Sunday, June 21, 2015

Inafune Talks Mega Man Legends 3 and 'ReCore' - Are They Related?


Speaking with Game Informer, Comcept's Keiji Inafune says he would still like to make Mega Man Legends 3. What's more, some of his ideas for the ill-fated sequel may have made it into ReCore, a new game developed by Inafune and Armature Studio.



GI: Were any ideas from the canceled Mega Man Legends 3 project implemented in ReCore?

Inafune: Maybe not at the level of calling out specific gameplay features that would have gone into Legends 3. To be completely honest, if I had the chance, I would still say, "Yes, I want to still make that game."
In that regard, there's something probably emotional or spiritual that I feel like on a very high level that I don't completely lose everything, all my ideas, that I had at that time. They may have been transferred or carried over or been reflected in some way, shape, or form in ReCore. That's something that is part of me, so it's going into ReCore. One thing that I feel is very different though is that if I went down the Legends 3 path and I was continuing on that path I feel like maybe it's a bit of more of a throwback to when it was made. Going back into time, but giving it a new skin and fresh look.
With ReCore though, I'm not looking back. I'm looking into the future. I'm looking beyond what I can do today. This has given me the opportunity to retain some of what was in my soul, but then transfer that into a future outlook and direction. That's a big difference in the path that, to me, is different between those two titles.

The Game Informer interview also alludes to a deeper relationship with Mega Man. Inafune is developing ReCore at Armature Studio who, if you recall, previously worked with Inafune on the now-defunct Maverick Hunter project.

Developed exclusively for Xbox One, ReCore chronicles the adventure of Joule, the last surviving human on earth, and her robotic dog companion Mack. Though much of the game remains shrouded in mystery, we do know ReCore will explore the spiritual side of robotics -- machines with living souls. Inafune loves to dabble in this topic; it should be interesting to see where he takes it in the context of ReCore.

Head to Game Informer for the full interview.

29 comments:

  1. "Developed exclusively for Xbox One"...

    nope

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  2. Why only Xbone? -.-

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  3. I'm seeing Inafune's name pop up everywhere like he's on the same level as Hideo Kojima. Is Inafune a great designer? I know he was mostly a producer for a majority of his Mega Man career and did character design work (obviously) but did he contribute greatly in the creative space aside from these things? Not to take away from his work... being a producer is a great responsibility. I was just wondering what gives his name weight in the game industry.

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    1. You can't be serious, the guy conceptualized the innovations of many genres, he developed the concept and gameplay elements behind the Onimusha, Soul Sacrifice, Lost Planet and Dead Rising series. He didn't only character design characters, in terms of Mega Man alone he literally illustrated a good majority of the classic series' official and concept art, designated story elements, envisioned and advised gameplay themes and hand drew the most iconic in-game sprites for the original NES games. He directed screenplays, and has lead many multi million dollar projects, some of which were developed as new IPs. All this and not even including his graphic design, and character design roles in Street Fighter, Capcom Disney games Breath of Fire his writing roles etc etc

      Hideo Kojima's work isn't nearly as extensive or varied as Keiji Inafune's. Even Boktai was heavily based on Metal Gear's game design, it was pretty much just MG lite with solar gimmicks.

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    2. Pfft, Hideo Kojima. Go back to playing your insanely overrated, muddled, and ridiculous interactive movie non-games.

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    3. Less funposting please.

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    4. He's a businessman, not a creator.

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    5. Actually Hideo Kojima is a better game creator, ok so what if Inafune helped with so many games. I prefer quality over quantity I am not saying Inafune is bad creator he is a amazing creator but Kojima gives all the love and care he can to metal gear unlike Inafune who lets games like MMX6 go without his supervision and then make games like MM9 and MM10 like if he is making a one of the best sequels he could. MM9 was liked by fans but MM10 wasn't like by fans because people started to figure out that the ps3/wii/360 MM games were not being made with the most love and care he could bring.Not that they weren't fun because they were really fun games but not amazing sequels that defined MM games on the ps3/wii/360. MM games in the past defined MM for the console they were on untill MMX6. At least every MG game has a important message to them yes I know that MM doesn't need a message to be good. But because Kojima makes each MG game as his last MG game he makes sure that the games are made well and so that way the message is brought out too without it being stupid. Look I love Kojima and Inafune and they are both amazing creators but you got look at the facts the few MM games that have been made recently are alright nothing amazing as the the past MM games. Do I blame Inafune no because capcom was just forcing him to toss out MM games but could he at least have given some of the games like MMX6 his supervision? MM games after MMX6 are not really liked by the fans and now he is making Mighty no.9 and people don't like that game either which I don't understand the hate for it. But I gotta say that every MG game has been successful because Kojima either made it or supervised it. Inafune didn't supervise some of the games because he never wanted them to exist in the first place and because of that the games failed. Capcom then forced Inafune to go back to 8-bit when he made the ps3/wii/360 MM sequels and then after that capcom felt that innovate MM games would fail just because they innovate and weren't 8-bit. So everytime a new MM game was announced that wasn't 8-bit capcom cancelled it which got Inafune upset and made him leave capcom to got make MN.9. Once again I can't blame Inafune for this but if he supervised games like MMX6 things might have turned out a little bit different.

