@Kyolux: LOL I was going to say the same.

angedelamort

Finally art on par with the European Megaman 2 box art! [image.com.com]

StormdragonBlue

@PlayerX: Are you serious? The names of the new Robot Masters were released a few weeks ago now.

Jewel Man
Plug Man
Magma Man
Splash Woman
Galaxy Man
Concrete Man
Hornet Man
Tornado Man

And all the Robot Masters in the Classic Series had the same names in Japanese and English. Save Rockman/Megaman. At least, I can't think of any RMs with different names.

Unless we begin talking MMV for the GB.

I really like the Mega Man series far too much...

TheWP

This looks AWFUL.

Translation: it's note perfect.

DARTH_TIGRIS

So awesome

Struct09

I must have that shirt. It is so rad.

Placentasaurus

Many of you still don't get it, if this was the actual box for an actual physical game then it would be crap and many would complain, yet it is not the case, this is the boxart for a game that has no physical form, its virtual, a game that went a completly retro route and this boxart is actually a pardody of the bad marketing they had back then, it's like it was the first NES game all again. That is why many like it.

It's ok if you don't like it though but this was the reason they made this.

WDYC

@Emperor_Guam:

Indeed!!!!!

dead_red_eyes

so buying that fucking t-shirt!

feartheraven

@xpnet:
That is because it doesn't exist anymore.
Anywho, this is totally awesome. It seems that Capcom is very committed to the retro appeal so much that it is willing to go the extra mile with the terrible art. Now if they only sold it in a NES cart along with the download version we'd be in business.

neoepochx

He has a gun in hand and a gun arm! Brilliant!

Emperor_Guam

Okay. That is rather neat.

sir_carrot

The funny things is, this is more like the atrocious megaman 1 and 2 U.S. artwork, when by Megaman 6 they'd started to get the idea:

[content.answers.com]

Capcom are still making a hideous job of the PAL artwork we get on Megaman boxes though even after all these years!

L___E___T

NEEDS MORE PANT BULGE!

Pezdispenser

@HowardC: - "Sorry guys, it doesn't work that way. Maybe if this was a parody game, but it isn't."

You're sorry? Oh. Well I guess we should all feel bad for liking the retro art right?

dead_red_eyes

@xpnet:

Haha, I was just about to say the very same thing. Cheers!

dead_red_eyes

@Sunjammer: I liked the art style before it was cool :(

Cirno

@Sunjammer:

Agreed.... I mean on THIS VERY SITE just a few months ago the original US megaman boxart was deemed one of the worst boxes of all time. Now that they are doing it again it's suddenly hip and ironic??

Sorry guys, it doesn't work that way. Maybe if this was a parody game, but it isn't.

HowardC

That is all kinds of awesome. I can't wait for Mega Man 9, though I'm gonna need a Wii NES Max pad for this. I hope they push out the other NES Mega Mans on VC in preparation for this. I need to practice if it's going to be "impossible hard"

kidko

Just missing the Nintendo Official Seal of Quality.

xpnet

@Dragoona: Maybe Styx would have been more appropriate.

Since we're talking about the Blue Bomber here, my mind naturally went to rush ;)

Captain_Collide

Meh. I'd rather they went with something along the lines of a continuation of the classic NES boxes than reverting to the crappy, weird artwork of Mega Man 1&2.

But whatev, I'll take new Classic MegaMan in any way shape or form I can. My inner 11 year old is excited.

iameleveneight

This is cool, but it shouldn't go after the MM1 style just because it's so terrible. The idea was supposedly to mimic box art from that era, so doing something along the lines of the MM2 box art would've been better since it looks nicer and was the best game in the series. And it's just as much from that era as MM1.

@Kyolux: That jumped out to me right away too.

Mezodon

@Captain_Collide: if it followed Rush, Mega Man would have to be naked.

....and have 3,000 drums....

Dragoona

Brilliant! To hell with modernism!

Major_Higgins

@Spoony Bard: Word, his thighs should be at least 30 degrees further apart.

This is still beautiful.

Aethyr

This is a GREAT picture. BUT...they didn't make it horribly bad like the cover art for the first one. :(

Spoony Bard

@SAKY:

Copycat. :P

convercide

@Sunjammer: I can understand how it may seem like a very 'hip' counter-cultural thing to do at this point in time, but in reality, the original Mega Man cover isn't just a bad cover, it's a cherished piece of gaming history.

We don't hate it completely, but rather enjoy the delicious camp that one of the most popular gaming franchises ever started with a piece of art that looks like it belongs on the side of a van that would follow Rush around the country on tour.

I think, as an isolated incident, it's a brilliant idea, akin to modern comedies parodying out of sync kung fu movies.

Captain_Collide

Am I the only one who doesn't like this artwork? I grew up with the first three Mega Man games and I appreciate the retro direction, but this is so retro it just looks like bad sci-fi. It's supposed to seem like 1989, not 1979.

jeremyschultz

Is it just me, or does it look like neo-Uncle Fester, and with a solid-eye system that makes him super badass??

