Monday, May 6, 2013

Concept Art From Cancelled Mega Man FPS Released

By way of Adi Granov's official tumblr, here's a great piece of concept art from the cancelled Maverick Hunter project. Adi was responsible for redesigning Mega Man X for the ill-fated first person shooter. He also just so happens to be the same fellow who designed Iron Man's movieverse suit.

Adi writes, "It’s sad it didn’t make it as I was very happy with the design."



  1. My god. It's amazing.

  2. It's blue, it has a gun for hand, I guess I can say I see "mega man" in there somewhere, but I don't see X.

    I think X requires a human face. Obviously this game just used the name for it's own new character, but what associations do you have when you think of X?

    Inafune said once that with Mega Man he'd hoped to make something along the lines of Astro Boy in concept, and hopefully as popular. I think X was when he got there, though not in terms of popularity, of course.

    X was made to be the bridge between humanity and robotics. A machine that had a sense of self. One that could think, form it's own ideas, and make it's own value judgements.

    Light had made humanity it's first true friend. One that could stand on equal ground with Man in a way that no dog or cat could do.

    A character like that can't just go without a face. You don't anthropomorphize a computer (or anything else) and not give it a face. How are we supposed to relate to and accept it? How is it suppose to fit in with the people it was created to live amongst?

    That's some of what I think about the design, as it relates to my own perceptions and associations about X.

    I do realize that we are talking about an FPS and that this "X"'s backstory would be along the lines of "ultimate soldier-bot created to kill stuff real good with big guns and blow stuff up, and kill stuff and rip guns off enemies and use em to kill stuff."

    *sigh* I'm glad this turd was canned.

    I will say that from the very first moment I played Metroid Prime 3 (My first Wii game and the only Prime I've played) I couldn't get over how much I'ld have loved to play an X game like it. if we could get something like that as an X game, that would be a dream come true for a lot of people.

    1. He has a face. It just gets covered by the mask during combat. The trailer showed that he had a face, however.

  3. That 'X' visor reminds me of Marvel Comic's Ultron.

  4. Hey! I remember that show! Big Bad Beetle Borgs! Yeah... I hated it.

  5. I couldn't be happier that this was cancelled. It looks cool but it's not Mega Man X.

    This design just reeks of the Bomberman remake that was done around the same time.

  6. Movieverse Iron Man?

    MvsC4, and this time, don't skip on the X!

  7. @Cuke

    I couldn't say anything better.

    I will throw in that a realistic Megaman X game, where X and the other characters still have their human features might not be a bad thing.

    Then again, maybe they were operating on the idea that "You never see your player in an FPS, so it doesn't matter how crappy he looks"

  8. @2:42 PM:

    "This design just reeks of the Bomberman remake that was done around the same time."

    You're time scale is way off man, this was from 2010.

    Bomberman Act Zero was in 2006.

  9. Now that's what I call edgy.

  10. /\ How about "Mega Man Y"?

  11. Damn he looks sick.

  12. Very Vanquish-esque. I love it.

  13. Dead Space X.

  14. @Cucumber

    X DOES have a face. Check the gameplay videos released not long ago and you'll see that X puts on the facemask when he goes to battle.

    If you're going to complain, at least get the facts straight.

  15. Looks more like the Terminator than Mega Man. Don't get me wrong Terminator is badass. However Mega Man looks way too grim: if the title didn't say "Mega Man" I wouldn't even realize he was the blue bomber. My point is that the artwork should feel like Mega Man, Metroid Prime was different but it still had that distinct look of Samus. I don't get a Mega Man vibe from this at all. Mega Man should have an anime look too it not a realistic one.

  16. This design is nice however I vastly prefer the original X.

  17. Mega Man Ultron!

  18. I like it, but it just seems like a normal enemy one would fight. I think it lacks personality.

  19. Totaly not megaman X....WTF
    Guys, it CAN'T be megaman related.
    It's not the spirit of the serie ....

    Just metroid/Terminator game but with the megaman name?....The hell!

