G4 Icons Episode #36: Mega Man

[@Larry]

It's amazing how much more has happened with Mega Man since this episode was made.

[@TheTrueAdept]

Well then again, Capcom apparently didn't use Nintendo's "IP and Franchise Maintenance Guide for Corporations". Then again Nintendo is probably the Russia to all gaming. :\ Seriously, they tried to keep up with the graphics race that was starting in the GameCube generation. The GC was supposed to get third party support. It didn't due to Nintendo's policy on quality over quantity after the SNES era. They would rather brew a good game than simply rush it to cash it in. Look at Metroid Prime, everyone said "Metroid in 3D? Are you high on something!?!" Retro then nuked everyone's minds. Our doubting minds failed to comprehend the awesomeness that Nintendo unleashed. Nintendo's policy is more of a standoffish "We give you the licence, you work on it, all we want is it to be loyal to the series AND of high quality" with rumors and RL practices on a somewhat draconian enforcement of their quality demands. Capcom is actually apparently getting rid of the guys they've had the latest Megaman games and try to move over to Keji's new outfit... or so what rumor and some sources tell me. Capcom is in a hole of it's own creation as it were. They simply did what came naturally ("Don't mess with the formula") for the most part. I've bought Megaman II, IV, VI, and Zero Collection. I would throw money for a proper Megaman anime. I would throw money at a proper Megaman GAME. It's just that they didn't take notes on IP/Franchise Maintenance which is screwing them over. If they did, then they would be like Nintendo, practically having their own counterfeit operation as the franchises they have will PRINT MONEY if they did took notes.

[@DESOFFICIAL1]

-_- Larry Bundy Jr.

[@rozzie101]

Hello you.

[@BryanX64]

How LITTLE is more like it, just 2 more MM Classic games and one more coming out

[@howardroark252]

I always find you in the best places.

[@LegendarySuperMario]

This was the coolest unlockable in Mega Man Anniversary Collection... well, besides the 2 arcade exclusive games.

[@rainehappy7097]

It's like the only episode of Icons that saw a home release. It also showed how important G4 was to the gaming community.

[@zigetchb3840]

Oh wow! I remember watching this *repeatedly* on Megaman Anniversary Collection when I was 14. I'd even copied it to a VHS to rewatch it over and over when I had to return it to Blockbuster. It's been burned into my memory ever since. G4 was so excellent back in the early-to-mid 2000's...

[@Pan_Z]

While Keiji Inafune didn't create Megaman (which this interview falsely mislead people to believe), he definitely helped foster it. After his work as an artist & designer on the classic series, Inafune created Zero for the X series. He also convinced Capcom to make the Legends & Zero series, games he would also serve as producer for. According to Koji Oda (the director of Mega Man 11) the reason Megaman died after Inafune left is no one was willing to step up and become "the new Mega Man guy." So yeah, Inafune deserves credit for Megaman's success. Though hilariously the main credit as creator he's regarded for is incorrect.

[@ordovicianscourge9520]

i don't think he ever took credit for creating megaman, journos and game community members like to make infighting up for credibility

[@vodaz9109]

I watched this repeatedly on my Megaman Anniversary Collection back in 2004. Just couldn't get enough.

[@daserfomalhaut9809]

I don't even really watch this for Mega Man as much as I love the games. This show is just an extreme nostalgia for me. Reeks of early 2000's. Such an amazing time for entertainment as a kid.

[@rwkane98]

ahhh I remember watching this shit constantly on the 15th anniversary collection

[@SpartanFromSpain]

I watched the hell out of this on my megaman anniversary collection (gcn) back in 2004 and watching this now makes me so sad and nostalgic...i miss megaman ._.

[@760creations]

"After 15 years as one of the most revered characters, he shows no signs of slowing." Damn, 2000 times were weird.

[@HypnoSwag]

+RandomIP He's pretty much come to a complete halt.

[@TMX1138]

Rockman IXA ...until now, because there's going to be a Mega Man 11 coming out next year.

