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Inafune asked to keep working on canned Mega Man projects post-Capcom; Capcom declined
When Mega Man co-creator and former head of production at Capcom Keiji Inafune vacated his long-held position late last year, it was unclear what would happen with the two projects he had just fought to get going -- a long-awaited sequel in the Mega Man Legends series and an ambitious XBLA/PSN Mega Man mashup title. Despite a brief period of support from his former employer, the two games were eventually canceled. Inafune, however, was still fighting for the games after his employment ended. "I really wanted to finish those two projects, especially Legends," Inafune told me in an interview this past weekend at the Tokyo Game Show. "It's really up to Capcom to let me do it or not, and for the moment I don't think they're gonna let me do it," he resignedly added. Apparently after leaving his position at his former employer, he requested to continue working on the project in some capacity as a contractor. Cacpom, however, wasn't interested in that idea. But rather than directly blame Capcom for canceling the two projects -- he's not into pointing fingers, as we already know -- Inafune spoke to his struggle even getting them going.
Mega Man Universe canceled
Capcom has posted an apology and notice of cancelation on the official Japanese website for Mega Man Universe, an odd DIY Mega Man game that was scheduled to launch on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network later this year. The retro-styled platformer was a cheeky amalgam of remade Mega Man 2 levels, customizable characters (including the crooked caricature from the North American Mega Man 1 box art) and user-created levels. According to Capcom's notice, the decision to extinguish Mega Man Universe was given impetus by "various circumstances." Those may involve the departure of Mega Man creator and Universe conceptual lead Keiji Inafune, who left Capcom in October 2010. We've requested further comment from Capcom.
Mega Man Universe preview: Mega Man Uncertainty
There's one thing I'm sure of about Mega Man Universe: I want to like it. For one thing, it's a Mega Man game! I like it when those are good. For another, the concept of making your own Mega Man stages and playing them with cobbled-together heroes or other Capcom characters is a total slam dunk. I'm just ... not really sure about anything else. The major hook for Universe is that you can build your own avatar out of parts from various Mega Mans, the series' bosses and other Capcom characters (Capcom won't say yet exactly how you obtain these parts in the game). The TGS demo build included multiple premade Mega Mans, including one in the style of Keiji Inafune's drawings and one resembling the style of the dopey space ranger from the Mega Man box art. Each one has different attributes in terms of health, speed, jumping ability and so on. You can further augment these abilities by changing parts.%Gallery-102517%
Video: Mega Man Universe character and level creation
Famitsu has some new videos of Mega Man Universe showing off the game's character and level creation utilities. The videos demonstrate several custom Mega Men, each with different abilities, as well as a custom level being built. All in all, megafying your world looks pretty easy. See it after the break.
Capcom producer Megafies our understanding of Mega Man Universe
Mega Man Universe, seemingly a DIY Mega Man game with cameo appearances from characters across Capcom games, has been tantalizingly, tortuously mysterious since its splashy, stop-motion introduction. Finally, we found someone who knows a thing or two about the side-scroller: producer Akiko Ito. At TGS, we confronted Ito and begged her to give us any information possible. Well, actually we interviewed her in an appropriately professional manner, with our desperation just under the surface. According to Ito, the game isn't "just" a Mega Man title with customizable levels and guest characters -- it's also based on Mega Man 2; containing faithful remakes of the stages from that game as its premade levels. Find out more about the game's origins, its development, and our shared dream of playable Ace Attorney characters in the full interview after the break. %Gallery-102517%
Mega Man Universe is based on Mega Man 2
Mega Man Universe, we surmised from the very beginning, is an amalgamation of familiar elements in a new presentation. According to producer Akiko Ito, it'll contain even more familiar elements than we've seen: the levels and bosses of Mega Man 2. Ito told Joystiq during an interview, "The base story and the base game is taken from Mega Man 2, so players can experience Mega Man 2 through this game." She explained that these "default" stages don't have to remain in their original form, as well: "Basically, we're going to create the stages from Mega Man 2 faithfully in this new style, and you can play them as is, or you can customize different sections of them, or you can customize all of it if you want to, so pretty much you can do whatever you'd like with the stages." We're calling it right now: the most popular player-created stage will be "Quick Man, but without those laser things."%Gallery-102517%
Mega Man Universe character and level editor details hit (plus new screens!)
We're learning more about what Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune is cooking up with his latest project, the downloadable Mega Man Universe for PSN and XBLA. In advance of next week's Tokyo Game Show, Capcom has delivered new screens and -- more importantly -- details, specifically where the ability to create your own Mega Man and stages is concerned. According to Capcom, "you can create your own original Mega Man by assembling parts you like," adding that "your abilities will change depending on the parts you choose." There will be "a wide variety" of these parts, leading us to believe that the "Ryu Man" featured at the end of the recent gameplay videos is one of these custom creations. Sounding a bit like LittleBigPlanet, Mega Man Universe will also feature a full level editor for building your own stages, which can then be shared with others online. Of course, this means you can download and play through others' creations -- but it's a final bit of info dropped by the game's developer that we find most intriguing. "Aside from Mega Man themed stages, there are a variety of custom stage parts that will be revealed soon," Capcom says. Ryu Man running through a Ghosts 'N Goblins themed level with Mega Man gameplay, perhaps? Sure seems like something the original teaser hinted at. Mega Man Universe will be playable at TGS, where we'll put together a juicy hands-on preview of it for all the loyal Mega-fans in the audience.%Gallery-101845%
First Mega Man Universe gameplay footage revealed
The Mega Man Universe teaser trailer hinted at all sorts of cross-game franchise madness when it debuted earlier this year, and the first gameplay trailers do little more than stoke our curiosity all the more. Three teasers (courtesy of 1UP, GameSpot and IGN) each begin with an introduction from creator Keiji Inafune, and then launch into gameplay footage of this prettied up side-scrolling Mega Man title. Head past the break for all three trailers.
