Hopes, expectations for Inafune’s Mighty No. 9 ⊟
[Capcom veteran Keiji Inafune astonished everyone last night by unveiling a new action platformer meant to carry on the spirit of the Mega Man series he once helmed. Tiny Cartridge contibutor and Gamasutra blog director Christian Nutt shares his thoughts on the project and its promise in this piece reprinted from his blog.]
I woke up today to a very interesting surprise. Keiji Inafune and Comcept announced Mighty No. 9, a new game in the vein of Mega Man, and a Kickstarter campaign to fund that game — which is the even bigger surprise.
Let’s face it. One way or another, when Inafune left Capcom, Mega Man died. And I think a great number of people wanted to see Inafune bring Mega Man back to life, somehow. This is obviously the closest he can get. And it’s exciting. Along with my Mega Man-loving fiance, I’ve already backed it. And it’s trending super well so far — as I write this, the campaign has raised well over $500k, and the U.S. — which probably has the most Mega Man fans, hasn’t even been awake for most of its first day. At this point, it’s a sure bet to exceed its goal and head into the stretch goals.
Japanese developers, for a lot of reasons, have not yet flocked to Kickstarter. I think those of us who truly love classic Japanese games have been enviously eyeing the Wastelands and Torments (nothing wrong with those — I just never played the originals so have no nostalgia) and have been hoping for the same sort of thing, and here we go. Finally.
I want to write, though, about my expectations and hopes for this project a little bit.
What I want to see from this game is a new beginning. This game has to be a new start for a new franchise. And what’s required there is not a bunch of lore and high-concept bullshit. What is required is great, concrete gameplay concepts that are extensible, that are appealing, that work well. And obviously it’s far too early to tell if that’s what they’ve got.
My favorite game in the Mega Man franchise is Mega Man 3, and that’s for sentimental reasons. I think the best game in the franchise is Mega Man X.
That game is perfect. No, I mean it. And I guess there are lots of ways that people use the word “perfect,” but I mean it in a very direct and clear way: it’s a game that has absolutely not one ounce of fat on it, nothing it doesn’t need; at the same time, it doesn’t lack for anything. It’s got a diversity of design and challenge, but it’s always comfortable and sensible. It’s creative. It refines and expands on the Mega Man formula only where these ideas will improve it. It’s a textbook example of how games should be made. Really — if I taught game design (lol) I’d assign analyzing Mega Man X as part of the coursework. It stands out, even amongst my favorite games.
By the way, it’s on the Wii U Virtual Console, so assuming you have a Wii U, it’s very accessible. You should play it if you haven’t.
So I want to see a game like that. I’ve read someone asking for true innovation, which is great as far as an ask. That word gets tossed around a lot, but I think even those of us who adore the classics do like to see new things, too. I’d be happy if there were brand new ideas in the game — that’s for sure.
But really, I’m not concerned about that at all. I’m much more concerned with seeing Comcept and Inti Creates build a foundation for a great new franchise, to hone in on what will make this game perfect and special and itself. It can’t just be a substitute Mega Man, as much as I do like the idea of “more Mega Man.” It has to be more than that. If you want more Mega Man, play Mega Man 9 and 10, and then start over. Dunno what else to tell you.
Mighty No. 9 has to stand on its own as a new beginning.
The good things
It’s too early to say what they’re making but I hope it’s that. I have noticed some good things about the Kickstarter campaign, though:
- The director is a relatively new talent called Koji Imaeda. He’s described like this:
I think this is cool. The Japanese talent pool needs to bring in newer creators not to stagnate, for one, but he’ll also, hopefully, want to leave his mark. And lastly I find it easier to believe he was promoted for talent and vision than because he’s The Dude Who Has Always Done This.
In fact, I like the whole idea of Mega Man-ness happening outside Capcom, in a way, because it’s more freeing. They’re going to be less beholden to new ideas.
And this guy is experienced enough to helm a project, it sounds like, too.
- The developers are scoping a realistic budget and schedule, and being upfront about this.
So many Kickstarter campaigns are created by inexperienced developers, or experienced but naive developers, or experienced but desperate developers. These people ask for too little money for one reason or another, and they also subsist on less than the bare minimum just to get anything out there.
These people are experienced — for fuck’s sake, Inafune not only created the Mega Man franchise but he ran Capcom’s R&D — and Inti Creates built tons of 2D Mega Man games. They know how long this is going to take and how much it is going to cost. And they are being honest about that.
I remember when the costs of the Skullgirls IndieGoGo created a huge stir among forum dwellers who really don’t understand anything about game production, because the costs seemed so expensive. (Disclaimer: I worked on the Skullgirls DLC as a writer.) But guess what? Doing things right takes money and time.
- The first stretch goal is two more stages.
This is smart. They put the most tantalizing prize first, and they price it intelligently. Everybody is going to want 8 stages, but the devs are not willing to promise them unless they can get the money to do them right.
In general the stretch goals are intelligent, but this one is probably both the cleverest and most honest.
- It’s not a “retro” game.
I think this is good. I actually wasn’t thrilled when Mega Man 9 was announced as an NES-alike, but I’ve come around, because it turned out well. All the same, there’s no artificial “retro” chains on this game, and that’s a very good thing.
Overall, I like the tone of the Kickstarter. It’s not too “hey Mega Man fans!” and it’s realistic about what’s possible and what’s going to happen. It’s not disingenuous, it’s not pandering, and it’s not overpromising.
To the end
I really, really love Mega Man. Like a lot. So of course I want to see this campaign succeed. But I also want to see it succeed because I want to see Japanese creators as unshackled from corporations at the Western creators are starting to be. New business models will allow this.
Crowdfunding, alpha funding (did you notice backers get BETA ACCESS? For a Japanese game? That’s nuts!) and more can free the people who made classics from the companies that hold them back, or allow new talent to step forward and never have to go to these studios in the first place. It’s wonderful.
It’ll take a lot more time and expertise before this can become commonplace, but someone of Inafune’s stature paving the way forward is a great thing.
[You can read more from Christian Nutt at his Tumblr, at Gamasutra, and at his Twitter account @ferricide.]
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