Recently we reported on Maverick Hunter, Capcom's abandoned Mega Man first-person shooter. The game — which was developed by former Retro staffers at Armature — was eventually cancelled following Keiji Inafune's departure from the company where he made his name.
Since then, there's been a lot of speculation on the Capcom Unity forum, and Capcom USA’s senior vice-president Christian Svensson has stepped in to add a little more detail:
Given the lack of consensus in this thread alone, that should tell you what you needed to know. Suffice to say, there were very polarized opinions internally on this project as well.
It would appear that the game caused quite a few furrowed brows inside the walls of Capcom, but if you ask us it looks seriously cool. We would have loved to have had the chance to at least decide for ourselves, but we'll never know now if Maverick Hunter could have emulated Metroid Prime and offered a new take on the Mega Man lineage.
[source capcom-unity.com, via siliconera.com]
Comments 33
It would be such a radical change from what people think of as Mega Man so it doesn't surprise me that people were polarised. Even so, I would of at least liked to have the opportunity to try it for myself. Oh well.
Sometimes a radical and even divisive change in a franchise is better than it turning stale and dying slowly.
In Mega Man's case it would have definitely been better than just simply cancelling one game after another.
I'm no super mega-man fan, I've played a few, but not many, and I'm certainly not fond of FPS, mostly because I suck at it, but I think this game looked fun to play, and I'm a little disapointed it didn't make the cut...along with all the other canceled titles.
You already made such a leap without worrying with MegaMan X7. That game was sub par and even TAHT didnt stop you from continuing the series. So, why the hold up now ? You were aware of the fact, that the people who where working on it did a really fine job with bringing metroid into the 3D realm. Why didnt you trust them and let them try to bring fresh air into the series ? If capcom doesnt change its policy we soon have more canceled MegaMan games than we have released ones...
Why do i always get so upset when it comes to MegaMan...my (hardcore) fanboy heart just aches...
Give it a totally original IP and I would have been on board. But this game is just not my Mega Man. It worked for Metroid, but Mega Man? No way. Sorry.
Mega man fps? As long as its 8 or 16 bit I'm down! I don't think this series needs to get 'serious'.
Given the look of Megaman and the grittier style, it's no wonder why they had polarized views. Megaman was cartoonish, so a leap like that would be odd. They didn't change much of the designs in Prime.
That game looked less like Metroid Prime and more like Bomberman Act Zero. A dark and edgy generic FPS with "Mega Man" in the title is not what I want.
All that "serious" look and the weird melee finishing moves aside, I actually liked the idea of the game. At least it was a new idea for the series, it was better than simply let the series die away, or release yet another 8-bit game. :/
nvm just saw what @0SP_ZELDAiii posted the game looks awesome
I really can't stand dark and edgy reboots of everything in an attempt to appeal to the dudebro crowd, so no.
It looks cool, I would have given it a chance...
It's becoming the "Wind Waker" Syndrome all over again.
I would've loved to see it. I liked the Prime series much more than the other metroid games (I didn't play them when they came out so I didn't have nostalgia goggles).
It should have retained the look of the 2D Mega-man games a little closer. Everything else could have stayed essentially the same. There were some good ideas. Didn't have to be "cartoony" but It needed a more colorful and rounded look at least. Something in the direction of Nintendo Land's Metroid Blast could actually be a good 3D Mega Man look.
Btw, some of you don't seem to realize that this opportunity is long gone. The internal video just surfaced recently. There's no potential for this exact game being created anymore.
This isn't like Wind Waker cause that was just a change in art style. It's not like Metroid Prime because that kept the spirit of the original Metroids. THIS IS TAKING A MUCH BELOVED SERIES, TURNING IT INTO A DARK AND EDGY FPS, AND THEN PROCEEDING TO CALL IT MEGA MAN. "Bomberman: Act Zero" anyone?
Well do we at least get to keep the Mega Buster? No? Screw you Retro Studios.
@MickeyTheGreat It wasn't Retro. The game in question was commissioned by Capcom as a prototype in order to see if it would work. They passed on it. Why are you so angry? lol. Also, I'm curious if your excited by all the great Mega Man stuff that has been released since then.
@MickeyTheGreat
Breathe in, Breathe out. Breathe in, Breathe Out.
Remember when they showed off Wind Waker and the fanbase went nuts? Many were wondering why they would forego the "realism" of previous LoZ games. Now, Megaman is in the same place (albeit in reverse) and yet again those same people are in flames over it foregoing the cartoon style. Personally, I'd like to tell them to just accept change, because the next thing you know, this would have been one of the best - if not most interesting Megaman games. The story was sound and it was only half a year in development. Give it the 2-3 years it deserves and I'm certain it would have an amazing game.
should have made it another off-branch of Mega Man series, kinda as simple as that I would have bought it, all the videos I seen of it had me impressed
The game really looked neat, I probably would have bought it just to try it out. I wonder if Capcom will ever, one day in the future, go back to the idea of a Megaman FPS...
@aaronsullivan Believe me, if there was a choice between this and Rockman Xover then I'd choose this in a split-second. Oh and seriously? It wasn't Retro? Huh. Okay, screw me then.
@mariobro4 I raised my internet voice, more for emphasis than anger. I didn't even add an exclamation point.
@Dpullam Yea, especially if it does for Mega Man what Prime did for Metroid. Metroid Prime is my favorite of the Metroid games to date, though I have yet to try Prime 3.
@MickeytheGreat maverick hunters was going to be a remake of the original megaman. saying they just called it "megaman" is just stupid. besides, the megaman creator has already left Capcom, so they're stuck in a hole. they don't know what to do with the megaman series.
I'd honestly give it a shot. I LOVE the Prime games, so this would be right up my alley. Plus I haven't played a Mega Man game since I bought Legends a long time ago, in a suburban area far, far away.
@Dpishere Play Prime 3! Its a cinematic Metroid done right!
Capcom just cant seem to find a good footing with Mega man and its a real shame. I dont care for fps games but I would have given it a try like I did Metroid Prime (which I love).
I don't think it was the game itself that polarized Capcom staff members. What polarized Capcom staff members was that there were some staff members who actually WANTED to release a Mega Man game! The nerve of those employees! Don't they know Capcom means to wipe Mega Man from the history books. Cease and desist letters to everyone! Fire those employees for mutiny this instant!!!
@Stark_Nebula
The Wind Waker comparison isn't apt since it's still majorly the same series, just new art style, but you still knew it's Zelda, with majorly the same tone.
This on the other hand looks like Dead Space or Halo with Mega Man slapped on it to appeal to the superficial western gamers. (Which is all Inafune cares about nowadays.)
It's not comparable to Metroid Prime either, since MP didn't completely change tone, it's still Metroid with similar ideas but in a new perspective.
If any comparison is apt to this it's DmC.
I just saw the video and that would have been awesome. And yeah, talking about appealing to Western gamers, you can't do better than that! Why???
I don't know but the fact that CAPCOM is having financial problems must have something to do with this decision or in other words they aren't willing to take financial risks. But I still think Armature could very well do an amazing job with Mega Man.
I thought it looked like a really good game, potentially. OK, so it may not be exactly like traditional Mega Man but, as great as Metroid Prime is, it doesn't play exactly like the traditional Metroids either. Don't get me wrong, it made the transition to 3D perfectly, but it doesn't feel quite the same to play as the 2D ones. A good game is a good game, whatever its origins.
Should have taken the megaman name off and labelled it as new IP looks awesome.
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