Mega Man Legends – 1998 Developer Interview

Kousuke Fujishima - Manga artist. Currently serializing Oh My Goddess! in Monthly Afternoon (Kodansha). A true "Mecha-Mecha Man."

Keiji Inafune - Director of Development Dept. 2. The father of the Mega Man series. A cheerful game creator who spends his days and nights pondering the perfect balance for a game that both children and adults can enjoy.

—Let's start with why you like the mechanical designs in Mega Man Legends, Fujishima.

Fujishima: Well, because they're cool, plain and simple. (laughs) I think it's awesome how they're covered in bolts and rivets. Also, unlike other more eclectic Capcom titles like Cyberbots, I love how cohesive the world is in Mega Man Legends, right down to the designs.

Inafune: That’s very kind of you to say. (deeply moved) Up until now, we've always made Mega Man with the intention of having children enjoy it, but with Mega Man Legends, I wanted to create something that both kids and adults could enjoy. Because of that, getting the right balance for the worldbuilding, as you mentioned, and the designs of the mecha and robots was a real challenge.

Fujishima: I was actually surprised when I saw the concept art in the strategy guide. Even though the initial designs for the characters and robots were already quite cohesive, you went back and redesigned them over and over to simplify them. I can tell an immense amount of time went into this.

Inafune: Normally, you wouldn't go into this much detail in the concept design phase. For this project, though, I wanted to use a production method similar to anime, where the conceptual materials are firmly established before we even start building the game. At first, you're tempted to just keep piling on the detail. But adding detail for detail's sake just makes the design look cluttered and messy. The real challenge was seeing how far we could push those simple, clean lines while still including elements that feel loose and organic.

—You must have put a lot of work into Tron's design as well.

Inafune: Yeah, we did. In our search for a simple but unique silhouette, we eventually arrived the Tron you see today. Plus, there's the contrast with Roll-chan. I was very conscious of that. For Roll, I guess I wanted her to be "cute," while I wanted Tron to have a "spunky" feel.

Fujishima: That bold hairstyle has a huge impact.

—It's quite a daring design.

Fujishima: But conversely, because it's so simple, as long as you nail that part, the rest falls into place. I actually thought about making a figure of Tron, but I was worrying about how to handle that hair. (laughs)

Inafune: While we were making Mega Man Legends, I grew so fond of the Bonne family—with Tron at the center—that I'm actually making a game where Tron is the protagonist. I've decided that Mega Man won't appear! How's that for bold!

Fujishima: That's amazing! What’s the title?

Inafune: Well, the working title is Tron ni Kobun [Tron and Her Underlings]. As expected, it'll be a game where the Servbots play an active role alongside Tron. She'll be wreaking havoc in various mecha and stomping on the Servbots. (laughs)

Fujishima: Oh man. Are the Servbots being treated like that again…? (cries)

Inafune: The Servbots are going to get bullied quite a bit.

Fujishima: I feel so sorry for them. And yet, they're such "bully-able" characters. (laughs) Come to think of it, Bon Bonne surprised me too. When he first appeared, I hadn't looked at any of the setting materials, so I thought, "This must be an enemy mecha." He's huge, and Tron is operating him… but he's actually the younger brother! (laughs) And his character is just so ridiculous!

Inafune: Yeah. He's absurd, his design just got completely out of hand. (laughs)

Fujishima: But that absurdity is great. Those silly attacks are just so much fun, I can't get enough of them.

—It's rare for a game to be fun because the enemy attacks are silly.

Fujishima: Bonne Bon's "Buu!" attack, when he sticks his tongue out, is the silliest of all. It really caught me off guard. And his missiles are baby bottles! I really don't think any other developer would go with baby bottle missiles. (laughs)

—Injecting silliness... is that part of Capcom's corporate culture?

Inafune: Well, I wouldn't go as far as calling it corporate culture. (laughs) For example, there's always someone acting as the "brake," and the hard part is deciding how far to take it. If you can push the silliness to the limit right before the brakes kick in, you can make something really special.

Fujishima: This is a game where it's actually fun to be beaten by the enemy.