  20. With all these "sanctity of Megaman" posts, it's like Legends[1] all over again.

  21. Looks cool, but not memorable, like I said last time. Needs to be simpler. Even Iron Man has memorable features.

  22. He says Megaman, which is bs. As the comments have made clear, the design is screaming Ultron, one of the high level villains in the Marvel Universe.

    Ya we get it this guy did the Iron Man suit in the movie... which is still pretty close to one of the original suits in the source material. It wasn't radical like this X redesign.

  23. i really don't like this if some one had showed it to me without thr knowledge that this was a megaman game it'd be just another edgy next gen fps i would ignore

  24. I mean the design looks cool but I wouldn't want an X game that is so drastically different from the X formula.

    Even the Legends series had that Megaman feeling while playing it. A more gritty X game (FPS nonetheless) would be a terrible idea IMO.

  25. Yeah, that's totally something that would make me think Mega Man. Totally. /sarcasm

  26. HOLY. That looks AMAZING. I mean, yeah, it's not very Mega Man-ish, but it still looks and feels a little Mega Man. XD I do wish there's a face in there somewhere tho. XD

  27. Even with the holographic face in that one video, I still don't like this. It's not a true face, but practically a simulation of one, which we already have in this day and age. But mere holograms are not something one can really relate to.

    The thing I like about the Mega Men, the official ones, as well as Astro Boy, is that they were a lot more human. They were human in ideals and personality, and they were human in appearance as well, and not like drone bots that you'd expect to see in some cyberpunk movie. They weren't like moving computers, but they were things that people could easily reach out to and relate. They were very genuine and wholesome that way. This version of X simply does not cut it, and with the way the videos portray him as practically a death machine hell bent on obliterating everything in sight... No. That is not X we grew to know and for some, love. I see a Terminator model maybe, but not X. Hell, that goes against the whole principles of Mega Man in general. They're beings who fight for peace, but only fight when they absolutely must. Even if this X had the official look, it still wouldn't be the same X because this is practically the opposite of what he is.

    Either way, appearances or personality, I do not see X. All I see is some generic FPS game starring a bot destroying all things relentlessly. I fully agree with Cucumber here, and I'm pretty darn relieved that this game was cancelled. I don't care that this shares X's name, nor do I care that it does have a face, this is not X. I have no flippen idea what the hell Inafune was thinking at the time, and I'm actually disappointed in him and this is a guy I actually really respect and admire, but I'm glad this hasn't come into existence and hope such a thing won't be repeated again.

  28. This would've been Bomberman: Act Zero all over again. It's just not Mega Man. It's just bland and generic. Where's the personality? Where's the soul?

  29. "It's not a true face, but practically a simulation of one".
    Unlike the real X, who has a real face, right?

  30. @Rockman: Its still like Legends 1 and the rest of the Legends series.

    Legends is still barely Mega Man, and the ones that try to shoehorn it into another game under the name, are almost always exclusively fans of that series, and don't or barely even like the rest of the franchise.

    At least in Maverick Hunter's case, the main character's design actually looks cool. He also doesn't look like he was put together with crudely shaped Legos based to fit with PlayStation's polygon limitations as easy as possible, like Volnutts.

  31. all these bomber man act 0 posts. not taking into account that the x series was already the gritty and dark sequel. meanwhile this game was actually keeping the story fairly similar to its origins.
    do remember who was making it. this was basically Megaman X Prime

  32. Yeah people keep on hating on a game that will never exist, nevermind the fact that this fear of changing the MM formula it's what killed the MM game franchise in the first place!!!

    All those Megaman games that played the freaking same FOR DECADES, the fact that fans can't accept a breath of fresh air, those are to blame for keeping Megaman DEAD, not only Capcom, but the so called "true" fans.

    BTW this design is awesome, Granov it's amazing and this is the best piece of art that I've ever seen in EVERY Megaman game. Damn shame they didn't give this a chance.

