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Mega Man (universe): Difference between revisions
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Capcom was originally known for creating arcade games and porting them to home consoles. In the mid-1980s, however, a team of only six employees developed the original ''Rockman'' for the Famicom, as part of Capcom's initial "focused" foray into the Japanese home console market. The developers strove for perfection in all aspects of the project despite the severe technical limitations of the Famicom, and incorporated designs inspired by Osamu Tezuka's manga ''Astro Boy''. The eponymous hero of the weapon-based platformer was colored blue simply because blue had the most available shades within the Famicom's limited color palette. For the game's simultaneous release in Japan and the United States on December 17, 1987, Capcom's then-Senior Vice President Joseph Marcini renamed the localized version of the game and titular character ''[[Mega Man]]'', believing it would have a much wider appeal to American children. ''Mega Man'' was released to favorable critical reception, but moderately low sales (around 100,000 copies overall), though they were higher than Capcom originally anticipated. | Capcom was originally known for creating arcade games and porting them to home consoles. In the mid-1980s, however, a team of only six employees developed the original ''Rockman'' for the Famicom, as part of Capcom's initial "focused" foray into the Japanese home console market. The developers strove for perfection in all aspects of the project despite the severe technical limitations of the Famicom, and incorporated designs inspired by Osamu Tezuka's manga ''Astro Boy''. The eponymous hero of the weapon-based platformer was colored blue simply because blue had the most available shades within the Famicom's limited color palette. For the game's simultaneous release in Japan and the United States on December 17, 1987, Capcom's then-Senior Vice President Joseph Marcini renamed the localized version of the game and titular character ''[[Mega Man]]'', believing it would have a much wider appeal to American children. ''Mega Man'' was released to favorable critical reception, but moderately low sales (around 100,000 copies overall), though they were higher than Capcom originally anticipated. | ||
While ''Mega Man'' was not a large enough commercial accomplishment for Capcom to necessarily justify a sequel, the company allowed the development team to create a sequel as an aside to other projects. The team focused on improving the original formula with enhanced graphics and audio, more levels, and new supportive items that addressed consumer concerns over the extreme difficulty of the previous title. ''Mega Man 2'', in stark contrast to the original, was a huge success, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide, and definitively established ''Mega Man'' as one of the industry's largest and longest-running franchises and one of Capcom's flagships, with the success of the game also propelling Capcom to its present-day status as a game developer. As of 2013, over fifty ''Mega Man'' games have been released, with many populating specific "sub-series" and exploring genres outside side-scrolling platforming. Iterations of the Mega Man character himself and other related characters, meanwhile, have appeared in Capcom-involved games outside the main series such as crossover fighting games like the ''Marvel vs. Capcom'' series that pits Capcom characters against Marvel Comics characters, and more recently, Nintendo's own '' | While ''Mega Man'' was not a large enough commercial accomplishment for Capcom to necessarily justify a sequel, the company allowed the development team to create a sequel as an aside to other projects. The team focused on improving the original formula with enhanced graphics and audio, more levels, and new supportive items that addressed consumer concerns over the extreme difficulty of the previous title. ''Mega Man 2'', in stark contrast to the original, was a huge success, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide, and definitively established ''Mega Man'' as one of the industry's largest and longest-running franchises and one of Capcom's flagships, with the success of the game also propelling Capcom to its present-day status as a game developer. As of 2013, over fifty ''Mega Man'' games have been released, with many populating specific "sub-series" and exploring genres outside side-scrolling platforming. Iterations of the Mega Man character himself and other related characters, meanwhile, have appeared in Capcom-involved games outside the main series such as crossover fighting games like the ''Marvel vs. Capcom'' series that pits Capcom characters against Marvel Comics characters, and more recently, Nintendo's own [[''Super Smash Bros.'' series]]. | ||
