Surprise! D-Arts Vile Confirmed

Who didn't see this coming? The next Mega Man character in line to receive the D-Arts treatment is none other than Vile. Rockman Unity confirmed the news earlier today, coupled with our first look at a prototype mold.

Capcom are working closely with Bandai to perfect the figure's design. Ucchy-san notes the designers are currently toling away at developing a product that is both articulate and fluid while retaining Vile's classic visual features.  Unfortunately no other details are given concerning accessories or the like, but with this coming out we should hear new details pretty soon. Personally, I'd love to see a mono-eye head variant. I always thought it made Vile look a lot more menacing! One can hope.

Hopefully, we'll be getting all those details in the near future. In the meantime, head on over to Rockman Unity and enjoy some lovely photos!

Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Old Internal Mega Man Documents Revealed

Now this is an incredible find. Famed Digitpress member Buyatari has shared a wealth of unseen Mega Man documents and assets from the early to mid nineties. The documents span across a number of content, including alternate box artwork, character concepts, model sheets, design notes, and even a peek at a canceled Mega Man 2 toyline.

Check out more assets here!

The amount of recovered artifacts is truly incredible.  There's all sorts of neat goodies to be had at the source link, but everyone's gonna be wondering about that "Mega Man X Soccer" sheet in particular. Are we looking at a cancelled game, or a mere misuse of X's likeness? Definitely something to ponder on.

A treasure trove of Mega Man history awaits you at the above link!

Credit: The Mega Man Network

Next Round Of Mega Man Merch Revealed (Plush Proto Buster!)

Clocks, towels, notebooks and magnets! Oh my! GE Animation are ringing in the new year with a flood of all-new Mega Man merchandise. A fresh batch of trinkets were recently unveiled at AAA Anime, all of which poised to prove (once again) GE's out to milk this license for all its worth.

Whereas December's loot was mostly X series paraphernalia, January is predominately classic series focused (namely, Powered Up). Item-by-item breakdown below:

• Mega Man 10 iPhone 4 Case
• Proto Buster Plushie
• Mega Man Powered Up Desk Clock
• Mega Man Towel
• Bass Keychain
• Proto Man Keychain
• Guts Man Keychain
• Mega Man Powered Up File Folder
• Powered Up Notebook
• Mega Man X4 Wallscroll
• Powered Up Magnet

As you can see, there's quite a bit of stuff headed our way. Personally, I'm disappointed to see that Proto Buster is shipping out after the holiday season. That would've made a nice gift... for me!

Anyhow, it's worth mentioning where you will be able to find these products come January. GE Animation's Mega Man products have been known to pop-up at specialty pop-culture retailers, such as Hot-Topic and your run of the mill Mom & Pop novelty store (that's a lot of pops!). As per usual, you cannot order anything directly from GE or AAA. That option is only available to retailers. You can, however, request a local retailer to sell them. Those details can be found within the links above.

Well, that's that. If you've any ideas for future Mega Man paraphernalia, GE are always interested in feedback...

Bandai Has No Plans To Localize "Comic Version" Rockman X

Bandai/Tamashii have made a tradition of localizing the D-Arts Rockman actions figures in the US market. Japan gets a figure first, then the US some months after. That was the pattern for the last year or so and "Comic Version" Rockman X is about to break it.

Bandai's Adam Newman sends word the company has no plans to distribute the figure abroad. In fact, its distribution will even be limited in Japan. "This is an event exclusive so no plans to sell anywhere outside the Tamashii Nations event," writes Adam. Now, this isn't necessarily bad news. Importing the figure from Japan is always an option. BUT, it's starting to sound like this will be one tough cookie to obtain after Tamashii's event.

The whole exclusivity status entitles Comic Version X to staggering secondhand market prices, poised to become a rarity. No doubt you'll have to fork over a pretty penny to nab this one!

Thanks for the heads up, Adam!

Tamashii Nations Teasing Vile D-Arts?

