The Reploid Research Lavatory

The Reploid Research Lavatory is Moving!

2010-09-06T14:38:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone!

I'm excited to announce that the Reploid Research Lavatory has moved to Dr. Cossack's server on Interordi.com!

This blog will remain archived here for the time being, and though I haven't decided yet, I may continue to mirror my future blog posts here as well. Comments will remain disabled on this blog, however.

Please update your bookmarks and feeds to the new site! Thanks to Blogspot for giving me my start. And thanks to all my readers!

See you on the other side!

Happy Labor Day

2010-09-06T08:43:00.004-04:00

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Bedtime for Duo Week

2010-09-03T08:42:00.004-04:00

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I'm putting Duo week to bed with one last image from the Grand Rockman Exposition '96 Secret File.

Teeny-Tiny Visitors

Once upon a time, there lived in a certain town a skilled craftsman of robots. And one night, while still hard at work, the craftsman had fallen into a deep sleep.

It was then that suddenly and out of nowhere, a bushel of gnomes appeared - and much to anyone's astonishment, they began to help the craftsman with his work.

Had he opened his eyes and awoke at that very moment, the craftsman would surely have received quite a start!

"You just rest well tonight, dear doctor," one of the gnomes gently whispered.

Aww.

I guess that answers the question of how Dr. Right was able to rework Duo's superior alien technology so quickly - he wasn't! It was the gnomes all along. It all makes perfect sense now!

Just kiddin'. Sweet dreams, Duo week. Of course, there's certainly more Duo material out there to be translated, but for now, let's just let it rest a while, shall we? I hope you enjoyed this week-long look at the extraterrestrial power fighter. Even though it was supposed to happen a month ago. Regular updates return next week, hopefully. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Big Duo, it is now SHOWTIME!

2010-09-02T07:49:00.014-04:00

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As Duo week (belatedly) winds down, we'll take a look at the Rockman 2: The Power Fighters prologue that appeared in the official game soundtrack booklet ~ a version of the story that didn't appear anywhere else. Action!

I think this was really one of the cooler soundtracks of the time. Besides the sweet remixes that the soundtrack itself is filled with, they also included a dramatic sound effects track, and packaged it with a colorful booklet that included rare plot information, sprinkled generously with official artwork, developer comments, and even Cut Man Stage sheet music! Although this time, we're just focusing on page 3 right now. (Sorry!) It goes:

[Prologue]

Somewhere in outer space, there existed two very extraordinary types of energy. A white energy that was exhibited by those of a virtuous spirit, and a black energy which was sustained by hearts consumed with wickedness. These energies greatly exceeded anything which the civilizations of Earth had ever known. Then one day, an unknown energy form was discovered. Dr. Right immediately undertook an investigation. However, proper analysis proved impossible, as the energy form was so infinitesimally small, and yet at the same time so exceedingly dangerous that it had to be handled with the strictest of care. That's because this energy form had a far stronger power than any other energy that existed on Earth.

Then late one night, the town was suddenly stained red in panic. The Wily mechs struck in a surprise raid upon Dr. Right's laboratory, making off with the portent energy, and even stealing the experimental energy parts which were developed from its research.

Dr. Right: Damn! They must have taken the energy form. If Wily misuses its power, the results could be disastrous! Roll? Roll, where are you? Roll!

Making things worse, Roll was nowhere to be found. That was when Rockman arrived, returning from his patrol.

Rockman: Doctor! What on Earth happened here?!

Dr. Right: We were suddenly attacked by Wily's robots. They took that rare energy form, and the new parts I was developing. On top of that, Roll has gone missing!

Rockman: That awful Wily, using such a cowardly attack!

Dr. Right: That strange energy can generate an incredibly strong power. It's a mysterious energy that can become imprinted by the heart of whoever uses it, for good or for evil. We must hurry and get it back, or else...

Meanwhile, someone was gazing down at the town thrown into confusion. Standing nearly 3 meters tall and possessing an enormous left hand, the figure burned with a violet haze, manifesting his will to fight.

Duo: What a deplorable creature you are. Whatever it is you're up to, I, Duo, will defeat you!

And so the mysterious character "Duo" abruptly appeared! Is he friend or foe? And just who is this "creature" he's targeting?

Rockman's latest battle is about to unfold!

This soundtrack came out a few months before Rockman 8 released, so the bits explaining the good and evil alien energies were entirely unknown at the time. And the connection between the two, the potential for the basic energy form to become one or the other based on the intentions of the user, was not touched upon in 8 at all. It's interesting that the two energies are figuratively two sides of the same coin. Good or Evil, depending on what dreams lie within your soul. Limitless potential and limitless danger, aren't the two always the same somehow?

And how about that "mysterious" Duo guy? I don't think they really succeeded with making it hard to tell which side he was on, but anyone who plays the game and selects Duo as first player will immediately be greeted warmly by Dr. Right within seconds of playing, so I guess it's a moot point.

If Duo is approximately 3 meters tall as written here, and we know Rockman stands at 132cm, then Duo should be taller than two Rockmans stacked on top of each other. The sprites have never quite done him justice in that case, although the endings and cutscenes usually do a better job at portraying his height.

And why a violet aura? Isn't purple supposed to be the color of the Evil Energy? In Rockman 8 yes, but in The Power Fighters, Duo's charge-up and attacks had a purple glow instead of the blue he's known for later. It might have been something they decided to change later. Or it could be because blue was already Rockman's dedicated shot color in the arcade games, while Blues' were yellow and Forte's were green, making purple just another way to have Duo stand out more in gameplay. Of course, the story above says that Good Energy is white and Evil Energy is black, so I guess there's no official consensus on the color issue. But speaking of colors, how about that psychedelic background? Outta sight, man.

That's it for this time. Cut, print, that's a wrap.

Not your average Joes

2010-09-01T13:16:00.007-04:00

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There's been a lot of questioning over the years about Sniper Joes, who designed them, and their relation to Blues. Part of that I'm sure is my fault, because I remember goofing it a few times a while back (I'm talking years and years ago, back when I thought a year or two of Japanese study qualified me to be a translator) with some of my much earlier and sloppier translations I did for Mega Man Network and Mega Man PC in their early days. As long as I'm playing catch-up this week, I thought I'd throw in a fix for some decade-old hubris of mine as well. Dig in!

Page 48 from the Rockman & Rockman X Himitsu Daihyakka probably explains the Joes' history the best (from the books I have, anyway). It reads:

Joe Series
Dr. Right originally designed a mass-producible type of humanoid robot; the Joe Series are what happened when Dr. Wily remodeled it for combat purposes.

Sniper Joe
Series 1st Version

Sniper Joe 01
Joes return, this time with a super-strong power up. Never giving up, this time they think they'll get Rockman for sure.

Truck Joe
A Joe that's gotten behind a wheel of a truck to defeat Rockman. Their personalities, like their driving, can be a bit rough, but they're actually not such bad guys.

Joe's Secret
The robot who became the basis for the development of the Joes is «DRN.000». Perhaps you've seen that serial number somewhere before...?

Not entirely clear, but it has more details than most passages on the subject. You may remember, Blues is DRN.000, and was developed by Dr. Right as a prototype humanoid robot. Wily found Blues and remodeled him as a battle robot, and through that process learned the secrets to making robots like Dr. Right's. Thus, Wily created Sniper Joes in Blues' image. Or, something like that.

On a related note, I like how Joes are portrayed here as the likable underdogs of the series. They work hard to do their creator's bidding, but in the end even they must know that they're just cannon fodder. I liked the fancy Joe Zero-One design, it's too bad it only ever appeared in Rockman 7 and Rockman Battle & Chase before it went out of style, replaced by the more traditional "Joe Classic" look.

The Birth of Duo

2010-09-01T09:07:00.011-04:00

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Duo made his first appearance in 1996 with the arcade title Rockman 2: The Power Fighters, in which he acted as a sort of promotional teaser for Rockman 8's release later that year. He was touted as a mysterious new character who was stylistically quite unlike most of the other characters in the Rockman universe, and yet was somehow connected to Rockman and his friends in the past. The Capcom Secret File "Grand Rockman Exposition '96" was one of the first to explain how Duo came to be--not the character's back story, but the ideas and influences that went into shaping the character itself.

From the Grand Rockman Expo '96 page 4:

New Character "DUO" Creation Secrets

1. How it all began

When it was decided we were going to make a Power Battle 2, the subject arose of "why not have an original new playable character unique to the arcade versions?" We didn't have a lot of time to spend on it, but we really liked the idea of a new character, so we ambitiously asked the producer, "what if we used the same character in 'Rockman 8' and made it like a big tie-in event?"

2. Planning

Because we didn't want to just throw in another Rockman-type character, it was decided to make a character that was massively tall and would fight with punches and kicks, to make him stand out from the kind of characters that appeared up till now.

3. Newly revealed!
Prototype Duo

It's never been shown before! This is the early draft of Duo. The first time I saw it, I met with quite a shock at how much this differed from traditional Rockman design.

4. Finished at last!

Next, we completed and finalized the body design. Even after that was done however, we were still left with an uneasy feeling. (Like, is it just my imagination, or at a glance could he be easily mistaken for an enemy character...?)

5. So what do we call him?

Of course, if you're talking about naming a Rockman character, it's gotta be a music related name, right? We had come up with a wide bunch of different names to choose from, Oenker (from "ouenka," a fight song), Gunker (from "gunka", meaning war song), Kokker (from "koka," meaning national anthem), but in the end we didn't decide on any of those. I myself came up with Soul and Baroque, but they weren't used either. (And Baroque was such an awesome name, too...)

Captions:

Top right: An unused victory pose

Bottom right: Flattened

Hayato Kaji (H.K.) was the artist who designed Duo. At the end of the Secret File he mentioned that "Duo was designed with an image of Russia in mind," leading Japanese fans to speculate on why. On page 53 of the Mega Man Official Complete Works book, he revealed the truth behind the comment while also explaining more of the inspirations behind Duo's design:

"I did the designs for Duo, but he started off as a robot created by Cossack, so there's still a lot of Russian flavor left in him. The shape of his head was supposed to look like a classic Russian hat, and the circles on his chest were meant to look like coat buttons... but then he turned out to be a robot from space. (laughs)"

Page 126 from the Mega Man Complete Works book held another interesting detail, that "Baroque" was also a potential name Inafune considered for the rival character of Forte/Bass. Although no author was listed for the above article from the Secret File, it's possible that it was Inafune himself. It also means that the name Baroque has been kicked around for years now, but has yet to land on one character in particular. Who knows, perhaps someday Rockman will finally have a rival called Baroque...

Mega Man Anime Again

2010-08-31T15:32:00.004-04:00

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Somehow I totally overlooked this back there. I'd be remiss not to mention it, so let us now correct this injustice!

From the Saishinban Rockman Daihyakka on page 20:

Imported Directly from America
This is the "Rockman" Anime!
A Special Visual Presentation!

We've obtained a special video copy of the "Rockman" anime airing in America under the title "Mega Man"! And as an introduction we've put together some of the most interesting scenes just for you!

Captions:

Top-right: Here's the get weapon, ready to fire pose! When Wily's robot army causes trouble, this buster of justice roars to attention!

Middle-left: Blues is also looking super incredible! Evil has never looked so good!

Bottom-left: The righteous trio. It'd be great to see this come to Japan!

First in strip: As for other allies, there's a mettool, and a green Eddie!?

Second in strip: Blues has completely become Dr. Wily's subordinate.

Third in strip: Iceman's special attack. Way coooool!!

Fourth in strip: Getting equipped with Fireman's weapon chip!

This book came out in December of 1994, so a few months earlier than this one, meaning that this was probably one of the very first looks at the animated series Japanese fans received. It also gives a few different screens and details than the later articles, though not many. I'm ashamed to have missed it earlier!

A look back in time with Chrono Trigger

2010-08-31T12:23:00.005-04:00

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For Chrono Trigger fans, the Chrono Compendium is the best site on the net today. On top of their comprehensive game guides, character data, sprite sheets, scripts, and lively forums, they even have an impressive scan archive from books, magazines, soundtracks, and interviews from any number of regions.

I hope someday Mega Man will have a site as comprehensive and definitive in its coverage. Of course, Mega Man also has a ton more games and materials than the Chrono Trigger franchise... but, hey, can't hurt to dream.

As a fan of Chrono Trigger, the early rough sketches from Masato Kato caught my eye. Featured in the book Chrono Trigger Ultimania that was published in 2009 for the DS version release, it's interesting to see how Kato's early ideas compared to Toriyama's finished character designs. If you're interested in that sort of thing, you can check out the two pages translated by me here and here.

Thanks again to the colossal Chrono Compendium for the scans!

Intergalactic Officer of the Law

2010-08-31T07:46:00.003-04:00

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You probably wouldn't know it just from playing the games, but Duo is a space cop on a mission of interplanetary justice. Or so Keiji Inafune and passages like this one have suggested.

From Comic BonBon Special #110, the Saishinban Rockman Super Daihyakka, page 40:

The robot of justice who came from outer space!
Duo

A robot who arrived from outer space while chasing a form of Evil Energy. Although his true character is not entirely known, because of his loathing of evil and strong sense of justice, it's a good guess that he's probably some kind of space police force officer. Through the course of the battle on Earth, he and Rockman became good friends.

As an enemy, Duo is super tough!
Due to a misunderstanding Rockman and Duo engaged each other in battle for the first and only time, but Duo may have used only a fraction of his strength.... All of Rockman's special weapons are useless against Duo, so the best tactic is to dodge his attacks and counter with the Charge Shot!

This crash attack involves transforming into a pale blue shooting star and ricocheting around. Talk about difficult to dodge!

When he fires an intense blast of energy from his arm, you'll have a chance to counterattack!

He Came from Outer Space

2010-08-30T16:49:00.014-04:00

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...to save the human race (from Evil Energy).

From Comic BonBon Special #118, the Rockman 10 Years History Book, page 66:

Justice's Powerful Fighter from Beyond the Cosmos
Duo

A robot who first appeared in the arcade game "Rockman 2: The Power Fighters." in "Rockman 8" some light was shed on his past, revealing that he had been chasing the Evil Energy embodiment through space when he arrived on the Earth, and that he saved Rockman's life from the injuries received during his battle with Dr. Wily. The extent of his abilities are shrouded in mystery, but compared to the likes of Rockman and Forte, his power is thought to far exceed that of the others. It should be interesting to note what kind of appearances he'll make in the series from here on out.

Duo learned of how Rockman fought all along to protect peace on Earth, and used his miraculous power to save Rockman's life.

At first, Duo thought Rockman was trying to interfere with his mission, and so they met in battle. That power was astonishing!

August wasn't my best month for blogging.

2010-08-30T16:48:00.003-04:00

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Sorry about that. Things got hectic, and I told myself I'd break until I could return to regular updates. Does this mean regular updates are resuming? I guess we'll wait and see.

Sigh.

2010-08-09T21:47:00.003-04:00

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I couldn't stop smiling.

2010-08-07T09:26:00.005-04:00

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One of my favorite costumes I saw at Otakon. I was only there for 20 minutes though, so undoubtedly I sampled only a very small selection of what took place there. It looked like hell to walk around in that getup, especially after the fire alarm went off.

Hats off to you, whoever you are.

There were really tons of people in impressive costumes. It looked like a lot of fun. I wish I could have spent more time there.

Doodle Duo

2010-08-06T07:57:00.004-04:00

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This was going to be Duo week, but I haven't had time to finish any of my plans. Maybe I'll have a duo of Duo weeks.

Yatta!

Dynamic Duo

2010-08-02T20:59:00.005-04:00

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Hey guys. No, I didn't forget about blogging for two weeks in a row. Not me! I actually had something I started on last week, but I didn't finish it in time. Instead, enjoy this picture of Rock and Duo by Ryuji Higurashi. I do believe this was from before he started working for Capcom, and thus was only fan art at the time. It looks pretty sweet though. No wonder they hired him!

Rush Rider

2010-07-30T08:11:00.004-04:00

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Rock and Rush try some role reversal. I wanted to go to Otakon this weekend, but it looks like I probably won't make it. This has been a pretty lame week for me and Mega Man related things.

I answer some questions

2010-07-26T10:21:00.007-04:00

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Hey guys. I know it's Monday, but I don't really have anything for you. Sorry, I've been kinda busy with other things. So instead, I think I'll answer a few of the questions I've been getting lately.

First one that I've been asked by several people, "What are all the Capcom magazines and newsletters, and where can I get them?"

How many there are, I have no idea. There have been quite a few different publications over the years, among the oldest being Capcom World News, Capcom News Wave, then you have Capcom Magazine, Club Capcom, Capcom Secret Files, Capcom FAX, CFC-CAP!, the game specific mini-mags like Rock Maga, and then there's the Gamest Mooks, the Comic Bon Bon Specials, the Capcom Official books series, the promotional art pamphlets, and some I'm sure I've probably never heard of.

I got most of my books via import stores or auction sites like Ebay and Yahoo! Japan. A few I got from some friends in Japan. I don't have any secret method or special connections, I'm afraid. I've been pretty lucky for the most part, in seeing them and snatching them up. My advice to you is to just keep a good lookout.

Next question! RADIX asked, "I've already looked, and could find nothing on Super Adventure Rockman that we haven't seen before. I'm thinking that it may have been covered in Japanese magazines/guides, but I don't have access to those. Can you dig anything up?"

Oh man, I wish! I have a few Japanese books like the Rockman 10 years History Book and Rockman Perfect Memories that talk about the game, but you'd learn more about the game from a basic internet search than you would from those little pages. The CFC-CAP! books didn't cover it other than release date information. I haven't even seen any art made for the game that wasn't the cover itself. I'm sure there would be information somewhere in gaming magazines of the time. Whether or not it had anything rare about the game, who knows. I wonder if Capcom didn't support the title very well because of Inafune's spoken feelings about it in the Mega Man Official Complete Works books? It's hard to say without the magazines to show for it. Don't give up hope of something like this being found though, old things have a way of resurfacing on the internet.

Anonymous asked yesterday, "does this guy have an official name?"

I don't know about an official name, but he does have a Japanese pet nickname thanks to U-Capcom. It's "Megaman no Ossan" 「メガマンのおっさん」. Capcom's Yuji Hayakawa used it for explaining the legendary hero character from a secret disk in Rockman ZX Advent, and it's been used popularly in Japan ever since. Ossan is (somewhat derogatory) slang for a middle aged man, so it would have connotations along the lines of "old dude", "old guy," "old boy", "man boy", "over the hill", "mid-life Mega Man", "40 year old virgin Mega Man" or even "creepy uncle Mega Man". It's a term of endearment, really.

ZeroXSaber asked if I thought that Mega Man Rush Marine is worth buying.

Of course, MM:RM is not your typical Mega Man game. It's basically a auto-scrolling shooter with Mega Man characters. Whether you'd be interested in something like that is up to you. The game's resolution and play control might vary depending on what kind of phone you have. The Blackberry version had pretty high resolution, but I hear that some of the other versions did not, and so had a smaller play screen. I didn't care much for controls myself, but I'm new to playing cell phone games in general, so I don't know if that's the standard. I guess the bottom line is that you'd have to decide it for yourself. The cheapest I saw the game was at Blackberry App World, one thing that I would definitely recommend if you decide to buy it is that you find yourself a deal. I do think more than $6 is honestly too much for this game.

That's it for the Q&A today. Sorry again about not having any translation goodies up, I'll try to get something together before the week is out.

Sealab 20XX

2010-07-23T18:26:00.021-04:00

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On sinking Dr. Wily, and a few other random bits about MM:RM.

Just throwing together some leftover pics from the last post.
The Dr. Wily battle can be confusing at first, because you're not really sure what to be shooting at, and it seems like nothing you do inflicts any damage.

The first step is actually to destroy the red shield below Wily's cockpit. But be warned, the shots you fire at it will ricochet back, so keep moving up and down to avoid getting hit.

Once the armor plate is gone... you'll probably wish it was still on. Now Wily starts attacking with torpedos and lasers, which leave him vulnerable just before he fires.

Keep dodging his onslaughts and returning fire, and you'll destroy his best offense.

His main weapons are gone, and look! There's a crack in the cockpit! You know what to do. The rest is a cakewalk.

Now back to Dr. Light's for some hardcore partying in International Waters. But hey, has he done something different with the place? Dr. Light's maritime headquarters is a little different in every scene.

There are two different kinds of computer consoles whose monitors change from Rush's head to some data images and then "off". Then there's these crane things, too.

Maybe he's a compulsive re-decorator. He's gotta find something to do while Mega Man is off saving the oceans. Any comment on that, doctor?

Your silence says it all.

Midsummer Greetings from the Capcom Sound Team

2010-07-23T08:52:00.002-04:00

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This appeared on the splash page for Capcom's Cyber Channel web site, sometime in the mid to late 90s. I believe they had at least one Mega Man and Roll picture for every season, but I sadly only have two of them saved.

I've been tweaking with the layout.

2010-07-21T19:42:00.002-04:00

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You guys let me know if it's getting better/worse, okay?

