Mega Man Legends

''Mega Man Legends'' is a series in the ''Mega Man'' franchise. While the classic series is known for its 2D side-scrolling platformer gameplay with very little story, this series instead features 3D action-adventure gameplay and a robust story.

Plot overview

The games are set in the distant future; a time when the planet Earth is mostly ocean, leaving some islands left for civilization to prosper on. Based on the in-game dialogue, the series takes place at least in the 6th millennium. By this time frame, the original humans have been replaced by artificial lifeforms almost identical to them which can produce offspring with almost no effort.

The player controls Mega Man Volnutt, a teenage digger and archaeologist of sorts who searches underground ruins mainly for Quantum Refractors, which are the civilization's primary source of energy. He was found as a baby on Nino Island at the bottom of the closed-off Nino Ruins and was raised by Professor Barrel Caskett along with his granddaughter Roll Caskett.

Giving them trouble is the Bonnes, a group of pirates consisting of leader Teisel Bonne, his sister (though the booklet says daughter) Tron Bonne (who is also allegedly infatuated with Mega Man), their baby brother Bon Bonne who somehow can drive a large mech suit (known primarily for his repeated line, "Babu!", which has become a catchphrase among the series' fans), and the 41 Servbots (one of which is only in ''The Misadventures of Tron Bonne''). More trouble is given to Mega Man by the Reaverbots, the techno-organic semi-intelligent residents of the underground ruins who serve to protect its contents.

Games

The first game in the series, '' Mega Man Legends'' was released for PlayStation in December 1997. The game was later ported to Nintendo 64 in 2000, to Microsoft Windows in 2001, and to PlayStation Portable in 2005.

''The Misadventures of Tron Bonne'', a prequel title focusing on series antihero Tron Bonne, was released for the PlayStation in July 1999.

''Mega Man Legends 2'' was released in April 2000 for the PlayStation. Ports for Windows and PlayStation Portable followed in 2003 and 2005 respectively.

, was unveiled for mobile phones on September 23, 2007, at the Tokyo Game Show, and subsequently released it in early 2008. The timeline is set between first and second game.

In September 2010, Capcom announced '' Mega Man Legends 3'' to be in development for Nintendo 3DS, but the game was ultimately cancelled in July 2011.

Development

At one point Capcom had planned to release 1997's ''Mega Man Legends'' in the US under the domesticated title ''Mega Man Neo'', and then ''Mega Man Nova''.

Keiji Inafune, who was the producer on all three Legends games, has for many games has consistently expressed interest in making a third installment. He claims that creating a Rockman game for the next generation consoles would cost around $15 million to fund and develop. ''Mega Man Legends 3'' was announced for the Nintendo 3DS on September 29, 2010, during a Nintendo press conference for the 3DS, nearly ten years after the American release of ''Mega Man Legends 2''. In September 2007, Keiji Inafune commented that he was asked by several fans if ''Mega Man Legends 3'' would be made; although Inafune expressed a desire to make such a game, he stated that he could not do it at that time. Detailed information about the game was announced at the New York Comic Con in October 2010. Although Inafune left Capcom in November 2010, the team working for ''Mega Man Legends 3'' stated that the game would continue development. Capcom intended to release ''Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype Version'' in 2011 for the 3DS eShop, featuring 10 missions, and a new playable character, Barrett. The ''Prototype Version'' was going to act as a prologue to the forthcoming main game. On July 18, 2011, it was announced that production on ''Mega Man Legends 3'' was being cancelled, and that neither a full game, nor ''Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype Version'' would be released, and that there were currently no plans to resume production.

A fan campaign meant to persuade Capcom to continue development on ''Mega Man Legends 3'' started shortly after its cancellation. 100,000 Strong for Bringing Back Mega Man Legends 3, also known as Get Me Off the Moon, includes sending as many physical letters and e-mails as well as giving as many phone calls to Capcom's headquarters as possible, in addition to posting messages on the branch's Facebook and Twitter accounts, requesting for a release of the game. The group also advocates using Tanomi.com, a Japanese site that allows people to request a product. 100,000 Strong for Bringing Back Mega Man Legends 3 has been covered by Digital Trends, Destructoid, GamePro, Eurogamer, and the Portuguese gaming website Eurogamer, In addition, Mega Man Legends 3 Project's programming director Yoshiyuki Fujikawa has responded favorably to the campaign and "encourages fans to fight for the game to be released." Capcom themselves has taken notice of the project and the Facebook page and have confirmed that "they were aware of the Facebook group but they would not be changing their plans", stating, "While Capcom has a built a strong relationship with its community and values their feedback, Mega Man Legends 3 development has officially ceased without plans to resume development."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mega Man Legends (Series)

Capcom franchises
Action video games
Action-adventure games
Action role-playing video games
Science fiction video games
Video game franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1997