DASH Beta...Dumped!

Nobody likes a beta hoarder. No sir.

Instead of hogging the DASH Beta all to myself, you'll be able to download the ISO for your gaming pleasure. Feel free to do whatever you want with it: play it, hack it, exploit it...whatever!

Vixy has kindly saved me the time of dumping the beta. Big applause to her and her mad dumping skills. :3

Without further ado, here are the download links:

Host 1: Megaupload
Host 2: RPM
Password: greenbikerdude

ISO has been tested successfully on both PC emulation and and a modded PSone.

Enjoy!

Again, thanks go out to Vixy!

RUMOR: R20 Official Complete Works Volume 2 Preorder?

PRC reader “banana phone” claims that his local Japanese bookstore (Kinokuniya Bookstore, New York) is taking preorders for a second volume of “Rockman & Rockman X Official Complete Works (R20)”, slated for a February release.

A second volume of R20 shouldn't come as no surprise, Hitoshi Ariga previously confirmed Kodansha would be releasing a follow up in the future. One has to wonder just what the second volume would contain as R20 seems is fairly complete as is. Artwork from more of the 'obscure' titles? Who knows.

In any case, this is classified as a pure rumor until I see 'preorders' from other sources.

Thanks for the tip banana phone

Rockman DASH CFC Demo

I am happy. Extremely happy. Today, my mail man delivered a small package. Inside was my prized item that I have searched eight years for: the Rockman DASH beta in its entirety. Packaging, disc, everything. All of it right before my eyes. Within moments, it became the holy grail of my collection.


But, why all the fuss? What's the big deal behind the demo build of the game? First and foremost, the demo contains a vast amount of differences from the final retail version, specifically in the graphics and audio department. (Witness most of the differences for yourself)

Secondly, this specific version of the demo is,  one of the most rarest and sought after Rockman items. The beta build was only given out to new members of the now defunct "Capcom Friendly Club" who joined the club at the right time. Thus, it is rumored that only ten to fifteen copies exist.

So yes, I am quite happy. However, I wish to spread my happiness to those who have searched high and low for the beta as well. Therefore, I am considering publicly releasing a .iso of the beta to Rockman community. However, I currently lack the tools necessary to successfully rip the disc's image, so it will take some time.

In the meantime, here is the disc's specs. Searching for the specs may lead you to an already existing .iso of the game:

NAME: Rockman_das
CODE: SLPM 80158
SIZE: 128 MB
CODE: NTSC-J
MOD PROTECTION: No
PS2 COMP: Yes

UPDATE: For a great walkthrough of the beta and all its differences, head down to MegaMan Legends Station's guide and PRC's previous look at the beta

The Mega Wicker Man, Guaranteed to Make You Lol

Parody of The Wicker Man's infamous "bee scene."

Inafune Talks RM9, Follow Ups Might Follow 8bit Trend

MTV Multiplayer had a chance to interview Keiji Inafune regarding the anticipated Rockman 9/MegaMan 9. The interview covered much of what we already know about the title, but there were a couple of points that caught my eye:

Multiplayer: And I heard someone suggest that “Mega Man 10″ should be a 16-bit game. What do you guys think of that?

Inafune: Well first we have to see how fans react to seeing “Mega Man” in the 8-bit version first. We think this is where “Mega Man” really belongs and we really wanted to go in this direction for any possible follow-ups to “Mega Man.” But once we gauge fans’ reactions and what they have to say, maybe we’ll see another version “Mega Man” in the 16-bit form. For now, we’d like to see how he does in his classic form.

Multiplayer: I’m just wondering — because there have been so many “Mega Man” games — do you think there have been too many “Mega Man” games? There need to be more “Mega Man” games or you’d like it to be streamlined? What’s your opinion on the franchise as a whole?

Inafune: Well, there are a lot of “Mega Man” games. But most of them are what fans have requested of us. And we try to make follow-ups to the games that fans request. I mean, I’ve been involved with “Mega Man’ for over 20 years now, and there are games that even I forgot that I had made. When you think of it in those terms, yes, there might be a lot of “Mega Man” games. But it’s a franchise that the fans love.

I'm all for an 8bit RM9, however if follow ups continue this 8bit trend, how long will our enthusiasm last? Surely I'm not the only one who wants to see a new 16bit or 32bit Rockman title.

Castlevania's Igarashi Watching RM9 Closely

Could Rockman 9 start a 'retro revolution?' The return to the more simplistic style of games? Creator of the Castlevania series, Koji Igarashi believes so.

Igarashi is watching the success of Rockman 9 closely to determin if the next iteration in the Castlevania series would return to its 2D roots.

