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Ripot's Round-Up - 12/24/16

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Man, this holiday season, am I right? It's been pretty busy, and it feels impossible to get everything that needs to be done finished before the New Year.

That's why I'm doing another Ripot's Round-Up right now. Several of you have passed along some great tips, and along with a few things I've found myself, I just haven't been able to get around to putting everything up.

And while I could hold them and post them throughout the remainder of the year, the fact is that I've still got a good few original content articles I'd like to get done by the end of the year -- that's right, the Mighty No. 9 piece was but the first of... well, a few, at least. So I'd like to make the most of the downtime by focusing more on that stuff before the ball drops in Times Square and we're all happily saying "get on outta here!" to 2016 (but don't worry, if anything big breaks, I'll still cover it).

So, without further ado...

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First up, Roberto Zampari Caldas has passed along a trinity of tidbits from Protodude's Rockman Corner, starting with the real-world Navi Time GPS teaming with the fictional NetNavis of Capcom's Rockman.EXE!

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For a mere 150 Yen, you can have Rockman.EXE, Netto, and more turn your phone app into a PET of sorts! Unfortunately, though Navi Time is available in some other countries, the Rockman.EXE theme pack is not.

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Next up, Roberto and Protodude bring us this look at a cool statue which depicts one of the most iconic moments of Yoshinori Iwamoto's Rockman X manga:

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The design is by Iwamoto himself, of course, while the statue will be produced by Amakuni. At the moment, however, there's not much more to say until further info comes. You can view more pics here, though.

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Third and last from Protodude by way of Roberto are something that may appeal to you if you're sick of Funko's Pop! vinyl line: Dorbz!

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Two versions of Mega Man, along with Rush, Proto Man, and Dr. Wily will run you a cheaper cost of $7.99 USD each, and you can find them all at Entertainment Earth.

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Before there was Project X Zone, there was Namco X Capcom. Did You Know Gaming? takes a look back at this turn-based strategy game that never left Japan in their new(-ish) series, Region Locked:

The part that stings most about not getting this here -- besides being a fan of the series and missing a chapter, of course -- is right there in the thumbnail, front and center: MegaMan Volnutt and Roll Caskett from Mega Man Legends feature in this one, while only Tron would appear in the sequel.

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Dega Vega sends this one from Liam Nguyen Animation, which remakes a shot from the opening of the PlayStation/Saturn/PC version of Mega Man X3:

The video is just a timelapse of the recreation of that one frame, but they say that they'd like to recreate the entire opening sequence if they have the time. Interestingly, X looks a little more like his Mega Man Zero series self here, wouldn't you say?

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While I was going to wait and post this after I posted "Thoughts and Opinions on Mighty No. 9," Anon beat me to it in the comments there, so I'm just adding it here.

While I focused primarily on the quality of the end product, Stop Skeletons From Fighting has assembled a very good look at pretty much everything else which surrounded the project from start to finish in this edition of "Past Mortem." I definitely recommend checking it out, as it's very even-handed, and I learned a few things I wasn't aware of here as well.

Host Derek Alexander also notes that they'll be doing a follow-up which examines Keiji Inafune himself, and once it's posted, I'll be sure to pass that along here as soon as I can.

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David PDR Gonzalez sent this song he created and posted to SoundCloud. Called "END/AREA ft. Walter West, Kryciz," it's about Mega Man Battle Network 5. Do note that it is rap/hip-hop features some explicit lyrics, so you might want to read over those (featured below the player) before listening to it, particularly if you're somewhere that Not Safe For Work content is ill-advised.

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Gonzalez also passed along this video essay about Mega Man's potential/impending return, which I'm only linking here due to -- if I'm being honest -- being a little uncomfortable with the idea of embedding here with some of the content featured.

It is entertaining and does raise some good points to ponder, though, and do note that this was made before the Mega Man of Action cartoon was confirmed and Mighty No. 9 was released.

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By way of Retroware TV, iRetroGamer's new series Level Select takes a close-up look at the Bubble Man stage from Mega Man 2:

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Next up, Skytric passed along this video of a demo for a Mega Man Legends fan game called "Mega Man Legends: Operation Mother Lode":

Jeric Bryle Dy is the creator of the game, with Skytric providing the title music and Kira Buckland voicing Tron Bonne. You can try the demo for yourself by getting it here, and you can keep tabs on the game here.

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Speaking of Tron, Orion Ake passed along this video they did a couple of years ago of her and Roll receiving word that Mega Man Legends 3 was cancelled and leading a full-scale assault on Capcom of Japan's headquarters to change their minds.

Personally, I dig the part set to Paul Stanley's "Live to Win."

If you're interested in the making of the video, particularly why it took three years, then check out Orion's blog post for more info.

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Another video by way of Retroware TV features James Ronald of Epic Game Music performing a mix of "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC and the Elec Man theme from the original Mega Man... with one hand:

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Finally, and I wish I had given this its own post, Performance Designed Products LLC has announced that they've released a series of new "Pixel Pals," which are light-up 8-bit styled renditions of characters such as Mega Man, Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Bros. 3, and Vault Boy from Fallout 4. Here are the two versions of Mega Man, regular and Solar Blaze:

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Of course, if you wanted to, you could just pretend the one on the right is wielding Atomic Fire or something, if that better suits you. I doubt anyone will judge.

These six-inch display pieces are being sold exclusively through GameStop and online for a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $14.99 USD, and come with two AAA batteries so you can light 'em up right out of the box. More details can be found here.

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And that does it for this edition! So unless Capcom decides to surprise everyone on Christmas Day with the announcement of Mega Man 11 or X9 or, heck, Legends 3 or something, then you're probably not going to see much of me for the next few days. But the day after Boxing Day, all bets are off! ...unless you're celebrating Hanukkah and have plenty of dreidels, in which case... well, you know what you're doing.

