Mega Man Legends is a series in the Mega Man franchise. While the main series is known for its 2D side-scrolling platformer gameplay with very little story, this series instead features 3Daction-adventure gameplay and a robust story.
Plot overview
The games are set in the distant future; a time when the planet Earth is mostly ocean, leaving some islands left for civilization to prosper on. Based on in-game dialogue, the series takes place at least in the year 80XX. By this time frame, the original humans have been replaced by artificial lifeforms almost identical to them which can produce offspring with almost no effort. The player controls Mega Man Volnutt, a teenage digger and archaeologist of sorts who searches underground ruins mainly for Quantum Refractors, which are the civilization's primary source of energy. He was found as a baby on Nino Island at the bottom of the closed-off Nino Ruins and was raised by Professor Barrel Caskett along with his granddaughter Roll Caskett. Giving them trouble are the Bonnes, a group of pirates consisting of leader Teisel Bonne, his sister Tron Bonne, their baby brother Bon Bonne who somehow can drive a large mecha suit, and the 41 Servbots. More trouble is given to Mega Man by the Reaverbots, the techno-organic semi-intelligent residents of the underground ruins who serve to protect its contents.
Games
The first game in the series, Mega Man Legends was released for PlayStation in December 1997. The game was later ported to Nintendo 64 in 2000, to Microsoft Windows in 2001, and to PlayStation Portable in 2005. The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, a prequel title focusing on series antihero Tron Bonne, was released for the PlayStation in July 1999. Mega Man Legends 2 was released in April 2000 for the PlayStation. Ports for Windows and PlayStation Portable followed in 2003 and 2005 respectively. Rockman DASH Great Five-Island Adventure, was unveiled for mobile phones on September 23, 2007, at the Tokyo Game Show, and subsequently released it in early 2008. The timeline sets between first and second game. In September 2010, Capcom announced Mega Man Legends 3 to be in development for Nintendo 3DS. However, the game was ultimately cancelled in July 2011.
Development
At one point Capcom had planned to release 1997's Mega Man Legends in the US under the domesticated title Mega Man Neo, and then Mega Man Nova. Keiji Inafune, who was the producer on all three Legends games, has for many games has consistently expressed interest in making a third installment. He claims that creating a Rockman game for the next generation consoles would cost around $15 million to fund and develop. Mega Man Legends 3 was announced for the Nintendo 3DS on September 29, 2010, during a Nintendo press conference for the 3DS, nearly ten years after the American release of Mega Man Legends 2. In September 2007, Keiji Inafune commented that he was asked by several fans if Mega Man Legends 3 would be made; although Inafune expressed a desire to make such a game, he stated that he could not do it at that time. Detailed information about the game was announced at the New York Comic Con in October 2010. Although Inafune left Capcom in November 2010, the team working for Mega Man Legends 3 stated that the game would continue development. Capcom intended to release Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype Version in 2011 for the 3DS eShop, featuring 10 missions, and a new playable character, Barrett. The Prototype Version was going to act as a prologue to the forthcoming main game. On July 18, 2011, it was announced that production on Mega Man Legends 3 was being cancelled, and that neither a full game, nor Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype Version would be released, and that there were currently no plans to resume production. A fan campaign meant to persuade Capcom to continue development on Mega Man Legends 3 started shortly after its cancellation. 100,000 Strong for Bringing Back Mega Man Legends 3, also known as Get Me Offthe Moon, includes sending as many physical letters and e-mails as well as giving as many phone calls to Capcom's headquarters as possible, in addition to posting messages on the branch's Facebook and Twitter accounts, requesting for a release of the game. The group also advocates using Tanomi.com, a Japanese site that allows people to request a product. 100,000 Strong for Bringing Back Mega Man Legends 3 has been covered by Digital Trends, Destructoid, GamePro, Eurogamer, and the Portuguese gaming website Eurogamer, In addition, Mega Man Legends 3 Project's programming director Yoshiyuki Fujikawa has responded favorably to the campaign and "encourages fans to fight for the game to be released." Capcom themselves has taken notice of the project and the Facebook page and have confirmed that "they were aware of the Facebook group but they would not be changing their plans", stating, "While Capcom has a built a strong relationship with its community and values their feedback, Mega Man Legends 3 development has officially ceased without plans to resume development."