Capcom's PAX Prime lineup includes Mega Man Universe
Capcom announced its lineup for this weekend's PAX convention, and Mega Man Universe is in it. There's plenty of other exciting stuff, like Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, Okamiden, Ghost Trick, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but we admit we only noticed those things with great difficulty, after forcing our eyes away from the words "Mega Man Universe." PAX will be our first opportunity to find out what exactly Universe is, something that has been weighing heavily on us since we saw that stop-motion trailer. Capcom promises "new, never before seen trailers and game levels." See the full list after the break, and find the list of swag you can get at Capcom's booth at Capcom-Unity -- including details on how to get your very own moustache.
Inafune: Play as 'the Mega Man of your dreams' in Mega Man Universe
During a Comic-Con panel, Capcom's Keiji Inafune offered a scant few details about Mega Man Universe, the Mega Man crossover game (or something) teased by an amazing stop-motion trailer, which you can see again after the break -- it's wonderful! "We wanted to preserve as much as we can of the classic 8-bit Mega Man feel, while allowing players to project their own Mega Man onto the game," Inafune said. So it'll have an 8-bit look like Mega Man 9. "We wanted to create a platform where players can play as their favorite version of Mega Man, another Capcom character -- or maybe a different character completely," he added. "You'll be able to play as the Mega Man of your dreams." The proposed cross-Capcom, cross-character play actually makes us think of another recent 8-bit game (unofficially) starring Mega Man, Super Mario Crossover. "The game will also unite Mega Man fans," Inafune said, "putting them together in one specific place." The awkward, golden Mega Man from the original NES Mega Man 1 U.S. box art will even make an appearance, as he did in the teaser. "We talked about how crappy the original package art was, but there's somebody out there that loves that one and probably wants to play as him." (The trailer, by the way, was info-free for a reason: "We made the trailer purposely mysterious, because we wanted to play on the idea of what Mega Man is," Inafune explained, citing the changing face of the Mega Man series over the years.) Finally, Inafune teased that another big Mega Man announcement was on the way soon, which would address an "oft-requested" desire from fans.
Capcom's worlds collide in 'Mega Man Universe' for PSN and XBLA
Capcom announced that Mega Man Universe, first seen as a trademark, is the name of a new PSN/XBLA Mega Man game. Despite the existence of a trailer, details about the actual game are vague -- the trailer shows stop-motion footage of Capcom characters, including Street Fighter's Ryu and Ghosts & Goblins' Arthur, teaming up with Mega Man in a spontaneously appearing arcade, suggesting that the game itself is a Capcom crossover experience. At one point, a Ryu/Arthur/Mega Man amalgam can be seen! "This game will break the mold and challenge the conventional wisdom of what a Mega Man game can be," producer Keiji Inafune said in the announcement. "When fans finally get to see it, I believe they'll envision their most far-out Mega Man dreams coming true." The Capcom tagline is "imagination is the star of the game." Watch the trailer after the break (courtesy of Gamespot) and try to imagine what kind of game this will turn out to be.
'Mega Man Online' confirmed for PC
The acronym "MMO" has new meaning for Capcom, which has revealed that it is working on Mega Man Online for PC, this according to a report by GameSpot. The game is being co-developed by Korea's Neowiz Games, maker of EA Sports FIFA Online. There's a chance that MMO (see!) could be related to Capcom's recent Mega Man Universe trademark filing, but if it is, the company isn't saying. When contacted, a rep told Joystiq, "We have no comment at this time as Capcom does not respond to rumors and/or speculation." Whatever MMO turns out to be, we can only hope it doesn't take after Ghouls 'N Ghosts Online, Capcom's last (and unreleased) attempt at turning one of its classic IPs into a massively multiplayer experience. It was scary ... bad.
'Mega Man Universe' trademark filed by Capcom
Capcom just wrapped up its Captivate 2010 showcase, but it appears the publisher skipped mention of one planned project: "Mega Man Universe." The title was recently filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, but details of the "goods" are currently as mysterious as Dr. Wily's sociopathic origins (though we posit his mom forced him to eat Marmite as a kid.) The Mega Man Universe trademark is broadly classified as "computer game software," in addition to a range of more specific classifications, including downloadable game, mobile game and screen saver -- all potential uses of a new Mega Man series. Mega Man Universe is not definitely a new spin-off series for the franchise, however, it could also be another best-of Blue Bomber compilation, like the comprehensive Mega Man Anniversary Colllection; or it could be just about anything. The "universe" encompasses a lot of possibilities, after all. [Via Siliconera; Supererogatory]