Oh, and I might have something of a tradition prepped for the weekend ahead of time.

Happy Holidays, all!

 

 

 


Continuing Our Christmas Tradition...

We now present to you our annual showing of "The Dr. Wily Show" episode "Jingle Bells."

Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties (read: copyright strikes, because YouTube), "The Dr. Wily Christmas Special" will not be seen this year. Instead, enjoy some holiday commercials:

Or, if you'd rather have something a little more subdued running in the background, here's Lil BUB's Magical Yule Log video for 2016:

But no matter what or how you're celebrating this holiday season, may they all be happy!

More Gunvolt News and More Gunvolt Wallpaper!

Mere days after Inti Creates dropped their previous bit of Gunvolt news on us -- along with a Christmas-themed wallpaper -- they've returned with even more news, this time centered around Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 on the Nintendo 3DS, plus another wallpaper!

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This time out, the Gunvolt 2 crew of GV, Joule, Xiao, and Quinn are celebrating what's known as hatsumode at a Japanese shrine. But what is "hatsumode," you ask? Matt Papa explains:

Hatsumode is the first Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese new year, and once the clock hits 12:00 on 1/1, all throughout the day you can find flocks of people making their visits at all hours of the day and night. Super popular shrines such as Kanda Shrine in Tokyo’s Akihabara district (made famous by the anime Love Live) or Meiji Shrine in the Harajuku area will have lines spanning multiple city blocks just to wait to get in.

If you want the full version of the wallpaper (seen above), then head on over to the official Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 website!

With that out of the way, we've got news of downloadable content coming to Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. Check out this trailer for the Japanese release:

The full scope of the DLC isn't detailed, but we do know that it includes boss battles against the Adepts of the first Azure Striker Gunvolt (which ought to be fun to take on as Copen), a new song by the duet of Joule and Lola, and "a lot more".

This DLC is available now in Japan, but as for North America and Europe, they're still working on it with a target of "sometime in January," with an exact date still to be announced.

So you might be thinking "That sounds great, but I don't have Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. In fact, I'm not even sure I would care much for it, but how can I be sure?" Fortunately, Matt's got your back. Beginning (*looks at the clock*) today, a demo of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 will be available to try on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. So now, those of you who are curious can experience it for yourself, while those who know the glory of GV can share it with friends!

Oh, and Europe? Don't worry, you're not forgotten -- Papa says they're preparing a demo for you guys as well, but you'll just need to wait a little longer for info regarding that.

Source: Inti Creates Blog

Mega Man Mobile Release Date Announced

So, those six Mega Man Mobile games we've talked about twice previously? They're coming soon, and possibly even sooner than anyone ever expected. Per Capcom Mobile's Twitter:

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That's right, we get it January 5th, an entire day before Japan does! Take that, Japan!

That is, unless you take the whole time zone thing into account, in which case I think we might be getting it about the same time? Uh, hey Japan, you know I was just kidding with you about the whole "take that" thing, right?

As for price, nothing new on that front.

Anyway, I know that if you're reading this -- being a Mega Man fan site and all, thereby meaning you're probably a Mega Man fan -- these releases may have limited interest to you, or you might even be wary. Nonetheless, if all goes accordingly, I'll be able to offer some thoughts on these releases in fairly short order, so keep an eye on The Mega Man Network if you're interested in Megafying your mobile device!

TMMN Reviews: Bandai S.H. Figuarts Mega Man Zero Figure (Warning: Image-Heavy)

Well, this has turned into a fine mess. Not the figure, I mean; rather, the situation leading up to this review.

You're probably thinking to yourself "Why this figure? Why now? And what about Alexx's "Facts & Figures" reviews?"

Following my video review of Bandai's D-Arts Ultimate Armor Mega Man X figure, I had some hopes of doing video reviews of figures as a regular thing. Truth be told, that was longer ago than I realized, and as I tried to pull things together, the things I needed just kept drifting further and further apart. I waited as days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and along the way, other things came up that led to them being pushed to the background. All the while, though, it's been eating at me.

I've given up the video idea for now, and I'm going oldschool with my review of this and the other things I've had sitting around, waiting for a video series that would never materialize. Instead, I'm just going to try to finally get these figures done and give them the long overdue attention they deserve, hopefully easing my conscience a bit as we head into 2017 (so far, it could be going better).

Oh, and as for Alexx's reviews? He's still doing them; in fact, he's got another in the works as we speak as we try to better tweak the format for this site and its nuances. So please look forward to those as I do my thing here for the time being.

On with the show!

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Too late for boxing day, sadly.

Too late for boxing day, sadly.

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Double-O Zero in...

Double-O Zero in...

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Not an ounce of fat on him...

Not an ounce of fat on him...

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"Look, Zero, we've told you before: You can't have a Sentai team with no one but yourself!"

"Look, Zero, we've told you before: You can't have a Sentai team with no one but yourself!"

First, of course, we have the box. As striking as the unusual (for Mega Man) orange/red deco is, and much like with Ultimate Armor X, this one isn't so great for displaying the figure, given the large decorative "Z" that adorns the box's front, obscuring part of the figure and its accessories.

Besides the color scheme, the biggest difference is Bandai's change from the D-Arts line to making it a part of the regular S.H. Figuarts line -- possibly the first and last of the Mega Man releases to do so. The Mega Man Zero is featured prominently beneath the character itself, and in case anyone was tempted to call him by the name of the series, the tag above the Bandai logo reminds you that he's just Zero.

