Cognition Dissemination: Are We On the Cusp of a Mega Man Revival?

It’s been a hair over five years since the last mainline Mega Man game, Mega Man 10, graced us with its presence, but after all this time, it’s still tough for the franchise’s remaining fans to let Capcom’s former mascot go. Since producer Keiji Inafune’s departure from the company, all they haven’t done much with the brand outside of rereleasing older titles on digital platforms, creating figures, and releasing music CDs; it’s hardly a show of confidence for its future. The fan-made Street Fighter x Mega Man only somewhat counts, but Capcom USA only hosted the download on their website. It was the least they could do, considering it used two of their properties.

Those products came alongside some mobile efforts whose quality left much to be desired. Though the franchise was forced to rest, its story has marched on through Archie Comics, where it even received a crossover with Sega’s mascot Sonic the Hedgehog. There’s also a board game, which, again, Capcom had little to do with outside of lending Jasco Games the license. With each passing year, the chances of a revival become grow dimmer. And while Mighty No. 9 is coming, a spiritual successor that recently put on a good showing through its new trailer, nothing beats the real thing for many in the audience.

It’s possible the character’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros. might have been the start of a comeback for the character, and recent news is somewhat following up on this. It was reported by Deadline last week that a new Mega Man animated series is coming in 2017, courtesy of Dentsu Entertainment USA and Man of Action Entertainment. The announcement came from left field, leaving fans shocked at its unpredictability.

This, of course, will be far from the character’s first foray into the animated universe. Though a, uh, “thing” called “Mega Man” was included in Captain N: The Game Master, his first series came in the form of the Mega Man cartoon from Ruby-Spears. Despite being entertaining in its own right for some of us when we were younger, and remaining somewhat faithful to the source material, it’s mostly remembered for its sheer goofiness nowadays. There’s also Mega Man NT Warrior, an adaptation of the Mega Man Battle Network games, which wasn’t quite as entertaining for the audience the previous series appealed to. And don’t’ forget the 3-episode anime OVA Mega Man: Upon a Star, which is actually the oldest animation here, though it didn’t release in America until 2002.

We won’t know anything else about this particular series for a while, considering it’s around two years off. Man of Action has been involved with some critical duds in the past, but whether this will join it will depend on who’s producing it. No one would mind if they based it on, or provided a straight adaptation of, Archie’s series.

But this news has me thinking: Could this be the start of a new, significant Mega Man initiative from Capcom?

I can’t answer that question with any certainty, but this isn’t the only hint. The company still employs two dedicated artists in Ryuji Higurashi (who recently handled the Smash Bros. collaboration artwork) and Keisuke Mizuno (of the April Fools’ artwork for a Mega Man X figure Capcom had no intention of making — though someone else did). They have to find something for them to do.

It was also noted by the creators of the aforementioned board game that the franchise has a new producer at Capcom, following Inafune vacating the position back in 2010. Sadly, they didn’t give his name, but they’ve presumably appointed someone to fill the void for a reason. This is further evidence that something is brewing with the franchise at Capcom.

There’s a chance a cross-media initiative could be coming from this, with this news coming only a week after I said Capcom would do anything but make a Mega Man game to appeal to the younger audience in last Sunday’s post. But considering the company involved, don’t get your hopes up too high. For all we know, the games they want to create may not be titles may not be appreciated by the older audience. The cartoon could be the main attraction, leaving the games as side diversions for mobile platforms, or console titles farmed out to another developer with a dubious record solely for the sake of making money — or both. It would be nice if that doesn’t happen, but we’ll see.

As nice as it would be to have the Blue Bomber fully back in action, it’s always best to temper your expectations with Capcom. Mega Man fans aren’t masochistic enough to be let down again, right? Here’s hoping.