Mighty No. 9 has finally come out, and it isn't doing so well. Many once-enthusiastic fans have been unable to play the game due to receiving the wrong code, and many of those who were fortunate enough to play it over the weekend have been skewering it in reviews.
However, even with all this negativity surrounding the once highly-anticipated game, creator Keiji Inafune is already talking about a sequel.
Yes, Mighty No. 9, the game that hasn't been out for a full 24 hours yet, already has potential for a sequel in Inafune's mind.
In a bizarre live stream that was less about celebrating the launch of the game and more about explaining why the game — and the months leading up to its launch — was somewhat of a disaster, Inafune briefly mentioned that there will be sequels (yes, plural) if things pan out well.
"But again, we can hope that if things go well, there'll be sequels," Inafune stated. "Because I'll tell you what, I'm not getting my 2D side-scrolling fill."
This, quite frankly, is pure madness.
It's not unfounded for a game's creator to have ideas for a sequel before a game's launch, and it is actually pretty clever in some instances, as getting started on concepts early can help save time down the line. However, in those cases, the creator needs to have some idea that a sequel would be viable, and based on the release and troubled history of Mighty No. 9, this is not one of those cases.
Mighty No. 9 reached its $900,000 target quickly, but was soon struck with issues all across the board, ranging from delays to a cringe-worthy trailer that was so bad that even Takuya Aizu, CEO of Inti Creates, and the official Sonic the Hedghog Twitter page joined in on the criticism.
It was around that time that Inafune first talked about the prospects of a sequel, saying he and his team will "do it even if it doesn't sell." Of course, with the aforementioned trailer still fresh in everyone's minds, this bold proclamation raised some eyebrows. However, the game wasn't even out at that point, so maybe the game would turn out just fine — right?
Wrong.
Now that the game has finally come out, there is more criticism than ever before, most of it due to the launch being such a mess. First off, not only has the Xbox 360 version of the game been delayed for an indefinite period of time due to a bug being found during last-minute testing, but the relevant backers received Steam codes while they wait (what happens if they use a Mac?). Second, some people are reporting that their PSN codes don't work properly, while others are saying that they received codes for the wrong platform. Lastly, of course, are the reviews, which pin the game as being mediocre at best.
Does this sound like a game that the creator would worry about making a sequel for? Not at all. Yet here Inafune is, getting ahead of himself and planning for a sequel even though the atmosphere around the game clearly doesn't warrant such ambitions.
Will Inafune follow through on his plans for a sequel, or will he quit while he's ahead? Only time will tell.
