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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.
I'm hoping for unlockable Bass, or at least DLC for him. Roll with her broom from Powered Up wouldn't be an unwelcome option to have a melee character. I don't have any expectations of it, but it would be neat if they did the Powered Up thing where all the main 8 bosses are also playable in their own non-canon stories taking Mega Man's place.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a big fan of the "only releasing new games in legacy franchises on big anniversary years" thing that's been going on in the industry lately. If they want more time to work on big entries then take the time, but at least have a B team or two working on spinoffs to tide us over in the meanwhile.
so there’s a CHANCE that Bass will be playable
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Mega Man is back because i was ready to give up on the franchise!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited for Dual Override, but there's no reason Capcom can't call up Inti Creates and have them resume ZXC for modern hardware, even if its a digital only release. It would cost NOTHING, and NOBODY would complain.
ReplyDeleteExactly. They need to focus on other series in the main timeline equality. TBH, I like them more than classic, and my existence predates Classic (and the NES) by a few years. I also wish MM9 and 10 were at least made with PSX graphics at a minimum. I don't have nostalgia bias like many do despite my age since I can get with the times.
DeleteAs long as gameplay, the controls, and the story is MM main timeline, no problem, and I always welcome or prefer better graphics. Graphics alone of course are meaningless, and me an nothing without good gameplay, but I mean better graphics on top of all the core things that matter since I equally won't enjoy MM if it has the detail of pong and though still fun, prefer it not to be NES low detail. The DOS version looked lame in graphics (I watched a youtube video on that one), but worse, looks lame in gameplay, sound, etc. The NES on was still better.
One reason I think MM8 is better than MM&B aside from 2 playable characters is MM8 has nice music, and sound quality and style, and better explosions. MM&B has some nice songs still though. Of course I would never touch Dive or gacha.
Also I'm happy a MML3 was not made for a tiny screen (that's cringe) and we live in an age where online digital and even hybrid systems are in existence, and even emulators if I must. I stick to PC these days and no longer consoles and assemble my own desktop from time to time. Nothing beats that. Something like a MML3 needs to be made for quality and high res, ideally. Also I did buy the collection for Steam in 2019 for MM, X, and Zero/ZX, though I did used to own many of them on consoles (at least many through the collections from 2003 on PS2) and even back in the MMZ era in the early to mid 2000s, I was using the Gameboy player for the Gamecube to play them on my TV, just as I got the Gameboy late (1995) but played them through the SNES at home with the Super Gameboy. Probably better for one's eyes and neck, just as I will play games and watch shows on my desktop, not a phone.
The only major failing of the Zero games in my mind is them being made for the small screen with all the hardware limitations. Nice slice animations though. Omega would be so much more imposing if it was made for a console and/or PC even back then vs a puny handheld. They need to make sequels for ZX soon. Surely though know many of us would buy it quickly if they did. If they worry about sales, they should do better advertising it. Also release it on multiple systems for now on MM11 style.
Some years ago I'd probably agree, but lately Inti has been starting to get pretty greedy with their business tactics. I don't want the next ZX game to get a wave of overpriced DLC followed by a new collection version a few years later that gets exclusive DLC just to require you to purchase the games again for the ability to buy the new DLC. I don't really see any reason why Capcom couldn't just outsource development of a new ZX game to another studio. The devs behind Virtua Unlimited Project have proven themselves in my eyes, though they're niche enough that they're an unlikely pick. Wayforward has had relations with Capcom in the past though, I'm sure they'd love to put their experience with making the Shantae games to use in making a full Metroidvania Mega Man game.
DeleteThe way they talk about why it suggests that their biggest roadblock for making a new entry is ensuring the franchise can *grow* because having it be a niche franchise that can't never break the 2 million copy mark after +100 games and 40 years just doesn't cut it for Capcom. Dual Override might seem just a rehash of 11 at a glance but it *is* trying to innovate in subtle ways, how successful it will be at that is anyone's guess
DeleteThis isn't really an issue that is solved by outsourcing to someone else because if they had actually mantained a consistent cadence between games, but these games are only played by the same 10 people instead of each new one outselling the last that's what they're trying to avoid. Also, it's ironic to bring up Inti Creates and ZXC of all things about this topic because that project already was cancelled for this exact same reason? It was scrapped in favor of Mega Man 9, which was actually able to bring the series back into the mainstream (which none of the Zero/ZX or even Inti's original games can)
The "making sure the series can grow" argument might hold water on paper, but it also sounds like, if taken to a logical extreme, it could end up restricting them to making only Classic series until the end of time, which you know there are people who would be extremely sour at.that, considering how many comments on Dual Override videos are just folks repeating "Where's X, where's Legends, where's Battle Network, yada yada yada." Honestly the main things I'm personally concerned about are story reasons, there are too many dang cliffhangers in this dang franchise lol. Even if they could finish off those cliffhangers in a comic, that would be better than not doing it at all. But games would be ideal for the fanboy in me.
