I remember the last time I played Mega Man Universe; it was at NYC Comic Con last October. And suffice it to say, it was a good day to be a Mega Man fan. Not only I was I able to get to some hands-on time with the next Mega Man game, I also had the honor of meeting Mega Man legend, Keiji Inafune. This meeting went on to be far more meaningful than I ever would imagine as a just a few weeks later, Inafune unexpectedly announced his departure from Capcom. And being that I had religiously worshiped Mega Man ever since I was a young gamer, I started to think about the Blue Bomber's future and what Capcom intended to do with its iconic franchise. Fortunately, I had the promising Mega Man Universe to look forward so I didn't dwell on Inafune's departure for too long; the man had been with Capcom for ages and felt that he simply couldn't climb the corporate ladder any further. And there was plenty of Mega Man titles coming my way – or so I thought.
In the months that followed Comic Con, Mega Man Universe completely dropped off the radar. Worrisome, I reached out to just about every Capcom representative I knew, inquiring about the current status of Mega Man's latest adventure; was it on hold, had it been cancelled? Initially, Capcom confirmed that the title was being reworked, that events like Comic Con helped address a few notable issues that the developers needed to take a second look at. For a moment, I could breathe easy. While Mega Man Universe was a fun and captured just about everything I love about the little, blue guy, it suffered from several fundamental gameplay problems, such as wonky controls and a delayed response time. I adore the hell out of Mega Man and I would gladly take a pushed back release date over a broken product any day. But the one thing I never accounted for, was a broken heart.
As I rolled into work this morning, the tunes of Mega Man 10 still resonating in my head, my iPod having given off its last beats just moments before I stepped off the elevator, I received a short, to-the-point, text message from my brother. It simply read: Mega Man Universe has been cancelled. I laughed at first, thinking this was nothing more than a lame attempt at a practical joke. But within moments, I was pulling up my phone's browser, searching for any shred of truth to what he was saying. And sure enough, there it was: Mega Man Universe Cancelled. I sunk down for a bit, my heart as heavy as a stone, not wanting to believe a word of it. You see, Capcom had done this to me before.
A long time ago, in the far way land of yesteryear, Capcom was pumping out anniversary collections for the Mega Man and X series. One of these collections, titled Mega Man Mania, was a Gameboy Advance game which contained an updated version of every Rockman World/Mega Man Gameboy title ever released. And being that Mega Man V ranks as my second all time favorite Mega Man game (and no, the first one isn't Mega Man 2), I was looking forward to its release. But like our good friend Universe, Mania too suffered from a sudden disappearance until that dark and inevitable day came where it was officially canned.
Mega Man Universe signified a lot more than just a fancy HD remake of Mega Man 2 along with Mega Man Powered Up bits thrown in for good measure. Mega Man Universe was riding the resurgence of retro-themed titles that the likes of Mega Man 9 had put into motion just a handful of years ago. For all his iterations, the original Mega Man always remained my favorite. And to see this 8-bit superstar get so much attention made me happier than words can express. But in the wake of Universe's cancellation, I honestly wonder what happens to the classic Mega Man series now. There was a time where this year's E3 would surely bring the announcement of Mega Man 11; now I'm not so sure. And what of the other retr0-inspired Mega Man title, Rockman Online? It has been far too long since we've had any updates on this ambitious game. Am I to assume that this potentially groundbreaking Mega Man MMO will be cancelled as well?
As a Mega Man fan, it's frustrating to see this project go. And seeing unnecessary HD remakes of Resident Evil 4 being announced do anything but quell my gamer rage. Granted, there is still a huge effort being put into developing Mega Man Legends 3, a title that wouldn't have taken off if the fans didn't show such resounding support for the fantastic spin-off series. But Capcom needs to realize what a great asset it has with the original Mega Man universe. That little guy in the blue underwear started a Guts-Dozer of a franchise. To see a title that showed so much promise to be so passively dismissed is unworthy of the Blue Bomber. So what's next, Capcom? And what happens to Mega Man now?
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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