The year 2011 wasn't a particularly good one for the blue boy. Things started off just fine, yes; but within the span of four months, everything went kaput. Development of Mega Man Universe ceased in late March, followed by the inexplicable cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3 in July. The latter really struck a chord. But in its wake arose the most ambitious Mega Man fan-campaign yet, uniting fans across the world toward a common goal. “Get Me off the Moon” has since grown into a paragon of perseverance, and I sincerely hope their efforts will pay off.
But not all has been doom and gloom. From what has been an abysmal year for Mega Man games come the remarkable efforts on behalf of Archie Comics, UDON Entertainment, Kotobukiya and Bandai. These partners have done an admirable job at keeping Mega Man alive in their respective forms, be it comics or plastic. From comics and graphic novels to action figures and model kits, this was a tough year not to spend money!
The road ahead is... well, uncertain. I really wish more could be said about stuff to look forward to. Yeah, there will always be a steady flow of merchandise in the future. But the games? It's all up in the air right now. I cling to the hope that something worthwhile is in the works for the franchise's 25th anniversary. Something has to happen on that front.
All-in-all, this has definitely been a memorable year for all the wrong reasons. BUT, I am confident that things will straighten out. The Blue Bomber is too iconic a character and brand to disappear into thin air. And we, the fans, are too passionate to let that happen.
To better days ahead, my friends.
To better days ahead, my friends.
Happy Anniversary, Mega Man! :) Capcom may not be showing you the love, but your fans sure are.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be so sure on the 25th anniversary thing, look what Nintendo did for Mario re-released Super Mario All Stars and called it a day.
ReplyDeleteZelda's 25th was lucky enough to happen the same year they released a new game so they claim they did that on purpose.
Only company I've seen actively make an anniversary project is SEGA with Sonic Generations. Kind of sad when they of all companies are the front runners in something.
I love you Mega Man!
ReplyDeleteHappy 24th, Megaman! It's been one heck of a wild ride for you this year, but continue to keep up the good fight for everlasting peace!
ReplyDeleteYou know what's funny? I wrote last night an article for the gaming site I write for, and now that I've read yours, it's almost the same, except that mine is in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteHere's for 25 more years.
http://img04.pixiv.net/img/ryurokuman/23701210.jpg
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary Mega Man! Keep fighting for everlasting peace!
Happy Birthday to Megaman, and Happy birthday to me. xD I have on the 17th Birthday too! (And it's already the 17th in some regions of Europe!)
ReplyDeleteHappy 24th Megsy. Despite what Capcom's been doing, you'll never die. Not if we fans have anything to say about it. Cheers to you, and to your awesomeness! For everlasting peace! *kampai*
ReplyDelete@Dec 16, 5:31 PM Anon: Happy birthday to you! XD
Yo Protodude they are translating and posting the Heroes and Heralds cards over at Capcom Unity.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.capcom-unity.com/marvelvscapcom/go/thread/view/102977/28773325/Heroes__Heralds_Ability_Card_list
Servbot, X, Roll, Dr. Wily are all cards.
And if we thought the cards mean that the character won't be eligible for DLC, then there goes Vile and Classic. No sign of Zero, ZX, BN or SF cards though :/
I feel sorry for the Darkstalkers and Ace Attorney fans who pretty much lose most of their DLC choices due to the cards.
Happy Anniversary, MegaMan.
ReplyDeleteThere are fanbases who have it much worse than we do, companies who are less attentive than Capcom, and franchises who are much further forgotten than ours.
So I toast to those in the fanbase who, despite being understandably unhappy with the current state of things, are still grateful for what is out there and are willing to enjoy it.
Happy Birthday, Rock. Here's to a better year for you and your fans next year. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversaryyyyyy Megaman/Rockman! You are the best forever! <3
ReplyDeleteMegaMan's 24 and he's never been more dead.
ReplyDeleteDrink to his memory folks, and all the good times (and all the ranting we had to do to get them).
24 years of Mega Man fun! Hard to believe.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll celebrate by playing some Street Fighter (j/k)!
