Mighty No. 9

So, Inafune has revealed his latest project, and lo behold:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...o9/mighty-no-9

I...Shut up and take my Zenny!

Gave them $100. Fucking stoked.

Yeah I'm definitely gonna pledge some munnies! Quite a dream team Inafune put together.

In Inafking we trust.

If you hadn't made this thread, I would have. Yes. I'm donating at least $60 as soon as I get my next measly excuse for a paycheck, gold-ass Beck is just too sexy to pass up. I'm really glad to see Keiji taking on new projects and relying on us to support him, I'll support him and Comcast in everything they do.

Edit: worth mentioning to prospective backers: you get cool prizes depending on how much you donate, t-shirts, the soundtrack, and hey, if you have 10,000 dollars to blow you get to have a lovely dinner with Keiji Inafune. :doink: Jokes aside (well, not really, that actually is a prize and how much it costs) you get cool stuff for much more reasonable amounts. I donated $60, and I'll be getting a digital strategy guide, art book, and sound track, a physical game box and printed manual, a cool gold skin for Beck (the hero of the game), my name in the game's credits and access to backer-only future events on the forum.

This game should feature an alternate title/subtitle:

"I can't believe it's NOT Mega Man!"

That said, looks neat. Hope it comes out well!

I gave them $40. I can't wait! I went though alot of emotions while watching his video. I felt sad and mad at Capcom, and then happy and hopeful about this project.

Pledged $40 myself. Just hours away from hitting the goal!

$120. Not my turn to buy groceries anyways. :wacko:

It gotten $20 from me.
Well, it's Inafune's dream, so I see a bright future for this project.

Wow, seriously toeing the lines of copyright infringement there, Inafune. :'D But if Capcom are happy to let it slide, then I'm most pleased to see something so Mega Man-esque see the light of day! ^^;;; Backed without hesitation~

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Originally Posted by Elin

Wow, seriously toeing the lines of copyright infringement there, Inafune. :'D But if Capcom are happy to let it slide, then I'm most pleased to see something so Mega Man-esque see the light of day! ^^;;; Backed without hesitation~

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Psh.
Capcom WILL let this slide. Considering all of their failed projects they might resort to something as weak as copyright infringement, but it's originally his idea right? Influenced from Mega Man or not, it's dev team is all great people who worked for Capcom making Mega Man games, that potential lawsuit being the downfall of this project is going to cause major backlash from the Capcom community....what's left of it anyways.
And then Capcom digs a even deeper grave.

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Originally Posted by Sheik

Psh.
Capcom WILL let this slide. Considering all of their failed projects they might resort to something as weak as copyright infringement, but it's originally his idea right? Influenced from Mega Man or not, it's dev team is all great people who worked for Capcom making Mega Man games, that potential lawsuit being the downfall of this project is going to cause major backlash from the Capcom community....what's left of it anyways.
And then Capcom digs a even deeper grave.

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Not on Capcom's side or anything here, and like you say, they'll probably turn a blind eye to it because crushing it would burn any bridges they have left with their fanbase. But I do think they could easily win a lawsuit against Inafune here if they wanted to. Mega Man was certainly his idea, but unfortunately his brainchild isn't his anymore, and creating something that is essentially Mega Man in all but name when he isn't legally entitled to is risky business. There's a precedent for this kind of stuff, as Nintendo won huge damages back in the early 2000s against Tear Ring Saga, a game created in nearly identical circumstances (the creator of a series, in this case Fire Emblem, leaves and creates a game with extreme similarities to his previous work), and Tear Ring Saga was really no more similar to Fire Emblem than this looks to be to Mega Man.

In any case, hoping Capcom decide to be cool about things, as it looks like a lovely throwback to Inafune's earlier work. Still, if Capcom decide to fight this battle, it looks to me to be almost certainly one that they'd win going by how the game looks so far. :/

Elin, I read about the Tear Ring Saga case yesterday and from what I gathered Nintendo didn't initially win but appealed and managed to get some money but not stop sales of the game. Court apparently suggested that any similarities with Fire Emblem is because of the creator's style. Because of this people believe that even if Capcom sued they would not win. Clashes somewhat with your version of the what happened but I could be wrong. Need to do some research! :O

I don't think Capcom will mess with this. It would cause alot of backlash. When asked about what they think about the game on their forums, they said it should belong on the off topic forums and/or wish him the best of luck. Even then, it is the mods that do so and not Capcom.

