Skull Girl Devs Mourn Legends 3

Joining fans and Inafune in lament, Reverge Labs, the developers behind the upcoming 2D fighter Skull Girls, took to their white boards to vent frustration in Capcom's choice to cancel Mega Man Legends 3.

More whiteboard mourning here

The art may be spiffy, but that's not the best part. RL headmaster Peter managed to squeeze in a little swipe at Capcom. "…Sad. So sad our artists are. They’ll never get to play Mega Man Legends 3 because, you know, the fans didn’t make enough art or program enough of the engine. Stupid fans – here’s some art to make you feel bad for what you didn’t do."

That's gotta sting.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

It Just Keeps Getting Worse (Updated)

Not entirely satisfied with Capcom's reasoning for ditching Mega Man Legends 3, fans are taking the fight to Twitter in an effort to squeeze out the real reason(s) behind the game's death. Beginning with a lone Tweet from @dk_lance directed at Capcom Europe, the "truth" comes out... And it's not pretty.

@dk_lance writes, "I’m sad to know Legends 3 was cancelled for 3DS. Someone making decisions at Capcom’s R&D HQ should get fired…" A legitimate, and well founded plea. What say you, @CapcomEuro?

"unfortunately so few fans took part in the creation of the game. It was felt the project was not worthwhile :-( "

Wait, what? The blame game is in full swing, and we're on the other end of the barrel?

Disgruntled with Capcom Euro's response, even more Twitter users chimed in to join the fight, and CapcomEuro was there to field them all. Brace yourself, because if you weren't frustrated before, you soon will be. Hit the jump when you're ready...

Keiji Inafune Issues Apology For Mega Man Legends 3 Cancellation

Although Mega Man Legends 3's cancellation took place long after his departure, Keiji Inafune felt obligated to issue an apology to the fans and Devteam staff on his official blog today.

To the staff members, Inafune writes "The decision for the cancellation was out of my sphere, but as someone who took part in the development, I'd like to convey something to the staff: I'm sorry that I couldn't be of assistance." Saddened, Inafune was taken aback by the staff's tremendous motivation to continue the project without him. Nevertheless, he goes on to encourage the staff to continue to make a better game.

To us, the fans: "I'm truly sorry I couldn't take part until the end." The former project leader professes he is one of us -- closely watching the game's progress from the sidelines as a fan, and shares in our mourning.

"I didn't buy a 3DS for this project, but at the very least I'd like to have played the demo."

I hear ya, man.

Source: Andriasang

Awakening Of The Sleeping Giant

Well here we are. Just a little over twenty-four hours now since Mega Man Legend 3's official cancellation. The past day has been grueling, I know. Nobody is happy. All of us, for the most part, are in mourning.

Deep down, we knew this was coming, but we didn't want to believe. I certainly didn't. My initial optimism clouded rationality, I admit that. But it was only a few days before yesterday that it hit me: Legends 3 was in trouble. Big trouble. Sharing in these sentiments, Heat Man, Dashe, and myself quickly set out to kick start the Legends Never Die campaign. In a cruel twist of fate, the game was cancelled just hours after LND launched. Hours.

I spoke a little of my feelings surrounding L3's cancellation at Ask Capcom the other day. However, I've had a chance to wrap my head around things, so here's more of my spiel.

You can imagine how we were feeling when the headline hit. It cut deep. I, personally, can attest to being one of those fans who legitimately waited ten years for this, so news of MML3's cancellation certainly hit a soft spot. It's still difficult for me to describe how I am feeling. Angry? Disappointed? Helpless? It's a mix bag.

Mega Man Legends 3 Cancelled

Wow. Just wow. Capcom has pulled the plug on Mega Man Legends 3. I've no words. Read Greg's announcement here:

"We'd like to thank you for your ongoing loyal support of Mega Man Legends 3. Today, however, we must regrettably announce the discontinuation of this project.

From the outset the MML3 Project was intended to give gamers across the world insight and input into the development process. Part of this process includes an assessment of whether the title will go into full production, and is based on a number of criteria with input from different sectors of the company.

Unfortunately it was not felt that the Mega Man Legends 3 Project met the required criteria, and it is with regret that we must announce that the Mega Man Legends 3 Project has been cancelled, meaning that Capcom will not be releasing the Prototype or the full game. Additionally, updates of the Mega Man Legends Developer Room will cease as of today, though the North American Developer Room and its forums will remain open indefinitely.

We can only express our deepest apologies to all of you who have lent us your unending support, including participation in the Mega Man Legends 3 Developer Room. On behalf of the entire Legends team, please accept our sincere apology for failing to meet the expectations of the fans.

We thank you all so much for your extended support of this title and this community, and we hope that you will continue to support the Mega Man franchise as well as other Capcom games."
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If you've any questions, please see the official FAQ at the Devroom.

