A new -- well, new-ish title by the name of Rosenkreuzstilette -Blades of the Rose Cross- has arrived on Steam, thanks to the localization efforts of Darksquid Media and AGM Playism. Described as "a love letter to classic gaming," there is clearly one inspiration which seems to stand above all others, at least in the gameplay department. Have a look at the official release trailer and see for yourself if you can figure out what it is:

If you're still having trouble, then I kindly ask you to look at the banner adorning this very website -- or even just its name -- and see if that helps.

While the gameplay is Mega Man-esque without question (and some of the enemies and traps even look like they were lifted directly from one of the Blue Bomber's adventures), music and some aesthetic choices speak more to the fan of Castlevania in me, and there's probably more scattered in there as well.

The game was originally created by a two-man team and released in Japan all the way back in 2007, which gave one fan by the name of Hadriex ample time to produce the following trailer as well:

Says Hadriex in the description: "The text is referring to the game's story and how the Holy Empire treats the Rosenkreuz, and could not possibly be me taking pot shots at any other Mega Man-based games or anything. *cough* Mighty Number *cough cough* 9."

Of course not.

Executive Producer Leif Landevag (perhaps better known to some of you as TDOMMX) has been a fan of Mega Man for quite some time, at one point even making an effort to provide a more accurate translation of the original Mega Man X game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. More recently, Leif has written an article for Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin's Legends of Localization wherein he talks about the journey from those humble beginnings to this full-fledged official Steam release of a game which draws influence from a game so many of us hold dear.

If you're interested in checking out the game and supporting their endeavors, there are two ways to go about it. The first is to purchase the game on Steam, where it is currently discounted from it's normal $9.99 USD price to $8.99 (or $10.99 CAD to $9.89). The same deal also applies if you choose the second option, which is to get it directly from Playism's English page, which is also free of Digital Rights Management (DRM).

Either way, if you've played the game before or are giving it a shot for the first time now, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below! And if you like what you see, be sure to spread the word, too! The more people aware of it, the better for all involved!

Alright, I realize updates have been pretty scarce this past week -- I was facing crunch time for Mega Visions (no relation), and before that, Nintendo Force. Throw in some large-scale chores around the homestead and an endoscopy putting me out of action on Friday (oh, why couldn't it have been a Nintendoscopy instead?), and something had to give. Things should take on a greater sense of normalcy this week.

Anywho, Valentine's Day is this Tuesday, and for those interested in celebrating (and are perhaps on a bit of a tight budget -- or just know someone who is that big of a Mega Man fan), I wanted to link you back to this post from last year, featuring our vast and varied collection of Mega Man-themed Valentines, chock full of cheesy romantic puns to make your significant other groan as you giggle with evil glee.

Or maybe that's just how I celebrate.

Also, if you dare to look at the ones we "rejected," cast your eyes towards the bottom of this post.

Lastly, if you've designed any such Valentine's Day cards featuring Mega Man, Mighty No. 9, Azure Striker Gunvolt, Gunman Clive -- heck, whoever -- feel free to share them in the comments below (or just tell us which of ours you like, you flatterer, you)! As with any comment that has an image or link attached, I'll have to approve it based on community guidelines, but I tend to get around to it within a few hours or so.

Whether it's fan games or original creations, there certainly seems to be no shortage of people who have been inspired by the Mega Man Battle Network titles released by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (and, to a lesser degree, the Nintendo DS) throughout the aughts.

The latest to use MegaMan.EXE as their muse is a group called 12B3 Games, who have recently posted a Kickstarter for EndCycle, a 2D action-role playing game inspired by the gameplay of the adventures of Lan Hikari and the digital Blue Bomber. Here is their trailer:

The story takes place in the world of Anika, where the discovery of a limitless energy source has failed to bring harmony to the land. The protagonist, Fin, loses everything dear to him when the organization known as Azure Shield makes their move to restore the energy source which brought about mankind's ruination. His hope now lies in whether or not he can ally himself with the Crimson Force, who seek to prevent the tragedies of the past from occurring once again.

