Mega Man Universe Is Based Upon Mega Man 2, Says Producer

In a bit of news that's sure to ruffle some feathers around here, Mega Man Universe producer Akiko Ito has confirmed that the game is indeed heavily based upon Mega Man 2 -- not just aesthetically -- but story, bosses and gameplay wise, too. This coming from an interview with Joystiq:

"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:

"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."

In short, Man Universe, at its core, is a revamped Mega Man 2. Some could even argue at this point to say MMU is Mega Man Powered Up 2.

Of course, this doesn't mean all of MMU will be MM2 centric. Recall what we learned from PAX a few weeks ago: "Although the trailers made it seem like MMU is largely influenced by Mega Man 2, there's a 'very good possibility' we'll be seeing content from other Mega Man games." We've already spotted Cut Man amidst a MMU promo image, so this might yet still hold true. It's something to be hopeful for if your not sold on the idea of the game being based around MM2.

Source: Joystiq