The Bots Aquatic

2010-07-20T18:46:00.024-04:00

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Alternate titles: "The Mega Man and the Sea", "The Hunt for Rush Marine", "20,000 More Leaks Under the Sea"

At last, I finally got my hands on Mega Man: Rush Marine. That's the non-Japanese Mega Man game for cell phones that came out in 2009, in case you forgot. The early screens looked promising, but the game didn't seem to live up to a lot of expectations, which I guess is why it's hard to find a lot of detailed information about it. When it came time to renew my cellphone contract, I figured, "eh, why not?" and now I'm the owner of a BlackBerry Curve with Mega Man Rush Marine installed on it.

This post is all about the robotic species that inhabit the Izgasara Islands. I've read that there are supposed to be 14 enemies, but by my count it's way more. I've divided them by habitat, like Shallow Water or Volcanic Reef. Last but not least comes the bosses themselves. The enemy names, uncreative as they are, were taken from former Mega Man games, from the Achievements of the game (names like "shark" "mine" "piranha" "the boss of Isle of the Deep" and so on), or made up by me. Please don't take them for official. Now, get ready to explore Wily's wonders of the undersea world.

Pandora's Cove
	Pipi Flying bird robot that drops boulders, from Mega Man 2.
	Togehero Spinning flying thorny robot, from Mega Man 4.
Any Waters
	Aqua Joe Of the Sniper Joe series, armed with a shield and buster.
	Met Mole A Mettaur-styled Mole, attacks from above.
	Blowfish A small fish that swims toward an enemy, then suddenly expands its body.
	Harpoon Cannon This can fire in one of three directions.
	Mine Trap that can cause instant death. Will explode if shot enough, or Ink Spray can disable it temporarily.
Shallow Water Only
	Diving Bird Bird robot that plunges into the water, then slowly rises to the surface.
	Blue Fish Fish robots that swim in formation, traveling in wave patterns.
	Green Fish Fish robots that swarm together.
	Shark Sleeps until disturbed, then lunges to attack.
	Mantan Manta ray robot, from Mega Man 4. Only appears in Spear Cove.
	Harpoon Joe Of the Sniper Joe series, this robot uses a harpoon. Only appears in Orca Isle.
Volcanic Reef Only
	Seahorse Raises the spikes on its back before firing.
	Starfish Starts spinning when it spots an enemy, then tries to attack with its body.
	Red Fish A school of little fish surround a larger red fish. The smaller ones will separate to attack.
	Coral Barrier that's harmful if you get caught in it. Comes in 3 colors.
	Hermit Crab Crawls along the floor, then jumps to attack with its shell. Only appears in Claw Reef.
	Squid Things might get inky if you run into this. Only appears in Squid Haven.
	Turtle Sea turtle robot with a light-up shell. Only appears in Turtle Keys.
Deep Water Only
	Shrink Robotic shrimp from Mega Man 2.
	Purple Fish Seeks to lock its gaping jaws into its enemies.
	Jellyfish Slow moving robots that often appear in great numbers.
	Clam Opens its shell to fire its hidden cannon.
	Angler That is one crazy-looking robot. Only appears in Isle of the Deep.
	Electric Eel Can shock enemies with its body for a short time. Only appears in Electric Inlet.

Bosses
	Pandora's Cove Wily UFO
	Orca Isle Weapon: Water Spout
	Fang Island Weapon: Piranha Gun
	Spear Cove Weapon: Barbed Harpoon
	Claw Reef Weapon: Spiked Shield
	Squid Haven Weapon: Ink Spray
	Turtle Keys Weapon: Turtle Torpedo
	Isle of the Deep Weapon: Depth Charge
	Electric Inlet Weapon: Spark Shock
	*???* Special Boss Refight #1
	*???* Special Boss Refight #2
	*???* Wily Machine

If you want to read more about the plot and story of the game, I've also uploaded a script of MM:RM to GameFaqs. Go read it!

Dr. "I'm Always" Right Breaks It Down

2010-07-19T06:44:00.010-04:00

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It's time for another edition of Dr. Right's "Ask Me!"

Previously in Club Capcom Magazine, Dr. Right had resolved to set aside some time in his busy schedule to devote to solving your questions. Jumping at the chance to get their burning questions answered, Capcom fans from all over Japan submitted their questions for the good Doctor to answer in the next issue. Some of these were outside the scope of even Dr. Right's wisdom, but Right perseveres and always attempts to give at least some kind of answer. Will knowledge prevail?

"Whatever your question is, I'll answer it!"

Dr. Right's
"Ask Me!"

"I'm Dr. Right, the creator of Rockman. If there's something you want to know, just ask me!"

Q. What kind of foods does Rockman like to eat?

A. Well... Actually, Rockman's body is powered by "Solar Energy." Therefore, he doesn't really eat, but there are some things that are okay for his consumption... Around the lab, he enjoys drinking "Energy Juice." As responsibly as he behaves, he's still a kid after all.

Q. The 8 bosses from Rockman 4, like Brightman and the others, were built by Dr. Cossack. So why are they considered to be Wily Numbers?

A. That hooligan Dr. Wily had performed considerable revisions to Dr. Cossack's robots... Or, to put it more simply, he "remodeled" them. That is why they are included among the Wily Numbers.

Q. Is the Rockbuster ambidextrous?

A. Mm-hmm. Very perceptive of you! You're quite right, both arms are capable of transforming into a Rockbuster.

Q. Seems like Dr. Wily is always creating new boss characters. Where does he get the budget to make all of these?

A. I must admit, I'd like to know more about that myself! It could have something to do with backing from that mysterious organization the "X Foundation"... It's all very suspicious.

Q. I heard that Dr. Wily used to be a good doctor, so how did he change into an evil doctor that tries to take over the world?

A. ...In our younger days, Dr. Wily and I were close associates. He was an enormously proud individual... When I achieved top of our class at the Robot Institute of Technology we attended together, he was extremely vexed... It was sometime after that he seemingly decided he would create the strongest robots to prove that he was the best in the world... Such a sorrowful state of affairs...

Q. The shots that the Rockbuster fires from the hand, what are those exactly?

A. The Rockbuster on the arm fires something called a "Solar Bullet", essentially emitting a compressed form of solar energy that's very powerful.

Q. I heard a rumor that says Ken from SFII gets married to a transvestite. Is that true?

A. Utterly false. I assure you, Eliza is all woman. She and Guile's wife Julia are actually sisters, eventually making Ken Guile's brother-in-law. Neither one knew about this when they fought each other, but I wonder if things might have been different if they had...?

Q. How does Ryu pay for his living expenses?

A. Back when he was living in Japan, Ryu would teach students at his Master's Dojo, and never had to worry over living expenses. But to pay for his recent warrior training abroad, he's turned to betting on himself in street fights. That way he can make money all while training his body at the same time.

Q. What are those bones Dhalsim wears around his neck?

A. Oh, those? I believe Dhalsim called it a charm. It's based on a belief that purified bones have a mysterious power to bring about blessings and good fortune. They're very precious to him. I once asked to borrow them just for a moment, and he angrily replied by blowing fire in my direction. He reminds me of Heat Man!

Q. What are those things Chun Li wears on her wrists?

A. I don't know much about them, but perhaps they're some kind of protective gear. They appear to be very heavy, so they might also serve some important training purpose. That Chun Li, what an exceptional spirit!

Q. What is Capcom News Wave?

A. You mean these? They come out around the times when the new software goes on sale, around 3~4 times a year. It includes all the news on the newest products, very useful for keeping up with the latest info and present campaigns... If I'm not mistaken, they are distributed free of charge at over 2500 toy shops and Famicom stores nationwide.

Q. What kind of accessory is this CPS Fighter I keep hearing about?

A. Ah, yes, now listen carefully!
The CPS Figher is a unique device that allows you to feel the same great play control of the Arcade, in your own home. With this, you can easily perform special techniques like the hadouken to your heart's content! For Mega Drive users, there's also a CPS Fighter MD releasing in September.
If you just need a cord for your CPS Fighter, write your name, address, telephone number, CPS Fighter serial number, and whether you need a FC or SCF cord. Include a 500 yen certificate and 175 yen for postage, and send it to the Capcom Service Center.
However, this offer is limited to one time per customer. They're quite strict about that, I'm afraid.

Q. Is it true there's a telephone service where you can hear information on Capcom's software?

A. You heard right. This one's absolutely true! You can call any time 24 hours a day for the latest gossip on Capcom software and catch all the news on Capcom related products!

Hey, wait up!

Don't stop sending in your questions!

Normally, I'd say something first about the Rockman trivia we learned in the column, but somehow, the Street Fighter questions caught more of my attention. Seriously, what was up with that transvestite question? Was it really such a prevalent rumor that Capcom felt they needed to address this, or did Capcom just have a sense of humor about it? Looking at the ending in question... Hmm, I guess I see what they meant. Not your best side, Eliza.

Dr. Right again shows an active fascination with Chun Li, but I guess everyone did in 1993. And apparently in addition to Right's mastery of hadouken and shouryuken displayed in the X series, he's also hung out with Dhalsim. It seems he gets around when he's not cooped up in the lab!

Back to Rockman, Right was good enough to explain the Rockbuster's solar bullet, different from the US version's plasma cannon. Energy juice may already sound familiar to you if you keep up with this blog. And we can say now why there's no Doctor Cossack Numbers, although the end credits of the game just listed numbers without letters, and a few of them were mixed up in order if I remember. The answer connecting Wily's funding and the X Foundation is a plug for Rockman 6, which was still eagerly awaiting release when this issue came out. Also, we got Dr. Right's account of how Wily changed from brilliant colleague to mad scientist, no lab accidents or double-crossing assistants involved. Rather tame, in comparison.

That's it for this time. There's one more Ask Me! to go, and it'll touch on franchises we have yet to see come up in the column before. Of course, there will still be plenty of Rockman questions, too. I'm thinking I'll follow the pattern and save it for the middle of next month. Look forward to it then!

Mega Man Universe Teaser Trailer

2010-07-16T20:30:00.005-04:00

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It came out today. Having watched it 10 times now, I still have no idea what to expect for the actual game. Inafune's interview with Gamespot on the subject sounded like the "Mega Man" part of "Mega Man Universe" could be merely incidental.

"This time, I have included a lot of new gameplay concepts into this game. If we were to make a completely new game, people wouldn’t focus on these new concepts as they would be more focused on the new characters. By choosing Mega Man, a character that already has a strong following and is a character I’m personally attached to, this will allow people to focus on what is new about this game and what special gameplay opportunities can come from these new features."

He also mentions an ongoing 80's theme and stresses the importance of imagination in this title, asking how we think the worlds of Mega Man, Street Fighter and Ghosts 'n' Goblins might intersect. I felt compelled to answer.

I'm predicting a "Mega Man comes out of the game world" concept, maybe entering other game worlds as well, the way Gumby used to enter the worlds of books. (Remember that?) Right now, that's the only thing that really comes to mind.

More news is supposed to be forthcoming, and maybe some Rockman Universe news too. We'll see what happens!

Free Teaser Friday

2010-07-16T19:53:00.009-04:00

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Rounding out the topic of the week, here's a two page spread from the back of the Rockman & Rockman X Himitsu Daihyakka (Big Encyclopedia of Secrets).

Text reads:

Rockman has become an anime phenomenon in America!
And it's called MEGA MAN!!
Amazing! Rockman has been very busy in America! Check out all this awesome! (Whether this will ever be presented in Japan is unknown.)

Published in April of 1995, these images from the cartoon's intro would represent nearly all of what the average Japanese Rockman fan would see or know of the Mega Man cartoon, until that CFC article we looked at on Monday. Thanks to YouTube, they've gotten to see a lot more since then.

Cuteness.

2010-07-14T20:07:00.003-04:00

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These are adorable. Although when it comes to Servbots, I prefer cylindrical heads to spheres, personally. Neat idea tho.

Gamepro Rools the MM Cartoon Info

2010-07-14T19:00:00.012-04:00

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This one's just for the lulz.

Ever wanting to be first to break an exclusive news item, Gamepro posted this in their March 1994 issue:

Assuming the latest installment of a franchise for a tv series would otherwise have been a good guess, especially with the rave reviews X was getting in those days. Eventually the season 2 episode Mega X would prove them half right.

In November 1994's issue they made this follow-up report:

Wow, a female character? Because Mega Man's never had one of those before. Can't wait to find out more about this Rool person.

(I need to work on my sarcasm.)

According to Wikipedia, the show started airing on September 11 of 1994. I wonder if that means they write their monthly magazines 2 months in advance or so? I guess that seems about right, but they could have figured that by the time people were reading the magazine they'd probably be more familiar already...

So did I really just make a post to make fun of a 15 year old typo? Yes, I sure did. This is exactly the kind of thing that the internet was built for. Possibly.

In the future I'll have to remember to do less Wednesday posts.

I think this is awesome.

2010-07-14T07:38:00.002-04:00

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You've probably seen this already. It's too expensive for me to import at this time, but I'd be all over that. Thanks Protodude & Anonymous!

The Mega Man Cartoon: A Japanese Perspective

2010-07-12T11:11:00.016-04:00

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One staple of the CFC-Style Fan Books was the feature "Uchihirano 3rd Block General Store". Named after Capcom's headquarters in Osaka, Japan, this continuing column provided Japanese fans a chance to look at rare Capcom paraphernalia, forgotten things from Capcom's early years or merchandise that was only released in certain parts of the globe.

Narrated by Capcom's own Ma-chan, the section usually included a bonus giveaway contest at the end where you could enter to win rare Capcom-related goods. In CFC's third volume that released around the springtime of 1997, "U3GS" did a feature on the Ruby Spears Mega Man cartoon. You might be surprised... or not.

Uchihirano 3rd Block General Store

Hey everybody!! Long time no see!! As things are warming up, a lot of people out there are catching cold. But old Ma-chan never has to worry about that, I'm always cool as midwinter! ...Ah- ACHOO!!!

Product No.02 Rockman's Overseas Anime

THIS IS THE OPENING!!

Did you know that Rockman is called "Mega Man" overseas? Right now in America, "Mega Man" is critically acclaimed animated television show.

This anime started airing in 1994, and I understand it received much higher ratings than other American-made cartoons. The style of the show, starting with Roll, has a real American feel to it, and the story and animation are top notch. Even the opening animation puts Japan to shame! Or so I thought, but this is actually the only thing that was made in Japan. Su~perb!

And I hear that soon, not only America, but places all over the world like Germany, Spain, and Brazil are scheduled to televise the show. I feel a global Rockman power explosion coming on! The show's even hit home video, although whether it'll ever be available here in Japan is anyone's guess. (Even we've only seen the first episode.)

Sexy! Roll's Closet

Roll is looking very adult!

Her left arm contains a secret weapon!!

"Hey Roll, that's some nice body you've got there!"

"Ugh, Ro~ck....!"

Episode 1 Abridged Digest
Rockman's Secret Origin!!

"Rock, I'm going to make you stronger than ever!!"

"'Kay."

*KYU-WEEEEN*

"And now for this finishing touch... There, all done!"

"You look way different than you do in Japan, with all those bulging muscles..."

"That's because to be accepted as a hero in America you've got to be macho, like this!"

*gulp gulp*

"This energy capsule is filled with some funky blue juice..."

BATTLE PREPARATIONS COMPLETE!!

"Okay, now I'm ready for anything!"

Mega Man Merchandise

Mega Man Collectible Figures
Made by Bandai / 12 in All
Naturally, these figures are modelled after the foreign design, but the quality looks splendid, and their sensual expressions are priceless.

CD
This strange feeling Rock soundtrack is like nothing you'd expect for an anime song album. The 12 tracks all feature vocals, and not one of them is anything like Rockman's image sound here in Japan.

Limited Quantity TREASURE!

We're once again giving away some rare goodies!! Thank you everyone for the tons of entries we received from our last giveaway where we presented PGC cards!! This time for our bonus prize we'll be dishing out 5 actual "original cells" used for the Mega Man anime!! So get your entries sent out to "Uchihirano 3rd Block General Store" right away! And don't forget to include your membership number! Ciao!!!

I was somewhat amazed (but not too surprised) to learn how little Capcom's Japanese side knew about the Mega Man cartoon. Even years after the show's debut, they'd only seen the pilot episode? Some might call that fortunate.

By the time this article was published the show's production was already canceled and re-runs started being regulated to "filler" time slots on many channels, but I can't tell whether the writer was aware of that or not. Overall, Ma-chan gives off a sense of being alternately impressed and bewildered by the show, which I think fans on our end of the globe have also expressed. Perhaps when it comes to the fanbase we're not so different, even if our versions of Rock and Roll definitely were.

Free Scribble Friday

2010-07-09T07:53:00.005-04:00

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Another weird piece taken from the margins of CAP!

Rockman X: Origins

2010-07-05T00:08:00.012-04:00

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Continued from last time, Club Capcom Magazine delves into the hidden past and unseen future of Rockman X.

Q&A with the Capcom Development Staff
Behind the Birth of "Rockman X"!

How is this connected to Rockman?

The new "Rockman X" is, to put it simply, a game that is set in the same world as the "Rockman" that appears on the Famicom. Only, the "Rockman" time period is set in 20XX A.D., while "Rockman X" takes place in 21XX. That is, "X" is set in a slightly later era.

Our protagonist this time is X, who is of course an entirely different person from Rockman. He'll still have the Rockbuster on his left hand, the helmet, and everything that's come to be associated with Rockman, but he is in fact a separate character. He is merely inheriting the world stage of the "Rockman" series, and that means the same familiar types of enemy characters will be around as well. Please think of this as new series set further along in the same universe.

What is the game's setting like?

In this game, Dr. Right has already become a historic figure, known as the "Father of Robotics". In short, X is the robot magnum opus created by Dr. Right. By progressing the science and technology of Rockman and his fellow robots, this vastly improved robot is the pinnacle of Dr. Right's work.

He is called a "Repliroid", a robot with complete human cognition, and his duty is to protect the social order as an "Irregular Hunter". In their era, there is equality between humans and robots, who live in mutual cooperation with one another.

Will this game be like "Rockman"?

Of course, and that's why we used the "Rockman" name. The action will be a little different than the Famicom series though. For example "sliding" is gone, but we've added other moves like the "triangluar kick" to make up for it.

In addition, this time there will be a new special feature called "Robot Operation". In a certain portion of the game, you'll be able to obtain a robot that you can ride in to progress within the level. Naturally, the system of obtaining special weapons from the boss enemies you defeat is well in place, and there will even be a Blues-type sub-character who makes an appearance.

What degree of difficulty will this game have?

Hmm, that's a rather difficult question, since the difficulty is selectable with this new system.

The members of the Irregular Hunter organization to which X belongs are divided according to their abilities into 4 ranks, from C, B, A, to the highest category which only 0.01% belong, "Special A". X was enrolled as B rank. However, X has some concealed abilities that he himself does not yet know about, and as the game progresses he can discover these powers and grow stronger. It's dependent upon the player how much X develops, making it possible to decide which powers and techniques X gains to suit your own taste. It's all entirely up to the player, a feature which we hope you'll all enjoy.

"I don't like fighting. But, I cannot stand by while there are those who are threatening our peace... All right, let's go!!"

Rough sketches under development:
These are your enemies!

Just like you'd expect on the Super Famicom, these bosses are BIG! You'll even find amazingly huge mid-bosses along the way as well... "To stand out a little from the Rockman series, we tried to incorporate more stylish and frightening designs than ever before," the Staff told us.

Expose X's hidden powers with
the Parts System!!

Standard Equipment!! => MAXIMUM!

HEAD
Enables the Headbutt!
No need to fear the falling rocks with this!

CHEST
Defense power up!

ARMS
Attack power increases!

LEGS
Grants the power to Dash!

In "Rockman X", they've incorporated a feature where our hero X begins as a B class Irregular Hunter and grows step by step, maturing and improving. Helping that process along immensely are the 4 equippable parts. With these, the depth of the game vastly increases!

WHO IS THIS!?

Earlier, the Staff told us there would be a "Blues-type sub-character" appearing in "Rockman X". Could this silhouette be him? His name and role within the game have yet to be uncovered. However, it seems that he may be a Repliroid like X, and possibly even a superior Special A class Irregular Hunter! His form does give off a striking impression of strength. Let's just hope he's on our side......

We're Coming Soon!!

There's so much detail to take in on page 86, I recommend you have your Mega Man X Official Complete Works book handy for comparisons. Though some more than others, every enemy shown there is different than what appears in the final game.

Marking the two extremes, the Roader enemy to the left of X is completely different than the ones that appear in X1 and X2. Meanwhile, to X's right, the Gulpfer fish robot has barely changed at all, only minor detailing around the fins would be changed. Below X, an early version of the Road Attacker sports a different driver, a rear-mounted cannon, smokescreen tires, a rear spoiler, and no spikes on the front bumper.

And how about those bosses! Each one slightly different than the final. Octopuld has ornate gears on his shoulder armor instead of torpedoes. Armage is drawn with a buster cannon on his arm. Kuwanger is missing the wings on his back and sports a sharp-tipped hand gauntlet instead. And upon all three, you'll find a cobra symbol instead of Sigma's wolf-like one.

From page 94 of the Mega Man X Official Complete Works. Implicit within this symbol lies a mystery. In what way might the Irregulars have been related to Dr. Wily in the concept phase?

