The co-creator of Mega Man looks to crowd funding to make his next game. That, is no way Mega Man, but kind of is and that’s okay!
At this weekend’s Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, former Mega Man caretaker Keiji Inafune made his first ever appearance at the popular gaming convention. He didn’t just drop by to meet fans and get down at PAX parties though, he also decided to reveal his attempt to one up his ex-Capcom bosses by doing something they won’t.
It’s called Mighty No. 9, and it’s a 2D side-scrolling action game being funded through Kickstarter that clearly has distinct influences from the Megaman series. Robot boy. Robot boy fighting other robots and picking up their weapons once defeated. So uh, yeah, pretty darn close. Perhaps a little too close for creative comfort, but I’d rather see the game as a spiritual successor. At least, that’s the impression I get.
Not that it matters to the general public, because over the course of 48 hours since Mighty No. 9 was announced, they pushed the project over its initial $900,000 USD goal. Dang amazing. Whether that’s an indictment towards Capcom’s poor abandonment of the Megaman series, is up for interpretation, but judging by the overpowering amount of response so far from all corners of the web, this game has ignited a Gutsman-sized passion for it.
The same could be said for the people involved, as well. At the top of Mighty No. 9 you’ve got, of course, the legend himself Keiji Inafune. But along with him are other all-star cohorts, like game designer for both Megaman 1 and 2 Naoya Tomita, and one of the best in the business, not to mention a proper choice considering she provided music tracks for the very first Megaman game, Manami Matsumae.
Unlike the retro revival of Megaman 9 and 8 though, Mighty No. 9 isn’t just trying to play off nostalgia. That’s a very easy thing to do, especially when you have a fan base so desperately hungry to get their faithful Megaman kick. Thankfully, Inafune and his team are promising a few new ideas for their new IP. They even have a young budding director at the helm, in Koji Imaeda, that should hopefully bring fresh blood to the game.
From the looks of things – albeit just super cute production art – it seems that Mighty No. 9 has all the right things going for it at this junction. One already being completely funded. There’s still a lot of time between now and the game’s estimated delivery of 2015 though, which is a worrisome fact truth be told. It’s understandable given the amount of feedback Inafune and team is incorporating from fans who back Mighty No. 9, so hopefully this allows the team to plan things accordingly.
There’s only plans right now for a PC/Steam(DRM-free) release for Mighty No. 9, although one of the later stretch goals is a PS3/XB360/Wii U version. Although the Kickstarter has to reach 2.5. million, and while honestly that might seem too high a mark to overcome, there’s still roughly a month left until the Kickstarter ends (October 1)… and it did just get funded in two days.
Be sure to visit to the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter page to check out further info on the game and its pledge rewards; you can even have dinner with Inafune himself for $10,000 if that’s how you want to spend your money. I know I would if I had that much dough. Uh, does someone want to lend me $10,000? I’ll totally pay you back sometime!
Keep it here on Walyou.com for more gaming news like the PlayStation 4’s launch list and how one homebrewer ported a Street Fighter II game to the Nintendo Virtual Boy.