The prophecy laid out in Capcom's "Most Desired Figure" vote continues. With two of the top three characters already turned into figures (Zero and Full Armor X), the prospect of a Vile figure seems like a given. Nothing has come to fruition yet, but that may change soon enough.

Tamashii Nations tweeted the above message only minutes ago; the key portion being "BTW, who likes shoulder cannons?"

Well, none of Tamashii's current Mega Man D-Arts sport "shoulder cannons." Looking at the prophetic figure vote, it's not difficult to connect two-and-two together: we're looking at, quite possibly, a legitimate D-Arts Vile teaser. Mind you, Vile only has a single shoulder cannon, but I get what they're trying to infer.

I'll certainly be keeping tabs on this. The demand for a Vile figure is there; only a matter of time before it's realized. Thanks for the tip, Lana!

Mega Man Fangames at the NCFC

The Nintendo Community Fangame Convention is an annual online event for fangame developers to demonstrate projects currently in development. This year, Mega Man fans will have the opportunity to play no less than three games:

• Mega Man Citrus Cult
• Mega Man Battle Network: Chrono X
• Mega Man: Day in the Lime 2

Simply click on the above links and you'll be taken to each game's respective "booth", a hub showcasing information, media, and download links for demos. All games on display are eligible to win a exclusive prizes, determined by user votes (via "Likes"). Not sure what the first place prize is, but it's still nice to see some fan effort towards Mega Man.

Players and developers are also encouraged to offer game feedback in the forums, participate in workshops, or just sit back and watch others play. All in all, it's an event for gamers by gamers and everyone's invited.

Best of luck to the Mega Man lot! Give 'em a spin in your spare time.

Solicitation For Archie's Mega Man #10

Okay, I'm a little late on this one, but it's worth talking about all the same. New solicit information and cover art for Archie's Mega Man #10 has hit the web, detailing the gist of the on-going Mega Man 2 story arc. Things are certainly heating up, and if the cover art is any indication, this issue's going to be a doozy!

“Dr. Wily Returns,” Part Two. Dr. Wily is back, and this time he has eight new Robot Masters of his own! Mega Man must track down and defeat each one before they complete their missions and conquer the world for their mustachioed master. It’s hard enough when each new Robot Master is deadlier than the last, but how can the Blue Bomber succeed with Quick Man tripping him up every step of the way?" --- 32 pages, $2.99.

That Quick Man... what a fiend. Hopefully, our blue bomber will remember to lay down the law with the Time Stopper. Well, maybe not initially; that'd make for a pretty boring fight.

Can you believe we're halfway through the first year of Archie's Mega Man? I know, right? That was, like, Quick Man fast! It's onwards and upwards from here. With satisfying sales, the future looks bright for Archie and Mega Man.

Credit: The Mega Man Network

Detailed Look At D-Arts X “Comic Version”

A handful of new images has surfaced for Bandai's forthcoming Rockman X "Comic Version" D-Arts. Bloodied and battered, this is one figure you don't want to miss...

More images here!

A fine representation of Yoshihiro Iwamoto’s Rockman X design if there ever was one, Bandai has done a remarkable job at capturing the brutality exhibited in the source material. And I want it!

For the time being, the figure is exclusive to Japan, due to be distributed at Bandai's Tamashii Nation 2011 event in Akihabara this November. From the looks of it, accessories include interchangeable face plates, battle damaged X-Buster with optional shot effects, and an assortment of different hands. The body, itself, boasts a fresh coat of paint meant to capture the essence of Iwamoto’s interpretation of the character.

The figure will fetch for 3500 yen or roughly $45.98. Importing shouldn't be a problem, but since it's being touted as an event-exclusive, supply on the secondhand market might be low. I haven't had the time to speak with our Bandai guy in terms of localization yet; will be getting on that ASAP. Fingers crossed!

Source: Rockman Unity

Blast From the Past: Jazwares Spooky Mega Man Figures

We've seen plenty of cancelled and unproduced Jazwares figures here at Rockman Corner, but none so deeply rooted in the festival of spooks and scares as today's batch. With the holiday fast approaching, now is as an appropriate time as ever to look back at Jazwares' ill-fated Halloween themed Retro Rotos.

