Megaman Battle Network Collection was announced recently, reviving an incredible series from the Blue Bomber franchise. These nostalgia-fuelled bundles are perfect opportunities to revisit the franchise, but they’re also a great excuse to muse and dream of sequels for this much-beloved game universe.
Here are the top 5 Megaman series we absolutely need.
5. Megaman X9
The conclusion of Megaman X8 saw Sigma reduced to scrap. A new foe, Lumine, arose from the ashes, who spoke of the futility of X and Co’s fight. Even though destroyed, Lumine’s words would come to pass as the Maverick Wars transitioned to the Elf Wars from the Megaman Zero series.
Though a fitting conclusion, the MMX series still has some stories to tell that can further bridge the gap between it and the MMZ and ZX games. Furthermore, the X games experimented with 3D graphics and level design, making them feel less satisfying in terms of level design. A possible X9 could bring the series back to its 2D sprite roots. On top of using staple MMX mechanics, the game has a lot of ideas to draw upon from other titles such as the Azure Striker games.
4. Megaman 12
The foundational Megaman series has always been on the lighter side in terms of story. The 11th installment was no different. The game ended with Dr. Willy fleeing the scene again, leaving the door open for a future sequel. What’s more interesting is that Dr. Light and Megaman used the newly developed Gear system to restore the defeated Robot Masters.
Megaman 12 could continue the tradition of having a light story but focus on expanding the Gear system and introducing new mechanics. The series already has a history of selectable characters in MMX. This concept could potentially make its debut in MM12 by allowing to play as some of the restored robot masters. Protoman could also be a possible selectable character with his own set of moves and mechanics, making him a Zero equivalent for the base MM series.
3. Megaman Star Force 4
The fourth game in the Megaman Star Force series was actually in production during the 2009-2010 period. However, the project got canned due to its predecessor’s low market performance. And that’s a shame because the initial concept that was shared by Capcom was incredibly intriguing.
The game would have sent us a few years into the future when protagonist Geo Stelar was a teenager. The game would have tied in together with Battle Network games by introducing a character called Kazuma, a direct descendent of Lan Hikari. Star Force 4 would have focused primarily on hacking which would have acted as an expansion to SF3’s Noise mechanic. Story-wise, the game would have entered more mature territory which sounds good in our book. The MMSF series always felt like a deconstruction of typical shonen tropes. Reviving this sequel would allow us to see a prospectively more mature side of this.
2. Megaman Battle Network 7
Though Battle Network’s story has always been geared mostly towards kids, a new installment could take us down a darker path to reach a more mature audience. The narrative can pick up at the height of Lan Hikari’s popularity as a highly capable NET Battler who’s also on the brink of graduating high school. Just as all is looking fine and well, a mysterious and highly aggressive virus invades the network, cutting society off of resources and sending everything into chaos. Given how the series has always made nods to the original Megaman games, Battle Network 7 could start entering X series territory by having Sigma be the main antagonist.
Battle Network has always felt like it had a lot in common with the Persona series. One moment you explore the real world and interact with your friends, the other you duke it out against digital baddies in cyberspace. If Battle Network 7 is to be built for more current hardware, it’s the perfect opportunity to flesh out the social aspects of it further. What would also be pretty cool is if Lan could control viruses and make use of them as alternative summons to Megaman.EXE during battle. Just like in Persona, Lan could also combine viruses he has captured to turn them into more powerful units, some of which could potentially fuse with Megaman to alter his properties and the chips he can use.
1. Megaman Legends 3
One of the most coveted sequels in the history of the Megaman franchise is Legends 3. Like SF4, this sequel was also in the pre-production stages of its development but ultimately got canceled. The game was set to focus on rescuing Megaman Volnutt from Elysium and would have featured two new characters called Aero and Barrett.
Given contemporary hardware capabilities, reviving Legends 3 would be the perfect opportunity for the Blue Bomber series to enter open-world territory. Its predecessors were both semi-open, drawing from the overall franchise’s roots of being level-based. Legends as a series has all of the makings of having a grander map for Megaman and Co to explore, while also nodding back to individual levels and robot master bosses through dungeons and instances.