A free demo version of the game is available on their Itch.io page, featuring the entire prologue chapter and more than 60 attacks available. You can get more details about the project on Kickstarter, where 18 backers have currently pledged €435 of their €10,000 goal, with 13 days remaining.

Thanks to Gal Peric for sending this my way!

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Mega Man Battle Network-inspired Kickstarter role playing game EndCycle comes another Kickstarter for a Mega Man-esque game. Unlike that one, however, this one should appeal more to those who enjoy the platforming aspects of the franchise.

You might recall a month ago, when discussing Team Einherjar's fan game "Mega Man ZX Genesis," that there was talk of a new, original project that would soon be announced. That day has come, and that project is now officially known as FictionSphere:

Visually, the game is very reminiscent of Inti Creates' style for the Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX games, and you can even spot some vintage wall-jumping action among the platforming and arcade-style shooting, courtesy of the playable character Ratio. The other playable character, Paradox, brings something new to the mix in the form of some "beginner friendly" beat 'em up combo mechanics. Together, Team Einherjar has dubbed this hybrid a "Technical Platformer."

These two protagonists are brought together in a world where many humans have succumbed to an infection known as Phanteria, and the resulting "Phantasms" have begun to wreak havoc across the land. The company known as Astral Tech has created Apostoloid robots to protect a safe haven for those who have minimal infection rates, as well as the Excells -- those able to withstand the infection and utilize their hidden potential to take the fight to the enemy. All others, however, are turned away to fend for themselves as best they can.

Team Einherjar is aiming for a $15 PC release, and currently has the game up on Steam Greenlight. More game and story details and art can be found on their Kickstarter page, where as of this writing they've managed to procure $912 of their $30,000 goal from 35 backers, and there are still 28 days remaining. Alternatively, you can support the project through PayPal as well.

Should they meet their goal, stretch goals aim to add more content such as an art gallery, as well as potentially bring the game to more platforms including Mac, Linux, Xbox One, and the PlayStation 4 & PlayStation Vita.

In the meantime, work is underway on a demo so you can experience the action for yourself.

If you'd like to follow the project, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and their home page.

Thanks to Team Einherjar, GeminiSparkSP, reluctantlyxdead , and Icy for the tips!

Some of you might remember that it was just shy of a year ago that Lucas Gilbertson (voice of Zero for what has up to this point been the remainder of the Mega Man X series through Mega Man X: Command Mission, Mega Man X8, and Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X), opened up a contest for fans to submit their short examples of fan fiction, with the winners having their works voiced by none other than Gilbertson himself (and his associates, as necessary).

It took a while, as they contemplated how to actually bring these creations to life. In the end, rather than trying to make their own Mega Man X anime, they opted for a more artistic approach and decided to reach out to some people who have created some amazing fan art to illustrate the videos instead.

Here is the first result, written by Joseph Bortner (Twitter, deviantART) and illustrated by Akira Hibiki (Twitter, deviantART):

According to Mr. Gilbertson, now that they've found a good formula for making these in the time that they have, we can expect to see more soon.

Now, as you might also recall from the contest, Mr. Gilbertson has said that with the addition of these videos, he would be removing the scenes of Mega Man X4 he redubbed from his YouTube channel.

Fret not, however, as the videos now have a new home! With Mr. Gilbertson's permission, you can now find all three videos on our (tragically underutilized) YouTube channel! Which, for your convenience, I've also embedded right here:

(And yes, Sigma is a bit quiet there -- mind your speakers.)

If you're interested in keeping up with the further high jinks of Lucas Gilbertson, you can subscribe to his YouTube channel and/or follow him on Twitter.

This has been quite the week for games inspired by Mega Man to come out of the woodwork! First we had EndCycle, then FictionSphere, and now Dream Tear - Elemental Rising 2 - Atom Maker.

