A Tale of Two MegaMans: Operate Shooting Star in CoroCoro
August 7, 2009 by Heat Man
Filed under Mega Man News
The first info dump from CoroCoro has finally arrived, and the game is back to looking more like a cross over again, as our heroes in this remake are Lan, MegaMan and… MegaMan. Furthermore, we have some details on the new Navi ClockMan, who may or may not be the final design of the contest winner Clock Genius. But, first, pictures to soak in.
Now, here are the details that we can gather. The game seems to star both BN MegaMan and SF MegaMan in the BN time period, although it’s unaware if you can play as both. Right now, it appears as though SF MegaMan is the playable one. Furthmore, Harp Note appears too, making it likely that other SF cast members will show up.
There is a new Navi, ClockMan. He is an advanced Net Navi that was created in the SF time period, but of course has come back too. He may be the final design of the boss contest winning entry Clock Genius, but this apparently hasn’t been determined entirely. For now it appears he’s probably an enemy. His dialogue in the picture reads “By the way, I expect this plan to be fulfilled in 32 hours, 8 minutes and 12 seconds!!” This is likely the character indicated by the mysterious post on the RnR3 website.
A lot of the game’s graphics appear to be taken directly from the original Battle Network. Mayl’s room and the internet areas look exactly the same. However, the facial avatars appear to be new. Also, it looks like the game has a map system like BN5DS had.
The game will contain a slick opening movie.
This is what we can gather so far. The game’s battle system has craftily not been shown off yet, and these new revelations will likely bring up many new questions. Hopefully updates later this month will make things a little more clear. Stay tuned.
Also, much thanks to Protodude of Protodude’s Rockman Corner who helped keep track of this news, since I injured my shoulder earlier this week. This report is essentially from both of us.
News Credit: 2ch, Dark Messiah Blog
So… they’re remaking battle network with time traveling Star Force… it’s a parallel universe like the latest Star Trek movie, isn’t it? Dammit, why can’t they be straight forward with us?
I’m mostly interesting in seeing the battle system. If it’s in StarForce style, I’ll probably pass. If it’s back to the EXE style, I’m all for it. I miss the EXE games.
I can’t even begin to describe how disappointed I am by the graphics. Capcom, you’re recycling first-generation GBA graphics from 2001 eight years later on the graphically-superior DS! How lazy can you friggin get?! I mean, look at Subaru standing beside Netto and Meiru. It’s obvious Subaru was ripped from 2009 and put in a 2001 game. And keeping the ultra-bland internet exactly the same?
Once again, Capcom, you had a golden opportunity to make a really flipping cool Rockman EXE game, and you blow it.
@Seiko
I am a bit surprised myself, though it’s not as though SF is that much superior. I’ll have to wait and play before I know the graphics are really an issue to me.
“Once again, Capcom, you had a golden opportunity to make a really flipping cool Rockman EXE game, and you blew it”
Speak for yourself, pal. Besides, I bet you cried foul when they went with the NES retro look for Megaman 9. Also, from what I see, Geo Stelar looks a little taller here than he did in Starforce. Either they added a few pixels to the Starforce Megaman sprite, or they took the BN Megaman and re-sprited him to look like Starforce Megaman. Either way, I now have some genuine interest in how this game will turn out.
Capcom could have put emphasis on SF battle style but reinvented in the BN universe. On the flip side they could have put MegaMan.Exe in the SF universe and put emphasis on the BN battle style ( the latter I think would have been more appealing ) or they could have even made some sort of combination of the two while using different locales in each game.
@ Seiko: I agree that Capcom has once again not seemed to put as much effort in a game as they could have, but at this point we really don’t know all that much, they could completley re-do what they’ve done so far.
@ Rock-X: Even though I agree with Seiko I still loved the decision Capcom made to make MM9 8-bit, this is where the classic series belongs because the majority of the titles were for 8-bit systems. Operation shooting Star on the other hand deserves to stay with DS graphics instead of GBA graphics because the entirety of the SF series has been with DS graphics.
I wonder if the graphics were a deliberate move, to sort of further imply “going back in time.”
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
@ LBD: That could be true as well.
This game looks like a “What if Geo went back to Battle Network 1″ story… Which could be pretty cool. I was hoping for something newer, but oh well. (I’d like to see events that happened after BN6…)
Cool!!!
I have waited about a month to see this images!!!
I really like the BN1 graphics the most, ’cause BN4-BN6 was ok, but its maps were redesigned and it was not so awesome like the BN1-BN3 maps and sprites.
I just hope the BN battle system returns! That was most challenging than the Star Force battle card system, but I think it won’t come back, ’cause Geo is, as where know, is the main protagonist. Oh well.
@Rock-X: Don’t assume things. I loved Mega Man 9. But there’s a difference between retro/nostalgic (ala Mega Man 9) and just plain lazy. What is retro or nostalgic about recycling dated GBA graphics and MIXING them with bolder, smoother graphics?
Well, I’m happy to see that it isn’t just a straight on remake. Looks like it will be a little more of its own game, just in an alternate version of that same time period.
I… I am utterly confused.
This is going to be one heck of a speculation train ride until the game’s release.
I hope we can play as both Rockman.EXE and Subaru.
What happened to 3D from BN5DS!?!?
I’m actually happy that the graphics are staying true to their roots.
The only disappointment I have with the game so far is the fact that they’re leaving that God AWFUL v1 internet in the game. I would think they’d at least touch it up a bit and make it a little nicer looking. At least those maps will help out…
Zai: My sentiments exactly. I was so confused and lost in the internet road that I wound up battling enemies in the secret areas where you fight Bass and not realized it.
Sei:”What is retro or nostalgic about recycling dated GBA graphics and MIXING them with bolder, smoother graphics?”
Nothing, and as far as I’m concerned, the character changes in BN4 and Starforce were a bad choice on Capcom’s part and I find the claim of BN4-6’s graphics being smoother laughable. Megaman’s running animation alone looked better in 1-3 than in 4-6, and that was the last thing on my mind when playing BN3 Blue. Besides, based on what I see, it looks as if Geo Stelar will travel backwards to around BN1, not the other way around. As such, using the graphics present in BB1-3 would at least present the game with a Consistent look. Also, as I said before, Geo seems to have undergone a change himself, so I seriously doubt Capcom just cut and pasted him from Star Force onto a BN background, as you seem to imply.
NO! MEGAMAN! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!! THE FUTURE WILL BE CHANGED!!! YOU’LL CREATE A TIME PARADOX!!!!!
I’m not disappointed in the graphics.
Wanna know why? Because it’s BN1-3 style.
Playing as StarForce MegaMan? Ew.
I swear, we better be able to play as MegaMan.EXE AND have BN’s Battle System.
I like both fighting styles, what I wold like to see is you can choose (like you choose witch form you want in SF2) to play as EXE or SF megaman and the fighting styles would go with it!
Thus-far, not exactly impressive. So, CapCom decides to devote their precious time and resources to go this utterly-pointless route, instead of developing a sorely-needed third-installment for the ZX-series? Ludicrous.
As for ‘ClockMan’ (.EXE, assumedly), I’m beginning to doubt he’s related to Clock-Genius; directly, at least. I mean, if he indeed did travel back-in-time from the Ryussei-era, he’d more-likely-than-not carry a Ryuusei-style moniker — of which ‘ClockMan’ is most assuredly not. Anyway, he’s probably just some flunky. Perhaps even to Clock-Genius, himself.
ClockMan.EXE looks so bad ass
From the looks of the pic and the title, I think Lan will be operating starforce megaman.
If I had to guess, the game will in fact be an “enhanced port” of Battle Network 1 (which is a shame, who DIDN’T want to see a complete overhaul remake?). What they’re doing is showing us the new sparkly content first since they’d get laughed off the page for showing off a complete rehash, especially of a game that wasn’t visually stunning for even it’s own day.
Now, this says nothing for what might potentially happen with the battle system, of course. Let’s just hope they use the best of both worlds there and really make an improvement over both. I mean, both systems did have their perks.
“I can’t even begin to describe how disappointed I am by the graphics.”
After nine games, you find fault with the graphics and with Capcom recycling? My mind is blown.
Well I kinda preferred the graphics from 1-3 compared to the graphics in 4-6 because they looked pretty weird to me. I’m a bit annoyed that they ain’t changing the net because I absolutely hated the net in battle network 1. Looking forward to the events that will happen between Geo and Lan and also interested in knowing if they will use 1 battle system or both if you can control both main characters that is.
Hmm… I don’t know how to feel from this info. On one hand, it seems neat – I’m happy to see a new navi boss. On the other, it looks half-assed – reusing backgrounds from the labyrinthine internet of BN1 of all games. Kinda wish they’d have used Timeman instead of making Clockman.
But in all, now that it looks like it IS a crossover, I REALLY hope it’s NOT a BN1 remake.
Gah, this Corocoro answered questions, but brought some with it!
I’m getting excited about this. How will the two sets of characters deal with each other? Will it use the Star Force battle engine and give us new ways to fight old bosses? I’m also glad they’re giving us a map system like in Battle Network 5 DS, since Battle Network 1’s maps were a pain compared to the rest of the series.
What’s the catch? Aside from the crossover, why would anyone want to play this game? There has to be more to this game that we don’t know or imply.
Is it just me, or does ClockMan bear a freakish resemblance to NumberMan? Ah! The shoulders…the upper torso…his color…oh dear, here we go again!
From the second scan there, is it just me or does it look like it is Lan controlling Geo as Mega?
@Rock-X: You are making way too many baseless assumptions on my position. First of all, anyone who says the graphics in SSR are the same as EXE4-6 haven’t looked very closely. SSR3 was easily the best graphics I’ve seen in any EXE/SSR game yet. I was actually pretty impressed at some of the animations and expressions they were able to invoke in such small sprites.
While I agree that the EXE1-3 graphics were better than EXE4-6’s, I don’t think they compare to the SSR1-3 graphics (especially 3). SSR1-3’s sprites were bolder and smoother. The lines were darker and the colors more vibrant. The sprites in EXE1 were dull, and the palette seemed lower. You can see in that screenshot with Netto and Meiru that the two seem to be blending into one another, yet Rockman sticks out like a sore thumb in that setting. Even his SHADOW is darker than Netto’s. And the same goes for the environments. Compare the screenshot of the obviously-new setting with Clockman and Harp Note to any of the screenshots of previously-seen EXE1 settings (like the Internet or Meiru’s house). The comparison is weak.
I understand where everyone is coming from with how using EXE1’s graphics “maintains some retroness to the going-back-in-time” crap, but it doesn’t quite work when you’re combining two different graphical styles in one game, especially when said “retro” graphic style holds pretty much no nostalgia to the casual gamer like Mega Man 9’s 8-bit style.
It is pure laziness, simple as that… Laziness that I’d expect were it not the fact that this game is coming out eight years after EXE1, a game which had five sequels and three SSR games in between, many of which received graphic overhauls and tweaks of their own (regardless that some were deemed “bad”).
And that’s why I’m very underwhelmed by this game. It’s going to feel more playing a fan-made ROM hack than an authentic enhanced remake.
First off, this game hasn’t even reached an Alpha stage of development (pre-beta for those unfamiliar), so they prbably kept the BN graphics as they were just so they could release pictures; I’d imagine they will update them at a later date.
Secondly, it would work well into Capcom’s favor to release two versions of the game, one following Lan and one following Geo’s part of the story, that way you could choose which battle system you want.
@Mr. H: Just out of curiosity, how do you know this is only in Alpha stage? The game is due out this year. There’s only four more months left in this year. That’s not much time to redo the graphical style.
I said it probably wasn’t even in the Alpha stage. Besides, winter 2009 is totally tentative, it could refer to as far in the future as February since winter 2010 would be too misleading. There is so much time to redo the graphics for this game; its a simple matter of re-finishing the chipset and applying it over the old files. I highly doubt the MMBN graphics are going to look like that in the final product since Capcom has a history of making their games looking pretty damn good.
Before anybody complains about MMSF’s graphics, they look pretty damn good for being as simple as they are. Go to the Mall Event Area in MMSF3 and talk to the people there, they will give you a rundown about how gameplay is key to a good game; not flashy graphics. Capcom does a good job at making their graphics good while not making them the core of the game. I think this new game will reflect that.
This scan would be a complete lie if they change that much. When has that happened before? That’s why I’m skeptical over the graphical quality.
I just hope Capcom decides against the 5th grade kiddy B.S.
Maybe the urgency of the plot will leave little time for all of that.
That, and *MINOR SPOILER ALERT!!!*
‘friendship reviving the dead’
All I’m doing is throwing my opinions out there, don’t be like a little kid who always asks ‘Why?’ Both of you are annoying me so I’ll just leave my opinions how they are and be done with it.
@ mega rock.exe: Find the MM Network article with teh old MMBN trailer and tell me you didn’t see ONE graphical change from that in the final product. When you do then you’ll see what a “complete lie” ends up becoming; an old trailer for the game (in this case, an old article with prototype screens).
Oh eww, they’re using the BN1 overworld sprites and maps? I was hoping they would have remade all of that. BN’s internet maps are god awful :/
@ Mr. H: Snapping at them both and calling them annoying kids over asking completely legit questions is not going to help your case at all.
Trust me, MegaRockEXE knows what he’s talking about. After all, the large majority of ‘Megaman Battle Network Mysteries’ on the Mechanical Maniacs site was submitted by him.
http://themechanicalmaniacs.com/articles/mmbnmysteries.php
Even so, the large majority of these changes between images/videos and the final game were generally minor stuff, like battlechip and sprite image changes. The only change between beta screens/videos and the final game that might be considered as major as a complete revamp of the internet would be all the battle system changes in the original EXE 1.
Other than that, there really hasn’t been any changes in recent games that would be anywhere near as major. If anything, the only really major changes in recent memory usually involved completely taking stuff out rather than replacing them. I really hope as much as the next person that they change the internet around, but at this point, I really doubt it will happen.
…And by ‘complete revamp of the internet’ I also meant ‘complete revamp of the graphics’.
GG @ me, I need to learn how to re-read stuff before submitting stuff.
Does anyone remember the sidequest SF1 to get the machinegun-like buster? There was something time involved there. Whether it was just an extra or future thinking for this game it might be used as part of this game, though it probably is unlikely since IT was a sidequest with a reward that did not seem to make SF3 (could be wrong).
The battle system will not be easy to even take a guess on since this is a cross-over game, especially since at this point there were no style changes in EXE 1. Souls are VERY unlikely to appear, but since Clockman is from the future it might be something involed with either some type of waves or something new that somehow transforms the two or even one. Viruses are more likely to be a lot stronger in the EXE world (maybe not to us players though) due to the timetravel, but they got to make sure there is no unbalanced battle system like in SF since dodging and blocking was easy and fighting too. In SF series they had something that could be counted as navi-like battles if it was in BN which could lead to hopefully more challenging battles. For battles instead of “all the time” stunning,flinching, freezing,etc. they need to make it a probability to balance things out to make battles challenging. They need to make sure that enemies cannot get wiped out to easily and require you to do some strategizing ,not overpowering. Getting card randomly through a system like SF3 has its good side but it is bad since it can make the game too easy if the enemies do not get some higher HP or even intelligent pattern.
I honestly think they should have a spritestyle modeled after EXE 1-3 but in 3D with a choice of either first or third person view AND they can add in scenery like the first three or they keep this style which some will be okay with. They need to add in more to make even the normal areas play differently than other areas you go through.
The game really needs more replay value battle-wise and gameplay wise. Heck, if they add in challenge areas or replayable mini games I will be okay with that. Boss rushes, tournaments, or even the return of the ID rankings in EXE2 would be fun.
That is all I can think of at the moment. My point is seeing the same styles of sprite, gameplay, and battle is getting either repetitive and boring in some cases and we need something that is different, but some things are actually good so what they come up with is what we have.
I like the idea of a crossover, because its a good foundation for many interesting ideas.
Imagine Burai/Bass interactions. How will they clash? Or Ace/Protoman?
I dont think it’ll strictly be a meg/mega team. Imagine Dex and Bud in an eating contest? Or the 2 shorties hitting it off in an intellectual battle? Or Mayl and Sonia/Luna falling for opposing universes main character?
There’s a plethra of other concepts to be had here, all Im hoping is that this game doesnt obviously display Capcom’s efforts to keep milking the cow, and actually put effort in this game to make it exciting. Because frankly, the standards of this megaman univers have been lowering ever since BN3, and RnR 3 is really the last straw for me.
I look at the screenshot with Geo appearing right before Lan in Mayl’s house and all i can say is “Wow, subtle.”
Yeah, I especially wanted to puke at the internet maps. I mean, cmon capmcom. EXE2’s internet was the best, if you ask me.
Also, god I hope they change the graphics a bit. Not that I’m that much of a graphics whore, it;s just the EXE6 and SSR3 where aesthetically pleasing. And EXE1 just is exactly that. That and the battle system where the biggest problems I had with the game.
Now capcom has a chance to fix it, and they don’t.
…LOOK at that internet! You can actually reach THE END of the INTERNET.
Like I said before in my last post. Keiji Inafune is trying to turn BN/SF into a pokemon series and it is becoming a fail. Like how are you going to complain about not having enough money to make a game, but then come out with a crossover that has game boy advance graphics????? FAIL!!!!! LOL Come on guys would you really waste your money on a Mega Man FAIL game like this one. We probably already know the ending. Clock man has big scheme to destroy the world both navis have combine capabilities. They go to different dimension they power up (anime tear drop moment occurs) they kill boss then go home after shaking hands. Common its the same Story Fail material. Capcom needs to do better.
Intriguing stuff here. I’m looking forward to this game.
When I first saw MMBN1’s internet for this game I was a bit disappointed. After playing MMBN2-5 *before* MMBN1, MMBN1’s internet was atrocious to me – and I still don’t like it to this day.
But now I almost prefer it this way for this game.
My main reason is that it’s consistent. Geo goes back in time to MMBN1, so it should be how it was back in MMBN1. To change it would be to change the history and make it something it was not historically. This was game 1, so it should remain as game 1.
And remember, this accurately reflects the technological level of the day. This is MMBN’s “v.1″ internet that we see in the games. It’s basic. It’s a foundation. Throughout the series, technology advances and the internet is updated accordingly. So making it more aesthetically appealing would be to give them technology and capabilities they didn’t have in MMBN1.
Also, this helps make a bigger contrast between the two crossing worlds (which makes things more interesting and dramatic). In MMBN1 the Web World as we knew it was only a little past it’s infancy. In MMSF the Wave World as we know it is advanced in ways according to 200 years of progression.
Bravo, AurorX! My sentiments exactly! It IS irritating that they have that internet, but we need it, because without it, it wouldn’t be BN1 that we go back in time to, it would be a different game! Props to ya!
“So… they’re remaking battle network with time traveling Star Force… it’s a parallel universe like the latest Star Trek movie, isn’t it?”
Called it.
I admit that, as is likely also true for several others, I physically flinched in horror when I saw the return of BN1’s internet maps, though the included maps hopefully make it more tolerable. I can also forgive the graphics in this game, since they are only fair for consistency’s sake. What I am wondering about is what Capcom of Japan plans on doing about Subaru…or more specifically, Warrock, and whether they are going to leave SF Rockman permanently transformed or not.
I also get the feeling that, if they do not decide to take the two-file route, the battle system will be similar to that of Battle Network, except with the removal of codes.
wow. i cant wait!