[@frozenaorta]

This was the mid 2000's, and Mega Man was just starting to feel the burn of being stagnant. He got an adrenaline shot with the throwback release of Mega Man 9 (one of the best of the original series actually). But even when they tried again, Mega Man 10 felt flat and redundant again already. This is where Mega Man began to fall off for awhile.

[@Pan_Z]

@@frozenaorta Mega Man also idled because Keiji Inafune left Capcom in 2010. No one else stepped up to advocate for the series until Mega Man 11.

[@supergoron1]

@@TMX1138 I come from the future, and after Mega Man 11 there hasn't been a new game since, just a bunch of collections of old games.

[@retepoteil]

Idk what hell they are saying that mmx is harder then the original, the og mm were hard as shit

[@adamdenardis5438]

Any Mega Man is tough when you don't know the Robot Master's weaknesses.

[@TetsuQuake]

I remember watching this on the MegaMan Anniversary Collection back in 2004, and I was introduced to MegaMan X for the first time... After hearing them go on about how hard the X games were, I wanted to see the difficulty for myself... Then, in Nov. '05, I saw the MegaMan X Collection in a magazine, and I was stoked... My parents got it for me the day it came out, and I beat MegaMan X1 and X2 within 48 hours... X3 took a week... X4 and X5 seemed hard at first, but it was not as hard as they said... When the dude said the games can be brutally difficult, he meant the catastrophe that is X6... I still haven't got around to the Zero series, tho...

[@DesertPunks]

I always loved that gamecube collection lol

[@legospacememe8468]

x6 is what happens when the game releases before the developers playtest it

[@NashTheBlade]

"If they didn't have mega man, I don't see how Capcom would survive".....Oh the irony, oh the irony

[@Quake2815]

True.....Resident Evil revelations 2 is not doing so hot right now. Also, the marvel vs games are off the shelves.

[@kaihedgie]

Mark Smith *Monster Hunter*

[@acidpunk955]

I can't believe he lived this long. I can't believe he's been dead so long. I cry every time. :'-(

[@Emberson-9000]

Mighty no. 9

[@NashTheBlade]

E9000 OMEGA aka the Middle Finger to Crapcom

[@ianbrown7235]

"Capcom's famous for not messing with a good thing" Boy that sentence hasn't aged well.

[@adamdenardis5438]

This is back when the VS games were still somewhat fresh.

[@MetalPersonJ]

Honestly 80% of the lines from this episode aren't aging well.

[@legospacememe8468]

@@adamdenardis5438 VS games?

[@wonderwaffle93]

How much has changed since, pretty crazy. Both for Megaman, Capcom and G4

[@JGunlimited]

The Legends series is my favourite. Great memories playing them!

[@tomperkins4965]

This is before Keiji Inafune became a bad men.

[@wahfullz]

his sketch pad must be worth so much

[@adamdenardis5438]

He still has it.

[@Spettacoloco]

It's almost as if Capcom saw this video and got angry... Banishing Mega Man from the world that loves him.

[@Cyclonus84]

How dare they not even mention his cartoon. It was one of my favorites growing up.

[@adamdenardis5438]

That and the Street Fighter cartoon. Darkstalkers too. 😂

[@Diggy22]

I still have the cartoon series on DVD. :-D

[@redsun1211]

The first Mega Man game I played was Mega Man x4 on the ps1 oh I do so love the hours I played that game.

[@mansuru]

Megaman X4 was the first game of the X series I played at my cousin's house.

[@adamdenardis5438]

Mine was Mega Man 2 on my cousin's NES then Mega Man X5 on my own used PS-One. Total shift. 😂

[@hoodmistressreloaded]

"Everybody loves Megaman." That is, until Capcom threw the Blue Bomber under the bus in favor of giving their "poster boy" title to Ryū (and this is coming from a decades-long Street Fighter fanatic)

[@spice_krispies]

They act like Megaman was the only thing that made them money in this episode. Street Fighter 2 made them WAY more money than Megaman could ever make them. I just find it odd that they don't acknowledge that point, where it's such a slap in its own face getting your history and sales wrong for a documentary.