Dream Tear has something a bit different going on versus its contemporaries, however. For starters, there's no Kickstarter tied to it; instead, it acts as the sequel to the original Dream Tear - Elemental Rising, which was a game told in the style of a visual novel -- or alternatively, through a series of YouTube videos if that happens to be quicker for you, both of which can be found here.

More immediately related to this second game is a manga prologue, which can be found here and follows the game's hero as he returns to join with a group of freedom fighters and seeks to overcome the trials and tribulations surrounding the mysterious Hope Isle.

As to the game itself, here are some trailers which show off the action:

The demo featuring the above can be downloaded on either Itch.io or Game Jolt, and developer Skytric notes that in the time since it was uploaded, they've already added and improved on some things, such as additional walking frames. Just the same, this will allow you to experience a taste of the action.

Here are two other areas that are in the works, including a beach:

And then a topsy-turvy space-themed level, including a boss fight in the bizarre Phytrixia Neptune:

If you're still looking for more about the game, including art, character bios, and other stuff, check out the official webpage here.

It was a heck of a weekend for plastic portrayals of the Blue Bomber, from both the east and the west! I've been keeping an eye on things (while making goo-goo eyes over a certain tyrannosaur-ish Titan Master Transformer, admittedly), and have rounded everything up into one easy-to-access article for you here now that the weekend is done.

First is a surprisingly long-overdue follow-up to last year's Toy Fair 2016 announcement from Super7. They teased that we would be seeing a Mega-fied version of the Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere, aka M.U.S.C.L.E., but for the last year, we've only had a mock-up package to stare at. But no more!

By way of The Toyark, we've got a couple of pictures of the kick-off to the Mega Man portion of the line -- at least, what will hopefully only be the kick-off, as there are a lot more characters beyond the relative few seen here.

Still, the current selection isn't too bad, as we have Mega Man, Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, Cut Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man, Ice Man, Elec Man, Guts Man, Sniper Joe, a Met, and the Yellow Devil. Huh, no Roll?

Anyway, these are slated to be available in Summer 2017.

Unfortunately, no update on the also-teased retro-style Mega Man ReAction figure is to be seen among the many on display.

Even so, that's not all from Toy Fair! A company known as The Loyal Subjects also featured a number of Blue Bomber baubles with a line of mini-figures based on the Classic and X series!

I've included some of the less-commonly seen characters (as toys go) above, including Rush (with Coil) and Treble, Skull Man, Sigma, and X in his first full set of armor, but The Toyark has more including Zero v2 (with two Z-Sabers!), Cut Man, Elec Man, Proto Man, Bass, and of course, Mega Man himself.

Crossing over to Japan and Wonder Fest, we have some sad news. Well, sort of. More of a sad moment:

The previously-reported statue from Amakuni which depicts the moment in Yoshihiro Iwamoto's Rockman X manga where Zero dies (based, of course, on the same moment in the original Mega Man X game) is now ready for the world to see in full, glorious, and maybe even a little bit tragic color.

According to Protodude's Rockman Corner, there's still no date or price for this work yet, so we'll keep you posted.

Finally, two new additions to the 4Inch-Nel line have been announced! From Rockman Unity (via Protodude's Rockman Corner):

MegaMan Volnutt and Star Force MegaMan have joined Lan, MegaMan.EXE, Cut Man, Mega Man X, and a few different versions of Mega Man! And you know what that means!

Super Fighting Robot... Mega Man! Fighting to save the world!

Alas, once again, there is no date or price available for these, and they look rather barren of accessories as well. I'm sure we'll hear more in the coming months, so stay tuned. In the meantime, however, you can click either of the links above for more images.

And that's all for now! Which ones, if any, are you most interested in? Share in the comments below!

