This is a Mega Man related question, so I'll but it here: Has anyone noticed the parallels between the later entries in the original MM series and the X series?

Mega Man 7: Mega Man attempts to shoot Wily at the end of the game, almost breaking one of the laws of robotics. Kind of sounds like Maverick behavior don't you think?

Mega Man 9: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the eight Robot Masters in Mega Man 9 didn't want to be deactivated/recycled, so they rebelled. If so, did they rebel on their own, joining Wily after the fact or did they rebel with Dr. Wily help via reprogramming?

Mega Man 10: "Robotenza" just reminds me of the Maverick Virus, and if you’re gonna talk about vaccines, you can't forget Dr. Doppler's Neuro Computer which was really one big fat placebo.

That would've blown my mind, save for one thing. Isn't the maverick behaviour, as it's called, exclusive to reploids? Megaman is just an ordinary robot.

From what I understand that exchange was added by the translators, MM just doesn't respond to Wily's warning about robotic laws in the original.

But I wouldn't mind if they were toying with these plot elements to try to establish Classic canon as being separate from X and beyond. Divorcing them eliminate some of the wider contradictions (only Mavericks and beyond are supposed to have free will, but Classic characters act on their own all the time, including Rock's decision to be converted to a fighter) and open mysteries (what happens to the Classic characters by the time MMX starts?) while freeing the larger timeline to finally reach its finite conclusion and the Classic series to continue indefinitely.

There's a new trailer out, too, with RM silhouettes. Apparently there's a baseball boss coming.
http://www.themmnetwork.com/2009/12/17/ … ga-man-10/

I wish those brief cinematic scenes weren't such a haze in my mind right now, but I'm almost certain they rebelled on their own accord.  No reprogramming on Wily's part was done, save for some verbal persuasion.

Well, I must say, I"m absolutely digging the stage theme that is featured in the debut trailer. The stage theme where Easy mode is shown off is also quite lovely. I expect another soundtrack like Megaman 9! So excited.

http://kotaku.com/5428611/mega-man-10-debut-trailer

From what I have taken from various sources, the robots in the original series seem to have had a certain amount of free will (this would explain things like Protoman not trusting Dr.Light to replace his defective core only to have Dr.Wily do it, only to bail on working for him in exchange - aka deception, which is also seen in the cartoon series when Rock lies to Wily in the episode "The Beginning") while the robots in the X universe have complete free will. Such an idea would support Angela's answer concerning Mega Man 9's robots in that a little coaching could turn a robot evil.

As for Maverick "behaviour" (love that extra "u" you eurys throw in - I'm very use to seeing it on metal CD track listings) it is indeed limited to Reploids, but in a certain, abstract sense Mega Man's actions can kind of be seen as a precursor to the Maverick state itself. Again, it's far from an infallible theory, but as a fan I think it's something worth noting.

That video made me feel eight years old for a minute and a half.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/10/1/

I love classic Megaman, but goddamn, I'm hoping this will be the last of the 8-bit renaissance. I'd like to see an X9 done in 16-bit, though, assuming they can do it and not muck up the already messed up story (everyone tells me it was supposed to end at X5).

This calls for an mp3 recording:

Mega Man 10 Trailer Theme Preview (sans the opening cinema and Easy Mode clip):
http://www.mediafire.com/?tnntz00vzot

EDIT: Re-uploaded, now looped.

As expected, the game looks awesome, but I wish they would cut out the secondary and tertiary playable characters.  Since they started doing this in the X series, I've always felt that it dilutes the experience.  You should only be able to play as Mega Man.  Period.

Are you crazy? Ok, I'll totally give you Axl, since if the series ended at X5 as planned he wouldn't even exist (which wouldn't hurt my feelings in the slightest) but Zero totally kicks Mega Man X's butt. Also, I think having two protagonists in the X series is a good idea since X and Zero's demeanor are quite different, X being hesitant towards conflict and Zero being calm and collected and more willing to rip a Maverick's head off if the situation calls for it.

Additionally, look at Mega Man X4. It's true the game doesn't change that much depending on who you play as, but with X being a more long range fighter (good for novices) and Zero being a more up close (good for advanced players) it adds a ripple to the difficulty level not seen in the other games, though I'll admit in games like X5 and X6 the differences between X and Zero (and their weapons) are diluted enough where that difference isn't as relevant. That’s those game’s loss.

