‘Mega Man 11’ Wasn’t Always Planned As a Game Featuring the Blue Bomber

We reviewed Mega Man 11 earlier this month and, despite some mildly frustrating platforming moments, found it to be a fine return to form for the classic hero. But imagine our surprise when we found out that when the game was initially planned, it didn't always have Mega Man in mind.

Based on an interview shared by Twitter user Koumashiki, Mega Man 11 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, speaking with Rockman Unity's Ucchi, explained that the game was actually planned as something else entirely when production kicked off.

Here's what he had to say when asked about its origins:

"There's a lot about the story of us wanting to make a Rockman game, but I might say, it must have been fate. I worked with director Oda on Resident Evil 0 HD before. After development reached its goal, he called me and asked: 'What should we do for our next project? I want to make a Rockman game…'. Since I was thinking of what to do for Rockman's 30 years anniversary at the same time, I answered: 'If we make a game, shouldn't we start right now?'.

"It was a coincidence that I was in charge of 'Rockman Classic Collection' too, so I thought I must go with the flow and make a game right away. Oda's word back then, 'It's Capcom's duty to correspond to fans' hope', left a deep impression in my memory. I could feel how serious he was when he said the word 'duty'. Since then, we put out so many plans, and a lot of people in the company was cheering for us… Our initial plan wasn't Rockman 11 actually. But I want this to be released in another form eventually, so details about it will be kept a secret for now. (laughs)

That said, whatever the project ended up starting out as, Tsuchiya hopes he can return to it someday, even though he can't discuss it. "I can actually do it, I must keep it a secret! (laughs) Well, as the development for Rockman 11 started, it took quite some time to recruit enough members, so I did some market researches and theoretical analysis on approaches to revive the brand. After incorporating what I wanted to do and going through different simulations, it's decided that 'Rockman must make a triumphant comeback!'. I believed once I did this for the 30 years anniversary, the series could live on for another 10, 20 years."

Whatever this project is, it has us intrigued. But, hey, we're perfectly happy with playing Mega Man games in the meantime.

Mega Man 11 is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

(Hat tip to Nintendo Everything for the scoop!)