Rockman Elysium

The crafty folks watching the governmental registry databases for Australia dug this up today!

The official Australian governmental media classification board site is here:
http://www.classification.gov.au/special.html?n=46&p=156&sTitle=mega+man+9&sMediaFilm=1&sMediaPublications=1&sMediaGames=1&sDateFromM=1&sDateFromY=1970&sDateToM=6&sDateToY=2008&record=228120



The news is flying across the Megaman sites and gaming interwebs now. Whatever it turns out to be, SOMETHING with the legal name of Megaman 9 has been commercially registered in Australia. SOMETHING is definitely going on.

As far as platforms, PS(3) Network and X-Box Live Arcade digital direct download is spoken of. Red Ant is an Australian distribution company that releases Capcom material in that country with branches into DVD production as well as game-releases. A look at their recent releases definitely points to a recent trend of downloadable content for PSN and XBLA. (Dammit, am I going to have to get a PS3 now?!)

Sources are the ever-reliable Protodude's Rockman Corner and Rockman Perfect Memories:

Rockman Perfect Memories

Protodude's Rockman Corner

GoNintendo

Bookmark Red Ant directly for further developments: http://www.red-ant.com.au/Announcements.aspx

More: I have checked the US database of searchable copyright registrations for Megaman and, at this time, Capcom does NOT appear to have registered the title in the US. However, that does NOT mean it doesn't exist, or may still be tied up in applications, or any number of other things. Capcom's only current copyright registration for 2008 is something related to Street Fighter II.

Heartlessly yoinked from LJ: Give me a story I never wrote (crack!AUs, crossovers, etc. totally a GO!), and I'll give you a line from it.

Multiple requests are vastly encouraged by gunpoint.

A hilarious MMX example here.

I just dropped Capcom a note about whether there was really gonna be any motion on the X or Classic series and got a reply. This is straight from the mouth of Capcom's marketing department:

Hello, thanks for your note. There are a lot of internal discussions about Megaman. At this time there is nothing I can share with you, but we hope that you will stick with us.

What the what the WHAT now? Subtitled version of a Niconico vid (full details at Youtube):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LdzjVnH9YoY
(No embeds, embeds make Baby Dialup Jesus cry)

This made me giggle loudly. Countdown to a knockoff for Zero and X in 3...

The real question- can Wily make any robots that DON'T turn out gay? Or is it only the red ones with green chests? *giggle*

I was browsing Guiltism just now and discovered this art and a series of entries from February...

Atsai did a pair of figures, Original X and Zero, for Wonder Festival!

(larger image below cut)

( prettys! )

How did I manage to miss THIS?!

These are not the same figures as those fan sculpts that were going around a few months ago, either... the Blue Bomber forums were kicking this around as well with no clear resolutions...

"I Want Rockman Fans to Wait Patiently"

The fans nurtured us

To be honest, the first time I drew Rockman, I didn’t consider what contemporary children… the children of 1987 would think of it. I did all my designing thinking only of what sort of heroes and robots there were, and what I thought was cool, when I was a child. I also didn’t have time to spare to think about the users. But at the time of the first game, I had a somewhat self-centered sense of drawing what I myself thought was cute or was fun.

When that changed was around Rockman 3 or Rockman 4. While looking at the loads of postcards for the boss character contest, I became intensely aware of the existence of the fans.

Previously, at the 20th anniversary event (held Nov. 18, 2007, at Ikebukuro in Tokyo), a really large number of fans came together. It impressed on me anew that even now there are an incredible number of people who love the old-fashioned Rockman. I’d like to make a Rockman for those fans, one that wouldn’t betray their expectations.

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Saw it. Loved it :D


AndohgodsI'mneverdrawingIronManAGAIN....! > <

D.

I have to admit, I'm impressed :D

D.

Muse demanded I cross-post this, and I shall not disobey the muse.

Anyhoo, I'm trying to get back to my MHX adaptation fanfic. I'd just like to bug you all with questions.

One big part that's tripping me up in my MHX fic is what happens to X and Zero after DoS. My initial idea was for them to limp back to HQ amid the smoking and chaotic city, and run into Vile on the way there on the Highway before somehow escaping to HQ.

Thing is, X can hardly have his Important Battle with Vile if he's unconscious the whole time.

