The newest Mega Man game doesn't just limit itself to Mega Man. It's his universe. But does Mega Man Universe have universal appeal?
The Tokyo Game Show demo had a wide array of selectable characters: There was Mega Man, the U.S. boxart version of Mega Man and Rockman. There were customizable characters that include Gustman, Mettoman and Chopman.
Weapons can be toggled through by pressing the bumper. There was "A.Shooter" (Air Shooter), "L.Shield" (Leaf Shield), "B.Lead" (Bubble Lead) and B.Shoot (buster shot). The default is B.Shoot.
Different characters have different abilities. For example, box art Mega Man has the ability to fire only two shoot consecutively.
Control-mapping is flexible, giving players the choice to choose between the Dpad or the thumbstick. "Shoot" is mapped onto two different buttons, giving the players to pick the one they feel most comfortable with.
The game offered an Easy Mode, which is still hard — just not as hard. There were enemies like the carrot-chucking rabbit, and the stages offered were a cityscape and a skystage. The game is a mix of 3D graphics and 2D, but it plays like a 2D platformer. For most of the demo, I completely forgot that there were 3D elements to the title.
The game's more in-depth customization and level-making options were not on the showfloor, but the customized hinted at things to come.
Mega Man Universe would not seem out of place in Capcom's late 1980s production schedule. The only difference would be that it'd totally be Easy Mode free.