Once upon a time, Mega Man was one of the biggest franchises Capcom had. The super fighting robot starred in dozens of games, spin-offs, cartoons, and comics, and Capcom seemed perfectly happy to keep pumping out games starring the Blue Bomber. But when the highly anticipated Mega Man Legends 3 was canceled and Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune departed from Capcom, the series went quiet. Capcom published a critically derided mobile game or two, but it seemed as though Mega Man was missing in action.
But it turns out Capcom hasn’t forgotten about Dr. Light’s favorite son. Announced via trailer posted to Capcom’s official Youtube channel, Mega Man fans are going to get to experience the glory days of the Blue Bomber in Mega Man Legacy Collection.
The upcoming collection will bring together the first six NES Mega Man games, along with some brand new features. Capcom has revealed that the six games being bundled have been pristinely ported, ensuring that every unforgiving jump, annoying enemy, and punishing boss is pixel perfect.
In addition to the six base games, Mega Man Legacy Collection will pack in some features for diehard fans of the series. The collection will add an extensive challenge mode, which will task players with completing increasingly difficult tasks culled from the six games. A leaderboard will be tied to these challenges, allowing players to vie for bragging rights with fellow Mega Man fans. For fans looking to take the bragging even further, Mega Man Legacy Collection will include shareable replays, allowing players to document their best runs and share them with friends.
Mega Man Legacy Colleciton also adds a first for the series: a practice mode. Called the “Database,” this mode will allow fans to pick bosses and levels that are proving particularly problematic and practice them without having to worry about having to replay the whole level.
Finally, Mega Man Legacy Collection promises to include an extensive “Museum” mode. Giving fans an unprecedented look behind the scenes of the Mega Man series, the Museum mode will feature sketches, official art, and visual references spanning the Mega Man series from 1987 to 1992.
If the Mega Man Legacy Collection sounds like a love letter to Mega Man fans, that’s because it’s being handled by true Mega Man fans. Capcom has enlisted developer Digital Eclipse with handling the collection, and the developer is taking great strides to convert these classic games to dazzling 1080p. Digital Eclipse head Frank Cifaldi gushed about the team’s love of Mega Man, and called the Mega Man Legacy Collection the video game equivalent to the Criterion Collection.
While Mega Man fans may feel hesitant to trust Capcom after the fiasco surrounding Mega Man Legends 3, Mega Man Legacy Collection is shaping up to be a wonderful collection of beloved games. But with the Mega Man-inspired Mighty No. 9 also due for release soon, the Blue Bomber is going to be in for some stiff competition. We’ll see who the fans back when Mega Man Legacy Collection releases for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC later this summer.
Mega Man Legacy Collection releases for Xbox One, PS4, and PC late this summer, with digital Nintendo 3DS release following in winter
