Odds Not Good for OSS in West, According to Capcom

Those of you in North America and Europe waiting for Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star to be localized may have to throw in the towel and just import. It doesn’t sound like Capcom thinks the game will be viable in the market, or perhaps there are other reasons. Needless to to say, Christian Svensson of Capcom of America has this to say over at Capcom*Unity: “For the moment, no plans for a Western release.”

I can’t say I’d be terribly surprised if it weren’t localized. As I discussed in my review, the game featured little extended value outside of being a port of the original GBA title MegaMan Battle Network. Something like the Mega Man Zero Collection at least has the value of being a collection of games for a budget price. It also doesn’t help that OSS didn’t seem to reach healthy sales in Japan. Still, it is a little saddening to see the once mighty Battle Network series go down like this. Of course, if there were enough fan support, Capcom could change their tune. If you want to see OSS localized, definitely let them know over at Capcom*Unity.

News Credit: Protodude’s Rockman Corner

The Decade in Review: 200X – 200X

About a week ago, Heat Man came to me and said “you know, it’s going to be the year 20XX soon. You should write something reflecting that.” And then he went and wrote his own article, so now you get two of these things.

With that said, let us take a look back on the decade that was, and all of the many wonderful and bizarre turns of events which took place.

The Robot Revolution

The new millennium got off to an amazing start, as in the year of 200X, roboticist Dr. Thomas Light kick-started the robot revolution, advancing the practice a thousandfold and creating robots to help assist mankind throughout their everyday lives. In addition to robots designed to fulfill nearly every purpose you could think of, he also created a series of six special “Robot Masters” which would lead other robots in fields such as demolitions, antarctic exploration, and more.

Reports state that there were originally eight of these mechanical marvels, but that the last two had been recalled due to issues of ethics, including some allegations of racism. Dr. Light denied any malevolent intent on his part in the designing of any of his robots, shortly before the ill-timed appearance of Roll, his housekeeping robot, who was designed to resemble a pre-pubescent schoolgirl.

Such controversy would have to be put aside, however, as in the year 200X, one Dr. Albert Wily took control of the Robot Masters and the many legions of robots that had made themselves a part of our everyday lives, and threatened to use their combined might to take over the world. The American press made attempts to paint Wily and Light as partners, though this would later be refuted as it was revealed the two doctors in fact shared in a longstanding rivalry, one in which Light was said to always come out on top in.

As such, the rivalry would continue as Dr. Light would repurpose his robotic lab assistant. Giving DLN-001 “Rock” a suit of body armor, a helmet, and an arm-cannon capable of launching compact balls of plasma at high speeds over great distances, Dr. Light christened his champion as “Mega Man,” and sent him straight into the heart of the invaded territories to bring down Wily’s armies.

Amazingly, the plan worked, as Mega Man was able to infiltrate and defeat the six robotic overlords and their master, who hid away in his multi-leveled fortress of terror. Some say he would not have found success without the ability Dr. Light gave him to obtain the abilities of his fallen foes. The fighting was over, but the peace was not to last.

Some would blame the revolving-door nature of our prison system, while others would point the finger squarely at the administration in charge of the government at the time. Regardless of the cause, Dr. Wily found himself a free man in the year 200X, and began his effort to rule the world once again in earnest. This time, he created eight war machines of his own design and sent them out into the world. And once more, Dr. Light deployed his “super fighting robot,” Mega Man, to combat the threat.

The battles were long and difficult, but Mega Man triumphed once again in what many would say was his greatest conflict as he brought Wily’s empire to its knees once again.

In an astounding turn of events, the year 200X would see Dr. Light and Dr. Wily make peace at long last as the two decided to collaborate on an enormous peace-keeping robot known as “Gamma,” which would be energized by crystals obtained from eight mining colonies. How such a creation would actually manage to keep the peace was never fully-disclosed, as a new robot revolt would occur on the mining colonies.

Once more, Mega Man was sent to quell the revolutionaries and retrieve the energy crystals necessary to power Gamma. Upon putting an end to the final Robot Master and sending back the last of the crystals, eight new overlords appeared to wreck the mining colonies, leading to Mega Man taking further action to put an end to the conflict. It was during this time that Dr. Wily would reveal his true colors as the mastermind behind the revolt, turning on Dr. Light and stealing Gamma away to a newly-constructed fortress.

