Capcom Explains Why Dual Override Isn’t Called “Mega Man 12,” What Took So Long and More

During a livestream with Capcom Germany, Mega Man: Dual Override director Shinya Ikuta and producer Hiroyuki Minamitani sat down to answer some of fans' biggest questions about the game.

Read on for a transcript of what they had to say!

Q: Why didn't you go with the name 'Mega Man 12'?

A: There are a lot of fans that know Mega Man as a series but of course by not adding the number it allows the game to feel more accessible to players who are new to the series. So instead of thinking 'oh, I have to play all eleven previous entries', it's a brand new entry for players to come in and enjoy. Also the game is meant to be introducing a lot of new features and elements for the Mega Man series as well, so we figured let's innovate with the naming as well as the features.

Q: It's been eight years since the last game came out, so what took you so long? 

A: We also agree it was a bit of a long wait so we apologize for having it be so long between games. That said, during that time, we wanted to really look at the Mega Man series and what the core elements of the gameplay are, and find ways to get innovative and make it accessible to a new range of fans. In 2027, we will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the series so we figured, what better time to release a new game?

Q: What did it feel like to get back into the development process of Mega Man after such a long break? Are there established routines or is every development of a new Mega Man a completely fresh start?

A: The development for this game is actually a little bit unique, in the sense that we have taken a lot of the development veterans from previous games and brought them to our team. We’ve also brought in a lot of new blood who can introduce new ideas, and kind of found a way to mix them together to bring you this whole game itself. So we thought that we’re really putting together a great game, and we hope that everybody enjoys that.

Q: You already mentioned Proto Man will be playable. Will there be more [playable] characters? What are your plans for that?

A: Anybody who's a fan of the Mega Man series will be excited that Proto Man is coming back. In addition to Proto Man as a playable character, the story will introduce a lot of characters that people may know from previous entries. We'll have more information on the story in coming updates.

Q: This is the first Mega Man game on the RE Engine, right?

A: Yes that's correct. We're releasing this game on quite a few different platforms, so using the RE Engine actually makes it really, really good to optimize this game for all those different platforms.

Other small notes from the stream:

• The three areas for the stages are broken down by difficulty. Area 1 is the easiest, Area 2 gets a bit harder and Area 3 is the hardest with the Robot Master waiting "to kick your butt."

• During development, the team conducted hands-on testing to make sure the game struck the right balance between accessibility and challenge without feeling unfair or impossible.

• When encountering Astro Man R, they confirmed that a "number of characters" from previous games will return as bosses.

• Capcom says that they will talk more about Proto Man and his unique playstyle a little down the line. No indication when.

You can watch the stream for yourself here. It starts at the one hour mark.