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    6. Wow you seem really butthurt. Keiji had nothing to do with X6, he was working on the Zero series at the time that game was being developed without his knowledge. Keiji had to revise the Zero series because of it. And even if he did mess up X6 himself, his good contributions completely outweigh his bad, the dash and wall bounce mechanics are some of my favorite 2D platformer mechanics, and he was the one behind those innovations or at least the popularization of them. Not only that but he is not only known for Mega Man, many of his other works have been really enjoyable for me. I love the Dead Rising and Onimusha series. Not to mention his artstyle and official artwork are some of my favorites ever.

      That said, notice how me liking those things are completely my opinion, all I'm saying is I like the projects Keiji has work on. Now me saying that Keiji has worked and been credited for works on many more VG projects that are more varied than the works of Hideo Kojima is completely accurate facts, it is just plain old truth and reality. You on the other hand give this big old rant about how much subjectively "better" Hideo and his works are to Keiji's.


      I think Keiji Inafune has contributed more to video games in better ways than Hideo Kojima. I like his ideas better generally and I think the game series he invested his most time in (Mega Man, my favorite VG franchise ever created) is better than the series Kojima invested in most (Metal Gear). That doesn't make one or the other objectively better though.

      This is why people say Hideo Kojima is the most overrated game designer, his fans disregard the contributions and achievements of so many other developers in his field that he is compared to.

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    7. First I am not butthurt I was replying to the guy who said this to someone else: "Pfft, Hideo Kojima. Go back to playing your insanely overrated, muddled and interactive movie non-games." This guy doesn't need to like MG but if you are going to insist that Inafune is better then Kojima in the recent years then I am going to bring to his attention what Inafune has done in the recent years. And if you actually read my post fully then you would know that I know that Inafune had nothing to do MMX6 infact that is why I said he should supervised it.

      Second like I said I know in the past Inafune has brought great and new stuff to the table but with the ps3/wii/360 gen he didn't do much for megaman and it was mostly because capcom wouldn't let him do much for megaman. And what I was mostly talking about is what he did with megaman from the ps1 era to now not onimusha or dead rising. I know Inafune did more stuff with different franchises then Kojima but for megaman in particular after MMX6 he let megaman go all over the place and didn't at least supervise the games unlike Kojima who did supervise the other games. Does that make Kojima a better creator? No but it shows that he cared even for the games he didn't want to exist in the series. Inafune wanted the the X series to end after MMX4 so when they were making MMX5 he didn't really care much for it and when he was making MM9 and MM10 he didn't do much with it either. Yes MM9 and MM10 are fun games but they don't stand out that much to rest of the games that were coming out at the time or to the rest of the Megaman franchise. I understand that Megaman is just one franchise out of many other franchises Inafune worked on but if you are going to work on a franchise give it your best and Inafune didn't do it that with megaman after MMX6. After the release of MM10 he couldn't do much but he could of done something with MMX6 and MM games after it. Even if it wouldn't have been much it still would show that he would want every Megaman game to succeed.

      Third yes I am a hardcore MG fan but I am also a hardcore MM fan and I am NOT trying to be biased to Kojima even if it seems like I am because I will tell you that I disagree with some of the things Kojima does with Metal Gear just like I disagree with some of the things Inafune does with Megaman. I know you understand that both devs have their faults and you understand that Kojima is not a god dev but the reason why I like Kojima more is because he wanted to see pretty much every game he made or helped with succeed but Inafune didn't want to see those games succeed.

