Mega Man Megathread

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
So did I, give Mega Man 2 a try on normal (easy) for an hour, see if you get sucked in. You'll be surprised how good you get.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Keiji Inafune, creator of Mega Man, has left Capcom. Here's his exit interview, explaining why he left his company of 23 years, and help put on the map: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=411847

According to the thread, he was able to retain control over the Mega Man franchise, which means it will be traveling with him, away from Capcom. That's a nice perk to have when you're doing a job interview :guts:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
That's what I forgot to post! The whole thing sounds strange, but then he's no stranger to saying strange things (including his comments here). It's also weird that he would leave just after Mega Man Legends 3 is announced for 3DS since it's been like a dream project for him. I wonder what the real story is, unless it was some monumental internal rift between him and management (though he was pretty high into management himself), it's hard for me to imagine him not working for/with Capcom again.

Walter said:
According to the thread, he was able to retain control over the Mega Man franchise, which means it will be traveling with him, away from Capcom. That's a nice perk to have when you're doing a job interview :guts:

:isidro:

I don't see that in the interview, he seems to be talking about Rockman surviving without him. Anyway, I find that very hard to believe. A quick look at Mega Man Network has conflicting information:

http://www.themmnetwork.com/2010/10/29/mega-man-projects-still-carrying-on/

It should also be noted, though Inafune's often credited as the creator of Mega Man, it was really Akira Kitamura (credited as AK in the games) that created Mega Man and was responsible for designing Mega Man 1 & 2, but was pushed out/quit early in the production of 3. That's when Inafune, previously credited as an artist, suddenly inherited more responsibilities and from then on became The Godfather of Mega Man. With all due respect though, my impression is that his role has always been overstated.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
I don't see that in the interview, he seems to be talking about Rockman surviving without him. Anyway, I find that very hard to believe. A quick look at Mega Man Network has conflicting information:
Ah well, I was just basing it off what someone said in the thread. Not exactly a reliable source.

It should also be noted, though Inafune's often credited as the creator of Mega Man, it was really Akira Kitamura (credited as AK in the games) that created Mega Man and was responsible for designing Mega Man 1 & 2, but was pushed out/quit early in the production of 3. That's when Inafune, previously credited as an artist, suddenly inherited more responsibilities and from then on became The Godfather of Mega Man. With all due respect though, my impression is that his role has always been overstated.
Sure sounds like it. I didn't even really play any Mega Man games after 3 except for X.

This portion of the interview realy interested me:

4G: What do you mean by publishers having the advantage?

KI: Saying this will make publishers angry with me, but publishers themselves are forcing developers into becoming subcontractors. "For this amount of money, finishing by this deadline," and so on, and even more than quality, "Aim for this number of sales," is what's being pushed.

Of course, that's not to say that publishers aren't having developers make all sorts of things that they like, but I can't deny that even creators with strong brands and skills have to submit to subcontracts.

4G: It seems like that situation is a bit better overseas.

KI: Yeah, it seems so. There are of course publishers who keep developers "like pets," but overseas there are more independent developers. For them, the goal is to make a hit, grow the company, sell it or do an IPO, and make lots of money. It's the American Dream.

4G: And in Japan?

KI: If you succeed, you don't get credit, and if you fail, it's your fault. Nothing can be done about it. The game industry isn't at a level where it can value creators and raise them up. It's the same at Capcom.

So I think this is a really bad situation. Effecting change quickly is a problem.
Wonder if he's speaking particularly about Miyamoto or Kojima when he talks about "pets." Sure sounds like it. But both of those guys have been pushing the envelope constantly and making their companies successful in the process...
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
Ah well, I was just basing it off what someone said in the thread. Not exactly a reliable source.

Probably just fan talk then, if Inafune could pull that off he really would be The Godfather of Mega Man, "I made Capcom an offer they couldn't refuse." :daiba:

Walter said:
Sure sounds like it. I didn't even really play any Mega Man games after 3 except for X.

Yeah, he's only credited as a designer on Mega Man 4, and only officially became a producer on Mega Man 8. "Producer" could mean being in charge of coordinating merchandising in addition to his duties as artist, which I know for a fact was something he did on at least one of the games. Anyway, I don't mean to dump on the guy, I'm sure he had plenty of general input as an advisor, and in fact designed almost all the original series characters as well as some in X (most notably Zero), but as far as the nuts and bolts of actual game design... I don't think he's the driving force creator, the Miyamoto to Mega Man's Mario, that's he's made out to be. More a willing figurehead where there really isn't such a creator (perhaps because that guy was fired long ago =).