'Legends Never Die' Campaign Kicks Off

An air of uncertainty has nestled within our midst. A looming, ominous fear of the unknown has set our community ablaze, incited by a series of events surrounding the future of Mega Man Legends 3. There's no denying it: things have quieted down on the Legends 3 front. While we're confident in its progress, there is certainly some concern about what's going on with the game, and it's left us on the edge of our seats. If you feel the same, then we've got a mission to carry out.

Welcome aboard, friends, to the Legends Never Die campaign, a massive, joint operation between myself, Legends-Station, and The Mega Man Network. Our goal is simple, albeit powerful. Together, as a community, we will keep Capcom aware of how much we want MML3 and ensure it remains in the spotlight. Let it be made clear, we are not afraid about the game being cancelled, no; we are simply closing off any route that might lead to that outcome. As Devroom members, our responsibilities go far beyond thinking of ideas and responding to the Devteam. We are marketing, we are PR, we are consumers, and most of all, we are fans.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to snail-mail Capcom. Using pre-designed postcard templates, we are tasking you to mail Capcom your demands to see Mega Man Legends 3 completed. The postcards are your vehicle to Capcom's offices. They will get to the hands of many higher-ups, so you've got to make your message clear and powerful. Personalize it. Pour your heart and soul into it. You've waited a little over a decade for this thing thing; show Capcom just how much you want Legends 3 to happen!

All the details after the jump!

Mega Man Legends, A Game With Heart

Over on 1UP’s Retronauts blog, Jeremy Parish has taken a look back at the original Mega Man Legends. Parish's write-up focuses on the strength of heart exhibited by the game, a quality, he describes, has all but vanished from gaming within the last few years. A select portion of the article below:

"But there’s more to a game than raw innovation, and what Legends lacked in polish -- and here its creators clearly lacked the resources and talent of the nascent Kojima Productions and Nintendo EAD -- it more than made up for with its boundless spirit of adventure. More so than any other game before it, and frankly more than just about any game since, Legends was an interactive 3D rendition of the kind of light-hearted action anime that Japan just doesn’t produce anymore. We’re not talking high art, here. More like classic Slayers, or even mediocre fare like Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals. The sort of optimistic, carefree sense of wonder that even Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t really do anymore. "

Parish's retrospective examines every facet of Mega Man Legends -- it's characters, world, and themes. Those elements make up one of the most underrated and significantly ignored stories of the last decade, and Parish's retrospective does a fine job of putting that fact into perspective. If you've got some time on your hands, I highly recommend you give the article a read at 1UP. 

I'm curious where you stand on this: do you share in Parish's sentiments? Did Legends resonate with you in some significant way? Feel free to sound off in the comments.

Frankenstein Mega Man Peddles Dart Gun

Every once in a while, one of my readers comes across an unlicensed product that cashes-in on the image of the Blue Bomber. More often than not, these knock-offs take the form of toys -- cheap, plastic trinkets that litter the aisles at your run-of-the-mill dollar store. What makes these finds so fun is the crudely traced illustrations that adorn the packaging, usually taking the form of mutilated versions of the series' most popular characters. Today's find is no exception.

You can't go wrong with a good ol' fashion dart gun, but that Mega Man thing wreaks all kinds of wrong. The pistol-wielding hero certainly looks like Mega Man, but he's actually made up of a variety of parts from different characters. From the looks of it, the frame is heavily inspired by elements borrowed from Cyber-Elf X, a pinch of Leviathan, and a dash of other traits predominately found in the Zero series. Oh, and you gotta love that pose. It's so... aloof. He's just resting his right arm on his hip like it's no big deal, shooting at whatever.

My fascination with bootleg merchandise has shown us a lot of crazy things, and while Frankenstein Mega Man here certainly isn't the cream of the crop (that honor goes to Deflox Mega Man), it's a noteworthy addition to the wide and ever-growing world of Mega Man knock-offs. I'm all for sharing more of these oddities and should you ever come across one, please give me a holler!

Thanks for the submission, Matthew.

Reminder: SDCC Exclusive D-Arts Mega Man X

Are you attending this year's San Diego Comic-Con? Then you'd best make haste and head on down to Bandai's booth ASAP. This year's exclusive is none other than a delightfully awesome Metallic Mega Man X D-Arts, courtesy of Bluefin and Tamashii Nations.

The articulated figure boasts a shiny coat of blue-metallic armor... even the packaging is shiny! Inside the box, you'll find a handful of accessories: a set of X-Buster blasts, rotating triple-shot effect parts, detachable hands, and two interchangeable faces. You can check out a boatload of pictures of the figure in action via Rockman Unity, where Bandai's Adam Newman was on-hand to exhibit X before Ucchi-san and Capcom heads.