[@right_hand_power7960]

There's a few things out of place in this documentary. Akira Kitamura was the original designer of Rock. Inafune refined the design, and made the artwork from the spritework. They don't explain the Yellow Devil being renamed to Rock Monster in the U.S., presumably because this requires talking about Nintendo's 1980s rules, regarding references to religions. They allude to changes crossing cultures. To talk about it, they would have to embarrass Nintendo, or make up a story for why Capcom U.S.A. apparently decided to change it, embarrassing themselves. They don't explain that Megaman 2 was a side project, by the team, that could be done, only on the stipulation that another game they were working on got done in time. Still, for what information is in this documentary, it is nice. However, not including certain important information makes the documentary misleading, and therefore, loses credibility.

[@adamdenardis5438]

Dude, both made serious cash. Street Fighter games in the arcade and Mega Man games on consoles. Yeah Street Fighter games came out on consoles, but they were better in arcades. Capcom was on fire back then!

[@megamarsonic]

This interview is on the mega man anniversary collection, but some things were cut. I don't remember them talking about sony's policy against 2d games and I know for sure that yugioh was never mentioned.

[@SoftwareAgentsTV]

They went to great lengths to cut our references to games Capcom didn't have the rights to show (Zelda, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh), animation they didn't have the rights to show (Speed Racer) and minimize references to competing consoles (PlayStation) as much as possible. Music and other shit are edited to keep the flow. Comparing that version of the episode to this one is... pretty jarring!

[@adamdenardis5438]

Yu-Gi-Oh! has ties to Konami who is big rivals with Capcom. Probably why. 😂

[@marplatense31]

Anyone else looking forward to Mega Man 11?

[@angelomontemar3659]

They put that for Megaman anniversary collection. (GameCube only)

[@adamdenardis5438]

Kinda weird since it's on every console. Especially weird since the other two consoles, XBOX and PS2 had built in dvd players. 🤔 I mean Shenmue 2 on XBOX came with a dvd movie of Shenmue 1. The Dot Hack games on PS2 came with anime discs that released in 4 parts on 4 dvds.

[@adamdenardis5438]

Heck Street Fighter Anniversary collection had the animated movie included.

[@bluetarantulaproductions6179]

My favorite Megaman game is Megaman 6, my favorite robot master is Knightman from...wait for it Megaman 6

[@adamdenardis5438]

I like him and Tomahawk Man. Centaur Man too. They all kick robobutt.

[@anthonyhutchins2300]

I think it's cool how they try to stylize the English title as well

[@misturfixit45]

Heads up: you numbered this episode and Onimusha both #36, which fucks up your numbering going forward

[@mikefitchNYC1971]

Love this episode!

[@kevinbyrne6142]

are you asking for a CHALLENGE!?

[@Metalbloodlord]

Megaman is awesome

[@ConejoZing]

Megaman X was a brilliant moment from CAPCOM... machines / AI are no exception to mother nature and have evolved into mechanical animals from nature. Utterly smart on so many levels with completely savage game play to challenge an upgraded but aging human form...

[@hilarioph]

I'm sad they never release Mega man legends 3 for the 3ds :-(

[@adamdenardis5438]

It'll come back.

[@YuukitheMighty1]

i can see the rockman exe anime in the background =)

[@jacklazzaro9820]

So Sony let Mega Man 8 go on PS1 out of fear of competition, regardless of non-3D, only if the Playstation version had something not on Saturn that they felt could kick Saturn's @$$? That's shameless!

[@adamdenardis5438]

Yeah but Mega Man and Bass came out on SNES in Japan along with Street Fighter Alpha 2. Capcom supported all platforms.

[@kingbroseff3719]

I think that if Capcom went and made 16 bit versions on megaman 1 thru 6 for the snes, it would have been big.

[@ObnoxiousDoucheAlt]

Finding out Inafune wasnt the creator of the series after so many years is almost like Eugene finding out the Abdicator was a fraud. Bullshit in comparison yes, but it's really all I can think of. The worst part is I actually felt bad for him upon Legends 3s cancellation and laughed when his MN9 project was funded, but that was before the Dina incident and when the game itself turned out to look like shit. Lets not get started on his totally not Megaman Legends ripoff...