One thing I have learned from an old friend was that if you're doing a game adaptation, don't try to fit every little scene into the story. Because otherwise it can ruin the narrative flow, contradict itself and make the fic very, very boring (after all, people have PLAYED it. Why sit down and read the whole thing all over again?) So, is X's great initial battle with Vile on the Highway really that important? He can easily have it somewhere else, since I plan for Vile to constantly pop up anyway.

This ties into the second idea - they limp back to HQ, get fixed, meet up with the various suvivors of the military/police/Hunters and come up with a plan. They decide to attack one of the game's various levels and meet Vile on the way there and then X has his Important Battle with Vile (which means X can't get that damaged, because he needs to be able to finish the 'level'). Vile can also wreck havoc during the level, helping the newbie X to complete his mission without getting killed.

I'm leaning towards the first idea. I want to show Abel City totally leveled and teaming with Sigma's forces, making it an absolute hell-hole. That, and having a critically injured Zero hauling an unconscious X through hostile enemy territory makes for good suspense (because, I don't care that there's cars bustling around in the Highway Stage, all hell would be breaking loose). And when they make it to HQ, the various survivors could already be there, and I can easily time-skip to where they've already arrived at a safer base.

Of course, I'd like any input. What sounds more interesting?

Next question is Zero. I actually want Zero to actually be friggin' present, not writing him off as 'finding Sigma's base' and then only appear back in the fic at the end. I want him to actually take part. So, should Zero accompany X on the various 'levels' on the fanfic? The only reason I hesitate is that it might make it too hard to write them both and make the levels too easy for X (because it's Maverick Hunter X, darnit). Or should take some levels, Zero take others? Or should X take on all the levels, with Zero taking on seperate targets (like other weapon silos, power plants, etc)? Or maybe a whole combination of these (like Zero tagging along for bigger assignments, doing his own thing for others)?

Finally .... X's Glowing Hand Of Smite. I have my own ideas of what that is. But since Capcom isn't forthcoming about it, what are your ideas of that ability? And what do you think of this idea - that I could connect it somehow to the Hadoken power-up Light gives X?

And, on top of those, what things would you LIKE to see? I'm sure plenty of you have read a MMX game adaptation - were there things you would like to have seen/explained? Or have you seen things you didn't like and shouldn't have been included (like ruthlessly following the game, right down to the power-ups)?

Thanks guys!

I know it's probably a strange comm post, but... I ask instead of giving, this time!

Can anyone, using any possible method, give me screenshots of one of the battle rooms that you fight Phoenix Magnion? It's the Power Room stage in Zero 2. I'd need full background snapshots so I can recreate the background sprites, and BGHQ only has three shots of the ground--I need the sides, center, and top of the room, too.

If you're curious, it's because I need the background to make a sprite guide on how to beat Phoenix Magnion, since he seems to give so much trouble to people I've talked to. Sprites Inc has everything I need, besides the backgrounds themselves.

Dug up from a link in Capcom's Unity blog... *snicker*



SO TRUE.

Am I the only one hearing loud shrieks from their version of X over this?:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/world/920802,robotsoldier042908.article

Robots like this are potentially the future of ground warfare, Pike said.

"A robot does what it's told, and you'll be able to get them to advance in ways it's hard to get human soldiers to do. They don't have fear, and they kill without compunction."

More importantly, he said, "A robot means you don't have to write a condolence letter."

[T.N.: C’mon, Inafune, don’t be shy, who’s your favorite character?^^]

p. 116, X1 major characters
Inafune: In the regular course of events, I would do the main character and ask Kaji to do the sub-character, but this time we reversed it. I left Rockman up to Kaji, and I did the sub-character “Zero.” And as I’ve said in many places, personally I wanted to make Zero a player character. I wanted to try an “altered Rockman” in my own way, and make the story a little harder. [T.N.: “Hard” here is not game difficulty, more like “hard-boiled” fiction.]
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HAR HAR I LIVE.

And I come bearing hilarious articles on robots.

One major concern that is hampering robot development is power supply. Solution? Robots can eat bugs!

Some scientists are working on a project to make intelligent learning robots. Apparently they've done a good job, because one of them escaped!

They trialled some automated ground robots in Iraq. It didn't go well. D:

p. 6, very first game
Inafune: I was assigned to Rockman, in charge of character design, in the days when I didn’t know anything about making games. Everything was strange in a strange world to me -- do I do this, do I do that? It was great fun, but very hectic. The man who originally planned the project, my mentor, had started as a designer, and he made the dot picture [T.N.: I’m pretty sure this is “sprite”] for Rockman, and prototypes of Roll and Dr. Light. I turned them into working illustrations, and touched up the designs, and such.

