Even though Keiji Inafune has not worked for Capcom due to leaving last year, the co-designer and illustrator of the iconic Mega Man series has decided to issue an apology to his fans and staff on his personal blog after the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3.
Unfortunately my Japanese isn’t proficient enough to read a personal blog since the writing of an individual is difficult for non-native or fluent speakers as opposed to a publication, so I had to hunt around for some translations. To the staff, he said “The decision behind cancelling was out of my sphere, but as someone who was a developer, I’d like to say to the staff: I’m sorry I couldn’t be of assistance.”
He did note that the staff were full of motivation and wouldn’t need his help, which made him feel more upset about the cancellation, but encouraged them to work towards making an even better game. For fans of the series, he said “I’m truly sorry I couldn’t take part until the end.”
Even after he left Capcom, he kept an eye on the series he helped to create since its inception as a fan, and has played the demo, but didn’t buy a 3DS for the game.
It was sad to see him go, and it’s also sad to see an anticipated project simply vanish shortly after one of the longest-employed members of the team behind Mega Man left on good terms and had a fully motivated group. Even though the Mega Man series varies in quality sharply between the original games, sequels, and the spinoff games, it’s a very prolific series that has been around longer than most others, dating all the way back to 1987.