For the hell of it, here's a partial list of his Mega Man credits from wikipedia which are accurate from what I know (I actually have Mega Man books talking about this shit, which is where I got the impression he's not all he's made out to be):

* Mega Man – Character designer
* Mega Man 2 – Character design
* Mega Man 3 – Character design, sub planning
* Mega Man 4 – Planner, special designer
* Mega Man 5 – Object designer, adviser
* Mega Man 6 and Mega Man 7 – Object designer
* Mega Man 8 and Mega Man & Bass – Producer
* Mega Man 9 – Producer, character designer
* Mega Man 10 – Producer

* Mega Man X, Mega Man X2 and Mega Man X3 – Character design, illustrations (uncredited)
* Mega Man X4 – Producer
* Mega Man X5, Mega Man X7, Mega Man X8, Mega Man Xtreme and Mega Man Xtreme 2 – Special thanks
* Mega Man Maverick Hunter X – Executive producer

BTW, he's been attached to an amazing list of games if you want to check the complete list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiji_Inafune

So, while some comments in that thread or that Mega Man Network story make it sound like the end of the world because Inafune's name won't be on the games in the future, I suspect that might be the only difference in some cases.

Bring back AK. =)
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
It should also be noted, though Inafune's often credited as the creator of Mega Man, it was really Akira Kitamura (credited as AK in the games) that created Mega Man and was responsible for designing Mega Man 1 & 2, but was pushed out/quit early in the production of 3. That's when Inafune, previously credited as an artist, suddenly inherited more responsibilities and from then on became The Godfather of Mega Man. With all due respect though, my impression is that his role has always been overstated.

Yes, thank you for stating this. When the news broke and I saw how they referred to him, I knew it would have to be addressed here. I don't understand why people keep calling him the creator of Mega Man, even after he himself admitted that it isn't the case. It's like saying Igarashi created Castlevania.

I honestly don't care about his departure from Capcom because it always felt to me like he was one of those guys studios put at the forefront because they need a spokesman with a creative background (as opposed to a business man) instead of him becoming a public figure through the quality of his work.

Walter said:
Wonder if he's speaking particularly about Miyamoto or Kojima when he talks about "pets." Sure sounds like it. But both of those guys have been pushing the envelope constantly and making their companies successful in the process...

Sounds to me like bitterness from a loser, regardless of who he meant. And frankly I don't think the situation's very different in the West from what it is in Japan. It's down to individual companies. Just ask Infinity Ward.

In the end all I see is that while Inafune was busy badmouthing his peers because his multimillion projects weren't to his liking, Hifumi Kôno and his team released Infinite Space on a tight budget. Now everyone's free to choose who's most representative of the Japanese development community to them, but I know what my choice is.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Here's some bittersweet news; unfortunate that they couldn't pull it off, but this for the best if they couldn't:

http://kotaku.com/#!5787516/mega-man-universe-is-totally-canceled

Perhaps Inafune's departure is already having a negative impact, at least on the projects he started/was involved with before he left. I already found it hard to believe that Mega Man Legends 3 would be completed without him serving as it's advocate if nothing else.



http://kotaku.com/5841509/former-mega-man-producer-says-he-offered-to-finish-mega-man-legends-3-under-contract-but-capcom-said-no-thanks

Inafune continues his self-serving, bridge-burning sympathy tour, which is becoming less sympathetic with every iteration despite the shameless dick-sucking tone of this article, which is more or less dictated by Inafune. Anyway, if he really felt obligated to see those projects through, he could have just stayed until they were finished. What's he doing now anyway? I mean, I'm really glad he left Capcom and torpedoed those Mega Man projects so he could go around running his mouth about the company that propped him up as the face of Mega Man for over 20 years, but it would have been nice to have those games too. :schierke:


In some nice Mega news, Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (or Rockman World in Japan) for the GameBoy came out a few days ago on the 3DS virtual console, which delighted me to no end. One of the first things I searched for in the eshop was some Mega Man content, and it's nice to finally have some, and even better it hopefully means all the GameBoy Mega Man games are to follow (and I'm hoping the rest in some form as well, including 9 & 10). The GameBoy Mega Man series takes place between the NES titles, so Dr. Wily's Revenge is between MM1 and MM2, and the next game is between 3 and 4, which dictates your powers and which Robot Masters you fight (half the robots from the previous NES game, and half the robots from the next one, except for V which is all original). The first one isn't the best one, but it's still Mega Man in your hand, and the control is surprisingly solid. I'm really looking forward to the others though, particularly IV and V, which are some of best classic Mega Man games on any system.