[T.N.: I’m disappointed he doesn’t give the name of his mentor, because that would be the person with the very first concept of Rockman. Maybe it’s such a V.I.P. at Capcom Inafune assumes the Japanese fans already know who he means? Or maybe it’s someone who’s left the company, so they don’t like to talk about him? Inafune refers to him as “Projectman,” like a Rockman character.^^]

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I've recently begun corresponding with the newest voice of Zero, Canadian voice-actor Lucas Gilbertson. Lucas has graciously given permission for me to share pieces of our conversation with other fans. Lucas is 20, and lives in Canada; he's affiliated with Blue Water Studios in Calgary. He's also a prolific painter and amateur film-maker in addition to a voice-actor; he began acting at the age of 15. (makes a girl feel old!)

Click me! I'm the link!

Sharing that link is fine. :D

I hope you all enjoy! He's been a real pleasure to correspond with, and there's a project that we're kicking around the possibility of which I can't discuss with anyone yet...

Found the whole issue- including some pretty awesome scuffling between Megaman and Protoman, the 4 pages of X at the end and some pretty scary-looking fanart in the middle! :D

Here it is as promised, so enjoy!

Megaman 04.rar (10 MB)

If you don't have winRAR, you should be able to rename the file to .zip and use WinZip to successfully open the images. :D

I was actually reminded that I had a Rockman issue from Dreamwave hidden in my comic box. Unfortunately, I only have issue 2. Cut for spammage of images, but they're all thumbnails so it won't kill dial-up users too harshly. I hope >>;

25 pages, including the cover.

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I had to snerk at 'kindly old man' Wily with his walking stick. That coot would beat you with your own legs XD That or get Forte to do it. So wanted to see Forte in it, and we're left with the tease that Blues was going to be in issue three, which I dun' have D :

The artwork was actually quite nice, and close enough to the original. But, Dreamwave also had a Devil May Cry comic going on and got up to three issues before it too, died. Murphy's Law indeed.

Let me know if there's anything wrong with the images or if I missed something.

D.

Protodude's Rockman Corner is reporting that Irregular Hunter X just came out of nowhere to jump to number 8 on Capcom's sales charts. After two years of being absent.

According to an April 3rd post on Kotaku, what may actually be driving this spike is Monster Hunter:

"Zounds! Based on the monstrous success of Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, the PSP reached impressive hardware sales heights this week in Japan. It came very close to outselling every other piece of hardware combined, with nearly 130,000 units, some of which were bundled with the latest Monster Hunter expansion. Here's how the hardware battle went down during March 24 to March 30."

In that time, the PSP has outsold the DS (and all other consoles combined) by 50% in Japan. So people go looking for software to add on... Between the PSP gaining momentum and all the recent publicity, it doesn't surprise that the Rockman titles are starting to move again. The question really is, will it do any good? Was Inafune crazy like a fox to put out these games on a system that took time to catch on after launch?

I’ve seen it. My friend let me borrow her copy.

Hasty first impression: it’s an artbook, there’s very little text. Many of the captions don’t provide any more info than who drew the picture or for what purpose. And for some, the staff don’t even remember that, leading to captions along the lines of Either A drew this or B did, or This was for an instruction booklet, or maybe an advertisement.

I have a bad habit of putting the negative part of a review first, but I just want to make it clear, the captions don’t always help as much as you might think. However, there are a lot of pictures here, both rough sketches and color! The book is crammed with them -- be sure to look under the slipcover! There is also a one-page special message from Inafune in the back, which I will have to read carefully before I return the book!

And every now and then, just when I’m getting accustomed to ignoring the captions, something interesting pops up. For example, one page about Rockman Rockman quotes Inafune as saying, “Why didn’t it sell?! In my head, I was all set to continue with Rockman Rockman 2, Rockman Rockman 3, etc. If you like Rockman, you’ve got to have this! Even now, it’s not too late (laughs).”

The (laughs) part at the end bothers me, but apparently the fans are taking him at his word, that if they buy it even now he’ll make more, and driving up the sales on e-Capcom. I hope it works! I bought it, and I don’t even have a PSP!^^;