And upon the next page, a silhouette of Zero that is slightly off. Did you notice? Zero's buster is shaped more like X's default one, smooth with an elongated barrel muzzle. We also have another handful of screen captures. There are a few off details, like in the screen of Chameleao's level showing off the headbutt.

A pretty interesting preview, indeed! And to think, they had answered the hotly debated question of whether or not X was the same character as the original Rockman, before the game was even out! But that article hardly slowed the slew of fan speculation surrounding their connection, in Japan or any other region.

The next issue of Club Capcom covered more of the X story and characters, featuring Zero and Sigma. However, due to the bi-yearly publication schedule, the game itself had already been on sale for quite a while by the time the next issue arrived, making it more of a recap. I'll probably put it up sometime anyway.

Happy Day of Sigma?

2010-07-04T11:43:00.009-04:00

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While perusing the Compendium of Rockman X recently, I was reminded of an obscure fact. In the American manual for the game Mega Man X, Cain's journal entry date for Sigma's rebellion was the fourth of June. Meanwhile in the Japanese version of Cain's journal that appeared first in the Rockman X PC game manual, Sigma's rebellion was recorded on July 4 instead.

So, to all the rampaging repliroids of the Far East, have a happy and safe rebellion day. Go bag yourself a human! I'll be celebrating tomorrow with more Rockman X concept coverage from Club Capcom.

Rockman Storytime

2010-07-04T11:25:00.004-04:00

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Mega Man Network brought out their own version of this book, done the way I originally wanted to as a scanlation. It's probably better than mine, I must say. (I realized at least one mistake I had made in mine!) Go lookie.

Happy Independence Day

2010-07-04T08:35:00.002-04:00

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Roll-play: Caskett Style

2010-07-02T08:52:00.002-04:00

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From CAP! Volume 6. Front, side, and back view of Roll's outfit, and even her underwear. Imitators welcome!

This was Rockman X!

2010-06-28T07:41:00.007-04:00

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Last week we looked at some previews of the X series from US gaming magazines. But what about from Japan?

As promised in Club Capcom's Spring commencement issue, the Autumn 1993 edition of Capcom's official Japanese bi-yearly magazine sported a 4 page preview of this highly anticipated game. Many of the designs and screens shown were further along than the "white city" development stage, but not entirely finished. X's backstory and character design were complete though, and were unveiled here for perhaps the first time ever.

The first two pages of this Club Capcom feature are below:

Announcement! This is ROCKMAN X!

A sneak peek behind this top secret game under development!

Rockman's moved to the SFC?
Now now, don't jump to conclusions just yet...!

In our story last issue we teased the news of a Rockman series title on the Super Famicom, and now at last we're pulling back the veil! It's called "Rockman X". It is scheduled for release on December 12th of this year.

Because it's still under development, we don't know all the details just yet. But the basic concept for the setting and backstory have already been decided. Because we know all the passionate Rockman fans out there just can't stand the long wait until winter, we decided to share what portions we can with you here!

Anticipation is at 200%!

The Protagonist: X
The burgeoning hero who conceals a bottomless power!

A Repliroid whose sworn mission is to delete Irregulars (robots who inflict harm upon human beings). Rumor has it he was created by a great scientist from the past, but it seems that nobody really knows the whole story, not even he himself. Although he harbors an exceptionally strong hatred for evil, the kind mercy he sometimes shows his enemies frequently lands him in one dangerous situation after another. He dislikes fighting, and for that reason he doesn't get along well with many of his combative fellow warriors.

Screen captions:
page 84, top: While underwater, attack this monstrous meandering menace from its blind side! Take aim every chance you get, this enemy is strong!

page 84, bottom: A giant robot showdown!? These two colossal characters crash into one another with the force of a super dreadnought!

page 85, top: X can ride in style on this railcar-like vehicle. Be careful not to fall off!

page 85, middle: Use the buster to knock out on this enemy's searchlight!

page 85, bottom: X must advance over this dizzyingly high terrain! With enemies in hot pursuit, he'll have to take extra care not to fall while fighting off attacks from behind!

*Screens are from an unfinished version.

A few of these screens differ from the final in details like the "P" on the lifebar and the shape and color of the charged shots coming from X's normal buster. Interesting, but nothing too ground-breaking yet. Not to worry, though. There's still more to come!

Next time, we'll turn the page and have a little Q&A session with the X dev team, and even uncover some boss and enemy concept art. X-cited yet?

Free Honey Fridays!

2010-06-25T21:27:00.010-04:00

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Here's a little summer flavored Roll comic from Hideki Ishikawa called "Get Back Here!"

From CFC Style Fan Book volume 3, & co-starring Darkstalkers' own Q-Bee. You hardly need the dialog to understand the comic, but here it is anyway:

Panel 1: "Tsutaetai, kono omoi..." (Roll is singing her theme song)
Panel 3: Rock says "What was that for!?" while Roll apologizes, "Oops, I'm sorry!"

Retro Jumble

2010-06-25T16:41:00.036-04:00

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A random collection of retro oddities and mega curiosities.

As shown in this week's prior posts, gaming magazines will occasionally get their facts a little mixed up. Sometimes it's a product of working from pre-finalized versions of a game. Other times, I'd have to say the reviewer got a little mixed up, ran short on time, or simply didn't care. For the final day of retromags week, I've collected a bit of all of the above. Enjoy!

Lets kick things off with some Mega Man 3 coverage from Gamepro!

Some Hilights:

The article calls the giant peace-keeping robot "8" instead of Gamma. Did they confuse a lower case Gamma for a poorly printed 8, or did this have something to do with the reviewer being "Tobar the 8 Man"?
Mega Man has an evil brother named Bruce. (That sounds familiar somehow...) Bruce is a failed experiment who has a few screws loose, explaining his unpredictable behavior. This is clearly just a mistrans of Blues, perhaps Capcom USA had yet to redub this character as Protoman when this article was first written (this was a "Greatest Hits" reprinting). Bruce's behavior in Geminiman's stage is viewed as paralyzing Mega Man with fear, rather than helping him.
Great big art of the MM3 cover! It got a little cropped, but the level of detail is nice. It might not be the best cover art ever, but compared to Mega Man 1 and 2's US boxes, it felt like a leap in the right direction for me.
Mega Man's weapon is the "Mega Blaster." That's reasonably close to Rock Buster.
This 4 page spread made Nintendo Power's 20 page one all the more impressive by comparison.

Next up, Gamepro #66 pro-reviews X2!

From January 1995, this might be the earliest review I've ever come across to call Zero Mega Man's robotic dog (but it definitely wouldn't be the last)! It became quite a trend later on. I guess it's partly because Zero is such a cool name for a dog.

X3 comes next, and Zero's gone from canine to colleague status. They even predict a future series starring Zero to be in the works... But that's not the most interesting part. Check out the top right screen shot! It's a Vile stage teleporter, hidden underwater. That definitely didn't make the final cut.

And now we turn to Gamepro's Scary Larry for a less-than-impressed review of Mega Man 5 for Game Boy.

For their 5th gameboy Mega Man title, Capcom broke out 8 all new bosses, a new helper, and a new default weapon, long story cinematics, all along with full Super Game Boy compatibility. Larry just saw more of the same. I'd be surprised if he played past the first few levels, since he thinks Rush is absent from the game, and that you have to buy the Mega Arm. Plus, no comments about how "it's really Dr. Wily again!" (Oops, sorry if I spoiled anyone).

Oh, and that picture of Mega Man having some Duke Nukem style 'roid rage is from the cover art for Mega Man the Wily Wars, the compilation game for Genesis that wound up being a Sega Channel exclusive in the US.

Last but not least... nope, not another Gamepro. Let's take a look at Nintendo Power #97's Mega Man retrospective extravaganza!

Touted on the cover as a Mega Man Boss Blowout, NP totaled up some boss weakness cycles for each of the Mega Man action games that appeared on Nintendo platforms, along with specific tips on a certain few pesky ones. Aside from a few odd naming things above (like "Rock Man" for Yellow Devil and "Crash Bomber" being weak to "Crash Bomber"), so far so good. But let's continue...

Yes, Gutsman can be a very difficult boss to tackle for beginners. Especially if they don't realize that they're actually fighting Elecman.

Things are still looking pretty good, a few more small details like "Euker" instead of Enker and "Quintet" instead of Quint, but on the other hand they even got Giant Suzy's name right. Nice job guys!

Aww, but then this happens. Adding "Man" to the end of the planetary bosses isn't that big of a deal, but they completely forgot poor Terra. And went on to rename the returning bosses, Fish Man, Pogo Man, Spiky Man, and Ox Man. Come on guys, you knew these characters' names, you have them written right next to this for crying out loud! (By the way, that special silver cover they mention in the corner was pretty awesome. It's scanned, but that hardly does it justice.)

The whole pretext for the article was that Mega Man X was being re-released. But it's such a classic that I'm sure everyone already knew that you don't get any weapon from beating Storm Eagle, and that Vile is more commonly known as P. Ninja. And of course, who could forget Sigma's pet Robotis Dog, the robot who is a dog. Oh wait, wasn't the dog's name Zero? Eh, who can keep all those silly Mega Man names straight, anyway?

This one is included because it always makes me smile. What's next for Mega Man? Playstation and Saturn, and you won't find it in Nintendo Power. As a matter of fact, Mega Man 8 was already out by the time this article was published, and news of X4 was already coming down the pipeline in other circulations. For the longest time, Nintendo Power had a funny way of completely ignoring the existence of any Mega Man game that wasn't on a Nintendo platform, as if it had never existed at all. I believe they even tried to say Mega Man 64 was a new game instead of a port, although I don't have the picture proof to back up that memory (sadly, that's outside Retromags' current project scope). That kind of willful denial is actually sort of sweet, as if Mega Man's temporary departure from Nintendo was too heartbreaking for them to handle, and it was all they could to to keep their minds from snapping entirely! Well, maybe not.

Did you guys enjoy Retromags week? I must say, I'm looking forward to returning to the regular schedule. It is surprisingly hard for me to find the will to update daily. Twice a week will seem like a vacation after this! I might do some more random retromags topics periodically, since perusing their uploads has become quite the hobby for me. It really is a great site, and I hope they keep up the good work. If you have the resources to help or even just some dusty old magazines to donate, please give them a hand!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Retro Designs

2010-06-24T13:50:00.014-04:00

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A little blurb about Nintendo Power's Mega Man 3 coverage.

Nintendo Power #20 with Mega Man and Rush on the cover came out in January of 1991, featuring a full 20 page spread about Mega Man 3 that included maps, tips, and some amazing artwork. They also had a pull-out poster for Mega Man 3 in issue #18, featuring beautiful art of the bosses and Gamma, in the same style. Some of the art also appeared in the Nintendo Players Guide NES Game Atlas.

Somehow (I'm betting on a Google search myself) the poster and a handful of character art became featured in the Mega Man Official Complete Works book on page 149, and some clips from the poster were even featured on the cover itself.

Did Capcom have to ask for any specific permissions to use this art? Who was the artist?

Much as I'd like to answer, I don't know. There's a list of illustrators in the front of every magazine, but not who did what. Also, there are both American staff and Japanese staff, because Nintendo Power had a sister magazine in Japan called Family Computer Magazine (FamiMaga) that used much of the same coverage and art. Was the artist American or Japanese? I might not know the answer, but there is something I can tell you. The artist, whoever it was, had official Capcom materials to base their work on.

Page 8 kicked off their coverage with a story synopsis and a schematic rundown of our two heroes, Mega Man and Rush. Though the art is original and not Capcom's own, the labeling over Mega Man and Rush's various parts and function is way too accurate not to have been taken from Capcom's own materials.

Comparing this Japanese Rockman schematic from the Rockman X Daizukan book (an image that was also used in Rockman World/Mega Man Dr. Wily's Revenge in the get weapon screen) with Nintendo Power's above, the height, weight, shell, motor, and the parts descriptions are nearly identical (with a few minor changes, like "Rockbuster" to "Arm Cannon").

And Rush? Try comparing the information there to page 120 of Mega Man Official Complete Works below.

The location of the solar panel, the height the coil can extend the jump, the top speeds of the vehicles and rough dimensions of them all match pretty well with what NP had. The only really obvious errors are with the metric conversions. 300kpm is only 186 miles per hour, not 556. And the 80kph top speed of the Rush Marine should actually be 80 knots, making it 92 miles per hour (but still pretty fast for a submarine). Otherwise, I'd wager that the height and weight for standard Rush, as well as his motor power and the shortwave antenna are also accurate, but are based on some source that I've yet to come across.

In addition, many of the poses used by Mega Man using special weapons, the bosses, and minor enemies are the same as you'll find in the official artwork in the Mega Man Official Complete Works book. Those of you with the book, try comparing the below page from Nintendo Power with pages 17 and 18 of MMOCW for yourself! What do you think? Pretty spot on, wouldn't you say?

Many of the pictures NP's art was based on were not widely published in the US in 1991 (if at all) so the only conclusion left is that the artist was working directly from Capcom's own materials, I presume to make them into something the artist deemed more appealing for the American market. And I must admit, I found the art extremely appealing when I first saw it nearly 10 years ago! I guess it worked.

Tomorrow is the final day of retromags week. Have I saved the best for last? Probably not, but meet me here tomorrow anyway! Home stretch, guys! Let's go!

Retro Origins

2010-06-23T10:25:00.027-04:00

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This time, we're looking at the story behind the Mega Man story.

In the franchise's first decade, the story of Mega Man was a story that changed a little every time it was told. Sometimes new details would arise, others might disappear, and on a few occasions it seemed like the story was completely rewritten.

What are the true origins of Mega Man? How was he born? How did he come by his name? And why are there so many different versions?

In the early 90s, these were very difficult questions for American fans to answer, and here are some of the reasons why. Today we'll be looking at a few different gaming magazine articles, each reporting on the original Mega Man story. But first, how about that name thing?

In a leftover page from yesterday, the March 1993 issue of Game Players Nintendo Guide teased what little info they had on the upcoming Super Mega Man game. Which was, not a lot. So instead, Capcom USA's head honcho of the age Joe Morici spilled the beans on some future plans for the series, while recanting the tale of how Mega Man was brought to our shores from abroad.

So, there was one piece of the puzzle. The Mega Man name came from Joe Morici himself, re-dubbing the Japanese hero Rock Man, a name he found to be simply "horrible."

That same month, Nintendo Power #46 ran its own retrospective on Capcom, which naturally also included a brief history on the Mega Man franchise:

This one is even more informative. And a nice pic of some Rockman merchandise too! Roll was not completely dropped from the games of course, but up to that time she had been ignored by the game manuals, making Roll's role in the series rather unfamiliar. And with all the harping on the importance of changing his name, I have to wonder, did they really consider "Rock Man" to be such a deal breaker? Or were they just being agreeable to the company that was bringing Nintendo mega bucks with their Street Fighter II franchise?

Let's get back to our core question. What is the origin story of Mega Man? Here three magazines try to answer the query.

First, let's look at Nintendo Power #42.

When it comes to understanding the Mega Man story, Nintendo Power relied on the game's US manual itself. That means using Dr. Wright (even though every Nintendo Power up until that point had used "Light"), and his former assistant turned supervillain Dr. Wily, the dastardly dictator of Monsteropolis. Can't fault them for wanting to go to the source, even dated as it was by November of 1992 when this review was published.

Next up, EGM provides more contemporary (circa 1992) take on the story, based largely (but perhaps not largely enough) on the Mega Man 4 game intro.

Ah yes, the tale of the courageous man named Rock who was transformed by Dr. Light into Mega Man, to battle the evil "Dr. Willy." Wait, man? Don't they mean robot?

Nope. They mean a human wearing a robot "shell." (Guess they just skimmed over the part of the game's intro where Rock and Roll were household robots Dr. Light built.) These were play guides EGM published during winter of 1992, the scans were taken from their 1993 Buyers Guide which compiled them into one volume.

O~kay! So now we know that Dr. Wright (or Light) built (or turned a human into) a robot (cyborg?) called Mega Man to battle Dr. Willy (or Wily) who might have been the good doctor's assistant who turned disloyal and built himself an empire, or might just be a mad scientist who stole and reprogrammed some robots to attack a city. Confused yet? Hold on to your shorts, here comes another take!

The bimonthly Jan-Feb 1993 issue of Game Informer has its own Mega Man story to tell. Of the ones we've looked at so far, it is the most in-depth, and might be viewed as the middle ground between the earlier two stories.

Here, Rock and Roll (she finally gets a mention!) are robots after all, built by mild mannered Dr. "Xavier" Light, who then employs an assistant Dr. Wily to help him design 6 industrial robots. The arrangement goes awry when one of Wily's experiments explodes in their lab, causing Wily to break things off and run. Later, Wily uses some stolen plans to make his own evil versions of Light's robots, taking over the city. Robot Rock volunteers to become Mega Man, a titanium armored warrior equipped with a plasma cannon and Weapon Copy System.

This is probably the most comprehensive thus far, but it isn't without its own small quirks, such as the lab accident before the robot unveiling, and Dr. Wily building his own copies of the robots rather than reprogramming the ones that Light built. Also, we know of course that Rockman debuted in 1987 in Japan, not 1985, and that eventually Light's Japanese first name of Thomas would come to replace Capcom USA's use of Xavier. Despite that, this version of the Mega Man story was probably at the forefront of its era, carefully assembling a cohesive story from the bits and pieces that the others had only glanced over. By 1994 it had also garnered some influence over Miranda Paugh, author, webmistress, and creator of one of the first and largest Mega Man sites to ever exist, the Mega Man Home Page. Not bad for one little retromag.

Still, with all these variations coming one after another, it's no wonder there was so much confusion about the very basic details of the plot. But looking back, I can't help but enjoy every retelling for its own unique take on the Mega Man mythos. Each is charming in its own way, and I hope you've enjoyed (re-)reading them as much as I have.

If you'd like to read the full reviews and articles from any of the sample images above, they're all available for free download at Retromags. Isn't the internet grand? Tomorrow, we'll have yet another retromags adventure. See you then!

Retro X

2010-06-22T09:31:00.018-04:00

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This time, we're looking at previews of the X series.

The first news of a Super Mega Man came early in 1993, but the first actual looks the video game press received at what would become Mega Man X was at the Summer CES that June. Demo images included a white city stage with many familiar but different elements from the final game.

Nintendo Power ran this preview in their July 93 issue.

Here we see three screens of the white city action, featuring the mini-boss RT-55J and an older version of the Death Rogumer.

Gamepro followed with their CES coverage in their August issue, and then continued the story with a larger in-depth preview with more screen caps for September.

This one is perhaps the most significant, because it includes screens, plot details and artwork for the game's work-in-progress. In their screens you can find an unused flying enemy that emits flames. The newer screens look much more like the final version save some minor details, such as still using the "P" symbol on the lifebar instead of an "X".

The early concept of X's armor is very interesting, with its Casshan-like mask, its ornate shoulder armor, its slender buster and intricate detailing on the legs, chest, and helmet. This image can also be seen other magazines, like the GameFan scan provided by Mega Man Network. The below image from Winter CES 1994 shows a large mockup of a similarly early version of X, and helps us imagine what this armor might have looked like in color (pretty similar to the final version, really).

So, what about those plot details? The RoboPolice, RX and RY, all that? The question was later put to Gamepro about these misconstrued details, shown here:

According to that, Capcom USA vouched that these were indeed plot details, and must have been changed over the course of game design (though how well Capcom USA was informed about the game's development in Japan might come into question). Is there any evidence that these were really being considered?

The answer is, perhaps! On page 92 of the Mega Man X Official Complete Works book, there is a sketch for a support character with an "X" on his, er, hat. Could this have been an early working of the reported Rush-style support character RX? Inafune doesn't remember, but I doubt we could rule it out entirely...

And the RoboPolice? Probably just an early idea for what to call the Irregular Hunters, before they decided on "Maverick Hunters." This one was actually very commonly used in previews right up until release, like in this page from Game Players' November 1993 issue, which was based on an early English-scripted version of the game.

Even after the game was released, some sales advertising continued to use RoboPolice instead of Maverick Hunters, like the one from Chips & Bits seen below.

One thing you might have noticed, these magazines seem to make the assumption that the titular hero in Mega Man X is the same character as Mega Man, only far into the future where Mega Man is the only one to have survived. Some also imply that the X itself is the roman numeral for ten, making it Mega Man's 10th adventure.

Capcom's Laurie Thornton (the same source of the early X plot details above) sent out a different message in Gamepro #64.

Even so, neither of these notions really ever left the English fanbase entirely, and continued to be popular for years.

That's all for today, but we'll continue our Retromags adventures tomorrow. See ya then!

Retro Ads

2010-06-21T10:15:00.020-04:00

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A long look at Mega Man advertising below.

As I was growing up, it was a rare thing among my peers for our parents to allow us more than 1 or 2 magazine subscriptions. Forced to choose, we each did our best to make the wisest choice, but not without involving a little bit of group strategy. I myself subscribed to Nintendo Power, because I owned Nintendo systems and because other magazines seemed to contain more ads than content, which I couldn't stand flipping through to find the real articles. (Of course, one could argue that Nintendo Power itself was nothing more than one huge ad for Nintendo, but there's no way 10 year old me would have agreed with that!)

