Capcom is re-releasing the first six Mega Man games and augmenting them with modern bonus features in the Mega Man Legacy Collection, the publisher announced today.
The Mega Man Legacy Collection will be available digitally this summer on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One for $14.99. A digital Nintendo 3DS release will follow this winter.
Digital Eclipse Software, the studio behind the Sega Genesis Collection, is developing the Mega Man Legacy Collection. The company is using its new Eclipse Engine, which "rebuilds the original games from their source elements," according to Capcom. Frank Cifaldi, Digital Eclipse's head of restoration, likened the Mega Man Legacy Collection to a Criterion Collection reissue.
"Movies have the Criterion Collection, but there hasn't been anything like that for games," said Cifaldi in a blog post from Capcom. "We're living in the golden age of a brand new form of artistic expression, and we're not doing a very good job of making sure our games will be available five years from now, let alone fifty. The more we can do right now to take video game preservation seriously, the safer our history will be."
Along with high-definition versions of Mega Man (1987) through Mega Man 6 (1994), the Mega Man Legacy Collection will include a Challenge Mode, which will take sequences and pieces from the games and turn them into challenges. For example, players can try fighting all six Mega Man bosses in a row. The mode will save and upload replay data, so the world will be able to watch your exploits.
In addition, each of the six games will feature a database with an enemy list that will allow players to practice fighting a particular boss without having to play through to that point. And history buffs will love the in-game museum, which will offer "an exhaustive collection of sketches, art and other visual materials," according to Capcom. Digital Eclipse is scanning items into the game at "absurdly high resolutions" for the museum.
The Mega Man Legacy Collection joins Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition and Resident Evil 0 in Capcom's lineup of throwback projects, and it appears to be the company's biggest remastering effort yet. For more, check out the trailer and screenshots above.
