The Rockman 11 Production Note features an interview between Mega Man 11 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya and Rockman Unity's Ucchi. Among the many topics discussed, Tsuchiya revealed that, initially, Mega Man 11 started out as a wholly different Mega Man project. Although Tsuchiya doesn't divulge any details about what it was, he insists that he still wants to make it.
Here's the relevant portion from the interview (full read here):
Q: So, why was Rockman 11 made in the first place?Tsuchiya: There’s a lot about the story of us wanting to make a Rockman game, but I might say, it must have been fate. I worked with director Oda on Resident Evil 0 HD before. After development reached its goal, he called me and asked: “What should we do for our next project? I want to make a Rockman game…”. Since I was thinking of what to do for Rockman’s 30 years anniversary at the same time, I answered: “If we make a game, shouldn’t we start right now?”.It was a coincidence that I was in charge of “Rockman Classic Collection” too, so I thought I must go with the flow and make a game right away. Oda’s word back then, “It’s Capcom’s duty to correspond to fans’ hope”, left a deep impression in my memory. I could feel how serious he was when he said the word “duty”. Since then, we put out so many plans, and a lot of people in the company was cheering for us… Our initial plan wasn’t Rockman 11 actually. But I want this to be released in another form eventually, so details about it will be kept a secret for now. (laughs)Ucchi: Oh no, he can’t talk about it! (laughs)Tsuchiya: Until I can actually do it, I must keep it a secret! (laughs) Well, as the development for Rockman 11 started, it took quite some time to recruit enough members, so I did some market researches and theoretical analysis on approaches to revive the brand. After incorporating what I wanted to do and going through different simulations, it’s decided that “Rockman must make a triumphant comeback!”. I believed once I did this for the 30 years anniversary, the series could live on for another 10, 20 years.
Interesting, yeah? Because Tsuchiya's comment is pretty ambiguous, we're looking at a no-holds-barred speculation train here. Was this game going to be a new entry in a different series? Maybe a brand-new Mega Man series altogether? Or perhaps something totally out there, like a fighting game?
Whatever it was, Tsuchiya seems pretty keen on seeing it come to fruition. Here's hoping we can experience it one day!
More from this interview can be found here. Thanks to koumashiki for the translation!
Now that's interesting. It sounds like he wants to start a new Mega Man series, and that it'll probably be quite a departure from anything we've seen before. Maybe a full-on 3D game? If that is the case, then I'm pretty sure I'll like it. Mega Man 11 has shown me that the franchise is in good hands, so I don't see a problem in letting them experiment.
ReplyDeleteI just hope Mega Man 11 actually sold well. That'll be the real determinant here.
I'd snap buy a Mega Man fighter.
ReplyDeleteI've been dreaming of that for years. There's so many characters, its perfect for a fighting game.
DeleteIf it was some kind of crossover game with all the iterations of the IP i woulda been down, been waiting my whole life for something like that, no I'm not talking about Xover.
ReplyDeleteHopefully whatever it was gets to happen someday.
That's my dream game right there. I'd be so happy
DeleteI'm kind of concerned if it is a new series or not.
ReplyDeleteThe franchise has been divided so much already. If they are going to keep going in that direction, I really hope whatever they have in mind is a hit.
i hope they dont do that. at all. again...
Deletewatch it turns out to be another freemium phone game.
and one more thing...
Protodude,
PLEASE GET RID OF RECAPTCHA. ITS TERRIBLE.
You know how many times the check fails for no goddamn reason?
The fact that this interview was an internal one and promoted publicly (at least in Japan) means there's a good chance whatever this project ends up being is on the shortlist. Provided that Mega Man 11 sells well, I imagine Capcom corporate will at least want a Mega Man X game first because of its sheer popularity (acknowledged by X's inclusion in MvCI) before they greenlight whatever this project is. Now if the project being referred to is in fact a new Mega Man X game, then it's almost certainly what we're going to see next.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of a fighting game, that’s what I would really want MegaMan X(Cross)Over to be. Just a crossover cast of a few characters from each MM series duking it out Capcom VS style of fighting! Like Tatsunoko vs Capcom style specifically.
ReplyDeleteI'd take a Mega Man crossover RPG personally.
DeleteI bet they were planning on remaking some old Mega Man games in what would become 11's style.
ReplyDeleteNew Series,new classic game entry.I honestly don't know what is to come in this project.But if it's a new series,I hope it's a good one.Cause if it's not I'm just going to put it in the Rockman 64 pile of crap.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is, I really enjoyed Megaman 11. I think it was a great comeback game.
ReplyDeleteTake note Capcom, MM Xover would be a good franchise if only were made as a SRW-esque style with ALL the Megaman timelines (yes, that includes Battle Network and Legends)
ReplyDeleteMaybe a mmbn style rpg bit with all mega men? I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
DeleteThere was a rumor of them working in a Mega Man game before 11 was announced, maybe that game wasn't 11?
ReplyDeleteThere are some series that would really benefit from another entry (looking at you ZX), but it would be really exciting to see a new series come out! It would be the first one since I became a Mega Man fan.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how MM11 has helped changed perceptions about the brand. You can see it right here, even.
ReplyDeleteWithout MM11, comments here would have been "oh another cancelled MM project", or "not a new MM series, why can't they do a classic games".
MM11 was honestly the perfect move. Taking the series back to its roots, while modernizing - not reinventing - it's style and design. Hopefully Capcom sees this as the new safe approach. Let's modernize some more MegaMan, keep the classic gameplay, let the brand rebuild. AND LATER, some time from now after we've re-established the series' place in today's gaming, THEN we can do creative projects with the brand.
"re-established the series' place in today's gaming"
DeleteYeah that actually requires people to buy the games. There are only so many chances to re-established a series, some don't even get two chances.
I would like a Megaman Xover game that is an actual game and not some mobile thing. So when the game is no longer updated, it could still be picked up and played at a later time. Is infuriating that this Megaman got the short end of the stick considering the game was supposed to be a tribute to the older series.
ReplyDelete