Back in December's edition of Ripot's Round-Up, one item I looked at was the thoroughly comprehensive edition of Stop Skeletons From Fighting's "Past Mortem" series which focused on the rise and fall of Mighty No. 9. At the end of that video came the promise that they would do a follow-up video which focuses on the man behind so much of the Mega and the Mighty, Keiji Inafune himself.

Skip ahead a couple of months, and that time has come.

"Father? Businessman? Hack? Conman? Now that we've broken down the Mighty No 9 Kickstarter campaign, it's time take a closer look at the man at the center of it all, Keiji Inafune."

Once again, SSFF has really done their research, even digging up a bit of info on some of Inafune's other ventures that I myself was personally unaware of, including a mobile development studio named Ding and the seeming fate of Comcept's game development studio sibling, Intercept.

Incidentally, I'm still kind of bummed about King of Pirates, but I'm a sucker for penguins.

As always, feel free to share your thoughts on what we've seen here in the comments below.

There have been many Mega Man hacks over the years, and this might be one of the stranger ones. Or maybe not, it's hard to tell.

In any case, this one seems to place you in the role of a greyscale version of Copy Mega Man, fighting against the robots of Dr. Light. Check it out:

The "CX" in the title is presumably a reference to the Japanese video game show Game Center CX, given the various bosses from other games featured within, including Fire Mario, Whispy Woods, and of course, Mega Man himself.

The game is also much faster-paced than the original Mega Man titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System, featuring speedier enemies as well as dashing and a machine gun-like Buster to compensate. Getting to play as Quick Man seems to help further punctuate this, and using his Quick Boomerangs the way he did in the original game looks extra-fun as well.

Here is the link to the ROM, though you'll still need an NES emulator to play it.

Thanks to Dega Vega for the tip!

First arriving on the scene in 1987, Mega Man is well considered by many to be an oldschool franchise with a retro look and sound that is often emulated and marketed today.

It's not just retro gaming that's popular, however; over the years, retro music has taken a bit of an upswing, and I'm not just talking about the music itself, but also the way that it's heard. To that end, there's a steadily growing contingent of enthusiasts who seek out ways of listening to music the way our parents and grandparents used to: On vinyl.

So what happens when you bring these two decades-old mediums together? Our friends at Retroware TV have taken a look at the release of the Mega Man 1-10 Mega Pack vinyl video game soundtrack in order to find out:

The album serves as a "best of" compilation of music from the mainline numbered Mega Man games, and features the following tracks: Stage Select, Cut Man Stage, and Elec Man Stage from Mega Man; Metal Man Stage, Wood Man Stage, Flash Man Stage, Crash Man Stage, and Dr. Wily Stage 1 (of course) from Mega Man 2; Skull Man Stage and Bright Man Stage from Mega Man 4; Dr. Wily Stage and Stage Clear from Mega Man 5; Flame Man Stage and Wind Man Stage from Mega Man 6; Theme of Bass, Burst Man Stage, and Cloud Man Stage from Mega Man 7; Tengu Man Stage from Mega Man 8; Galaxy Man Stage from Mega Man 9; Fireball Strike (Strike Man Stage) and Nitro Rider (Nitro Man Stage) from Mega Man 10; and Game Over from Mega Man 9.

While it's no surprise that the iconic Mega Man 2 gets the lion's share of the tracks, the complete absence of Mega Man 3 is not only inexplicable, but kind of makes the album title a misnomer as well.

Unfortunately for those interested, it seems that the album is already out of print, though there's hope that a second run could happen.

In the meantime, if this sort of thing interests you beyond Mega Man, there have been other vinyl album releases for retro game soundtracks popping up in recent. A few examples can be seen in this previous review from Retroware, featuring Shenmue, Shinobi, and Streets of Rage from another company called Data Discs:

Even more can be found on this playlist, so enjoy!

Gambling has long been an oddly common theme in games which tend to skew towards all-ages, with Vegas-style stages and opportunities to try your luck in tests of skill not unlike Wintigo casino games. Oddly enough, there is one particular character who it seems would be a natural fit for this, yet has never set foot beneath those neon lights: Mega Man.

