The Blue Bomber is getting a triumphant comeback for his 30th Anniversary when 19 titles- including a brand new one- release for current-gen hardware next year.
First conceived by Capcom Illustrator Keiji Inafune in 1987, Mega Man has since become one of the most iconic heroes of gaming history. Spanning more than 130 games across multiple sub-series, genres and generations, the “Blue Bomber” has saved the world from countless threats, be they the invasion of Dr. Wily’s Robot Masters, the war against Sigma and the Mavericks, the Bonne family of pirates, or global cyber-terrorism by the villainous WWW (“World Three”). Though Mega Man and his numerous incarnations haven’t starred in their own game since 2010, the legacy of Capcom’s famous robot continues to shine through cameos in the likes of Marvel VS Capcom, Onimusha, Project X Zone and even Monster Hunter.
Capcom held a live Twitch broadcast this morning to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Mega Man franchise, featuring current and past contributors to the series. Though Capcom has previously reminded gamers of the Blue Bomber’s history through multiple anthologies on the GameCube, PS2 and Nintendo DS (i.e. Anniversary Collection, X Collection, Zero Collection) and the current duo of Legacy Collections, Capcom announced today that Nintendo Switch owners will soon experience the “Classic” saga in its entirety; both Mega Man Legacy Collection and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 will release next year for Nintendo’s latest hardware. The sub-series arguably may not receive as much love from Capcom, as indicated by the lack of re-releases since 2005, but the Mega Man X saga will finally return next year. A new entry in the series has not been announced, but current-gen Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and PC gamers will see all 8 console-based X games on their respective hardware sometime next year.
The biggest surprise from today’s 30th Anniversary stream, Capcom is currently developing a brand new entry in the Classic saga- Mega Man 11. Making its debut at the end of a lengthy franchise recap, Mega Man 11 sees Mega Man once again fighting Dr. Wily and his army of Robot Masters, but this time with a new look; Mega Man 11 will be the first game in the Classic saga to sport 2.5D visuals. The brief trailer also gives Mega Man fans a quick glimpse of new weapons, returning techniques, and a new cooldown-based charge-attack.
Mega Man Legacy Collection and Legacy Collection 2 will arrive on the Nintendo Switch in Spring 2018, followed by Mega Man X1-8 for the Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and PC in the Summer. A release date has not been issued for Mega Man 11, but fans can expect to get their hands on it in late 2018 for the Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.
ThePlatformer 