10 Disastrous Redesigns That Ruined Iconic Video Game Characters

4. Mega Man (Street Fighter X Tekken)

Street Fighter X Tekken – released in 2012 – features a version of Mega Man taken from the original North American box art, released in 1987. Infamous, the cover bared almost no resemblance to the actual game, depicting the character as a middle-aged man instead of a young boy, armed with a handgun instead of an armcannon, and decorated in blue and yellow, instead of just blue.

In the game, these attributes are accentuated, the character appearing comically overweight – and despite a strong sense of personal justice – responds cowardly in response to adversity.

Technically, this isn’t a redesign, but a repurposing, but the effect is the same. After all, Keiji Inafune – the creator of Mega Man – has always had a tentative relationship with Capcom, the company continuously, and fervently neglecting his franchise in favour of other projects. As such, the inclusion of Mega Man in Street Fighter X Tekken is representative of the company’s enduring opinion of the series – and despite being included as a joke – is seriously telling.

Besides, the inclusion of this version negated the inclusion of the actual character, so that alone makes it pretty inexcusable.