many stores didn’t even sell Star Force 3 because they still had copies of 2 sitting around in the bargain bin. It also doesn’t help that Capcom of Europe decided not to localize Star Force 3.

I truly believe Star Force 2 is what killed the series.

Mega Man ZX Advent
For: Nintendo DS
Released: 2007

I’m certain I’m going to catch some flack on this one, and truthfully ZX Advent isn’t a horrible game. But it does nothing to go beyond being medicore. Besides that, I feel like the ZX series was little more than a haven for die hard Mega Man X fans who weren’t going to join the Battle Network/Star Force crowd, so they took what they could get.

Yet, ZXA’s major let down is similar to that of Star Force 2’s: a lack of continuity. Rather than expanding on what happened in ZX directly, ZXA takes place years later and stars all new protagonists. And rather than use the new characters and settings to explain more about ZX’s history, it just adds more questions. At what point did Axl become a Biometal? How is it that Albert’s data got into the other Biometals? Weren’t they created by the original leader of Guardian? And why are the other Biometals working with Albert’s henchmen? When and how did they get stolen?

The boss copy feature was also kind of a letdown. While a neat idea in theory, many of the boss characters were no fun to play as. Their only real functions were for getting across specific areas made specially for them. Outside of those parts, I’m pretty sure everyone played as Model H or Z the rest of the time.

Everything else about ZXA is just meh. It’s music was good, but coming 20 years into the series it has a lot of other great Mega Man music to stand up against. The characters were interesting, but outside of Vulturon perhaps, none of them are very memorable. What probably stands out the most about ZXA is its Mega Man a minigame, which would serve as a harbinger for Mega Man 9.

But ultimately, ZXA’s major failing is that it didn’t do enough to warrent its continuation. It’s clear Inti Creates intended to continue on with the series, but the game was too bland for many people to care enough. Thanks to this, ZX takes the crown from MegaMan Legends of being the shortest lived Mega Man series.

Honorable mention

Mega Man X2
For: Super Nintendo
Released: 1994

No, Mega Man X2 is not a bad game. But is it any better than Mega Man X? It doesn’t really feel like it. The music isn’t quite as good. Sigma’s new henchmen aren’t as cool as Vile was (arguably the coolest of the three ends up turning into a hot dog). Don’t get me wrong, X2 is very fun, and is certainly way better than a lot of the more recent X titles, which really jumped the shark. But I don’t know if I can find anyone who thinks it’s better than the first X. That’s all I’m saying.

What is Inti Creates up to?

For this decade, which is swiftly coming to a close, Inti Creates has been a major component to the Mega Man franchise. Starting in 2002 they developed the Mega Man Zero series with Capcom and then followed with Mega Man ZX. They were also behind the unexceptionally received Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge. But of course, what they are now most well known for is the much beloved Mega Man 9.

But what will Inti Creates bring about next? Since the release of Mega Man Zero, Inti Creates typically developed a Mega Man game for release in Japan every spring to summer, with news of such titles starting to appear in the late winter. However, the expected window of time for an announcement this year has already been passed, and Inti Creates’ official website has remained surprisingly quietly for most of this year so far.

That’s not to say that Inti Creates has been idle. So far this year, they’ve released Japan exclusive Nintendo DS titles for the Sgt. Frog and Crayon Shin-chan series. Of course, these are not Capcom published games. What Capcom may be working on with Inti Creates is indeed a mystery, and one that has gone on for a surprisingly long time this year.

While Capcom is moving on with Rockman EXE: Operate Shooting Star, I personally doubt they are not through creating Mega Man titles with Inti Creates. As Mega Man 9 itself was such an abrupt and surprising announcement, we really can’t rely too much on the past trends of their game releases. What we can rely on is he fan support for said games. There are people that want the continuation of Mega Man ZX. There are people who want Mega Man 10. There are people who want Mega Man X9. Most of all, there are people who simply want more. That’s reason enough to suspect that Capcom and Inti Creates have something in the works this very moment.

For now, we can only keep our eyes peeled.

Speculation Train: Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star part 2

Make sure your luggage is packed away well, and that you have your ticket ready to be checked by an attendant, because it’s all aboard again.

