Grave Gamer News & Views — keiji inafune

Keiji, you miraculous motherfucker.

Introducing The Mighty No. 9: Help Fund Classic 2D Action Done Right

With Mega Man M.I.A. on Capcom’s front (unless you count getting slapped around by Nintendo’s roster, that is), there’s been a two-dimensional hole in the gaming world yearning to be filled.

That’s why I’m especially pleased to turn you onto The Mighty No. 9, a sly spiritual successor to Mega Man’s 8 and 16-bit roots from the Blue Bomber’s own father, Keiji Inafune.

Living two breaths past the conceptual stage, Inafune’s own studio, Comcept, is attempting to return “classic Japanese side-scrolling action” to us by way of, well, us, through the crowdfunding magic that is Kickstarter.

Centering on a jumping, blasting robo-boy by the name of Beck, our hero is the only automaton not affected by a rampant computer virus that has everything with a chipset in it gone bonkers. Being the ninth and only virus-free member of group of elite, militarized robots means there’s eight horrible bastards Beck must destroy lest the world is taken down a notch.

Anyone skilled at handling a mega buster will find the primary gameplay pitch for Mighty No. 9 more than an eensy bit familiar what with the ability to tackle stages in any order and collect powerful upgrades after felling a boss. Beck’s skillset is more versatile than that, however, as he can commence radical transformations like sprouting magnetic limbs allowing him to scale walls or becoming an obstacle trumping tank. These and many more badass ideas are still being tinkered around.

Comcept has set a $900,000 funding goal on their Kickstarter page with the intention of releasing for PC through Steam (and other DRM-less means), but with enough funding, the team hopes to launch for Mac, Linux, and even home consoles. As per the norm, donating certain amounts opens up different tiered packages that net you a wide berth of goodies from beta access and exclusive swag to a physical printing of the game featuring either English or Japanese packaging.

Drop $10,000, though, and you’ll get to pick Keiji Inafune’s brain over dinner in Japan. And if you can shed that much green poundage, you probably won’t even flinch at eating the travel expenses yourself – which you’ll have to. It’s Kickstarter, man. They’re accepting money, not giving it away. Sheesh.

Keiji Pulled a Fast One: Yaiba is Actually a Ninja Gaiden Spin-Off

Besides a fantastically stylized teaser trailer that clocked in just under minute, there wasn’t much information to glean from Keiji Inafune’s announcement of Yaiba.  All we were privy to were the facts that Keiji’s new development house, Comcept, would be behind the reins and that the game would feature the awesomely cataclysmic combination of zombies, ninjas, robots, and buckets of blood.

Now, with a slightly longer trailer from the Tokyo Game Show under our belt, it’s been revealed the full title of this zombie slasher is actually Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, and that Team Ninja’s poster boy Ryu Hayabusa makes it into the game as our resurrected warrior’s nemesis – Ryu having murdered the crap out of you before you became the ultimate undead killer.  It’s unclear if Hayabusa will serve a playable role in the game, but to be absolutely fair, we’re still in the dark when it comes to most things Yaiba.

Helping Comcept with development duties, Spark Unlimited (Lost Planet 3) is joining forces with Inafune to deliver this sword frenzy into our hands while Team Ninja oversees production.  Stay tuned as more information drizzles our way.

In the meantime, check out this extended trailer for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z.

Keiji Inafune Announces His Next Zombie Title: “YAIBA”

If the name isn’t familiar, the former Capcom poster boy’s resume will be: more famously known as “The Father of Mega Man”, the game designer’s impressions are grooved into such series as Resident Evil, Onimusha, Mega Man X, Dead Rising, and Street Fighter.

Though lighter outings from his back catalog may come to mind first and foremost in many fans’ minds (such as Mega Man Legends), Inafune claims he’s been downright hounded by his admirers for him to get working in a decidedly decayed genre once more.

“Everywhere I go, people ask, ‘Are you working on it?’ 'When is it coming?,’” says Keiji.  “The expectation is clear.  It’s for my next zombie game.”

The 47-year-old head of his own gaming company, Comcept, admits there’s a deluge of zombie titles already shambling around the industry, but hearing excitement over a “Inafune zombie game” flatters him deeply (I’m confident there was some mild blushing).  And with that, he feels he must answer the call.

Enter YAIBA, a Comcept developed zombie hack n’ slasher that boils ninjas, robots, and pure action into one gore soaked package.  Keiji’s reluctant to give up details, but he seems ecstatic over the project.  “I hope you are excited,” says Inafune, “I know I am.”

Watch the first YAIBA teaser hereabouts.

“I feel like we rarely see new creations from Japan anymore.  We just stick to our memories and we re-release HD versions of games. That is the upper limit of what we are showing to our users today and that is not what our users want.”

Keiji Inafune, Mega Man’s father and lifelong video game pioneer, lambasting the state of Japanese video games at 2012’s Game Developer’s Conference.  Inafune continued to prod at Japanese developers in his speech, hoping to light a fire beneath their collective asses and push them to experiment, persevere, and avoid the easy route in order to deliver innovative experiences.

Ignoring Keiji is the first of many grave mistakes that will lead you to ruin, world.