    It was made by the Metroid Prime creators, it was an alternate take on MMX, no way this wasn't going to be a cool game for a change, way better than crap like X7 at least.

    And all the people who keep saying this looks like Ultron, here's a pic, to remind you what Ultron looks like because you're all freaking BLIND!

    Big silver with evil smiley face, no lean and Blue with X visor...

  33. @TekkZero: He's silver in the art with red energy flowing from his face and gun, and is an AI/robot that goes power hungry/crazy. If that does not scream Ultron you are blind.

  34. The design isn't bad, but it lacks personality. Needs a Mega Man fell to it. That looks more like the Pantheon and Variant from the Zero series.

    @Flame: But Samus design didn't change at all. What if she had a different armor colored green or blue? "Design-wise", Metroid: Other M is also good.

  35. "AI/robot that goes power hungry/crazy."

    That certainly describes Ultron, but not X.

    Also, Someone who lets power control them? That sure doesn't describe almost every villain ever.

  36. Maybe it's because he has many details? If his design was a little simpler and with a human detail, like Robocop or Judge Dredd (I know he isn't a robot, I'm talking designs here), it might work.

  37. This design looks incredible, but it looks like something that came straight out of a Michael Bay movie, not a Mega Man video game. :/

  38. @Rockman: Not the X we know, but it's the one that would have happened in the FPS. In case you forgot, it was a planned trilogy and the third game was supposed to end with Zero defeating the crazy X.

    This game was so unoriginal... essentially ripping off Ultron for X(ironically, Pym considered Ultron his greatest creation, much like how Light considers X his greatest creation), making the third game of the trilogy essentially Megaman Zero 1, and being a generic shooter... This deserved the can.

  39. Regarding Mega Man Legends,

    I don't like when people refer to us fans as whiny or blind fanboys, as we certainly are not all like that. I myself happen to be a fan of Legends, but I also really like the some of the other series and regard them highly, and I'm certainly not the only Legends fan out there who is like that. Yes Legends is different, but to be fair, the first game was an experimental project trying to move the franchise into a 3D era like so many other big-name franchises were at the time. I don't see people citing Super Mario 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Sonic Adventure as "barely Mario, Zelda or Sonic" just because they took a step ahead. And to be fair, Battle Network and Starforce are also incredibly different from the rest in their own way, and I don't see people complaining about them for the same reason.

    In some ways, I feel like the whole Legends 3 issue has been more damaging to the Legends fanbase than the series itself. Perhaps some of us deserved it yes, though I still believe it's fair to be wanting a sequel to the things we love. I know there's a few other things out there in this world that I would love to see a sequel to.

    But back to the main topic, at least Legends was a lot more closer to the spirit of Mega Man than this Ultron impersonator would ever have been. Legends still shares the same principles of the other series, it's just different in its own right. And I'd rather take different than a practice that has been done to death for years now. I'm looking at you MM9, 10 and SFxMM. Of course knowing Capcom's record these days, it's doubtful they'll ever do something new, if they even decide to do anything.

  40. @Dr. Jerk: First off, the thing is BN isn't SM64, its Paper Mario, Mario RPG, Mario&Luigi series. Its a spin-off mostly devoid of the original main formula in terms of gameplay. The place where it connects to the brand name are the massive amounts of inspiration it draws from it, including parts of the gameplay design. Also, what are you talking about? People give BN shit all the time, people who barely know what they are talking about, which is the majority.

    Second thing is, you don't see people saying OoT, SA, and SM64 are barely from their series because they're not. OoT is Zelda in 3D, what was barely done was changes to the original gameplay formula. Same with the other two. Legends is not Mega Man in 3D, its a Mega Man's action role playing adventure game. One of the main aspects of Mega Man is the ability to have freedom to complete many levels in any order you want, with benefits if done a certain way. Legends really doesn't have that. Mega Man gets abilities from the enimeis he defeats. Legends doesn't have that either. Mega Man has stages themed for fast and precised platforming most of the time. You get the point, the list would go on, missing some fetures traditionally found in Mega Man is ok, but Legends just has a slew of them missing, along with major changes to the original formula. Legends is maybe passable as a side series, but a direct correlation and successor to the main series' formulas? No.

