Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Fan-made love letter to Mega Man franchise is here, and it looks awesome

By
Mega Man 2.5D - Release trailer
Back in 2009, a small group of Mega Man fans put together an animated proof-of-concept for their vision of the classic franchise. Once the project garnered interest, the team, led by chief creator Peter Sjöstrand, decided to turn it into a playable game. Thus, Mega Man 2.5D was conceived, and now the fan-made game is finally finished.
Recommended Videos

Originally reported by Eurogamer, the finished product is generally faithful to the Mega Man franchise, while adding its own unique flair.

Related

Sjöstrand breaks down the new features on his website. “There are mainly two things that set Mega Man 2.5D apart from most other Mega Man games. The first is the co-op mode, where two players team up to take on Dr. Wily. The other is the use of camera perspective changes, which is featured a lot in the single-player mode of the game.”

The co-op mode with Dr. Wily is definitely a cool touch, but it’s the camera perspectives that make this a fan-made standout. The use of 2.5D graphics is most often associated with games that are essentially side-scrollers with 3D character and object models, but Mega Man 2.5D aligns more with games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. As shown in the trailer above, environments frequently change orientations, allowing Mega Man access to new areas while adding to the complexity of the platforming portions.

The game has come a long way since the original proof-of-concept trailer located below.

Mega Man 2.5D - Trailer (Concept)

You can download Mega Man 2.5D on Sjöstrand’s website, but if you want to play it, you should probably do so sooner rather than later. Mega Man 2.5D has generated a fair amount of waves, and it’s possible that Capcom won’t be as enthused as we are about the attention that the iconic franchise is receiving from fans.

Capcom recently ported over the first six Mega Man games to mobile, but we haven’t seen a new entry in the mainline series since Mega Man 10 in 2010.

Mega Man 2.5D appears to be the closest thing we’ll get to the next step in the Mega Man franchise in the foreseeable future.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Steven Petite
Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
The best fan-made Mario games
Link in world 1-1.

Mario is the most recognizable video game character in the world. There's almost no competition, either. This short, mustachioed, hat- and overalls-wearing plumber has spread across the globe through games, TV shows, movies, comics, cereal, toys, clothing, and basically every other possible form of media and merchandise. He's many people's first exposure to gaming, and despite being in dozens upon dozens of games, rarely appears in a game that isn't at least good if not amazing. He revolutionized the platformer, did it again with the shift to 3D, and has maintained the crown as the peak of both creativity and satisfying controls for both genres ever since. He's even spawned an entire cast of friends and foes that have gotten their own games and series.

For all the great Mario games out there, fans will always want more. That, or they want to evolve and expand on concepts Mario only touched on, or maybe never even tried at all. Nintendo even gave us tools to create our own Mario platforming adventures in Super Mario Maker and the sequel, but long before those titles hit fans were crafting their own fan-made games.

Read more
The best gacha games in 2024
Wuthering Waves character illustrations.

Whether you're familiar with or completely new to gacha games, there's a wide variety of options to choose from. From sci-fi to fantas, and even dress-up games, gacha appeals to a wide audience, and you're sure to find the right game for your taste.

But what does 2024 have to offer? While some of the best gacha titles have just been released this year, others are older and still widely popular. If you're looking for the best gacha game to get into, you should find what you're looking for in the list below.

Read more
How to stealth kill in Stalker 2
Key art for Stalker 2. A character in a lit-up gas mask and a gun on their back.

It won't take long before The Zone teaches you one very important tip for surviving in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which is to avoid fighting whenever possible. You can only carry so many resources, and prolonged fights can leave you with almost nothing left. And that's if you even manage to survive. There are some fights you just can't get around, though, but going in guns blazing isn't the best strategy. There's a handy stealth kill mechanic in Stalker 2, but you won't find it in any of the tutorials.
How to stealth kill in Stalker 2

You have the ability to stealth kill right off the bat, though it is not something the game will ever explain or tell you. It works how you would think, but is tricky enough to pull off that you might not think it's possible even if you try the right thing.

Read more