Finally, after YEARS of seeing Mega Man in 2D shooter side-scroller gameplay, Capcom began to realize the video game scene was changing, and realism was becoming more important than ever.  So in 1997 Capcom decided to take the classic gameplay of the old Mega Man games and bring Mega Man to an ENTIRE new 3D world.  I finally got to experience the 3D Mega Man adventure a few days ago, in July 2006.  So it took me NINE years to finally play it!  What can I say?  I'm slow!