      Does this mean you have to agree with what I am saying absolutely NOT. But when someone like the guy I mentioned above says stuff that isn't really true and then acts like if Inafune did everything correctly then I am going to say otherwise to that. Yes I know he didn't say those words exactly and he didn't say that Inafune is the perfect dev but clearly he showed that he believes that Inafune's works are better then Kojima's works by far. So I wanted to show him and compare the recent years of both franchises that these devs worked with. Yes I know that the ps1 era to now is not recent but it is what Inafune was doing with Megaman at the same time that Kojima was doing with Metal Gear up to this point.

      Listen I am not being biased to Kojima both devs in my opinion are the one of the best devs ever but how can someone say that Inafune gave the Megaman franchise the best he could even though he let MM games after MMX6 go to cheap games. Like I said you do NOT have to agree that Kojima is better then Inafune. But these facts of what both devs were doing at the same time won't change.

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    8. And honestly you are right when comes to a dev making multiple ideas for multiple franchises Inafune does better then Kojima by far. What I love about Kojima's MG games is that even though it is just one franchise he gives it his best and yes Inafune gives some of his games his best too but Inafune doesn't do it for each game he makes or supervises. He doesn't need to do that but it will show how much he cares about those games.

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    9. 1. Why would you respond to that guy? He brought nothing of value to the discussion, and it was clearly evident he was there to hate and push his agenda.

      2.OK if you know the reason that held Keiji back from producing *Mega Man* (big) during the 7th generation, why are you holding it over his head? Not only is that stupid, it is false, not only was he a big proponent of continuing the series and seeing it prosper, he had a heavy hand in the supervision of the MM games that were released during the 7th gen. The reason why MM was reduced to handhelds at the time was because Capcom wasn't willing to invest big budgets in it because sales were at a slump and already really low. Despite this Keiji said himself that he was willing to save the money necessary to make Legends 3 from other big projects he was allowed to produce, heck the entire MT Framework engine was specifically designed with Mega Man Legends in mind. Keiji also begged people to pick up and play ZXA if they wanted to see it continued because its predecessor did so bad, and said he wanted to do an entire Maverick Hunter style remake for the X series up to X6, as well as continue the MMPU games. Not only that, but you act like he did nothing on the 7th gen, just because he didn't make AAA MM games. He spearheaded many other successful VG projects during that time, he is not GOD he can only do so much.

      How can Keiji supervise something he didn't even know existed till late? And even if Keiji wanted to end the X series at X5, does that mean he absolutely has to commit to that, and he can't change his mind and see the value in having the X series continue? In any case that is the problem with not being in full control of an intellectual property, you can't always make the decisions for it.

      The reason he presented MM9 and 10 the way they were was not because of laziness (I think) but because that was the kind of budget Capcom heads would allow for the series as a whole, Keiji had to use gimmicks to try and reintroduce the brand to the market with what he had for resources. Not only that but he fully acknowledged the fact that those games were not all that progressive for the series, and during that time many projects were being conceived behind the scenes, including his not ended pursuit of MML3, some of these projects only came to light near or after he left Capcom.

      3. What kind of dev does not want to see his projects succeed? That makes no sense, and sounds like something only a crazy person would want.

      Lastly I already don't agree with Kojima being better than Inafune in terms of contributions to gaming. What I'm saying is I also disagree with the fact that Keiji let the games go cheap, I don't think those are the facts and I don't accept that statement in this situation.

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    10. Hi, guys! I'm the OG anonymous who asked the initial question. Sorry for getting people heated up lol (tho I'm glad you guys are passionate about this). When I made the comment about Inafune being on "Kojima's level" I was referring to his level of involvement in the creation process. When I'm on different message boards I read a lot of people talk about him like he is the grand maestro of the MM series. But I've read MM complete works and other source books and it really seems to me that MM as a series is a more collaborative effort. Inafune even admits around the time of X2 that he became more of a producer and began taking on the responsibilities that come with that. Most of his main credits in the NES days credit him as an illustrator or object designer. While his name does appear in the game design credits he is credited with a bunch of other people. So while I understand his role was very important to the MM series and sub series, I was wondering why people believe he is the end all authority for MM creatively.

