There has been a fair bit of buzz around Rockman figures and models as of late, what with the Kotobukiya figure and the custom Legends/DASH figures coming to Wonderfest. But in the case of the latter, it appears they won’t be alone.

Exclusive to the Wonder Festival Summer event on July 25th are these following three figures, as featured by Tokyo Hunter. The first is the D-X Zero resin kit (click for more images), which is based on the Zero so many of us know and love from the greater part of the Mega Man X series, though the specific game referenced is Rockman X4. No height or price are given, though Tokyo Hunter says they can be contacted for a price quote and pre-order before July 23rd.

The second figure is once again made in the image of Zero; however, the Bidotei Zero movable figure color resin kit is for those who are fans of the crimson Reploid’s sleeker Mega Man X8 design, and unlike the D-X figure, features a drawn Z-Saber. The height is once again unknown, but the price is 10,000 yen (around $115), “plus a commission fee.” Again, a price quote can be obtained and a pre-order made by contacting Tokyo Hunter before the 23rd.

Finally, it’s the revenge of the Robot Master everyone loves to see standing victorious. The Nama Negi Kokoro Airman resin kit (click for more pics) stands at an unknown height, and will cost 3,000 yen (about $35), plus the commission fee. All the same details as above apply here.

Speaking of which, the site notes the following about ordering:

E-mail me at hunt AT tokyo-hunter.com with your list of wanted items, and I’ll quote you my prices if I can get them for you. The wanted items can be anything that’s listed on my blog, including those past the order deadline, and anything else that’s not listed. I accept payment via PayPal only.

If you just have a general question, you can send it to questionsATtokyo-hunter.com (replacing “AT” with @, of course).

Source: Tokyo Hunter (via TOMOPOP, via Game Informer)

Debuting at this month’s San Diego Comic Con will be the 280-page follow-up to the company’s Art of Capcom book, appropriately titled UDON’s Art of Capcom 2. Within its pages, you’ll find the past three years’ worth of the studio’s Capcom-based works of art.

Series covered include Street Fighter, Final Fight, Darkstalkers, Rival Schools, and according to Managing Editor Matt Moylan, you can expect to see some Mega Man in there, too. Also included are the illustrated endings from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, which featured Roll, Zero, and MegaMan Volnutt as playable fighters. There’s even some promo art from Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in there.

In addition to all of that, UDON also promises “a special tribute gallery created just for this volume, featuring the UDON crew’s unique takes on some classic Capcom franchises.”

The version found at the Comic Con will be hardcover, while a softcover print will be made available to everyone else in August. For those who can’t wait, Amazon.com is even taking pre-orders.

For a look at one piece featuring some Mega Man characters, just click the image to your right, and for the cover and many more samples from the book, check out UDON’s blog entry here.

Leading up to the release of Mega Man/Rockman Zero Collection, Capcom of Japan released a series of videos which depicted a skilled player (or players) performing some cool moves and achieving some impressive victories in the collection’s different games. Some of them may even be easy enough for lesser players to pull off (check out the battle with Harpuia in Zero 1, for example).

We passed on posting initially, as we had hoped there would be an English version we could post (not that these are language intensive, but…). Then we decided to wait until they were all available and post them here in one go. Then we sort of got distracted, and forgot to post the videos…

…that is, until now. Thankfully and fortunately for us, GameTrailers has combined the whole lot of them into a single, easily-digestible video that can be watched in one fell swoop:

And that, as they say, is that.

On second thought, perhaps you should delay for just a moment, because some of you may not need to place a pre-order. Everyone who attended Capcom’s Mega Man Community Event last month will be getting one of these shirts, as will everyone who participated in the Mega Man Zero Collection art contests of the past few months (you lucky ducks, you).

So, if you have a claim to stake on one of these shirts, then send JGonzo a private message with MMZC SHIRT in the subject line, and include your name, size preference, mailing address, and the week you participated in. And if you don’t have such a claim, then you’d better move on over to the Capcom Store and order now!

Note: Staff member Maverick-jin8 tried to put in his order earlier, but found difficulty getting Firefox to accept it. Internet Explorer, however, did the trick.

Word is that Lucas Gilbertson, the voice of Zero in Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X, Mega Man X: Command Mission, and Mega Man X8, is helming a Capcom-produced live action short film, and is also set to star as the crimson-hued Hunter. The short, which is said to be in pre-production, is said to be based on the following popular cut scene from Mega Man X4, in which Zero and Sigma clash for the first time:

According to Protodude’s Rockman Corner, the sequence is being put together by the same group who are behind the live-action mini-movie based on another Capcom property, Dead Rising, and is to be “an act of service to the fans.” Presently, the project is slated to appear online sometime next year.

In addition to Protodude’s anonymous source, described by him as “reliable,” Gilbertson himself has apparently confirmed that the project is real and moving forward.

Well… maybe not so much.

Some intrepid fans on the GameFAQs forums have noticed that there have actually been a number of tweaks made to the game in creating Collection. Some are good, others not so much, and there may even be a few that leave some people scratching their heads and saying “so what?”