Metallic X's exclusivity to the U.S is said to be a gesture to Tamashii Nation figure fans who weren't able to purchase the many Japanese exclusives of years past. Further, the very existence of the metallic figure is due to the immensely positive reception Bandai has received from the U.S market. If you're attending SDCC, I'd taken advantage of the offer.

You'll be able to purchase the figure when Comic-Con kicks off on July 20 at the Bluefin/Bandai Booth (3545). Get him while supplies last!

The Origin Of Hippopotamus

Have you ever wondered what was going through Capcom's heads during the Hippopotamus scenario in the original Mega Man Legends? Wonder no more because the story behind Legends 1's most memorable gag is revealed in today's Kinako report:

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Kinako: For those who don't know, "Hippopotamus" is one of the answers you can select when the junk shop owner asks you your name in the first Legends game. If you tell him your name is Hippopotamus, he believes you right off the bat, and will keep calling you that throughout the entire game! One of the more striking quirks around town, could it be that this, too, was the work of you, sir?"

Kurosawa: I do believe it was! I still vividly remember putting that in the game myself, but it was such a long time ago that I suppose my memory might be playing tricks on me.  Anyway, about that hippo gag. Normally, it's the kind of gag where you'd have the NPC (non-player character) call you "Hippopotamus" once and then he would make you tell the truth: "No more jokes, tell me your real name." Either that or you'd place the gag somewhere that you wouldn't be visiting repeatedly like you do with the Junk Store. So it's still something of a mystery to me as to how we got away with putting the gag in the game that way.

I do seem to recall them asking me during the bug check if it was some kind of weird glitch.
Also, the truth is that this was sort of an homage to a certain other work of which I was a fan. I changed things around a little bit, and was originally going to make it a little bit of an edgier joke, so that one of the answers you could choose was "Sumatopoppih". The joke is that the Japanese word for "hippopotamus" is "kaba", which is "baka" when spelled backwards.  Baka in Japanese means something along the lines of "idiot".
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So it wasn't something entirely random after all! All these years I thought the Hippopotamus option was some sort of mistranslation for a legitimate name. In all honesty, I've never chosen "Mega Man" as my name, always Hippopotamus. It's a habit that stemmed all the way back to my first playthrough back when I was a kid. It's funny, cute, even. Gotta love the Legends' teams sense of humor.

There's a little more to the story, so head on down to the Devroom and read up!

Embargo Lifts For Mega Man Tribute Entries (Updated)

With the San Diego Comic-Con kicking off next week, UDON has lifted the Mega Man Tribute embargo, allowing artists to freely show off their work publicly. More than a dozen or so select entries were released at UDON's official DeviantArt page to mark the occasion.

More art here!

Artists included in Mega Man Tribute have reportedly received the following e-mail from UDON just a few short hours ago:

"TIME TO POST YOUR ARTWORK! With Mega Man Tribute premiering next week at the San Diego Comic-Con, it’s time for everyone to post up your artwork on your personal blogs, websites and deviantart galleries."

Depending upon the discretion of the artist, you might be able to catch even more entries before the book releases. That's not to say everyone who made the cut will follow through, but it gives them free reign to do so. No strings attached.

Should you choose to publicly release your winning piece online, please drop us a link! We'd love to check out what you've got. UPDATE: Click here to check out a piece by DejitaruDavis -- laundry day! Keep checking DeviantArt for more entires!

Thanks for the tip, Ben

Mega Man And Edutainment? It Happened

Now here's a neat little gem I've been meaning to share: an educational Mega Man NT Warrior game by Fisher-Price. Yup, the Fisher-Price.

The early 2000's marked the dawn of the edutainment boom, pioneered by the likes of Leapfrog, Vtech, and Pixter. While Leapfrog and Vtech would go on to dominate the market, Pixter fell into obscurity. Despite weak sales, the platform and brand was bustling with powerful, early support from a number of hot properties.... Mega Man included.

Pocket Pixter: Mega Man NT Warrior is exactly what it sounds like. Released in 2004, the device was a self contained module similar to the famous electronic PETs. With less an emphasis on the battling but more on interactivity, the toy was centered around "educational" applications from free-style drawing to memory games. In essence, you could call it a mash up between Mario Paint and a your run-of-the-mill activity book.

Though I've no actual photos of the device itself, I have the original PDF version of the toy's manual in my archives. Spanning around forty-pages, you'll find descriptions and pictures for every activity and application the device has to offer. Select manual pages appear above, but if you'd like it in its entirety, you can download it right here.

I've looked around for the physical device for a couple years now, but haven't churned anything up yet. My usually stomping grounds for old Mega Man goodies -- the Amazon marketplace and Ebay -- are littered with Pixter products. Unfortunately, this bad boy just so happens to be the one that no one has. Shame too because, honestly, it sounds pretty awesome.

If you've got one of these in-hand, lemme know!