Friday, March 28, 2008

EXE 5 Movie Edition Is In the House


To honor the theatrical crossover between Rockman.EXE and Duel Masters, Capcom gave away a very special promotional version of EXE 5: Team of Colonel.

Known as "The Movie Edition", it was merely a repackaging of EXE5: ToC with new cover artwork straight from the film and some goodies inside the box including the famous "Forte Cross Rockman" E-Card, a coupon for snacks (only at select theaters) and EXE 5 stickers (only at select theaters)

Content wise, it's the same game as EXE 5: ToC. However, it was once rumored the game contained new scenarios straight from the film.

I managed to snag this one off of Rinkya a week ago, chances of it reappearing are quite high, last week yet another copy was up for bidding (gone now).

Keep your eyes peeled to Rinkya

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Commercial Break

I remember this spot.



I was ten years old I believe. Sitting in my living room with a pack of pop tarts, gleefully watching my favorite show at that time, “Beast Wars.”

Commercial break. I looked up from my plate to witness this godly commercial.

Good times...

Makes you wonder, how come CoA doesn't advertise MegaMan games like this anymore?

Instead, we get something along the lines of this:

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Punch Card System Might Remain In MMSF2


We've become accustom to Capcom of America removing various features from localized version of EXE games, but this might change with the US release of Ryuusei no Rockman 2.

According to Capcom representative, s-kill; CoA is hard at work creating a way to bring the unique "Punch Card System" stateside.

S-kill also informed me that talks of US exclusive cards were in the works as well.

For the uninformed, the purchasable Punch Cards are laid on top of the DS touch screen, and are tapped in certain areas that will reward you with various in game goods. (Cards, Stat ups, events, etc.)

Kudos to Capcom! You have regained some respect points.

Capcom BBS

Monday, March 24, 2008

Thrustmaster Will Solve Your MMAC Problems


Love the GameCube version of “MegaMan Anniversary Collection” but hate the godforsaken control setup?

"Thrustmaster's T-Wireless NW “Wii controller” is your solution.


The controller, compatible with both the Nintendo Wii and GameCube, contains remapped buttons for easy accessibility and comfort.


Although very small, the control is really comfortable.

Having played with the controller myself, I can safely say that it successfully emulates the “controls” found on the PS2 version of MMAC.

However, my only qualm is the shoulder buttons which require a lot of pressure to get a response.

Besides MMAC, the Thrustmaster feels wonderful with my newest love, SSBB.

And it's only $20.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

ZX Manga Says Goodbye



Although I cannot confirm it personally, a source of mine has told me that the Rockman ZX Advent manga serialized within the Famitsu DS+Wii magazine, has ran its course.


So, now we are officially "ZX-less" on all bases!

What a shame.

Friday, March 21, 2008

What In God's Name Is a Tengu?



Usually, a Robot Master (or Net Navi) is named based upon their physical appearance and and abilities, followed by the title of “Man.”

CutMan, named after his ability to cut, CrashMan named after his ability cause explosions and let's not forget HardMan who is-hard.

And yet there is one Robot Master and Net Navi who's name makes no sense to those not educated in the fine art of Japanese folklore.

So, what in the name of Yellow Devil is a Tengu?

A bird?

A demon?

A spirit?

A Tengu can be all of those things!

Popular in various forms of Japanese literature, a Tengu can be depicted as either a god or a demon, taking the form of a human being with a long pointy nose and the occasional wings.

Some dedications of a Tengu have the monster taking the form of a mix between a human and a dog, but the most common is the birdlike rendition seen throught the Rockman franchise.
" Living high up in the many mountains of Japan, Tengu's lived peacefully, occasionally teaching human beings the art of self defense. The martial arts of the tengu, AKA “Tengu-geijutsu-ron” is said to have the ability to take down any opponent within minutes."

“Many warriors and Samurai, founders of schools ( Ryu ), particularly saber experts ( Ken-jutsu ), claimed they had been providentially inspired by the wise advice of a Tengu, sometimes in a dream, while they were in a voluntary retreat in the mountains, to pursue feverishly their quest for the "Way" ( DO ) in asceticism (Musha-shugyo). Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune himself, one of Japan’s greatest and most valiant warriors, would have acquired his mastery of the saber that way, allowing him, despite his youth, to defeat Benkei the monk, who tried to block access to the Goto bridge with his Naginata, while he spent his teenage years at the Kuma-dera temple. And was the great Miyamoto Musashi not nicknamed "the little Tengu", he who remained undefeated after more than sixty duels ? And, at the dawn of the 20th century, Takeda Sokadu, master of Aiki-jutsu, was called the "Tengu from Aizu".”

Interesting, no?