Take for example two of the biggest icons in the medium's history:

Super Mario and Slot Machines

When it comes to video game icons trying their luck in games of chance, there are few as, well, iconic as Mario. In particular, the plumbing protagonist's favorite seems to be the slots. Or if they aren't, tough luck for him, because that's what's everywhere.

The first time of note that Mario hit the slots was in Super Mario Bros. 2, where coins earned in Subspace during each level could be used to try for up to five bonus lives per attempt. This is also where the fast fungi gardener Toad could really earn his keep as well, as he could pluck more coins than anyone in the short time Subspace remained open.

That was only the beginning, as other variations would appear in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and Mario Party. Then again, maybe eyes on where it all began should really be on Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2, where Yoshi takes the infant Mario to the slots for a chance to earn some extra lives.

The most recent instance of note, however, is also the most interesting. Super Mario 3D World's Lucky Houses appear randomly on the map. As seen above, they feature something of a casino-like aesthetic, right down to raining cash upon the player with a win, but instead of arms or buttons, Mario and friends do what they do best -- leap up and punch the blocks to set things in motion.

Fortunately, with a bit of practice, Mario and company can score some easy wins -- easier than those seen in real life, at least.

Sonic's Casino Night Adventures

Casinos in Sonic's World are as commonplace as grassy green hills, ancient ruins, or industrial factories -- and they've been around for nearly as long as the franchise has.

The most prominent of them all would, of course, be the Casino Night Zone. This portion of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 saw the Blue Blur spinning around and bouncing off of pinball flippers to land in one of many slot machines spread throughout the area. Jackpots would net rings, which could score extra lives, help pave the way to bonus stages, or -- if all the Chaos Emeralds were collected -- make turning into Super Sonic that much easier.

The Casino Night Zone was even popular enough to inspire a spin-off of sorts in Sonic Spinball. Granted, that one didn't receive the same acclaim as its inspiration, but it nonetheless helped solidify the concept while the originator would go on to appear as a classic throwback in titles such as Sonic the Fighters, Sonic Drift 2, and Sonic Generations (with the downloadable content console version focusing exclusively on the pinball aspect).

It didn't just stop there, either: Variations on the theme such as Casinopolis (Sonic Adventure), Casino Park and Bingo Highway (Sonic Heroes), and Casino Street Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I), among many others, have helped keep the theme prevalent in fans' minds over the years.

Mega Man's Roulette Encounter

Then we come to Mega Man. The Blue Bomber hasn't really come close to having anything resembling the style of America's Playground in any of his titles. One might suggest that this is due to the fact that those bearing the name are usually too young for that kind of night life, but then again, it never stopped Sonic.

Of course, that isn't to say that the opportunity to try one's luck hasn't come up in a Mega Man title. Or then again, maybe it is, since the one time such elements were prevalent was exclusive to Japan by way of Wily and Right no Rockboard, the Famicom-exclusive board game which mixed games of chance with something not unlike Monopoly.

Interestingly, while Mario and Sonic show more passion for the slots, a light version of the most iconic casino game ever, roulette, is the main way of getting ahead in Rockboard. Of course, since Mega Man acts as host, it's really Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, Dr. Cossack, and even Kalinka and Roll who get in on the action.

That leaves the big question: When (I believe "when," not "if") Mega Man returns in a new game, is this a theme long overdue to be visited? It's not hard to imagine the Classic series in particular being a good fit for this, with gambling-themed robots populating the stage of a Robot Master representing the house. Just spitballing here, but one modeled after a slot machine seems like a perfect fit -- maybe he could even dispense energy or death after being blasted three times?

Incidentally, I feel like this would be a good place to bring back those white versions of Sumatran, too. But maybe that's just me.