As it happened I had a circle of friends who were also interested in video games, and we relied on each other to complete our collective knowledge. For instance, one of my friends would subscribe to Gamepro, and another to EGM, and so on. We'd bring our magazines to each others houses or to school and trade off at recess, so that we could keep up with all angles of our video gaming interests. What fun we had, what times! What arguments! What jests! What camaraderie! (What nerds!)

Those days are long gone, but their memories came rushing back as I turned the electronic pages of Retromags. And of seeing all these tidbits again, what surprised me with the greatest sense of nostalgia was seeing those despicable advertisements once again! It's funny how even the things you previously hated can feel like coming home after sufficient time.

Capcom's blog already covered quite a few of the early Mega Man ads awhile back, so I'll just skip to a few that they missed, like this "Gnarly!" classic ad for Mega Man 4.

Appearing around the same time (or a little earlier) was this ad for Mega Man Dr. Wily's Revenge.

Its sequel garnered an ad of a slightly different style, this time appearing over the right halves of two pages. I smooshed the two halves together below. What a Rush!

The third game boy game went back to the traditional form...

...as did the fourth...

...and even the beginning of the X series!

But time changes all things, and so as we entered the mid 90s Capcom started deviating from the pattern more and more. Like this archaeology themed ad for the same game when it was re-released for PC.

Mega Man 7 broke out of the mold by breaking out of prison.

X3's ad used some beautiful original artwork that I actually like more than the Mega Man X3 boxart itself.

Bringing up the rear of this advertising excursion, Mega Man 8 announces the return of the Blue Bomber! Although before this point, I'd say he was more commonly touted as the "Titanium Titan." It makes a bit more sense too, since aside from some select special weapons he doesn't really do that much bombing (except occasionally in sales). According to Japanese source material, he truly is made of a ceramic titanium alloy. Blue Bomber or Titanium Titan...what do you guys prefer?

That's all for now, but you can expect another Retromags-themed post tomorrow. All of the above ads can be found in various magazines uploaded there, so go check it out and lend the project your support!

Retromags Week

2010-06-21T09:18:00.004-04:00

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I'm going to try something a little different this week. Have you guys heard of Retromags? It's a site that archives pre-millennium video game magazines for posterity. Our video gaming heritage preserved for the digital age! I think it's a great project, and I've had a blast perusing through old magazines lately, and I want to share this nostalgia explosion with you, my friends and followers!

So instead of my usual thing, this week I'm going to update every day with something nifty and Mega Man related that I've uncovered from their vast and ever-growing collection.

Translation Mondays will return next week!

Happy Fathers Day

2010-06-20T10:40:00.004-04:00

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Might not be able to post tomorrow...

2010-06-17T13:43:00.006-04:00

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So here's your free pic friday advance. In honor of the Mega Man Legends board finally returning to Capcom's forums after many years of absence, here's some DASH for ya!

From CFC CAP! volume 7. Tiesel breaks down his latest master plan for finally stopping that blue boy (or here, "Blue Man"). I hope someday he finally gets to use it in Legends 3.

Dr. Right Explains It All

2010-06-14T08:54:00.029-04:00

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In the year 1993+a, the brilliant researcher Dr. Right began answering fan mail for Club Capcom magazine. He answered their questions, no matter how trivial or silly, and they all were enjoying their peaceful days. However, the mad scientist Dr. Wily became jealous of all that attention, and decided to take over the column once and for all...

(read from right to left)

"Whatever your question is, I'll answer it!"

Dr. Right's
"Ask Me!"

"I'm Dr. Right, the creator of Rockman. If there's something you want to know, just ask me!"

Q. Who can carry more items, Eddie or Doraemon?

A. Hmm, Doraemon with his fourth dimensional pocket, or Eddie... Well, because Eddie has a "material transfer unit" equipped within his body, he is able to relay an unlimited number of items from my laboratory... Hmm, I suppose that since they both can carry an infinite amount of items, this contest ends in a draw.

Q. When coming up with new characters, are they ever based on real people?

A. The answer to that certainly differs with each game. I'd say there are both characters who are based on certain persons, and also some that are completely original!
And that goes for voices within the games as well. Sometimes Capcom comes up with the voices themselves, other times they will use a seiyuu they've heard in an anime or other mediums and decide to use their vocal talents to shape the character.
By the way, Chun Li is one of my favorite characters, and her voice is done by one of the Capcom development staff members!

Q. I recently purchased the Street Fighter II CD, and I was wondering if there was any meaning behind the name "Alph Lyla"?

A. Have you heard of the story Arabian Nights? Actually, the story's literal name is "One Thousand Nights and One Night".
In the Arabic language, "alf layla" means "One Thousand Nights", and that's what the group's name is taken from.
I've also heard it said that there's an additional meaning they had in mind, "a thousand nights, a thousand dreams to be dreamed." Rather poetic, isn't it?

Q. What is that necklace that Guile always wears?

A. That's an army identification tag, otherwise known as a "dog tag". It is a memento that belonged to Nash, a fellow soldier from his unit. Guile carries it with him as a symbol to remind him that Nash will always be fighting by his side.

Q. Does Capcom have a mascot character?

A. Hrm, well, my own creation "Rockman" and the characters of "Street Fighter II" have become the popular public faces of Capcom.
However, in America, "Captain Commando" is another commonly used mascot character for Capcom. Perhaps you've heard of him?

Q. How does Eddie always manage to cross paths with Rockman?

A. This is due to an invention of mine. I won't go into too many details, in case Wily were to try and steal its secrets, but I'll give you a special overview!
All of Rockman's support mechas are equipped with a sensor that identifies Rockman's exact location. Of all the abilities I've created for the support mechas, this one is probably the most fundamental! The sensor allows Rush and Eddie to appear by Rockman's side instantly whenever they are needed.

Q. How did you decide on the name "Rockman"?

A. Well I... oof! BONK! clunk!

Hehehe... I'm afraid that pathetic dunce Right won't be answering any more questions. But I, the greatest scientific mind of our age, Dr. Wily, will teach you all you need to know! From now on, this corner will be called "The Imminent Genius Scientist Lord and Master Dr. Wily's Special Lecture."
Now then, what was your question? There's nothing I don't know!
What? You want to know about the origins of that nuisance Rockman's idiotic name? Predictable old Right loves his music. I'll bet Rockman's name was based on "Rock 'n' Roll". That's why he called the girl robot "Roll", you see. What a pretentious moron!
Other robots have musical themed names as well, like "Blues", "Punk", and "Enker". (What's that, you want to know what Enker has to do with music? You've never heard of Enka?!)

Q Is there going to be an event at Kokugikan this year?

There's going to...
Aaah, Rockman! ...I think I'd better get out of here!

Stop! Wily... Same old Wily, always quick to run away.
...Dr. Right, are you okay?

Uuugh...

Umm, Dr. Right needs to rest for a little while, so I guess I'll answer this one!
Last summer, Kokugikan was burning hot with Street Fighter II power! Actually Rush and I also got in on the action! We were doing well until blah blah blah......
This year, they're definitely planning another Kokugikan event! I don't know what day and time yet, but I'm sure it'll be announced soon, so keep improving your skills in the meantime!

Q. Where can I get my hands on Capcom posters and PGC cards?

A. Thank you Rockman, I assure you I'm alright now.
Oh, it sounds like you might want to make a request to Capcom's advertising branch in Osaka. Include your name, address, telephone number, and the titles you're looking for. You'll need to include the cost of shipping (this will differ depending on where you live, but make sure it's enough to ship 250 grams). You should receive your items within a month of your request's arrival!

That mean old Wily is always butting in!

Q. I've lost my game package and instruction manual...

A. What, they've gone missing? That's terrible! Hey, come on now, don't cry. Cheer up, it'll be alright! We can fix this in a jiffy. Just contact Capcom directly, and they can send you a replacement! Game packages are 200 yen each, with an additional 175 yen for shipping. Instruction booklets are also 200 yen each, but are only 62 yen to ship. Feeling better now?

Dr. Right's "Ask Me!" was a regular feature of Club Capcom throughout its 3 issue run. This is the only one that featured other characters besides Dr. Right himself answering questions, though. They used slightly different fonts in the article, I used colors instead. If you couldn't tell, the characters were Right (orange), Wily (purple), Rockman (blue), and Roll (red). There are instructions on where to send your own questions to appear in the next magazine, but I wouldn't expect an answer since it's been over 15 years since the magazine disbanded.

There's also a mini comic in the corner called "Magic Sword: The Beginning", which you can probably get the gist of without understanding any of the text. Since it's not Rockman related, it's not translated. (Sorry!)

So, what did we learn? Quite a bit about Eddie, that he has an internal Rockman GPS, and how the cybernetic suitcase actually works. He has some kind of teleport system in his head that allows him to pull random objects from the lab and deliver them to Rockman in the field, until his energy runs out. To think, I always figured he carried stuff around in his head... This actually makes more sense for how he's used in the later games.

Why a question comparing Eddie and Doraemon? In Japan he was quite popular, let's leave it at that.

We also learned the significance of Guile's neck wear, the voice behind Chun Li, the meaning of Alph Lyla's name, the origins of musical themed Rockman characters, and how to get Capcom to send you stuff. We also gave props to Captain Commando and his space monkey (I've always liked this version of him better than the older one, which resembles the estranged lovechild of Flash Gordon and Dr. Doppler).

And now, a question for my readers. When I go to translate other Ask Me columns, would you like me to translate all of the questions and answers, or just the ones having to do with Rockman? It's your call.

Weekend Joyride

2010-06-11T08:16:00.006-04:00

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The Capcom gals take some time off to enjoy the nice weather. See if you can spot the 2 Rockman characters among them! From CFC Style Fan Book CAP! volume 4, art by "Ooishi".

The Siberian Citadel -- they don't build 'em like that anymore!

2010-06-07T09:45:00.021-04:00

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In honor of my old friend Dr. Cossack celebrating his tenth year as a webmaster in the Mega Man community, I'd like to present Rockman 4 like you've never seen it before -- in Rockman Diorama World!

ROCKMAN DIORAMA WORLD
USING PLAMO & DIORAMAS, THE WORLD OF ROCKMAN RETURNS IN 3D!!

Rockman:
Everybody can come and play!

Using figures that are on sale now from Bandai, we put together this diorama! Rockman's world presented in 3D.... Just gazing at it you can imagine the story coming to life!

The figures shown in this diorama are made by Bandai and currently on sale. The Rockman and Blues "Buster Rock Series" figures are priced at 1800 yen each (tax excluded).

A looming shadow draws near to Rockman... it's that master of solar power, Pharaohman!

Suddenly, Drillman appears overhead! Rockman's in a pinch now!

Posing with Skullman, Dr. Cossack observes Rockman's battles. Probably scheming up some new robot remodeling ideas, perhaps? With his arms crossed like that, he sure doesn't look to be in a very good mood!

The Rockbuster is charged, ready and waiting for any sudden enemies that might appear. Who knows what kind of opponents could be rushing in at any moment....?

That fearsome foe Diveman has emerged! Checking his leftover energy reserve, Rockman has little time to prepare before the battle begins!

THE FATED SHOWDOWN BEGINS!
At last, Dr. Wily has shown himself! Get your weapons ready for a climactic confrontation!

BLUES IS BACK, TOO!
Even that most mysterious of characters Blues makes an appearance in Diorama World!

Shield at the ready, Blues appears on the scene! His yellow scarf billows in the breeze.

Standing by himself, Blues' presence gives off an uneasy feeling. Is he friend or foe....?

He seems to be acting as an ally in "Rockman 4", however....

Blues' activities are shrouded in mystery. And yet, he seems to be familiar with Rockman somehow....?

These pages appeared in Comic Bom Bom Special #87, the Rockman Daizukan. When I was younger, I thought that the people who made dioramas like these for commercials and magazines had the best job ever. What's cooler than putting together awesome things and getting to play with them? I'm still amazed at what people can do with models, photography and stop-motion. I hope that we'll see some inspired fans putting some of the new Rockman toys and model kits to good use like this.

Friday Filler

2010-06-04T11:44:00.011-04:00

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Today's Free Pic Friday comes from CFC-SFB v3, Rockman, Blues and Rush done in a child's drawing style. There is a whole series of pictures done like this used as filler art, often appearing in the Fan Art/Contributions sections of the books. This one in particular was used to promote the Great Grand Rockman Expo '97 event.

That is one grumpy Rush. And not every robot can pull off a bright yellow ruff, but Blues does it with flair. The style is charming, in its own way...

One Year In

2010-06-03T11:30:00.010-04:00

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I started this blog one year ago today, so I thought it would be a fine time to do a little self-inventory.

Firstly, some things I'm proud of. I'm generally kind of hard on my own work, but there are some things that gave me a certain sense of accomplishment.

A big part of why I started this blog was to share my Mega Mission cards with the English speaking world, and even though I have a lot more I want to do with them, the translation itself is up and I'm glad to have accomplished that much at least. Along those lines, the Rockman picture book, and a few other stories that I was happy to have uncovered.

My Chrono Trigger and Tatsunoko vs Capcom FAQs were pretty satisfying to write up, and I'm happy with the number of hits they've gotten on GameFAQs (which are way higher than this blog generally gets, actually).

Now, for some things I'm looking to improve on. Last month I really tried to kick myself into gear, but before that I had lost interest in blogging several times over the year, and I can't help but feel set back, with all that lost time. Lately I'm trying to get myself into a regular routine with updates. But, I'm not always sure what's best to focus on. I'd really like some reader input on this one.

You've probably noticed this site is mostly nostalgia-driven, focusing more on 90s Rockman goods rather than current or ongoing news. This is generally because I feel that other fan sites are already covering such news, more thoroughly and probably far better than I could myself. Even so, I'm wondering if I shouldn't try to cover some more recent developments here in my blog. Or stuff from the last decade, at least. What do you guys think?

And as far as the stuff from the past goes, how do you guys think the new schedule is working out? Are the rare art posts interesting, or a waste of effort? Should I rather be devoting myself to finally getting those Mega Mission scans up (regardless of my scanner issues)? Do you find the random topic articles interesting, or would you prefer I focus more on larger translation projects?

And for that matter, what would you be most interested in reading about? I have old materials from other popular Capcom franchises also, things like Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, Strider, Captain Commando, Disney and Marvel, etc. Would you guys be interested in more of a general Capcom fan-blog direction, or should I stay focused primarily on Rockman?

I'm interested in hearing thoughts other than my own. Comments, if you please!

Happy Memorial Day

2010-05-31T15:58:00.004-04:00

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The Next Mega Man Idol

2010-05-31T11:10:00.009-04:00

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Today, another excerpt from the CFC FB 3, page 4. Featuring some very rare artwork, and the "story" behind Roll's secret karaoke ending.

Special 2 _Consumer Game
Rockman Battle & Chase
Playstation / Battle Race
Available 3.20.1997 / 5,800 Yen (tax not included)
For 1~2 Players / Uses Memory Card

Roll's Idol Debut At Last!?

Miss Roll is the beautiful female driver appearing in the popular television program "Battle & Chase." Lately, her adorable charm has been creating a lot of buzz in many circles.

During her interview yesterday, Miss Roll was asked "If you win the championship, is there anything you'd like to say or to do for all your fans?" to which, somewhat embarrassed, she replied, "If I can win without losing even once, then, I'll present a new song in front of everyone."

Although her songwriting and vocalist skills are not yet known, there has already been a great deal of interest expressed in the production by talent scouts.

"IF I CAN WIN WITHOUT LOSING EVEN ONCE, THEN, I'LL PRESENT A NEW SONG IN FRONT OF EVERYONE"

Actually, another racer claimed to have previously made a similar pledge to the public. Battle & Chase driver Gutsman (shown to the left) commented indignantly that "It was my idea to entertain everyone first, after I win all my races! I'll have to show the competition they can't just imitate me!"

No Doubt About It, Battle & Chase Is One Heated Race!

This time, Rockman is hitting the scene of the mad battle race where the rules eat your dust! The winner of a race can snatch away parts from the loser's machine for their own use, thereby creating their own unique spectacular racing machine!

Naturally, it's possible for 2 players to get in on the racing action. That's where things will really heat up!

An intense dead heat!

Battle & Chase
The Road to Victory

Last year's Battle & Chase Champion has some hot tips to share with the new drivers.

"Of course, every course has its own optimal settings and paths. Different parts may produce a surprisingly strong combination, so be sure to try out many different configurations. Also, items have the potential to cause an amazing turn-around upset, so most importantly, never give up even under the direst of circumstances!"

Battle & Chase is one of Inafune's favorite Rockman games, according to the Mega Man Official Complete Works book. Personally, it is one of mine, too. It adds such color and depth to the Rockman world and its characters, while sporting an incredibly rockin' soundtrack, and being an amazingly immersive racing game at the same time.

Roll's karaoke theme, KAZEyo Tsutaete has since appeared in the Marvel vs Capcom and Tatsunoko vs Capcom series, and with the latter finally received an official English version release titled "Where the Wind Blows." Gutsman's karaoke theme, Ah~ Otoko Ichidai hasn't taken off beyond this game, but it's still a cult classic as far as I'm concerned.

Free Pic Friday!

2010-05-28T10:39:00.009-04:00

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I'm thinking I'll try a Monday-Friday update schedule. On Fridays, I'll post up some artwork scans from the CFC materials that don't really require translations. Some are really cool, some not so much, but all of them are pretty rare. Apologies in advance for my scanner's quality situation.

Today's image is the Capcom Gran Prix. This appeared on many promotional goods around '97, but the only reasonable image I have of it is from the table of contents for the CFC Fan Book #3. (That's why it has some writing over it.) I don't think this has appeared in any other Capcom art books, but I'll double check that later today. It's a pretty busy piece, so I'm not really sure I know who all the characters are. Some are from Street Fighter, Cyberbots, Battle Circuit, Vampire... and Rockman! I can't help but laugh at Iceman's expression.

Art of RFWS?!

2010-05-28T10:25:00.007-04:00

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The Mega Man Network has mirrored some scans from 2chan showing off artwork for 2 characters from the Japan-only Bandai-prouced made-for-Wonderswan Rockman & Forte Mirai kara no Chousensha (or just RFWS for short).

The artwork is pretty similar to the character image screens found in the games. It's odd they didn't include such art in the game's manual. The booklet and packaging almost completely devoid of pictures that aren't screencaps, and what there is is taken from Capcom's own Rockman & Forte game art. What a neat find!

Also odd is that Shadow's body is a dark green color. In the game dialog he's often referred to as being clad in black. But all in all, that's hardly the weirdest thing about that game.

The Lost Episode of Rockman 6

2010-05-24T11:25:00.015-04:00

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For this Monday's update, I decided to post a page from Club Capcom's Spring 1993 issue. Club Capcom magazine is the predecessor of the CFC-Style Fan Book mini 'zines that I pulled content from last week. This time, I'm translating a prologue teaser for Rockman 6 that also made a cryptic new announcement regarding the future of the Rockman franchise on the Super Famicom (Super NES) that had many Japanese fans super-excited! As a bonus, at the bottom of the page there's an untold story from Rockboard's development team detailing the birth of Reggae, who recently made a comeback appearance in Rockman 10's Forte (Bass) mode! Bump it!

A Moment's Rest, and......
A Prelude to a New Battle!

After the fifth battle with Wily had ended, Dr. Right was able to enjoy a momentary peace. However, within the confines of his brilliant mind, the good doctor was already planning countermeasures for the next conflict!!

In the year 2XXX...

The evil genius scientist Dr. Wily has been defeated, thanks to the heroic actions of Rockman. His fifth attempt at fulfilling his dastardly ambition had dragged even Blues into fray, but somehow, they succeeded in stopping him...

And yet, sadly... I know that things are far from over...

I wish for nothing more than to reconcile with Wily, to talk him out of his misguided ways... But I fear a sixth conflict is inevitable. And when the worst happens, will Rock still be able to come out on top?

Even the Rockbuster has its limits to how much it can be powered up... And to increase the output of Rockman's body beyond what it is now could also be dangerous...

All the same... I must use this time to research new weapons for the battle that is sure to come......

Roll:
Dr. Right, I've brought you your tea... Is something the matter, Doctor? You've got a very serious look on your face.

Right:
Hmm? Oh, it's nothing for you to be concerned over. Thank you, Roll.

Roll:
I also brought some energy juice for Rock and Rush!

Rock:
Huh? Now that you mention it, I haven't seen Rush around here anywhere lately...

Right:
Oh, yes, I'm sorry I forgot to mention this earlier. Actually, Rush is in the middle of a major overhaul right now.

Rock:
Whaaa? You mean he's lying in pieces somewhere?

Right:
Don't you worry, Rock. I know how important Rush is to you. He's just undergoing a little remodeling, that's all.

Roll:
I'll bet it's for a new transformation system, isn't it!

Right:
That's right. However, this new system will be like nothing you've ever seen before!

Rock:
What kind of transformation is it?

Right:
Yes, about that. Well, you see...

Meanwhile, in Dr. Wily's secret laboratory, Dr. Wily was in the middle of a dream where he was engrossed in playing a Famicom video game.