Ctsephy

I wonder if the names of the Boss robots will be old-timey, too....

Anyone know if the Japanese versions of the original Mega Man games had weird names for the Boss robots as well? (e.g.: Opposition Giraffe instead of Crunt Man)

PlayerX

@Sunjammer: Grass, greener, other side, etc.

RigorMortis

This art looks more like Mega MAN than Mega KID. Much manliness brings me to want that T-Shirt badly.

Zerod Zunaro

YES. WANT.

I am giggling like a schoolgirl from the pure waves of awesome emanating from my screen at every mention of Megaman 9

RigorMortis

Still much better than this

[www.gamewad.com]

SAKY

@Sunjammer

I think that is the definition of fanboy or nerd...not sure which one.

Personally, I think it is all a lame idea on Capcom's part, and is very much a win-lose situation. We'll see how they handle it. I hope it doesn't turn into their own Snakes on a Plane.

stetsonblade

Yeah, I think that qualifies as a must buy.

Szin

The crazy cats at the Street Fighter IV event last Friday in LA were wearing these (I think Seth had one) right along with those jazzy new 1942/Cammy shirts. I was asking about them and they told me they were going on sale very soon.

As a wicked consolation gift, I still got a wicked iam8bit-designed SFIV shirt and a pile of other shiz.

Capcom is soooooooo back on my highest of good terms! (Albeit they were never on any BAD terms.....yet)

djgil

It kind harkens to the cover art for MM1. It's still ugly IMO.

SAKY

Wow that's so horribly bad. Yet so awesomely good. I want it.

2NinjasTapedTogether

Man that is awesome!! This falls nicely into the 'so bad its good' territory!

how come more games didn't feature an 8-BIT FIDELITY ENGINE back then!

excel_excel

It's perfect, I want one.

JN64Lover

Ill buy

Fermbiz

is that evil-yoda in the background? :} when do the shirts come out cause im definetely getting one. (X-tra medium)please

Milkzhakes

So before when we had that kind of art on the boxes people were all UGH THIS IS FUCKING HORRIBLE JESUS CHRIST SAVE MY SOUL, and now because it's "a tribute" it's okay? Cool even? Flakes!

Sunjammer

Lovin' the old school look!

airdom

omg lol im so getting me one

lilaliendog

@convercide: Is that where they got the phrase "Ultrasound Graphics Synthesis"?

dArk_stAr

That is a thing of beauty. It's just wonderful in its awfulness. The characters that look nothing like they actually look in the game! Megaman using a GUN! Dr. Wiley as a one eyed cyborg for no explainable reason!

I'm glad Capcom understands the retro appeal of Megaman... both in terms of gameplay and its legendarily horrible marketing (see also the US boxart for MM1). This is a good sign that they "get it".

Twoflower

Is this Penny Arcade's Fruit Fucker I see in the back with saw blades upgrade?

Kyolux

The intentionally corny artwork and the fact that Capcom is embracing it makes me wonder if this game is going to be a parody of itself.

Ed_209

Looks awesome, Mega Man is no longer cutesy little boy hehe.

DanteIX

It nearly looks like that original cover..

Nearly...

convercide

Oh man that's so freaking cool as hell. Kudos to Capcom! I about gave up on Mega Man.

RYAMATSU

Well, I'm not fond of playing a strictly 8-bit looking game like Mega Man 9 but I love the total commitment on Capcoms part.

Mommar

Dr. Wily is just a bad mofo. I love it@

PsycheE

Also (sorry for the double post), I enjoy that he has a gun-arm and a blaster on the other hand.

Dragoona

This game better be good. I miss good Mega Man Games.

And the shirt = WANT!

Dragoona

I love how that art captures the marketing campaigns of the 1980s and how they had practically nothing to do with the games they're supposed to represent. Right down to Megaman apparently shooting in the completely wrong direction and holding a pistol.

Good times, good times.

Rebochan

I STILL haven't bought a console for this generation. I guess this'll be the game that gets me on board.

No...seriously.

Quilt

@convercide: can't we just say that great minds think alike? :)

SAKY

@Sunjammer:

It's cause it's nostalgia and everyone knows its not serious. If it were a serious business box art for another modern game you'd definitely be hearing about it.

I'm very curious to see just how hard this'll be...

Kiyosuki

The art style is VERY reminiscent of 80's video game box art, so much that I would never guess it's 2008 release if not for the number 9 beside the title!

Excellent choice to pick Jesus as the artist. I actually never heard of him before so I checked his art out and it looks good.

SonnyBoy

Hmm, I have to say, initially I wasn't really feeling this whole 8-bit retro thing. But the fact that they're amping up the difficulty and now the fact that the "box art" has the classic "inaccuracy of included product" thing from the first 2 games, is making me come around.

