Dubbed Mega Man: The Rulers of Space, the fan-game by MarcDWyz is set to be a substantial 16-bit remake of Mega Man V, drawing heavy artistic inspiration from Mega Man 7. You can see it in action in the trailer above.
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| An early build of Mega Man: Rulers of Space, showing off the transition from Game Boy to SNES style. |
Reflecting on the project's goals, Marc tells me, "I think Mega Man V for GameBoy is simultaneously really well-liked for the characters, especially the StarDroids, but then also so inaccessible to play that even most Mega Man fans haven’t actually played it today. I want to change that and also spice things up while I’m at it. It is definitely an old game, so it would benefit from being brought up to more modern Mega Man series standards."
Rather than a straight one-to-one remake, The Rulers of Space will expand on some aspects of the original. Marc elaborates, "I want to keep the spirit of the original game preserved, but when you look at things like the stages, you begin to ask 'where is this? what is this place?' and then you can begin to expand on things from there. Simply scaling up the original graphics doesn't seem to cut it when you consider those questions, so we're looking to go further beyond that and try to reimagine those things into a more elaborate world."
From stage design, enemies, and music, everything is being reimagined as if it were a genuine Super Nintendo game. To that, the project staff includes Egoraptor and Zan Sidera on sprites, music by Michael Staple, and artwork by KoyCampbell.
According to MarcDyz, the full game is aiming for a 2025 release, although since it's a volunteer effort, a hard date can't be set. You can keep tabs on the game's development from its official GameJolt page here.
Insanely impressive work!! I can’t wait to have the opportunity to play this!
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those fans that ranks MMV as one of my all-time favorites, for precisely the reasons stated above. The characters are more interesting, the level design is simple but memorable, and the portability of the original makes it feel perfect for an on-the-go MM fix. I like the artstyle choice for this fan remake, and hope to play it when it comes out!
ReplyDeleteOh boy, this looks pretty good
ReplyDeleteCapcom will issue a DMCA takedown once its released
ReplyDeleteCapcom historically has no issue with fan-games as long as they are not for profit or impede on an upcoming or existing profit that's too similar.
DeleteNot only does Capcom have no issue with fan-games that are not-for-profit, they've even officially supported (SFxMM) and sponsored events featuring fan games (MM8BDM). For all its faults and criticism, fan games are one area that you have to give Capcom some credit for letting flourish over the years.
DeleteHmm, a reference to MM8BDM. Nice. But I see one note here, Sunstar was the penultimate boss. Before… you know.
DeleteHuh? You don’t get the Reference to MM8BDM? He was a chapter 13 boss before he was merged with the Evil Energy Robot to become… I probably shouldn’t tell you the monster’s name… it would ruin the party for you.
DeleteCapcom doesn’t go after people for making Mega Man fangames.
DeleteThey don’t, huh? Anyway, Haven’t you heard of the epic final battle between Gamma and Eclipse, the… nightmare fuel type blend between the Evil Energy Robot, Sunstar, the Stardroids and the Wily Star?
DeleteIt's mostly just Nintendo that goes after fan games.
DeleteYou mean you never heard the place called the… Mario Fan Games Galaxy?
DeleteThis is amazing! Also I'm *so* glad it's not an 8-bit remake, we have enough of those. It's rare to see a 16-bit classic fan-project and I love the Megaman 7 art style!
ReplyDeleteI’m really glad it’s not 8 bit either, it’s way overdone at this point.
DeleteAwesome. They should do it for Mega Man 1-4 Game Boy and Rockman & Forte Wonder Swan to SFC/SNES version. Why not ?!
ReplyDelete… what do you mean "Egoraptor is on the staff"? I didn't even know Arin did pixel art, much less had time to commit to any project outside of his own. I know he's been a fan of Mega Man for longer than most of his fans have been alive, but still. What a weird and random thing for him to throw his hat into.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I don't like what I'm seeing. Maybe it's because it's based on one of my least favorite games in the series (which, ironically, has my favorite art style), but it looks too big and bulky. I mean, it's probably right since it's going from 160 x 144 to 256 x 224, but still. I'm also not a fan of the music as it bears no resemblance to either Mega Man 7 or Rockman & Forte, at present.
Remaking V with a 7-esque artstyle instead of an NES one is a pretty brilliant choice. The larger sprites let you use more screen space without having to alter level design, and the more detailed shading in sprites compared to the NES games (due to being able to use more colors) does a better job at capturing the shading used in the original game (which was due to being monochrome).
ReplyDeleteDoing it in 7 style due to the game's already existing design and style similarities with 7, awesome.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty sick, really nice spritework
ReplyDeleteAh alas if only a THUMB of the fan base had this kinda "expectation" even going back to 16bit is giving better results with some "authentic" passion. Seeing projects like this only remind me what we all lost. Well time to crawl back up out of this pit of desolate despair.
ReplyDeleteI mean at this point it’s really only the fan games keeping the series even somewhat relevant.
DeleteNo is not, Mega Man never was good.
Delete“Mega Man never was good.”
Delete…Or is it?
May 3rd anonymous, what are you doing on a Mega Man fansite then? Just to troll? Get a life.
DeleteWe've gone from remaking 16-bit games in 8-bit to remaking 8-bit games in 16-bit.
