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Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection producer Tsukasa Takenaka and series producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya held an interview at TGS 2019 regarding how the collection came to be made, as well as what’s next for the Mega Man series as a whole. [Thanks, Gamer, via Rockman Corner!]
Here are the highlights;
Please tell us the story behind how Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection came to be decided for release. While there was a trend thanks to Mega Man Legacy Collection and Mega Man X Legacy Collection, it was surprising that the handheld titles Zero and ZX series were revived.
Kazuhiro Tsuchiya: “It’s true that a big influence on the decision was the release of Legacy Collection and X Legacy Collection, and the announcement and release of Mega Man 11 last year. As part of this wave of content, in order to revitalize the brand for the next 10-20 years by bringing in new fans so that they could enjoy new games, part of this was to revive the Zero and ZX series.
The Zero and ZX series were handheld-only titles that released around the same period as the X series. As such, there were probably players who owned home consoles probably knew of the games but didn’t play them. As such, we decided to bring these back for people who didn’t play these classic games.”
How did the Casual Scenario Mode come to be? I find it quite helpful for players like me who have gotten worse at action games thanks to getting older.
Tsuchiya: “As you said, it’s been 18 years since the release of Zero 1, and even primary schoolers back then are now adults. There are some people who might want to ‘just go fight that boss’ or ‘see classic scenes’, so this is a way we’re providing for those users.
Also, the Zero and ZX series are popular for its solid story, and so Casual Scenario Mode is also for those players.”
What do you think is the charm of the Zero and ZX series?
Tsuchiya: “First there was the classic Mega Man series, then there was the X series that expanded on the action and story elements, and then the Zero and ZX series further pushed the action and story elements to even greater heights.
The Mega Man brand has core fans for each of the series, but the fans of Zero and ZX are particularly passionate. I believe the challenging action gameplay and distinctive characters are part of the reason why. In a sense, its niche gameplay helped bring in many fans.”
You mentioned that the Zero and ZX series was brought back in order to continue the brand, but what’s next? Mega Man 11 was an excellent game, but I’m hoping for the revival of the Mega Man Starforce series. Personally, I also want Mega Man X Command Mission to come back. (laughs)
Tsuchiya: “I see. (laughs) Personally, there are a lot of games I’d like to make, but actually, we already have an idea of what’s next, so I’ll refrain from mentioning any specific games for now. I hope you’ll wait and look forward to the announcement.
One thing though, I believe that each Mega Man title are not spinoffs (gaiden) but all mainline games. There are people who think of X when they think of Mega Man, just as there are people who think of Battle Network when they think of Mega Man, and so depending on your generation what Mega Man is to you will be different. That’s why I do not want to deny any series of its future.”
Mega Man Zero/ZX Collection releases for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on January 21, 2020. Check out the game’s new ‘Z Chaser’ local multiplayer mode in our previous report here.
