Mega Man, Happy 24th Anniversary

In Japan on December 17, 1987, a little blue, pixilated robot stepped out into the gaming world and fought for everlasting peace on the Famicom in Rockman. While he was called Rockman over in the land of the rising sun, over on American and European shores, he would go by the name Mega Man. Regardless of what you choose to call him, I think everyone is pretty much in agreement that his games are made of awesome.

Has it really been 24 years? Twenty four years of ladder climbing, jumping, shooting, sliding, Mega Buster charging, weapon-getting fun? Why, yes, yes it has. I guess those of us that grew up with Mega Man really are getting older.

2011 certainly hasn't been the kindest year to the Blue Bomber. Two games canceled and a glaring omission from both versions of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Still, it hasn't been all bad. Udon has translated the excellent Mega Man Gigamix manga and Archie Comics is on a roll with the new Mega Man comic series. There was also that sweet Mega Man Tribute Book that Udon also published. On the gaming download front, we saw the release of Mega Man X (Wii Virtual Console), Mega Man 5 (Wii Virtual Console), and the elusive Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (3DS Virtual Console).

I honestly can't say what the future holds for Mega Man, but I refuse to be all gloom and doom. I doubt Capcom has any plans for Mega Man's 24th anniversary (most game companies only celebrate "the big" anniversaries, 10, 20, 25, etc.), but that really hasn't gotten me down. I've been a Mega Man fan for over twenty years and it's been a really fun ride. Do I think we'll see a new Mega Man game some time? I like to think so. Until then, I'll just kick back and enjoy his 24th birthday and replay some of my favorite Mega Man games. Happy 24th anniversary, buddy.