What do you think? We've seen numerous instances of fire, ice, water, and jungle stages over the years; is it time for Mega Man to hook up with his contemporaries and head to Vegas?

And if not Classic, maybe one of the other iterations? Feel free to share your thoughts on this in the comments below!

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This article sponsored by Wintigo.

Here's a quick morsel of info for you, though I hesitated to put it under "Mega Man News," but if it does indeed prove to be relevant, that's where it would go.

Anyway, it turns out that earlier this month, Digital Eclipse's Video Game Historian/Archivist and founder of The Video Game History Foundation, Frank Cifaldi, took part in an interview with The Ringer's "Channel 33" podcast to talk about a variety of things, but the one that brings us here today can be heard at 31:30:

It seems that Mega Man Legacy Collection did well enough by Capcom's metrics that the company is now working on a second such game compilation that they should be announcing it "any day now," though it seems he can't say anything more than that at the moment.

That leaves us to wonder if Capcom is seeking to capitalize on that momentum with something like a "Mega Man X Legacy Collection," a gathering of some of their other 8-bit titles, or perhaps even something else. In the meantime, feel free to speculate (and listen to the rest of the show)!

Additionally, if you're interested in supporting The Video Game History Foundation, you can visit their Patreon here. You can also follow Frank Cifaldi on Twitter here to see all sorts of neat stuff, the likes of which that foundation will help preserve for future generations.

Thanks to Nz17 for the tip!

Microsoft has announced today that later this Spring, they will begin a new service for the Xbox One called Xbox Game Pass.

Effectively a sort of Netflix-like monthly service, Xbox Game Pass will provide subscribers with unlimited access to more than 100 various Xbox One and backwards compatible Xbox 360. And among the titles available when the service goes live later this Spring is none other than Mega Man Legacy Collection, which you can even see around the middle of the promotional image above.

Granted, anyone who's super-serious about the Blue Bomber and is interested probably already owns the game, but if you know any friends or family members who are perhaps not quite as dedicated as you lot reading this but might still be interested, it's something to bring up to them. And if the nostalgia wave hits them full-force, they'll even be able to purchase the game at a 20 percent discount!

If you're more interested in the service as a whole, then I invite you to check out my article on Mario's Hat for more details.

As I sat here watching the Nintendo Switch Nindies Showcase earlier, a clip for Blaster Master Zero from Inti Creates came up. "I wonder if I should write about that," I thought, mostly out of habit from covering the company's titles here. "Nah, Blaster Master isn't really all that Mega Man-esque. I'll leave it."

And yet, here I am writing about it. Why? Watch the trailer from Inti Creates' channel here and see for yourself:

Did you catch it?

At 1:27, the video mentions "Additional Character DLC Coming Soon" and shows the following image, courtesy of GoNintendo:

Indeed, that's none other than Inti's own Mega Man-esque platforming star, Gunvolt, who has taken over the controls of the SOPHIA III battle vehicle.

While the Nintendo Direct video didn't actually show Gunvolt, it did mention "cameos," plural, so there may be others of interest as well. Think there's a chance Beck could show up?

This doesn't mean I'm going to give the game any sort of extensive coverage (unless there's some sort of unusual demand for it, anyway), but I will try to keep you informed of any updates on this and any other relevant content from the game.

As for Blaster Master Zero itself, it will be available on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS on March 9th for $9.99 USD. More info can be found on the official homepage, which just opened today.

I haven't made much of a habit of posting about Shovel Knight here, because for all the elements it draws from Mega Man, it also draws many from other games as well, leaving me to wonder if it altogether is enough to qualify as "Mega Man-esque." But between the amount of crossover the Ace of Spades has had with various other Mega Man-esque franchises and the generally good reception it seems to have around here, I figure now is as good a time as any to give it a go -- particularly as three items have all dropped into my lap at about the same time!

