No, Xover doesn’t count
You would think with the deluge ofMega Manmerchandise in recent months that the franchise was celebrating some kind of anniversary or whatever. Bandai is poised to releaseClassic Mega Manin its D-Arts figurine line, an expanded edition ofMega Man Official Complete Workswill be published soon, and the music ofMega Man 1–10was compiled into one giantRockcan.
That’s not all! No less than five new albums are scheduled for the fall. This past week on October 10, a pair of25th Anniversary RockmanCDs hit the scene. Coming in “Rock” and “Techno” flavors at ¥3150 (over $40) each, these albums contain contributions by notable Japanese composers, such as Yoshitaka Hirota (Shadow Hearts), Takeshi Hama (Devil May Cry), Kenji Ito (SaGa), Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy XII), and many more.
Out of left field is theRockman EXE Transmission Soundtrackon November 2 for ¥2625 (about $33.50). The 2003 GameCube game, better known asMega Man Network Transmissionout West, never received an official OST from Capcom. Co-composerShinji Hosoe (also known for his recent work onNine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors) was finally able to obtain the license to release this through his music company SuperSweep.
Finally,We Are ROCK-MEN! 2andROCKMAN HOLICboth arrive on December 19 for ¥2100 (about $26.75) and ¥1980 (about $25.25) respectively.ROCK-MEN! 2is a follow-up to last year’sWe Are ROCK-MEN!, covers of Classic,X, andLegendstunes by an in-house Capcom band.HOLICwill predominantly feature vocal arrangements in jazz, rock, and dance styles, performed by doujin artists working with theSOUND HOLICmusic label.
Even for an avidMega Mannut like myself, this avalanche of goodies borders on excessive. Not that I won’t get my hands on each item eventually, but Capcom isn’t giving me a break! You know what’s missing from the celebration, though?
A new game.
I know thatRockman Xoveris coming soon, but even if — and that’s a huge “if” — it winds up not being complete garbage, I can’t picture it making any waves in the gaming community. And with Capcom’s Senior Vice-President Christian Svensson telling us to “keep expectations in check” regarding a new game announcement, the outlook doesn’t look rosy.
I’ve been thinking about this over the past few months, and I’m no longer sure I evenwantCapcom to announce a newMega Mangame. The company hasn’t exactly done much to inspire confidence in any of its output outside of maybeMonster Hunter. Whether it’s on-disc DLC inStreet Fighter X Tekken, an update toMarvel vs. Capcom 3not even a full year after the original’s release, the negative critical reception ofResident Evil 6, the failure to properly sell fans on what’s shaping to be a decent game inDmC, or the continued insistence thatLost Planetis anything better than a middle-of-the-road series, Capcom seems to have lost all direction.
When the most exciting product in a company’s lineup is anHD remaster of a pair of niche fighting games, what kind of message does that send?