I think the X series succeeded more in that department because they built Zero up to be a stronger secondary character right from the beginning; he always had a major role in the story. Protoman, at best, was just a character watching from the shadows, operating just outside the fringe.

I think Megaman classic should just be Megaman alone. Maybe Protoman as a bonus for DLC or something like Megaman 9.

You can always just play as Megaman alone... if you don't want to play as other characters, you don't have to. I myself am looking forward to playing as Protoman again.

*Nods and agrees*

Additionally, when Protoman enters the fray in a canonical since he gets pwned (see Mega Man & Bass)

I do like that new song, especially the part near the end, before it loops.

(from 0:44 to 0:60 in Angie's clip, somehow that sounds brilliant in chip-form)

Now how in the hell did I not loop this one proper?  You guys really need to call me out on these things.....

Mega Man 10 Trailer Theme Preview (sans the opening cinema and Easy Mode clip -- now with 100% more looping):
http://www.mediafire.com/?tnntz00vzot

Also, the official site's gone live -- featuring new embedded song samples!

http://megaman.capcom.com/10/

And here are all 8 new Robot Masters:

http://www.themmnetwork.com/2010/01/13/ … cial-like/

Strike Man. Just like Angie and Sheep Man, I will never unsee the goofy face on his chest. -___-

I can't help but think how lame all those names are. Still, the Mavericks in the later X series games are as lame if not more so, so I'll shut up.

I don't see it. He's just a giant baseball with green nipples.

With potential apologies.

Nice.

Kotaku's got the robot masters up, both sprite and art side by side:

http://kotaku.com/5449109/mega-man-10-r … t/gallery/

It's probably because of my love for bikes, but I think Nitro Man looks dope.

I still think these are the goofiest looking robot designs to come along in quite a while.

Does anyone else find it annoying that after they put together the Mega Man Official Complete Works artbook they decide to make more games? It's really not that complete anymore no?

Argh, they called him Frostman. Not quite as embarassing as Udon accidentally putting X on the cover of the Classic Series' OCW, but still, argh.

Oh, and as far as the extra art is concerned, apparently Capcom Japan wouldn't give permission to add an MM9 section to the OCW when they asked. Maybe we'll see a supplement in a few years including that and the other games with MM (Marvel vs Capcom, Cannon Spike, etc) that they didn't include.

So! Am I the only one playing this so far? An awful lot of responses in the March purchases thread mentioned getting it on PSN, but I didn't think everyonewould be. I was hoping we could compare guesses on who composed what. Ah well, past the first 8 stages now, some quick impressions...

If anyone was wondering, the trailer theme turns out to be Nitroman's theme. Favorite themes at this early stage include that one, Commandoman (if that one isn't by Yuko Takehara I'll eat my hat), and Solarman. The boss theme is surprisingly goofy.

Playing on Normal with Megaman, because that's how it should be. Strikeman's stage is such a pain in the ass, largely due to the goalie mid-boss that's nastier the second time. Solarman's is probably the nastiest after that, with devious enemy placement and a similarly-irritating mid-boss. Third place goes to Nitroman's stage...those damned trucks.

Sadly, the boss->weakness chain is much easier to figure out than MM9's, but the interesting thing is, many bosses don't take real damage from said weakness just because you hit them with it, there's rules in many cases - for instance, to effectively use Commando Bomb on the boss whose weakness it is, you have to hit him with the shockwave and not the bomb itself.

I'll leave it at that for now. Suffice it to say that it's a good one, if not quite as fresh in execution as MM9 was. And without spoiling things, the first stage after those initial eight? Glorious.

You're a good man.

I'm a 360 fanboy so unfortunately I have to wait for a while yet. Definitely looking forward to this though!

I have! I've already beaten it 4 times. I was also the first person on the leaderboards to beat the game this morning. Perhaps...in the world??

I really like it. As I've said elsewhere, I think it's more fun than 9 even if it might not be as tightly designed.

I like the music a lot too. I was a little worried from the initial samples, but it's overall a very solid soundtrack with some real standouts like Nitro Man and Solar Man. The only disappointment was there was nothing on the level of We're The Robots (my personal MM9 fave), but I would guess there's still music left unheard that's part of the upcoming DLC. Anything could happen!