Spoiler warning:

http://www.at7addak.com/data/news/20...let/-HPANV.png
http://www.at7addak.com/data/news/20...let/-HPANV.png

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Originally Posted by crusher

Elin, I read about the Tear Ring Saga case yesterday and from what I gathered Nintendo didn't initially win but appealed and managed to get some money but not stop sales of the game. Court apparently suggested that any similarities with Fire Emblem is because of the creator's style. Because of this people believe that even if Capcom sued they would not win. Clashes somewhat with your version of the what happened but I could be wrong. Need to do some research! :O

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There was a settlement for about 750K USD (which isn't really that much money for either studio, and probably just covered the court fees for Nintendo's high tier lawyers if it even did that) and the game was not only left on shelves but there was that sequel people tend to forget happened. And that involved Nintendo who are famously overprotective of anything that so much as smells like one of their products. There's been plenty of examples of extreme plagiarism in gaming that never saw a courtroom (Elin should be recalling the Xeno series which is now up to 2 different examples of it, the first being incredibly egregious and involving one of the biggest gaming companies that doesn't have its own console). Largely because the precedence tends to go more towards "self plagiarism isn't plagiarism". Unless you've got damn good lawyers and want to kick up a massive fuss. Which is Nintendo's MO when it comes to their IP.

Hell Bayonetta got away from ripping off game mechanics and boss fights that didn't come into the series until long after Kamiya left Capcom. So this'll be fine.

Within 3 days, the first stretch goal has been breached. Such is the power of the fanbase.

Lot of westerners supporting it too.

Oh capcom, you and your hilarious "people outside japan don't care about rockman" stance. :wacko:

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Originally Posted by crusher

Elin, I read about the Tear Ring Saga case yesterday and from what I gathered Nintendo didn't initially win but appealed and managed to get some money but not stop sales of the game. Court apparently suggested that any similarities with Fire Emblem is because of the creator's style. Because of this people believe that even if Capcom sued they would not win. Clashes somewhat with your version of the what happened but I could be wrong. Need to do some research! :O

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They couldn't get the game removed from shelves, but as Ray said, Nintendo still had enough of a case that they managed to drum up something like half a million pounds. It's not a lot of money to Nintendo, granted, but it was a lot to a small startup studio, funded by Enterbrain or no, especially when you factor in the existing legal costs on top of that. And it would be even more money to a company that is turning to crowdfunding.

Like I say, I doubt Capcom will actually do anything about it, but I have no doubt at all that, considering the scope of the project, they could do significant financial damage to it if they chose to, even if they couldn't get the game banned altogether. And I think it was a bit of a risk on Inafune's part to push a project on a limited budget that is so unmistakably a carbon copy of his most famous series.

Also, I thought of Xenosaga too, but while it definitely played it fast and loose with copyright law, I don't think it was quite on the same level as this. Granted, it lifted some character designs from Xenogears, but with character designs, a lot can be hand waved away by the fact that it's the same character designer, and many of the other similarities were generic enough that they had something of a getout clause in the event of lawsuits. Giant robots? They're everywhere in anime. Religious terminology? The Bible isn't copyrighted. The various gameplay systems? There wasn't a great deal about them that was explicitly Xenogears, and proving that it was explicitly influenced by Xenogears and not simply JRPGs in general would be difficult, even if it obviously was.

Heck even with Tear Ring Saga, which looks and plays shockingly like a Fire Emblem game, they had something of a getout clause in that many of the things it lifted from Fire Emblem had become commonplace in SRPGs by that time, and weren't quite so specifically tied to its parent series. But a good natured humanoid robot who, striking visual similarities to Mega Man aside, fights industrial robots who have gone mad, absorbs their special powers to use himself, and fights using a cannon on his arm? That's seriously just Mega Man with a different name. There is literally nothing at all there that distinguishes it from the Mega Man series. I doubt Capcom will do anything about it, but I don't really feel like they've left themselves any wiggle room here in the event that Capcom's lawyers do decide to come knocking, as there's very little way for them to argue that they're not just making a Mega Man game under a different title. I don't think it's wrong, and personally feel that Inafune should be able to do whatever he wants with his own ideas, regardless of whether or not he holds the copyright on them. I'm also really looking forward to the game. ^^;;; But I do think it's a bit of a gamble, especially considering that Capcom haven't exactly been the most benevolent company in recent years.

