Mega Man Legacy Collection: A Missed Opportunity

Some of my editorials regarding Capcom's handling of Mega Man over the last few years might make me come off as some sort of apologist for the company. Don't misunderstand, I'd love to see the parent company treat my favorite blue robot better but even without anything in the way of new games, he's still fared much better than most gaming franchises. Oh and what is that? Is it?! Could it be? Yes, it is! A new Mega Man game! Mega Man is back with the Mega Man Legacy Collection! Oh, so it's a compilation release and not really a new game. Well, that's cool. We're long overdue for another Mega Man classic series collection. Hold up, it only has Mega Man 1-6? Seriously? Come on, Capcom, you had one job!

When I'd first caught wind of the Mega Man Legacy Collection, my heart could have skipped a beat. Could have. Instead, my hot air balloon was quickly deflated  when I learned that of the classic console games, only Mega Man 1-6 would be present. Did Capcom forget that 7-10 even exist? What about the Super Famicom version of Rockman & Forte AKA Mega Man & Bass? Or the Rockman World titles, AKA Mega Man I-V on the Game Boy? What About the Genesis Wily Wars? This was Capcom's chance to release the ultimate classic Mega Man collection but they managed to shortchange us on the games. 

Mega Man 8, one of the many games that will receive no love
on the Mega Man Legacy Collection.

Now it is all fog and negativity. The challenge mode, database and museum are sure to make some nice extras as are those leader boards for the competitive Mega Man player. I love looking at official artwork and sketches and the Mega Man Legacy Collection is going to be loaded with that stuff. However, if you already have Mega Man: The Official Complete works book or it's 2012 updated release, you've seen most of the art this collection has to show you. Still, it will be nice to have it in a digital format.

And speaking of digital, the Mega Man Legacy Collection is going to be a digital release. Not gonna lie, that kinda stings. As much as I love digital games, especially of the old-school kind, I think Mega Man is deserving of having a collection on physical media. Curiously, only the PS4, Xbox One PC and 3DS will be getting the Legacy Collection. Capcom has decided to leave the Wii U out in the cold.

The Mega Man Anniversary Collection was released on the PS2, GCN and XB in 2004. It may not have been perfect but it had Mega Man 1-8 on the disc as well as Mega Man The Power Battle and The Power Fighters, the two arcade games that had awesome remixed music. Legacy Collection could have easily trumped the 2004 release by having all of its games and more but for whatever reason, Capcom choose to only include the NES era. Why? Its not like the current generation of consoles can't handle Mega Man 7 and 8 and we've seen the PS3, Wii and 360 handle Mega Man 9-10 without breaking a sweat. Unless Capcom is planning to do a Legacy Collection 2 (which would be stupid since the later games could have easily been included) there's no reason why this upcoming collection should only include 6 Mega Man games.

Mega Man Legacy Collection reminds me of the Wii's Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition, a re-release of the SNES game. This game was meant to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. series as it had turned a quarter of a century old in 2010. Super Mario Bro.s 1-3 is fine and all (Lost Levels can go screw itself) but they could have taken things further by including more games in the series like Super Mario World and Super Mario 64. 

As much as fans and even Capcom may not want to admit it, Mega Man spans beyond 8-bits and a Mega Man compilation containing only Mega Man 1-6 seems a bit short sighted. While it sounds like this collection will give the first six console Mega Man games some TLC, its still a missed opportunity for what could have been a mega collection.