In today’s world, superheroes are having an amazing renaissance. The universes created by both Marvel and DC are immersive, captivating, and have a hold on childhood idol’s and consumers’ wallets. While not as strong as they are now, these larger-than-life heroes were still popular in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. Looking at my own childhood though, there was only one hero that stood above all: a little blue robot named Mega Man. Now this is not the first time I’ve sung the praises of the Blue Bomber, but for this post, and with Mega Man 11 launching today, I’d like to focus on what makes the character so compelling, what makes the fanbase so rabid for new material, and ultimately, why he has never been as successful as his ‘80’s rivals.
First, let’s quickly summarize the Mega Man series (feel free to check my older post here). Mega Man is determined to save the world by blasting his way through 8 Robot Masters and then taking on the penultimate boss (the evil Dr. Wily). He absorbs the power of his fallen foes as well. That is the quickest way I can summarize the series. While there are more story elements, Mega Man has never been known for its gripping narrative. Mega Man boils down to creative run and gun action, catchy soundtracks, and the challenge from taking on the Robot Masters.
Let’s start with the compelling challenge of taking on these Robot Masters. One of the greatest and most innovative aspects of the series is that the player can choose which boss and stage to take on immediately. The player can bounce from level to level to try his or her best to make it to the end of the stage and vanquish the boss. It puts the game into a pseudo-choose your own adventure theme, and where the development truly shines is that the stages are all relatively equal in both challenge and length. Traditionally, there will be one boss that is weak to Mega Man’s native weapon, the mega buster, but the journey to get to the end of stage is perilous at first. After countless deaths to start, muscle memory takes hold and the player can recognize the traps and tricks ahead. The same goes for the bosses, who have patterns to identify and overcome. A typical Mega Man game takes around 3 – 5 hours on a first play through, but after some practice can take just an hour. Still, the choose your own adventure feel and the unrelenting early challenge is what makes Mega Man stand out, along with the fusing of personality driven bosses.
Still, these themes are not new anymore, so what keeps players coming back? Simply put, the player can project themselves as the titular character. For a fair amount of his time, Mega Man has largely been mute. There may be some quips in text form here and there, but it’s simple to see that Mega Man’s duty, first and foremost, is to save the world. With a slightly quieter protagonist we as players are left to see a part of ourselves in the titular hero. Having an open and customizable narrative essentially gives us our own story: Should we use boss weapons? Should we only use the buster? Which level do we start with? End with? The choice is ours, and can make each play through different than the last.
Furthermore, the challenge in the character’s journey influences who we are as players. As I’ve mentioned, Mega Man is hard. You as a player will almost certainly die or receive damage several times before snatching victory. However, with air tight control, whenever a mistake occurs, it’s because of the player, not because of the game. It teaches the player how to be better and how to take failure and turn it into success. Inevitably though, you will likely find success, and when you do that success will feel so rewarding. There are times where the game feels like an incredible challenge that you cannot surpass, but once you do, it feels amazing and becomes so much easier on your next run. It teaches resiliency in players.
That same difficulty that is one of the best attributes is also one of its greatest faults. Challenge is a compelling reason to keep coming back to a game or series, it’s also a reason to stay away from a game or series. The Mario and Sonic franchises are both simple to understand and play. They also come with downright easy introductory stages, while Mega Man is much more unforgiving, with 8 stages largely meant to mirror each other in terms of difficulty. There is no ramp up like in the franchises previously mentioned, you’re thrown right into the fire with the Blue Bomber, and I can understand why it would turn people away.
Personally, with the rise of difficult games again, I’m very intrigued to see the impact of Mega Man 11. It could hold a new torch for the franchise or it could fade away into the tundra. Early returns have been positive though, as reviews have been strong and the game’s demo has surpassed one million downloads. It will be interesting to see if the character can make a true comeback and if this game will become a building block for the franchise. Capcom is pulling out all the stops: a physical edition of the game, upgraded graphics, voice acting, and an additional in-game soundtrack. It may have been 8 years, but Capcom is making sure players know the Blue Bomber is back.
I’ve opined multiple times how much the series has meant to me, but I cannot overstate the excitement I feel for this new game. It honestly feels like Christmas morning to me. While that may be immature, nerdy, or what have you, I don’t mind. Everyone has a hobby or passion that excites them, and this is my favorite franchise in gaming. Ever since the original announcement I have been excited for this game. Truth be told, I thought that the Blue Bomber would never come back after Mega Man 10. While the game was good, having the father of Mega Man leave Capcom and the company cancel multiple games shortly afterward had me very concerned. After 8 years I had come to accept that it had come to an end, and with it, a part of my own childhood. But I have never been more excited to be wrong. The series is a part of who I am, and always will be.
So now we’re left to see how the world truly reacts to the return of Mega Man. Twitter and the internet can get excited at the thought of a character returning, but we will only know how successful this comeback attempt has been when we see the sales figures for the game. But Mega Man is resilient, with every hit or death he takes there is always another opportunity to get back up and to try again. It may have taken a while, but it appears Mega Man may be here to stay and keep fighting for everlasting peace again.
