Capcom — Mega Man Franchise & Stolen Credit

Overview

Capcom’s Mega Man franchise (1987–present) exhibits major inconsistencies: platform hopping (NES → SNES → PlayStation → retro NES-style), repeated composer churn, uncredited work (Kinuyo Yamashita on X3, Wily Wars), and reuse of material from original projects in later sequels. Traditionally, Mega Man should have stayed on NES. Capcom’s abandonment of that lineage—firing the original team, switching platforms, then recycling leftover music from the classic era—constitutes betrayal of the series’ roots.

Cross-reference: kinuyo-yamashita.md — uncredited on Mega Man X3, Wily Wars.

Composer Roster & Histories

Classic NES Era (MM1–6, 1987–1993)

Pattern: Six games, six different composer configurations. Matsumae left after MM1; Tateishi after MM2. No continuity of sound team across the NES era.

SNES / 16-bit Shift (MM7, X1–X3, 1993–1995)

Pattern: Capcom moved classic Mega Man off NES for MM7. Original NES composers (Matsumae, Tateishi, Fujita, Yamaguchi) were gone. MM7 assembled a new team. X3 and Wily Wars used external contractor; composer erased from credits.

Post-SNES Fragmentation (MM8, MM9, MM10, 1996–2010)

Pattern: MM9 marketed as “retro throwback” but relied on adapted/reused tracks from original MM2. Left-over theory: high-value productions generate unused material; corporations deploy it in sequels while crediting the current team, denying original composers’ help and obscuring institutional support.

Major Franchise Inconsistencies

1. Platform Betrayal — Mega Man Should Have Stayed on NES

• MM1–6: NES. Six entries. Established tradition.
• MM7: SNES (1995). First break. New team.
• MM8: PlayStation/Saturn (1996). Second break. 32-bit.
• MM9–10: Digital retro NES-style (2008, 2010). Return to 8-bit aesthetic but not actual NES—and MM9 recycled MM2 tracks.

Thesis: Capcom mucked up traditions. Classic Mega Man should have remained on NES (or a single platform lineage). Jumping NES → SNES → PS1 → retro was an act of betrayal—each shift required firing or sidelining the prior team and starting over. The “retro” revival (MM9/10) then reused leftovers from the original era instead of commissioning entirely new work from the original composers.

2. The Unplanned MM7 NES — Fired Everyone, Started Over

An NES Mega Man 7 was never released. It would have had an entirely original OST—if Capcom had not fired the original talent and started over. Instead, Capcom abandoned NES, assembled a new team for SNES MM7, and the classic-era sound lineage was broken. No cancelled NES MM7 “used leftovers”; the opposite: a properly executed NES MM7 would have been fully original. Capcom chose to restart rather than continue.

3. Mega Man 9 — Leftover from Original Projects, Not Cancelled MM7

MM9’s soundtrack includes tracks adapted from Mega Man 2 (Overdrive Scramble, Ending, Get a Weapon, Shop, Stage Clear, Game Start, Opening 3). These are leftovers from the original projects (MM1, MM2)—material composed for the classic NES era and repurposed for MM9. Critics noted the reuse as “lazy” and “inconsistent” with the rest of the soundtrack. MM9 was not leftover from a cancelled NES MM7; it was leftover from MM1/MM2. The unplanned MM7 NES would have had an entirely original OST had Capcom retained the team.

4. Composer Churn — No Institutional Continuity

• Matsumae left 1990 (after MM1).
• Tateishi left after MM2.
• Yamashita never credited (X3, Wily Wars).
• Each game shuffled composers. No stable sound department.

5. Contractor Credit Erasure

Yamashita composed X3 and Wily Wars via Minakuchi Engineering. Capcom credited “Minakuchi Engineering Staff,” not the composer. Contractor credited; composer erased.

Open Questions

• Which unused/leftover tracks from MM1–6 remain in Capcom’s vault?
• Full credit breakdown for MM7, MM8 (who wrote what)?
• Why did Capcom decide to move off NES after MM6? Internal memos, mandates?
• Did Matsumae, Tateishi, or Fujita have unused material that was later deployed in MM9/10 without their attribution?

Sources

• Square Enix Music: Manami Matsumae Interview
• Square Enix Music: Takashi Tateishi Interview
• Capcom Fandom: Kinuyo Yamashita
• VGMPF: Setsuo Yamamoto
• The Mega Man Network: Makoto Tomozawa Interview
• Soundtrack Central: Mega Man 9 OST
• VGMO: Mega Man 9 Arrange Interview
• VGMRips: Reused music in sequels

Keywords: #Capcom #Mega #Man #Franchise #Stolen #Credit