Sunday, September 8, 2013

Crescent's Thoughts On: Mighty No. 9 or YES! YES! YES! YES!


Not much to say as an intro for this week, not a lot happened that I feel I need to inform the 3 people who actually read what I have to say. Although, I don't know if I even have 3 people reading what I'm writing because I have NO IDEA whether or not anyone is actually reading this or they are just Google image searching and finding the pictures I use for my blog. Seriously, I've breached over 2,000 views and I STILL don't have a single comment? What the hell people? Anyway, on to my thoughts.


Capcom, Why isn't there a 25TH Anniversary image for Mega Man?
I am a huge Mega Man fan. I love the games, even when they aren't really that good *COUGH*Mega Man X6*COUGH*. I wouldn't call myself a master, but I would call myself an expert. I've played these games so much that Mega Man Zero is only hard when I want it to be.  I love the challenge the Mega Man games give me, I love the art style the Mega Man games have, and the music goes without saying. Hell, I even try to make as much sense of the story as possible because I actually care about the high concept of the Mega Man universe (Even if the story is hardly the reason to play ANY Mega Man game). Mega Man is one of gaming's greatest icons, right up there with Mario and Sonic. I was giddy when Mega Man was revealed as a new participant in Smash Bros. complete with an 8-bit inspired look. But outside of Smash Bros. what has Mega Man been doing recently? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Less than nothing infact since each and every one of his new games as been canceled by Capcom. Mega Man Universe? Canned. Maverick Hunter? Vanished without a peep. Mega Man Legends 3? "Not enough fan support to continue the project." Hell, Mega Man celebrated his 25th Anniversary last year and what does Capcom have to show for it? Two things: Firstly, Jack and you can work out the second one on your own. Capcom's lack consideration to one of their BIGGEST franchises could be because Mega Man's co-creator, and pretty much master of the series, Keiji Inafune left Capcom around the time Mega Man Legends 3 was in development. So what has mister Inafune have done recently? Well, with the cancellation of one of his biggest dream projects, one that would have had fan contributions as part of it's development *COUGH*Mega Man Legends 3*COUGH*, Inafune, and his new company Comcept, has decided to give his fans what they want. Maybe not in the same recognizable form, but in the same recognizable spirit that created his iconic characters. That project is Mighty No. 9.

The new face of Robotic justice: Beck.
Mighty No. 9 is Keiji Inafune's new Mega Man. Everything you love about Mega Man, from it's human-like robot story and protagonist, to the fundementals of it's game design. Our new Rock, Beck, must fight against 8 other robots, Mighty No. 1-8, in any order he chooses, gain their powers after he defeats them, and use his growing arsenal to restore peace. If handled by anyone else, Mighty No. 9 might be regarded as a poor man's attempt at copying one of gaming's legends, but since this game is being created by Keiji Ina-FREAKIN'-fune and a team of Mega Man veterans Mighty No. 9 is not just a copy of Mega Man, he is the spiritual successor to the Mega Man legacy. But that's not to say Mighty No. 9 is identical to Mega Man just with a different suit on, among Beck's abilities is to morph his body into different shapes, turning him into a tank, a hammer, and other things to navigate his environment and likely find different secrets.

Different designs for Call: The Roll to Beck's Rock.
What do I think of this game? I think that is very clear from the title of this blog post. My response to this game is "YES!" I love the Mega Man games and from the what I've seen and heard of Mighty No. 9, this is Mega Man through and through. True, the project is still in the concept phase, and the funding process on Kick Starter isn't over yet, but just look at it! These characters have the same feel as the entirety of the Mega Man cast. They convey the same sense of child-like wonder that made me fall in love with the franchise (beyond the awesome gameplay). Hell, Beck doesn't look out of place standing next to all the various Mega Mans in the 20th Anniversary image above. Even one of the Call designs looks identical to Roll (which is the design I would vote for). Honestly, it's been too long since the last Mega Man game has been released, and fans are dying for a new game. Even if the new Mega Man game doesn't even have Mega Man in the title.

Not an actual screen shot. But DAMN is it Epic.
What excites me most about this game is that it is going to be made. The Kickstarter is only a week old and already it passed $1.8 MILLION as of writing this blog, especially given it's $900K goal. It has only two stretch goals left to make, the console versions at $2.2 million, and an undecided ultimate stretch goal that isn't determined (I hope they decide on the ultimate stretch goal being a handheld release). Also, even though the game hasn't even been made yet, there is a huge fan base clamoring to get the word out and creating mountains of fan art of Beck and the various Calls (this one is my personal favorite). But perhaps the best part of all of this is the silent "F* you" to Capcom after cancelling Mega Man Legends 3 because of "a lack of fan support," because apparently there is enough fan support to throw over 1.8 million dollars at the next best thing to a Mega Man game.

 Special Thanks to: Comcept ALL Staff... and YOU!
I highly suggest visiting Mighty No. 9's Kickstarter page, even if you are not planning to donate or are unable to donate money to the project. The video detailing the project is worthy enough on it's own to warrant a viewing, since it has Keiji Inafune talk from his heart about not only what inspired him to create Mega Man, but also how that same heart and soul will be used for Mighty No. 9's development. It's a genuine emotional moment to hear Inafune's recount the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3. Please check out Mighty No. 9, especially if you have a soft spot for a particular blue boy robot.

Mighty No. 9's Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/mighty-no-9

Until Next time,

-Crescent, Mighty Man, Mega No. 9, it's all the same to me.

2 comments:

  1. "what do you think of this game?" Its amazing and I can't wait for it I may need to create time travel soon...

    Also which ones you think is worse X6 or X7 Cres?

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    1. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately) I haven't played X7, or X8 for that matter. I kind of dropped out of Megaman after the SNES era and only got back into it much later thanks to the various Megaman collections (Namely the Megaman Anniversary Collection and the Megaman X Collection). So I never got a chance to play the critically panned X7 or the critically praised X8.

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