Look, Mega Man...we need to talk. The retro-revival was great. Mega Man 9 brought smiles to nostalgic gamers everywhere. We loved it. Mega Man 10 was pretty cool, too. What can I say? We love our classic side-scrolling Mega Man games. But it's time to move on.
You're in a unique place among classic gaming mascots. You never really took the Mario route, reinventing yourself to critical and commercial success. Sure, you made Mega Man Legends, but despite the cult following the game has developed after its release, gamers never embraced it as the true successor to the NES classics.
On the bright side, you avoided Sonic's messy fate. By sticking to your roots, you never alienated your audience the same way Sega's mascot has. Sure, you made the RPG-inspired Battle Network and Star Force games, but those were safely regulated to spin-off status. Even while those games were hitting store shelves, you still released classic Mega Man side-scrollers like the Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX series. You played it safe.
But have you played it too safe?
After years of spin-offs and sequels, where is the next evolution of Mega Man? Can you honestly even say you've tried since Mega Man Legends? That game may not have set the world on fire -- I personally recall it being a mediocre third-person shooter with confusing RPG elements -- but at least it tried.
Legends got one sequel, and that was it for 3D. You existed almost exclusively on portable systems for the next decade, seemingly terrified to make the next-gen jump. You seemed doomed to fade away into obscurity, appearing only in strange RPG-card game hybrids -- the aforementioned Battle Network and Star Force series -- which were neither classic Mega Man nor next-gen Mega Man. It was something completely different, and it appealed mostly to a crowd of preteens who probably never knew the joys of busting up eight Robot Masters.
Mega Man Legends was the last attempt the series made at going 3D.
Eventually, the stars aligned. Digital distribution and an increased demand for 8-bit nostalgia brought us Mega Man 9, simultaneously bringing the Blue Bomber back into the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere. Great. You're back. But that's not good enough.