As usual, the sides and back of the box feature pictures of the figure emulating some of the most iconic poses struck over the course of the series, primarily from the first game, given that's where his accessories hail from. Ah, if only there were accessory packs to give us the Chain Rod, Recoil Rod, and maybe a second Z-Saber.

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Your parents help you hook it up. Then again, these days, you might help your parents hook it up.

Your parents help you hook it up. Then again, these days, you might help your parents hook it up.

In addition to instructions (now featuring English!), the S.H. Figuarts Mega Man Zero Zero figure comes with everything you see here.

You've got the base figure, his signature ponytail, an interchangeable "shouting" face, three sets of interchangeable hands, the Z-Saber, the Buster Shot, the Shield Boomerang, and the Triple Rod spear.

While I don't have a size comparison handy, this Zero is actually just a little shorter than the Ultimate Armor X figure by about a head, if even that.

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As noted above, Zero's golden mane does not come attached; instead, you need to plug it into the back of his helmet.

The neat thing about his hair here is that it's actually articulated. I don't know if the Mega Man X Zero figures featured this, but as best as I can tell from pictures online, he doesn't -- or at the very least, not to this degree, since they're much bushier, solid pieces.

There are four points overall: Two strands each have their own on a hinge joint which connects to a solid piece, which connects by another hinge to the double-balled piece above. And, when plugged in, that acts as the last point of articulation.

The double-ball joint section also features a cover to hide some of that connection, but be warned as it tends to come off without too much difficulty.

(Also, please forgive my photography -- the hair looks a lot paler in the above picture than in real life.)

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"The head-tilt means 'sass'."

"The head-tilt means 'sass'."

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"I don't think I'm comfortable with this..."

"I don't think I'm comfortable with this..."

The ponytail fits in snugly to the back, completing the look of the figure. It doesn't take too much for it to come out, so be forewarned when attempting to pose the figure.

If there's one downside, it's that the curve causes the ponytail to come down the figure's back in an odd sort of manner, as seen at right, which is something you have to watch out for when balancing the figure as well. Flipping it around may work for some people, though then it curves outwards at the end with some pointed tips.

I haven't tried any durability tests, but the hair feels a bit rigid, with little to any bend to it, so be careful so as not to break it.

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That said, Zero's a pretty dynamic character, so maybe the intent wasn't to have the hair fall down his back; instead, a windswept whoosh of sorts completes the look when you pose the hair as seen in the above pics.

At center, I tried to capture Zero's traditional standing-still pose from the games with both hair extensions flowing dramatically the same way. At right, the same pose, but I decided to have the hair going different ways, perhaps due to more volatile conditions.

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"I just don't understand why the Wii Zapper didn't receive more support..."

"I just don't understand why the Wii Zapper didn't receive more support..."

Here, we have Zero posing with his Buster Shot gun in a firing position, complete with one of his hands designed to hold the weapon in a believable manner. There really isn't much more to it than that; no firing effects or anything, so let's talk about articulation here.

Not counting the hair, Zero features -- by my count -- about 26 points of articulation. His head moves on a ball joint, allowing him to look up, down, left, and right, and the neck itself is on another joint in his collar to further assist with how he turns his head.

Each shoulder has two points of articulation, a ball joint in the torso and another in the top of the arm, allowing him a pretty good range of motion, allowing him to do things like move his arm across his chest. The elbows each feature two hinge joints, allowing for a nice double-bend bicep curl, and the hands -- whichever ones you choose to use -- feature a ball joint which allows for bending and turning.

The chest features what I think is a ball joint concealed beneath his vest, allowing for a good bit of ab crunching and rotation, while the waist joint doesn't offer a whole lot, but nonetheless allows for an extra bit of bending.

The thighs are connected by another double-ball joint in a similar fashion to the shoulders, allowing him to do the splits, high kicks, or whatever else I only wish I could do with my own legs. Similar to the elbows, the knees each feature a pair of hinges, while the feet are connected with -- best as I can tell -- a ball joint beneath the gold boot cuffs and a hinge connecting to the feet themselves, allowing for a range of turning and tilting as necessary.

Put simply: Zero is every bit as flexible as he looks, perhaps even more so, and probably more than his 21XX counterparts.

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"Rocket slap, go! Shield Boomerang, go! Rocket wrist, go! Enchanted golden cufflinks, go!"

"Rocket slap, go! Shield Boomerang, go! Rocket wrist, go! Enchanted golden cufflinks, go!"

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"It not only shields me from bullets, but also from my father's disapproving glare."

"It not only shields me from bullets, but also from my father's disapproving glare."

Taking advantage of the design is the Shield Boomerang, which has a neat swirl effect molded in both translucent green and clear plastic surrounding a white disc. It attaches to the figure's arm in a special way. Rather than something so mundane as clipping on, it requires a bit of arm disassembly, as seen at left.

Basically, you need to remove the hand, and from the hand, remove the pegged ball joint and the gold wristcuff from Zero's gauntlet (this works on either hand, by the way). You'll want to put the cuff aside, and basically try to reassemble everything with the cuff attached to the Shield Boomerang in its place.

The new cuff is supposed to be held in place by a friction plug as it's slid along the edge of the arm, but I'm not sure the surface area there is quite sufficient for the job. I mean, it works, but I often found the Shield Boomerang coming loose, and it never quite felt as secure as I'd have liked it to be to have him wielding it with any regularity.

Before we move on to the remaining weapons, let's put Zero in the right mood. And to do that, he must undergo a frightening transformation!

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"Do I feel a draft?"

"Do I feel a draft?"

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"Waaaait a minute..."

"Waaaait a minute..."

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As with others in the series, you swap faces by removing the front of Zero's helmet. The back doesn't come off, but if for some reason you just want an empty Zero helmet to sit on your desk, what does come off does a pretty good job of keeping all the key parts intact.