Wily:
That's it! Go, Crystalman! Rockman will surely be defeated this time!

*CHU-WEEN, CHU-WEEN, PYU-WEEEN!!*

Wily:
Whew, this game is so close to the real thing, it's getting me all fired up!

*CHUDOOOON!!!*

Wily:
Whaa, I lost again?!! ......Drat, maybe I should try a relaxing Super Famicom game instead... At least Rockman won't be in any of those.

Dr. Wily switched on the power of the Super Famicom, and saw something that immediately turned his face very pale.

Wily:
Wha...! Rockman?! No, wait, this guy's a little different from Rockman..... What is this......!!

What will happen in Rockman and Wily's next battle? What of this new Rush transformation system? And, just who is this new hero of the Super Famicom that Wily saw? These mysteries are building up!! Look forward to our follow-up report!!

Yellow Robot:
WOOOOOOOOOOOAH! I can't wait for "6" to come out!!

Wily & Right in Rockboard: That's Paradise!
A Development Team Inside Story

When we decided to make Rockboard, our plan was to use as many of the amazing bosses that had appeared throughout the Rockman series as we could. But, we also thought "We can't just use all old characters, or it won't be as interesting!" So we decided to leave room to create a new character, who would become the fresh "face" of Rockboard.

We received a multitude of designs from the character people, but for one reason or another, "Rejected, rejected, ugh!-rejected!" became repeated, over and over. These characters just weren't what we were looking for. To say we anguished over the design would be an understatement.

Until finally one day we were having a meeting and a design for a bird chracter caught my eye, which had been labeled "bird of misfortune/disaster." In Japanese, that's "Fukou no tori"... but when I first saw it, I read it as "kounotori" which is an oriental stork! And that's how after all that worrying and stressing out, we finally arrived at a simple but splendid concept, and "Reggae" was born.

That reminds me, we had a certain character designer who had tried to draw while on roller skates, who we would call the brother of disaster. Heaping even more trouble on himself, he had just finished up a design when the computer he was using broke down and the work was lost. (But perhaps by shouldering all the misfortune himself, he saved the rest of us a ton of it?)

Speaking of misfortune, there was an incident once while we were working overtime well past 2:00am, when all of the sudden a female coworker began singing boisterously at the top of her lungs, some maddening anime song gone horribly wrong. (That night, when the droning "clack clack" sound of the computers were suddenly accompanied by the sound of what I can only describe as a yodeling right out of "Heidi," I learned just how dreadful this world can really be!)

The world can be a cruel place, indeed. But, everyone loves a sob story, right? So, Reggae is supposed to be based on one of these? I always thought he was some kind of crow-duck hybrid... I think they pretty clearly took some creative liberties, in any case.

I don't expect I'll be spoiling anyone by saying that the new transformation system became the Rush armor adapters found in R6, and that hero Wily was prophetically dreaming of became none other than Rockman X. Poor Wily, even in his dreams he's tormented. No wonder he hates X so much in the X series, if he's been having nightmares about the guy for that many years. [^_~]

I hope you guys had as much fun reading about this little fragment of forgotten Rockman lore as I did discovering it. There's plenty more where that came from too, so come back next Monday for another history lesson! See ya then!

What, another update?!

2010-05-20T18:32:00.007-04:00

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And it's not even Monday! Another scan from the CFC-Style Fan Book Vol 2, page 13. It's a little something that didn't make it into the R20 or SF20 art compilation books.

Here the cute couple of Sakura and Rockman make some headlines in Raccoon City. The denizens of that doomed metropolis could probably use a lot more than a pep talk about fighting spirit, if you ask me. Umbrella Corp's monsters wouldn't stand a chance against these two!

Since it doesn't appear in other books and I don't see it listed in this one, I'm not sure who the artist is. I do know the table of contents lists it as an original Capcom piece made for this issue. No matter. I like the concept, and their poses are great. Sakura looks rather tall next to Rock.

Some of the colors in this scan are a bit too bright, unfortunately, making the browns look more red. I couldn't seem to get a nice balance that didn't make the other colors look washed out. I'm probably going to need to get a new scanner to get nicer images, especially for the Mega Mission cards. But that's way outside of my budget at this time. This will have to do for now, and if ever I can, I'll put up a better scan. It looks pretty decent anyway, right?

Monday Blues

2010-05-17T16:52:00.021-04:00

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I think you know what I mean when I say, this spasmodic system of blogging I have going right now isn't quite working out. Nothing for weeks, then a few posts, then nothing for months.... Yeah, bad idea. It's too easy for me to just put it off or forget all about posting.

So from now on, I'm going to do things differently. Every Monday, there will be an update. Every Monday! By creating a deadline for myself, I'll hopefully start getting done all the things I created this blog to do. So, to my handful of followers, I now solemnly pledge to update at the front of every work week. Maybe if there's lots to say I'll do more than that, but for now just expect a once-a-week minimum. So now that that's settled, this Monday's topic is none other than the original robot in red and co-star of Mega Man 10, Protoman.

Read on!

This page appeared in the Capcom Friendly Club's mail magazine from Autumn, 1996. Capcom's official fan club booklet was one way Capcom of Japan interacted with their country's fans. They would announce and create a buzz for upcoming game releases and merchandise, while also featuring rare official and fan-made artwork, puzzles, character background information, and sneak peeks behind the scenes of game development.

As part of their feature on Rockman 8, this page is all about "The Secrets of Blues." You may recognize the artwork from the Mega Man Official Complete Works book, pages 57 and 129. The text is translated (using Japanese names, as usual) and reads as follows:

Newly Revealed!! The Secrets of Blues

Up until now, the secret origin of Blues has been shrouded in mystery. But here, for the first time, they will finally be divulged!

Helmet & Visor *made by Dr. Wily
Wishing to hide the fact that this was a remodeled robot of Dr. Right's, Dr. Wily crafted these.

Blues Buster *made by Dr. Wily
Although comparable to the Rock Buster in ability, the tremendous energy consumption makes it unusable for long periods of combat. Also, without some transformation mechanism like the Rock Buster's, it's unable to change freely into the form of an arm.

Brain *made by Dr. Right
Due to his near human-like capacity for thought Blues leads a greatly conflicted existence, torn between his creator Dr. Right and the man who had saved his life, Dr. Wily. Regarding his relationship with Rockman, he plays a dual role as both an older brother and a rival type figure.

Blues Shield *made by Dr. Wily
Because his body was not originally designed for combat, he suffers from weak stamina which the shield helps to compensate for.

Power Reactor *made by Dr. Wily
Initially Dr. Right had utilized his specialty, a type of solar energy based system. It was exchanged by Dr. Wily with a purely Wily designed atomic power system. This causes him some trouble when it comes to performing at his peak ability, as he is only able to battle at full power for a short time.

Blues DRNo.000
The very first humanoid robot prototype developed by Dr. Right. Although this achievement greatly exceeded his expectations on several levels, Dr. Right found there to be a critical problem with Blues' power reactor. He made plans to modify and repair the robot, but Blues absconded before Dr. Right had a chance to. His human-like mind convinced itself that the remodeling could cause him to essentially become like a different person, so he fled to protect his sense of identity. Some time after that, his power reactor began to fail and he lay collapsed and dying. He was found and saved by Dr. Wily, who modified him by changing out his power reactor on top of equipping him with a buster and combat abilities.
It was from this opportunity to remodel Blues that Dr. Wily gained the ability to manufacture robots at the same level as Dr. Right. Nevertheless, his attempt in "Rockman 1" to use Dr. Right's remodeled robots ultimately ended in failure.

WEEKLY ROCK Times

EXCLUSIVE PHOTO!
BLUES, UNDER THE HELMET!!
Captured on film at last!! Mr. Blues removes his helmet!

Dateline 20XX. After trailing one Mr. Blues (age 15) around for weeks, this reporter has finally landed an exclusive scoop photograph!
The scene was Dr. Right's laboratory. We had already set out out for a leisurely drive around the neighborhood, when we were suddenly greeted with this unexpected sight upon our return.
The cameraman who took the photograph is still recuperating in the hospital, but we hope this delightful picture will bring him a speedy recovery.
(Article by Oolong T.)

So, there you have it. Nearly 6 years after his debut in Rockman 3, Capcom finally added some clarity to the history of Blues, his hit-and-run style of fighting, his confusing relationship with the two doctors, and what Dr. Right was talking about in Blues' ending to Rockman 2 the Power Fighters.

The article at the bottom seems to be mostly a joke at the expense of Blues' hair. While I certainly enjoy the mental image of Blues punching out a paparazzi, I figure the reporters had probably, in their scramble to get the shot, wound up in an automobile accident. Or perhaps, he was so overcome with shock that his brain simply shut down?

One thing that surprised me was the mention that Blues' arm doesn't freely transform like Rockman's does. For one, because we've seen plenty of times (on that very page even) where Blues has had two fully functional hands, and he has been portrayed like Rockman himself in the games and in official art to be able to equip his buster on either arm. Perhaps he exchanges his arm parts similar to how Roll equips her Roll Buster in MvC, by some kind of plug-in or snap-on system? Between his scarf, belt and shield I suppose he has plenty of places to carry such parts. Although the idea itself still seems awkward to me. Maybe it just means he's got an older and clunkier version than Rockman's newer one.

This page suggests that while Dr. Right's initial power reactor flaw is no longer in effect, the atomic power system (because it was not originally designed for his use) still causes Blues a similarly dire predicament. And even though he's already been remodeled and so should have dispelled the idea of losing his sense of self, he still refuses Dr. Right's offer to work on him. I don't want to speculate too much, but now that he's become a fully playable protagonist in MM10, could it be that this power issue has been improved already? Perhaps in Mega Man & Bass, when Dr. Light repaired Proto after his early battle with King? So far there hasn't really been a definitive word on Protoman's power problems after Power Fighters. But it's also not clear whether MM&B happens before or after MM2TPF, so maybe Dr. Light learned of Proto's new situation after working on him in MM&B but didn't devise a solution to the problem until a bit later? Well, either way, it seems Blues is just far too independent and self-reliant to want anyone messing with him again, if he can help it. And since that's part of what makes him so awesome, I can hardly argue.

Trekkies have one... shouldn't Mega Man?

2010-05-10T20:32:00.008-04:00

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The Mega Man Network has done some articles recently that show they aren't afraid ask the tough questions and probe the deepest darkest secrets of the Mega Man franchise. This is mostly a response to this one in particular, which also did not escape the attention of manga artist Hitoshi Ariga. In 2008 he also felt compelled to put up a blog post dealing with this controversial issue, which I would like to present henceforth, dubbed for an English audience. Click the jump once your mind is clear, and proceed into the inner sanctums of knowledge.

Get the word out. The people must know.

As Dr. Light would say...

2010-05-10T20:30:00.003-04:00

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"You haven't done this in awhile!"

Sorry about all the non-blogging. It is so easy to lose interest. Luckily, it's also easy to have a sudden inspiration to do something. Life is funny like that.

Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Say what?

2010-03-22T15:47:00.011-04:00

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My TvC Victory Quotes FAQ is now up on GameFAQs, covering all the after-match quips, jabs and dis's from the characters in the game.

A few noteworthy ones for Rockman fans include:

"You really remind me of my brother..."
--Roll to MegaMan Volnutt, making the obvious meta-joke.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I got startled because you remind me of someone who is very special to me."
--MegaMan V. to Roll, showing the feeling is mutual.

"Wow! I've never seen a Quick Man cosplay before!"
--Roll to Viewtiful Joe, bringing the funny.

"You kind of remind me of Data with how energetic and rambunctious you are."
--MegaMan V. to V. Joe, drawing his own comparison.

"Please come and visit the lab sometime! My brother and Rush would be thrilled to meet you two!"
--Roll to Casshan, giving props to her 70s anime-inspired roots.

"You're strong and cool-looking. You remind me of Hard Man more than Guts Man."
--Roll to Alex, she apparently prefers a Hard Man.

"You remind me so much of X... What Hunter unit are you in?"
--Zero to MegaMan V., who also sees the resemblance.

"So you're looking for someone who looks like me? Of course I accept your apology. I'm sorry I couldn't help you out."
--MegaMan V. to Zero, as if in response.

"<3 Oh, my! What a handsome boy! <3 I hope some day you can fight at my side." --Doronjo to MegaMan V. who is something of the ladies' man in this game.

"You are just so cute and polite! Maybe we can, like, spar again sometime." --Yatterman-2 to MegaMan V., see what I mean?

"Hmm, the Bonne family were actually more of a challenge than you..."
--MegaMan V. to Doronjo, setting the record straight on the superior evil trio.

"...That's the Procyon-style energy compression technique that has yet to be... ...Eh!? N-N-Never mind!"
--Saki to Zero, on the technology behind his Z-Saber.

"What are you doing here? You're just a housekeeping Reploid... You should get home immediately before you malfunction."
--Zero to Roll, putting to rest the question of whether the original series robots are more like reploids or mechaniloids.

And perhaps the most infamous of them all...

"You're pretty strong! You might even be able to beat my brother!"
--Roll to Zero, teasing Zero Cataclysm fans everywhere.

I love TvC.

Old news, knew news

2010-03-22T15:40:00.004-04:00

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Mega Man 10's been out for a while now. Long story short, I love it, and I'm really looking forward to the new Bass and Endless modes, and especially the three special stages with their returning bosses and weapons. This is the first time we've ever seen what colors Mega Man turns when he uses the special boss' weapons from Mega Man III and IV for Game Boy. Pretty awesome for us Mega nerds! It looks like the MM Killers get new artwork, I hope Rock gets some new art for using the weapons, too.

When it rains...

2010-02-13T20:20:00.002-05:00

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This will probably be my last catch-up post for today. This is win.

If only I had mad folding skillz.

Roll Home Run!

2010-02-13T16:14:00.011-05:00

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Those of you with a copy of the Mega Man Official Complete Works book from Udon have probably seen this image. Rockman... baseball?
In the book, Keiji Inafune claims to have no memory of when he drew it or why.

Well, he could have asked me, because I think I remember! In August of 1998, a Japanese baseball team called the Nippon-Ham Fighters held a Rockman Day at the Tokyo Dome, which was then their home field. If I recall correctly, a logo very similar to this one was used to promote the event.

How do I know all this? Because on August 14 of that year, Capcom sent a fax about it! (2nd from the bottom) Unfortunately Capcom purged the faxes from their site long ago, and the image doesn't seem to be saved on the internet archive, but you can still see the text there reading "FIGHTERS ROCKMAN DAY"... well, if you can read Japanese, you can. I first came across the Capcom faxes back in the late 90s, and saved all the images I could find... only to lose them in a hard drive crash. But maybe somebody out there saved them, and will come forward? I hope so!

Just another random trivia tidbit I felt the need to share.

Rockman: Defeat Dr. Wily!! part 2

2010-02-13T13:48:00.008-05:00

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Continued from part 1:

"Good work, Plant Man!" laughed Dr. Wily, who appeared riding in his Wily Machine. Rockman was in trouble!

"That's enough, Wily!" It was Blues to the rescue!
"Uh-oh, looks like it's time to run away!" cried Dr. Wily. "Plantman, you can handle things from here!"

Rockman and Rush combined to chase after Wily.
"Rocket Buster!" CRASH, BOOM!
The Wily Machine was hit!
"Curses, I'll get you for this!" yelled Dr. Wily.

Roll was found safe and sound, and even Plantman was returned to his normal cheerful self thanks to Dr. Right.
"That's a relief!" Roll smiled.

The End

Rockman: Defeat Dr. Wily!! part 1

2010-02-13T12:30:00.020-05:00

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I was intending to do this up properly as an English scanlation, the first one I've attempted in years. The last time was back at the dawn of the century (that makes it sound historical, right?), I tried my hand at Ariga's Rockman X Mega Mission manga for the anniversary of Mega Man X Online (now The Mega Man Network). Long story short, that was a mess and I wasn't happy with the results. I was hoping to capture the children's story feel, but after treading water on this one for a month now, I've finally decided to just pair scans with translations and call it a day. Let's go!

Ta-dah! This is Rockman Dr. Wily o Yattsukero!!, or Rockman: Defeat Dr. Wily!! aka Nagaoka's Petit Picture Books volume 3, from a series of cardboard books meant for Japanese young readers, starring heroes from television, manga and video games. In 1996, they released this book starring none other than Rockman! This small 18 page book features a simple story and unique colorful artwork.
And now, it's scanned and translated!

Click on the images to see the larger versions. Enjoy!

One day, Rock and his friends set out on a picnic.
"I'm going to go pick some flowers," said his little sister Roll, as she and Rush ran off ahead.

While Roll was picking flowers, she became entangled by a strange ivy vine. "Kyaah!"
Oh no, Plantman was hiding among the flowers!

Howling, Rush hurried back to tell everyone what happened.
"You say Roll has been kidnapped?" exclaimed Dr. Right.
"Doctor, I have to go save her!" With that, Rock changed into the heroic Rockman!

At the secret base, Plantman was waiting.
"You're being fooled! Return Roll at once!" said Rockman.
But Plantman just angrily attacked him instead!

Continued in part 2!

So February rolls around...

2010-02-13T10:54:00.007-05:00

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Why is it sooo haaard to update a blog? Well, I probably have Tatsunoko vs Capcom to blame for that. I've never played a fighting game online before, it's very addicting (in addition to a few other choice words that I'll leave to your imagination).

So, what's been going on? Mega Man 10 bosses and weapons are now revealed, those look pretty interesting. The Mega Man Network has some awesome Valentine's Day cards to share with a gaming-savvy sweetie. And so has Capcom Japan! Priceless!

Oh and speaking of that project I started in January...

2010, The Year We Make Silly Word Puns

2010-01-08T11:07:00.010-05:00

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Here we are well into the new year already. How's it treating you so far?

My old buddies at Mega Man Network put up some fun end-of-decade articles. They seem to be under the impression that we're entering into 20XX this year, although we've technically been in 20XX for over 10 years now (both of those X's can stand for zeros) but at least we can all agree that 200X is now over.

The big news contender so far for MM fans is Mega Man 10 coming out in March of this year. Japanese gaming magagazine Game Side featured an article about it recently, and ran the first Rockman 10 ads which sport the tagline...
"Omoshirosa, kawarimaten!" (おもしろさ、変わりまテン！) That "-ten" replacing the normal "-sen" negative word ending. Generally translated, "Intense, they haven't changed a thing!" Ha ha, I am so clever. Hey companies, I'm available for ad copy work!

This year I intend to finish scanning those Mega Mission cards (I haven't forgotten), as well as to complete my next Rockman project, which I'm starting on officially right after I finish this post (tentatively). Check back often for updates!

Let's make 2010 one for the record books!

Mega Mission 3, Conclusion

2009-12-16T17:16:00.003-05:00

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In honor of Mega Man's 22nd birthday tomorrow, I present the final chapter of Mega Mission 3, completed.

Card No. 118	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 17 "Guhh! It seems the time has come to use this!! The other chip I created was based on this... the Sigma Chip!! Containing the very power of Sigma himself, I can use this chip to make myself into the strongest being to ever exist!" Holding the Sigma Chip high above his head, Enemice instantly felt himself being taken over by a foreign consciousness. "What have I done?! My, my mind is... eras... ing..."
This is 'Sigma' Chip!!
Title (Back):
This is the Sigma Chip!!
Notes: Enemice is on the ropes, and is forced to pull out his last resort, the Sigma Chip. Containing a copy of Sigma's data that was thought to have been destroyed for good by Doppler's antivirus, this tiny circuit not only bestows the incredible power of the would-be ruler of all Repliroids, it also infects its user with Sigma's indomitable evil spirit! Enemice has bitten off more than he can chew in applying this to himself, as his will is broken and his mind replaced with Sigma's own. What will be the result of this unholy fusion?

Card No. 119	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: SIGMA LIMITED SECT: REMEET ORDER BREAKER Remeet Order Breaker DATA: Sigma's data within the Sigma Chip has taken over Enemice's body. Even though he's a copy of Sigma, his strength and conviction are entirely identical to the real Sigma?! WEAPON: His fingers on both hands can each emit a Sabre Nail, Sigma Limited's most powerful unique special weapon!!
Sigma Limited
Title (Back):
Sigma Limited
Notes: It's amazing how long Mega Mission went without an appearance from Sigma, but no X series adventure is complete without a battle with the big guy (Command Mission not withstanding). Sigma Limited's body is an awe inspired mix of Enemice's hard mechanical motif and Sigma's over-the-top stylistic flair. His Sabre Nails certainly make an impression, they're like having little beam sabers attached to your fingertips, that can also fire energy rays from them, Emperor Palpatine style. A worthy form for the epic battle to come!

Card No. 120	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 18 "So, we meet again! X, Zero!! You may see me as nothing more than a copy of Sigma, but I assure you my power, and my will to destroy you, are nothing short of genuine!!" "Fall back, X. I hate Sigma more than anyone." Unleashing his concealed inner wrath, Zero rushes to face off with Sigma Limited, alone.
Nightmare Again
Title (Back):
The nightmare returns, and its name is Sigma?!
Notes: Watching Sigma get reborn before his very eyes, Zero has had enough. Unfurling the tempest within himself that few of his opponents ever get more than a glimpse of, Zero's inner demon lashes out at the monster he despises most. After being relegated to the sidelines for the last 3 games, Zero finally gets the chance to settle the score with Sigma on his own terms. Although Zero is certainly godlike on the battlefield, it may be that he's letting his anger get the best of his good judgment, underestimating the ruthless power of his foe. It's X and Zero's teamwork that's gotten them this far. Is it confidence or arrogance to tackle Sigma by himself? Our combatants are in peak condition like never before, both are filled with fury and the firepower to back it up. Let the ultimate grudge match of the 22nd century begin!

