Posts Tagged ‘keji inafune’
Mega Man Legends 2 Out Today on US PSN, Go Get It
Today you can finally pick up Mega Man Legends 2 on PSN, which most (myself included) never believed would ever see a release. It’s only a small fraction of the price of getting a potentially scratched up disc online, so even if you don’t have a US PSN, get one and pick this up.
Many titles have gone from 2D to 3D with varied success. Sonic always struggled to make his 3D mark whereas Super Mario knocked it out of the park on his first attempt. Mega Man has widely been regarded as another of those success stories, but only on the Playstation. Mega Man Legends is to the original series what Super Mario 64 is to its originals, but many people don’t know that because the N64 received a lackluster port by the name of Mega Man 64 that had compressed audio, graphical blurring, lack of cutscenes, and in many opinions worse controls. Even if you have an old PS1 or grab a PS3 (all will play PS1 games), it’s still not that easy with the three titles in the Mega Man Legends series fetching some high prices. The first title, available on PSN now for $10, has a modest average price online of about $30, but the prequel and sequel prices have skyrocketed. Recently The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, a prequel to Mega Man Legends, released on PSN for a mere $6 but before that finding the actual disc meant spending $150-$225. The final nail, Mega Man Legends 2, was claimed by Capcom to be stuck in a licensing nightmare that would probably never see a PSN release…until today. Now the game that will cost you $70-$90 online can be had for a much lower $10 price tag. Complete the trilogy and enjoy yet another gem from the past made easily available thanks to retro ports like this.
Review: Shadow Of Rome
Console: Playstation 2
Released: 2005
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Digital Release? No
Price: $6.99 (disc only), $20.00 (complete), $34.03 (sealed) – all prices according to Price Charting
I remember picking up Shadow of Rome in some pretty gloomy pawn shop a couple of years ago. It was a blind purchase, I knew nothing about the game, just read the blurb on the back thought it looked cool and saw Capcom made it which intrigued me. I started the game but soon after studies took priority and I just had to leave it to the side to return to later. Later become several years but I guess I got there in the end thanks to it being the latest entry in Gaming History 101’s Game Club series. So, lets see if Shadow of Rome is Capcom gold or an IP that should remain forgotten.
Shadow Of Rome, as the cover implies, is set in Rome. Julius Caesar has been murdered sending all of Rome into turmoil. You play as two characters – Agrippa the Roman Centurion and Octavianus, who looks very similar to another long blonde haired character in a infamous Metal Gear game. It’s up to these two characters to get to the bottom of this conspiracy. The setting is actually really well thought out, I genuinely wanted to go look up Roman history after playing this game. Despite the story of the game being a work of fiction, facts about the history of Rome are presented during loading screens. Names of characters in the game like Antonius and Pompey are also based on real characters in history. The game’s story loosely mirrors the actual fate of these characters in history as well. If nothing else Shadow of Rome will make you want to learn more about the Romans and maybe even go to a museum.
Podcast: Shadow of Rome Game Club
Between Mega Man games Inafune and a team from Capcom made a hybrid action/stealth title for the PS2 that re-created solving the murder of Julius Caesar. It released in February 2005, just one month before God of War, and provided one of the funniest, craziest, and most challenging game clubs we’ve tackled to date. Join Fred, Jam, and special guest Trees from EZMU as they conquer Shadow of Rome.
Podcast: Rock Man of Doom
This week Fred goes solo to celebrate Doom‘s 20th Anniversary and the Mega Man series. Keji Inafune’s legacy may live on through Mighty Number 9, but when he was a young new college grad Capcom employed him to create one of the most beloved and long running franchises of the company’s history.
Also if you want more Doom coverage, feel free to check out our podcast on Doom clones.
Gaming History 101 