THE NES FILES: MY DECISION TO ADD TO NINTENDO HISTORY :LOW or HIGH CALIBER?! NOW YOU CAN CHOOSE!!

LOOKS LIKE I'LL BE BACK AT PORTLAND, and I will be carrying a new MegaMan image that  will  allow anyone who ever enjoyed playing The Nintendo Entertainment's games to view a piece if REVISIONIST HISTORY.

The Nintendo Entertainment System's 30th anniversary is with us. It is one of the greatest and most popular platforms ever created. Certainly I did a large number of NES games, including some of the great names in NES History: MegaMan 2, Strider, Bad Dudes, Bonk 3, Mechanized Attack, Heavy Barrel...DID I EVER HAVE A NINTENDO LOOK?

Me at my booth in Portland, circa 2014. A total blast.  See you there!

                       

    

Hudson Software's BONK 3

Data East's Bad Dudes

           SO...WHAT WAS THAT...EXACTLY?

                              Needless to say

   

Cap com's Strider

 because  there were so many pieces I did for the Nintendo system through so many different game companies:  The styles varied from Bonk 3, to Bad Dudes, to Harley’s Humongous Adventure, Mechanized Attack, to Heavy Barrel, to STG Strike Gunner, to Strider, to Guerrilla War, to  Lock ’N Chase. 

The clients included SNK, Data East, EA, Capcom, Acclaim, Nintendo Game Boy,

On one occasion,  for The Incredible Crash Test Dummies series  the clients simply reused the art I created for the entire line of ICTD toy packaging art I had earlier done for Tyco Toys. 

I was all over the map.  Given that there was no steady style I employed in my work,  except for me to enjoy doing it, and for the the kids to enjoy seeing it seeing it. 

 You may well have assumed I was 10 different illustrators, since we could only rarely sign the art. 

SNK's P.O.W.

SNK's Mechanized Attack

SNK's Guerrilla War

EA's B.O.B.

EA's Harley's humongous Adventure

I realized that there was a piece I had done for Capcom that had turned into one of the best selling games in history, that was both a favorite of mine, as well as a huge favorite of early gamers and retrogamers across the globe. It was a flawed piece, however, due to confusion at Capcom itself. I am speaking of course, about the art I created for the box cover of MegaMan 2.  I have addressed this error a number of times  in print and in person :  I was directed by Capcom America to give MegaMan the pistol, and they approved my version of MegaMan. These inaccuracies are understandable to me as an illustrator, because I was not a twelve year old game player, I was a forty one year old illustrator. 

My job was to create a visually exciting imaginary construct for a twelve year old to frame in his or her mind's eye, while playing an 8 bit videogame matrix. 

The fact that there was already an existing MegaMan character known in Japan, who was actually more of a muscular pixie-boy, than a man, did not arise in our conferences... So MegaMan the Second, became, in the U.S., at least, a man. Coincidentally, in Europe, no one knew he was anything other than his name,  ie.: a Man. As you may know, In Europe, the got his weapon correct, but everything else was weird.

Euro MM2 was all chrome,

He was all chrome, and had ...something...on his arm, that resembled a bowling pin, that was in fact his cannon. But he too, was a man. At least they used the U.S. version of the MegaMan2 logo, the art for which I also created, like the illustration, in airbrush.    

Were they following the original MegaMan game art when the error of the pistol occurred?

The original MegaMan held a pistol

The Capcom design team may have made their decisions based on the prior MegaMan box, The infamous MegaMan (which which was drawn and painted overnight due to a rush schedule, by an art student friend Keiji Inafune, The producer), showing a horrible rendition of a strangely dancing MegaMan character, in a billowing yellow and blue Hammer-Time style jump suit, WAVING A PISTOL, and in the mayhem that was the gaming industry at that time,  was it simply not caught?

                                

CAPCOM'S LEGACY 

Capcom, one of the greatest video game companies in history, creator of many hundreds of amazing games, and author of tales that have transformed the imagined world for generations, has lived with this oversight for 30 years. MegaMan2 was a BLOCKBUSTER, DESPITE these errors, and I am honored that when they reissued this game, they chose to remain with the original art as it was created, not only because is so recognized, but also because it is so loved by so many.

  Even as loved as he is, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to see Man2 be brought up to date with regard to his weaponry and the cast of characters. But he will remain the man he has always been to me, never aging as I went from from age 41 to the age of  71 that I am today.

As you study this piece, and I know you have, you will see that there are two  errors:

(1). Of course, the pistol, which needs to be a blue cannon.

(2).In the background we have Clashman (Japan, old school) , or, Crashman, U.S. and hip.)  being directed by Dr. Wright, when the evil doctor should be Dr. Wily.

While I'm at this, I should redraw MM's right leg. Many viewers have commented (to use a polite term) upon the excruciating angle of his foot. While it is physically possible,  I admit, looks awkward in the extreme, and no self respecting super hero would assume that position. I don't know what I was thinking!

SO, please allow me to offer a glimpse of this new subchapter in the evolution of one of the most famous good guys of our generation:

Check out my booth at the Portland Retro Game Expo in October for the whole nine       yards!

MegaMan2.1:THE CANNON!

             I HOPE YOU APPROVE!

     Thanks for stopping in, And I'll hope to see you in Portland!!