Following the release of ''Mega Man 10'' in 2010, series veteran Keiji Inafune had left Capcom, leaving the developers in limbo regarding what to do next with the franchise over the next few years, as no one at Capcom of Japan had immediately stepped up to take the leadership position. A free-to-play PC-exclusive fangame called ''Street Fighter X Mega Man'' was endorsed by Capcom in 2012 to celebrate both franchises’ 25th anniversaries. ''Mega Man Universe'' was a level creation game not unlike ''Super Mario Maker'' that was ultimately cancelled. And finally, the much-anticipated ''Mega Man Legends 3'' was in development for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] and was in its alpha stage before it was ultimately cancelled. It marked a period of uncertainty for the franchise not unlike the ''Metroid'' hiatus in the 2010s, with many considering the series and its character “dead” by neglect. However, the latter half of the decade started showing promise for a return to form for the property. Starting in 2015, Capcom of Japan started releasing Legacy Collections of the ''Mega Man'' franchise, curating the titles and archival content from throughout franchise’s storied history. This trend started with ''Mega Man Legacy Collection'' containing the first six games from the NES era in August 2015, then ''Mega Man Legacy Collection 2'' containing the rest of the numbered entries in August 2017, and finally the ''Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2'' with all the numbered games in the ''Mega Man X'' lineup in July 2018. | Following the release of ''Mega Man 10'' in 2010, series veteran Keiji Inafune had left Capcom, leaving the developers in limbo regarding what to do next with the franchise over the next few years, as no one at Capcom of Japan had immediately stepped up to take the leadership position. A free-to-play PC-exclusive fangame called ''Street Fighter X Mega Man'' was endorsed by Capcom in 2012 to celebrate both franchises’ 25th anniversaries. ''Mega Man Universe'' was a level creation game not unlike ''Super Mario Maker'' that was ultimately cancelled. And finally, the much-anticipated ''Mega Man Legends 3'' was in development for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] and was in its alpha stage before it was ultimately cancelled. It marked a period of uncertainty for the franchise not unlike the ''Metroid'' hiatus in the 2010s, with many considering the series and its character “dead” by neglect. However, the latter half of the decade started showing promise for a return to form for the property, as interest in the character was renewed following his appearance in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. Starting in 2015, Capcom of Japan started releasing Legacy Collections of the ''Mega Man'' franchise, curating the titles and archival content from throughout franchise’s storied history. This trend started with ''Mega Man Legacy Collection'' containing the first six games from the NES era in August 2015, then ''Mega Man Legacy Collection 2'' containing the rest of the numbered entries in August 2017, and finally the ''Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2'' with all the numbered games in the ''Mega Man X'' lineup in July 2018. Finally, a brand-new numbered installment in the main series, ''Mega Man 11'', was released in October 2018 for current generation platforms. | ||
The most iconic formula of the ''Mega Man'' series, which has remained ''Rockman'' in Japan, is a side-scrolling platform game where the player controls the blue robot Mega Man, who has a "buster" cannon grafted onto his arm, as he shoots his way through levels packed with enemy robots. Oftentimes, eight levels are immediately available to complete in any order, and at the end of each level is a boss robot with a similar level of advanced construction and power as Mega Man himself, referred to as a "Robot Master". Defeating a Robot Master gains Mega Man a special weapon corresponding to that Robot Master that he may use for the rest of the game, and this weapon is typically the weakness at least one of the other seven Robot Masters. Since one Robot Master uses a weapon that is the weakness of another Robot Master, a rock-paper-scissors mechanic between all of the Robot Masters is formulated due to this. Once Mega Man has defeated all eight Robot Masters and gained their weapons, he proceeds to a final set of harder stages typically taking place in the villain's fortress lair, featuring both special, harder bosses and a room where all eight Robot Masters are defeated one in a row, before battling and defeating the villain in his latest war machine or ultimate form. | The most iconic formula of the ''Mega Man'' series, which has remained ''Rockman'' in Japan, is a side-scrolling platform game where the player controls the blue robot Mega Man, who has a "buster" cannon grafted onto his arm, as he shoots his way through levels packed with enemy robots. Oftentimes, eight levels are immediately available to complete in any order, and at the end of each level is a boss robot with a similar level of advanced construction and power as Mega Man himself, referred to as a "Robot Master". Defeating a Robot Master gains Mega Man a special weapon corresponding to that Robot Master that he may use for the rest of the game, and this weapon is typically the weakness at least one of the other seven Robot Masters. Since one Robot Master uses a weapon that is the weakness of another Robot Master, a rock-paper-scissors mechanic between all of the Robot Masters is formulated due to this. Once Mega Man has defeated all eight Robot Masters and gained their weapons, he proceeds to a final set of harder stages typically taking place in the villain's fortress lair, featuring both special, harder bosses and a room where all eight Robot Masters are defeated one in a row, before battling and defeating the villain in his latest war machine or ultimate form. | ||