Underneath, we're met with an almost frightening baby doll-looking face that is the savior of the human race. As it turns out, Zero's greatest secret isn't the identity of his creator, but rather, the receding hairline he's taken on after a couple of centuries. Along with the flowing hair, all he needs is a mustache to have a real Hulk Hogan look going on.

Anyway, as you can see, the faces vary between calm/stoic and someone who's a bit peeved at someone or something off to the left of him. Admittedly, it looks a lot better once you get the helmet back on, and I'm sure he appreciates it, too.

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"By the power of Skull Castle!"

"By the power of Skull Castle!"

Here, we've got Zero wielding his signature weapon, the Z-Saber. The Zero series version of the trusty sword doesn't feature as much detail as the X version, but it does look true to the games with its bone-like white handle and translucent green blade.

Sadly, as noted above, only one comes with him, so you can't pull off that neat double-Saber pose featured in some of the later games' art.

For this and the Triple Rod, you'll want to swap at least one of the hands into the gripping hand. The hands are rubbery, so with these (as well as the Buster Shot), you're going to need to pull them open a bit to slide the weapon handles into place. Once in, they hold firm pretty snugly.

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In what is a rather nice touch, there are two other pieces of the figure which are removable as you please for display purposes. With the Z-Sabers forming the backbone of Zero's entire arsenal throughout the first three games, there are two small pieces which plug into Zero's holsters (one on each leg) that can be removed when he's wielding one or two weapons at a time.

These pieces are tiny, though, so remove them at your own risk!

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Last, but not least, we have the Triple Rod. While it doesn't feature its namesake extending action as in the game, it nonetheless looks spot-on, basically being an inversion of the Z-Saber with a much longer handle and a much shorter blade, cast in the same translucent green plastic.

It should be noted that both this and the Z-Saber feature some pretty sharp and rigid points, so be careful with them, and don't let the young 'uns play with them! It's better to be safe than sorry.

And that's pretty much it for the Mega Man Zero S.H. Figuarts figure. As with the rest of the line, it's a quality piece, but -- barring your own judgment call, of course -- you may want to heed the "Ages 15 & Up" label on the box, as it's far more functional as a display piece (or, say, filming stop-motion animations) than as a play piece.

If you're a fan of this iteration of Zero, this is definitely one to get. And with that, I leave you with this group shot of all the figures I'm trying to get reviewed now as I get caught up, in case you were wondering what's next -- or just want some sort of frame of reference for the size:

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"You mean to tell me that after I got my hair done, you're sticking me in the back row?!"

"You mean to tell me that after I got my hair done, you're sticking me in the back row?!"

Oh, and one other thing: My utmost and sincerest apologies to the folks at Bandai and Bluefin Tamashii Nations. It was never supposed to take this long, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

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For my previous reviews:

The Mega Man Zero figure is available now at a suggested retail price of $50.99, and less at Amazon (with free shipping). A sample for this review was provided to us by Bluefin.

TMMN Reviews: TruForce Collectibles Mega Man X Figure (Warning: Image-Heavy)

The year was... well, I don't remember what the exact year was. It was the late 90's, after Gundam Wing had exploded in popularity on Toonami, with merchandise all over the place.

I was visiting one of my old haunts at the time, Rebel Base Comics & Toys (at their old location), and happened to see a very large, very intricately detailed Gundam model -- well above the normal grade you normally see, filled to the absolute brim with detailing. Now, I've never been what you would call a huge Gundam fan (I've enjoyed looking at it from afar, checking out the forest rather than the trees, if you will), but I could tell that this was an absolutely exquisite piece of work from Bandai.

"Bandai," I thought. "They also do Mega Man (well, Rockman) model kits. What if they were to design a Mega Man figure at this level of quality and detail?"

Now, I'll grant you that I had some very different ideas from anything that Bandai or anyone else would ever put into production. I imagined a Mega Man or X with a removable helmet, hair underneath, maybe even some sort of artificial skin (i.e. rubber or a soft plastic or something). My ideas might have bordered on unrealistic, but nonetheless, I always dreamed of a premium Mega Man figure.

Over time, though my expectations had waned, I had always dreamed of a higher grade of Mega Man figure than the "Mega Armor Series" had provided us. We eventually got the S.H. Figuarts figures from Bandai, and I thought that was as good as we could expect. But then, some two decades (give or take) from when the dream began, TruForce Collectibles stepped up to raise the bar.

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From the start, it's clear that this is not your typical Mega Man toy (in fact, I hesitate to even use the term "toy" at all here). Outside of the shipping box and tissue paper wrapping, the box is designed in a classy way, with a nice depiction of the figure using light and shadow across a black background and a pair of logos informing you that this is part of TruForce Collectibles' "Designer Series," likely so named due to the involvement of Capcom designer Keisuke Mizuno.

The box itself is made of a quality card stock which isn't especially durable, but carries a different feel from your typical boxes and cardbacks -- it's the type of material you can leave fingerprints on, if you're not careful. Along the sides are raised lineart images of X, while the back shows some of the poses the figure can take and runs down the features and accessories.

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The front flap of the box opens up, revealing the figure and accessories inside, while the flap itself shows the original art from which the figure was designed. These images are highlighted by various in-fiction specifications regarding X's body and systems, some of which (like the Apogee Motor) I believe are all-new.

At the bottom, we're given some insight into who the figure's designer is and how they went about coming up with this version of X.

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When first removed from the packaging, X will have some additional plastic wrapped around a few of his joints that will need to be removed.

He includes a number of accessories which would not be out of place with your standard S.H. Figuarts figure, including an alternate face, a pair of alternate hands, one X-Buster, two of the "Apogee Motor" jets for his back, and four different effect shot pieces (five if you include the center spike which separates from the yellow blast).