Marathon run of Mega Man!!
Happy Anniversary, Blue Bomber!
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. Megaman
ReplyDelete24 Years was a good run for you. It sucks that Capcom decided to kill you off. I will never forget the long hours and a lot headaches of your grand adventures and epic battles of trying to unite humans and machines hand in hand.
Note: This is just in case stupid Capcom ends it in his 24th Anniversary.
(From comics and graphic novels to action figures and model kits, this was a tough year not to spend money!)
ReplyDeletelol this is a tough year to spend money lol they're releasing plenty of toys and it cost a lot and im gonna get poor by january lol
@Anonymous 3: Zelda's 25th anniversary is getting much more attention though. There's been a limited edition 3DS, and they've just recently announced a Zelda artbook. Yeah, Nintendo and an artbook, hell has frozen over.
ReplyDeleteI'm just saying that Zelda's anniversary is nothing like Super Mario's.
Hang in there, Blue Bomber. If Wily couldn't destroy you after 24 years, Capcom sure as hell won't be able to do it with just one rough year.
ReplyDeleteOnly thing I was looking forward to for this anniversary was the revealing of the Legends 3 mystery supporter. Is it still happening, Protodude?
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary Mega man. I still believe that you still have a future.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Mega Man! This wasn't your best year, but things will get better. Looking forward for Mega Man Legends 3 in 2012!
ReplyDeleteBesides Final Fantasy, Mega Man is probably the only "numbered" game series that reached 10 games.
@ first anon
ReplyDeletegranted, they botched mario's 25th, and metroid's got overshadowed by zelda (you OWE me one on that front ninty). but nintendo did indeed make an effort on the zelda front. need i remind you of the orchestral performances? not to mention that nintendo created a website for the 25th aniversary with VERY good wallpapers, club nintendo has a 25th aniversary poster set, one of which is all new art and is absolutely awesome, and now NOJ has recently announced a Zelda art book coming next year (so it's late. sue 'em.) thats nearly 300 pages!
and let's not forget that they GAVE DSi AND 3DS owners the upgraded four swords game. and have you forgotten the 25th aniversary black and gold zelda 3DS?
get your facts in line, or don't post. you only make yourself look bad.
and as for sonic generations, sure, people like it, but it IS recieving low review scores by several people. mainly because of the modern sonic stages and gameplay. frankly, i like it quite a bit, but sonic's fanbase is quite tempermental.
Jumping in on the 25th disscussion, I just have to chime in this:
ReplyDeleteAs of now, Zelda's getting OOT3d,SS, FSA:AE a special 3DS, an artbook, a special wiimote and a concert.
What Mario got was: Mario Galaxy 2 (Technically), SMAS25th anaversery, a sports crossover with squeenix and a Artbook released only in Japan.
Although Mario came first, Zelda got more love from the big N.
Now, we see Capcom and the fact that they have 2 franchises reaching big milestones, SF and MM. Just judging by the past year, you can see which one Capcom will pay attention to, even though Mega's older.
Also, just throwing this out here, would you guys rather have MM's 25th not be celebrated at all, or it being celebrated with a "Bomberman: Act Zero" style reboot?
We all love you Mega! (>u<)
ReplyDeleteHappy 24th Anniversary, Mega Man.
ReplyDeleteHmm, on a sidenote... Since his 25th one is coming up next year, then Capcom won't have any excuse whatsoever for not showing something Mega Man-related at next year's E3.
@ YFN metool: dude! don't even joke about that! capcom might hear you! sure, the series needs a drastic reboot, but not like that! more like the transition from donkey kong to donkey kong country.
ReplyDelete@ axem white: i honestly think that street fighter will overshadow the blue bomber. as i said in my post earlier, metroid got overshadowed by zelda at the 25
year mark. if capcom is like nintendo, our friend with the blue arm cannon will be overshadowed by a guy wearing green clothes with blond hair... no, not link, GUILE! ...man, that's just TOO similar.
also, a big shout out to protodude, for actually puting up with the different oppinions, reactions, and childish ways of the people that post on his site. you sir, have true tollerance. thank you.
