Sunday, May 7, 2023

Rockman 35th Anniversary Key Art, Animate Shop Goods Revealed

With Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection out the door, it seems that Capcom are picking up the pace on the franchise's overall 35th anniversary. As part of the festivities, they have unveiled a brand-new, official key art illustrated by Hideki Ishikawa.

The piece consists of classic Rockman (Rockman 11-style armor), X (X8-style), Rockman.EXE, Rock Volnutt, Shooting Star Rockman (SSR1/SSR2 style) and Zero (Zero series). Unlike the 30th anniversary key art, Model ZX and OVER-1 are not represented. Your guess there is as good as mine.

The key art will also be featured on various merchandise, which will be available for purchase from Animate starting July 1st. Fans can expect to find acrylic stands, clear file folders, tapestries, badges, stickers, and more.

You can check out the complete product listing here. While Animate does have a US counterpart, it is unclear if they will offer these goods in the near future. We will keep you updated regardless.

Source: Animate

28 comments:

  1. X8 X, eh? That's an interesting choice. I wonder if that means anything...

    The art is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It means nothing.

      Delete
    2. They said capcom specifically told the artist to draw X with that expression AND using the x8 design with certain changes.

      I'm sure it's probably nothing but.... a man can dream.

      Delete
  2. I hope we can keep the X8-styled X for an hypothetic sequel, that being said, I hope Capcom finally announces something.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a feeling that BN will get reboot before X9 becomes a thing. More likely the reboot will end up as a sliding timescale where the characters are stuck as teens in high school.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a pretty weird idea. Even if they were to make a new BN game (and they might not) they'd be unlikely to attempt a reboot (they'd probably make a "new generation" sequel serie instead).
      And that timeline never used sliding timescale. (that's more of a classic thing, where it works due to the serie having a status quo, and little in the way of continuity.)

      Delete
    2. Considering the Japanese dread the idea of leaving high school behind and becoming *gasp* adults, that isn't too far off. XD

      Delete
  4. Kinda curious why ZX isn't represented.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting. Could be hinting at new games to come.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. X9 or star force 4.

      Delete
    2. I hope X9 and/or L3 and/or ZX3. Sadly this could be nothing, but we can always hope. Can't be much of an anniversary celebration without a new game.

      Delete
    3. On a side note, I sure hope that would not be how X looks in a new game. His face looks derpy. I like a more serious looking X, like in the PSX and PS2 art. Also I don't want chibi kiddi looks. Too much of that nowadays, like what we see in the newer Ben 10 and Teen Titans Go vs original and I will say better Ben 10 and Teen Titans. I prefer the more adult looking older version with a more serious tone, like very late 90s and 2000s MMX game artwork. To be fair, the original Classic MM looks goofy too in his artwork on the early NES games. MM11 did it fine though.

      Delete
  6. Why does X look like he took a cookie after mom said not to?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are one odd duck.

      Delete
    2. It's because he did steal a cookie even though Mom told him not to

      Delete
  7. Between the 25th anniversary and now 35th anniversary we've gotten ONE new MM game... kind of depressing to think about.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Why does X look like he did something sus???

    ReplyDelete
  9. X8 art looks better than the original model. Looks like it has better proportions too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is a bit weird that they didn't include any ZX characters. Thought they would had picked Aile or Vent to represent the series.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Believe me, when the next proper Mega Man game (even a spin-off) is eventually announced, I WILL be happy. I was happy for MM11 after years of me being a curmudgeonly cynic about Capcom's treatment of Mega Man, and it was a solid game. Until that day comes, I have no regrets about reverting back to the curmudgeonly cynic.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think they merger the Zero and ZX as a Single series like they did in the Legacy Collection

    ReplyDelete
  13. Once again crapcom desimates my expectations in failure. Lol.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh hey, that's X8 X! It looks way less ugly than the way he did in X8. Hm, maybe if there's an X game to go alongside it, they'll also try to fix X8's issues rather than crawling back into the 16-bit. I really doubt they'll even make an X game, though, but it's a fun thought nonetheless.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm sad they didn't inclue ZX for some reason. Maybe they're considering it to be the same as the MMZero universe? Idk, maybe it just did bad in sales or something. However like everyone pointed out, I really like X being in his x8 armor. I really loved that redesign and glad they're still keeping track of it. Hopefully the next big Megaman game is X9!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Porque nunca (o casi nunca) meten a la franquicia ZX :(

    ReplyDelete
  17. The sheer amount of copium at every "milestone" Megaman celebration 25th/30th/35th (2012~2013/2017~2018/2022~2023) is staggering.
    Spoiler: It's me. I'm the one inhaling that MMX9+ copium extra-large dosage.

    ReplyDelete
  18. ZX is not included because it bombed so bad it killed the franchise. Even though I like Grey unlike the prop protagonists of the first game are boring and then there's Ashe the imbecilic happy-go-lucky character inserted in a serious plot which ruins said plot. Such characters should always be relegated to comedic plots instead. While ZXA has clunkier transformations it also has better stage design and map design than ZX rarely having to walk all the way back to a teleporter. Never understood what's so fun of not knowing where to go or backtracking or getting somewhere but turns out the game wants you to go there later so that trip was just a waste of time. ZXA also doesn't have a stage that has missiles splitting into diagonal shots being launched constantly like seriously they should've fired whoever came with that idea on the spot. As well as turning that series into a Super Sentai rip off instead of being inspired by it. A lot of awful ideas all around. Should've made Zero 5 or a direct prequel of Dash. In before someone says that it will ruin Zero 4's ending, Zero 4 completely undoes the ending of 3 exactly because it kills Zero. X's sacrifice and Mother Elf's save are worthless now since he intended Zero to be the guardian of peace and the guardians are retconned to be killed off screen. How evil of the Mother Elf to not save Zero a second time. The manga tries to save it by turning Zero into Gyro or at least implies it but such a colossal screw up is unsalvageable. It would've been better and more consistent if a)Dr. Veil would've been dealt with in Zero 3 or b)save him for ZX or any type of sequel just let Zero die peacefully. I mean seriously the big bad in the ZX series is a morpher, really? The three sages weren't a thing in the first game before anyone brings them up as the "real enemies" of the overall series.

    ReplyDelete

Keep it friendly. Disparaging, belittling and derogatory comments are not permitted.