Card No. 121	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 19 Zero engaged in a titanic struggle before the power of Sigma Limited!! But then Sigma Limited switched to target X instead. His Saber Nails were aimed straight for X!! Seeking to protect his friend, Zero blocked the attack with his own body. Zero lost consciousness! Then the iX armor separated from his body, and converged upon X to form...
ZERO Down
Title (Back):
Zero defeated!!
Notes: Zero held his own against Sigma Limited for a while, but once these warriors were proven to be evenly matched, Sigma L switched up his strategy. Trusting Zero's quality of selfless loyalty, the cunning Sigma has manipulated Zero into taking a direct blow of deadly force. This round is won by Sigma's underhanded tricks, and as Zero lays helpless and dying on the floor, we can only imagine the intense feelings welling up inside Rockman X. Return iX's power that was inhabiting Zero begins flowing into him, reformatting his iX Armor to incredible new heights of power. Hey Sigma, are you ready for round 2?

Card No. 122	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: ROCKMAN X (ALL X ARMOR) SECT: IRREGULAR HUNTER Irregular Hunters DATA: The iX Armor which was split between X and Zero, have fused back into a single form. Now both their power has truly become one! WEAPON: The X Buster is now borrowing all of Return iX's power! Is this awesome power truly unparalleled...?
Rockman X
Title (Back):
Rockman X (All iX Armor)
Notes: The All iX Armor is X's strongest form to appear in Mega Mission, period. It is the full strength of Return iX combined with the limitless potential of Rockman X, the ultimate fusion of two polar enemies working towards a common goal. The collective strength of these two rivals is tempered by X's strong drive for justice and the desire to save his friend Zero, whose sacrifice is the fuel that invigorates X's courageous spirit. The stage is now set for the grand finale, an all-out war between the two most extreme evolutions of Limited to ever exist, with the fate of the planet hanging in the balance. The entire series has been leading towards this, everything comes down to one final explosive battle! This toy version of the All X Armor also uses semi-transparent armor plating.

Card No. 123	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 20 Dodging Sigma Limited's Sabre Nails, X strikes back! Sigma Limited sneered at this impending onslaught! What is this cataclysmic clash brought about by former enemies who're now miraculously working together?! X and iX, when these two very different souls finally came together for a singular purpose, a buster formed at each of X's arms and...
Rockman X vs Sigma Limited
Title (Back):
Rockman X vs Sigma Limited
Notes: A battle of epic proportions between arch-enemies has ensued, and at last we see Rockman X moving at maximum force. He and iX are pulling out all the stops and running on full-synchro power, giving Sigma the fight of his life. Only one of these mighty combatants will survive this earth-shattering conflict. What is the all-out attack our combined heroes have geared up for? Fight, X! Fight, iX! The future depends on you both!

Card No. 124	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 21 His X Buster at his right arm and the Return iX buster at his left, both busters fired simultaneously to form the ultimate attack, the Double X Buster!! However, the Double X Buster consumed even more energy than X had expected. X's energy was completely drained. What now Rockman X!!
Double X Buster
Title (Back):
Double X Buster!!
Notes: The ultimate technique has been unveiled! The force of these two optimally charged busters detonating at the same time is entirely beyond compare. Putting their combined hearts and souls into this attack, X and iX have applied a devastating blow to Sigma Limited. But the whole of their energies was used up to create this devastating blast, leaving nothing left to fight with. Is it all over? Did they succeed, or will the world be engulfed in darkness forever?

Card No. 125	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 22 At that moment, Return iX had converted his entire body to energy. The iX Armor had gradually vanished! Return iX's energy was entirely used up, and as X returned to his original form, so too did Sigma Limited disappear from the Earth. "There's no way Return iX died from that. He'll be back again, I'm sure of it..."
Last of Nightmare "Sigma"
Title (Back):
Nightmare's end. The last of Sigma?!
Notes: Sigma Limited is utterly defeated. The battle is yours, X! But at what price? As the Double X Buster was firing, iX was changing himself into energy to supplement the attack. He's essentially fired his own essence as a weapon! Has this former foe sacrificed himself for their victory? X ponders this, concerned even for the welfare of his enemy. iX, dead? No, Rockman X assures himself this isn't the case. iX has survived somehow, he can feel it. But will their reunion be a cause for rejoicing or for destruction? iX is as unpredictable as he is dangerous. What was he fighting for all this time? And when he returns, will X be ready?

Card No. 125	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Epilogue X was met with a premonition. iX's body which had appeared to be annihilated was reformed, and filled with a new power. From the scarce remains of Sigma Limited, iX had absorbed the abilities of the Sigma Chip. Return iX will bide his time, reviving himself in secret! Return iX's challenge has only just begun!!
Epilogue
Title (Back):
Premonition of revival?! iX lives on
Notes: Our last card of the series shows iX reforming his body, while smiling and holding the Sigma Chip in his hand. Was this what he was after all along? We also have glimpses of X and Zero looking on, it seems they have both made it back alive. And also, an image of a Limited organism? Could it be that Limited also survived somehow? Or is iX it's legacy? The future holds the answers or...

...or the abrupt end of the card series with no explanation given. Why was Mega Mission 3 the final Mega Mission, when it ends on such a cliffhanger?

Some fans have speculated that a fourth chapter was planned but canceled due to lower than expected sales, or because of a change in the nature of Capcom and Bandai's marketing relationship.

Others held the belief that the carddas series ending was to tie into the toy line, and that fans would then purchase the toys of X, Zero and Return iX and create their own adventures.

At the time of the cards' release however, it was commonly guessed that Return iX would be a character in X4, and that the Mega Mission story was a segue into his past, similar to how Dr. Doppler appeared in Mega Mission prior to his appearance in X3. This was "supported" when early X4 screen caps circulated in gaming magazines, showing an "R" logo that many then believed to be proof of "Return iX" as a major boss in X4. Of course, it turned out to be the Repliforce logo, and Return iX made no direct appearance at all in X4.

Despite this, some fans still refused to be dispelled, and offered the theory that in fact, iX was in X4, but as Sigma. It goes a little something like this: Return iX rejuvenated himself, then used the Sigma Chip to attain further power. Like Enemice, Sigma's consciousness swallowed him as well, explaining how Sigma survived X3's anti-virus and came to be in a new body. Proponents of this theory point out that one of Sigma's final forms in X4, the giant "Slime Body" Sigma head, bears a strong resemblance to the half-organic style of Limited. As did the melting Sigma at the very end of X5. Did Sigma absorb iX's Limited cells, enabling him to revive himself without assistance? I guess that's up to every fan's own imagination to decide!

At long last, the main translation is complete. I'll probably go back and touch up some details with them all later on. And of course, I haven't forgotten about getting high-quality scans of the entire set! Attempting to scan holo-cards has been a huge hold up, but I've not given up just yet. It'll just be... awhile. There have been many other Mega Mission card scans circulating the internet, so I don't feel too bad making everyone wait. Hopefully my versions will be worth it. I'll be on vacation for the rest of the year, and after that I hope to start up my next translation project. Happy holidays!

Mega Mission 3, Part 3

2009-12-14T15:13:00.010-05:00

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If you've been waiting months for this, my sincerest apologies. I'll spare you the excuses, and just jump in with the action.

Card No. 108	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 11 Reborn with extraordinary power, Return iX was preparing to deliver the final blow to X when suddenly he was shot from behind! "Answer me!" demanded the sniper. "You should be our ally, and yet you attacked my subordinates! You dare to oppose me, Enemice! Why?!" "I was born for the sole purpose of defeating X! It is the only reason for my evolution! I won't let anyone stand in my way!!"
Return X Shot
Title (Back):
Return iX is Shot!!
Notes: RX's aim has been thrown by a powerful blow from behind, as another new character makes a dramatic entrance. X has once again been saved by the people who are out to kill him. Lucky him to be so popular. A strong new enemy has arrived, who claims to be the superior of the Hyper Limiteds. Who is this Enemice?

Card No. 109	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: ENEMICE-HL SECT: REMEETORDER BREAKER Remeet Order Breaker DATA: Before his death, Tackione had been working on constructing Enemice, the most powerful Order Breaker. Upon achieving Hyper Limited power, Enemice booted himself up. WEAPON: His arms are equipped with charged particle cannons, and can also deliver a devastating drill punch called the Piston Knuckle!
Enemice-HL
Title (Back):
Enemice Hyper Limited
Notes: The Hyper Limited ringleader Enemice is revealed to be the posthumous son of Tackione. He was left incomplete, but thanks to the constant evolution of Limited his body was able to finish constructing itself. The successor to the Limited throne is very mechanical looking, with large bolts, gears and wires being a major motif of his design. In addition to his raw power, he also has inherited aspects of Tackione's scientific ability, which our heroes will discover shortly.

Card No. 110	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 12 Putting his death match with X on hold, RX launched into an intense battle with Enemice. "If I don't hurry and beat this guy, I'll never get my proper bout with X... X, I'll let you borrow my power, for now!!" With a flash of light, RX's body vanished, and X and Zero found themselves equipped with brand new armors!
Fusion?! Return X
Title (Back):
Fusion?! Return iX
Notes: Return iX will do anything to get his uninterrupted death match with X... including merging himself with the one he hates most! Uh... okay! This card treats us to a scene of RX's sinister looking body combining with X. Having come so close to losing his very soul to Limited in the past, one might expect X to be weary of such gifts. Is this erratic enemy really on the level, or does he have some ulterior motive to merge with our heroes? What dangers have they welcomed into themselves? Even so, it looks like this is the best and only chance X and Zero have for survival at this point. Things seem to be happening so fast, did they really even have a choice in the matter? It's too late now, and X must once again rely on the power of Limited to end a dangerous conflict. So, what new powers have X and Zero gained from converging with this temporary new ally?

Card No. 111	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: ROCKMAN X (X ARMOR) SECT: IRREGULAR HUNTER Irregular Hunter DATA: Caught in a dire battle, X borrowed the power of RX, and this new form was created. RX has evolved his own body into an armor!! WEAPON: The X Buster is borrowing from RX's power. Its abilities now surpass even the Clear High Buster!
Rockman X
Title (Back):
Rockman X (iX Armor)
Notes: On the surface, it looks like X has made out pretty well with this new arrangement. This new armor has all the power of Mega Mission 1's Clear Armor, and then some. This time around, lets hope X stays in control. This armor is also called the EX Armor in the model kit toyline. However, it is actually "ikusu" armor. And although the images in the card series don't look it, the dark blue parts of this armor are shown to be semi-transparent in the toy version.

Card No. 112	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: ZERO (X ARMOR) SECT: IRREGULAR HUNTER Irregular Hunter DATA: In the same manner as X, a portion of RX's power has evolved into an armor and been installed. This armor should render all of Limited's attacks ineffective!! WEAPON: The Zero Buster has been amplified with RX's power! Its destructive power is now several times greater than before!!
ZERO
Title (Back):
Zero (iX Armor)
Notes: Zero has gotten the same treatment, and his first exclusively Limited-endowed armor. The only noticable changes are the buster and shoulder armor. Zero is bringing the big shoulder look back. Just like X, the toy version of this is called EX Armor, and features armor transparency in the red portions. Depending on your tastes, it may not look as impressive as the Neo Armor, but in terms of power this armor is a heavy contender for Zero's strongest form from the Mega Mission files.

Card No. 113	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 13 "What a clever trick... Now let me show you the power of this chip that I've created! Go, my four warriors! Combine!" Hearing Enemice's order, the HL foursome appeared once more. With the power of the chip, their bodies were fused together. Thus, they evolved into a single ultra-powerful Remeet Repliroid...
Hyper Limited Combine
Title (Back):
Hyper Limited Quadruple Fusion!!
Notes: Two can play at the fusion game, it seems. Enemice responds to RX's treachery with a little merger of his own design. The battered bodies of the Hyper Limiteds have united to form a new and monstrous entity. By creating such a chip, Enemice demonstrates he's got brains to back up his brawn. But how does his creature stack up against the iX-empowered Irregular Hunters?

Card No. 114	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Fusion Remeet Repliroid DATA: The combined form of the 4 Hyper Limiteds, brought forth by the power of Enemice's chip. Can it be four times as powerful?! WEAPON: It has complete access to all 4 Hyper Limiteds' weapons and abilities.
Mix Forte
Title (Back):
Mix Forte
Notes: Usually facing off with a giant mutant marks the finale of a Mega Mission story arc, but this adventure is still far from over. It's time for X and Zero to test their new abilities in a trial by fire with their amalgamous adversary. By the way, this beast has no relation to Forte/Bass from the classic series. Their names are even spelled and pronounced differently in Japanese, Forte is フォルテ "forute" (as in for-tay) while Mix Forte is ミックス・フォート "mikkusu footo" (mix fort).

Card No. 115	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 14 Mix Forte proved himself a formidable foe, wielding the powers of all 4 Hyper Limiteds. Unleashing its quad arsenal of weapons simultaneously, Mix Forte set out on a destructive rampage! However, the power of the iX Armors rendered the Limited attacks useless. Working together in an incredible coordinated strike, Mix Forte crumbled before the power of X and Zero.
Twin Hunter vs Mix Forte
Title (Back):
Hunter Duo vs Mix Forte
Notes: Mix Forte let out a furious barrage, but was no match for the power of the iX Armors combined with the skill of the two legendary Hunters. Having laid waste to the 4 Hyper Limiteds once and for all, our heroes' focus turns to this incident's mastermind, the mysterious Enemice. What other surprises might he be packing up his piston-powered sleeves?

Card No. 116	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 15 "X, Zero... Well done. Even though you had to borrow Return iX's power to do it, you two have nonetheless proven yourselves quite a nuisance... However, I am not dismayed. That is because I was endowed with supreme power by my late master, the great Tackione. I and I alone was created to be the ultimate destructive machine!!"
Rockman X vs Enemice HL
Title (Back):
Rockman X vs Enemice Hyper Limited
Notes: Enemice's villainous monologue is full of vile menace, but does he have the power to back up his big talk? The picture on this card suggests he just might, as he prepares to crush X's head in his bare hand. The inheritor of all Tackione's power and knowledge, he boasts that the other Hyper Limiteds were mere trifling experiments before himself. Have X, Zero and RX finally met their match?

Card No. 117	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 16 Enemice had X cornered with his fearsome Piston Knuckle, but his old friend Zero came through with the assist, catching his enemy off guard. With incredible finesse, Zero had turned the tables on Enemice. Then at last, Enemice finally caught the full force of X's buster and Zero's Beam Sabre.
ZERO vs Enemice HL
Title (Back):
Zero vs Enemice Hyper Limited
Notes: Enemice came out swinging, but he should have known better than to turn his back on Zero. Mighty though he may be, the tag team of X and Zero reign supreme. Can this nightmare finally be over? Or, has it only just begun? If you don't think Enemice has another trump card to play, you don't know Mega Mission! The final boss, the final fusion, and the final conclusion to the Mega Mission saga lie just ahead!

Robot Fever

2009-12-10T15:30:00.009-05:00

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Just something I was mulling over in my head. For those yet unspoiled, Mega Man 10's story concept involves our heroes battling against a robot virus called Robotenza, the etymology of which I suppose would be Robot+Influenza. I'm fine with Capcom avoiding the traditional "the _____ Virus" naming convention that the X and EXE series swore by, but it still sounds a bit off to me somehow. A little awkward, doesn't really roll off the tongue. More creative than simply "Robot Flu," I'll give them that. It'll probably grow on me as I hear it more. But I started to wonder if I could do a better job at naming a robot virus. Probably not, but here goes anyway!

Robola
Robotitis
Mechalaria
Gearengitis
Robolio
Robomycosis
Robopox
Mechatitis
Roboculosis
Roborrhea
Mecholera
Robotulism
Cybermitosis
Robotella
Mechlamydia

And, I'm spent. Knowing where some of those disease names originated from, of course, there's no way they'd be appropriate for a E rated video game. I'm not sure which of those I favor at this point, they've all run together in my brain. Maybe Robotenza isn't so bad after all.

For Chrono Trigger Fans

2009-12-10T09:36:00.004-05:00

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I picked up the latest Chrono Trigger port recently, and I've been falling in love with the game all over again. It's as if the DS were my Epoch, taking me back to 1995, where the SNES was king and Toriyama a god. (Well, if you were a teenage nerd in the continental US like I was, that's probably how you remember it?)

It inspired me to take on a little side project, a translation of the Chrono Trigger Character Library, a promotional mini-game that came out for the Super Famicom via Satellaview, also back in 1995. Gamefaqs is now hosting it. (Man, it's been so long since I contributed anything there that I had to create a new login!) So if you're a Chrono Trigger fan, go check it out!

Has it really been over a year already?

2009-12-10T09:17:00.005-05:00

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Not since my last blog entry, I mean since Mega Man 9 came out. Feels like less time somehow.

Mega Man 10 news is all over the place, and I must say I'm not surprised. The developers were talking sequel possibility before MM9 was even out as I recall, and I'd hardly expect a company like good ol' Capcom not to follow up on one of the most successful WiiWare titles ever.

Am I excited about it? Yes. Do I think it will connect to the X series in any meaningful way? No. Am I upset that it's 8-bit graphics all over again? Nope. Actually, now that Inti's gotten their retro-game feet wet with MM9, I'm optimistic that MM10 has the potential to surpass it. I suppose that sums things up the basic reactions.

Bass seems like a dead ringer for the third playable character slot, although with all the attention she's been getting lately, I wouldn't be too shocked to see it as Roll either. But after his absence last time, I'm really curious to see how Bass will look and play in the 8-bit realm.

Now that it's been announced, I imagine we'll be getting a steady trickle of new info, though I doubt I'll be reporting on any of those details (that's what the big fansites are for) unless they really pique my interest enough that I have to rant about them.

Between this and the Mega Man Rush Marine mobile game (which I'm still waiting to get my hands on, hurry T-Mobile!) it seems to me that the 8-bit style of O.G. Mega Man is here to stay. At least, for the foreseeable future. And I don't mind it a bit.

Rockman Gigamix

2009-10-08T14:04:00.007-04:00

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So, the first volume of Hitoshi Ariga's Rockman Gigamix manga is out in Japan now. I'm not lucky enough to have my hands on it yet, but I hear good things. Hopefully the wave of excitement and attention it's getting will last through to the other two planned volumes.

Speaking of which, Ariga's just put up a new feature linked to his blog (both are in Japanese, natch) that asks for fans to submit their own unique robot creations. It's called "Gigami yarare chikyuu robo boshuu!" which basically means "minor robot recruiting for the world of Gigamix!" Upload and discuss your creation with fellow fans and artists, and hey, maybe it'll show up (or even get blown up) in a future installment of Gigamix. Pretty cool.

I'm not dead yet...

2009-10-08T14:01:00.003-04:00

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...but my readership is!

It seems I'm not a very good blogger. Sorry, blogosphere. Maybe someday I'll get my act together and post something worthy of internets.

If there is no problem...

2009-08-15T13:07:00.004-04:00

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I've been busy lately, though as you can tell, it was not busy working on this blog. I'll be trying to get into the "regular update" mode again soon.

Today is August 15th, not especially noteworthy in the Mega Man universe, except that today is the day that Zero was scheduled to wake up after submitting himself to cold sleep in his Mega Man X6 ending, 102 years into the future...

I've often wondered why August 15th vs any other date. It isn't Mega Man's birthday (December 17th), or Keiji Inafune's (May 8th), or Capcom's (founded May 30), nor was it ever a day that a Rockman game was released in Japan. So much for the usual suspects.

So, today I checked out Wikipedia to see what other significance it might have. The first thing that struck me was that August 15, 1945 was the day Japan surrendered during WWII. August 15 is also an important Christian holiday marking the death of the virgin Mary, and her ascension into heaven. It's also a day of independence for several nations. All of these are important events in world history, but I'm not convinced that any of these are the intended reference, or relevant to Zero's slumber and awakening.

Digging deeper, August 15th, 1965 was the day the Beatles played Shea Stadium in New York City, considered by some to be the birth of stadium rock. Four years later, August 15th became the opening day of the Woodstock festival. It's even been the birthday of several famous composers, and the death day of a few as well. Rockman has always been big into musical references, could Capcom have intended to reference these significant musical events?

Then again, Capcom also enjoys making pop culture references, so perhaps August 15th is a significant date in manga or anime? Following up that lead, I found that several anime characters share August 15th as a birthday, such as Basara Nekki from Macross 7, Zima and Dita from Chobits, and Takeshi Hongo, the original Kamen Rider. I also learned that August 15th is an important day in Mobile Suit Gundam, as the day the Principality of Zeon was founded. Interesting, since ZX Advent also made references to important Gundam dates in the cypher numbers. Did Capcom do the same thing here?