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Rockman X4 SE PSX Version Exists


For a long time, it was considered that the "Special Edition" of Rockman X4 was only limited to the Saturn release, but thanks to this Rinkya auction, we now have actually proof that an SE version was released on the PSX as well.

Contents of the PSX version are identical to the Saturn version with the exception of a slightly altered box art.

Neato!

Too bad the auction is over...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Rockman Rockman: Selling Like Hotcakes?


This is weird. Very weird.

According to U-Capcom's sales charts, the commercial failure, "Rockman Rockman," has shot up to number three of the highest selling games at E-Capcom in the past month.

Ahead of RR is the ever popular "Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G" and an adorable puppy game. ("One Style Anywhere Tame?")

And just below RR is-Devil May Cry 4? WTH? Seriously. RR is outselling one of Capcom's biggest games of the year.

RR has been absent from sales charts for a couple of years, so why the sudden surge of sales?

My guess is that the PSP is finally starting to catch on in Japan. With the slimmer design and cheaper price tag, gamers are actually starting to notice the console exists.

So, will this actually help chances of a Rockman Rockman 2? Who knows!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Ryuusei no Rockman Tribe: Off Air!




Pun intended.

It appears the anime adaption of RnR2's story arc is coming to a premature end at episode 21, according to the anime's developers Xebec.

This is very bizarre as previous Rockman anime adaptions have ran up to forty plus episodes.

So, is Rockman off airwaves for good? Not quite.

Supposedly, "Zero Duel Masters" the anime that airs prior to RnR Tribe, is getting the boot as well, which may lead to speculation that the block, "Oha Colesium" is merely switching out both shows in favor of new shows for a period of time.

This seems to be the case. Taking the place of RnR is "Penguin no Mondai", a children's show about an anthropomorphic penguin. That's cool, right? (Thanks for the tip Scipio)

My thoughts? I believe that anime adaption of Ryuusei will return-in November to coincide the release of the rumored and inevitable RnR3.

A popular trend in anime as of late is airing shows for half a season and continuing it a few months later. This process is currently being done by shows such as "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" (highly recommended) and "Code Geass." This is done to ensure higher quality animation and scripts.

Of course, I could be wrong. There is a possibility that the show was actually canceled due to low ratings, thus further adding a nail in Rockman's coffin. (What's up with bad news as of late?)

However, this is Rockman we're talking about. You know, "Never say die."

MegaMan Star Force 2 Officially Announced


As expected, Capcom officially announced MMSF2 for America and Europe at their "Digital Event."

"MegaMan Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian" and "MegaMan Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja"
will hit store shelves sometime around June, 2008.

Why the odd name change? Who knows!

For pictures of the english version, head over to this nice Flickr set and and be sure to check out the official European press release here

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Chances for ZX3 Higher Than We Thought? Maybe (Not).


Here's the scoop: We all know that Capcom's goal was to sell a minimum of 100,00 units of ZXA before the end of the fiscal year (which I believe is at the end of March, not sure) to possibly garner a third entry.

However, going by VGChartz's data, ZXA is just 10,000 or so units off. Maybe maybe not.

I took the liberty of asking around the VGChartz community to see how accurate their data was.

The results? VGChartz data is off.

Which means one of two things:

-ZXA PASSED the 100,000 units mark way back. But, we've yet to hear even a whisper of a follow up, so that could mean...

-ZXA sold BELOW that 90,000 something number.

For fun, I spoke with a Capcom rep concerning the VGC data. Apparently, I was told that various Capcom games on record are off from a 3,000-10,000 unit range.

Capcom informed me that VGC's data is based off of estimates, some numbers do not include small retailer stores and several online shops as well.

I was recommended to keep an eye out for press releases every so often from Capcom IR for "official stats and numbers."

So pretty much, we're back to square one: not knowing what the heck is going on with ZX3.

Where do we go from here? Should we just wait it out? Or, continue to squeeze Capcom and/or Inti-Creates for some official words?

Monday, March 10, 2008

Debugging ZX

Like many others, I'm obsessed with debug rooms. Debug rooms, created for the sole purpose of testing out game mechanics, physics, and animations; are hidden behind every video game, hidden from everyday players.

However, those talented in game hacking can expose this hidden area and open up it's wonders for all.

Rockman games have been known to have some very unique debug rooms, such as the oddities found in the Rockman DASH debug rooms (Giant Roll, creepy Kobun and a naked Sera)

Some debug rooms, like the one recently discovered within Rockman ZX and ZXA, offer a unique look at the “stage creation process” before we get our paws on the final result.

N-Mario of Sprites Inc. has successfully found the debug room for both ZX and ZXA. Although it might not look like much, it is incredibly unique because it shows us what goes into the creation of a stage. Think of this as the skeleton of a stage.