Worlds Collide Part 5 Covers and Synopsis

The "Worlds Collide" reveals just keep on coming. This week we're treated to three, count 'em, covers for part 5 (Sonic Universe #52)! We've got two hero variants and a smashing standard cover featuring Sonic and Mega Man facing off against the Genesis Unit and an army of copy robots (respectively). Issue synopsis is as follows:

"The second act of the epic Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man crossover event BEGINS HERE! “When Worlds Collide” Part Five of Twelve: Sonic, Mega Man, Tails and Proto Man enter the strange world of the Skull Egg Zone. They don’t receive a warm welcome, either, as the Genesis Unit and Copy Robot attack! Drs. Eggman and Wily wait in the wings with an even more sinister surprise waiting to be unleashed! You cannot miss this action-packed issue, featuring new cover art by Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante, and choose YOUR favorite hero with the “Team Sonic” and “Team Mega Man” variant covers!"

Thanks to Mega Man Monthly for the heads up! (via Comic Book Resources)

Mega Man 9 And 10 Discounted On XBLA

The title pretty much says it all, but just in case you need it, here's scoop. Until February 4th, Xbox 360 owners can log on to the Xbox Live Marketplace and download Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 for 640 Microsoft Points ($8) a pop. It's not a drastic price cut, but it's still nice. If you haven't purchased MM9 or MM10 before, this one's for you!

Source: Capcom Unity

Rockman Xover Localization Officially On Hold

Social RPG Rockman Xover, launched November last year in Japan, will not arrive in North America as initially planned, Capcom's senior vice-president Christian Svensson has said in a statement on the Ask Capcom forum.

"Based upon the largely negative feedback from MM fans, I've requested that we place any Americas release on hold for the time being," said Svensson. "We will revisit at a later date."

Capcom USA community manager Brett Elston reportedly confirmed a release for North America and Europe back in August. Somewhere along the line those plans changed. Of course, that's not to say plans won't change again. For now, though, we're not getting the game. Good, bad news... that's your call.

Source: Ask Capcom

Rockman Xover Staff Interviewed; Boss Character Contest Teased

The Mega Man Network has translated an interview with some of the production Rockman Xover staff, which consists of the producer, Takeshi Tezuka, the director, Mr. Matsuura, and two sound team members, "Mr. X" (aka Setsuo Yamamoto) and Masahiro Aoki.

For the most part, the interview covers the process behind Xover's main theme song, written by Aoki. However, we're also treated to brief stories about the inspiration for the game and the original Mega Man X.  Towards the end of the discussion, the staff tease the prospect of a boss character contest. That's right; we may end up seeing fan-made bosses in future updates. Nothing official yet, but they're working on it.

There's a whole heap of info to read, so head on over to TMMN and check out the full interview.

R20+5 Boasts Unused Mega Man Legends 3 Heroine Designs

Our buddy Kobun #20 of the Reploid Research Lavatory brings us some interesting art from the pages of R20+5. The contents of the book primarily focus on content from the classic and X series... but, curiously, there's a page in there devoted to some unused "Lilly" designs from the Devroom's Heroine Design Event.

The art in question hails from the pens of Hideki Ishikawa and Haruki "SENSEI" Suetsugu. Before taking home second place for his Western themed Lilly, it looks like Suetsugu once toyed with the idea of a biker design (bottom left). Meanwhile, Ishikawa's Lilly was designed to undergo a costume change: before (bottom right) and after (top right) joining the “White Bats” (the working name for the Bright Bats gang). 

It's pretty cool to see the creative process behind both designs. It makes me wonder if there's a batch of alternate/unused designs for the other heroines out there. And, you know, unseen Legends 3 art in general. Mega Man Legends: Official Complete Works, anyone?

Source: The Reploid Research Lavatory

D-Arts Mega Man Now Available in North America

Just a little public service announcement: the North American version of Bandai's D-Arts classic Mega Man is hitting retailers right now. So if you didn’t dig importing before, now you can grab it domestically! Swing on by Toy Arena, Big Bad Toystore, or Amazon.com and grab yours now!

These Variant 'Worlds Collide' Covers Are Made of Pixels

The folks at IGN have taken the wraps off of two very stylish variant covers for "Worlds Collide" parts 6 (Sonic the Hedgehog #249) and 7 (Mega Man #26). The covers boast full-on 16-bit tributes using actual sprites from Mega Man 7, Mega Man & Bass, Sonic Battle, and Sonic CD. Pretty neat wouldn't you say?

Both issues are due to hit newsstands on May 29 and June 12 respectively.

Source: Mega Man Monthly

Mega Man Star Force Invades Xover

Listen up, Xover fans: a batch of new Mega Man Star Force stages have been added to the game. Combatants this time around include Cygnus Wing, Queen Ophiuca, Gemini Spark, and Cancer Bubble. Some familiar EM Viruses have been thrown into the mix, too. Oh, and there's a new form available for your consumption. It's pretty swag. Very Star Force-y.

For those inclined, swing on by 4Gamer for more images. Here's hoping the Mega Man Legends stages are next!

Mega Man Makes a Cameo On "Ixion Saga DT"

Rockman Corner reader Luke brings us a fun little cameo today: a classic Mega Man mask shows up in Ixion Saga DT, an ongoing animated series currently airing in Japan. This is less surprising when I learned the show is based on an online game of the same name produced by Capcom. That would also explain the Viewtiful Joe and Felyne masks on the bottom row!

The mask shows up during episode fifteen's credits, viewable here. Thanks for the tip, Luke!

D-Arts Bass and Treble Are Headed Our Way

Back in October, we caught a sneak peek of D-Arts Bass accompanied by a Treble figure. At the time they were only concepts, meaning there was no guarantee they would go into production. But today it's official: Bandai are preparing to release Bass and his faithful canine later this summer (in the same package, no less). A scan from the latest Figure-Oh magazine confirms the set is due to hit Japan in June with an expected 3990 yen price tag (roughly $45 US).

Currently, there's no information about additional features and accessories. Those details should coincide an official announcement from Bandai in the near future. Stay tuned!

Source: Plastic Joint

Project X Zone Coming to North America and Europe This Summer

Good news, everyone! Namco-Bandai have decided to bring over Project X Zone outside of Japan. IGN reports the game is due to hit North America, Europe, Latin America and Australia later this summer.

For the uninformed, Project X Zone is a turn-based mishmash featuring over 200 characters from Sega, Namco-Bandai, and Capcom. Mega Man X, Zero, Vile, Tron Bonne, Iris, and the Servbots all make an appearance, some even playable. Today's news makes me wonder if the voices behind the English Mega Man games may reprise their roles, if the powers that be are willing to dub the game. EDIT: Nope! The game will retain its Japanese voices. Moreover, there are no licensing issues so everyone from the original release will be playable!

I'll be keeping close tabs on this as things develop.

Source: IGN

Street Fighter X Mega Man Unofficially Ported to Mac

For the Mac owners out there, you can now run Street Fighter X Mega Man directly in OS X thanks to the generous porting efforts of Reddit member belthesarman. The port is based on version 2.0, meaning you'll have access to the password system, screenshot function, and a more challenging final battle with M. Bison. Those interested can download it from this thread here.

Here's a little tip before you dig in: when running the game in fullscreen mode, graphical distortion is apparent. To rectify this, simply switch over to windowed mode. You'll find more details about this in the enclosed readme. Enjoy!

Source: /r/Megaman/ (thanks for the tip, Skaarg!)