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Originally Posted by Raype

There was a settlement for about 750K USD (which isn't really that much money for either studio, and probably just covered the court fees for Nintendo's high tier lawyers if it even did that) and the game was not only left on shelves but there was that sequel people tend to forget happened. And that involved Nintendo who are famously overprotective of anything that so much as smells like one of their products. There's been plenty of examples of extreme plagiarism in gaming that never saw a courtroom (Elin should be recalling the Xeno series which is now up to 2 different examples of it, the first being incredibly egregious and involving one of the biggest gaming companies that doesn't have its own console). Largely because the precedence tends to go more towards "self plagiarism isn't plagiarism". Unless you've got damn good lawyers and want to kick up a massive fuss. Which is Nintendo's MO when it comes to their IP.

Hell Bayonetta got away from ripping off game mechanics and boss fights that didn't come into the series until long after Kamiya left Capcom. So this'll be fine.

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Spot on regarding Xenosaga! It's exactly what's happening now with Might No. 9. Can't believe I didn't think of that myself.

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Originally Posted by Elin

They couldn't get the game removed from shelves, but as Ray said, Nintendo still had enough of a case that they managed to drum up something like half a million pounds. It's not a lot of money to Nintendo, granted, but it was a lot to a small startup studio, funded by Enterbrain or no, especially when you factor in the existing legal costs on top of that. And it would be even more money to a company that is turning to crowdfunding.

Like I say, I doubt Capcom will actually do anything about it, but I have no doubt at all that, considering the scope of the project, they could do significant financial damage to it if they chose to, even if they couldn't get the game banned altogether. And I think it was a bit of a risk on Inafune's part to push a project on a limited budget that is so unmistakably a carbon copy of his most famous series.

Also, I thought of Xenosaga too, but while it definitely played it fast and loose with copyright law, I don't think it was quite on the same level as this. Granted, it lifted some character designs from Xenogears, but with character designs, a lot can be hand waved away by the fact that it's the same character designer, and many of the other similarities were generic enough that they had something of a getout clause in the event of lawsuits. Giant robots? They're everywhere in anime. Religious terminology? The Bible isn't copyrighted. The various gameplay systems? There wasn't a great deal about them that was explicitly Xenogears, and proving that it was explicitly influenced by Xenogears and not simply JRPGs in general would be difficult, even if it obviously was.

Heck even with Tear Ring Saga, which looks and plays shockingly like a Fire Emblem game, they had something of a getout clause in that many of the things it lifted from Fire Emblem had become commonplace in SRPGs by that time, and weren't quite so specifically tied to its parent series. But a good natured humanoid robot who, striking visual similarities to Mega Man aside, fights industrial robots who have gone mad, absorbs their special powers to use himself, and fights using a cannon on his arm? That's seriously just Mega Man with a different name. There is literally nothing at all there that distinguishes it from the Mega Man series. I doubt Capcom will do anything about it, but I don't really feel like they've left themselves any wiggle room here in the event that Capcom's lawyers do decide to come knocking, as there's very little way for them to argue that they're not just making a Mega Man game under a different title. I don't think it's wrong, and personally feel that Inafune should be able to do whatever he wants with his own ideas, regardless of whether or not he holds the copyright on them. I'm also really looking forward to the game. ^^;;; But I do think it's a bit of a gamble, especially considering that Capcom haven't exactly been the most benevolent company in recent years.

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There's still a decent amount of leeway here as well. Inafune designed several of the enemies/bosses from previous megaman games and has a way out on the protagonist with Zero or X, or, hell, BN Megaman (who seems to be the most direct influence here, possibly with Zero series touchings as Beck looks more than a bit like an overdesigned resistance soldier)

There's been numerous doujin megaman "clones" floating around for years. He could always claim to be taking inspiration from there. The transformation aspect can lead to him claiming he's really doing a Vectorman sequel that's inspired by Metroid. Or something.