Beyond that, there is also a display stand with two articulated arms to help with posing, two small batteries which need to be installed, and two instruction sheets -- one for the battery installation in the X-Buster, and another for various other features and functions.

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The figure itself is highly detailed, featuring a much greater number of details than your normal or even Mega Man X8 designs of the character, all while maintaining the same familiar silhouette fans have come to know and love over the years.

In addition to including more black trim and a third shade of blue to highlight some elements, there are also various markings which remind you both that this is a Maverick Hunter (per the insignia on his chest) and a robot (or Reploid, if you must), with warnings and other extremely fine print notes spread across his body.

One gets the feeling that if X were designed today instead of two decades ago, this might be what he would look like.

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Both of X's hands and forearms are removable, allowing you to swap in open hands or the X-Buster as desired. The way in which this is done is similar to the S.H. Figuarts figures, but still different.

Rather than the plug being on the removable parts, it's instead on the elbow joint, plugging into the forearms or X-Buster with a satisfying click that lets you know it's firmly in place. The forearms then plug into the hands with ball joints which allow for a wide range of wrist movement beyond swiveling.

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In terms of articulation, it's hard to put a number of points on this guy, because there are just so many bits that move and unfold that it feels like I'm discovering a new one every time I handle him. Even his shoulder armor is articulated with a hinge that allows you to move the arms in and out without accidentally knocking it off, and they're attached to the arm itself, allowing it to move with the appendage instead of hindering its movement. And don't even get me started on the detailing that goes into something like the second bend of his knee, giving him a full range of motion in that joint as well.

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Trying to sum everything he can do up: He has full neck rotation on a ball joint, though he can't look straight up with it due to the helmet's shape preventing it. That said, there is a second joint at the base of the neck which allows him to look down, and you can actually make him look up through a combination of his neck, chest (also on a ball joint, I believe), and ab (yet another, I think) joints working together. You know, if making X look up is something you just want him to do.

His shoulders are not on ball joints, but with the number of hinges and swivels in place, they might as well be. Heck, this might be even better. He can lift his arms up and down, in and out, and as you can see in the pic at right above, even bring his arm further out to fold across his chest. There's a hinge inside the shoulder, at the top of the arm, and swivel just beneath the shoulder at the top of the biceps. Two hinges make up the elbow, giving it a double-bend, and again, the hands are on ball joints with a pretty good amount of freedom.

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X's thighs are on ball joints, and can further extend to allow for a greater range of movement. The knees, as mentioned, have a double bend, with the second joint sliding down further when bent to give even more motion while exposing some cool mechanical detailing.

The feet are also on a ball joint... or two. It's hard to tell without taking it apart, but there is some sort of system in place which allows the foot to slide out further so that it can move more as well. The shape of X's boots don't really allow for any ankle-rocking action, but there is just a little there if you need it, and they rotate as well. Plus, if you don't mind the separated look, pulling the feet down can add a bit of height to him as well!

One feature of note is that the figure is made with a combination of plastic and die-cast metal, and near as I can tell, the bulk of the metal is in X's lower-legs. The result of this is that he remains incredibly stable while standing -- so much so that you can even get a pretty good Michael Jackson impression out of him, as seen above at right. Who knew X was such a smooth criminal?

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One of X's most noteworthy attributes is his ability to wall jump, and while this figure can't do that, you can at least make him look like he can with the attachable Apogee Motors.

Just pop off the two small panels on the back of X's torso armor and plug the new pieces in, and away you go!

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"WHAT AM I FIGHTING FO-- wait, I think the scripts got mixed up."

"WHAT AM I FIGHTING FO-- wait, I think the scripts got mixed up."

Swapping faces is just like with the Figuarts figures: Just pop the front of the helmet off, remove the face place that's attached, plug in the other, and put the helmet back on. Now X can scream at Sigma all night long!

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Another cool feature included are the panels on the back of X's boots. On mine, the left boot takes a little more force, but using your thumbnail, you can pull open a panel that unfolds to reveal a rocket booster. Now you can have X dash or wall jump even more believably!

Closing is a little bit more of a trick, though, as the flap first folds down, then you have to push the whole thing back into the leg. Still, it's pretty satisfying to do, once you know how it works.

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Finally, we come to the X-Buster itself. In order to get the most out of it, you'll want to install the two included batteries, which requires disassembling the weapon into the three pieces you see above. Put them back together per the instructions, twist the barrel, and you've got light-up X-Buster power!

Just be sure to note that if you're not using it for prolonged periods, you'll want to remove the batteries to avoid corrosion.

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Whether or not you've installed the batteries, you can also attach a variety of effect parts to the barrel of the X-Buster to give it different looks. While the light looks good on the bare X-Buster, though, attaching more pieces of plastic (even translucent ones) diminishes the effect a bit.

Also, a word of warning: These effect parts are sharp, and in the case of this next piece, kind of heavy for its size. Be careful so as not to hurt anyone (or yourself) with them!

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Here we have a full-charge styled shot. You can display it with or without the burst surrounding the barrel, but as noted, it's a heavier piece. As such, either way you decide to go, it's going to weigh the arm down a bit, and you might want to use one of those articulated arm pieces with the display stand to keep it upright.

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Now, if you want to go for a super-huge blast (which you'll definitely need the display parts for, unless you want X to look like he's blasting himself to the moon), you'll need to remove the center spike as seen above and replace it with the part that looks like a clear Buster barrel, which emulates how that piece locks on to the other parts.

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KA-BOOM!

Incidentally, I tried to get everything working together in tandem, with X unleashing a huge charge shot while in a dashing pose with all his jets out. Sadly, I couldn't make that one work on account of all the weight distributed throughout. This is the best I could manage:

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Yes, I even tried it with both arms. Maybe I just needed to try harder.

