Monday, January 31, 2022

Rockman DASH Artbook Scanlation Project Update + Preview Pages

In an exchange with RockmanCosmo, I've been informed that the long-awaited Rockman DASH: Great Adventure Guide English scanlation project is now roughly 72% complete. 

Although a definitive end date has yet to be determined, you can rest easy knowing that project is moving towards completion. The scanlation team appreciate your patience. In the meantime, RockmanCosmo has passed along a few new sample pages. There's two above and a couple more below!

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Double DiVE Festival Coming to Mega Man X DiVE This Week


This week in Mega Man X DiVE, we have a double does of DiVE Festivals!

The NA Server will see the arrival of Third Armor X. He's packed with the active skills Cross Charge Shot and Hyper Chip. The latter grants 25% increased attack and defense for 15 seconds, and even permits X to perform an extra movement in the air. What's more, the X DiVE Maximum Race will take place too. 

When it comes to the LATAM/EU Server,  the next DiVE Festival with Ciel will take place alongside the on-going Mega Man Legends event. She'll come with a skill that summons a Cyber-Elf to automatically lock onto enemies. It provides support fire too. Further, she has the Ciel System skill which deploys a lotus-shaped force field that not only slows all targets in range, but boosts shots for the Cyber-Elf skill.

And finally, NebulaJoy are skipping the Spring Festival that Capcom Taiwan featured in their respective X DiVE version in 2021. But fear not; they'll be providing various Spring Chest of Good Fortune for free via social media campaigns and login bonuses.

The Humble Beginnings of Mega Man Battle Network 5 DS


I've been feeling nostalgic for Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS lately. Maybe it's because I recently found my old, launch Nintendo DS (with BN5 DS inside) back at my childhood home. Holding that hunk of plastic in my hands for the first time in -- man, I dunno, fifteen years -- rekindled good times.

That little moment reminded me of those unusual 3D models found within the game's data, too. That was a major discovery years back. Although we never reached a definitive conclusion, the ongoing theory is BN5 DS was going to feature full 3D graphics. That or the dev team were experimenting with DS hardware in preparation for Mega Man Star Force.

All of this is to say, I got inspired to do a little digging on the game's development. And while I wasn't able to shed further light on those 3D models, I did find a little behind-the-scenes talk that hasn't been translated before. It's a fun read, but you won't find any earth-shattering revelations here. It may, however, spur you to fire up your copy after all this time too! 

Friday, January 28, 2022

The Beasts From Mega Man 2's European Box Art Invade Rockman-chan


"Bad Box Art Mega Man" was the star of Rockman-chan's sixth chapter. And now, chapter 17 brings another infamous package design to life — European Mega Man 2!

In this week's entry, Rock, Roll, Dr. Light and Rush travel to France. When their plane is about to land, they see the shadow of a "big fish" in the water. Then, they spot a looming dragon-like shadow heading towards a city where the "definitive gentleman of the year" Grand Prix is taking place. 

A third giant creature appears, crashes the ceremony and grabs the winner. Meanwhile, a mysterious blonde woman appears while Rock and the gang go shopping, oblivious to the chaos. To be continued.

Ain't that cool? The shadows in this chapter represent European Mega Man 2's take on the Anko, Mecha Dragon and the Alien. The bizarre trio have jumped to the pages of Rockman-chan, and you can bet the silver Mega Man himself will show up to save the day in the following chapter!

For now, you can check out chapter 17 here!

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Rockman X DiVE Reaches 8 Million Downloads

Back in April 2020, Capcom Taiwan announced Rockman X DiVE surpassed the one million downloads milestone. Later on, at the beginning of 2021, it was Capcom Japan who reaffirmed that the game contributed heavily to their mobile division growth. 

Now that the Steam version is out in North America, Capcom US wasted no time at all to put out a press release. It features an interesting nugget of info: the game has reached over 8 million downloads since 2020.