Shockdingo

I think it looks horrible, megaman isn't like that at all...well the first 2 megaman covers never made much sense.

The first one was pathetically bad looking, and the second make my foot hurt just from looking at it

GodKiller0

Isn't MegaMan 9 only being distributed digitally via XBLA, VC, and PSN anyway? So the only other place you are actually gonna see the box art is in the virtual console store (and maybe on PSN, not sure how it displays its titles).

BulletzBill

At least he has an arm-cannon in this picture. I still don't understand why he STILL has a pistol in his hand...

Marketing Campaign: I approve
T-Shirt: Do not want

PissedPS3Fan

That is sufficiently kick ass, I might have to get the shirt now.

Absent Blue

The covers of Mega Man and Mega Man 2 always provide me with a good laugh. This one is almost as funny.

BossVersion1

nice

lochnessjason

LOL, is that Dr. Wily, he looks like a zombie cyborg ninja?

neoqueenx

"Ill buy"

Honestly I've had about enough of this. How on earth does he get by with comments like that? I've wasted so much time making comments that nobody can read because I haven't been approved yet, and they were a lot more substantial than that dude's contribution.

@stetsonblade:

I think it qualifies as neither. It's simply a consumer habit, buy the one with the label, ignore the one without.

AlbenoEpiX

A very nice design, I wonder what price they are going to go for.

AlbenoEpiX

So is the robot with the sawblade hands a boss or just a run-of-the-mill enemy?

ChipZimmus

Now this is Mega "Man"! In fact he looks to be closer to 50 years old... All other Mega Man games should be renamed to Mega Boy!

DarkMasterTonberry

Poor Jeremy Parish--his photo has been reproduced again with no credit given.

cambot3000

That art reminds me.. Does anyone remember some work
of Nintendo characters {Primarily Mario & Luigi) drawn in a realistic style hence it's really funny. It even had Kirby and Pikachu in it.

FillionSmythe

Would have been better if they hadn't downgraded the graphics. They should have least used Mega Man 8 graphics, if not better.

PC+Mac Coexist

Haha, this is awesome. I really dig the way Capcom continuously sends love letters to its fanbase. Between things like the above and this, Capcom is quickly becoming the classiest major game publisher out there IMO.

Mohrdikai

Omg. Time to whip out the ol' debit card, I have to have this shirt. I dearly love you, Capcom. Marry me?

VengefulRonin

I may not like the old game graphics, but the atrocious-fun art style for the American box art is great stuff. This shirt I will gladly by. I don't have any Mega Man shirts yet, and I need one badly.

Ryodestined

Back then, it was kind of a letdown when you popped in the game and realized it looked nothing like the cover. But at the same time, people then weren't expecting games to emulate reality as they do today. For me, I think the cover art usually ended up being food for the imagination.

There's just something nostalgic about the disparity between the cover art and the in-game art. Kudos to Capcom for going all out in what I hope is only the first attempt to recreate the video gaming experience of another time.

cymptom

this gets an offical "DO WANT!!"

demonknightinuyasha

thats some epic art, I definitely want that.

Rajolae

Finally, Capcom is doing something good with the Megaman series again. I was glad that they were going back to their roots with 9, this kick ass art is just icing on the cake.

BlackMage66652

Honestly, I'm not feeling the art. It feels like someone tried too hard to capture the essence of "we don't really know what the game is about but we drew something on the cover." I think that the background is good, but Wily and Megaman stick out like sore thumbs.

Channing

I'm amused that the depiction is closer to the X series version of Megaman/Rockman version.

hikaizer

This would be one of the few times a shirt gets me excited. I think the whole going back to the roots with Mega Man is a nice gesture. I was wondering when/if Capcom was going back to the original Mega Man character anytime soon it's so nostalgic.

gr8asianman

AMAZING SHIRT.

Terance!

But will it be in widescreen or standard 4:3? How retro will the go?

oldskuel

Good God that is an AWESOME shirt! I want that.

Sir_Crocidile

Is it me, or is Capcom FINALLY doing something RIGHT with the franchise? I can really do without all the "Megaman meets Pokémon meets Yu-Gi-Oh meets your little sister's dream pony" crap they've been pulling out of an unspecified orifice of theirs lately.

Inzoum

@neoqueenx said: LOL, is that Dr. Wily, he looks like a zombie cyborg ninja?

No, actually he looks like a mash-up of Yoda and Darth Vader.
Seriously, is that where they "borrowed" the idea from?

silkwood-scrubdown

Ugh, I am all for the revamp, but the crappy old NOA artwork doesn't need to come with it.

The Amazing Exploding-Man

@The Amazing Exploding-Man:

You kidding? This is AMAZING. It's so campy, and Dr. Wiley just looks like such a total badass. I'd probably frame this shirt.

VengefulRonin