Is it Time for the “ReBirth” of Mega Man?

As many of you are no doubt already aware, it seems that one of Konami’s worst-kept secrets of late is their plan to bring a new Castlevania title to WiiWare. The ESRB posted the info before Konami was able to make an announcement (and, as of this writing, they have still yet to say anything), but from what we can tell, it seems to be a “ReBirth” remake of Castlevania: The Adventure, which was the first portable Castlevania title (with the possible exception of the Simon’s Quest Tiger handheld, if one were to count that. But we won’t).
Unless Konami is simply recycling the name (not an impossible scenario; anyone remember the retitled Metal Gear: Ghost Babel game for Game Boy Color, known here simply as “Metal Gear Solid?”), it appears that Konami is taking a game that has been all but forgotten from the early days of the original Game Boy, and adding a bit more dazzle in order to sell it to today’s gaming audience. Of course, if Gradius ReBirth and Contra ReBirth are any indication, we should not expect contemporary graphics for this game, but rather something along the lines of new graphics developed in a style reminiscent of the games of the Super NES.

Perhaps you are wondering where I am going with this, talking so much about Castlevania on a Mega Man website. However, I should think it is rather obvious. I think we can safely agree that Mega Man Mania, otherwise known as the Game Boy Advance Mega Man Anniversary Collection, is not happening. Dead. Over. Finished.

The exact reasons remain unknown, and we may never know the full truth, but the time has perhaps come to put this behind us and look to new avenues to explore. And I believe that with Castlevania the Adventure ReBirth, Konami is showing us, and hopefully Capcom, the way.

Since Mega Man Mania is a lost cause, I would definitely and strongly encourage Capcom to release the Game Boy Mega Man titles, a series which gets progressively stronger as it goes, as a series of remakes on WiiWare. It would be a great way to give Mega Man fans more of what they want, but without the need to divert a lot of resources toward development. The groundwork is done, it would simply need to be prettied up, have some music remixed, and perhaps adjust some things for screen ratio.

Certainly, it may not be the colored collection of the original titles that we had all wanted, but as a runner-up, having WiiWare remakes of these loved but oft-overlooked games would not be a bad prize in itself. And for a lot of people, it would probably be almost as good as having new Mega Man adventures without Capcom having to actually make new Mega Man adventures. Plus, it will help maintain a part of the Blue Bomber’s heritage.

Capcom has a whopping one title available in the WiiWare catalog to date, and while this would do little to showcase any diversity in their lineup, it would at least help to increase their presence on Nintendo’s downloadable service, as well as capitalize on the apparent goodwill Wii gamers have shown for Mega Man 9.

Finally, as a disclaimer, I’ve no problem with the games appearing on Xbox LIVE Arcade or the PlayStation Network; in fact, with Capcom, it seems a far more likely scenario that they would. The above has simply been written with the consideration of Konami’s WiiWare-only ReBirth titles and Mega Man 9‘s significant popularity on the WiiWare where it originated, as it followed to the other services in Japan only more recently.

LanceHeart