Scary!

The Retro Roto line was in full swing by 2006, and Jazwares -- looking to capitalize on Wave 1's success -- sought the production of special Halloween themed variants. The line would have been exclusive to specialty retailers like Hot Topic, but those plans fell through. Citing a lack of interest, Hot Topic and the like simply didn't want to stock 'em.

But there's more to these toys than meets the eye: they glowed in the dark. However, the gimmick wasn't enough to make retailers budge; ultimately, they were cancelled. Rumor has it Jazwares tried again the following year, pushing for a nation-wide retail release. As you no doubt know, nothing came to fruition.

It's a shame these never launched. We could so totally use more spooky-themed Mega Man goodies. That and they would've for an excellent collector's items! Alas, Jazewares prototypes are extremely difficult to come by this day and age. Chances of coming across these guys are slim to none. But I'm not a fortune teller: perhaps one day, a former Jazwares employee will sell some unproduced stuff via auction. Until then, we can only marvel at what could have been.

Hitoshi Ariga Teases New Mega Man Project

Hitoshi Ariga, author and illustrator behind the likes of Mega Man Megamix and countless other blue bomber comics, is cooking up something. Yesterday, the man who draws Mega Man for a living dropped the following enigmatic message at his DeviantART journal: 

"I'm currently working on a new Mega Man project!"

Short and to the point. With no other details provided, we're left with little to nothing to speculate over. Even so, Ariga's has typically brought us new comics and collected volumes in the past; more recently, the Rockman Maniax anthology. The prospect of something along those lines is high.

Still, there's one thing that I found particularly interesting about all of this. Ariga has made a tradition of teasing new projects at his personal blog... but not this time. Perhaps this new project is geared specifically to English-speaking audiences; hence dropping the tease exclusively via DeviantART? Eh, it's something to chew on.

When it comes to teasers of any sort, it's best to keep you expectations in-check. The last thing you need is to set yourself up for disappointment (I think we've had enough of those for one year).

I'll certainly be keeping an ear out. Hoping to hear more on this soon!

Thanks for the tip, Erica!

Got Rockman Online Questions? Ask The Developers

There's a lot we still don't know about Rockman Online, but developer NeoWiz are hoping to alleviate some of the mystery with your help. NeoWiz are presenting fans the opportunity to ask any questions they might have about Rockman Online. From gameplay specifics to the identities of bosses, there's really no shortage of questions you could ask.

Since most of you probably don't speak a lick of Korean, a liaison has offered to translate and forward your questions directly to NeoWiz. Simply drop your questions in the comments below, and my pal Amunshen will send 'em off. We're anticipating quite a few questions, therefore I can only pick so many to be translated into Korean. Hey, be thankful: at least you're not being asked to dust off those English to Korean dictionaries!

I'll be accepting questions from now until November 3rd; a good three weeks from today. The faster we get them in, the better. Have at it!

Thanks for the tip, Amunshen!

In-Depth Look At Kotobukiya Zero

Kotobukiya's 1/10 scale Zero series Zero model kit blasted its way onto Japanese store shelves a couple days ago, and as per usual, fans were quick to snap some photos of the completed figure. GG Infinite has the lowdown...

 More photos available here , here, and here!

From the looks of it, Kotobukiya has once again produced a fine kit, with some spiffy box art to boot! Evidently, the box art indicates this is the last Rockman kit from Kotobukiya for the time being. The space traditionally used to advertise upcoming kits is non-existent this time. But don't let that discourage you: Blues, the previous kit didn't promote the then-unannounced Zero. For all we know, a new kit is on the burner.

There's little doubt in my mind Kotobukiya won't pursue future projects. These plastic heroes are a global hit, after all. I, personally, am still holding out for a Forte model. He'd make an excellent bookend to the classic series line... although I wouldn't mind something a little obscure either. Auto, anyone?