Seven and a half years since Mega Man’s last game, The Blue Bomber is back for his next adventure just in time for its 30th birthday – Mega Man 11.
In the very short announcement trailer, you can see Mega Man using his iconic Mega Buster, as well as the Charge Shot, the Glitch, and a brand new weapon that causes blocks to drop from the sky.
There’s also a new type of attack The Blue Bomber uses against a boss right at the end of the trailer. There are actually two bosses in the trailer, though I don’t think any of them is the one you get that new blocks weapon from.
The most interesting thing about this new game is how it abandons the familiar retro style. While Mega Man 9 and 10 charmed everyone with their pixelated look, this new game uses 3D models in a 2D environment, or what we call a 2.5D side-scroller.
This hasn’t been done since Mega Man Powered Up which was only released on the PSP. Personally, I hope for an option to switch to the old pixelated style. but I won’t be surprised if they only let us play in 2.5D.
Mega Man 11 will be released for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in late 2018. Further details will be revealed during the summer, so by “late” Capcom probably means fall 2018, around the holiday season.
Alongside Mega Man 11, Capcom has announced a couple of exciting announcements:
The Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 will be arriving on the Switch with Amiibo support in spring 2018. This new addition will add a new Rewind mechanic that lets you rewind time after you make a mistake. This new feature will reach the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions of the Mega Man Legacy Collection as well.
The second announcement might make fans even happier: The 8 Mega Man X games will also be released to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and the PC soon.
Mega Man X takes place in the future, where you play as a futuristic version of Mega Man. The series is known for its many innovations and very dramatic story.
To be honest, I thought the Mega Man series was dead and gone. This classic character has been disregarded for a while and every attempt to revive it just felt like milking the brand to the last drop. Since Keiji Inafune left the company and Capcom canceled all their projects relating to the blue hero, there wasn’t much hope.
Fans were so desperate for a new Mega Man experience that Inafune’s’ project, Mighty No. 9, received a lot of funding from fans who were ultimately very disappointed. Now, a lot of attention was given to 20XX, an indie game that drew inspiration from the series.
Now that Capcom bringing it back, we’ll soon be able to tell if Mega Man 11 lives up to its predecessors’ name, or if the Blue Bomber will remain a thing of the past for another 5 years.