Then I remembered one rumor that said that August 15th was an early release date for Rockman Zero itself. I have seen an early ad that ran in the Japanese magazines, but that ad gave a release date of March 2002, about a month earlier than actual release (Capcom is somewhat infamous for delays). In Japan, Rockman X6 was released November 29, 2001 and Rockman Zero released April 26, 2002. Too early or too late, August 15th doesn't seem like a plausible release date in Japan. On the other hand, it could have been a release date for Mega Man Zero, which hit the states September 9, 2002 (according to GameFAQs). August 15th could have been a plausible early release schedule for Mega Man Zero in the US then... but did they know that back in November of 2001, so that they could insert that reference into the X6? One for Americans, but that Japanese fans probably wouldn't understand? For a game release that was so many fiscal quarters away, that is a very specific date. Maybe they had tried to schedule it precisely, but it didn't work out for some reason or another.

Perhaps I'll never know why exactly August 15th was chosen. And maybe it doesn't matter, since Zero didn't wind up having his schedueled awakening to begin with. But, I had fun researching it! If you've got any ideas or theories, feel free to toss in your two cents in the comments section!

A Little Something for Voully

2009-06-29T09:54:00.009-04:00

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For a certain old friend of mine that got in touch with me again recently, and is a huge fan of Mega Man Legends.

Thumbing through the archives of u-Capcom (which I've been going over before the end-of-June close, just in case some content disappears), I found a random trivia bit that I wasn't familiar with before, so I thought I'd share. Sorry if this is old news for some of you, but I think for those who don't know, it's worth retelling.

According to Masahiro Yasuma, a Capcom staff member with various involvements in DASH and EXE, several of the place names in Legends 1 are based off the surnames of DASH staff members. Tracking down the credits, I've put together this list:

The Cardon Forest, or "Kaadon no mori" カードンの森 in Japanese is most likely named after Kazunori Kadoi, game and engine designer and 3D model animator for DASH 1.
The Clozer Woods, or "Kuroosaa no mori" クローサーの森 is seemingly named after Shin Kurosawa, a scenario and event planner for DASH 1.
Lake Jynn or "Juuin-ko" ジュウイン湖 is based off DASH 1's head programmer Masaru Ijuin (who is also the surname inspiration for Enzan/Chaud of EXE).
Last but not least, Masahiro Yasuma himself is the inspiration for the Yass Plains or "Yasu no sougen" ヤスの草原, as well as the famed "Yasmar Woods" sign that can be found via codes only.

There's really all kinds of neat little easter eggs of information on u-Capcom, maybe I'll make some more posts about them in the future.

Mega Mission 3, Part 2

2009-06-26T10:00:00.013-04:00

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From Part 1.

I actually made quite a few errors in it, which I've since gone back and changed. I do occasionally go back and change things, correct mistakes or inaccuracies, clarify some confusing bits, et cetera, as I come across them. I don't really announce it too often, so who knows, maybe something you've read before has already changed.

My little notes section has become more of a running commentary that's sometimes far longer than the actual card translation itself. My bad! I couldn't help myself, really. It just sorta happened that way. It's my hope to impart useful and interesting supplemental information, and maybe even hype things up a bit to add to the atmosphere of the story. But it's perfectly possible to just skip that section if I get too preachy on ya. It isn't really necessary to get the gist of the story.

I'm happy that the project's almost finished. I'm growing a bit restless from dealing with these cards for so long. My next project I have in mind will be a much needed break (and a lot shorter to boot). Look for it once Mega Mission is finalized and formatted.

Now, on with the show...

Card No. 96	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: A-ARMARGE-HL SECT: REMEET REPLIROID Remeet Repliroid DATA: Armor Armarge's body has been evolved by the Hyper Limited that clung to it. He transformed himself into Rot Armor in order to get close to X. WEAPON: In addition to his body rolling attack, the crush shields equipped on both his arms have been reinforced for maximum offensive and defensiveness.
A-Armarge-HL
Title (Back):
Armor Armarge Hyper Limited
Notes: Armarge is looking pretty bulky, especially compared to his Masquerade form. He now resembles a prehistoric armadillo complete with spiky tail and hood-like shell. It's funny how so many of these "evolutions" are really about reverting modern animals back to a much earlier lineage.

Card No. 97	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 4 While Zero faced off with the countless swarms of Irregulars, X kicked off his own battle against the Hyper Limiteds. X evaded Armarge's body rolling attack by keeping in his blind spot and returning fire. However, even X's Electric Spark had no effect on the Hyper Limited Armarge.
Rockman X vs A-Armarge-HL
Title (Back):
Rockman X vs Armor Armarge Hyper Limited
Notes: Once again X has his past special weapons, no word on whether this is due to the presence of a Limited Field, although it is likely. Grappling with X in the picture, we can see how much larger Armarge has seemingly become. We've also learned that Hyper Limited's evolution has become so powerful that even special weapons which were once the Remeet Repliroid's weakness may barely cause a scratch to them now. And X will have to fight four of them at once? Not good...

Card No. 98	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: L-OCTOPULD-HL SECT: REMEET REPLIROID Remeet Repliroid DATA: Octopuld revived via fusion with Hyper Limited. Blau Launcher's true form, and a maestro of underwater warfare. WEAPON: Fires an enhanced Homing Torpedo, and wields his lance, the Octrident!!
L-Octopuld-HL
Title (Back):
Launcher Octopuld Hyper Limited
Notes: Octopuld HL is looking like a very gruff sea lord Poseidon, with his trident and all. His face even resembles a beard to me, somehow.

Card No. 99	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 5 While Armarge was bearing down on X, Octopuld lay in with a missile attack. X was able to intercept the missiles with Homing Torpedo, but Octopuld had maneuvered his body directly above X, ready to strike! Encircled by his 8 limbs, had Octopuld had left X nowhere to run?!
Rockman X vs L-Octopuld-HL
Title (Back):
Rockman X vs Launcher Octopuld Hyper Limited
Notes: X fights fire with fire, or in this case, Homing Torpedo with Homing Torpedo. Rolling Shield would have been more traditional, or maybe even Boomerang Cutter, but I won't argue with the man.

Card No. 100	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: M-MOTHMEANOS-HL SECT: REMEET REPLIROID Remeet Repliroid DATA: Mothmeanos revived through fusion with Hyper Limited. Like a bagworm dropped out of hiding, Grün Metamo's true form has emerged!! WEAPON: He can fire a powerful beam from his palms, or conduct a deadly strike with his Moth Sabre!!
M-Mothmeanos-HL
Title (Back):
Metamor Mothmeanos Hyper Limited
Notes: Card 100! Woo, triple digits! Did you know that bagworms are a member of the same family of insects as butterflies and moths? I didn't, until I translated this card!

Card No. 101	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 6 "Prepare yourself, X! For today is the day of your death!" Mothmeanos swooped down upon X, carrying him high into the sky! X was able to escape the main attack with Rushing Burner, but was then struck by a beam fired from Mothmeanos' palm. Using one hand then the other, Mothmeanos fired again and again! Does X have any chance at victory?!
Rockman X vs M-Mothmeanos-HL
Title (Back):
Rockman X vs Metamor Mothmeanos Hyper Limited
Notes: Facing attacks from every direction, X is starting to feel very overwhelmed. The increased power of Limited was bad enough, but with their added weakness immunities, it's gone from drudgingly difficult to nightmarishly impossible!

Card No. 102	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: E-NAMAZUROS-HL SECT: REMEET REPLIROID Remeet Repliroid DATA: The "Rescue Power Plant" has been infused with Limited. Shedding his kind heart, Braun Eleci transformed and set his sights on X. WEAPON: Manipulating a tremendous amount of electricity, he can generate a completely flawless electric shield!!
E-Namazuros-HL
Title (Back):
Electro Namazuros Hyper Limited
Notes: That's one whopper of a catfish. The "Rescue Power Plant" is Namazuros' nickname from X3.

Card No. 103	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 7 Squeezing every ounce of his willpower, X continued to fight as Namazuros' massive body drew near. Even Tornado Fang was powerless against Namazuros' perfected electric shield. Meanwhile, Zero had finished vanquishing the hordes of Irregulars, and was hurrying back to assist. But even so, can they hope to win when it's two against four?
Rockman X vs E-Namazuros-HL
Title (Back):
Rockman X vs Electro Namazuros Hyper Limited
Notes: The Hyper Limiteds have each taken their turn abusing X and showing off their incredible power. Zero cleared out that army of Irregulars so fast that even Rambo would be put to shame, but he has yet to face the indomitable powers of Hyper Limited. Can teamwork prevail where alone X could not?

Card No. 104	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 8 Zero had torn through the mechaniloids easily. Yet despite combining his powers with X, trying to defeat Limited's strongest evolution Hyper Limited was proving exceedingly difficult. X and Zero were being gradually worn down! Are even their Special A class skills no match for Hyper Limited?
Rockman X & ZERO
Title (Back):
A Losing Battle! X and Zero
Notes: X and Zero are looking tired yet determined on the front of this card. Despite their legendary power, they are outnumbered and outclassed by the latest advancement of Limited. At this rate, our heroes will fall and Limited will finally have achieved its dark victory over the Earth. If only X had some kind of power up parts to even the playing field a bit...

Card No. 105	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: RETURN X SECT: REMEET REPLIROID Remeet Repliroid DATA: Previously, iX had been beaten by X. Driven by his intense determination, "I will defeat X," he resurrected himself and tenaciously clung to his mission!! "As long as my core survives, I will always come back." WEAPON: The buster initially created from an exhaustive analysis of X has amassed even greater power, becoming the Return iX Buster!!
Return X
Title (Back):
Return iX
Notes: The ultimate soldier iX is back, baby! And he's looking creepier than ever. Return iX, RX, R-ikusu, Return X, whatever you'd like to call him, was able to revive himself after his initial defeat thanks to a surviving cell. At last he's succeeded in tracking X down, and even amidst this carnage, he's going to make his presence felt. With yet another enemy to tackle, does this arrival mark the final death knell of X and Zero?

Card No. 106	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 9 In the midst of X and Zero's grueling battle appeared the regenerated form of iX, calling himself Return iX. RX struck out at the Hyper Limiteds, demonstrating how far his power had progressed!! As RX cut down the Hyper Limiteds one after another and forced their retreat, it seemed this former dangerous adversary had become a powerful ally, right before X's very eyes! But, why...?
Return X vs Hyper Limited
Title (Back):
Return iX vs Hyper Limited Quartet
Notes: Shocking everyone, instead of moving in to finish X off, RX tears into the Hyper Limiteds instead! The card front shows RX literally karate chopping into what looks like Armarge HL, with pieces of the other 3 strewn around along with him. But hey, aren't these Limited guys all supposed to be on the same team? What's going on?!

Card No. 107	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 10 "The only one to defeat you, will be me!" "You're iX! So, you survived?" Face to face with someone he thought he had defeated long ago, and moreover confounded that this someone would help him in this time of crisis , X was doubly struck with an astonishment he could barely conceal! "I will always come back... in order to defeat you!" With that, the fated battle began!
Rockman X vs Return X
Title (Back):
Rockman X vs Return iX
Notes: Showing himself to be anything but X's savior, iX reveals his hatred to his rival. In mowing down the Hyper Limiteds, he was merely clearing a path to his true enemy. And judging by the ease to which he dispatched the Hyper Limiteds, his own power has vastly improved. It seems X has once again leaped out of the frying pan, and into the fire! Will the fury of RX prove far worse than anything the 4 Hyper Limiteds had in store? The answers, coming up!

Mega Mission 3, Part 1

2009-06-25T12:14:00.024-04:00

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Beginning once more, the final installment of Carddass' Mega Mission series. Very different from the structure of the previous 2 story arcs, though some plot aspects will still remain strikingly similar. This time X and Zero have only 4 Remeet Repliroids to contend with, but they'll have much greater power. iX returns as the aptly named "Return X," along with another familiar face who makes his long awaited first appearance in Limited fashion. All this and a surprise "ending" await, in Mega Mission 3!

ROCKMAN X MEGA MISSION 3 VERSUS HYPER LIMITED
Card No. 85	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: ROCKMAN X SECT: IRREGULAR HUNTER Irregular Hunter DATA: Commander of the 17th Elite Unit. Initially a B Class Irregular Hunter, he has grown strong through many difficult battles. WEAPON: As X has grown, so too has the power of his X-Buster! The destructive power of its charge shot is well renown!!
Rockman X
Title (Back):
Rockman X
Notes: Unlike the beginnings of the previous Mega Missions, this card is not a holo and discusses only X rather than X and Zero together. The logos in the corners are carried over from Mega Mission 2, but are no longer holographic stickers. The front titles no longer write "ROCKMAN X" in all caps, though "ZERO" still gets the capslock treatment. The backs of the cards have developed a silvery border with a barcode style motif. The backs also now say "CHARACTER CARD" or "MEGA MISSION STORY CARD" in English (depending on which they are) and character cards will contain name and organization information in English as well, which I've included in italics even though it's redundant.

Card No. 86	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Prologue At Central Point, Hunters have been disappearing one after another as if targeted in mysterious recurring incidents. Could the Counter Hunters have been revived somehow?! In response to the loss of so many Irregular Hunters, a new vigilante group has formed to protect Central Point, calling themselves the Masquerades.
Prologue
Title (Back):
City-wide mayhem! Disappearance of the Hunters
Notes: Our story begins, sometime after the conclusive battle between X and Tackione. Skilled Hunters are disappearing, and the city is close to being overrun with panic. The Counter Hunters (aka the X-Hunters) assassinated 100 of the top Irregular Hunters during the 6 months between X1 and X2, which is why the current incidents arise suspicions of their return. It is unclear whether Central Point is the same city that suffered the Limited Field attack in the last Mega Missison. At any rate, concerned repliroids have risen and banded together to fill the gap: the mysterious Masquerades. But it is not the Masquerades we're seeing in the colorful but foreboding image on the front of the card... or is it?

Card No. 87	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 1 Following the appearance of the Masquerades, the attack damages sharply declined. The Hunter organization which had been suffering heavy losses recognized the Masquerades' power, and they were welcomed to join the Hunter ranks officially. Thus Rockman X and Zero were joined by their new associates, the Masquerades!!
New Colleagues "Masquerades"
Title (Back):
New Allies?
Notes: Seeking to recoup their recent losses and regain public trust, the Hunter brass invites the 4 vigilantes to become Hunter members. The Masquerades themselves resemble a super sentai group, with their red, blue, green and brown/gold ranger call colors. We'll learn more about these new "heroes" next.

Card No. 88	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: ROT-ARMOR SECT: MASQUERADES Masquerades DATA: A newly registered member of the Irregular Hunters. He is also the acting leader of the Masquerades. WEAPON: Boasts the highest defensive power of the Masquerades, and also excels in mobility.
Rot-Armor
Title (Back):
Rot Armor
Notes: Rot means red in german, making him the red Masquerade. Naturally, he's the leader.

Card No. 89	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: BLAU-LAUNCHER SECT: MASQUERADES Masquerades DATA: A member of the vigilante group that operated in Central Point. Because of his achievements, he was permitted to become an Irregular Hunter. WEAPON: His greatest weapon is his quick and graceful maneuverability, especially underwater.
Blau-Launcher
Title (Back):
Blau Launcher
Notes: Blau means blue in German.

Card No. 90	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: GRÜN-METAMO SECT: MASQUERADES Masquerades DATA: He was allowed to join the Irregular Hunters by merit of his efforts to reduce collateral damages, but there is something suspicious about him... WEAPON: Can fashion weapons for himself by assembling various bits of scrap.
Grün-Metamo
Title (Back):
Grün Metamo
Notes: Grün is German for green.

Card No. 91	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: BRAUN-ELECI SECT: MASQUERADES Masquerades DATA: After the recent incidents, he was recruited into the Irregular Hunters. But there seems to be something unsettling about these Masquerades... WEAPON: His large body and incredible strength are his most imposing weapons, but he's also able to use electric attacks.
Braun-Eleci
Title (Back):
Braun Eleci
Notes: Completing the pattern, Braun means Brown in German. Not everyone in the Hunters completely trusts the Masquerades. Perhaps it's the uncanny resemblance to several former irregular repliroids, in both name and appearance... Probably just a coincidence...?

Card No. 92	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 2 However, the Masquerades are actually a team of 4 Hyper Limiteds sent to spy upon X and company, and uncover their secrets. They had thinned the Hunter ranks themselves, then changed their bodies into their Masquerade forms in order to gain X's confidence. And once X's guard was lowered, they would strike all at once. This was their true mission. X is already in great danger!!
Revolt!! Masquerades
Title (Back):
Revolt! Masquerades
Notes: The truth is revealed (and what a shock)! The Masquerades were double agents all along. Now that they've infiltrated the Hunter organization, they're ready to take it down from within. Abandoning the masquerade and revealing their true forms, their multi-faceted assault will strike at the very heart of the Hunters!

Card No. 93	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: CROWD SECT: MECHANIROID & BICTROID Mechaniloid & Victoroid DATA: The Hyper Limiteds unleashed a Limited Field, and machines began running wild. An angry mob of rioting rabble quickly formed. WEAPON: They have not been powered up by Limited, so they have only their original weapons.
Reckless Irregular
Title (Back):
Reckless Irregular
Notes: Some tough enemies from X3, Maoh the Giant, Worm Seeker R, Hellcrusher, Wall Cancers and Bictroid/Victoroids gather on the front of this card, preparing to raise hell. With the Hunters disabled and the city in chaos, who will come to the rescue?

Card No. 94	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	NAME: ZERO SECT: IRREGULAR HUNTER Irregular Hunter DATA: Commender of the 0th Special Forces Unit, and Special A class Irregular Hunter. Just as before, whenever X is caught in a pinch, Zero gallantly arrives to give his friend a hand. WEAPON: His Special A class skills include being an amazing swordsman with his Beam Sabre and an ace sure-shot buster-slinger.
ZERO
Title (Back):
Zero
Notes: Zero enters the fray, ready to take on the irregular menace plaguing the area. Zero's a one-man army, but in his line of work, he has to be just to survive.

Card No. 95	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 3 Story 3 The Masquerades have shown their true colors as Hyper Limited. But Hyper Limiteds go beyond just sticking to repliroids, they are even manipulating the mechaniloids from afar. "Leave those underlings to me, X!" Zero rushes to his friend's aid in his time of need.
ZERO vs Irregular
Title (Back):
Zero vs Irregulars
Notes: Zero opts to face the rabble of rebellious robots, so that X can concentrate on challenging the Hyper Limiteds. Zero is confident under pressure, but both heroes are up against heavy odds. Even heavier than they realize, as they HLs will soon demonstrate just how far they've evolved...

Mega Mission 2 Conclusion

2009-06-25T08:35:00.008-04:00

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Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Card No. 75	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Order Breaker DATA: A Limited that developed using Doppler's residual data. He used that knowledge to capture X in order to further his own evolution. WEAPON: Wields the Remeet Smasher and Sabre Grapp, two ultra-powerful weapons!!
Tackione
Title (Back):
Tackione
Notes: He was slightly visible from other cards, particularly 71, but here we finally get a really good look at Tackione. At the top of his body is a green dome, and inside is the partially reconstructed head of Doppler, equipped with the classic "cyborg eye" look. It reminds me of another head-under-glass cyborg scientist, Dr. Vile of the Zero series. Tackione wears a cape similar to the coat Doppler wore in the first Mega Mission as well, and features Doppler's characteristic ratchet-fingers. His chest adorns the face of Limited, and the design incorporates many tentacle-like wires connecting different parts of his body. His buster, the Remeet Smasher, is the first to have a large crystal-like protrusion covering over the nozzle, something that the later Mega Mission armors would incorporate. The Remeet Smasher has a slanted opening at the tip of this covering that is seemingly able to change the spread of his attack.

Card No. 76	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 17 "I have acquired all of Doppler's knowledge! There is no one in existence who can best me!!" Tackione announced, determined to deliver the final blow to both injured men. Tackione fired relentlessly, narrowly missing Zero and X.
Tackione vs X & ZERO
Title (Back):
Tackione vs the Damaged Duo
Notes: Tackione, or should we say Doppler Limited, attempts to take advantage of the situation and claim his victory. Our dazed heroes barely manage to dodge his assault. X and Zero have been in bad scrapes before, but in their current state, things are looking grim. Can they still hope to stand against Limited's strongest evolution yet?

Card No. 77	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 18 Realizing that Zero's damage had been inflicted by his own buster, X quickly understood what had happened to himself during this incident, and launched himself against Tackione. Dodging Tackione's Sabre Grapp and wresting his beam sabre away, X struck back against his tormentor.
ROCKMAN X vs Tackione
Title (Back):
Rockman X vs Tackione
Notes: X has snapped back into action, and as expected has risen to the occasion in rare form! Taking Tackione by surprise, he is even able to claim his enemy's own weapon from him! X's will to protect his friend makes even his unarmored form a force to be reckoned with, but don't expect Tackione to just roll over and die. X's small victory hasn't won this war yet!