[@WarhawkFAQs]

@JRPG gaming Meanwhile Red Ash hasn't been finished that I'm aware of or had enough funding for it.

[@WarhawkFAQs]

I heard of 20XX but haven't played it. Although one series I got into is Azure Striker Gunvolt.

[@eishikibahamut]

It's weird how they kept saying the X series was harder when I didn't even beat the original 3 until I was in my 20s

[@adamdenardis5438]

Mega Man 2 is easy for me but I've played it constantly and memorized it.

[@HYPNOGLANCE87]

Im praying to god in heaven that Mighty No.9 will revive the death of Mega Man :( im happy as hell that i have the Mega Man Anniversary Collection on my PS2 :).Damn you Capcom

[@jacklazzaro9820]

So, Sony forced Capcom to include something that Saturn didn't... just to out competition... even tho they turned Mega Man down? How does that make sense?

[@adamdenardis5438]

Mega Man 8 on Saturn was better than the Playstation version. It had a buttload more content. X3 was about the same. X4 was decent. But Mega Man 8 was the best of the Saturn games. There was a cartoon Mega Man game released for the Saturn in Japan that played like Dragon's Lair, but the early copies glitched out and were impossible to finish so they had to reissue them immediately.

[@adamdenardis5438]

Capcom made a bunch of Sega Saturn games to make up for the lack of titles on the Mega Drive/Genesis. Saturn got stuff like the Street Fighter Alpha games, Darkstalkers games, Cyberbots, a weird 3D Final Fight fighting game, a bunch of 80s arcade collections, X-Men, Marvel, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Street Fighter, Resident Evil... Yeah Playstation got most of these too, but the Saturn versions were more like the arcade due to extra animations via a special cart that boosted it another 4mb.

[@Royal13Knight]

MEGAMAN X4 the best ever!

[@Frybynight7]

Too bad they never release mega man games anymore

[@OniLordMiki]

Yeah, too bad they stopped milking it to death.

[@ThatSneakman]

Mega Man 11....yee.

[@indistructabill6686]

I love megaman, fans love megaman, why dosn't Capcom love as much anymore

[@right_hand_power7960]

Capcom has made statements that there probably will be a Megaman 12, and/or something else Megaman related.

[@sinistergrey3]

megaman Zero series is the best IMO, Zero is a B.A. and a far more interesting character. The sword alone is an awesome addition and just goes to show that 2-D is the best platform for a Megaman series.

[@adamdenardis5438]

It's like a trilogy. Play the original Mega Man series, then X series, then Mega Man Zero series. It's a million times better that way!

[@CarlUsana-o3l]

Why are there 2 names? It's Mega Man or Rockman? I first played Mega Man 2 on the Game Boy as a primary school kid and finished it countless times with sweet memories...!!! Then Rockman X4 on the PC !!

[@sephirothrikusora]

+CARL WongTW Megaman is the english version's name. Rockman Is Japanese. I personally love the name Megaman way more as it sounds way more awesome.

[@LUCKO2022]

Rockman is the Japanese name. They came up with it because it was supposed to be like the game Rock,Paper,Scissors where a certain attack defeats the other. Also has allot of musical influences as well. You got the main character Rock and his sister Roll (Rock N Roll), his brother is Blues in Japan (Protoman here), and so forth. See why the American name was always dumb.

[@jeremysimmons9926]

the blue bomber is turning 30 this year

[@MarxForever]

Hi my Name is Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS/U Wii. Have we met?

[@goddessmodel]

14:15 bernard stolar......

[@adamdenardis5438]

The guy who basically killed Saturn.

[@goddessmodel]

@@adamdenardis5438 and sega as a whole

[@emilegoulard265]

mega man will never die out hahahahaha XD im sorry I know this was like 13 years ago or something like that but hey look at where mega man is now im glad the blue bomber made it to smash bros though C:

[@M3rtyville]

Mighty No. 9 is the spiritual successor to Megaman...somewhat he is still alive

[@emilegoulard265]

in my heart megaman will always be in my heart (alittle cheesy :P) but yea mighty no.9 is going to be great like megaman :D

[@TMX1138]

Well, 11's coming out next year,

[@ThatSneakman]

Still amazing how comments like this show their age now.

