Capcom should bridge Megaman X and Megaman Zero

[phart010 | 1,705]

I never played the Megaman Zero games. They seemed like too much of a drastic departure from my beloved Megaman X series. And the way the robots looked different just sealed the deal. I suspect that many Megaman fans feel the same way I do.

More recently I have realized that the MMX and MMZero stories are actually related to one another. Now Capcom will be re-releasing the Megaman Zero Collection pretty soon. It seems like a wasted opportunity. 

What Capcom really should have done was to make a new game that explains how the X series ended and how the Zero series began. Then re-release the MMZero collection afterwards. You’d get all of the Megaman X fans to buy the new game, and then they’d all be curious to see what happens next. So then they’d all buy the Megaman Zero Collection.

I have a bad feeling that Megaman Zero Collection is not going to sell very well. This kind of makes me sad because I want Megaman to sell well so Capcom will continue to pursue the series. But they keep on making absent minded decisions when it comes to this series and then they want to blame the fans for not being interested. 

[Sumez | 2,930]

It's kind of weird how they never really did bridge the stories. Though I do feel that they did a "better" job bridging MMX to MMZ than they did MM to MMX (there's a reference to Wily in one of the later X games, and you see a silhouette of Zero in one of the MM arcade games, but I think that's it?).

At least Mega Man Zero 1 starts out with a backstory that bridges the games, and several references to X exist across the series. There's a lot of "lore" about how the X series ended, but I can't piece together exactly which games it comes from - there are so many, including RPGs and everything.

That said, the X series went on for way too long, and screwed up its story way too much, in proper japanese kingdom hearts style fashion. I like world building in games like this, but I don't play Mega Man for the story, and almost prefer the more goofy one-off stories from the original Mega Man series.

4 hours ago, phart010 said:

I have a bad feeling that Megaman Zero Collection is not going to sell very well. This kind of makes me sad because I want Megaman to sell well so Capcom will continue to pursue the series. But they keep on making absent minded decisions when it comes to this series and then they want to blame the fans for not being interested. 

I think Mega Man 11 was the best decision since X4. It's a great game, and a total return to form. I do like the Zero games (and the first ZX) to some extent, but in general I just never enjoyed Inti Creates' game design that much. Instead of focusing on the Zero series, I want to see Capcom continuing making in-house Mega Man games, and if you want to support that, put some money into buying Mega Man 11!

[AstralSoul | 502]

Are any of the Mega Man sub-series bridged? As far as I was aware they all seemed to exist separately. I don't even think Mega Man and Mega Man X are the same character. And Zero takes places long after MMX I believe. ZX I have no idea how it connects to anything. But I was just under the impression there really is no connection (or very little) between the series.

[Sumez | 2,930]

Mega Man, Mega Man X, and Mega Man Zero are clearly bridged, in a 100% canon manner.

X is an entirely different character from Rock/Mega Man, but I believe Zero is the same character in MMX and MMZ despite the design change (correct me if I'm wrong).
Honestly, the plot is a little dumb, and it's really best not to think too much about it, but that's the way it is.

Here are a few screenshots I could dig up, that solidify the relations:

Above: Zero in a Mega Man game

Above: Dr. Light (hologram/AI) in a MMX game

Above: Dr. Wily in a Mega Man X4 flashback scene (even has voiced dialogue)

Above: Dr. Wily logo in Mega Man X5

Above: The original Zero is discovered in the intro to MMZ1

Edited February 4, 2020 by Sumez

[phart010 | 1,705]

You forgot about this one

Above: Dr Wily hauling away malfunctioning Zero in Megaman Unlimited 

[Sumez | 2,930]

Mega Man Unlimited is a fan game (though Capcom gladly approves of those with few compromises), so I wouldn't say that counts.

That said, I didn't know about this, so it's pretty interesting.

[phart010 | 1,705]

4 hours ago, Sumez said:

Mega Man Unlimited is a fan game (though Capcom gladly approves of those with few compromises), so I wouldn't say that counts.

That said, I didn't know about this, so it's pretty interesting.

It’s a fan game. But if nobody told you that, you would have never known

[Californication | 1,477]

I've never played Mega Man zero. Saw Zero 1-4 for $60 the other ray and almost grabbed it. Not sure if I should just grabe a copy of the PS4 collection, but that generally isn't my jam.

[Sumez | 2,930]

Mega Man Zero is definitely something different. I was never a big fan of Inti Creates' game in general