Next Mega Man Game Enters Pre-Production in 2019, Implies Mega Man 11 Producer

4Gamer has posted a series of end-of-year interviews with Japanese developers about their 2019 ambitions. Among them is Mega Man 11 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, who has a few words to share about what's in store for the new year:

“In 2018, we were able to safely release Mega Man 11. This is also a thank-you to all of the game fans. In 2019, I would like to make steady preparations for what’s next, so there may not be any major action, but I hope you can all watch over me with warm eyes…!”

Simply put, Tsuchiya is suggesting that 2019 will be spent preparing for the next game in the franchise. Although we probably won't see a major release in 2019, we can rest easy with the knowledge that something new is on the burner. As to what the next game might be... well, that's anyone's guess. It's way, way too early to call it.

I guess we'll just have to watch Tsuchiya with "warm eyes", then. Stay tuned!

Source: 4Gamer (via Pixelbuster and Gematsu)

Mega Man Mastermix #4 Now Slated for April 3rd, 2019

The twice-delayed fourth issue of Mega Man Mastermix has a new release date: April 3rd, 2019. The good word comes to us from a re-solicitation via Focus Attack. What's more, UDON Entertainment's own Matt Moylan confirmed this is the definitive release date.

Here's the solicitation for this issue in case you've forgotten: "The Blue Bomber returns to comics through the classic stories of Japanese artist Hitoshi Ariga -- available for the first time in color! Mega Man must team up with friends and foes alike to stop both the destructive Gamma robot, and the out-of-control Yellow Devil! It's a giant robot rampage in the latest chapter of Mega Man Mastermix!" 

Pre-orders are up in the usual places with more to follow.

Source: Focus Attack

The Year in Review and the Mega Man 2019 Roadmap

As the year comes to a close, there's no time like the present to pause and reflect. And you know, I think we can safely say that this year has been one of the best in recent memory. Not just for the Mega Man franchise but for all of us – the fans.

Rockman X and Monster Hunter Explore Collaboration Announced

Capcom are kicking off the new year with a brand-new Rockman X 25th anniversary collaboration with Monster Hunter Explore.

Beginning January 14th, Monster Hunter Explore players can get equipped with X and Zero-themed Hunter armors. What's more, players can also find special X series-themed weapons, such as three variations of the X-Buster, the Z-Saber, and a Metool Hammer. Stamps/avatars based on X series characters will be distributed to participants as well.

Additional images and information can be found at the official Monster Hunter Explore website.

No Plans to Release the Rockman X 25th Anniversary Music Albums on CD

We reached out the publisher of the new Rockman X piano and band arranged albums to find out if it will be released on CD. According to them, they have no plans to release either album on CD at this time. They chose the "digital only" format in order to reach a wider, international audience.

GMSTORE Corp. seems to be a small label with not much work done before this particular Rockman X project. Releasing a physical CD worldwide not only would be a logistical challenge, but it presents a financial risk for them as well. It seems their goal is to offer equality for fans in both Japan and beyond, rather than doing a physical release just for Japan and a digital only version for the rest of the world (which has been pretty typical lately).


They are tackling an ambitious project here; literally creating two albums for each game in the X series (minus the Game Boy games). That's a total of 20 albums, 790 songs plus an additional ensemble album with 10 songs selected by fans.

The success of this project rests in our hands! Head over to the GM Store to listen some samples and decide by if it's something you'd be interested in.

E-Capcom Rockman 30th Anniversary Artbook & Artwork Revealed

This evening Rockman 11 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya announced on Twitter that the E-Capcom store in Japan will be selling a brand-new Rockman 30th Anniversary art book as well as framed art pieces.

The Fully Charged Podcast Talks Mega Man Upon a Star: Future Beware

And we're back with another episode! LBD and I are joined by our editor ShadowRockZX for a special holiday edition of The Fully Charged podcast. We're taking a look at the third episode of Mega Man: Upon a Star, Future Beware. For the uninitiated, Upon a Star is an "educational" OVA that originally released on video back in 1994. The intent of the program was to introduce Japanese culture to elementary-aged children and, in turn, act as a pilot for the Ruby-Spears Mega Man cartoon.