      I brought up the Kojima comparison because I don't believe them to have the same involvement in their works (speaking of MM and MGS repectively). Kojima produces, writes, and directs for most installments of Metal Gear. He even tests meticulously on his own to make sure the fame plays the way he wants. He even hand picked the main music composer (Henry Gregson Williams) for the series post MGS1. He dips his hands in every part of development. Inafune, while taking on plenty of responsibility, does not operate on that level I believe. So from my POV, when I get on message boards and read comments and the like insinuating Capcom can't make Mega Man without Inafune I raise suspicion. He's usually not the main designer or director I believe. Heck, there are a lot of people that believe Capcom went against Inafune's "vision" for MMZ by having X6 made. But according to the MM complete works book the only involvement he had in X5 was telling the team to give a finality to its ending and that's it. No creative input aside from that. Hardly a vision IMO. (In fact he isn't even responsible for designing X... Hayato Kaji was. Though I realize X's design is derived from the original MM lol)

      Hence I asked how great a creator he was. It seems like the difference in the level of involvement was quite vast so that's why I phrased the question as such. Didn't mean to undercut Inafune or anything. I just view him as being a smaller part of Mega Man than Kojima is for Metal Gear. So I was wondering why Inafune gets the seat for Mega Man that Kojima gets for Metal Gear.

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    11. Although Inafune didn't know about MMX6 he knew about MMX5 but he didn't want much to do with it. Even though he did show interest in making MM MHX 1-6 and MMPU none of it happened. The ZX series is a good series and seeing a trusted person (In this case being Inafune) saying to buy ZXA is a good way to show support but not as good as showing the best support you possibly can give like over seeing and giving dev tips to the game to make sure it is done properly. As for the MT Framework being made for MML we all know what happened there. Capcom slapped Inafune and fans in the face by cancelling Megaman games left and right but when it came to MM MHX 1-6 he at least had a chance with making those games. As for him supporting MMX6 he did not make clear his stance on the game all he did is apologize for MMX6 happening because he could not control the series (which is like you said someone can't have control over something forever). But It is like I have said to people before just because he apologized for the games existence does NOT mean he hates them. It is like how Kojima wasn't a big fan MGS:PO but he showed support for the game by producing it.

      MM9 and MM10 was supposedly made the way they were not because of money issues but because they felt it would sell more then the original idea they had for the game which is a 3d sidescroller. http://www.1up.com/features/mega-man-9-afterthoughts Although in this source the dev does not mention about the original idea of the game it does mention about the reason why they went for 8-bit sidescroller instead of a 3d sidescroller but honestly I don't buy it I feel it is like you said that they were not trying to be lazy but they just had work with what they had. Then after MM10 it from going downhill a little bit to completely going downhill at full force. And what was capcoms reason? Not enough fan support and not enough money. Which is complete garbage because when Inafune was making MM Universe it looked cool but then capcom stole it like they stole the rest of his three games(Not counting the Korean MMO)

      But when comes to some of the past games like the MMX5-8 it is like you said "What dev doesn't want HIS project to succeed?" some of the games after MMX4 weren't HIS project like MMX5 and on so he really didn't do much with the some of the megaman games like MMX5-8 to make them better. But Kojima does make the games he works on or helps with better even if he really didn't want to see one of them happen he still gave his support to it. So in this sense I prefer Kojima but it is like you said Inafune has brought more stuff to different generes to make them better. So in that sense Inafune is better and in the end it all goes down to personal preference.

      I feel both devs have great qualities in them it is about who you prefer though.

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    12. "MM9 was liked by fans but MM10 wasn't like by fans because people started to figure out that the ps3/wii/360 MM games were not being made with the most love and care he could bring."

      It was the complete and total opposite with me. I know I'm in the minority, as always, but I thought Mega Man 10 had Mega Man 9 outclassed by a longshot.

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    13. I have to agree with Krazy Monkey in my opinion I believe MM10 is better then MM9 but I still felt that something was missing from both games.

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    14. I may as well weigh in and state that I also liked Mega Man 10 waaaay more than Mega Man 9 in almost every way. The only thing is that I thought Mega Man 9 had a more satisfying ending, but other than that, Mega Man 10 is by far the superior game.

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    15. So did I, Mega Man 10 was better to me. I'm the Anon counter arguing the guy who said that.

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    16. To the OP Anon, I agree with you that Inafune isn't really on the level of Kojima as a game director, though the comparisons somewhat iffy to make because Kojima comes from a film background, which MGS mostly thrives off of.