While number of downloads for a free-to-play game doesn't necessarily correlate with financial success, all the information we have available bodes well for Rockman X DiVE. The game will likely to stay operating for a few, if not more years to come. 

Rockman X DiVE is on track to outlive its ill-fated predecessor, Rockman Xover. That game's service ran for around 2 years and 4 months. Rockman X DiVE will celebrate its 2 year anniversary this March.

Let's us know in the comments if you're currently playing the game!

Almost the ApeX of 2D Action – Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 Review


With Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 announced back in June 2020, all eyes were set on the return of Inti Creates' flagship series. Fans were eager to know more about the title. And sure enough, Bitsummit 2021 delivered a sneak peak at the game's development and a tentative release date.

Little did we know, however, that Inti Creates had an ace up their sleeve: the return of the Luminous Avenger iX! Almost five months have passed since the game was first announced; today, I'm here to pass judgement on Copen and Lola's latest adventure.

You can read Rockman's Corner spoiler-free review after the break!

Monday, January 24, 2022

Review: Kotobukiya Mega Man X Premium Charge Shot Ver. (Reissue)

The first of Kotobukiya's exclusive Mega Man X kits has finally been re-released. If you missed the Premium Charge Shot redeco the first time, our friends at BigBadToyStore have you covered. After the break, I'll go over what makes this kit so great! 

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Absolute Zero, Mega Man Legends Event & Free Pulls Hit Mega Man X DiVE This Week

This week, Mega Man X DiVE sees the arrival of Absolute Zero in the North America server. The Mega Man Legends event finally lands in the EU/LATAM server, too. It comes after its debut in the NA server back in November 2021.

What's more, NebulaJoy are once again going all-out with more free pulls!

Find all the details after the break!

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Rockman-san and Rockman-chan Volume 1 Up for Pre-Order

Last December, it was announced that both Rockman-san and Rockman-chan would receive the physical tankobon treatment. And sure enough, Amazon Japan recently began accepting pre-orders! You can find Rockman-san volume 1 here and Rockman-chan volume 1 here.  

At the moment, both titles are eligible to be shipped abroad. All you need is an Amazon Japan account and you're golden. They're expected to ship on March 4th for 704 yen a piece.

No word yet on the possibility of an official English localization. That would probably fall under Udon's territory so... go bug Matt. The fan-translations are readily available in the meantime.

Source: Amazon Japan

Friday, January 21, 2022

New Rockman X DiVE and Monster Hunter Rise Collaboration Announced

Hot on the heels of the first Monster Hunter Rise event rerun taking place, a brand-new Monster Hunter Rise event hits Rockman X DiVE next week. Better yet, it brings two new characters.

Find all the details after the break!

Thursday, January 20, 2022

Rockman-san Chapter 18 Now Available


In Rockman-san's previous chapter, Enker returned after saving Rock and Guts Man's life in the construction site incident. However, the Rockman Killer was still troubled with his "purpose in life". Faced with the impossibility of killing Rock, he asked Rock to kill him.

But Rock had a better idea. Just like he did with other Robot Masters in previous chapters, Rock helped Enker find a new purpose. After showing him how to socialize in the "Robot Bar 8-bit" or enjoying the treats of the "Robot Resort", the gang eventually came up with a solution: Enker would become Dr. Light's bodyguard.

In the latest chapter, Dr. Light has built a new battle suit for Rock, capable of protecting him from anti-robot bullets. With Enker now living in Dr. Light's lab, there's no one better to give the suit a test run.

You can check the chapter here!

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Rockman X DiVE Steam Version Drops in Canada, US and Mexico Tomorrow


On more than one occasion, NebulaJoy stated they had no plans to release an official English version of Rockman X DiVE on Steam. However, Capcom Taiwan are taking it upon themselves to bring the game to PC owners in Canada, US and Mexico, the developer announced. One can only hope that Europe, Japan and other regions will follow suit.