First up is the trailer from Nintendo for Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment:

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is available as free downloadable content to those who own the game, for $9.99 to those who are only interested in that particular content, or for $24.99 as part of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which will feature all four Shovel Knight campaigns when it (and Specter of Torment itself) are released on March 3rd for Nintendo Switch.

For all other platforms, the new content will arrive in April. In the meantime, if you want to get in while the getting is good, the original Shovel Knight is on sale until March 2nd for 33 percent off on Nintendo 3DS (US, EU) , Wii U (US, EU), PlayStation 4 (US), PlayStation 3 (US), PlayStation Vita (US), and for PC/Mac/Linux through ShovelKnight.com, Steam, GOG.com, and Humble Store. Be advised that the entries for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita are not marked on sale, but the PlayStation 4 version is, and it supports Cross-Buy. Loophole!

Next up, Yacht Club Games has taken to using Polygon as their forum to talk about a feature long-promised from the days when Shovel Knight was but a Kickstarter campaign -- Gender Swap Mode! Or, as it's now known, Body Swap Mode!

Yacht Club Games has gone to impressive lengths with this mode, not only redesigning all the main characters to have variant forms, but even allowing you to toggle each character design and even their pronouns from a menu, so you can have just the experience you crave!

To see the rest of the new designs and see how they went about approaching this task, check out the piece they wrote for Polygon here.

Finally, Shovel Knight's signature move is a jump in which he stabs downward with his Shovel Blade to damage foes and bounce off of them, not unlike Link in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Cranky Kong in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze... or a certain wealthy citizen of Duckburg who helped make the move an iconic one over the years.

With shared techniques and fabulous wealth between these two adventurers, perhaps it was only a matter of time before ScrewAttack decided to see who would win in a Death Battle.

Mind, I've not seen the following video yet, but I'm willing to bet that it's Not Safe For Work:

And if you're not interested in the fight itself, but would still like to partake of their Shovel Knight primer, then this video will probably be more your speed:

And that's pretty much everything I've got that's fresh at the moment. If you're interested in more Shovel Knight, however, then check out the Yacht Club Games official site, where you'll find plenty more, including neat stuff like an old school-styled instruction manual for Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, it's not like I haven't talked about Shovel Knight here before -- just usually more in relation to Mega Man. Here are some highlights:

• Original Mega Man Composer Joins Production of Shovel Knight
• Gunvolt Strikes the Earth in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 - Using the Shovel Knight amiibo figure, you can unlock a special boss fight between Gunvolt and Shovel Knight in the Nintendo 3DS game.
• Awesome Games Done Quick Does Mega Man - Mostly Mega Man and previously-acknowledged Mega Man-esque stuff, of course, but I threw in Shovel Knight, too.

It's been a little bit over a month since we last heard anything about the Azure Striker Gunvolt anime, which was the news that it would be delayed from an end-of-2016 release to sometime in the early winter of 2017. But now, a worldwide release date has been given: February 9th, 2017!

What's more, the news does not come without visual aids; feast your eyes on the latest trailer:

The anime, which will be available on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS, will be priced at $2.99 USD, probably a buck or two more in Canada (we don't get clarification), £2.49, €2.79, and AU$3.65.

In the meantime, Inti Creates has also opened up a home page for the anime, which admittedly doesn't feature much that the trailer does not. At the very least, however, it does make a handy resource for looking up the members of the cast and staff.

It's been a while since we last heard anything from Peter Sjöstrand about his fan game creation, "Mega Man 2.5D," but now there's an update with a huge bit of info: It's out now!

Check out the launch trailer, which features nods to some other series and forms of media Mega Man has been involved in over the years:

The long-in-development game features an art style based on the original Nintendo Entertainment System titles, but with a twist, as it's presented in a 3D setting -- not unlike Nintendo's Paper Mario games. And the Blue Bomber doesn't go it alone, as big brother Proto Man is also on hand for some 2-player fun!

To get the game, you have a few options, all of which are detailed at http://petersjostrand.com/. You can also Like the game's Facebook page here.