[@right_hand_power7960]

From what I have heard, Capcom is going to probably make a Megaman 12.

[@bayzul7405]

Mega Man-uary doesn't end on January. Keep fighting for everlasting peace it don't come cheap Like then, show no signs slowing

[@ryandavis8245]

Megaman x3 is the best game in the series

[@dest151]

wow, icons does not have a capcom episode ...that sucks

[@Gmathewson805]

R.I.P. Megaman

[@E180TEKNO]

good report

[@AndrewMaksym]

15:38

[@Vyse195]

Now Megaman is no where to been seen...unless you count him in Smash Bros. 4

[@Luigithehomie91]

oh it sure is sad to see this... :(

[@Spettacoloco]

This also has me ridiculously hype for Mighty No. 9!

[@BlazikenGod]

at least he's in smash 4

[@ECL28E]

"Sony does not like 2D games" *cough* Symphony of the Night *cough*

[@PastoKage]

Well, Saturn version of SOTN was kinda better than the psx one. The fact that psx was not that good for 2D (and that, saturn was better for that kind of games) is pretty true.

[@goldclock02]

ECL28E "Sony does not like 2D games" Old final fantasy games that were re-released on the playstation and chrono trigger cough cough

[@fl21id]

Save for Star Gladiator, Street Fighter EX series and Rival Schools.

[@igorivanov299]

ECL28E Symphony of the night was a Sega Saturn game

[@LUCKO2022]

PastoKage Saturn version of SOTN is not better than the PS1. It is worse. The Saturn version has long load times plus it has notorious amounts of slowdown.

[@Real_The_Goof]

And now... MM get's .. almost nothing... and Capcom is a shadow of it's former self.

[@MetalPersonJ]

The people being interviewed for this are really stupid. The Mega Man X games being very hard? Yea if you tried to beat the game without any power-ups, and what idiot didn't go around collecting them? That was half the fun of the X games! Also X came out in 93, and didn't X4 come out for the PS1 before Mega Man 8 did?

[@OniLordMiki]

Look at this badass here.

[@BillyLavoie]

MetalPersonJ Mega Man 8 came out about 6 months before X4. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of information about Mega Man and Bass for SNES and a bunch of other games.

[@HypnoSwag]

+MetalPersonJ The original series is definitely more difficult.

[@right_hand_power7960]

This documentary should be redone, but G4 isn't what it used to be, as I understand it, or is it even around at all? On top of that, Capcom might not be interested in doing such a thing. As far as I know, they released a statement in the past, implying there would be more Megaman related projects, and/or possibly a Megaman 12.

[@rockdesu]

Mmx wasn't hard at all. Mm was hard af.

[@msab4883]

Mighty Number 9 is the new megaman

[@HunternamedZero]

We love you mega man but we hate you crapcom

[@dillonwilson5167]

Mega Man 64 was a huge flop

[@johnnyblaze9874]

in sales but its an epic game if u really give it a chance and actually play it right

[@adamdenardis5438]

It was just a port of the Playstation game and the sequel never got ported to N64. 🤔 Maybe because it didn't sell as well and the carts were expensive to manufacture as opposed to a cd?

[@patriciahodel6317]

Y can't Keiji Inafune speak (or at least understand) English?

[@adamdenardis5438]

That would be like asking you to understand and speak Japanese if English is your first language. 🙄

[@llamasarus1]

Every great franchise needs to die....New ones need to be born..

[@kaihedgie]

Psyche :V

[@crackinskouls]

I hate mega man. It seems physically impossible to complete any of mega man games on snes so therefore I quit trying.

[@adamdenardis5438]

When spoiled brats complain a snes Mega Man is too hard to finish... Never thought I'd see the day. 😔 you poor misguided soul.

[@ezradarrow8964]

Mega Man sucks!!!