      However, to compare the two, I would say Kojima is much more of an artistic visionary and, as another poster who quoted Hideki Kamiya, Inafune is "a businessman, not a creator." Between the two, Kojima has seen a lot more success in terms of his AAA titles, whereas Inafune has plenty of mixed results that people often neglect (Dark Void, Lost Planet 2, DMC Devil May Cry reboot to name a few), and that's largely because Kojima has a stronger commitment to artistic integrity and quality, whereas Inafune is often just trying to capitalize on whatever is trending (in the past, it was the western/FPS market, now it's the indie market).

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    17. ^Stop making crap up. Inafune has much more involvement with projects than you and many people give him credit for. Inafune is an illustrator, graphic designer, director, adviser, concept designer (which includes gameplay concepts) and much more, and he had next to nothing to do with DMC (which was critically acclaimed) artistically. Keiji has his faults, but it's his willingness to innovate and try new things that puts him ahead of his peers, as well as appealing to market demand at the same time. Stop regurgitating Hideki Kamiya's butthurt comment.

      The only successful AAA titles Kojima ever worked on are the ones that had Metal Gear in the title and the small production role he had in Lords of Shadows. ZotE folps, Boktai flops, I don't even need to mention Policenauts. He did not come from a movie background unless watching movies is considered a background in the industry now, and the drawn out movie scenarios he brought to gaming certainly isn't enjoyed or admired by everyone. The only credit \I'll ever give to Kojima is that fact that he popularized the stealth gameplay style in games, and even then he milks it so hard that it's not even saying much of an appreciation anymore.

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    18. "Stop making crap up" Talks about people making stuff up then says lord of shadows,zone of the enders and policenauts are flops as a fact. That is not true at all in fact lords of shadows was definitely a success. And then as for the rest of what you are saying it obvious that you are just trying to hate on Kojima for no good reason. Although at first my comment came out as being biased for Kojima but I cleared that out with my later comments. Listen you both make good points Kojima is great for his artistic games and just bringing a blast from each game. But Inafune has brought many great ideas for different generes that just make those generes better then before.

      As for the comment I said about people liking MM9 more then MM10 I was talking about other people not liking MM10 because it is like I said in a previous comment I agree with krazy monkey's opinion on MM10 being better then MM9 I also feel that MM10 was better then MM9 by far I just wish both games had more to them though.

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    19. Wait a minute Anon 11:17 that is not me *original debater* but could be my little brother trolling though, since I showed him this conversation, probably not though.

      In any case that guy didn't say Lords of Shadows flopped he specifically listed it as one of Kojima's successes, despite having a menial role in its production.

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    20. @AnonymousJune 23, 2015 at 6:21 PM

      DMC: Devil May Cry has a better rating average and sold more than Castlevania: Lords of Shadows. If the reboot project you claim Keiji is responsible for is considered mixed and the reboot project Kojima is responsible for is considered worse than it in every measurable provable way, than what does that make Kojima's project?

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    21. Hideo Kojima has a great deal of respect for Rockman, he was the one that requested to have a Boktai crossover with Rockman.EXE, and he even had a role as producer in Rockman.EXE 4-6.

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    22. Anon 11:59 No no no I am not the OP I was the one who made this comment:

      AnonymousJune 23, 2015 at 12:17 PM
      I have to agree with Krazy Monkey in my opinion I believe MM10 is better then MM9 but I still felt that something was missing from both games.

      And I read what he put again and he did say lords of shadows was a success as for the zote flopping that is not true. Maybe in review scores it flopped but it is considered by gamers to be a very good game. There was even going to be a zote 3 but it unfortuanety got cancelled which got fans really upset. Also anon 2:30 pm DMC reboot is considered by fans to be horrible while lords of shadows 1 is liked by fans however the second lords of shadows did flop.

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  4. Maverick Hunter was being made by Inafune and retro studios the creators of metroid prime then capcom cancelled that game. Now we have recore which is being made by Inafune and the creators of metroid prime. Although just because it is being made by them it doesn't mean much but I would like to see elements from that game be put in here too.

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  5. It looks great. Too bad I don't have an XBO. Nor am I about to shell out 350 bucks for the thing and ONE game.

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  6. That helmet she's wearing is very Mega Manish...

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  7. I'm really disappointed to see how in the past year or two people have started to shit all over Keiji Inafune. I have a lot of respect for the man... with all of his ups and downs, he has had a hand in some very great and Legendary games.

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