"I’m watching that very closely to see how it does. Myself, I’m a big retro gaming fan, so if it is successful that definitely opens up doors for what I can do."

Like the Rockman series, releasing a new 2D Castlevania title is risky, financially. If a new 2D Castlvania were to be made, it would follow the path of RM9, a downloadable title possibly in 8- bit.

Original article

Look! Up In the Sky, It's Japan!

Now this is a fun little easter egg:

Apparently, in Rockman DASH (1), you can find a hidden image Japan within one of the "Sub-Cities." Where can one find the image in the Sub-Cities? Just look up!

If you look closely, you'll find what appears to be a "galaxy" floating about the sea of stars. If you flip the galaxy upside down, it becomes the land of the rising sun, Japan.

However, it is implied that this particular easter egg only exists within the PC version of RMD. I've yet to check it out on my PSX copy, but I'll get around to it.

Credit for the discovery and images go to Rockman Memorial Hall

The Fate of ZX3: TBD

Capcom's Corporate Officer/VP of Strategic Planning & Business Development, "Sven", recently commented on a a fan's concerns for a third entry in the ZX series.The "official" status of ZX3:

"To be determined..."

I figured as much, however it's reassuring that Capcom is looking into the issue. My guess is that Capcom is waiting to see how well the "National" version of "ZX Gigamix" fairs in August. (National version is being sold in stores nation wide across Japan, previously Gigamix was an online only purchase)

If Gigamix is succesful, that could be a sign that interest in the series still exists, thus increasing our chances of seeing a third ZX title. So pretty much, the fate of ZX3 is riding of fan support.

We'll just have to see what happens. After all, IntiCreates has their hands tied with Rockman 9, so development of ZX3 will likely happen (if it ever does happen) after RM9's release.

RnR3 Promotional Trailer

The Ryuusei no Rockman 3 trailer shown at the World Hobby Fair is now available online for your viewing pleasure!

The trailer goes over the basic plot details and displays a plethora of gameplay, giving us our first look at Noise Change and some very dynamic battles.

RnR3 is looking to be quite different from its predecessors. I have to admit it, I'm fairly excited about this.

Hey Guess What? MegaMan 9 Is Very Hard

The earliest MegaMan/Rockman games were no walk in the park. I can't even begin to count how many times I've died from the disappearing platforms. Major headache.

In this day an age, its become a custom to include multiple difficulty levels for the varying types of players so they can fully enjoy their gaming experience without frustration. However, MegaMan 9 won't be catering to players who enjoy easy mode. MM9's producer, Hironobu Takeshita had this to say about the game's difficulty level:

"Mega Man 9 is very hard. We didn't want to do Mega Man, but easy. We want players to get better, we want them to remember. I've always tried to challenge players, and I think there are gamers who miss being challenged by games."

Oh Yes. I am so looking forward to dying time after time again.

Takeshita also expressed his interest to continue creating Wii games, however it wasn't specified if these "games" are remotley related to the Blue Bomber. MM9 wouldnt be the first time Takashita made his mark on Wii, he served as executive producer for the highly underrated title "Zack & Wiki (Treasure Island Z)."

Credit: Kotaku

MM9 T-Shirts Are Headed Our Way

According to Kramez's blog, Capcom USA plans to stock the infamous MegaMan 9 T-shirt at their online shop. Now we can look just as stylish as Inafune, who was seen wearing one of these "beauties" at E3. No definite date at the moment, we'll know first when they come in stock.

I'm very pleased. So pleased I felt that this was necessary:




Thanks to Jmanx24 for the tip!

RUMOR: Command Mission Beta Leaked

Yesterday, I received word of an interesting discussion going on at the infamous Japanese board, 2chan. 2chan users are claiming that a former Capcom of Japan employee has leaked a beta build of Rockman X Command Mission onto the internet.

The beta build is described to be significantly different than the retail version:

-An "armorless" X (as seen on the right)
-No music, various unheard sound effects
-A "trimmed" plot
-The absence of Marino, Cinnamon, Massimo and Spider
-Bosses appear in unusual locations
-A different logo on the title screen written entirely in kanji/katakana
-Same group of enemies in every battle
-X, Zero and Axl have different "Final Strikes." X's is described to be a "fire" based Charged Shot.
-There is no customization of abilities whatsoever
-The game is approximately two hours in length
-File size is said to be 393MB in PS2 format
-Compressed in a Torrent

The 2chan topic has disappeared since its conception yesterday, so this is pretty much all the info my source was able to get. I personally looked around the net for the supposed leaked beta build, but I've yet to discover where it's hiding.

Until such a file can be found, I'm classifying this as a rumor.