If it wasn't apparent already, this will be the original Taiwan version run by Capcom Taiwan, not the Global Version by NebulaJoy. You can play with your existing Taiwan version account or start from scratch. Progress cannot be transferred from the NebulaJoy Global Version

The game is expected to be available to download tomorrow, January 20th at 4:00 (UTC+8). Keep an eye on this page for updates.

Sunday, January 16, 2022

Never-Before-Seen, Early Mega Man Zero Concept Art From 2000

Former Mega Man series designer Mr. Pink Head is back with another piece of unseen concept art. This time, it's an early design for Mega Man Zero 1's opening stage. And it proceeds the game by almost two years.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Rockman-chan Episode 16 (Part 2) Now Available

The second part of Rockman-chan's sixteenth chapter delves into the next generation robots created by Dr.Light. The good doctor made five prototypes, each modeled after one of his personality traits.

#1 is a compulsive liar, #4 has something for using elevators, #6 is frank and to the point, #8 is inventive (but as a consequence, can only consider his ideas and no one elses) and #10 trait is intelligence but lacks combat capabilities.

In the end, following some trial and tribulation with #8, Dr. Light decides that #10 will be the champion of the future.

Meanwhile, Dr. Wily is working on a robot based on Rockman's design. He incorporates Roll's hair, Auto's chest gems, and the red color of Rush. The end result is Rockman-chan's bizarre version of the Zero, it seems.

Yeah; this manga is riding the crazy train, not stopping any time soon. You can check the chapter here!

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash Drops on Nintendo Switch

In a surprising (but welcoming) bit of news, SNK shadow dropped a port of SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash on Nintendo Switch. It features both the SNK and Capcom versions in one! And with individual save files for the SNK and Capcom decks, you can even battle and trade between the two!

Originally released in 1999, Card Fighters' Clash pits iconic SNK and Capcom characters in heated trading card battles. If you're keen on collecting and deck building, there's a lot of fun to be had. The game has aged incredibly well too (more so than the DS outing). Hopefully SNK will follow this up with a port of the 2001 Japan-only expansion

In terms of Mega Man characters, there's Mega Man, Roll, X and Zero. The aforementioned expansion adds a few familiar faces Mega Man Legends as well. So, again, really hoping we'll see that sometime down the line. But for now... this is just awesome.

SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash is available now for a cool $7.99.

Angepitoyeir Revealed for Rockman X DiVE

The storyline that started during the "Pulsing Force of Destruction" event stage continues to unravel. And now, on the heels of Droticlair becoming a playable, a second mysterious, original character has been revealed...

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

First Look at PCS Collectibles' Official X and Zero Statues

Oh look -- a pair of renders for Premium Collectibles X and Zero statues! We haven't heard much from this front in a while, but it looks like things are cruising along just fine.

As previously reported, the statues are 1/4 scale and aim depict X and Zero's "birth". The Zero piece in particular is based on a flashback from Mega Man X4 and Mega Man X5. These renders won't necessarily reflect the final product, of course, but they're promising! 

In terms of price and availability, we don't have any further information. You can, however, sign-up to be notified when they go on sale here. We'll keep you updated as the news comes. Hang in there!

Source: The Nexus

Behind Droitclair's Design: An Interview with Ryuji Higurashi


Droitclair was announced yesterday as the latest Rockman X DiVE playable character and left few indifferent. Capcom Japan and Taiwan took to social media today to give fans some insight about the motifs behind her design and personality.

Find all the details after the break!

Monday, January 10, 2022

"Ryo Takamisaki Rockman Works SSR" Delayed to Mid-February

Ryo Takamisaki's latest book was originally slated for a January release in Japan. However, Fukkan recently changed the date to mid-February. Other retailers, like Amazon Japan, moved their shipping dates up to February 25.

Rockman Works SSR compiles Takamisaki's Rockman 11 and Shooting Star Rockman 3 manga, both of which were never distributed outside of their one-time CoroCoro Comics serialization. The book also includes a brand-new, 106-page manga called Forte: Time of Reunion.