You can listen to this holiday episode directly on SoundCloud and, soon, on iTunes and Google Play. Alternivatly you can listen to the embedded stream on The Mega Man Network.

Happy holidays!

Support Mega Man 11 at the PlayStation Blog Game of the Year 2018 Awards

Mega Man 11 has been nominated for "Best PS4 Game", "Best Art Direction" and "Best Soundtrack" at the PlayStation Blog Game of the Year 2018 Awards. It's unlikely the game will win when it goes against heavy hitters like God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man or Red Dead Redemption 2 to name a few, but you can always show some support for the Blue Bomber!

You can vote in the North American PlayStation Blog and European PlayStation Blog independently. Good luck!

"Imagine-Nation" Rockman 11 Special: "The Return of the Blue Metal Hero"

Back in October 2nd, popular NHK World TV show Imagine-Nation aired an episode mainly focused in Rockman 11. The program provides a closer look at Rockman 11's creation, covering things like game design, sound design, and the team's overall goal while creating Rockman 11. They also had the chance to interview Kazuhiro Tsuchiya (Producer), Ryota Fujii (Lead Designer), Koji Oda (Director) and Ryo Yoshi (Audio Director).

Imagine-Nation is a TV show that focus on introducing Japanese pop culture, specifically anime, manga and video games to overseas audiences. If you wish to learn more about the program, you can do it here.

If you want to see more behind-the-scenes Rockman 11 footage, you can always watch the 5-part "Making Of" series Capcom uploaded to their YouTube channel. It's almost 60 minutes of footage covering the start of the development, the characters, stage design, boss and special effects designs, and sound design. Although it's only in Japanese, you won't be totally lost if you can't understand it – there's plenty of visual information and stuff to see!

Celebrate Christmas with Rockman 11 Special Wallpapers

In the last couple of weeks both Rockman Unity and the official Mega Man Twitter account uploaded a set of Christmas-themed wallpapers designed by the Rockman 11's UI team. There's one wallpaper for each Rockman 11 stage composed of a Robot Master and their respective stage minions in the shape of a Christmas tree.

You can head over to the Rockman Unity blog to grab the eight wallpapers and two more. However, if you want the maximum resolution for the eight wallpapers above, you will have to check Twitter or download them from here.

"The Fully Charged Podcast" is All Caught Up

Whose up for another round of "The Fully Charged Podcast"? LBD Nytetrayn and I are finally caught up on the latest batch of Mega Man: Full Charged episodes (we beat Cartoon Network to the punch!), and we're hoping to keep a more consistent from here on out. I mean I say that, but... eh.

Anyway, you can listen to three new episodes of our show at the following links:

• Episode 24: A Cut Above
• Episode 25: A Bot and His Dog
• Episode 26: This Man, This Man Man!

As always, thanks for supporting the show! We'll be recording a special Christmas Edition over the holiday wherein we'll chat about the Christmas-ish Mega Man: Upon a Star episode, "Future Beware!" Stay tuned!

Mega Man: Fully Charged Returns to Cartoon Network in January 2019

Just in time for all that new merchandise, Mega Man: Fully Charged officially returns to Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 5th, 2019, reports Animation Magazine. Additional episodes will be air Satruday and Sunday mornings at 6:30am/5:30am.

The show returns to Cartoon Network kicks off with episode 21, "Rush to Greatness" wherein "Rush puts his new battle upgrades to the test in a battle with Wave Man."

"Rush to Greatness" is one of several episodes that have already aired in Canada. Cartoon Network will be playing catch-up for a couple weeks, and then they're diving into a couple brand-new, never-before-seen episodes starting Saturday, January 26th. Read on for the schedule!