So be sure to check it out, and talk about it in the comments below!

Do note that I didn't say "now" available for pre-order, because they have been for a little while. I just kind of missed covering them until now. Fortunately, they aren't due to ship until April/May 2017, so I think we're all doing well for time here.

"We couldn't agree, and so now we're all the Blue Ranger!"

Anyway, in case you haven't heard, Bandai has a new group of Mega Man figures coming under the "66 Action" banner, which touts "combines mobility and high quality molding" and "a wide range of motion makes dynamic action posing." Each figure measures in at just over two and a half inches, features a fair bit of articulation for that size, and comes with an accessory.

Classic Mega Man comes with an E Tank, while X features an effects part. Volnutt comes with a translucent yellow Servbot/Kobun, and MegaMan.EXE includes his trusty Sword. A fifth figure, not shown, is a red Mega Man which comes with Rush.

You can pre-order a box of ten figures (two of each) from Amiami for 4,630 JPY (about $40.92 USD) with a release date of April. If for some reason that doesn't work out, BigBadToyStore also has them, but for $89.99 USD with an arrival slated for May. Alternatively, Vhyper1985 says that they're supposed to retail individually for about 500 JPY (about $5), though I don't know if they're blind-boxed or not.

More pics (including of the accessories, but not of the red Mega Man, who is apparently supposed to be some sort of "secret") can be seen at the links above, as well as an added gallery on Rockman Unity.

Thanks to Vhyper1985 and David Minter for bringing these to my attention!

While "Mega Man 2.5D" has finally been released, another fan game that's been trucking along for the last few years has been "Mega Man X: Corrupted," which has recently updated with a couple of new clips to show off some new foes 'n features of the fan game.

First up, there's the battle with the boss known only as "Hoatzin," which has something of a more lethal Storm Eagle sort of vibe about it:

Next up is a feature that's a bit of a throwback to Mega Man X8, as "Corrupted" allows you to mix and match pieces. If I remember correctly, the difference here is that different combinations can result in different abilities being unlocked. Have a look:

Incidentally, you might notice that while the art style remains the same, X's pixel art is now different from the familiar Super Nintendo Entertainment System set we're used to. Kapcer of JKB Productions had this to say about the change:

Our decision to change the sprite is to give X a more mature and distinct look that is original to Corrupted. This was something we planned for awhile, but finally were able to bring it to fruition. The sprite is a hybrid between Snes era and Psx era, but the overall aim is to still capture the nostalgia look of the 16bit era.

The addition of the new sprite do not alter the physics or hitbox at all. The only change is the height of the shooting. In Corrupted not only do we have the regular standing shot, but also the crouching shot. With this change in the shooting height, we are also to have more variation in tactics used to destroy mavericks.

Overall progress is going great, the team puts a lot of long nights in order to make the best game possible for all fans to enjoy. We thank you for your continued support!

and Yes, Zero is receiving a re-sprite too.

You can find the original post on the JKB Productions Facebook page here, along with a small picture which shows comparisons between X's original pixel art and the new versions for both his normal form and his upgraded form from the first game, plus a few enemies.

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days -- I've been caught up in Nintendo Switch fever, including the acquisition of and the playing of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and other things. But now that I've got that new console smell out of my system, it's time to get back to business here.

It's March once again, and that means that YouTube channel It's Super Effective is once again celebrating the Blue Bomber all month long with Mega March, featuring all sorts of factoids and interesting tidbits about the Titanium Titan and all his varying incarnations, starting with the Man called "X."

More videos will be going up each week throughout the rest of the month, so be sure to keep eyes on It's Super Effective if you want more. Protodude will even be lending his voice to an upcoming episode all about the oft-overlooked Mega Man Star Force series!

And if you'd like to see last year's videos, you can find those here and here. For now, were there any you didn't know? Share in the comments below!

Thanks to Rob for passing this along!