Kotobukiya MegaMan.EXE is Still in Development

It's no secret that the pandemic waylaid additional Mega Man Battle Network 20th anniversary announcements. While a few commemorative goods managed to slip out through 2020-2021, more significant products remain delayed indefinitely.

One notable casualty is Kotobukiya's unreleased Mega Man Battle Network model kits. 1/12 scale MegaMan.EXE and Dark MegaMan.EXE variant were first unveiled on November 28, 2020. The pair were expected to launch in 2021 for the 20th anniversary. But as that sad, vacant space on your shelf can attest, nothing came to fruition. Kotobukiya haven't issued a formal update either. The announcement came and went.

But hey! I actually have a small update for ya. A source close to the manufacturer informs me that, despite mounting cancellation fears, MegaMan.EXE (and Dark MegaMan.EXE) remain in active development. A firm release window was not provided. However, I'm left with the impression that these kits are being held back to coincide with other announcements... whatever they may be. 

We're knee-deep in a quiet period, that much is certain. But hopefully the powers that be have used this time to reevaluate a distribution strategy. Maybe things will become more clear as we approach the franchise's overall 35th anniversary. We'll see. We'll see.

DiVE Festival and Raid Boss Galore Coming to Mega Man X DiVE This Week

This week, the global version of Mega Man X DiVE celebrates a new DiVE Festival across all servers. A new round in the Raid Boss event drops on every server, too.

Find all the details after the break!

Mega Man "Character Study" Concept Art from Unmade Mega Man Game

In 2016, artist Gonzalo Ordoñez - aka Genzoman - revealed his designs from a unproduced Mega Man game. Genzoman said he was commissioned in 2009-2010 to re-design Mega Man characters for an internal pitch project. However, he wasn't the only artist summoned by Capcom to re-imagine our favorite blue robot. 

Today I'm sharing a classic series character study from that same pitch project. And really, I can't stress "character study" enough. This mega musclebound piece, illustrated by an anonymous artist from Massive Black, wasn't intended to be *the* design for this unmade project. I'm told it was more or less to get a feel for that character; to "explore different ideas, expressions, styles, etc."

Of note, this design was briefly made public on Massive Black's portfolio several years ago after the pitch went nowhere. Despite that, they were asked to take it down. Things have cooled off now... but we'll see.

I have nothing more to share from this elusive 2009-2010 pitch project at the moment. Based on Genzoman's past comments and some additional research, I'm confident it wasn't related to Armature Studio's first-person Maverick Hunter project. This was something wholly different. 

An In-Depth Look at Mega Man 2's Code and How Zipping Works

Presented by Displaced Gamers, "The Complex Code of Mega Man 2" breaks down the crazy medley that is Mega Man 2's code. It's a pretty insightful piece that, among other things, shines a light on the game's ever-so-critical "ejection" logic, which is necessary to perform the famous zipping bug. 

Zipping is a strategy used by speedrunners to skip past whole portions of a stage. Why does it work so satisfyingly well in Mega Man 2? Well, it turns out Mega Man's left-facing ejection logic is OFF by one pixel. If not for that single pixel - an oversight from the game's three month development period - decades worth of Mega Man 2 speedruns would be a very different. 

Source: Displaced Gamers

Rockman-san Chapter 24 Now Available

Last week, Clown Man took the spotlight as he disguised himself as an "Unidentified Mysterious Animal" (UMA) to draw attention to his circus. And in the latest chapter of Rockman-san, the dangling threads from chapter 13 where a mysterious robot offered Enker the power to defeat Rockmancontinue to unravel!

What's more? Knight Man and Quick Man show up and the last page shows Enker in a new armor too.

 You can check out the chapter in Japanese here!

Rockman X DiVE Celebrates Easter with "Easter Roll"

The Easter Holiday is around the corner. And following a small event in 2020 where players had to open Easter eggs to get rewards, Capcom Taiwan is back with another one that's actually fully-loaded with an original stage and character.

Find all the details below!

Rogue and Absolute Zero Bring Free Pulls to Mega Man X DiVE This Week

This week the global version of Mega Man X DiVE continues its Mega Man Star Force event "Bonds That Can't Be Severed" in the NA server with a new character: Rogue. The gacha capsule comes packed with a single free 10-pull, too.

On the other side, the LATAM/EU server will receive a capsule with Absolute Zero and the S rank saber Twin Fangs. The capsule comes with a free 10-pull every day for the duration of the capsule.

Rockman-chan Chapter 19 (Part 1) Now Available

A new story arc begins in Rockman-chan's latest chapter, and it's a special one: Super Adventure Rockman. The infamous FMV game is crossing over with comics again following Ra Moon's appearance Archie's Mega Man series and the "Worlds Collide" Mega Man/Sonic crossover.

This is a short chapter, so there isn't much to say about it. But you can look forward to Ra Moon'very soon! You can check out the chapter in Japanese here!

"Gaea Armor X" Joins Rockman X DiVE

If there's one thing you can bet on, Rockman X DiVE will provide new X armors from time to time. Following Fourth Armor X back in January, the Gaea Armor from X5 is here. It even features the ability to cling to walls like in the original game.

Find all the details after the break!

First Look at Premium Collectibles Mega Man X Statue Prototype

Via DX Toys, we have our first good look at the 1/4 scale X statue from Premium Collectibles. Though it's only a prototype, it represents the next step from the target renders we shared in January. No sign of Zero at this time, though.

Not much else to say than that. Until more concrete info is published, you can sign-up to be notified when X and Zero go on sale here. 

We'll keep you updated as the news comes. 

Vile V and Cyber Peacock Duel in Teppen's Latest Supplemental Cards

Teppen is back with new set of supplement cards for the Defying the Light card pack. It features Vile V from Mega Man X8, Cyber Peacock, RiCO, Mega Man X4 stage enemy Miru Toraeru and the Flagship Death Rogumer 2.

You can find the artwork and flavor text after the break!

"Star Force Series" Joins Mega Man X DiVE Next Week

Following the April Fools' Day event (which came with a surprising free daily 10-pull), the global version of Mega Man X DiVE will receive the Mega Man Star Force event "Bonds That Can't Be Severed" for the NA server next week. The event features the A rank character "Star Force Mega Man", who can be obtained by playing the event. What's more, S rank character "Harp Note" will be made available through the gacha capsule.