Capcom's much-loved Mega Man series is getting a Virtual Reality installment, but unfortunately for the many Western fans of the franchise, Rockman VR: Aimed At The Virtual World will only be available in Japan. Specifically, gamers can find the VR experience at the Plaza Capcom arcade and entertainment center in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo.
Mega Man VR: Targeted Virtual World, as the game will be known in English, will allow players to use their arms to fire the classic Mega Buster gun. The story behind the game is that Dr. Wily, the classic Mega Man villain, is planning to take over the VR world, and Dr. Light has created a VR headset to help stop him. The enemies are believed to be based on Mega Man 11, as several of the game's enemies appear on the poster released by Capcom.
According to Capcom, Mega Man VR: Targeted Virtual World is the first time players will be able to experience the long-running Mega Man series in VR. The game will sit alongside other experiences at Plaza Capcom, including the highly-regarded four-player VR games Resident Evil: Valiant Raid, and Resident Evil: Walkthrough the Fear. Further details and images of the game are yet to be shared by Capcom, but with the experience opening on July 18th, fans won't have long to wait to learn more.
Although many gamers will be disappointed that such an interesting game is only available in Japan, the poor health of the arcade industry in the US (and other Western countries) makes it a far more appropriate place to launch such an experience. Fans of Mega Man can hope that the experience will be successful enough to persuade Capcom either to bring it to more countries or potentially even port it to home VR systems, such as PlayStation VR.
Either way, after many years of fans feeling the Mega Man series was being neglected by Capcom, the emergence of a VR experience, along with the recent Mega Man Legacy Collection games and Rockman X Dive mobile game, bodes well. It suggests that Capcom is starting to see Mega Man as a franchise for the future, rather than just the past.
Fans of the series have been disappointed several times before though, so they will have to wait and see what the future of Mega Man brings for their favorite robot.
Rockman VR: Aimed At The Virtual World (Mega Man VR: Targeted Virtual World) will be available at Plaza Capcom in Tokyo from July 18th.
Source: Capcom