Yes, I even tried it with both arms. Maybe I just needed to try harder.

Suffice to say, this is quite a figure, and probably the best, most detailed version of X we've ever seen -- and possibly will ever see. It's not the huge kit I imagined while standing in a comic shop so many years ago, but for its size and price, it's still quite good, and will look good in any collection -- especially among more contemporary characters, though the scale may not work as well among other Mega Man figures, such as those from the Figuarts line.

There have been several variations of the figure over the last year or so, and if they all maintain the same standard of quality across the line, you should be good with any of them.

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And once again, my apologies to the folks at TruForce Collectibles and Bluefin Tamashii Nations for taking so long with this review!

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For my previous reviews:

You can also check out my review of Bandai's S.H. Figuarts Mario and Luigi figures at PoisonMushroom.Org!

Mega Man X is available now at a suggested retail price of $79.99. A sample for this review was provided to me by Bluefin.

Check Out Mega Man-athon 5 at MAGfest 2017 from January 5th-8th!

Do you love Mega Man? Do you love watching people play Mega Man? And most importantly, do you love showing support for children's hospitals?

If so, then MAGfest is the place to be at 12pm EST as Half Empty E-Tank celebrates 29 years of the Blue Bomber with a 72-hour marathon featuring players such as Jirard the Completionist, DjCUTMAN, Gaijin Goomba, Game Dave, My Life in Gaming, and many more! There will even be a segment featuring Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 with none other than Matt Papa of Inti Creates behind the controller!

Oh, and our own Tabby will be on hand to act as Spotter for HCHecxz as he takes a highlight reel tour of Mega Man Legends!

Plus, in exchange for your generous contributions to the Child's Play charity via the marathon, you'll have the opportunity to win one of several great prizes! E-Tank mugs, Mega Man helmets, posters, copies of the Archie comic book, and even Mega Man Legacy Collection for Nintendo 3DS (complete with golden Mega Man amiibo) are all among the prizes up for grabs!

To donate and learn about incentive goals, check out this link. You can also choose to purchase a Mega Man shirt from The Yetee and $3 of each purchase will go to Child's Play.

Finally, when it's showtime, you'll want to tune in on Twitch or their home page at megamanathon.tv to see all the fun and excitement. For the full schedule of games and who is playing what and when, click here. Oh, and in the meantime, if you want to see some clips of past events and more on their Facebook, then click here.

Check Out This HD Recreation of Mega Man X's Intro

YouTube user Rickonami has recently uploaded the latest in his long-running series of video game introduction remakes and tribute films, adding a recreation of the opening of Mega Man X to his library. Check it out:

Among the many previous remakes added to his channel, you might also remember another talked about here back in 2012: The intro to Mega Man 2.

If you're interested in still more, ranging from Contra to various Castlevania games to Double Dragon and more, click here.

Thanks to Roberto Acosta and WolfShadow for the tips!

 


Mega Man X Takes on Iron Man in Death Battle X

We haven't heard much about Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite since it was announced, but we do know at least one thing: Our boy in blue, Mega Man X, is being positioned as a seeming rival for ol' Shellhead himself, Iron Man.

Among those eagerly awaiting more info are those at ScrewAttack, who have put together this video from the "Death Battle X" series, giving those two metal heroes a little more time to settle their differences:

For all intents and purposes, "Death Battle X" is the equivalent of an exhibition match, in that they don't do the normal research that goes into one of their regular "Death Battle" episodes, and it's all basically following the "rule of cool."

With that said, how did you like it? Think the right guy won? (Of course you probably do.) Talk about it in the comments!

Mega Man Mobile Release Date Announced

So, those six Mega Man Mobile games we've talked about twice previously? They're coming soon, and possibly even sooner than anyone ever expected. Per Capcom Mobile's Twitter:

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That's right, we get it January 5th, an entire day before Japan does! Take that, Japan!

That is, unless you take the whole time zone thing into account, in which case I think we might be getting it about the same time? Uh, hey Japan, you know I was just kidding with you about the whole "take that" thing, right?

As for price, nothing new on that front.

Anyway, I know that if you're reading this -- being a Mega Man fan site and all, thereby meaning you're probably a Mega Man fan -- these releases may have limited interest to you, or you might even be wary. Nonetheless, if all goes accordingly, I'll be able to offer some thoughts on these releases in fairly short order, so keep an eye on The Mega Man Network if you're interested in Megafying your mobile device!

TMMN Reviews: Bandai S.H. Figuarts Mega Man Zero Figure (Warning: Image-Heavy)

Well, this has turned into a fine mess. Not the figure, I mean; rather, the situation leading up to this review.

You're probably thinking to yourself "Why this figure? Why now? And what about Alexx's "Facts & Figures" reviews?"

Following my video review of Bandai's D-Arts Ultimate Armor Mega Man X figure, I had some hopes of doing video reviews of figures as a regular thing. Truth be told, that was longer ago than I realized, and as I tried to pull things together, the things I needed just kept drifting further and further apart. I waited as days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and along the way, other things came up that led to them being pushed to the background. All the while, though, it's been eating at me.

I've given up the video idea for now, and I'm going oldschool with my review of this and the other things I've had sitting around, waiting for a video series that would never materialize. Instead, I'm just going to try to finally get these figures done and give them the long overdue attention they deserve, hopefully easing my conscience a bit as we head into 2017 (so far, it could be going better).

Oh, and as for Alexx's reviews? He's still doing them; in fact, he's got another in the works as we speak as we try to better tweak the format for this site and its nuances. So please look forward to those as I do my thing here for the time being.

On with the show!

