Wednesday, June 1, 2011

New Mega Man Legends 3 Details From Nintendo Power

This month's issue of Nintendo Power is featuring a six-page Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype Version preview, packed to the brim with all sorts of new information.

While a good portion of the article focuses on stuff we've know about for quite some time, there's oodles worth of new info in terms of the game's controls, missions, and plot. Article summary below, and an in-depth look available at The Mega Man Network:

  • Legends 3's controls have been designed to accommodate the Nintendo 3DS button interface. Movement is mapped to the Circle Pad while shooting is carried out with the R shoulder button. When playing as Barret, melee attacks are executable with the A button, while Y dashes/wall climbs. Camera controls were not disclosed.
  • Legends 3 producer Tatsuya Kitabayashi assures fans Mega Man Volnutt will playable alongside Barret in the final game. Confirming original speculations, Volnutt is, indeed, on the moon throughout the course of Legends 3: Prototype Version. The presence of Barret will "introduce newcomers to the series through a pair of fresh eyes." Barret's interaction with old Legends characters, such as Tron and Roll, might key-in series newcomers on the events that preceded (i.e Legends 1 and 2).
  • The titles of Barret's equipment shown off in video demonstrations have been disclosed: Volcanic Leggings (allows players to dish out a flying flame kick), and the Burst Spreader.
  • Missions encompassing Prototype Version include rescuing civilians from Reaverbots, street racing other Bright Bat members, escorting Aero to locations across Teomo City, retrieving Servbots on your hoverbike, and fighting Bullbreath, the rival gang leader.
  • There's an interesting twist in the conflict between the Bright Bats and the local police. Turns out the police chief is none other than Aero's father, a key member of the Bright Bat gang. The chief, in an effort to take down the gang, enlists the help of Roll to build him the “Anti-Rider Crusader,” or the “ARC1." Following that event, players participate in an on-rails shooting segment. The goal is to defeat the Anti-Rider Crusader (piloted by Roll) while avoiding a barrage of tossed cars.
  • Exploring Ruins plays a big role in Prototype Version. Later in the game, possibly after reconciling with each other, Roll tasks Barret to retrieve underground Refractors, which will power her rocket to rescue Mega Man. Barret runs into Tron during his dig, and faces her in her new Devroom-winning mecha.
  • The Ruins also houses an item integral to Legends 3's plot known as the “Klicke Lafonica," or the “fire of all creation.”
  • In another twist, Barrel, grandfather to Roll and Mega Man, has gone missing. 
  • In closing, Kitabayashi went on to emphasis that Prototype Version is more than a paid demo: "It features quite a few original missions as well as a lot of content that won’t be in the main game,” he continues, “and I can guarantee its value well exceeds its price. You can download the game for approximately the price of one smartphone app, so I hope that even those with concerns download it and give it a try.”

Nintendo Power subscribers should expect this issue to arrive in mailboxes shortly. The article contains a vast amount of screenshots and artwork. No scans at the moment, so do pick it up if you've got the chance!

Credit:  The Mega Man Network:

34 comments:

  1. Niiiiiiiiiiiicccccccceeeeeee

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  2. This just keeps sounding better and better!

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  3. I'll buy only AFTER they green-light the actual game (unless they have already and we moved past that debacle, I have been out of the loop for a bit). Still though I really am disappointed in Capcom with this new trend of pay-for-demos disguised as mini-games or side-stories, it forces us to pay for a small portion of new games before they come out, or leave us in the dark if we choose not to.

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  4. Wow sounds like a full game on its own

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  5. ...this is going to ROCK. B3

    ...I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. :3

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  6. Holy MegaMan X7! Another MegaMan game where MegaMan isn't the primary playable character?

    I absolutely knew I didn't want this game before, now I'm certain I'm not missing a damn thing.

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  7. Can't wait to get this month's NP to check all this out for myself.

    Odd... Roll chucking innocent civilians' cars at Barrett doesn't sound like something she'd do. But I guess she's got the police chief's clearance to do that (which is also weird), so she's cool with it.

    I get why Mega Man isn't playable for story purposes, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth that Barrett's the only playable character in the upcoming MEGA MAN Legends 3 demo. Recalls bad memories of Mega Man X7 and, to a lesser extent, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (but that's a slightly different story). Either way, I couldn't really care less about Barrett as a playable character... just give me Mega Man. That's when all the Legends 3 anticipation will REALLY pay off.

    Interesting that the R button is mapped to shooting -- that makes it control more like a traditional third-person action-adventure game like, say, Uncharted. Didn't expect them to go that route.

    I'm liking all the plot mysteries (Barrell missing, the possible Barrell/Barrett connection, the Fire of All Creation, etc.) already. I just hope they don't forget to address the mystery of the Elder System after all this time and tie Legends 3's plot back into the overall series plot from Legends 1 and 2.

    Can't wait for the Prototype Version. Hopefully we get a new release date soon!

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  8. So wait, Megaman isn't going to be the main playable character?

    Do not want.

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  9. I dearly hope they have the ability to customize controls. Why change something that was perfectly fine in every other MegaMan game? "Hey, guys. Let's map the fire button to a shoulder button this time! OKAY!" Other than that, it's all awesome news! Although I was kinda hoping Barret was just playable in the Prototype Version...

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  10. These better be remappable. Otherwise, my R button will be dead in a month.

    PS: "Legends 3's controls have been modified to accommodate the Nintendo 3DS"

    I don't recall Legends 3 having any previous releases on any consoles. Why would they need to modify them to fit the 3DS. 3DS is it's native system.

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  11. @Rockman:

    The 3DS has half the amount of shoulder buttons as a PSX controller,and lacks a second anologe stick.

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  12. @Anonymous

    The Empire State Building was completed in 1931 and is 381 meters tall. It's name comes from New York's nickname.

