Sequels: How does Mega Man get away with it?

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Offline Waifu

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on: May 04, 2011, 06:26:30 PM
How does the mega Man franchise get away with the whole mission pack sequels? I know the gameplay of most mega man games doesn't deviate from the original formula but still how do they manage to get away with it?



Offline The Great Gonzo

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Reply #1 on: May 04, 2011, 07:06:48 PM
$$$$$$


but seriously, I seem to remember seeing a topic like this a while before...



Offline OBJECTION MAN

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Reply #2 on: May 04, 2011, 07:30:24 PM
It's tried and true, popular (or at least was) gameplay.

Same way most modern FPS games keep selling.


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Offline Align

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Reply #3 on: May 04, 2011, 08:23:00 PM
Loyal fans enjoy more of the same. Especially when it's better through more polish and thought, rather than innovation via different approaches.



Offline VixyNyan

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Reply #4 on: May 04, 2011, 08:25:33 PM

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Offline Waifu

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Reply #5 on: May 04, 2011, 10:35:15 PM
I guess that answers that.



Offline Blackhook

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Reply #6 on: May 04, 2011, 10:37:50 PM
Whooping Wily never gets old :D


Offline Gauntlet101010

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Reply #7 on: May 05, 2011, 02:32:47 AM
I don't know if the series did.  I remember reviews in the day getting tired of the series never changing and it did bite the dust after 8 for a good long while.  Even now MMU has been cancelled and MM PU didn't do overly well.


Offline Waifu

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Reply #8 on: May 05, 2011, 04:58:18 AM
Wasn't it for a different reason? It does get old sometimes.



Offline zuschzero

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Reply #9 on: May 05, 2011, 04:07:33 PM
That's what I really like about the series. I'm glad they never changed the style of the graphics (for the 8 bit games).
Different levels & bosses & music & weapons are enough. But this isn't like the FIFA series, where they just release the same game for every year.
I like if they includes little innovations such as slide, charge shot, Rush Adaptors but changing the very basic mechanic is really unnecessary.



Offline ViperAcidZX

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Reply #10 on: May 05, 2011, 06:39:43 PM
That's what I really like about the series. I'm glad they never changed the style of the graphics (for the 8 bit games).
Different levels & bosses & music & weapons are enough. But this isn't like the FIFA series, where they just release the same game for every year.
I like if they includes little innovations such as slide, charge shot, Rush Adaptors but changing the very basic mechanic is really unnecessary.
True. Plus to me coming up with newer weapons to toy around with is kinda fun. Metal Blade is forever my favorite weapon of the series.


Offline Waifu

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Reply #11 on: May 05, 2011, 07:31:48 PM
But I also hate some weapons/items nerfed losing their initial charm. Example: Rush Jet



Offline Hypershell

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Reply #12 on: May 06, 2011, 03:36:17 AM
Anyone with a soul misses the MM3 Rush Jet.  That's one thing I liked about 8; even though you couldn't use it anywhere, the basic mechanics were brought back, and you even had a Rush Jet boss fight.

Loyal fans enjoy more of the same. Especially when it's better through more polish and thought, rather than innovation via different approaches.
Very true.  You can only re-invent the wheel so many times, and it's rather naive to assume that an existing approach can't stand another revision.  Compares sales of the Mario Galaxies to NSMBWii sometime.

For that matter, how many game franchises are considered peaked at the first entry as opposed to a sequel or two later?  MegaMan, Sonic, Mario, Zelda, Metroid.  The consensus of "perfection" for a great many franchises tends to be the second or third game in.

Even now MMU has been cancelled and MM PU didn't do overly well.
PU, IMHO, failed because it was a bad remake.  It was packed with great features, for sure, but it was marketed as an MM1 remake, yet the actual gameplay feels nothing like MM1.  The game is WAY too claustrophobic, more like a GB game.  It's also badly balanced; many times Easy is moronic while Normal is positively ball-breaking, with no happy medium (case in point: Yellow Devil).  That'll definitely put off the newcomers.

It also probably didn't help public relations when Capcom went Grand-Moff-Tarkin-grip after somebody noticed that the "downloadable" costumes were already on the UMD disc...

MHX was a better remake, at least, and offered a nice balance of fresh content to boot.  But nerf the game's primary weapon, and the original trounces you.  That's life.  I don't know what idiot let a 2-shot Spiral Charge out the door.

As for MMU, it's hard to place that much value on a MM2 remake when the last two Classic games were in themselves heavy MM2 tributes (9 especially).  Throwing in a wonky art style while maintaining that same "slide is evil" status quo; the lack of buzz around the game doesn't really surprise me.  Still sad to see it go, just not as much as I'd have thought.

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Offline The Great Gonzo

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Reply #13 on: May 06, 2011, 04:05:50 AM
Quote
It also probably didn't help public relations when Capcom went Grand-Moff-Tarkin-grip after somebody noticed that the "downloadable" costumes were already on the UMD disc...

wait what

i spent many uncomfortable minutes sitting under my computer desk holding my psp up to the only access point i could find for that

man. :(



Offline Flame

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Reply #14 on: May 06, 2011, 05:40:33 AM
yep. it was one of those "unlockable" type DLC where you are paying to unlock a feature already in the game.

...When Larry the reploid accountant goes maverick of his own accord, he's certainly formidable during tax season, but he isn't going to provide X the challenge needed to make him grow as a warrior and reach his potential.


Offline Fxeni

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Reply #15 on: May 06, 2011, 08:16:37 AM
yep. it was one of those "unlockable" type DLC where you are paying to unlock a feature already in the game.
Except it was free. At least they didn't make us pay for it.



Offline zuschzero

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Reply #16 on: May 06, 2011, 03:44:15 PM
Anyone with a soul misses the MM3 Rush Jet.  

That's broken, they just fixed the problem in MM4 and on.

This change was made because once Rush Jet was acquired in Mega Man 3, it could be used to bypass situations where Rush Coil or Rush Marine were required and did so more effectively and easily than they could.



Offline Flame

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Reply #17 on: May 06, 2011, 04:03:46 PM
Except it was free. At least they didn't make us pay for it.
oh. my bad then. :B

...When Larry the reploid accountant goes maverick of his own accord, he's certainly formidable during tax season, but he isn't going to provide X the challenge needed to make him grow as a warrior and reach his potential.


Offline Hypershell

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Reply #18 on: May 07, 2011, 12:37:03 AM
Yep.  The FULL AND SOLE reason Capcom threw a fit was for the sake of hype; they couldn't let the costumes trickle in over the course of a year.

That's broken, they just fixed the problem in MM4 and on.

This change was made because once Rush Jet was acquired in Mega Man 3, it could be used to bypass situations where Rush Coil or Rush Marine were required and did so more effectively and easily than they could.
"Broken" in games can often be a good thing.  Hell, ProtoMan being broken is PU's best feature.

Also, I don't know if anyone else did this, but one thing that neither Coil nor Marine could do is the "Rush Safety Net", where you position the Jet beneath a series of platforms before making your jumps.  And NOBODY'S telling me Capcom didn't see that beforehand, because the Doc Robot version of Shadow Man's stage is modified to prevent it.

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