Inafune: If you play to the end, you'll really grow to love the Bonne family. I definitely want people to play it all the way through.

—Mega Man Legends is the first polygon title in the series. I imagine the shift to 3D brought its own set of challenges and new experiments?

Inafune: It certainly did. (deeply moved) We'd been working in 2D for so long that we knew all the tricks and methods inside out. But this time, it was in polygons, and full polygons at that.

Fujishima: What were some of the specific challenges?

Inafune: Adjusting the game's difficulty was a real struggle. Finding that sweet spot where it isn't too hard or too easy—and deciding which demographic to target—is a tough balancing act. When we surveyed the players, some said it was too hard while others said it was so easy they hated it. But the people who actually bother to send back surveys usually fall into the "too easy" camp.

Fujishima: Since the previous Mega Man games were so notoriously difficult, I suppose this one felt easy by comparison.

Inafune: What I wanted to test was whether we could use 3D to depict Mega Man in a more anime-like style. I think the team did a great job using the camera angles to make it feel like an anime.

Fujishima: The character's facial expressions were quite good, too. You could say they're just textures, but I was surprised by how naturally they fit the models.

Inafune: That was another goal of mine. With polygons, you can make things look clean, but they often feel expressionless. So I wanted to see if we could make the game more engaging by drawing them in an anime style and creating a wide variety of facial expressions.

Fujishima: If you can improve the hand movements too, I feel like this could become something truly great.

—Speaking of polygons, I noticed there are many round mecha. Were you trying to play to the strengths of the medium, perhaps? Since round mecha will look the same from any angle.

Inafune: Actually, perfect circles are hard to render with polygons. We had to get creative to make them look round, employing techniques like overlapping polygons in a cross-pattern.

Fujishima: Yeah, using circles for the mecha gives them a nice, cute feel. Oh, and once again, there's an octopus. I have a real weakness for octopus mecha! I love the way they move!

Inafune: Our concept for the movement was "cool but comical." We put a lot of work into that.

—There's a certain "sense" or flair to the mecha in Capcom games. What do you think defines that?

Inafune: Hmm, that's a good question.

Fujishima: Personally, I think mecha absolutely must have a strong outline. In Mega Man Legends, no matter which mecha you look at, you can tell exactly what it is just by seeing the silhouette. That's an incredible achievement.

Inafune: That makes me very happy to hear. (deeply moved)

Fujishima: It's the kind of thing you don't realize until you try it yourself, but you need many variations just to create a single silhouette. That process involves constantly scrapping what you've made and rethinking things. It must be exhausting.

Inafune: That "sense" is actually something the company has accumulated over time. There's a sort of Capcom know-how, and the obsession our top designers have with things like character individuality and their approach to silhouette design… it borders on the abnormal. (laughs)

Fujishima: I'll bet. Otherwise, you couldn't achieve this level of total design cohesion.

—Fujishima-sensei, could you list some of the things you found fun about Mega Man Legends?

Fujishima: I like how ambitious it is, letting you play on land, at sea, and in the air.

Inafune: Actually, from a gameplay perspective, it's surprisingly difficult to make interesting sea segments.

Fujishima: I can imagine. The sea is essentially an open space where you can go anywhere, but you can't really pull that off unless the map is massive. It's a tricky balance. I also really like swapping out different parts on Mega Man. It's fun to experiment with them. (laughs) That's definitely one of the highlights for me.

Inafune: You can choose to focus on upgrading your Mega Buster, or you can go the route of developing entirely new weapons: there are several ways to enjoy it.

Fujishima: Come to think of it, was there no drill? (laughs)

Inafune: Oh, it's right here: the Drill Arm. (laughs)

Fujishima: Ah, there it is! Right where it should be. (laughs)

Inafune: You can't have a game like this without a drill. (laughs)

Fujishima: Is there a Rocket Punch?

Everyone: … (silence)

Inafune: I… I don't think there is. (laughs)

Fujishima: I guess not. (laughs)

Inafune: (muttering) ...I see. A Rocket Punch, huh… (laughs)

Fujishima: It's a staple, after all.

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