Also, OverClocked ReMix has created a cover album for the Mega Man 9 sountrack titled Back in Blue.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
http://kotaku.com/5841509/former-mega-man-producer-says-he-offered-to-finish-mega-man-legends-3-under-contract-but-capcom-said-no-thanks

Inafune continues his self-serving, bridge-burning sympathy tour, which is becoming less sympathetic with every iteration despite the shameless dick-sucking tone of this article, which is more or less dictated by Inafune. Anyway, if he really felt obligated to see those projects through, he could have just stayed until they were finished. What he's doing now anyway? I mean, I'm really glad he left Capcom and torpedoed those Mega Man projects so he could go around running his mouth about the company that propped him up as the face of Mega Man for over 20 years, but it would have been nice to have those games too. :schierke:

My eyeballs were in danger of rolling out of their sockets when I read that shit this morning. I find the guy rather pathetic.
 

MrWeatherby

What's up, ketchup?
Griffith said:
I mean, I'm really glad he left Capcom and torpedoed those Mega Man projects so he could go around running his mouth about the company that propped him up as the face of Mega Man for over 20 years, but it would have been nice to have those games too. :schierke:

Inafune knew it was going to be tanked, and left because of it. Not that he left and wholly because of that it was destroyed.

shameless dick-sucking tone of this article

It was written by Owen Good, who ironically is not good at his job.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Nomad said:
Mega Man X Street Fighter. For PC and free? Yes please!


http://youtu.be/61-OMrOxyso

It's actually a fan game that CAPCOM put the breaks on, but are now releasing themselves. Also, I'm so Mega Man starved I'm actually excited about it. :ganishka:

Walter said:
Oh, CAPCOM... :sad:

This certainly still applies.

MrWeatherby said:
Inafune knew it was going to be tanked, and left because of it. Not that he left and wholly because of that it was destroyed.

It's obviously more complicated than that, but as I said, I would have rather he remained an advocate for the series (he didn't create but generously got and took credit for) instead of agitating/leaving for nothing and putting the final nail in the coffin of those projects. A disappointing return on an overblown cartoonist turned pitchman that got a bunch of trumped up producing credits out of his figureheadship of Mega Man. More egregiously, he now seems to believe his own press releases and acts like he's some kind of old master on the level of Miyamoto or Kojima. No, BETTER; he's no kept or company man! Yeah, because he can't do what they single-handedly can for a company and nobody wants him. Bring back A.K (Akira Kitamura), the true creator of Mega Man!

Yeah, I'm bitter. Hey, Inafune: Fuck you, Dad!

MrWeatherby said:
It was written by Owen Good, who ironically is not good at his job.

Au contraire, his job is writing crap for Kotaku, and he appears quite up to the task.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
Yeah, I'm bitter. Hey, Inafune: Fuck you, Dad!

You just wait until his great PSVita game comes out and then we'll see who'll laugh! He's gonna show them all! (The games's going to suck ass).
 

nomad

"Bring the light of day"
Griffith said:
It's actually a fan game that CAPCOM put the breaks on, but are now releasing themselves. Also, I'm so Mega Man starved I'm actually excited about it. :ganishka:

Celebrating Mega Man's 25th anniversary by shooting him in the back in one of his most memorable intro in the series! I'm in the same boat as you, it's a poor excuse of a release but I miss the bastard so I'll take anything at this point. Mega Man Universe looked like it was going to be a lot of fun so I'm still sore about it.
 

MrWeatherby

What's up, ketchup?
Griffith said:
It's obviously more complicated than that, but as I said,

Yeah, there's no arguing that. But as far as what's actually been said, Capcom only cites the project not living up to a criteria they set for fans and have not implicated Infaune in the project's collapse.

(he didn't create but generously got and took credit for)

This is common in the Japanese games industry. See also: Sonic the Hedgehog not really being the brain child of Yuji Naka. I agree it's not a good practice, though.

A disappointing return on an overblown cartoonist turned pitchman that got a bunch of trumped up producing credits out of his figureheadship of Mega Man. More egregiously, he now seems to believe his own press releases and acts like he's some kind of old master on the level of Miyamoto or Kojima. No, BETTER; he's no kept or company man! Yeah, because he can't do what they single-handedly can for a company and nobody wants him. Bring back A.K (Akira Kitamura), the true creator of Mega Man!

mGDGM.gif
 
It's nice to hear other people who enjoy the classic Mega Man games. When I was growing up it was my favorite series on the NES. I was so happy and surprised when MM9 came out; never thought in a million years we'd get another 8 bit game like that. I know a lot of people around me that hated it and didn't understand why "the graphics sucked" in their words. :schierke:
 
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