Nintendo Legend Imamura Enters Capcom's Mega Man Boss Contest

Capcom's ongoing contest for fans to design a new Robot Master for Mega Man: Dual Override has attracted a submission from a true industry luminary. Takaya Imamura, the legendary Nintendo character designer behind Fox McCloud, Captain Falcon, and Tingle, has thrown his hat into the ring with his own creation, 'Gacha Man'. He shared his entry on Twitter/X, showcasing a character that deploys attack capsules and uses suction to replenish them.

📜 A Legacy of Character DesignTakaya Imamura's career at Nintendo spanned over 30 years, where he was instrumental in defining the look of the company's early 3D era. He not only designed Fox McCloud and Captain Falcon but also created the iconic character art for the original Star Fox (1993) and F-Zero (1990), games that helped establish Nintendo's foothold in polygonal graphics.

The contest, which launched on 11 December 2025 and runs until 1 January 2026, asks artists to design a boss with a powerful suction right arm for the upcoming 12th mainline Mega Man title. The winning design will be immortalised in the final game. Imamura's concept cleverly taps into series history, recalling the 'Gachappon' enemy from the 1991 NES title Mega Man 4, which later appeared in Game Boy and Game Gear entries.

This crossover of talent highlights the enduring, interconnected legacy of 8-bit and 16-bit era developers. Imamura's work defined the aesthetic of Nintendo's early polygonal era with Star Fox (1993) and F-Zero (1990), while the Mega Man series, beginning in 1987, was a cornerstone of Capcom's success on the NES. Seeing a figure from one pillar of classic gaming contribute to another resonates deeply with fans who grew up with these franchises.

For the retro community, the contest itself is a compelling callback to the golden age of fan interaction, albeit through modern channels. It echoes the spirit of reader submissions in classic gaming magazines, but with the tangible prize of inclusion in an official sequel. Entries must be submitted on Twitter/X using the hashtags #MegaManDO and #DesignARobotMaster, with full rules available on Capcom's website. Whether a seasoned professional like Imamura or a dedicated fan takes the top spot, the result will be a new piece of Mega Man history forged by its community.

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