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Too late for boxing day, sadly.

Too late for boxing day, sadly.

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Double-O Zero in...

Double-O Zero in...

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Not an ounce of fat on him...

Not an ounce of fat on him...

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"Look, Zero, we've told you before: You can't have a Sentai team with no one but yourself!"

"Look, Zero, we've told you before: You can't have a Sentai team with no one but yourself!"

First, of course, we have the box. As striking as the unusual (for Mega Man) orange/red deco is, and much like with Ultimate Armor X, this one isn't so great for displaying the figure, given the large decorative "Z" that adorns the box's front, obscuring part of the figure and its accessories.

Besides the color scheme, the biggest difference is Bandai's change from the D-Arts line to making it a part of the regular S.H. Figuarts line -- possibly the first and last of the Mega Man releases to do so. The Mega Man Zero is featured prominently beneath the character itself, and in case anyone was tempted to call him by the name of the series, the tag above the Bandai logo reminds you that he's just Zero.

As usual, the sides and back of the box feature pictures of the figure emulating some of the most iconic poses struck over the course of the series, primarily from the first game, given that's where his accessories hail from. Ah, if only there were accessory packs to give us the Chain Rod, Recoil Rod, and maybe a second Z-Saber.

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Your parents help you hook it up. Then again, these days, you might help your parents hook it up.

Your parents help you hook it up. Then again, these days, you might help your parents hook it up.

In addition to instructions (now featuring English!), the S.H. Figuarts Mega Man Zero Zero figure comes with everything you see here.

You've got the base figure, his signature ponytail, an interchangeable "shouting" face, three sets of interchangeable hands, the Z-Saber, the Buster Shot, the Shield Boomerang, and the Triple Rod spear.

While I don't have a size comparison handy, this Zero is actually just a little shorter than the Ultimate Armor X figure by about a head, if even that.

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As noted above, Zero's golden mane does not come attached; instead, you need to plug it into the back of his helmet.

The neat thing about his hair here is that it's actually articulated. I don't know if the Mega Man X Zero figures featured this, but as best as I can tell from pictures online, he doesn't -- or at the very least, not to this degree, since they're much bushier, solid pieces.

There are four points overall: Two strands each have their own on a hinge joint which connects to a solid piece, which connects by another hinge to the double-balled piece above. And, when plugged in, that acts as the last point of articulation.

The double-ball joint section also features a cover to hide some of that connection, but be warned as it tends to come off without too much difficulty.

(Also, please forgive my photography -- the hair looks a lot paler in the above picture than in real life.)

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"The head-tilt means 'sass'."

"The head-tilt means 'sass'."

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"I don't think I'm comfortable with this..."

"I don't think I'm comfortable with this..."

The ponytail fits in snugly to the back, completing the look of the figure. It doesn't take too much for it to come out, so be forewarned when attempting to pose the figure.

If there's one downside, it's that the curve causes the ponytail to come down the figure's back in an odd sort of manner, as seen at right, which is something you have to watch out for when balancing the figure as well. Flipping it around may work for some people, though then it curves outwards at the end with some pointed tips.

I haven't tried any durability tests, but the hair feels a bit rigid, with little to any bend to it, so be careful so as not to break it.

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That said, Zero's a pretty dynamic character, so maybe the intent wasn't to have the hair fall down his back; instead, a windswept whoosh of sorts completes the look when you pose the hair as seen in the above pics.

At center, I tried to capture Zero's traditional standing-still pose from the games with both hair extensions flowing dramatically the same way. At right, the same pose, but I decided to have the hair going different ways, perhaps due to more volatile conditions.

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"I just don't understand why the Wii Zapper didn't receive more support..."

"I just don't understand why the Wii Zapper didn't receive more support..."

Here, we have Zero posing with his Buster Shot gun in a firing position, complete with one of his hands designed to hold the weapon in a believable manner. There really isn't much more to it than that; no firing effects or anything, so let's talk about articulation here.

Not counting the hair, Zero features -- by my count -- about 26 points of articulation. His head moves on a ball joint, allowing him to look up, down, left, and right, and the neck itself is on another joint in his collar to further assist with how he turns his head.

Each shoulder has two points of articulation, a ball joint in the torso and another in the top of the arm, allowing him a pretty good range of motion, allowing him to do things like move his arm across his chest. The elbows each feature two hinge joints, allowing for a nice double-bend bicep curl, and the hands -- whichever ones you choose to use -- feature a ball joint which allows for bending and turning.

The chest features what I think is a ball joint concealed beneath his vest, allowing for a good bit of ab crunching and rotation, while the waist joint doesn't offer a whole lot, but nonetheless allows for an extra bit of bending.

The thighs are connected by another double-ball joint in a similar fashion to the shoulders, allowing him to do the splits, high kicks, or whatever else I only wish I could do with my own legs. Similar to the elbows, the knees each feature a pair of hinges, while the feet are connected with -- best as I can tell -- a ball joint beneath the gold boot cuffs and a hinge connecting to the feet themselves, allowing for a range of turning and tilting as necessary.

Put simply: Zero is every bit as flexible as he looks, perhaps even more so, and probably more than his 21XX counterparts.

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"Rocket slap, go! Shield Boomerang, go! Rocket wrist, go! Enchanted golden cufflinks, go!"

"Rocket slap, go! Shield Boomerang, go! Rocket wrist, go! Enchanted golden cufflinks, go!"

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"It not only shields me from bullets, but also from my father's disapproving glare."

"It not only shields me from bullets, but also from my father's disapproving glare."

Taking advantage of the design is the Shield Boomerang, which has a neat swirl effect molded in both translucent green and clear plastic surrounding a white disc. It attaches to the figure's arm in a special way. Rather than something so mundane as clipping on, it requires a bit of arm disassembly, as seen at left.