It's not so much a frown I see, but a robot master attempting a "dat ass" style expression.

Hot damn, congrats, man! Just wrapped up my first playthrough myself, kind of sloppy in places, and I thought I'd have to restart the end stages, until I realized I could restock at the shop on the continue screen, and pick up right where I had left off. Much more lenient than MM9, that. My end time was 3:31:5-something, which was (good grief) nowhere near your time, but a good hour shorter than my first MM9 run. I decided to follow up by trying out Hard Mode, and man alive, is that humbling in comparison.

Other quick thoughts:
- Add the first two Wily stage themes (front door notwithstanding) to the other three I already mentioned and those are probably my very favorite pieces of the soundtrack. The music overall takes a bit more warming up to than 9's did, but it's got a charm all its own.
So...which composer do you think did what? I'm guessing Wily Stage 3 was Minae Fujii and (as I said above) Commandoman was Yuko Takehara.
- I found it a little confusing that despite a crab boss and a pirate ship Wily machine that the end of the game wound up in space rather than underwater, but hey.
- The ending was a bit of a letdown. MM9 had that great bit where you could see Wily in defeat throughout the series, and had a bunch of fun portraits throughout the staff roll. MM10's ending was strictly business.
The idea of Wily doing something positive as he escapes is nice, but you'd expect - as an example - to see Roll healed as part of the conclusion considering how important she is to the story. Maybe Protoman's ending is better?
- That DLC is waaaayy too far off.

Overall a good game, I'd probably put it in the same class as MM4, though my three favorites are still 2, 5, & 7. Congratulations again on a helluva job.

Thanks! I was the second person to do it in MM9, and had my revenge this time. I also  beat it a fifth time earlier, only to realize there is no equivalent "Gamer's Day" achievement for doing so. Ohhhhh well. : ) Scored a time of about 41 minutes. Someone already has a 30 minute time. Crazy.

I really think it's a great game, and I dare say it's on the level of 9. It's just about every bit as well designed, except for some minor things here and there, but 9 had some of those too. People are really complaining about the difficulty of some sections -- namely Strike Man's goalie boss and the sandstorms in Commando Man.

I figured out how to beat the goalie boss unscathed with just the Mega Buster, and might as well spread the word (still tagged for those who want to figure it on their own):

Stay in the middle and watch his eyes. They glance over towards where the ball will come from. Run in that direction until the ball clears your head, then run back to the other side to jump around onto the opposite side of the hand.

This is important, as the hand has to be as far out as it can go to block the ball from going to the other side. If it's not, it'll likely bounce and hit you.

Once you're on the hand, one full barrage of Mega Buster should do him in. Repeat for the second form, only the electric volts coming out of the goal will require you to do this twice, maybe three times.

As for the sandstorms, the ones that go from right-to-left can be a pain, but you're never without a safe place to wait it out. And I just confirmed what I thought about the left-to-right storms: you can actually ride them out if you jump carefully. It's especially useful on the final one, you just have to be careful to avoid the Mets and stay ahead of the storm so you can see where you're going. It's pretty fun, and one of those well-designed aspects that's difficult but rewarding, and totally optional.

The only thing I feel is different this time around is that MM9 had a lot of hype and impact. This one doesn't. No way to avoid that though. You mention the ending of 9 being better, and I agree -- but I would also say it just made sense, as being the first game in the series in a long time it was a nice nostalgic piece of fanservice that wouldn't have worked in any other context.

There's a lot to the game, with the challenges and Proto Man right off the bat. If someone were choosing between 9 and 10, I'd recommend 10 easily. I want to play it more, only the throbbing of my eyes is telling me otherwise!

Question: does the game allow you to change your weapons on-the-fly without having to go into the pause menu each time?  That was something I really wished they had put into Mega Man 9.

Also, is Proto Man playable on Easy Mode?  If so, are the same imposed handicaps (like double damage) placed on him like they would be on Normal and up?

Yes to all those questions. On-the-fly weapon changing actually came as an unwelcome surprise during Wiimote play since they mapped weapon-cycling to A & B, causing me to summon Rush inappropriately in midbattle more than once. I imagine PS3 & 360 will use the shoulder buttons.
And Proto's available on all difficulties, with his own shop (which is a hoot the first time you see it) this time around. Huzzah!

Edit - removed potential spoiler.