    Thing about BN is, if you absolutely hate that series, you never have to even acknowledge it. It is a 100% optional spin-off. It even has a different dev team than the traditional games and the same one as Legends. So if people hate BN, they can speak with their wallets, but people didn't hate it, it sold butt tons, had and still has a strong following of fans and became one of the most successful series in the Mega Man franchise. That's just the way it is whether you like it or not, money talks and Legends doesn't make any, and doesn't seem like it will to the developers. So instead of risking another flop they didn't.

    If people want a traditional Mega Man in 3D, ask for that. If Capcom had transitioned Mega Man in 3D in the same vain as Mario and Zelda in 1997, while also elaborating on the original formula with all those wonderful, musical platforming levels, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH CASH MONEY THAT WOULD HAVE MADE!?

  41. @Dr.Jerk

    every comment u make is beautiful i'd marry ur opinion if i could.

    the main reason I hate this concept is because of one main reason megaman is a series aimed at children as soon as u take out that aspect it loses it's heart. even the darkest series the Zero series is still aimed at kids, but this thing is just a souless cash-in on halo/crysis sci-fi first person shooter crowd they literally just took every thing about megaman and turned it into another generic FPS! the reason you can do something like that with metroid is because metroid was already pretty dark and edgy they changed NOTHING about that game they just put it in first person. this crap they had to change the poor blue bombers ENTIRE image just to make him fit in an FPS setting. think about every megaman and compare him too the original classic megaman all pretty similar right? now compare this guy and compare him too classic megaman he's nothing like him at all even bad box art megaman is more reminiscent of megaman that this guy is.

  42. all you people are losers x7 and this game is good it did get canned but I have something to say to you that hate these games you suck at it and because of you legends 3 got canned and we got 8-bit crap learn how to play 3d games and grow out of your childhood ITS 2013 NOT THE 90S

  43. @Zappi TheAntagonist: Man hop off Dr. Jerk, because you can't find anything meaningful wrong with Maverick Hunter.

    No one ever said that Mega Man has to be meant for kids, You people are putting that limitation on the series in your imagination yourselves. The Mega Man franchise in general was always more geared towards having a general appeal to the widest possible audience, and not just one demographic in terms of maturity. The creator himself said he wanted to aim this towards the more mature audiences, the visionary behind the entire Mega Man franchise. The franchise has themes and and aspects that allows it to change in this way as well, its not like Super Mario where it'd be really hard to squeeze adult themes into what the series has established before.

    Not only this, but Maverick Hunter was suppose to be a re-envisioning of the X series, caring with it a big chuck of its lore, without ever imposing on the original. As MH was not meant to replace MMX, but exist beside it. This cannot be said for bad sub series like Legends, which makes MH infinitely a better fit for the franchise.

    @ Cucumber: Inafune never said or meant what you wrote down. If he did, I would like a source that explicitly states all of what you wrote down there about his intentions. Stop putting words in his mouth. The man personally endorsed this game, you're not gonna win an argument against this game by attempting to quote him.

    Also to people complaining about Bomberman AZ, good way of showing a bad example to a neutral idea. BM-AZ was a bad game in general, and that is mostly why it failed.

  44. So....ridiculously badass. Dx WHY DID IT HAVE TO GO!?!?!?

  45. @May 7, 2013 at 10:30 PM Anonymous: Forgive me then. I don't see a lot of people bad talking Battle Network. I do see it on Starforce yes though. Though it still seems in many ways that the Legends series and fanbase are more targeted than other series. And since the cancellation of Legends 3, I feel it's only gotten worse since. I admit there are times when I do feel incredibly tired out by the fanbase, but I also understand and respect some (not all) of their thoughts and opinions.