Delete@Deep Weeb Inti's original games wouldn't anyway because they're fundamentally different from Mega Man. The closest thing would probably be the Mighty Gunvolt games but those are more like Mega Man Classic anyway. Next closest would probably be Copen playing like a cross between X, Axl, and sometimes Zero in his various playable appearances but the gameplay flow is still totally different from any of the Mega Man games with more of a score attack focus.
DeleteHonestly though, I'm rather fatigued by the industry mentality of "It has to be able to grow the sales or else it's not worth making". The only way to even know for sure whether a new game in an old subseries could grow sales to begin with would be to make one, which Capcom hasn't done. Legacy Collections don't count, and a lot of fans are going to skip on those anyway if they already own the games included in them so they're a bad metric to test interest with. Even if new games didn't grow the sales figures though, every single game doesn't need to be a slam dunk home run money printer, and I'd rather get semi-frequent at least mediocre games than maybe one game with strict quality control per decade if they feel like it. At that point the franchise might as well be considered on life support no matter how much they say otherwise or how much the rare new game to come out gets online praise and sells units.
It's almost like expecting infinite growth is unreasonable and unsustainable.
DeleteJust a reminder by the way that the last game to release specifically in the ZX series was in 2007 and the last X game (that isn't X DiVE) was Maverick Hunter X in 2005/2006. These games are old enough now that kids not even born yet when they released are getting their first jobs and voting in elections. That's how long it has been that Capcom has been neglecting these series aside from the occasional cameo and crossover spinoff. There's a reason the Mega Man fanbase became as jaded and toxic as it did before Dual Override was announced, not that I'm defending that behavior. Hostility towards those who were still optimistic isn't something I would regard as acceptable, but the underlying position wasn't meritless either. Capcom has been dropping the ball lately and making every excuse under the sun for it, so they have a lot of legwork to do if they want to build all that lost goodwill back up and one new MMC game a decade with occasional re-release collections isn't going to do it. Either Capcom can start picking up the pace and delivering on the unfinished storylines they started decades ago, or a lot of fans are going to just give up entirely on them and move on to newer franchises in the indie scene.
DeleteI think it's interesting and I look forward to learning about the Story. I love story. But, I don't really find myself excited for side scrollers. The character development is intriguing. I think it's cool they are using the RE engine but that makes me think: why not a third person view game? Man, that would be awesome.
ReplyDelete#megamanlegends
I don't even necessarily want Bass back in the game. If he is, that's cool, but I really just want him to be involved in the story again. It's been since, what, Mega Man 8 since he and Mega Man actually shared a scene together?
ReplyDeleteA co-op mode would be f*****g awesome, i hope that's what's being implied here with the title of the game. I always wanted an official megaman co-op game. Also bass and roll playable would be great.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Roll would:
ReplyDelete1. Retire her Mega Man 8 dress for good
2. Have some of her shooting parts from "Marvel vs. Capcom", along with a better melee weapon than a simple broom
3. Be voiced in English by either Tara Strong, Mae Whitman, Lisa Ortiz, or Janice Kawaye. But I won't mind if none of the aforementioned actresses end up in the final version. 🫡👍
She can have Ruby-Spears Roll's vacuum. :3c
DeleteDo people genuinely believe they would need to play all 11 previous entries before the newest one? Is that really a thing? Is that why X8 failed, because dumb customers genuinely thought they would have to go through all 7 previous games? What a bizarre world we live in.
ReplyDeleteI also don't buy the obvious corporate speak of "we took a long time because we wanted to find out how to innovate the series". Alright, well, clearly you've innovated. That means we're getting more games from now on, right?......RIGHT?
People who know the serie wouldn't think that because they're familiar with it and aware the continuity in Classic is light.
DeleteNewcomers don't know that by definition and may think you need to play the previous games before getting into a sequel. That's not such a absurd idea.
And even I they don't, seeing a "12" number in a title kinda give the vibe of "holy shit, that's probably for people familiar with that franchise".
Probably not a very widespread issue, but still worth considering.
While I understand how it’s different for Mega Man, it’s ironic that Street Fighter and (especially) RE are getting pretty high in numbered sequels. I guess the eventual RE12 will be the big litmus test, if they call it Resident Evil: Viral Warfare or whatever.
DeleteI was wondering if that was the RE engine. It's good if they can make smaller games like Mega Man on it, and good to see it can work with this kind of artstyle, because Capcom have many series that wouldn't work with "gritty realistic" artstyle, but the business side of the company will (and already is) become more and more reluctant to greenlight stuff that requires them using other engines.
ReplyDeleteI just wish we could go back to Mega Man X, the original characters never interested me.
ReplyDelete