"I know you're devastated by the news of Mega Man Legends 3 being cancelled", the tweet read. "But spare a thought for @pantsguy. I think this might just break him." – @shoinan
This was it, I thought, as I read the words over and over again. Mega Man, is dead.
To be honest, I held back on writing this piece for well over a month. And it was largely due to the fact that Mega Man Legends 3 was being updated on a regular basis. I couldn't in good conscience after all, prematurely castrate Capcom for my ill-begotten suspicions of Mega Man’s inevitable doom – despite the company offering me very little to believe otherwise.
It all began with Nintendo’s E3 2011 Press Conference where a very eager Reggie Fils-Aime showed off a catalogue of games in what turned out to be a 3DS-heavy presentation. I was sure that somewhere within those gaming vignettes I was to find Mega Man Legends 3; the long awaited sequel was a big get for Nintendo and it was one of the driving forces behind my purchase of a 3DS. But much to my disappointment, Mega Man Legends 3 was nowhere to be seen and instead, Nintendo focused on a number of its in-house developed titles such as Luigi’s Mansion 2 and Super Mario 3D.
While I’m all for Nintendo backing its own software, I expected a slightly stronger showing from the portable’s 3rd party support – and with Mega Man Legends 3 leading the charge. It had been less than 24 hours since Capcom had gone on stage for Sony’s Press Conference and touted Street Fighter x Tekken for the Playstation Vita. So why would I expect anything less for Nintendo's conference with regards to the 3DS? Was this just an act of negligence on Nintendo’s/Capcom's part or was Legends’ non-appearance an indication of things to come?
Rather than let my imagination get the better of me, I left Nintendo’s Press Conference and made my way to the E3 Show Floor where Capcom’s booth would undoubtedly put an end to my growing concerns. You see, Capcom and I have a special relationship, so much so that our frequent email chats and phone calls have christened me as ‘that Mega Man guy.’ So with great trepidation and with a knot in my stomach, I asked about Legends 3 to the multitude of on-hand reps that were running Capcom’s busy station. What I was met with, was a number of ‘I don’t knows’, ‘no comments’, and ‘we’ll get back to you's’. Capcom had no interest in discussing anything Mega Man related, least of all Mega Man Legends 3. And while the veteran game developer had a strong presence at this year's E3 with titles like Operation Raccoon City, Asura's Wrath, Street Fighter x Tekken and 3rd Strike HD , its lack of a certain blue hero all but confirmed the beginning of the end of Mega Man.
Ever since Inafune’s departure in October of last year, Capcom has been moving further and further away from one of its most beloved franchises, and has been systematically cleaning its house of all things Mega Man. Worst of all, it has been completely shameless in its methodical dismantling of the iconic videogame figure. Mega Man Universe was the first to go, an ambitious yet troubled MM title that would have offered a fresh take on the Blue Bomber’s 8-Bit days– if only Capcom cared enough to work on the number of gameplay issues it suffered from. Now we have the abrupt killing of Mega Man Legends 3, a project Capcom more than likely wanted nothing to do with in the first place. With its cancellation, Capcom has collectively pissed in the eyes of all its fans, and has deeply let down the Mega Man community. For it was a gaming endeavor such as Mega Man Legends 3 that unequivocally proved that if fans were vocal enough, their voices would be heard. It challenged traditional game development and with the inception of the Dev Room (which was immediately axed upon Legends’ demise) bridged the gap between developer and gamer. All that now remains of Mega Man is Rockman Online, a Korean MMORPG that is being developed by Neowiz Games. But given that we haven’t heard much from RO aside from an occasional piece of concept art – a fact that reassures me of nothing as Mega Man Universe and Legends 3 also received similar updates just days before Capcom tossed them both into the fire of its Mega Man purification rite – it is only a matter time before Rockman Online is effortlessly canned, taking with it the entire Mega Man franchise.
For a single, fleeting moment I thought that this year’s E3 (or at the very least Tokyo Game Show) would bring celebratory announcements of Mega Man 11 and Mega Man X9 – an act that would first redeem Mega Man and then all of Capcom in the eyes of this jaded gamer. But this just isn’t the case. Perhaps it's the eight year old boy in me, the one who borrowed a copy of Mega Man 2 from his best friend and has ever since formed a borderline obsessive relationship with Capcom's blue hero, but I’ve always considered Mega Man as timeless of a videogame character as Mario – believe me they have a lot more in common that you think. With Mega Man Legends 3 now gone and very little on the horizon (I really don't consider WiiWare ports anything to get excited over), Mega Man fans have little to look forward to. Most ironic of all is Capcom’s final words on the Mega Man Legends 3 debacle – its hopes for fans to ‘continue to support the Mega Man franchise.’ We have always supported the Mega Man franchise, Capcom. It is you that has left us with nothing to support.
Written by Andreas Asimakis, Managing Editor. Questions for the author? Send an email to andreas@gamesabyss.com. Follow him on Twitter: @pantsguy.
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