So word has it that Capcom fucked up the Mega Man Anniversary Collection, which seems inconceivable, but then again, this is Capcom we’re talking about. The title collects Mega Mans 1-8, plus the two arcade titles, and it’s something die hard Mega Man fans (such as myself) have been wanting for years.
I’ve always been a fan of the original Mega Man series, with both parts 2 & 3 still high on the list of all time favorites. Most people will agree that part 2 is the best in the series, and perhaps one of the greatest platformers ever, but I still love part 3′s tuned gameplay, it’s overall structure, the amazing music (it’s all about Magnet Man’s theme), and how the bosses from 2 were incorporated. I suppose it’s the simplicity of the original series which I’ve always found most appealing, with the X series being far too complicated (and hard) for me to ever warm up to. The 3D “Legends” games were alright, but really didn’t feel like Mega Man, and the Battle Network series is an interesting offshoot, but the gameplay is even more far removed for my liking.
Anyways, when the Anniversary Collection was first announced, Capcom promised remixed music for all the games, which of course got everyone extremely excited. But now it seems that the remixed music is only in the PS2 version!
Actually, it is in the GameCube version (which was the one I wanted since I already have those Zelda compilation discs, plus the Sonic Mega Collection, so getting a Mega Man collection for the same system just seem “right”), but instead of being audible as you play one of the games, it’s hidden in the sound test. What the fuck?!
But that’s just a minor annoyance I suppose compared to the controls: Capcom, or whoever it was that made the actual compilation, switched the positions of the fire and jump buttons. This is a major screw up on a grand scale, which as far as I’m concerned, will make the game utterly unplayable. Running and jumping is all you do, and to totally change how that’s done (and has been done for years, without a single complaint), without any means to change it back in the options, is complete nonsense. And what I find most shocking is that almost every review I’ve read thus far makes no mention of this dramatic change at all! What, they never played the originals? Or do they not think it’s not that big a deal?
Also, why the hell did Capcom farm this out to an outside developers in the first place? First off, this is Mega Man, one of their most beloved and recognized characters, so you’d think that fact alone would give the collection the white glove treatment. Secondly, it’s not like such a project would have been that hard for Capcom to handle themselves (especially now that they’re no longer busy making Street Fighter clones every ten minutes like back in the day).
So the obvious choice is the PS2 version, right? Well back to the music: while the remixed tunes are there as you play, now I hear that not every level has it own remix, just certain stages. Once again, what the fuck?!?! Plus, I’m still trying to figure out if the remixes are all new, or just from the Japanese only PSone re-releases from a whiles back, where each game was sold separately. I bought parts 2 and 3 (obviously) expecting remixed music in those, but there were none. I then later found out that Capcom only included remixes in part 4-6! The one’s with the mediocre soundtracks? Brilliant!
Plus the box art is atrocious, even by Capcom’s standards.
The first is the US box art for the Anniversary Collection, the second from the aforementioned Japanese PSone re-release. Which do you think is better?
Oh well, at least I’ll always have Mega Man: the Wily Wars for the Genesis…
