Solar Man’s Art Contest Judging Yields a Most Curious Clue

If you’ve been following the Mega Man 10 art contests at the Capcom Unity, then you know that they have nearly reached the end of the road with the judging for Solar Man, which runs through the weekend, if I’m not mistaken.

But just because they’ve run out of Robot Masters for fans to render doesn’t mean the fun and games are over yet; next week is their mysterious “??? Event,” for which JGonzo says there is “no clue for you” before relenting and offering “a tiny hint.”

Prior to the announcement of Bass as the “downloadable” (yeah, yeah, I know) third character, fans had considered this heroic hulk as another possible contender for playability, particularly in light of the game’s Japanese subtitle, “Threat from Outer Space!!” That just leaves us with the question of whether this is simply a fun opportunity for fans to cut loose, or if perhaps there is more to come in Mega Man 10 than we were led to believe.

Capcom Reveals English Bass Trailer, is Taking Questions

A few days ago, we brought you the Japanese trailer which shows off Rockman’s rival, Forte, kicking ‘bot and taking names as only he can in the special downloadable content for Rockman 10.

And now, thanks to Capcom Unity, there is an English version of Bass breaking the walls down in Mega Man 10. It’s the same trailer, only now you don’t have to be able to read Japanese in order to understand it:

JGonzo of Capcom adds “I can tell you, playing as Bass requires a slight shift in strategy. Got any questions about playing as him in the game? Leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them!”

If you’re into that, then head right over here and leave your Q’s, and maybe they’ll be A’d. And yes, I’ve already left one asking if he’ll have a story included.

Pictures Aplenty from Mega Man 10’s Launch Party at the Nintendo World Store

Last week, we reported that Capcom and Nintendo would be celebrating the March 1st WiiWare release of Mega Man 10 after-the-fact at the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Plaza in New York. Of course, save for the most devoted (with plenty of spare cash and the ability to make long road-trips on short notice), there were about 49 states and such that were left out of the festivities.

However, there were some Mega Fans who managed to make the pilgrimage, and lucky for us, they took pictures of themselves adorned in Mega Man 10 t-shirts, holding up Sheep Man plushies, and of course, playing the game. For a greater look at how things went down, visit this post at Capcom Unity.

Those who had their pictures posted even received a Mega Man prize from Capcom, their choice of an extra Mega Man 10 poster, Mega Man trading cards (unopened packets; I wonder if they’re the Artbox cards from some years back), “weird” Mega Man candy, MegaMan Starforce 3 Red Joker, MegaMan Starforce 3 Black Ace, or a bunch of Capcom Unity points, which are used for their exclusive auctions. Not bad, for doing something they no doubt wanted to do anyway, and it shows the importance of keeping a camera handy for occasions such as this.

Megamix’s Hitoshi Ariga Now Answers Your Questions!

Mega Man mastermind Keiji Inafune has had his chance to answer questions from the fans… twice, even. Now, it’s time for the maestro of Mega Man Megamix to take his turn at bat, courtesy of the Capcom Unity and the Blue Bomber’s 22nd birthday celebration held back in December of last year.

Here is what he had to say, and JGonzo from Capcom notes that #3 will likely thrill our very own resident zippo, Heat Man:

1) Oakie620 asks: What inspired your work on Mega Man Megamix? And do you have any interest in working on manga based on another Mega Man series such as X, Zero, ZX, Legends, Battle Network or Star Force?

Ariga-san:

I was originally a manga artist for a magazine called Comic Bom Bom published by Kodansha in Japan. I mainly worked on one-shot mangas but also worked on 4-panel Mega Man manga at a time. I received many positive reviews for those works, and the publisher asked me to work on the Rockman Tanjo Densetsu (direct translation: Legendary of the Birth of Mega Man). I started to receive more work from Kodansha, and one day they brought me a one-shot Mega Man feature for a Comic Bom Bom extra edition. That was the Mega Man Remix which eventually served the basis for Mega Man Megamix. There had had already been a Mega Man serial manga in the original Comic Bom Bom issues, written by Shigeto Ikehara. His manga was initially created to serve as a game strategy guide. I loved the detailed illustration of his work. His being the original, I thought mine should be somewhat different as a special version. Hence, I paid a special attention the art design to differentiate it from his work. I designed the robots slightly different from the original art including Mega Man himself.

