That year’s Mega Man 3 was followed not only by three numbered sequels, but also a whole slew of spin-off series, including the Mega Man X series for the Super Nintendo, beginning in 1993, not to mention Mega Man Soccer (1994) the Mega Man Zero series (2002), and the Mega Man Battle Network series (2001) to name a few.Īltogether, the Mega Man franchise straddled all kinds of genres and platforms, and from the very first game in 1987 to Mega Man 10 in 2010, Inafune worked on almost every entry in some capacity. The success of Mega Man prompted Capcom to support the series more fully, and 1990 was the year that marked an unbroken run of follow-ups. Although M ega Man 2 was created in little more than 12 weeks or so, the gamble paid off: as well as selling about 1.5million copies, Mega Man 2 (1988) was a critical and cult hit, and its fast-paced platform action and brutal difficulty level.
Inafune and his team, determined to get their ideas onto a cartridge, decided to go ahead and make a second game while working on other projects at the same time. The signs of a popular series were there, but Capcom were nervous about pouring too much money into the development for a sequel.