In my last segment, the primary argument in my speculation was that Rockman EXE: Operate Shooting Star would more likely be a brand new Battle Network game instead of a remake. Well, I was wrong! I must concede that. However, the reasoning I used to come to that conclusion has not been far off; in fact much of it still applies. The primary reason I argued that EXE:OSS would be an all new title is because ultimately people want new content, not recycled content. But at the same time, fans of a series will want content that also feels familiar. I know it sounds like I’m contradicting myself, but it makes sense, trust me. We’ll cover this near the end.

For now, we must speculate how much of an influence Star Force is going to have on this Battle Network remake. Will it just be in the game’s gameplay, or in the plot and characters as well? To me the gameplay makes a lot of sense, especially battling. While Battle Network and Star Force have fairly similar battle systems, Star Force’s system allows for simpler, faster-paced battles. By removing Battle Network’s alphabet system, you’re assured to be able to select at least two cards at the start of a battle. Also, Star Force’s Mega Attack lets yo get right in the enemy’s face no matter how far back they are – no more area stealing just to slash an enemy with a sword attack.

The original Battle Network’s battle system feels incredibly clunky in comparison, which is ironic because it’s the simplest. Your HP refreshes at the end of battle, you can stuff up to ten of the same chips in your folder, and there’s no standard/mega/giga limitations. And yet, it still feels slow somehow, especially in the beginning. While hardcore Battle Network fans might complain, adopting Star Force’s battle system would be a big boon to the game.

I also suspect that the game will have some kind of transformation system, or at least an improved armor system (the original Battle Network did let you equip elemental armors). To what extent this system will go is anyone’s guess, though, since it will likely be tied to the game’s story. It would also be necessary for Capcom to release two versions of the game, if they’re planning to go that route. Other features, such as wireless and wi-fi gameplay seem obvious, since it’s on the DS. It may even have its own form of Brother Band system (maybe setup like more of a friends list, or an instant messenger program). And of course, the internet worlds will be much more distinct and easier to navigate. They were really a mess in the first Battle Network.

But what of the story? Will it be a faithful reproduction of the events in the first Battle Network? Is that picture of both Mega Mans shaking hands figurative, or a literal meeting? In my last speculation article, I reasoned that the story would somehow involve time travel, likely via the character Clock Genius, and let Star Force characters go back in time to the Battle Network era. However, I was also assuming then that EXE:OSS was going to be an original game. But… it still looks like it’s going to have time travel. We have this enigmatic message from Japan’s Ryuusei no Rockman 3 website: “Currently, it sounds like the Satella Police are secretly developing a new program to be included in Wizards. It’s rumored that if used one “can control time” but… is something like that really possible?”

This can’t have anything to do with the Star Force series, that series isn’t continuing right now. And the message came up th same day Capcom of Japan opened their EXE:OSS teaser site. Thus, we may be facing an “alternate reality” Battle Network, one where the same general events occur, but in a different manner than before. To be honest, I had actually pictured this possibility, but it was one of my least favorite ideas. I really don’t like when stories are changed because of time travel. Of course, this is reasoning from my personal opinion on storyline, and not from logic. So, it’s something we may be facing. Oh well, it worked pretty well for the new Star Trek movie (uhh, spoilers?), so maybe EXE:OSS will do it nicely.

I think the main reason this would hurt the game would be having two Mega Mans in the same game. It means either they’ll both be vying for the spotlight, or one (the Star Force Mega Man, certainly) will take a back seat, and not have much to do with the gameplay. Granted, I do think Geo’s and Omega-Xis’s commentary on the times might be charming.

Geo: I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s go, Mega!
Omega-Xis: Yeah, time to get buck wild on the past!
Geo: …Ahh! There… There’s no wave road!
Omega-Xis: …Geez, what kind of backwards caveman world did we end up in?

My main issue, however, is how much new content there will be, and how well that content will fit. As I said above, gamers always want new content. But fans of a running series will want that content to feel familiar. In my last article, I argued that this put a lot of importance on the Net Navis of the Battle Network series. These allowed older Mega Man fans to feel comfortable in a new type of game. And yet, each game always had a batch of new Navis. After Battle Network 4, however, the number of new Navis in each game decreased. After Battle Network 4, sales of the series also started to drop. While there may be many reasons for this, a lot of fans were disappointed with what 4 did to the series, and I have to think one of the main problems was a shortage of new Navis.

I argued that this would be a great chance to introduce new Navis, but since this is a remake I’m not sure how well that could be handled. The original Battle Network was pretty rounded on its amount of characters and content, and any new characters introduced here would likely be Star Force themed. This makes me think that Capcom still might not realize how important Navis based on classic characters really are to the series. Still, nostalgia for the Battle Network series might be enough to keep this game afloat.

