Perhaps you've heard of "Mega Man Universe." It's a 2-D side-scroller that Capcom had in development which would have offered players the opportunity to customize the look and performance of their personalized Mega Man and even create levels. Characters from Capcom's rich catalog were set to feature into the game, including folks from the "Street Fighter" and "Ghosts 'n Goblins" series'. I write all of this in the past tense because, sadly, "Mega Man Universe" is officially no more.

The news was posted on the official Japanese "Mega Man Universe" site, which cites "various reasons" for the cancellation (via Andria Sang). The game was set for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles this spring, which means it was really right around the corner. It is likely that "Mega Man" creator Keiji Inafune's departure from Capcom late last year is a key factor in the publisher's decision to cancel.

Which is really too bad, because "Mega Man Universe" looked really nifty. The series as a whole is known for its notoriously difficult gameplay, an element which has been highlighted in the (relatively speaking) recent releases of "Mega Man 9" and "Mega Man 10."

The focus in "Universe" on customization showed great promise however. Players would have been able to tweak the look of their own Mega Man character, and some pre-release screens showed that some wildly different styles were available, including a skin modeled after the original version of the character pictured in the first game's box art. The avatar could be further outfitted with a range of parts to modify its capabilities. That's not even mentioning the level editor, which would have challenged players to try to outdo Inafune's penchant for serving up a punishing difficulty.

Pour one out for "Mega Man Universe" today. It left us too soon.