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  13. Did legends use the analog controller?

    I only mostly remember Megaman 64.

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  14. Legends 1 did not, Legends 2 did, MM64(Legends 1) did.

    Legends 3 was on neither system.

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  15. @Professor Megaman, Anonymous -

    He isn't the primary playable character IN THE DEMO. In the full game, he is -- or he's one of two primary playable characters.

    Reading comprehension fail.

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  16. The game sounds more and more interesting as its development progresses.

    And Roll is evil! I knew it!! XD

    @Rockman and other anon: Just a small error, they are comparing Legends 3's controls with the previous games. By the way, in Japan DASH 1 & 2 were also released for PSP, which also has less buttons than PS1:
    http://www.legends-station.com/?page=mml1/booklet

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  17. I just want to change the melee to y and the dash to a. The fire button on the shoulder is a good idea because it falls in line with other third person action games. Seems to me that legends 3 is trying to bring Mega Man into the future instead of clinging to the past.

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  18. @Ash Paulsen: Reading comprehension fail, eh? It implies Barrett will be a major playable character rather than a secondary one.

    Do not want.

    Of course, it depends on how much of the game you have to play as him.

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  19. "The fire button on the shoulder is a good idea because it falls in line with other third person action games. Seems to me that legends 3 is trying to bring Mega Man into the future instead of clinging to the past."

    I've only seen FPS games use the trigger for shoot. All the third person games use a face button. Maybe, I'm playing the wrong game(or maybe I'm playing the right games).

    PS: Who would have known that all it takes to "bring [...] into the future" is to change the default button scheme for a game.

    PPS: They better be re-assignable.

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  20. @Rockman -
    Not true. Examples of third-person games (and great ones, at that) that use a shoulder button to fire are the Uncharted series and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

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  21. Hey, wait. WAIT WAIT WAIT, STOP THE FUCKING PRESSES!

    You get to kick Roll's ass in this game?!












    AAAAAWWWWW YEEEEEEAAAAAAAH!

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  22. I was implying that that change coupled with other tidbits we have seen, make it look like they are really trying to make this a triple A mainstream title. Something Mega Man has needed for a long time.

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  23. @turianx9

    How is mapping the perfectly good fire button from Y (Square) to a shoulder button going into the future? How is keeping the native fire button clinging to the past? Shoulder buttons for shooting are usually in first person and over-the-shoulder shooters. Legends 3 is neither and not really a typical "action" game. I think it's an unnecessary change and will probably take a while to adapt. lol

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  24. I have a feeling they use the trigger due the the analog nature of the button. 3DS has digital buttons, so it seems less like bringing Dash into the future and more like meaningless default button mappings change.

    PS: Maybe it's invoking "the future of game controls" for those too dim to think of re-assigning buttons without prompting"

    PPS: I better be able to change the buttons.

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  25. I'm loling at the guys who are complaining about Volnutt not being playable in the demo. Has it ever hit you guys that this game may play out like KH2, Where you control a character for a small portion of the game and the actual main game starts after that?

    It's good for devolping two main characters, and honestly, Barret's fucking cool. RED HOT KICK.

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  26. Didn't GOW have shoulder-button firing?

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  27. we know mega man is on the moon but we want to be able to play as him as well in the demo. it is his game after all.

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  28. Wow, just...wow. Honestly, I cannot believe what I'm reading, here.

    "WAAAH, WAAAAAAAAH! THIS GAME SUX CUZ MEGAMAN'S NOT PLAYABLE FROM THE START!"

    Are you people serious? Just because Mega Man isn't initially playable, that automatically means the game is garbage? That automatically makes the entire game less fun to play? Going by that logic, I guess that also applies to Super Mario 64 DS, since that game starts the player off with Yoshi, rather than Mario. Way to overreact.

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  29. @Axem White: Bad example. Super Mario 64 DS was pretty bad.

    Nobody said the game will suck anyway.

    Is it so outrageous to want to play as Megaman most if not all of the time in a Megaman game?

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  30. "Nobody said the game will suck anyway."

    Nobody?

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  31. @Anonymous:

    "Bad example. Super Mario 64 DS was pretty bad."

    How so? Super Mario 64 DS had tons of new content, ranging from extra playable characters, new stages, mini-games, etc. In my opinion, it outclassed the original in almost every way.

    "Nobody said the game will suck anyway."

    Maybe not directly, but Professor Megaman definitely implied it.

    "Is it so outrageous to want to play as Megaman most if not all of the time in a Megaman game?"

    Wanting to play as Mega Man isn't outrageous at all. Dismissing the game because he isn't playable in a demo, however, is. Especially since he's most likely going to be fully playable in the complete game, just as Barret is.

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  32. It's less the fact that people want to play as Rock from the beginning (which is perfectly understandable) than it is that people are refusing to buy the game because Rock isn't involved in the beginning. Uh...how were you guys expecting to rescue Rock? Get all the spare parts playing as him in space and have them magically materialize next to Roll so she could build a rocket to reach him? Geez, this is why I can't stand the Rockman fandom sometimes. We've been clamoring for this game for years, but now that a few things have changed, half of us don't want it anymore. We want something different in the games because nearly all Rockman games get replicated over and over, but we get hissy whenever something changes or is added. Do you guys want a closing to DASH/Legends or not?

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  33. Dash 3: Special Edition: Whiner's Edition

    The whole game is you running around on the moon and you get rescued when the last of the game copies that are sold on release day in your region accomplishes that task normally.

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  34. @iliekmudkips

    Careful there. Some people here may intensely hate/not like Kingdom Hearts. But even so, YOUR COMMENT MAKES ME WANT THIS MORE. (Even though I hated playing through Roxas in KH2... XD)

    And indeed. Barrett is fucking cool. <3

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