10 Video Games That Made Expensive Comebacks (And Still Failed)

8. Mighty No. 9

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Deep Silver

After Capcom cancelled multiple Mega Man projects, the brains behind the super fighting robot, Keiji Inafune, took matters into his own hands.

Leaving the company, Inafune set up a Kickstarter to fund a spiritual successor of Mega Man called Mighty No. 9. Thanks to the Blue Bomber's loyal fanbase, Inafune reached his goal in two days. When the campaign quadrupled its initial target, things were looking up for Mighty No. 9.

Sadly, all hype dried up before release, thanks to the embarrassing Masterclass trailer. Not only was the teaser poorly written and narrated, the line "make the bad guys cry like an anime fan on prom night" single-handedly obliterated any interest in the project.

Then there's the game itself. Honestly, it's hard to understand where the funding went, due to Mighty No. 9's unimaginative mechanics, tiresome gameplay, and by-the-numbers level design.

But Mighty No. 9 wasn't just awful; it was also terribly mismanaged. Kickstarter rewards didn't work, the project was heavily delayed, and several ports were canned (which ended up being a blessing).

Looking back, it's hard to believe the man behind such a beloved franchise screwed up this project so epically.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows