Mega Man 11 is the highly anticipated new entry in the
Mega Man series and it seems to not only be bringing back all the elements that made the games so memorable, but also serve as a bit of a soft-reboot for the franchise. But for the longest time there was some ucertainty regarding the future of the franchise given that the last game was released in 2010 and there were no signs of a new
Mega Man title in the horizon.
Thanks to an interview by VentureBeat—who got to speak with the game's producer and director Kazuhiro Tsuchiya and Koji Oda, respectively— we now how more information regarding the gap in-between
Mega Man 10 and
Mega Man 11, as well as the reason behind the new team wanting to make a new game.
Tsuchiya said that one of the main reasons why there were no
Mega Man games sine Mega Man 10, was that after Keiji Inafune—former Mega Man producer and often called the father of Mega Man—left Capcom, nobody felt like they should be making Mega Man games.
"
As I’m sure you’re well aware, Inafune-san departed a long while ago. Obviously a lot of other people were working on Mega Man at the time, and there were a lot of people within the company that had a strong desire to make a new Mega Man, but it was very difficult", said Tsuchiya while also adding that the atmosphere just didn't feel right for someone to step forward and want to make a new game.
"
That was kind of the general atmosphere for a long while. It was a big reason why there was a long absence for a new Mega Man game".
Mr. Oda then adds that, for him, it wasn't really a question of why it was taking so long but rather why was it that they weren't making a Mega Man game in the first place.
"I’d been making a lot of other titles for a while, and the whole time there was this feeling of, all right, when is this going happen? Who’s going to pick it up? No one? Look at all this social media feedback. I guess I’ll do it if no one else is going to. That was how things came about".
Another reason that motivated them to make Mega Man 11 was realising how well the Mega Man Legacy Collection was doing, especially since the first collection included the first 6 Mega Man titles that were originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System during the 90s—which definitely proved there was still a vocal fanbase that wanted more Mega Man games.
Tsuchiya says that the Mega Man Legacy Collection had 1 million sales worldwide and "it was very much a way of numerically showcasing, to people internally, that there is a strong fan base. There are people waiting for a new Mega Man game. We were able to show that with those numbers. We wouldn’t have been able to do that without our fans. I’m very thankful to our fan base".
It definitely looks like Mega Man 11 is in good hands and we, as fans, are more than ready for this new era of Mega Man games coming our way, especially since a new entry in the series has been long overdue and it finally looks like we might be in for a treat when the game releases.
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 wil be available on the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam on the 2nd of October.