Once finished with his business in the mining colonies, Mega Man would give chase and hunt Wily to the depths of the villainous Skull Castle, where Wily would turn the full force of Gamma on Mega Man himself. Mega Man would persevere and triumph in the end, though wreckage containing robot parts and what some believe to be recycle-friendly video game cases rained down, crushing the mad scientist once and for all.

A tragic end, but at least the world may finally know peace from robotic terror.

The Dot-EXE Boom

While the internet has existed since 19XX, it is in 200X that it began to take the world by storm, as networks connecting people, places, and information would come to criss-cross the globe, making communication easier than ever. Unfortunately, the World Three (aka “WWW”), a fiendish terrorist organization determined to rule the world, began to use the networks as a way of committing their various NetCrimes as they worked toward a greater plot known as the “EndGame.”

The Official NetBattlers, a body established to help quell such crimes as those committed by the World Three, refused to disclose publicly how the full scenario played out. One Official NetBattle, Eugene Chaud, did make a remark to the effect of “@#$ing kids,” however.

Three months later, the absence of the World Three would give rise to a new organization that would strike fear into the hearts of web-denizens, the NetMafia Gospel. This organization would prove itself to be short-lived, but unfortunately, the following month would also see the return of the World Three. It was not long after staging a fake NetBattle tournament that the organization would once more be put to rest.

Things took a turn for the worst five months later, as it was discovered that a meteor was on a trajectory with the Earth. A new NetCriminal organization known as the Nebula Crime Syndicate would attempt to interfere as officials sought out a capable NetBattler to infiltrate the bizarrely-composed meteor and stop it before it could strike the planet, causing untold devastation. Fortunately, they failed in their efforts, but the syndicate’s ringleader, Dr. Regal, may have escaped after a faked suicide attempt in which no body was found.

More Games and Merchandise Than You Can Shake a Stick At

In addition to all of the excitement of the past decade, many video games were made to celebrate the adventures of the Blue Bomber. They are listed as follows:

• The Misadventures of Tron Bonne (200X)
• MegaMan Legends 2 (200X)

• Mega Man Xtreme (200X)
• Mega Man X5 (200X)
• Mega Man X6 (200X)
• Mega Man Xtreme 2 (200X)
• Mega Man X7 (200X)
• Mega Man X: Command Mission (200X)
• Mega Man X8 (200X)
• Mega Man X Collection (200X)
• Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X (200X)

• MegaMan Battle Network (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 2 (200X)
• MegaMan Network Transmission (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 3: Blue/White (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Chip Challenge (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 4: Red Sun/Blue Moon (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 5: Team Protoman/Team Colonel (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 5: Double Team DS (200X)
• MegaMan Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar/Cybeast Falzar (200X)

• Mega Man Zero (200X)
• Mega Man Zero 2 (200X)
• Mega Man Zero 3 (200X)
• Mega Man Zero 4 (200X)

• MegaMan Star Force: Leo/Pegasus/Dragon (200X)
• MegaMan Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian/Zerker x Ninja (200X)
• MegaMan Star Force 3: Black Ace/Red Joker (200X)

• Mega Man ZX (200X)
• Mega Man ZX Advent (200X)

• Mega Man & Bass (200X)
• Mega Man Anniversary Collection (200X)
• Mega Man Powered Up (200X)
• Mega Man 9 (200X)

And these are just the American releases!

200X was also a special year for some super heroes to get back to their roots; for Spider-man of Marvel Comics fame, this meant pawning off his marriage to the devil in order to return to a 40-year old status quo. But for Mega Man, it simply meant dialing back things to 8-bit and getting back to basics in graphics, sound, and gameplay. Both were bold moves, but time will tell as to which one pays the greater dividends.

In addition to a plethora of games throughout the past decade, there has also been a ton of merchandise made, including (but not limited to):

• Action figures from Jazwares based on the Classic, X, and Zero series.
• Action figures, PETs, Battle Chips, and other toys from Mattel based on NT Warrior, the Viz licensed version of Battle Network.
• NT Warrior anime, DVDs, and manga by Viz.
• Trading cards based on the Classic, X, Zero, and Legends series by Artbox.
• A four-issue comic book series based on the Classic and X series by Dreamwave.
• DVDs of the Classic-based Ruby-Spears animated series from ADV.
• The Mega Man: Upon a Star DVD from ADV.
• “Official Complete Works” art books based on the Zero, Classic, and X series by UDON Entertainment (with the last two arriving in just the nick of time).

Plus, as the decade closes out, we know that 20XX will kick off with a bang, as Mega Man 10 has been announced for March, plus not one but two manga series are in the pipeline for an early 20XX release from UDON: Hitoshi Ariga’s Mega Man Megamix and Shin Ogino’s Mega Man ZX. And if that wasn’t enough, there is also a triple-threat cameo of Zero, Roll, and MegaMan Volnutt in January’s Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.

All in all, the years of 200X to 200X have been pretty good to fans of Mega Man, and with any luck, 20XX will be just as good– maybe even better. After all, there’s a lot more 20XX to work with.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Rumor: OSS Multiplayer Coming to DSiWare?

Rumor has it that rather than risk sinking money into a DS port-plus version of MegaMan Battle Network in Operate Shooting Star, Capcom may instead simply lift the multiplayer mode from the title and release it independently on Nintendo’s DSiWare downloadable video game service.

The mini-game, known as “Star Colosseum,” allows six players to battle wirelessly to collect stars using one copy of the game and a variety of familiar Battle Network and Star Force faces. The rumor also says there could be additions to the download version, such as multiplayer via Wi-Fi and perhaps one new playable character.

Capcom has yet to comment on this, but we’ll keep you posted if anything more develops.

Source: Protodude’s Rockman Corner

Rockman.EXE: Operate Shooting Star Brings GBA Deja Vu in More Ways Than One

An excerpt from an interesting piece at Protodude’s Rockman Corner:

Guess the game I’m describing:

It’s a DS “port plus alpha” of a GBA Capcom hit which spawned a successful franchise, marketed as a ‘revival’ of the series. In it, a blue-suited hero proudly wearing the symbol of his profession on his chest does battle in an unusual environment to protect the innocent. This DS update adds a new scenario near the end of the game where the main character comes in contact with a new villain. However, the graphics and music are much the same as the GBA version. Budget-priced, the game is clearly meant to appeal to the fans, and sells about 50,000 copies its first week.

As you might have guessed from the picture, the answer isn’t as clear-cut as it may seem. In fact, it seems almost as though history is repeating itself.

Learn what it all seems to point to and mean by reading the full post at Protodude’s Rockman Corner.

Golden Mr. Prog Brings EXE Concept Art

If you check out Capcom of Japan’s official website for Rockman.EXE: Operate Shooting Star and check out the “brain section,” then there is a chance that you might run into this cheerful little fellow:

His appearance is random, but if you do encounter him, then he will reward you with a piece of Rockman.EXE concept art:

Click to enlarge.

Of course, now that it’s been posted here, I suppose that all but destroys any impetus to actually look for the golden Mr. Prog on the official site…

News Credit: Protodude’s Rockman Corner

Pleasing Mega Man Papercrafts

Remember that cool Easter egg in Mega Man X8, where having save data from Mega Man X: Command Mission put you into an added simulation within Optic Sunflower’s stage, allowing one of the Maverick Hunters of 21XX to test their mettle against the first of Dr. Light’s Robot Masters, Cut Man, in a 3D, 8-bit battle?

One member of DeviantArt, ryo007, has managed to recreate about 95% of the effect of that encounter with a cool papercraft diorama:

The above was featured as one of The Toyzone’s “25 of Your Favorite Video Games Recreated as Dioramas” list, but it wasn’t the only Mega Man entry on the list. While Mega Man and Cut Man took the #10 spot, #14 also belonged to another Blue Bomber, MegaMan.EXE of the Battle Network series:

One can’t help but think that maybe Wood Man should have been a part of these.

You can find the full list of dioramas, including Bionic Commando, Pokemon, Mario, Contra, Sonic the Hedgehog, and more here. Then, you can find how to create many of them yourself at the Papercraft Museum and Nintendo Papercraft.

News Credit: Capcom*Unity

The “music” of Operate Shooting Star

Of all the discussion about Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star, one of the biggest topics is how much of the original Battle Network material it uses. Yeah, the graphics are all ported over, but the music would be arranged at least. Or would it? Truth be told, from what was in the demo the music of OSS was sounding pretty identical too. Were they really just porting over the music directly from the GBA version? Well, have a listen to these recordings from the demo yourself.

Internet theme (used as the title theme in the demo)
Virus busting
Boss battle

Clearly the music isn’t straight GBA music, but seems to be “ported,” as if the music were moved over to the DS infrastructure and given similar sound samples to replace the original GameBoy chip noise. Either way, it’s definitely not what people would respect, given the likes of Battle Network 5 DS. However, I have a feeling this is all place holder music. Granted, I can’t say the final music will be that different. What gives me this notion, however, is the internet theme, specifically the last portion of it. The synthy piano kind of part is completely flat, whereas in the original tune it had a little more shape. If you compare the two versions you’ll see what I mean. This gives me the impression that the music was quickly thrown together for the demo (though it’s probably something Splashman could explain better).

It’s my guess that the final product will have more arranged music (after all, we have heard a nice rendition of the game’s main theme in the message from Takeshi Horinouchi). But it’s still a little uncertain until OSS is finally out. I just don’t feel these tracks will be representative of that.

Rockman EXE OSS homepage updates

There are some new and some not so new updates to Capcom of Japan’s Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star homepage.

The first new section shows Star Force MegaMan’s special abilities: his lock-on attack and shield. He also still has his rapid fire buster. He will of course retain these abilities in linked player battlers (and personally I believe it’ll make him the better of the two).

The second new section explains Program Advances: super attacks you can make by selecting chips in a specific order. Powered Cann0n is shown as an example. The brand new PA Double MegaMan is also shown, and it’s mentioned that one of the necessary chips is the SF MegaMan chip.

The third new page is all about ClockMan, and now his attacks are explained. He’s armed with the Clock Slicer, a slow moving boomerang-like spinning set of clock hands, Clock Laser, a laser beam that fires from a warp hole, Calling Dragon, which makes ClockMan warp behind MegaMan and summon MegaMan Star Force 3’s final boss Crimson Dragon, and Mega Clock Laser, a huge laser that fires from the clock floating around the battle field. So wait, he can’t stop time?

The final new section is for the MegaMan Star Colosseum (and man do I love that artwork). The game’s three modes are explained: free-for-all, where each player fends for himself, team battle, where players work together in teams, and Vs. Bass, where all players must work together to fight against Bass. Furthermore, points won in the Star Colosseum can be traded in the main game for Navi chips and other rare chips.

Additionally info about the game’s scenarios has been updated. The scene with SF MegaMan and co. at WAXA will in fact be part of the game’s prologue. Meanwhile, the new scenario where Roll is kidnapped and SF MegaMan appears to be the culprit appears to take place sometime after NumberMan’s scenario.

Takeshi Horinouchi looking to do more EXE

If the revival of the Battle Network series via Operate Shooting Star has got you excited, well, you may have reason to continue being excited. This coming from Inside Game’s report of Operate Shooting Star’s special stage event yesterday. The other details match the Dengeki account (though there are some new photos you might want to take a look at), but this one detail at the end is pretty striking.

Horinouchi states: “Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star will go on sale November 12th. Though the series wrapped up three years ago, thanks to the players Rockman EXE is able to sell once again. Furthermore, as we approach Rockman’s 25th anniversary, I’m thinking of what I want to do with Rockman EXE.”

Should Horinouchi follow through with his thinking, then Operate Shooting Star is only the beginning. Well, the re-beginning.

MegaMan at TGS: Time to Get Serious!

Posted by Capcom’s Chris Kramer at Capcom*Unity:

“Why so serious, Mega Man?”

Says Capcom’s JGonzo, “everyone looks so depressed! It’s infectious!”

Now MegaMan (or shall I say “Rockman?”), is this any way to get people excited about your game?

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