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.

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

MegaMan vs MegaMan, Place Your Bets Now!

WARNING: There will be spoilers here for Rockman.EXE Operate Shooting Star. I advise hitting BACK on your browser now if you wish to avoid spoilage.

Anyway, Operate Shooting Star has been out for a couple days now and seeing how it’s almost exactly the same as Battle Network, you can bet it doesn’t take long to progress through the game (the BN Guide written by Magnet for example helps tremendously when you don’t know Japanese). That being said one of the most frequently asked questions has been when does the Star Force stuff happen and when do you get to kick the tar out of Geo Stelar?

After the ElecMan scenario actually, so it’s almost right before the end for those keeping track. Following ElecMan’s defeat Mayl is harassed by Count Zap and Madoi and calls Lan over. Some talking ensues and you Jack into the net and come across an imposter MegaMan that you gotta chase down through Internet-1 and 2.

Shortly past the Shop area you pin down Geo and…

After this some scenes happen and you get to use Geo in battle. Y Button brings up a shield, X activates the lock on attack on the first thing in your line of sight and your buster is overall weaker than MegaMan.EXE’s. Random battle music is replaced with the Virus busting theme from Star Force while boss fights use the Star Force 2 Wave Battle theme.

I was kind of hoping for some Star Force 3 songs myself. Anyway this is as far as I’ve gotten, so I’ll go back to slugging away at this now.

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

Walmart’s Pretty Nifty DSi Deal

If you’re in the market for a Nintendo DSi, then Walmart.com has a pretty nifty deal going on.

For about $197 (final price depends on the options you choose. Base price subject to availability), you can get a Nintendo DSi in your choice of color (including the newly-released Pink and White varieties), three games, and an accessory of your choice. And as you can see, among the games listed are MegaMan Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian and Zerker x Ninja, hence our mention of the deal in this space.

There are some other nifty games, too, if you decide you don’t want both versions of Star Force 2. Of particular note are Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, Dragon Ball: Origins (mistakenly denoted as a “Z” game), Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Final Fantasy III, Prince of Persia, and Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party. Unfortunately, select accessories add to the price, so choose carefully!

You can customize your order and see what the total will be here.

News Credit: Protodude’s Rockman Corner

Mega Man Model-Mania (or, Rockman Model-Rama)

We’ve done our fair share of gushing over custom Rockman model kits in this space, and we aren’t about to stop now. Let’s face it, for a reasonable price, there is a lot of this stuff that almost any of us would buy if given the right opportunity.

And as Auto has revealed to us, it seems there is plenty more of it going on overseas. It can be found at a website known as FG, but the downside is that it requires registration. Sorry, but I can’t help you there, though maybe Heat can; I’ll ask him to edit this if he can figure it out.

(Edit: Well, close enough– check the second comment below.)

In the meantime, as that is being figured out, here is a sampling of some of the custom models and figures that have been shown on FG. Clicking on applicable images will open a larger version in a new window.

If she came packaged in a box, would that make it– actually, never mind.


Reminds me a little of the Ruby Spears version of X.


Hair that can pierce the heavens.


I believe we know these two gentlemen…


This one is quite lovely.


Special delivery! One butt-whoopin’, just sign here.


Mega Man is in one devil of a mess, but it’s a good thing he’s not yellow.


The heat is on… Ariga-style!


And last, but not least: I think this is probably closer to what the Repliforce scientists had in mind before they realized it just wouldn’t work.

Mega Man 9 is Highly Recommended by Nintendo Channel, But Most DS Games Not Included

Recently, Nintendo has updated the Wii’s “Nintendo Channel” with a new layout and new features. One such feature is the ability to make recommendations for DS titles.

However, there are two small problems here, where a site such as ours is concerned. The first is that so far, we have not been able to find a way for the Nintendo Channel to display what DS titles are recommended. This would seem to negate the purpose of the feature entirely, but given it is a newer option, perhaps they are waiting for more people to take advantage of it before displaying any results. We’ll give the benefit of the doubt on this one.

But more bizarre is that certain games are not “registered” with the Nintendo Channel, making them impossible to recommend. Curiously, we’ve learned that in terms of Capcom titles, many from the Mega Man franchise are unavailable.

To test this, we tried to recommend the following Capcom Nintendo DS titles: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, Mega Man ZX Advent, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Mega Man ZX, MegaMan Battle Network 5: Double Team DS, and MegaMan Star Force: Dragon. Of these, we could only register the Ace Attorney titles and MegaMan Star Force: Dragon.

An MMN reader who goes by the handle of “Enzan Chaud,” who tipped us off to this, noted that Viewtiful Joe was another title which could not be registered, while other older titles, such as Lunar Knights from Konami and Elite Beat Agents from Nintendo could still be registered.

We have reached out to Capcom to see if they could offer any insight or comment into this, but have not received any response on the matter. Despite this, it seems likely that much like releases on the Virtual Console, this matter may lie more in Nintendo’s hands than Capcom. I’m doubtful of our chances in getting anything solid out of Redmond, but we’ll give it a shot anyway.

In more upbeat news, however, Mega Man 9 is a title which can be recommended, and recommended it has been: the return of the original Blue Bomber stands proudly among the Wii’s “Highly Recommended Titles” with a Gold status. In the “All Recommendations” category, it has obtained fifth place, with the only other WiiWare title beating it out being World of Goo. Perhaps if we all unite to show our love of Mega Man 9, we can get it to rank even higher.

But even so, “Chaud” notes that “it’s more recommended than most other classics or popular games like Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time” (sic). In fact, the only other games beating it out are Wii Sports Resort in first, Rock Band 2 in second, and Guitar Hero World Tour in third.

Mega Man 9 seems to appeal to males and females of all ages, with 89 percent feeling it appeals more strongly to Gamers and 92 percent viewing it as a hardcore title (sorry, Heat). In addition, 90 percent feel that the game is more fun to play alone than with friends

On WiiWare, the game was recorded as having been played 61,392 times over the course of 56,604 total recorded hours, as of this writing. The average per person is 9.47 times over the course of eight hours and 44 minutes.

This seems to be great news for Mega Man 9, but the answer to why other similar (or close enough) titles on the Nintendo DS are not registered to be recommended remains a mystery.

Edit: Double checked a few things, and made the necessary updated corrections from when the story was submitted.

Rumor: Rockman.EXE Operate Shooting Star Packshot Revealed

With MegaMan Star Force 3 having been released not very long ago, it feels kind of weird to think that another game is coming out so soon. Of course, Japan has had Ryuusei no Rockman 3 for some time now, but it’s easy to forget.

And now, rumor is that a tentative packshot for the newest in the saga, Rockman.EXE Operate Shooting Star, has been produced. Behold:

Protodude’s Rockman Corner, who found this image at GG02, notes that the absence of the Nintendo WiFi Connection logo may indicate an absence of online multiplayer, and that a small blurb mentions the WWW/World Three, with the implication that ClockMan has allied himself with the group.

All in all, the front of this packshot doesn’t look too bad at all, featuring Mega/Rockman.EXE and Netto/Lan against a large Ryuusei Rockman, and numerous packshots from the past Rockman.EXE games floating all around.

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