Keiji Inafune’s Azure Striker Gunvolt launches on August 20th in Japan, and in a recent edition of Famitsu, eager gamers learned a few more details about the game. You can talk all you want about the electricity-wielding protagonist of the adventure, but the real point of interest here is the villain. If Japanese translation proves correct, he actually sounds quite similar to Mega Man.
According to the bio for a character named Acura, he is a foe that’s interested in hunting you down, but also stands in the way of your enemies. In simplest terms he is your rival; which implies a level of hated respect amongst the two characters. The most intriguing part is, Acura doesn’t wield any powers of his own. Instead, he absorbs the skills of others and uses them against his enemies. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like Mega Man to me!
For those of you in need of an industry history lesson, Keiji Inafune is the main man credited with creating the Mega Man character in 1987. Since leaving Capcom in 2010, Inafune has been unable to create any new works using the famed blue bomber. In place of that, it seems he has chosen to use games like Azure Striker Gunvolt and Mighty No. 9 to spiritually succeed those days of past glory. For those wondering if we’ll ever see Azure Striker Gunvolt in the west, it’s still set to arrive this summer.
Do you see anything wrong with Inafune repeatedly channeling Mega Man for inspiration? Let me know in the comments section below!