Here is what has been found so far:

• Ciel has apparently received a leg upgrade that gives her an extra frame of running animation across all four titles.
• The theme which plays during the credits for Mega Man Zero 4 has been replaced with the lyrical version which was in Rockman Zero 4.
• No one dies any more! At least, not in such specific terms:
  • Harpuia fondly recalls the days of Mortal Kombat as he tells Zero to “finish” him, rather than “just kill me.”
  • Elpizo lends a dramatic flair to his speech to Zero as he tells him it is “time to meet your end,” rather than simply “time to die.”
  • Also in Zero 2, Harpuia dramatically ponders “to live or perish?” instead of “to live or die?” So not only is Zero passed out, but he’s being treated like old produce.
• A little less “2″ is present in Zero 2, as the multiplayer mode has been removed.
• Reportedly, the background music and sound effects have been bolstered by the superior hardware of the Nintendo DS. Some sound effects are even said to be replaced by newer, better versions, such as in the case of the warning klaxons heard as a boss approaches.
• In Easy mode, Alouette gets equipped with a new script. In particular, Zero 4 sees her reference how one’s rank won’t be affected by Cyber-Elf use.
• A typo in Zero 2 has been corrected; now “DEFEMD” has become “DEFEND.”
• Sprites now appear a bit smoother in the opening cut scene of Zero 3, as the layering effects have been cleaned up a bit.
• The “Z-Buster” in Zero 1 has been changed to its more accurate name, “Buster Shot.”
• Our own Maverick-jin has noted that where Omega’s entire body used to flash when struck in Zero 3, but this only happens to his head and torso now.

In addition, one user has noted that the soft reset is now performed by pressing Start, Select, A, and B together to Start, Select, L, and R together.

On the other hand, one member reports that not everything has been polished up; Omega’s secret disk in Zero 3 reportedly still reads “This Reploid has a the signature of Dark Elf”.

Regarding the changes in “death” dialogue, GameFAQs member IcyWind14 supposes the following: “This is just a guess on my part, but it’s possible the changes in dialogue were made to maintain the E rating. Since all of the games (except Zero 4, I believe) predate the E10 rating, they were able to get away with more stuff and still get an E, but now it might have landed an E10 instead.”

Have any of you noticed any other changes not documented above? Tell us (and everyone else) what you’ve found in the comments!

Source: Protodude’s Rockman Corner

…as Monday Night Crew shows (warning: foul [albeit accurate] language), some people may prefer not to take the easy way out.

You can find more of the Monday Night Crew’s thoughts on steep challenge in games here.

Actually, it wasn’t anything like that at all (at least, so far as they’re willing to divulge). But over on the Unity blog, Snow has posted a video from Unity member Quinn/DrunkenIronRabbit‘s The Flow Sho, wherein they attended Capcom’s community event for the launch of Mega Man Zero Collection.

They chat with fans and scope out the plethora of prizes, and even spend some time chatting with Capcom’s own Mikeeb13 and JGonzo. But rather than read about it, check it out for yourself:

He recounts his tale of placing a pre-order with his local EBGames for the crimson Reploid’s collected conflicts, only to be met with a phone call filled with disappointment yesterday. “They called me up and told me they had canceled releasing the game here,” he says. “I was shattered.”

Following the EB disappointment, he called GAME to see if they had released it, but alas, it was not to be. The reasons given related to Australia’s relatively small size, plus the growing expense of importing video games, for Nintendo platforms and others, into the country. Another eagerly-anticipated game, Sin and Punishment: Star Successor, has reportedly hit the region’s chopping block as well.

“It’s just too bad I won’t be able to play Megaman Zero Collection now,” he said regretfully, as he asked us to help spread the word. “I really wanted to play the series because I never have but now I never will.”

To any other Australian Mega Man fans reading this: have you found yourself faced with the same obstacle, or might there be some sort of conflicting information amidst the video game retailers in the country?

Update: It appears that things are not as dire for Australian fans as they had first appeared. In the comments below, Xtreme notes that another chain, GameTraders, is not only carrying the game, but carrying an actual Australian version, rating and all.

So Mega Man fans down under, now you know your destination for Zero.

And interestingly enough, scores seem to be all over the place.

So far, the highest score comes from Nintendo Power magazine, who gave it a 9.0 out of 10 in their July 2010 issue, which can be found on newsstands this week. Following that, Game Informer‘s review scores it with an 8.00 out of 10, stating “Mega Man fans that missed out on the Zero series should pick up the Mega Man Zero collection, as it makes the drought of new Mega Man titles a bit more bearable.”

1UP rates the game with a “B,” noting that “Game compilations run the gamut from lavish affairs crammed with bonus content and a suite of options to cheap, barely-functional shovelware. Capcom’s Mega Man Zero Collection holds the middle ground between those extremes.”

Meanwhile, GamePro gives the game a moderate ranking of three out of five stars. Within, it states that “While its forced adventure elements can occasionally overshadow the core Mega Man gameplay, the Mega Man Zero Collection is packed with enough content and classic platforming and shooting action to justify a look from franchise fans.”

…and for now, that seems to be about it. More reviews are sure to come, however, and we will keep an eye out for anything noteworthy.