Capcom announced that they were working on
Mega Man 11 in December of last year, promising that they were bringing the series back to its roots. The game was finally released a bit over a month ago and it showed that Capcom still knows how to make a proper
Mega Man game after all this time.
During a recent interview with Rockman Corner,
Mega Man 11 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya talks about the overwhelmingly positive reception the game has had, how they managed to deal with the pressure of developing a new
Mega Man title after an 8-year hiatus, why they decided to cut some characters from the game, and what his favourite Robot Master is.
In regards to the positive response the game has been getting from players, Tsuchiya says that he, as well as the rest of the development team, appreciates the support and feedback.
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The response from Mega Man fans is overwhelmingly encouraging, and the Mega Man 11 development team greatly appreciates the support and feedback. There are many new Mega Man fans as a result of MM11, and we look forward to these players joining long-time series fans to create an even stronger and more supportive community".
One of the reasons people were hesitant about Mega Man 11 was that there was an 8-year hiatus since Mega Man 10 was released in 2010, which made fans of the series a bit concerned about the quality of the latest entry. When talking about the pressure to meet fans' expectations, Tsuchiya said that their development team's primary goal was to meet their expectations.
"Of course, one of the development team’s primary goals was to meet fans’ expectations. That said, the pressure didn’t necessarily come from others; each member of the development team made it their own personal goal to create a memorable game, which I think helped everyone work very well together".
One thing that fans have been wondering since Mega Man 11 came out was if there were going to be any appearances by Mega Man's older brother Proto Man, and his rival Bass; especially since both of those characters were featured prominently in Mega Man 10—where both characters were even playable. Tsuchiya mentions that leaving them out had to do a little bit more with wanting to reintroduce Mega Man in a way that everyone could pick the game up and not feel like they were missing out on story elements from previous games.
"What we struggled with the most was how to develop a clear and engaging story that builds upon the previous installments while appealing to a wide range of players; new players picking up a Mega Man game for the first time, those who may have forgotten the series’ backstory, and the hardcore fans who remember the events of MM9 and MM10 as though they happened yesterday. After the long gap between MM10 and MM11, we decided to focus on sharing an untold story that touches on the past of Dr. Light and Dr. Wily".
When it comes to plans about downloadable content for Mega Man 11, Tsuchiya has a rather simpler response since he mentions that they can't make any promises at the time.
"Unfortunately, we can’t make any promises at this time. We’d love for even more players to give MM11 a try and get excited about the game".
Like every Mega Man game before Mega Man 11, the main characters have always been the evil Robot Masters; who have become fan favourites in every entry in the series. When asked which his favourite Robot Master in Mega Man 11 is, Tsuchiya mentions that he picked his favourite because of how this character makes skillful use of the classic Mega Man design method.
"Each of the Robot Masters has their fans within the MM11 development team. Personally, I’m quite fond of Tundra Man because he’s designed in a way that makes skillful use of the classic Mega Man design method, and maintains that retro feel while showing off a modern design".
Mega Man is back! The newest entry in this iconic series blends classic, challenging 2D platforming action with a fresh new visual style. The new Double Gear system boosts Mega Man's speed and power for a new twist to the satisfying gameplay the series is known for.
Mega Man 11 is currently available on the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam.