MMN Presents the “What am I Fighting For?!” Contest (Updated w/ Prize Picture)
October 17, 2009 by LBD "Nytetrayn"
Filed under Community Developments, Contests, Other News
It is a cry which has echoed through the years among the fans of Mega Man, living on in infamy long after the words first passed the lips of a frantic Zero as Iris passed away in his arms in Mega Man X4. But despite the serious and dramatic intent of the writing, it has gone on to be the subject of jokes and parody.
And even today, the question still stands: “What am I fighting for?!” Well, MMN readers, we are going to tell you here and now exactly what you are fighting for.
Thanks to our associate Jaxel and Lucas Gilbertson, who provided the voice of Zero in Mega Man X Command Mission, Mega Man X8, and Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X, we are proud to give you the chance to take home a piece of Zero. Specifically, the picture of Zero you see at the top of this article, autographed by none other than Mr. Gilbertson himself with the memorable line.
So, what must one do in order to stake their claim to this unique collectible? We are so, so glad you asked.
The answer lies in five little words: “What am I fighting for?”
You know the scene; you’ve likely seen it dozens of times, if not more. You’ve seen it remade by Mr. Gilbertson, you’ve seen it parodied, you’ve seen it hacked, and you’ve seen it in other contexts. Now, it’s your turn to give us your take on it.
We want you to give us your own take on the infamous scene. You can make submissions by YouTube videos, or just send us an MP3 of you (and perhaps some friends) re-enacting Zero’s tragic moment.
You can be dramatic. You can be humorous. You can remake the scene with startling detail, or you can put it into another context entirely. Be creative. Just reusing the original sound-byte (or Gilbertson’s) isn’t going to do it, unless you compensate for the recycling in some other way. Woo us, impress us. Make us laugh, make us cry. In costume or out, or some other way. The sky is the limit.
The chief condition is simply that you must use the line “what am I fighting for?!”, or at least some close variant. If you’re unsure whether or not your concept will count, mail us at mmncontest (at) gmail.com. That same address is also where you will direct your entries, or links to those entries; just use the subject line “What am I fighting for?!”
The contest begins now and runs until midnight PST on Friday, November 20th. The plan from there is that we will judge the entries over the weekend, and depending how that goes, have Jaxel send the winner the prize on Monday, before Black Friday and the holiday season sets in and mail becomes a nightmare.
Now, get to it, Mega Man Network fans! Show us what you’re fighting for!
Update: For those of you wondering, international shipping is a go.
Update 2: Added picture of the prize, as provided by Jaxel.
Update 3: Contest deadline has been extended to January 15th.
Update 4: A reminder brings one last small extension, so entrants can take advantage of the weekend to finish their entries.
Haha, this sounds great! I read the title and the contest sounds just like I’d hope it would be. I’m sadly terrible at voice acting anything, but the thought of not entering a MegaMan contest…impossible.
Here’s hoping for lots of funny/dramatic/cool/bad/great/whut entries!
I would like to show off some of our favorites in addition to the winner, but I’m not entirely sure how we’ll go about that yet. Perhaps something similar to Capcom’s countdown, or we may just condense it into one article.
Guess we’ll see.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
I think I’ve got several ideas. It’ll be hard just to pick one. lol
I’ve never heard about this but those videos were excellent. I particularly like the Protoman/Splashwoman one.
Heh, I already made a strange YouTube Poop about that scene once a long time ago, although it was focused more on the line “Forgive me, Zero!” Maybe I should create a sequel next month and see how many more strange places I can take that scene!
Ship to EU?
Why did this contest not exist before? I’ll be looking at every one of the submissions, for sure.
Funny, me and my sister were playing around with the cutscenes from Heavy Gear one day, and for the finale I shouted “WHAT AM I FIGHTING FU-OAAARRR?” It seemed to fit the last cutscene in fact, albeit in a somewhat stupid way.
*hyperventalates*
*calms down*
… I want to do this. I did a recording of the line a few months ago, and I have the file for it. But…. I’m so nervous…. Oooy…!!
I have so many ideas, but the problem is that they’re very visual dependent. I’m no artist or film editor. I’m a writer and an idea man. I don’t know how I’ll be able to pump this out. Too bad too. A good friend of mine would love that prize.
Just in case, will you ship to, say… South America?
Oh, I’ve already got an idea. I suck at video editing, but I’ll give it a try!!
I’ll have to check with Jaxel about international shipping… maybe I could give him a hand there or something.
Seraph> I encourage you to try, anyway. I don’t really expect everyone to be able to pull off costumes and sets (though I’ll definitely be impressed with those that can do it well). But if you can add something else to it somehow…
Edit: International shipping is a go.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
I think I’ve got a way around a couple of issues. It’s just too bad I can’t do the one I really want to (the cast of characters would be far too large).
Who is that animation cell signed by?
Oh man, this looks awesome! My friends and I are stoked to get going on entering this contest – no matter who wins, I bet the entries are gonna be hilarious ;D
That’s gotta be the sloppiest signature I’ve ever seen. You can’t even make out the name for christ sake.