YFN Metool: "Bomberman: Act Zero" is such a bomb (pun intended) that EGM put it in the top 10 worst games from 2006. It is a shame to the series worse than the DOS Mega Man games, and the CD-i Zelda games. Single player mode has 99 stages identical to each other with the same enemies (Bombers), no bosses, no save between stage (must pass all to finish), minuscule story and a lame ending. Multiplayer is "ok", but it's better to play in other games.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe it's been 24 years. I've been there with Mega Man since the original on NES and I'll always support him. I know things haven't gone well with him in the last decade, and especially in this year with the game cancellations, but I'm an optimist, and I think things can improve in the future. Mega Man has never been as successful for Capcom as Sonic has for SEGA, and especially not as successful Zelda or Mario has been for Nintendo. But I think Mega Man is still loved by fans and as a consolation, he's never sunk to the low that Sonic has, and he's managed to come back pretty well with a couple good games. I'm hopeful that Mega Man can come back and be successful even if things haven't gone well with him.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I'd rather not have an anniversary project like what Nintendo did with Mario. They just slapped Super Mario All-Stars for SNES on a Wii disc and that was it. No extras. No other games. It was rather..underwhelming.
Anyway though, Capcom is still a company I love even though I know they're popular to hate for Mega Man fans. They still made Breath of Fire, Power Stone, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, the Vs. series, Viewtiful Joe, Onimusha, Devil May Cry, and more, and I love 'em. And I'm pretty excited for Dragon's Dogma, Asura's Wrath, and SF X Tekken. I'd rather be hopeful that people within Capcom are genuinely concerned about how to make Mega Man relevant and successful again, as well as how to repair their relationship with Mega Man fans and keep the "feel" of the franchise in tact. The alternative just seems to be pessimism.
Crapcom is dead to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm sticking to good gaming companies like Nintendo, Square-Enix, and Namco.
They make good games, and I bet Kingdom Hearts 3D which will be released next year will help the 3DS boost it sales. I feel sad for those who hate the Kingdom Hearts series. But they're just trolls.
Anyone gonna get Kid Icarus 3D for the 3DS next year?
"They make good games, and I bet Kingdom Hearts 3D which will be released next year will help the 3DS boost it sales. I feel sad for those who hate the Kingdom Hearts series. But they're just trolls."
ReplyDeleteWow, just...wow. I facepalmed. Hard. No offense, but that has got to be one of the most idiotic things I've ever read on this blog, period.
Now, let me get this straight. You're saying that because people are not on the same page as you regarding their preferences, that automatically makes them trolls? I mean, honestly. Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?
@Axem White
ReplyDeleteTroll harder, son.
I have a right to be mad at Crapcom for being a stupid company and I lived in a free country, so I have the right to say great things about my favorite gaming companies. Unless you don't have something nice to say, then shut the hell up and don't talk to me. >_>
Or... Do you hate Kingdom Hearts?
"Troll harder, son."
ReplyDeleteYeah, you know, I'm pretty sure I could say the exact same thing about you.
"I have a right to be mad at Crapcom for being a stupid company and I lived in a free country, so I have the right to say great things about my favorite gaming companies."
So, shouldn't other people have just as much of a right to say what they please about Kingdom Hearts or any other game that you happen to like, without being labeled as "trolls" because of it?
"Unless you don't have something nice to say, then shut the hell up and don't talk to me. >_>"
Oh, please. That's ironic coming from you, since you've purposely gone out of your way to attack people like Amir and Krazy Monkey whenever they stated their opinions about something (that was different form everyone else's). Do you want to know what's even more hypocritical about it? Recently, you've done nothing but complain about "Crapcom", this, and "Crapcom", that, but as soon as other people do it, you're quick to come to their defense. This article is a prime example.
"Or... Do you hate Kingdom Hearts?"
Not exactly. I've never played the game before, so I'm neutral about it.