Or he can always use the astroboy defense and claim that nothing he's doing is new or unique anyway.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elin

They couldn't get the game removed from shelves, but as Ray said, Nintendo still had enough of a case that they managed to drum up something like half a million pounds. It's not a lot of money to Nintendo, granted, but it was a lot to a small startup studio, funded by Enterbrain or no, especially when you factor in the existing legal costs on top of that. And it would be even more money to a company that is turning to crowdfunding.

Like I say, I doubt Capcom will actually do anything about it, but I have no doubt at all that, considering the scope of the project, they could do significant financial damage to it if they chose to, even if they couldn't get the game banned altogether. And I think it was a bit of a risk on Inafune's part to push a project on a limited budget that is so unmistakably a carbon copy of his most famous series.

Also, I thought of Xenosaga too, but while it definitely played it fast and loose with copyright law, I don't think it was quite on the same level as this. Granted, it lifted some character designs from Xenogears, but with character designs, a lot can be hand waved away by the fact that it's the same character designer, and many of the other similarities were generic enough that they had something of a getout clause in the event of lawsuits. Giant robots? They're everywhere in anime. Religious terminology? The Bible isn't copyrighted. The various gameplay systems? There wasn't a great deal about them that was explicitly Xenogears, and proving that it was explicitly influenced by Xenogears and not simply JRPGs in general would be difficult, even if it obviously was.

Heck even with Tear Ring Saga, which looks and plays shockingly like a Fire Emblem game, they had something of a getout clause in that many of the things it lifted from Fire Emblem had become commonplace in SRPGs by that time, and weren't quite so specifically tied to its parent series. But a good natured humanoid robot who, striking visual similarities to Mega Man aside, fights industrial robots who have gone mad, absorbs their special powers to use himself, and fights using a cannon on his arm? That's seriously just Mega Man with a different name. There is literally nothing at all there that distinguishes it from the Mega Man series. I doubt Capcom will do anything about it, but I don't really feel like they've left themselves any wiggle room here in the event that Capcom's lawyers do decide to come knocking, as there's very little way for them to argue that they're not just making a Mega Man game under a different title. I don't think it's wrong, and personally feel that Inafune should be able to do whatever he wants with his own ideas, regardless of whether or not he holds the copyright on them. I'm also really looking forward to the game. ^^;;; But I do think it's a bit of a gamble, especially considering that Capcom haven't exactly been the most benevolent company in recent years.

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Well it's hard to deny that Beck kinda looks like Mega Man. But then I just want to say that it's not like Mega Man wasn't a rip-off of Astro Boy in the first place. :wacko:

Gameplay concepts being similar I don't think Capcom can do much about. If they wanna take this down it probably has to be because of the similarities in looks. But I'd say that a huge part of the likeness to Mega Man comes because of Inafune and his past with the series. He's an artist at heart.

In a world where Gameloft can exist so can Mighty No. 9! :wacko:

Edit: What Ray said... >___>

Second stretch goal now. Man, how much do you think will be collected by the end of the month?

Also, two people with money to burn get to dine with the man himself.

Update: third stretch reached!

Excellent work, Mighty Beckers! :wacko:

Edit: Because of feedback from people the making of documentary and console version stretch goals have been moved up. Good news I'd say but I really wanted to know what that '???' was all about. :O

I'm really hoping this makes it to the $2.2M stretch goal for us console gamers. It looks like it's definitely going to, thankfully. =) I'm about to pledge some money now, just gotta find which tier I want to get in for. I really want the T-shirt and physical box, but $100 is quite a lot of money. :dread:

[ edit ] $15 shipping for something the size of an NES box?! You motherfuckers. >.> You better be damned happy that I love Mega Man so much, otherwise I might have to stab you. Whatever. I pledged $60. I hope I don't regret this.

I'm sure it will, 2 or so days and already 1.5m seems like a good sign it could hit upwards 5 or 6m.