For now I think I’ve considered enough. I may do one more speculation article in a month or so, but at that point CoroCoro will release its first major scoop on EXE:OSS and we ought to have a good idea by then what this game will try to do, and speculation will only be necessary for the smaller, more specific details. Until then, watch your step getting off the train.

Mega Man is not hardcore

The following is an opinion piece by one member of our staff, and doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of The Mega Man Network as a whole. On the other hand, it doesn’t necessarily mean some of us don’t agree, either. Which is which? Well, that’s just our little secret. Unless someone decides to tell.

The Mega Man franchise has been called many things over time, but one of the things it is not is hardcore. If Mega Man truly had to be labeled as something, it would definitely belong on the “casual” side of gaming. Of course, some would say these labels would have no bearing. It is true that the terms “hardcore” and “casual” are recent adoptions in response to the expanded market grown by Nintendo’s latest efforts. Before then, games were not “hardcore” or “casual,” they were just games. But the labels are not meaningless. When you do compare “hardcore” and “casual,” you’ll find they strive for very different qualities. The problem is not everyone understands what these labels really mean.

The greatest misconception is that many gamers likely associate the term “hardcore” with “hard.” It is true that many Mega Man titles are noteworthy because of their difficulty (although I can think of many games in the same line that are more difficult to me – perhaps it’s just because I’m a more seasoned Mega Man player). But a game’s difficulty doesn’t carry much weight on whether or not it’s hardcore. Take a game like the recently rebooted Prince of Persia. Some people might call this game easy, because it discards the ability to lose. But actually, Prince of Persia (the newest one) would be more hardcore than the average Mega Man game. And it’s not that you don’t actually lose, it simply abandons arcade era principles that a game like Mega Man still uses.

Before we go on, let’s compare some of the qualities of hardcore versus casual games.

Hardcore:
-Complicated control schemes
-Major effort poured into presentation (graphics, sound)
-very story driven, with lots of narratives and cinematic scenes
-Aspires to be artistic
-Appeals to existing, high end customers

Casual:
-Simple control schemes
-Less focus on presentation (graphics and sound are “good enough”)
-Little or no forced storyline
-Aspires to be entertaining
-Appeals to new, low end customers

When Mega Man 9 was announced last year, maybe people praised it as a return to the “old hardcore” values. But wait, we never had the term “hardcore” when Mega Man originally came out. What makes it so hardcore? Looking at those lists, it’s easy to see that Mega Man 9 aligns more closely with the casual qualities. Recently I was in a forum where people were discussing whether the game Rhythm Heaven is hardcore or not. Around half the people agreed it was hardcore, because some of the later games can be pretty difficult. Seriously! A game where all you do is tap on the screen in rhythm to upbeat music with cartoonish characters. That’s hardcore? It’s really laughable.

Let’s look at each of those above qualities with Mega Man 9. Certainly, its control scheme is simple. You move right and left, jump, and shoot. The game even removed later abilities such as sliding and charging the Mega Buster. To some this was a travesty, but really all it was doing was making Mega Man 9 a simpler game to pick up from the get go.

Things get very interesting with Mega Man 9’s presentation, because the hardcore crowd went two different ways with it. Some argued it was horrible, because it makes the game look dated. The game should have 3D graphics with richly composed music. The other side argued that its presentation was fine because it was an artistic style Capcom chose to go with. It was about capturing the 1980s retro appeal. These are both wrong. Mega Man 9 has the presentation it does because that’s what best serves the kind of game it began as. The simple graphics allow swifter gameplay, where jumps and shooting are easier to think out because the environment is so clearly outlined. Compare this to the slow and clunky Mega Man 8 with its odd, pseudo-3D landscape.

Compared to other early Mega Man games, Mega Man 9 actually does carry a little more story telling. I assume this is because it was developed by Inti Creates, who tend to make their Mega Man titles fairly story driven. Still, Mega Man 9 is not terribly story driven when compared to series like Zero and ZX, but the break up of the gameplay for narrative segments can be a little annoying.

