Mega Man Legends 2 is celebrating its 25-year anniversary at the moment, October 25, 2025. Under, we glance again at how its unresolved cliffhanger ending nonetheless overshadows its reminiscence.
Mega Man Legends 2 is an unfinished promise. The anime-inspired journey collection was beloved by followers of the blue bomber for its ingenious, Zelda-like spin on the basic system. It was full of lovable characters who’ve endured gone the collection itself, like Tron Bonne, the Servbots, and the hero, Mega Man Volnutt. However like a serialized cartoon collection, the second recreation within the collection ended with a whopper of a cliffhanger–and then by no means returned to it. The legacy of Legends for the final 25 years has been followers ready for a decision that by no means got here.
Spoilers for the Mega Man Legends collection observe
For these unfamiliar with the Mega Man Legends collection, it is unusually story-rich for a Mega Man recreation. Set within the distant future, in a world nearly fully coated with water, Mega Man Volnutt and his adoptive household, Barrel and Roll Caskett, dig for treasure in ruins guarded by historical know-how referred to as Reaverbots. All of the whereas, they’re alternatively pursued and infrequently aided by sky pirates referred to as the Bonnes: Teisel, Tron, and large child Bon Bonne. Every of the primary characters within the colourful world is totally voiced, aiding within the presentation as a Saturday-morning cartoon come to life.
The primary recreation explores Mega Man investigating ruins to avert a prophesized catastrophe, however inadvertently awakening it within the course of. One other being, referred to as Mega Man Juno, reveals to Volnutt that his unique identify is Mega Man Set off. Set off was designed as a “Air purifier Unit” whose objective was to eradicate the Carbons–aka the synthetic people who stay on this world. Evidently, he does the proper factor and protects humanity as a substitute.
The second recreation treads acquainted floor however expands upon it with a number of new characters and a bigger scope. This time a unit referred to as Sera duties Mega Man to seek out 4 keys that can unlock the Mom Lode, a wealthy power supply that might usher in utopia and finish the fixed scrapping for sources. However Sera’s counterpart, Yuna, later informs Mega Man that the keys wouldn’t save humanity however fairly doom it, by eliminating the Carbons and changing them with the traditional, non-artificial people. In the long run, the three come to an understanding and cease the Grasp Program from initializing the wipe, however within the course of, the three are left stranded on the moon of Elysium, separated from their house on the planet Terra. To make issues worse, Yuna explains that the shutdown of the Grasp system will set off a failsafe by reactivating a good older Elder system, activating machines throughout the ruins of Terra. Mega Man Legends 2 ends with Roll making an attempt to construct a rocket to avoid wasting her stranded sibling, however we by no means see if it is profitable.
That is the canonical, chronological finish of the Mega Man collection. A number of of the person Mega Man series–from the basic 8-bit platformers, by means of Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero, and Mega Man ZX, and at last Mega Man Legends–form one steady (although loosely linked and sometimes ret-conned) story. Legends is the final, which implies that its unresolved ending is the very last thing we see taking place in a narrative that has been altering and evolving for the reason that Nineteen Eighties. The final in an extended line of heroes referred to as Mega Man is stranded, with a clock ticking towards the destruction of all society. It is unsatisfying sufficient by itself, however much more in order the bookend for a whole franchise that spans dozens of video games.
Making issues worse is the unfulfilled promise of Mega Man Legends 3. The anticipated sequel was teased by Capcom in 2010, intently coinciding with the departure of collection co-creator Keiji Inafune. Capcom’s plans for Legends 3 included an formidable thought to ask followers into the event course of, soliciting suggestions from the neighborhood. The corporate introduced it might launch a “Prototype Model” on the 3DS eShop, to behave as a prologue. This was outstanding for the time, as early entry was not but an trade commonplace.
However because the months went on and no Prototype Model launched, followers started to suspect that the undertaking had been canceled. Capcom confirmed this in July 2011, saying that there could be no Mega Man Legends 3 and even Prototype Model launched in any respect, regardless of later stories that the demo was almost accomplished. And in a PR misstep that might stay in infamy for Mega Man followers, Capcom’s UK Twitter account appeared accountable the cancellation on an absence of fan involvement. A later tweet clarified that it meant to seek advice from an absence of interplay within the on-line “Improvement Rooms” Capcom had made, not fan assist extra broadly. Inafune, for his half, expressed curiosity in making the sport, as an out of doors contractor together with his personal studio, as late as 2014.
In the meantime, Mega Man Legends exists now largely in reminiscence. Capcom has gladly capitalized in its historical past of Mega Man video games with compilations of just about each collection. The Legacy Collections have now compiled the basic, Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX, and Mega Man Battle Community collection, with a Mega Man Star Drive assortment coming in 2026. As soon as that releases, each Mega Man collection will probably be readily accessible on trendy platforms–except Mega Man Legends. These video games, first launched on PlayStation, have remained caught in that technology, other than a PSP port.
And so Mega Man Legends has turn into a logo of unfulfilled potential. The collection charted a brand new path ahead for the basic character, reinventing him as an anime-styled adventurer with deep lore and a large forged of lovable, memorable characters. However for all of its promise, it is also the Mega Man collection that has acquired the least video games: two in the primary collection and the quirky minigame spin-off The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. It is turn into a sore spot for Mega Man followers, even because the collection has acquired new entries just like the well-received Mega Man 11. For followers of Mega Man Legends, we’re all up there with Volnutt, Yuna, and Sera: ready for a rescue, and a decision, that can by no means come.