Card No. 78	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Repligigant DATA: For the sake of defeating X, Tackione mutated himself into his evolved gigantic final mode. The power concealed within his grotesque body is impossible to quantify. WEAPON: His capability for destructive mayhem coupled with his ingenious intellect is his greatest weapon!!
Tackione - Final Mode
Title (Back):
Tackione Final Mode
Notes: Unwilling to permit X's stunt heroics, Tackione kicks it up a notch and transforms to Repligigant form, much as his predecessor Mother Limited did. The picture on this holo card is the only one where you get a good idea of how huge Tackione Final Mode is, but it also shows X battling him with an armor that he hasn't acquired yet in the story. This is probably done to give this armor more exposure, since otherwise there are only 2 cards where you can really see and appreciate it. In short, the picture on the card takes place between cards 81 and 83, even though the info on the back is correct for card 78. You can think of it as a preview of the battle to come.

Card No. 79	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 19 Achieving his final evolution, the Repligigant Tackione bares his menacing fury, attemting to mow down Zero and X with his enormous claws! Though disadvantaged, the two fought back with all their remaining strength. Finally, Zero decided that he must sacrifice himself and combine their remaining energy in order to stand a chance.
Tackione - Final Mode vs X & ZERO
Title (Back):
Tackione Final Mode vs Double Heroes
Notes: This is one uphill battle that Zero recognizes they cannot win. Because X's body has endured less damage, Zero knows that he has the best chance for survival. Perhaps, if the Neo Armor's energy can be transfered to X's able body... it's their only hope!

Card No. 80	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 20 No longer able to move, Zero imparts to X one final request. "X, I'm transferring all my energy over to you... No matter what happens... You must defeat Tackione!!" In that instant, Zero's Neo Buster and Neo Armor disappeared, and X became the sole inheritor of all that power!!
ZERO & ROCKMAN X
Title (Back):
Zero to X, Infinite Energy
Notes: The picture shows Zero's energy transfered to X, and a new buster forming on X's hand, but that's just for starters. In combining with X, a power even greater than the Neo Armor is about to be born!

Card No. 81	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Irregular Hunter DATA: All of Zero's energy was handed down to X, forming a new armor. This unrivaled armor can repel any attack! WEAPON: The Giga Buster and Giga Sabre, possessing the ability to destroy any kind of enemy!!
ROCKMAN X
Title (Back):
Rockman X (Giga Armor)
Notes: Another holo card used to showcase an armor transformation. Though some fans use this title to refer to the X2 armor, this is the only armor to ever be officially dubbed the Giga Armor. This glowing armor gives off the aura of an invincible warrior of justice. Even the sabre X snatched up from Tackione has been transformed to an unparalleled instrument of righteous fury. This armor also conceals a familiar secret weapon...

Card No. 82	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 21 Empowered by the Giga Armor, X renewed his fight against Tackione. Overflowing with energy, the slice of X's Giga Sabre parted the air itself, as the Giga Buster roared like thunder!! The last battle of X and Tackione had now truly begun.
X vs Tackione - Final Mode
Title (Back):
Rockman X (Giga Armor) vs Tackione Final Mode
Notes: What happens when warriors who are as Gods collide? The earth itself trembles beneath their feet! An all-out death match between good and evil has broken out, and the fate of the world will be decided once again.

Card No. 83	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 22 The Giga Armor stored up a vast excess of energy. X decided to lay everything on the line, and called upon the very limits of his power to unleash one final special move, the Giga Crush!! Both Tackione and X's Giga Armor gave way to annihilation as the entire area was engulfed in a blinding flash of light!
Giga Crush!!
Title (Back):
Explosion! Giga Crush!!
Notes: Our final holo card gives accent to the explosive force of the Giga Crush. Incinerating the enemy and even itself, this Giga Crush packs a much bigger bang than the X2 armor did. Can it be that at long last, Limited is no more?

Card No. 84	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Epilogue When it was all over, a stillness settled over the area. X stood tall, supporting Zero on his shoulder. Though Tackione's threat had abated, there was no guarantee that Limited had been completely exterminated. His chest swelling with renewed determination, X marched on. His battle has still not concluded!!
ROCKMAN X vs Tackione
Title (Back):
The Calm Before the Storm? An Eerie Silence.
Notes: Similar to the ending of Mega Mission 1, the battle has ended, but no sense of peace has befallen our heroes. Foreshadowing that Limited has not been extinguished here, the image on this card portrays X and Zero in battle poses over a backdrop of Limited reformed. Another sequel was already in the cards for X, with the final segment of the Mega Mission trilogy just around the corner! Enjoy the armistice while it lasts, Irregular Hunters! Another war is looming just over the horizon!

Mega Mission 2, Part 3

2009-06-24T10:26:00.013-04:00

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Continued from... actually, you could probably just scroll down.

Card No. 67	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Order Breaker DATA: Grown from a portion of Tackione that was separated. Despite his large build, he is actually quite quick and dexterous, and enjoys using his freely contractible neck to toy with his victims. WEAPON: Specializes in Machine Grapp, a hand-to-hand fighting style that utilizes his spherical body.
Bloodione
Title (Back):
Bloodione
Notes: The giant dude of the trio, but with a twist this time, in that he's actually fast and agile as well as huge and strong. His neck is tensile and can come out of his body like a snake in a turtle shell. Not mentioned, but his other limbs also seem to be capable of extending out and retracting into his body to some extent. He has a lot of elbows, and his face resembles a gas mask. A stylized skull pattern adorns his globe-like torso. Of the Order Breakers, his design is the most unique.

Card No. 68	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 12 Zero obtained the Neo Armor, his body coursing with power! Then Tackione and the Order Breakers appeared on the scene. To their surprise, the Neo Armor completely neutralized the effects of the Limited Field! "Bring it on... Zero...!" Bloodione lost his temper, and with that, challenged Zero to battle!!
ZERO vs Bloodione
Title (Back):
Zero vs Bloodione
Notes: The picture shows Bloodione, limbs and neck extended and engaged in battle with Zero. Bloodione's fighting technique the "Machine Grapp" is comparable to a repliroid form of Sumo wrestling. Bloodione is like the lovechild of E. Honda and Dhalsim, except he's also a robot.

Card No. 69	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Order Breaker DATA: Like Bloodione, his body was made from a piece of Tackione which separated and matured. An extremely resourceful Order Breaker with a cruel and ruthless demeanor. WEAPON: By crossing both arms, he can fire the Arrow Shot.
Luxione
Title (Back):
Luxione
Notes: Meant to resemble the martial arts stereotype of long-haired warrior who fights using his braids, Luxione winds up looking and feeling a great deal like Schmitt of the previous Mega Mission, slim body, glowing hands and all. This card describes "Order Breaker" for the Japanese audience as a destroyer of order/authority/regularity/the powers that be. In English those connotations are explicit enough already, since they are already terms English speakers should be familiar with.

Card No. 70	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 13 Bloodione had Zero cornered, and Luxione moved in for the kill. But Zero dodged his Arrow Shot and returned fire. Unleashing the Neo Buster at maximum output, Zero blasted clear through Luxione and Bloodione with a single shot! Well done, Zero! Only Tackione himself remained!
ZERO vs Luxione
Title (Back):
Zero vs Luxione
Notes: The picture shows Luxione and Zero engaged in close combat. Zero tackled both fiends at once, but Tackione isn't shaking in his boots yet. He has another surprise for Zero.

Card No. 71	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 14 Zero has obliterated 2 of the Order Breakers, but Tackione's ominous smile was unwaivering. "After all, I only created those offshoots for amusement. I still have another disciple. The strongest one, in fact..." Another figure was revealed behind Tackione... Who is this "strongest one"...?
Replicapture
Title (Back):
Tackione's Secret Weapon?!
Notes: Visible on the card, Tackione has moved to reveal none other than X wearing some kind of Limited armor. The art of X with half his face obscured in darkness is greatly iconic.

Card No. 72	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Replicapture DATA: A Limited created by Tackione has preyed upon the body of X. It's reached the point that it can even manipulate X's mind. WEAPON: Limited has mutated X's buster, creating the Remeet X Buster.
Replicapture
Title (Back):
Rockman X (Replicapture)
Notes: Rockman X, champion of justice and greatest creation of Dr. Right, reduced to the puppet of a soul-sucking parasite? Say it ain't so! Reversed from their usual X-series roles, X has gone over to the dark side and Zero must do all he can to either bring back his friend, or stop him by any means necessary. Long before the Zero series, and even before X4's ending where X requested Zero take care of him if he were to ever go irregular, this is the very first time a heroic Zero had to battle with X. An X powered up by Limited's Replicapture armor and Remeet X Buster to boot. With both contenders at such heights of power, this is one fight that earns the title of epic!

Card No. 73	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 15 Now the pawn of Tackione, Replicapture X began a furious assault on Zero! But Zero dodged X's barrage without raising an eyebrow. Is there any way Zero can rescue his friend from this fate?
ZERO vs ROCKMAN X
Title (Back):
Zero vs Rockman X (Replicapture)
Notes: Though probably clear from the context alone, "without raising an eyebrow" is a Japanese expression comparable to "without breaking a sweat" or "without missing a beat." The image on the card depicts Zero yanking on the wire protruding from X's buster while firing Scrap Shoot at the ground in front of X, in hopes its shrapnel will rebound and do some damage to that Replicapture armor. Zero's taking some risks, working hard to try and free his friend, but the Remeet X Buster can do some serious damage that even the Neo Armor won't protect him from. Careful Zero, you're the world's only hope!

Card No. 74	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 16 At long last, the battle between Zero and X came to an end. With Zero's Neo Buster having destroyed the Limited that was feeding upon him, X's body returned to its normal form. However, Zero had likewise fallen prey to X's buster, his own body now greatly wounded.
ZERO vs ROCKMAN X
Title (Back):
Comrades, Collide!
Notes: The dying Limited cells can be seen dripping off of X's restored body. Smoke rises off from both combatants. Good has prevailed over evil, yet at a high cost. Zero succeeded in returning X to normal, but has himself been critically injured. Similar to X5, the duel ends in a draw that leaves both characters weak and tired. Unlike X5, there'll be no time to recover before the last battle begins! Coming up next, the final showdown with Tackione!

Mega Mission 2, part 2

2009-06-23T10:36:00.015-04:00

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Continued from here. I'm over halfway done with Mega Mission 2, and with my Mega Mission translation project in general, but I still have yet to upload the images to go along with them. This blog format doesn't seem conductive for doing so, at all. I'm working on something where it can be hosted elsewhere, though. The scans are coming, truly!

Card No. 54	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Irregular Hunter DATA: Zero uncovered the wreckage of his abducted companion X's buster, which he installed in his own buster. Now their power is combined! WEAPON: The strength of both Zero and X's busters have been merged into one outstanding weapon!!
ZERO
Title (Back):
Zero (Neo Buster)
Notes: Our second holo card, and another example of the character profiles getting ahead of the story cards. The Neo Buster slightly resembles the X3 Zero Buster, colored blue, with even more green triangular gems, and a split-barrel cannon that's half red and half blue.

Card No. 55	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 6 Found at the scene of X's defeat was the wreckage of his buster. Zero used those parts to remodel his own buster into the mighty Neo Buster! Zero would use this power to help track down his missing friend X, and combat the unidentified enemy behind this disappearance.
ZERO
Title (Back):
Zero Scramble!!
Notes: You might think Zero is some kind of genius to be able to combine and improve upon the greatest weapons of Thomas Right and Albert Wily with some broken equipment, no tools and very little time, but it probably isn't much more unbelievable or complicated than, for instance, when Zero gives X his buster parts towards the ending of X1. There is still some Limited traces in the buster as well, making Zero now infected with residual Limited too (and maybe that had something to do with the Neo Buster's formatting as well). The Neo Buster will allow Zero to use special weapons that X has collected before. If you're wondering why the Limited Field hasn't sapped Zero's power as well, it's because the effect is much stronger in proximity of the Order Breakers, and now that they've retreated to their evil lair, the effect has become minimal (though still present) again.

Card No. 56	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Remeet Repliroid DATA: The new body of Hyakulegger, who was revived via fusion with Limited. His teleportation tactics are in top form!! WEAPON: His Magnet Mines are more plentiful and more powerful than before.
Magne-Hyakylegger-L
Title (Back):
Magne Hyakulegger Limited
Notes: I always thought Centipede's virus injecting powers were his most formidable aspect, but no mention of those improving. Oh well!

Card No. 57	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 7 Magne Hyakulegger obstructed Zero's path and attacked with Magnet Mine. Unfortunately for Hyakulegger, he wasn't prepared to tackle the Zero-X combined power of the Neo Buster, and was wiped out! Just then, something strange appeared before Zero... a capsule?!
ZERO vs Magne-Hyakulegger-L
Title (Back):
Zero vs Magne Hyakulegger Limited
Notes: The Neo Buster's color has changed to orange, indicating a weapon change, likely the Scrap Shoot, Hyakulegger's weakness in X2. A capsule has appeared before Zero, presenting one of the most controversial aspects of the Mega Mission series, coming up in the next card.

Card No. 58	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 8 "Perhaps this also was fate, hmm, Zero... I wish to grant you a new power... Come, please, step inside." Guided by the mysterious elder who appeared from inside it, Zero entered the capsule. Afterward, his body had changed to...
Power Up Cupsle
Title (Back):
Arrival!! Power Up Capsule
Notes: Yes, the card reads "Cupsle" in English. Anyway, Dr. Right has arrived in his usual X1-3 styled capsule and awarded Zero an armor to help rescue X. This is contradictory to Right's words in Rockman X2 Soul Eraser and Rockman X5 where Right is adamant that he cannot create armors for Zero's body, but only supply relatively minor power ups. Fans have theorized that perhaps Zero having X's parts installed is what made this possible here, even though the parts had little to do with Zero's chest. Others point out that the armor seems to just be fastened over top of Zero's normal armor instead of being integrated into his body, but it does in fact resonate with the Neo Buster and utilizes Zero's internal energy and later even other parts of his body not initially installed over. Some suppose that Limited could have changed Zero's body structure to temporarily evolve more like X's, which allowed this. The likely truth of the matter is simply that there was nothing in the story up to that point in 1996 that flat-out said Right couldn't make armors for Zero, only that he hadn't done so yet. The embargo wasn't established in the games until the year 2000. Hard to say whether this was an intentional contradiction or just an oversight on Capcom's part. Of course, if you don't consider Mega Mission to be canon to the X games, then there's nothing to reconcile. Ultimately, Zero getting an armor from Right gave a big rush to Zero fans, and helped Bandai round out its toy repertoire for both heroes. For now, lets just go with it, and on with the show!

Card No. 59	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Irregular Hunter DATA: Following the advice of the mysterious elder, Zero received a new armor. This armor seems to be formed from an overflow of energy. WEAPON: Allows the Neo Buster to fire a powerful solid-light projectile called the Energy Shot.
ZERO
Title (Back):
Zero (Energy Armor)
Notes: An armor that is literally bustling and crackling with energy... Did Right save the cool armor for Zero, or what? This armor can absorb otherwise damaging energy attacks to reinforce itself, making it even stronger. Nice! Also, the Energy Armor uses the typical Japanese version of "energy" as "エネルギー" enerugii, while the Energy Shot is written with the less common "エナジー" enajii. No real significance either way, just making a note of it.

Card No. 60	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Remeet Repliroid DATA: Revived by Limited, Horneck is made to assail against his former superior officer, Zero. His favorite style of attack is conducting aerial bombing raids. WEAPON: His bee shaped bombs are more powerful and mobile, and able to attack in huge swarms!!
Explause-Horneck-L
Title (Back):
Explause Horneck Limited
Notes: More often written as Explose Horneck, but I'm leaving it the same here. This is the second Remeet Repliroid in a row to be a former member of the 0th Squadron. Zero must prove his skill as captain here!

Card No. 61	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 9 Zero returns Explause Horneck's assault with his newly acquired Energy Armor. The armor supplied the Neo Buster with even stronger energy, and finished off Horneck with a blast of Bug Hole.
ZERO vs Explause-Horneck-L
Title (Back):
Zero vs Explause Horneck Limited
Notes: The Energy Armor and Neo Buster are pinkish purple in the card image, reflecting the weapon change to Bug Hole. Not mentioned, but Zero is shown to also be attacking with his Zero Sabre. Man, I miss the days when Zero was portrayed as a long- and short-range brawler in the X series.

Card No. 62	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Remeet Repliroid DATA: Tigerd infused with Limited. His Shining Claw has evolved completely!! WEAPON: His light-speed Ray Splasher has targeted Zero!!
Shining-Tigerd-L
Title (Back):
Shining Tigerd Limited
Notes: Tigerd is looking more like a white sabre-toothed cat than strictly a tiger, though I never thought he resembled a tiger that much initially anyway.

Card No. 63	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 10 Shining Tigerd L poised his razor-sharp claws at Zero, as the two skilled hunters squared off against one another. Zero met his enemy with the enhanced Neo Buster, firing volleys of Spinning Blades at Tigerd, shredding him to pieces.
ZERO vs Shining-Tigerd-L
Title (Back):
Zero vs Shining Tigerd Limited
Notes: Tigerd is a poacher hunter, not an Irregular Hunter, but they are both skilled hunters regardless. Zero's armor is now a magenta color, though it's hard to differentiate the Spinning Blade color from the Bug Hole color without close study.

Card No. 64	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Remeet Repliroid DATA: The power-fisted thunder king has been revived by Limited. Able to absorb seemingly infinite electricity, he can emit a tremendous spark. WEAPON: His Electric Spark has been amplified by the screw drums in his arms!!
Spark-Mandriller-L
Title (Back):
Spark Mandriller Limited
Notes: The "screw drums" that rotate and act as drills are very similar to Mandriller's IHX redesign. Coincidence, or inspiration?

Card No. 65	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Mega Mission 2 Story 11 Spark Mandriller L was knocked out by Zero. But not before Mandriller's Electric Spark caused the power plant to go critical! An enormous surge of energy was released along with the plant's explosion. Thick smoke and ash clouded the area, when suddenly... From the center of the devastation, a lone figure emerged!
ZERO vs Spark-Mandriller-L
Title (Back):
Zero vs Spark Mandriller Limited
Notes: Not that you could tell at all from looking at the cards, but apparently Zero and Mandriller were battling inside a power plant. Zero took out Mandriller with Shotgun Ice, depicted by the cool light blue of Zero's equipment and the ice covering Mandriller's monstrous pose. Sometimes the card stories make the battles seem like short easy affairs, but keep in mind that they only have so much space to tell the story in with this format. The Remeets aren't all meant to be pushovers, they just can't spend lines and lines of text describing the battles, or even the locations where they are fought, unless it holds some important story relevance as it did here.

Card No. 66	Description (Back):
Title (Front):	Irregular Hunter DATA: Absorbing the energy from the power plant explosion, the Energy Armor powered up. Its power is now unfathomable. WEAPON: This shining armor increases the Energy Shot's destructive ability even further!!
ZERO
Title (Back):
Zero (Neo Armor)
Notes: If you were observing trends and wondering why the Energy Armor card wasn't a holo, this card is why. The Energy Armor has charged enough energy to upgrade itself to the Neo Armor. Now with superior leg, chest and shoulder armoring, Zero is looking mighty in all his holographic glory. We'll be putting that armor to good use in the next installment!

Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star

2009-06-22T17:05:00.004-04:00

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The internet is alive with talk of the upcoming title that brings Battle Network out of retirement while matching it up with a sassy new partner. Reactions seem to vary from joyous excitement to disappointed disgust. I'm not sure where I stand as of yet. I remember thinking forever ago how amazing a time-travel crossover between the original and the X series would be, and about a decade later, Mega Man's other timeline gets the treatment.

Actually, it isn't confirmed at all that a time-travel crossover is what the plot will be about. Other Japanese fans have speculated that it might be an EXE game done in Shooting Star style, as in front-facing battles with 3-D graphics and other attributes. Personally, I'm wagering on the time-travel thing. Every Star Force game has already featured some manner of time-crossed cameo with a Battle Network game in slot 2, so the progression to full-on story element is just a quick hop away from what we already have.

I must hand it to the contractors, it does seem quite a bit calculated that they're using EXE as the headliner and Shooting Star as the subtitle mention. Capcom makes it overly apparent that they're trying to recapture the fame that EXE held in its heyday that the Star Force spin off has yet to fully achieve. Then again, fans of one or both series probably won't care anyway, the opportunity to see the centuries-apart characters interact is fetching enough.

When EXE first came out, it was probably my new favorite series for quite a while. A imaginative re-invention of the original Mega Man series, reflecting our growing internet-dependent society, from the creators of Mega Man Legends? Count me in!
But a few installments later, the story seemed to spiral outlandishly out of control in favor of having multiple cart versions and replay value through forced repetitions, and the series lost a great deal of its appeal for me. When EXE 6 put a clear ending to EXE, I had a certain renewed respect for Capcom to bestow the series with a kind of dignity in closure, something games in the main Mega Man timeline never seem to achieve. But now EXE is back (and in some ways, it didn't really leave, since side-story games continued to be made for Japanese cell phones). Whether its return was pure fan service or pure economics, has yet to be seen. Unlimited potential and unlimited disappointment could exist in this premise. I'm going to hope for the best.