Finally, Mega Man clearly aspires to be more entertaining and appeal to low end customers. It may be a difficult game but it is easy to get into. While the demographic for Mega Man 9 is certainly existing Mega Man fans, by making it a simple 2D platformer it invites new players who might not otherwise have gotten into Mega Man. Unfortunately I don’t think Capcom did enough to advertise the latter point. What really shines to the newcomer is Mega Man’s stage select. This allows a player to try one stage, and if they find it too hard they can go onto another. By trying out different stages, the player is able to hone their skills without letting the game get uninteresting.

When you look at the Mega Man franchise this way, it’s clear to see that the most hardcore of the games is likely the Mega Man Legends series, a story-driven, 3D action-adventure title. Climbing down the ladder, we’d next have the Battle Network and Star Force series. These are also story driven and fairly strategic, but because they are handheld titles they are not meant to be played for such long periods of time. Below that we have the Zero and ZX series, which are platforming games but, as I mentioned, are very story driven, and have more complicated systems (Cyber Elves, transformations, etc). Next down is Mega Man X, which tried to be more like Zero and ZX as it progressed, and finally at the bottom we have classic Mega Man, the game that’s the easiest to jump into and start playing (unless you count something like Super Adventure Rockman, which is a ridiculous game).

And here, suddenly, we see the dark secret of Mega Man Legends. The Mega Man Legends series is kind of the black sheep of the Mega Man franchise. It was an ambitious title for time; radically different than the Mega Man games before it. It did not do too well, although it’s developed a very strong cult following. Passionate fans of Mega Man Legends will tell you why it didn’t do well. Capcom didn’t promote it well enough. The game was ahead of its time. People couldn’t appreciate its charming characters and rich story. These things may all be true to some extent, but the real truth is much more blunt: Mega Man Legends is too hardcore. By jumping to 3D, Legends needs more complex controls than the Mega Man games before it. I don’t quite recall how ambitious its graphics were for the day, but it was definitely a story driven game. When fans think back on Legends, they often think of the characters and storyline first. However, these elements were not as appealing to the general Mega Man fan at the time. And they still don’t.

By now, Legends enthusiasts reading this are probably crying blasphemy. Keep in mind I am not deriding Legends’ quality as a game. I am just saying the qualities of Mega Man Legends appeal to a smaller gaming audience, which is why it won’t sell as well. It is true that we’ve heard a lot of commentary in approval for Capcom making Mega Man Legends 3. I, too, would like Capcom to make Mega Man Legends 3, mainly because it’s a game I know I’d probably enjoy. Of course, these pleas for Legends 3 come from the internet, where mostly hardcore gamers congregate.

I think Capcom will probably make Legends 3 at some point because they tend to listen up to what people on the internet are saying. However, unless Capcom does something drastically different with Legends 3, it will fail to embrace the kind of sales response Legends never got in the first place. Titles that were originally 2D do not do as well when they move to 3D. 3D Super Mario will never sell as well as 2D Super Mario. 3D Castlevania will never sell as well as 2D Castlevania. 3D Sonic the Hedgehog… geez, do people really still buy those? I think Capcom will also make Mega Man Legends 3 because the developers still hold onto it. You hear about how much they loved working on Legends, and you see Legends cameos thrown into so many other Capcom games. But that only makes it a vanity title; a game they want to make because they like it, not necessarily because consumers will like it.

I’m not even saying Mega Man Legends is all that hardcore to begin with. Certainly compared to a game like Metal Gear Solid 4, where you can’t play more than five minutes without hitting a cut scene, Legends is hardly hardcore at all. But it’s still apparent to me that the shortcomings of Legends are the result of it being too hardcore.

Capcom still has yet to announced a new Mega Man title in 2009, and the year is almost halfway done. I think it’s possible Capcom may realize that Mega Man needs to have a broader appeal. Maybe they are trying to think of how to make Legends 3 without condemning it to a hardcore niche. Maybe they are working on something new. But Mega Man is not hardcore, and in today’s expanded gaming market I don’t think Mega Man can afford to be hardcore. Whatever Capcom is working on, I think it will definitely show us how hardcore Mega Man isn’t.

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Note: I feel it’s necessary to mention that a lot of my inspiration for writing this article comes from the writings of Sean Malstrom. Much of how I see Mega Man games, and games in general, is shaped by his work. However, I am by no means a games analyst. Rather than simply agree with Malstrom’s arguments, I try to use his line of thinking to reach my own conclusions. As I’m not very experienced, there are probably some points of this article where I’m parroting his analysis instead of coming up with it on my own. So, consider this a cite for reference. Also, you should definitely read some of his work if you’re at all interested in the business side of video games.

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