    But you're right. Yes Legends is very different from the basic MM gameplay formula. It incorporates many different styles and approaches that are distinct from previous series. I know this. But on a spiritual view point, which has become the main focus of the discussion regarding this MMX FPS game, Legends still shares the same basic principles. You can say that Volnutt is being a Mega Man in his own different way, he's fighting for everlasting peace... just differently than what the rest of us are used to. And meanwhile we have an Ultron copy trying to impersonate as X but is doing a pretty crappy job at it by being the exact opposite. That's not a Mega Man game to me.

    In the end, I in many ways just wish the Legends series and fanbase would be laid off already. Legends 3 is cancelled, and while I would like it to be revived, I've since moved on. I'm not a blind person if that's what you are liking me to. In fact, I have never participated in any of the efforts. I'm more concerned with how Capcom is treating the franchise as a whole than just one series.

    Also, where has the creator himself stated exactly that he intended the games to be for a broader audience? If I remember correctly, Inafune specifically said once that he considered the Classic series as more of a children's game. Now if you compare its art style and overly simplized plots to some later MM series, it would seem that they also practiced what they had preached. Rather it seems like the overseas releases were more intended to be for a broader audience, the American and European boxart covers (the earlier ones mainly) certainly weren't meant to be perceived as 'kiddy' or 'cute'. If I recall, MM Powered Up's chibified art style is believed to have been a major factor in the game's poor sales overseas. That said, I guess that's one reason why X here is so freaking different, because the majority's appeals here are different.

  46. @ Dr. Jerk: I never said that the creator(s) said he(they) intended the games to be aimed for a broader audience, as I don't know if he(they) ever did, and will not put words in his(their) mouth(s). I was going by the content within the franchise and how the franchise has progress through the years, and when i say franchise I mean the whole franchise not just Classic. There is an interview in a Game Informer magazine of 2003 I forget which exact date, where Inafune was being interviewed for his latest project Onimusha 3 and commented on topics regarding the maturity of his audiences, where he says something along the lines of...when people are young they have certain qualities that never leave them as they age, and those qualities he feels are universal, and that's what he tries to impart into his work. I forget exactly what was said so I try not to quote. Anyone who reads(read) Game Informer while keeping up with Onimusha 3 at the time can verify my source, as I have long since lost that issue.

    As for Mega Man being more aimed towards a broader audience than Rockman, I'd argue the opposite. I don't think the earlier box arts were originally intended to be more mature, I think it was a lost in translation kind of thing. In the Mega Man Anniversary Collection interview they say that they were running low on time, and quickly handed a random artist the job of creating the box art, in which he completed in a very short period. I think it was more of a westernization of the games than a maturity thing, due to lack of knowledge. Since those times, there has been heavy censorship of the western releases. As much as language, violence, and entire scenes being edited to be more child friendly, from games ranging from Classic to the Mega Man Zero series.

    Nonetheless I'm gonna show you respect from now on, as you seem to deserve it, holding on to a dignified conversation. I still hold animosity for most of the Legends fans along with the series for past experiences though. If you truly love the franchise, you should continue to voice your opinions. That is all.

  47. Too complex. Megaman's strength is in his simplicity.

  48. I was not happy with how X looked, but there are videos of this thing on the net now. X did have a 'human' face but he was still not the X I grew up knowing. The game was being made by the same folks who made Metroid Prime.

    So, it could have been VERY VERY AWESOME, but I agree, X's redo sucked balls. This could have worked if this was X's 'in stasis' years before X1, after Light had buried him away.

    All I know is, Metroid Prime was a huge departure from the way Metroid games were done, and nobody can deny the Prime games were awesome... Only thing is, they didn't try to change how Samus looked. She was still Samus. Yes, she got new suits, but her a-typical Varia, Gravity, her moveset, etc, were there.

    Pretty sure I don't remember X blowing someone's torso out, and being turned into IronMan Junior. Jus' sayin'.