Both the regular version and the limited set with five original drawings are still available to pre-order from Fukkan via proxy. If you want a more economical option, you can always pre-order via Amazon Japan.

And finally, Ryo Takamisaki himself gave us another batch of sample pages a few days ago. Hit up that link and check them out!

Droitclair Becomes Playable in Rockman X DiVE This Week

First revealed roughly a month ago in story mode chapter seventeen, Droitclair is - surprise - poised to join the game's roster this week. 

Find all the details after the break!

Sunday, January 9, 2022

Mega Man X DiVE: The One About Monster Hunter, Free Pulls, Vigor Coins & Swimsuits


Monster Hunter Rise and Mega Man X DiVE cross paths this week. The crossover will debut first in the North America/European server, bringing along a whole week's worth of free pulls. When it comes to the LATAM server, the next two weeks are devoted to celebrate the "Summer Carnival".

Find all the details after the break!

How Mega Man X Advance Led to Endgame Studios' Fractured Soul


Throughout much of its lifespan, the Game Boy Advance was a hotbed for Super Nintendo ports. Super Mario World, Final Fight, Earthbound -- even Mega Man & Bass. And in 2003, an earnest effort was made to bring one more coveted SNES game to Nintendo's little 32-bit monster. It culminated in one small studio's first original IP.

This is the story of two programmers and their Mega Man X Game Boy Advance pitch.

Yoshihiro Iwamoto's Rockman X4 Manga Finally Available in English


Following the English translation of Hitoshi Ariga's The Men Who Made Rockman, our friends at Azure Wind Productions (lead by Windii Gitlord with the invaluable help of Speeps) are back with the full scanlation of Yoshihiro Iwamoto's Rockman X4 manga.

Up to this point, nobody took on the challenge to translate the last volume of Iwamoto's manga. Rockman X1 to X3 were previously translated by other groups over the years, though. Azure Wind Productions not only got the job done, but they also translated the last two chapters from Rockman X3 that never got translated: Mars and Ikaros. These chapters act as bridge between Rockman X3 and Rockman X4.

What's more? They also translated the short story "Holiday" that was never made available outside their serialization in the pages of Comic BomBom but included in the 2005 reprints. 

Azure Wind Production's work doesn't stop here. They also intend on re-translating Rockman X1, X2 and X3 volumes! It'll take some time, but you've got a lot of translated material to tide you over. Hit up links above to read everything or check the translation group page for a few more Rockman manga translations!

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Never-Before-Seen Concept Art of Mega Man X2's "Dino Tank"

Ever wonder what the Dinosaur Tank from Wheel Gator's stage actually looks like? I touched base with former Mega Man series designer "Mr. Pink Head", and he graciously shared a piece of concept art we've never seen before -- the Dino Tank in its entirety. The full thing!

This piece was conceived early in Mega Man X2's development, back when the game initially featured FOUR X-Hunters.  Here's a breakdown of Mr. Pink Head's notes: (translation courtesy of Midori)

  1. Ride Armor catapult
  2. Enemy Dispenser
  3. Elevator
  4. Jet Robot Catapult
  5. "Big Four/Guardian Room"
  6. Boss Room (notes to the right of that say "turrets x2" and "big jump")
Note #5 gives credence to a comment Yoshihisa Tsuda made in Mega Man X: Official Complete Works. He said, "When figuring out the limits of the CX4 [chip], a female X-Hunter was removed from what were called the 'Four Guardians' at the time. Violen also lost his second form. We just didn't have the resources to make that all happen."

I don't have concept art of the fourth female X-Hunter to share today... but, man! How cool is all this? Mr. Pink Head really went all out on creating a fortress that, essentially, is a character in itself. The sense of scale is intense too. That teeny dot labeled "Rockman X" really gives us a sense at how big this guy was meant to be. I've got goosebumps, people!

Thanks again to Mr. Pink Head for the treat. More to come soon... maybe!

