The past few years have seen Capcom’s treatment of its iconic Blue Bomber, his creator (Real Life creator Keiji Inafune, not Dr. Light), and the millions, -and millions, of the Rock(man)’s fans take a turn that many have considered quite harsh. As you may know, 2010 saw Inafune-san leave Capcom to venture out on his own due to irreconcilable differences, and 2011 saw his Megaman projects smothered in their cribs in his wake.
Enter 2013, and while Inafune-san and Capcom still may be at odds, and Capcom has no current, publicly announced plans to revive the Blue Bomber or any of his incarnations himself, Inafune and his company Comcept are reaching out to the spirit, style and creative minds of everything that made Megaman what it is with the intention of rebuilding it into a new form (and hopefully then some).
Introducing… Mighty No. 9!
This new project is Inafune-san pooling every resource he can muster that was involved with the legacy of Megaman over the past 20+ years to create a game that is Megaman in practically everything but name – literally. The staff involved are all veterans in creating various Megaman titles – from the Music Composer, to the Character Designer, to the Art Director, to, of course, Inafune himself. And to any Megaman fans reading this right now, yes, this includes even you. Keiji Inafune is asking for your help to get this game off the ground.
Starting Yesterday, and through all of September, Mighty No. 9 is up on Kickstarter. Comcept has set a sizable, yet relatively modest initial goal of $900,000 for the game’s full development and subsequent Steam release. Various Stretch Goals include a full 8 normal stages and bosses (as opposed to an initial 6), and progress up to a full fledged console release with the procurement of $2.5 million. As with any good Kickstarter project, substantial rewards are littered throughout the various backer tiers, most of which naturally include the full game on release. Be sure to check them out if you’re interested! (On a personal note, I’m eyeing the $250 backer perks myself.)
As it stands, thousands of fans and supporters have already answered the call at a blazing pace! At the time of this writing (not even 24 hours into the campaign!) Mighty No. 9 has amassed over 590,000 dollars in donations! That’s almost 66% of the initial goal met in the first day! If you wish make your voice heard concerning the support for more Megaman content (even though this project may not be that character in name), this may be the single most effective and direct way to do it.