ReplyDeleteI’m all for it personally, 8-bit has been done to death.
DeleteThis is awesome. It reminds me of Mega Man: Super Charged, which was a 16-bit reimagining of Mega Man 1 that was also done in the style of Mega Man 7. Unfortunately, that game (as far as I'm aware) isn't being worked on anymore. Hopefully, Space Rulers doesn't go down the same path. I also hope that Mega Man 9 and 10 get 16-bit remakes of their own someday.
ReplyDeleteGood, it needs it. Then I might decide to actually play it for the first time. Looking at the GameBoy version just looks too awful and low detailed for me to enjoy it or even try it, especially in 2024 and beyond. May as well do the same for the other 4 GB games.
ReplyDeleteAre you for real? The game boy games play fine, maybe you just aren't into older games.
DeleteYeah, I'm surely for real, and clearly the ones who updated it with MM7 graphics here feel as I do else the wouldn't have updated it. I grew up with NES, unlike many here who likely weren't even alive at the time, you know, games like Gun Nac, Contra, Legendary wings, Life Force, Gradius, Ninja Gaiden, the list is long. And NES looks better than those GB games. I'm into some older games (prefer updated graphics though but keep the gameplay, so I would have preferred MM9 and MM10 was 32 bit and not 8 bit removing slide or charge). But I don't care for games with horrible or lacking effects because at a certain low level, it feels like a turn off to me (in 2024 especially). 8-bit and lower often just isn't appealing to me anymore and I like some effects. This is 2024, not 1984.
DeleteI play older style games on Steam and some newer ones too. Standards are good, and mine grow over time vs being stuck in the past. More should too. I grew up and played all the NES MM games, even did on the collections in 2019 and was fine with that, but not GB (I did have a GB once upon a time in 95). Maybe if I was 8 or 10, the GB detail and black and white wouldn't bother me, but it does when looking at youtube videos of it now. Better if it was at least GBA detail like MMZ.
This update will satisfy me. Graphics alone don't mean much, but if they look too bad or there is little to no effects, yeah, it can be boring. There is a certain threshold for me, especially in 2024. For example, I watched a video of the DOS version of Megaman a few years back, and it turned me off and looked lame. The NES looked better and played better. I also prefer a gamepad, and I often used a console to play some GB or GBA games even back in the day; not a puny handheld on a tiny screen.
Yea. Its 2024 where your Rockman game should be $70 with a $50 dlc suite, perpetually online, buried in end user agreements and broken on day 1.
Delete2024! Woot!
Then don't buy gacha. It's 2024 where some standard of graphics should matter on top of gameplay (not the best, but not GB, jeez). Also as I said on a post in steam:
Delete"Yeah, as I have said multiple times, and I was around to remember, games being $60 or $70 even in the 90s was common. I remember Banjo Kazooie being $60 and Ocarina of Time being $70 (granted, those were big games that took longer to beat and find everything), as console games these days are, and PSX and later DS was $40 in general. I remember the original NES was maybe 200 dollars in those days. Contra 4 was 40, the non-canon not very good games like Contra Legacy of War and C the Contra Adventure was 40 too, I think, like Megaman X4 in 97/98 and many more. So considering the graphical make over here (probably a decent portion of cost here), and 2024 dollars, 40 isn't a lot at all. Games are one of those things that have deflated vs average incomes (we get more for our money these days for base games assuming no gacha nonsense).
Sure considering that Steam doesn't have transportation or material costs to worry about, and supply and demand is no issue with endless copies from digitization being made at will, 40 'for steam' is a bit high, but not objectively high when looking at game price history, wage increase, and how much console games tend to cost. A game being around $70 now like it was in the 90s but minimum wage being triple or quadruple that of the 90s means $70 for a game now is much more for your money for that item now. Not to mention the graphics and vastness of many games is much greater now, meaning even more of one's money. A Zelda game these days for example will be much larger and more detailed than back then."
I get many games cheap on Steam and all look better than a crappy black and white GB. Just got to be a smart buyer. I never buy gacha and never do you, so I don't have that problem, and can emulate anything else at zero cost. It isn't hard. I'm not going to enjoy GB in this era. If some don't like that I feel that way, too bad. They are free to emulate an old GB or lame DOS MM if they want that makes NES look good in comparison.
DeletePeople want to emulate the DOS MM in a serious capacity? >w>
DeleteI have to say, that is quite impressive. I never got to play Mega Man V, so this remake in the style of Mega Man 7 might be my best option at this point.
ReplyDeleteEgoraptor? Oh, this project's in good hands, art-wise. No, I mean it, he was an outstanding MM spriter in the past.
ReplyDeleteAbout the only issue I have until something playable gets released is a pet peeve: How come there are so many fan projects which mix SNES sound effects with sampled sounds? The fidelity doesn't match at all and it drives me crazy.
Hopefully the remake gets completed, Mega Man V for Gameboy is one of my favorite Mega Man games so I'm pretty excited about this.
ReplyDeletebonjours , bravo pour ce travaille , c'est vraiment très fun , et le choix du personnage comme celui du mm7 est chouette , vivement une demo et l'aboutissement , comment peut on aider,merci ?bonne journée .
ReplyDeleteOoh! Looking good!
ReplyDelete