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Rockman-san Chapter 17 Available Now

In Rockman-san's previous chapter, we found out Gyro Man was working for a package delivery service, one quite successful but not exempt of trouble. To name a few: a client tricked them to deliver pornographic material (yep; you read that right), and getting into trouble with the military for flying over international waters, among many others.

Now in the latest chapter, Enker takes the spotlight and we get to take a peek at his life in the robot arena and his relationship with Rock gets fleshed out. 

Hit up that link and check it out!

Colonel Takes the Spotlight in Teppen's Latest Card Pack: "Breath of Resistance"

Teppen starts the year strong with a new card pack dubbed "Breath of Resistance". It acts as the second chapter in the "War of the Goddess -Tales from the Land of Illusion-" trilogy. In terms of Mega Man content, Colonel is front and center but other familiar faces, like Alia, Douglas and some Mavericks (like Dark Mantis or Shining Firefly) show up too.

Find all the details after the break!

Monday, January 3, 2022

"Fourth Armor X" Joins Rockman X DiVE


This week we have a double dose of X armors. The Global Version is getting the Falcon Armor with Fourth Armor X due to join Rockman X DiVE this Wednesday. It's a fan-favorite from Rockman X4 that's sure to be a welcome addition to the large roster of X armors. Long time coming.

Find all the details after the break!

Sunday, January 2, 2022

Falcon Armor X Flies to Mega Man X DiVE This Week


Mega Man X DiVE (Global Version) will start 2022 strong with the addition of a fan-favorite armor while the New Year event is still running. What's more, we're being treated to an Elemental Metal giveaway, too!

Find all the details after the break!

Unused Mega Man: The Wily Wars Box Art Gets Amazing Hi-Res Scan

We've seen the unreleased Wily Wars U.S box art before... but never like this. 

Our buddy Rock Miyabi won the recent film cel auction, and took it upon himself to scan it at a ridiculous hi-resolution. We're talking 10000 x 14500 pixels here; a massive 200 MB file that perfectly preserves this rare piece by Greg Winters. And sure enough, you can download too. Grab it here!

As the story goes, the Wily Wars was originally intended to launch in the U.S as a physical cartridge. Greg Winters was commissioned to design the box art in the summer of 1994. However, Capcom USA and Sega entered a partnership around that time to distribute the game exclusively on Sega Channel. Plans for the retail cartridge were nixed and Winters' art fell into obscurity for decades.

The Wily Wars finally received an official cartridge release in the U.S in the form of Mega Man: The Wily Wars Collectors Edition. Perhaps due to lack of access or inadequate scans, Winters' original piece was not included. But today we can truly appreciate his handiwork! The attention to detail is nothing short of amazing.

Enjoy, everyone. And thanks much to Rock Miyabi too!

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Limited Run Mega Man: The Wily Wars Collector's Edition Shipping Update

As shipping containers continue to linger at Long Beach, Limited Run Games issued a statement on the on-going Mega Man: The Wily Wars Collectors Edition delays. They write:

"It’s been reported by our partners that this title has been delayed at the port. Customs agents at the Long Beach port informed them that the items would be released “any day now.” We anticipate Mega Man Wily Wars to get out of customs sometime early in January. From there, the games will be sent to us from the publisher, and we will ship them out ASAP. We anticipate all this to happen within Q1 2022."

In other words, Limited Run anticipate supply to arrive sometime this month. They'll ship your copy out soon after. 

However, I think it's safe to say that -- even though Limited Run's supply is due in (early?) January -- there's no guarantee your copy will arrive this month. They have a whole batch of other pre-orders to fulfill, I imagine. It make take some time. 

We'll have more updates on this front as it comes!

Review: Kotobukiya Mega Man X/Rockman X (Reissue)

The kit that kicked off Kotobukiya's Mega Man X line has been reissued at long last. Whether you're new to theKoto kits or a seasoned collector, this is the one you'll want to get. 

After the break, I'll tell you exactly what X is all about, how to get the most out him, and what makes this line so special.