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Originally Posted by Corey

I'm sure it will, 2 or so days and already 1.5m seems like a good sign it could hit upwards 5 or 6m.

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When it was first announced, I wasn't sure if it would be able to make it that far. I'm glad I've been proven wrong so far, and have no doubts it'll finish north of $4M. I was just worried about putting $75 down on something and not seeing anything for it for another year and a half (provided they release on time), and not being able to get it on my preferred console.

Oh well. I'm looking forward to this. It'll be a nice birthday present to myself in 2015. :wacko:

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Originally Posted by crusher

Excellent work, Mighty Beckers! :wacko:

Edit: Because of feedback from people the making of documentary and console version stretch goals have been moved up. Good news I'd say but I really wanted to know what that '???' was all about. :O

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My money's on an 8-bit mode. Either some sort of filter or an official de-make that's thrown together by the team. Because I know that's what I'd do with 400 grand. :wacko:

Although I'd like it to be an extra playable character. One of the cooler things about certain THIS IS TOTALLY NOT MEGAMAN GUIZE games is using a character with X era abilities in a level designed for an original era protagonist. Those powerlevels man. Those powerlevels. And since MM10 kinda did that with Bass (and 9 did it with protoman), I can see some overlap there.

I'm thinking it'll be an extra playable character, personally.

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Originally Posted by Drageuth

I'm thinking it'll be an extra playable character, personally.

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It will obviously be him replacing MegaBeck with Zero.

Hey it could just be music licensing.

So that we have to deal with fighting mighty number 5.

Presumably a sentient trumpet.

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Originally Posted by Raype

Hey it could just be music licensing.

So that we have to deal with fighting mighty number 5.

Presumably a sentient trumpet.

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YOU DEFEATED LOU MEGA-BEGA!

YOU ACQUIRED -- T-T-TRUMPET BLAST!

So I just updated my pledge to $175 because I have poor impulse control and need that Plushie.

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Originally Posted by Corey

So I just updated my pledge to $175 because I have poor impulse control and need that Plushie.

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Surely you want to dine with Inafune? :O

In other news, Mighty No. 5:

http://i.imgur.com/SRVQTWR.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raype

My money's on an 8-bit mode. Either some sort of filter or an official de-make that's thrown together by the team. Because I know that's what I'd do with 400 grand. :wacko:

Although I'd like it to be an extra playable character. One of the cooler things about certain THIS IS TOTALLY NOT MEGAMAN GUIZE games is using a character with X era abilities in a level designed for an original era protagonist. Those powerlevels man. Those powerlevels. And since MM10 kinda did that with Bass (and 9 did it with protoman), I can see some overlap there.

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8-bit mode or extra characters would be nice but I would rather have a Powered Up-ish level editor.

I spent many happy hours playing user created levels in MMPU and I was actually looking forward to Mega Man Universe despite how it looked. :(

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Originally Posted by crusher

Surely you want to dine with Inafune? :O

In other news, Mighty No. 5:

http://i.imgur.com/SRVQTWR.jpg

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If I had that kind of money to waste I absolutely would!

Also, I definitely preferred the dick gun Robot Master instead.
http://i.imgur.com/GDDWF9B.jpg

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Originally Posted by Corey

If I had that kind of money to waste I absolutely would!

Also, I definitely preferred the dick gun Robot Master instead.
http://i.imgur.com/GDDWF9B.jpg

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Robot Masters is a thing of the past Corey. Now we are talking about Mighty Numbers! :wacko:

But yeah hilarious stuff. Gatling gun dick is the future.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crusher

Robot Masters is a thing of the past Corey. Now we are talking about Mighty Numbers! :wacko:

But yeah hilarious stuff. Gatling gun dick is the future.

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You're right, force of habit.

Spoiler warning:

http://i.imgur.com/GDDWF9B.jpg

Man, the bottom left green guy looks freaking awesome. It reminds me of Evangelion or something from FLCL

Fourth stretch reached! 450k more to console version! And yes, they rearranged the goals.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...9/posts/593460

Fire boss revealed, and more stretch goals to reach!

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Originally Posted by GeminiSparkSP

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...9/posts/593460

Fire boss revealed, and more stretch goals to reach!

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The Co-Op looks way cool.