Mega Man Battle Network began as a horror game
Inside-Games chatted with some staff who worked on Mega Man Battle Network in celebration of the series’ 15th anniversary. At one point, Masakazu Eguchi, Kouetsu Matsuda, and Hayato Kaji recall how it started out as a horror game of all things.
Here’s the excerpt, as translated by Mega Man Battle Network 3D:
Now that you mention it— It was a launch title, wasn’t it? Even though EXE was of the first generation (of GBA titles), it already gave an impression of perfection.
Eguchi: Actually, the team’s first game was a horror game.
Oh? What do you mean?
Eguchi: It started with, “what should we make for the GBA?” It had us making a game that links to your heartbeat with a wearable device. The theme was “having fun while your heart pounds”-horror game.
Matsuda: I went to Expoland’s haunted house for research.
Kaji: You remember it quite well, huh? (laughs)
Eguchi: Thinking that now… how did that become EXE? (laughs) I wonder…?
Kaji: Certainly, the mechanics became quite difficult to handle.
Matsuda: After that, card games gained popularity around that time. We wanted to reap the trend while upholding Capcom’s pride.