What influenced me most was the Gundam serial manga by Kazuhisa Kondo in Comic Bom Bom. In Kondo’s Gundam manga, Mobile Suit I saw in the TV animation was illustrated in more detail with an additional maintenance hatch. That impressed me quite a bit who was then an elementary school kid. To add details to modify the original forms has become quite common nowadays, like you see in the Gundam figurines. I think that it was Kondo who established the trend of “turning the original art into more elaborate one”. I thought it was a great idea to adapt Kondo’s concept into my art. After discussing the idea with the editor, I worked on Mega Man to add more details along with all the robots created by both Dr. Light and Dr. Wily and submitted them to Capcom for approval. From then on, Inafune-san was in charge of overseeing the character design directly. He gave me feedbacks and we worked together to gradually add more robots.

I’ve always liked those independent robots compared to human controlled vehicular robots. Mega Man was my favorite game of all times, so being a young artist, I felt very passionate about drawing Mega Man manga. I poured all the energy into the work. That is how Mega Man Megamix got started.

Well, I would really love to work on other Mega Man series, but there are so many great artists out there already working on some of the Mega Man series so I don’t know if I get a chance to work on another one. No one has created an epic manga based on Mega Man Legend so if would love to work on that.

2) Eduardo asks: I like drawing the character from time to time, so I have a minor problem when looking at the blade in Forte’s helm, in my understanding, the entirety of the yellow (inside) of the blades is one smooth concave shape, and the whole outer side (black) of the blades is convex, some artist draw it angled somewhere atop of the helm, then only the back-half is convex, and the front half is either plane or concave, wich is the accurate one? or is it all just perspective?

Ariga-san:

I, too, have a hard time drawing Forte. I also really like his helm, but I admit that it’s really hard to draw it in a three-dimension form. I think Capcom has the answer for this one, but ultimately, I think it’s the best to draw it however you like it as an artist.

3) Cory asks: Who was your most favorite Mega Man Character to draw in the comics and why?

Ariga-san:

My favorite is Heat Man. Out of all the boss characters, I think he is the best. I must say I like almost everything about the character, namely the tackle action, sound effects, and even the stage music in the game. Whenever I draw Heat Man, it reminds me of the time I was deeply enthralled by the video games. I also like Dr. Wily. He’s evil but somehow lovable and very “humanly” character. Dr. Light, on the other hand, is always well-behaved, but seems too controlled to get loosen up.

4) Koop asks: Ariga-san, when you write your stories for Megamix/Gigamix/etc, where do you get the inspiration for each of the different characters’ personalities?

Ariga-san:

The characters didn’t have much of a personality in the early stage of the development, but they had more of functionalities for robots. (For example, Cut Man was designed for outdoor work so he’s rain resistant etc.) So I imagined each personality based on his moves from the game. I brainstormed the story for the manga while playing the game, fighting each boss character over and over. For instance, I determined Skull Man’s personality based on the fact that he doesn’t move until the player takes the first move. I also got inspirations from the weapons they use. I had conversations in my head, “If this is his weapon, his personality could be like…” and so on. Flash Man must have a mean bone since he stops time and attacks. From mid-dated to later-day Mega Man robots, there had been some personalities officially fixed from the game, so if their characteristics didn’t conflict with the overall Megamix world, I tried to stick to the official settings. There are bosses from Mega Man 5 that are a bit prankish though…

5) Mikael asks: What had specifically inspired you to become an artist/illustrator?

Ariga-san:

One day I just found myself lost in drawing. I’ve always liked to draw since I was little. I was so moved by New World by Osamu Tezuka and inspired to become a manga artist. I had never realized until then that manga artists could tell such great stories. Something so great can come out of manga. I aspired to create a grandeur world and tell my own story through my manga. That desire has led me where I am today.

Hopefully that third question doesn’t give Heat a big head. In any event, we’re not sure if more questions and answers will be forthcoming as they were with Inafune, but if they do, we’ll be sure to let you know here.

Thanks once again to Capcom Unity for hosting these Q&A for us– that is, for the Mega Man fandom– as well as Mr. Ariga and Mr. Inafune for taking the time to provide these answers.

Those whose questions were picked are going to receive a reward of “mega bonus unity points” to be used on the auctions that are exclusive to Capcom Unity members– consider that a good reason to sign up, should something like this come around again.

Rockman 10 “Box Art,” Live and In Your Face

Much attention has been paid to the large, triptych box art for Mega Man 10, which once more follows in the footsteps of the art for the release of the original games on the NES some 20+ years ago. Likewise, Capcom of Japan has continued to emulate the style used for the original Famicom Rockman games from the same period, and while we’ve had glimpses of their latest piece, the full work is ready to behold in all its splendor:

Click to enlarge.

It’s a good size for desktop wallpaper, or for simple artistic admiration. And you can expect to see more of it on future Rockman 10 merchandise in Japan, too.

Source: Dengeki and 4gamer.net, via Protodude’s Rockman Corner

The Lost Commercial for Mega Man 10

If there is one thing that the original Mega Man games for the Nintendo Entertainment System did not get a lot of around these parts (i.e. North America), it is some televised commercial love. Sure, there was that secret agent ad for Mega Man 3, and Mega Man 6 was squeezed in alongside the top-loading NES console and Zoda’s Revenge: Startropics II, but beyond that? Most of the love went to Japan.

But apparently, Capcom and GameTrailers have seen fit to rectify the problem, and retroactively at that– with a definite emphasis on “retro.” Check out the following “lost” TV commercial for Mega Man 10:

Video Games | Mega Man 10 | Exclusive The Lost Commercial

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Bonus points for the “end” of some television show, just like on so many VHS tapes of the day. “Mega Awesome,” indeed.

JGonzo of Capcom adds “Yeah try to get that song out of your head now” and “You’re welcome.”

Source: Capcom Unity

Mega Man 10: A List of DLC for You and Me

There is plenty of excitement surrounding the release of Mega Man 10 on WiiWare today, with subsequent releases to come on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. And while Capcom and Nintendo have both proudly announced the game’s availability to anyone with a Wii and a wifi connection, they kept mum about something many of us have been wondering about: downloadable content. Downloadable content, and that pesky prospect of a third playable character, as mentioned by Nintendo Power in their reveal, but never again since.

Well, sort of. Though there was no glitz or glamor, Nintendo did indeed reveal what we can expect from their game profile:

That’s right: once the game is available across all three consoles, downloadable content will soon follow with the eagerly-awaited “Bass Mode” arriving on April 5th for 200 Wii Points, alongside “Special Stage 1″ for 100. Then, on April 26th, “Endless Attack Mode” will arrive for 300 Wii Points, accompanied by “Special Stage 2″ and “Special Stage 3″ for 100 Wii Points each.

The only question left is, “will Bass have any story?” At this point, we don’t know, but if Proto Man in Mega Man 9 is any indication, probably not. On the other hand, the presence of the Easy Mode in Mega Man 10 shows Capcom’s willingness to address perceived shortcomings in the previous game, so there may be a chance yet.

The Mega Man Network’s Mega Man Mega Toy Mega Post

There has been a lot of toy news on the Mega Man front recently, and we’re just going to lump everything into one big mega post here to help catch things up, okay?

First, we remember that Capcom put out a call to we the fandom about the Mega Man Kubrick figures, and it looks as though fruit is borne of our desire:

Click to enlarge.

These were spotted by Protodude in an eBay auction which currently has a Buy It Now price of $52.20, with five available. As you can see from the packaging, it is in English, thus hopefully confirming a North American release.

As an aside, note the side of the box and the pixel-version of the Bearbrick Mega Man figure. Nift.

In other domestic news, Tomopop (via Protodude) caught up with Scott Levine of Jazwares to discuss their line of Sonic the Hedgehog toys, as well as other lines, including Mega Man:

Among the issues discussed therein are figures in a 3″ and 3.75″ scale, as well as the possibility of more Retro Roto figures, specifically the unproduced Wave 2, which included such faces as Heat Man and Wood Man.

And speaking of the Retro Rotos, it appears that Jazwares was showing off re-releases of the first line at Toy Fair in New York City, which had been hinted at previously. However, unlike the original releases, it appears that the Build-a-Bot pieces used to create the “Fully-Charged” Mega Man figure will no longer be included, thus making the figure (and for those who keep such things, the complete packages they came in) a rarer item for collectors.

Finally, on the unofficial front, it appears that Rockman924 (via Protodude again) is at work on new sculpts to be released at the next garage kit convention, Spring’s Wonder Festival. And the identities of these sculpts?

Click to enlarge.

That’s right! It’s none other than Harpuia Tornado Man and Sniper Joe! Joe is 12cm tall, and will be decorated as per his Mega Man 7 appearance when completed. He’ll come not only with his trademark shield, but also an interchangeable eye, allowing you to decorate him with a red or green optic.

Sadly, Tornado Man has no such accessories, but looks cool anyway.

We do apologize for the lag in news here; it’s been a rather rough month, but hopefully we can get things rolling again in March.

Rock Candy of a Different Sort

We all like Mega Man here, or as he’s known in Japan, “Rockman.” Or at least, one would think so; if not, we can only assume that this is your first time experiencing the wide world of the Blue Bomber, so we welcome you and hope you’ll enjoy your stay.

Now, where was I? Ah, yes: we all like Rockman, and odds are we all like candy. Which is why we are fortunate enough to be able to experience the union of super fighting robots and the fun, fruity flavors of the iconic Japanese hard confection known as “Sakuma Drops.”

To commemorate the release of Rockman 10, Capcom has partnered with Sakuma Drops to present “Rockman Sakuma Drops.” These candy pieces come in eight flavors: melon, mint, orange, plum, pine, strawberry, lemon, and apple, each of which is meant to correspond with one of the special weapons our hero obtains in the game upon defeating a Robot Master. Plus, the promotional material says that they will help you to “prepare for the Roboenza outbreak.”

Rockman Sakuma Drops will be available in Japan on March 6th, 2010, and cost 350 Yen, or roughly $3.92 USD. And naturally, it is our duty as fans to pester Capcom into making these more readily and easily available to us gaijin-types.

To the suggestion box! Because we must experience the taste of pine candy!

Source: GameBridge News, via CapKobun, via Protodude’s Rockman Corner

Inafune Would Like to Make Mega Man Game with the Fans, Responds to MM9 Mystery

As promised, Capcom has come through with the second batch of questions for Mega Man mastermind Keiji Inafune, as posed by members of the Capcom Unity.

6) Snppls asks:

What is your stance on fan made material? Like fanart, sprite comics, remixes, fangames or the Rockman movie currently in production in the US. Do you like it that fans are so into your creation or does it bother you that they are using copyrighted material? Do you watch it sometimes or sometimes even get ideas from it?

Inafune: I totally welcome all sorts of Mega Man-inspired-art created by the fans. I really would like to create a game with the fans. I have had the desire since the Robot Master Contest, and the fans’ Mega Man art come from the same inspiration. In reality, there are copyright issues and that puts me on a tough position as a member of a company, but I truly believe that Mega Man has come this far with warm supports from the passionate fans and their creative art work.

7) Samuel asks:

Will there be a new megaman anime series from the Starforce side, Battlenetwork side, or the megaman operate starforce? (Please answer I’ve been waiting for some new megaman animated goodness)

Inafune: I am ready to witness exciting Mega Man action in the animation, too. I would love to try it out when I have a chance, and in fact, I have been thinking about specific ideas on this, too. I will do my best to make this happen and hope to surprise you with the news. We will definitely need your support to make this happen!

ibehv asks:

Why is zero’s appearance in megaman zero different from his appearance in megaman x?

Inafune: Zero is one of the most important characters for me. Initially, Zero was created for the Mega Man X fans as well as for fans new to the series. But rather than making a game with Zero as a main character in the established storyline, we wanted to create a brand new storyline for him with a completely new game design. Thus, Zero you all know now was born. The story of the Mega Man Zero game also tells you the secret behind the Zero’s appearance change. So if you haven’t played the game yet, please try it out!

9) The Blue Badger asks:

What direction would you like to see the Mega Man franchise go in the future?

Inafune: I’ve never stopped thinking about the future of Mega Man series! I want more people to get to know Mega Man and fall in love with it. And I am always thinking about the best way to attract more people to play the game. But instead of us guiding you the direction where we go, I would collaborate with the fans and decide where we go. It would be fantastic if you and we can together create a new direction for Mega Man.

10) Monochrome Twist asks:

What are the chances of us seeing a Mega Man Powered Up 2?

Inafune: Many people have asked us about that. I too feel very passionate about making it happen. But as a reality, there are so many things I want to do and Mega Man Powered Up 2 is one of the projects that is still patiently waiting for its turn…

11) Zepper asks:

It’s been 1 year since the release of Mega Man 9, but until then, we’re inside an endless quest for something “extra”. Even with a lot of recorded gameplays, tricks and so on, it’s said there’s still an undiscovered secret or a little surprise. Could you point us to a certain direction?

Inafune: Well, let me think… I am guessing that most of the tricks and secrets have been discovered by now as there are so many good players out there and they have revealed their great Mega Man 9 skills. So I would rather love to see you try it out and surprise me with your cool techniques and hidden elements! Very looking forward to seeing that!

Hmm, so even Inafune himself doesn’t know. Very curious, indeed.

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