Basically, you need to remove the hand, and from the hand, remove the pegged ball joint and the gold wristcuff from Zero's gauntlet (this works on either hand, by the way). You'll want to put the cuff aside, and basically try to reassemble everything with the cuff attached to the Shield Boomerang in its place.

The new cuff is supposed to be held in place by a friction plug as it's slid along the edge of the arm, but I'm not sure the surface area there is quite sufficient for the job. I mean, it works, but I often found the Shield Boomerang coming loose, and it never quite felt as secure as I'd have liked it to be to have him wielding it with any regularity.

Before we move on to the remaining weapons, let's put Zero in the right mood. And to do that, he must undergo a frightening transformation!

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"Do I feel a draft?"

"Do I feel a draft?"

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"Waaaait a minute..."

"Waaaait a minute..."

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As with others in the series, you swap faces by removing the front of Zero's helmet. The back doesn't come off, but if for some reason you just want an empty Zero helmet to sit on your desk, what does come off does a pretty good job of keeping all the key parts intact.

Underneath, we're met with an almost frightening baby doll-looking face that is the savior of the human race. As it turns out, Zero's greatest secret isn't the identity of his creator, but rather, the receding hairline he's taken on after a couple of centuries. Along with the flowing hair, all he needs is a mustache to have a real Hulk Hogan look going on.

Anyway, as you can see, the faces vary between calm/stoic and someone who's a bit peeved at someone or something off to the left of him. Admittedly, it looks a lot better once you get the helmet back on, and I'm sure he appreciates it, too.

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"By the power of Skull Castle!"

"By the power of Skull Castle!"

Here, we've got Zero wielding his signature weapon, the Z-Saber. The Zero series version of the trusty sword doesn't feature as much detail as the X version, but it does look true to the games with its bone-like white handle and translucent green blade.

Sadly, as noted above, only one comes with him, so you can't pull off that neat double-Saber pose featured in some of the later games' art.

For this and the Triple Rod, you'll want to swap at least one of the hands into the gripping hand. The hands are rubbery, so with these (as well as the Buster Shot), you're going to need to pull them open a bit to slide the weapon handles into place. Once in, they hold firm pretty snugly.

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In what is a rather nice touch, there are two other pieces of the figure which are removable as you please for display purposes. With the Z-Sabers forming the backbone of Zero's entire arsenal throughout the first three games, there are two small pieces which plug into Zero's holsters (one on each leg) that can be removed when he's wielding one or two weapons at a time.

These pieces are tiny, though, so remove them at your own risk!

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Last, but not least, we have the Triple Rod. While it doesn't feature its namesake extending action as in the game, it nonetheless looks spot-on, basically being an inversion of the Z-Saber with a much longer handle and a much shorter blade, cast in the same translucent green plastic.

It should be noted that both this and the Z-Saber feature some pretty sharp and rigid points, so be careful with them, and don't let the young 'uns play with them! It's better to be safe than sorry.

And that's pretty much it for the Mega Man Zero S.H. Figuarts figure. As with the rest of the line, it's a quality piece, but -- barring your own judgment call, of course -- you may want to heed the "Ages 15 & Up" label on the box, as it's far more functional as a display piece (or, say, filming stop-motion animations) than as a play piece.

If you're a fan of this iteration of Zero, this is definitely one to get. And with that, I leave you with this group shot of all the figures I'm trying to get reviewed now as I get caught up, in case you were wondering what's next -- or just want some sort of frame of reference for the size:

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"You mean to tell me that after I got my hair done, you're sticking me in the back row?!"

"You mean to tell me that after I got my hair done, you're sticking me in the back row?!"

Oh, and one other thing: My utmost and sincerest apologies to the folks at Bandai and Bluefin Tamashii Nations. It was never supposed to take this long, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

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For my previous reviews:

The Mega Man Zero figure is available now at a suggested retail price of $50.99, and less at Amazon (with free shipping). A sample for this review was provided to us by Bluefin.

TMMN Reviews: TruForce Collectibles Mega Man X Figure (Warning: Image-Heavy)

The year was... well, I don't remember what the exact year was. It was the late 90's, after Gundam Wing had exploded in popularity on Toonami, with merchandise all over the place.

I was visiting one of my old haunts at the time, Rebel Base Comics & Toys (at their old location), and happened to see a very large, very intricately detailed Gundam model -- well above the normal grade you normally see, filled to the absolute brim with detailing. Now, I've never been what you would call a huge Gundam fan (I've enjoyed looking at it from afar, checking out the forest rather than the trees, if you will), but I could tell that this was an absolutely exquisite piece of work from Bandai.

"Bandai," I thought. "They also do Mega Man (well, Rockman) model kits. What if they were to design a Mega Man figure at this level of quality and detail?"

Now, I'll grant you that I had some very different ideas from anything that Bandai or anyone else would ever put into production. I imagined a Mega Man or X with a removable helmet, hair underneath, maybe even some sort of artificial skin (i.e. rubber or a soft plastic or something). My ideas might have bordered on unrealistic, but nonetheless, I always dreamed of a premium Mega Man figure.

Over time, though my expectations had waned, I had always dreamed of a higher grade of Mega Man figure than the "Mega Armor Series" had provided us. We eventually got the S.H. Figuarts figures from Bandai, and I thought that was as good as we could expect. But then, some two decades (give or take) from when the dream began, TruForce Collectibles stepped up to raise the bar.

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From the start, it's clear that this is not your typical Mega Man toy (in fact, I hesitate to even use the term "toy" at all here). Outside of the shipping box and tissue paper wrapping, the box is designed in a classy way, with a nice depiction of the figure using light and shadow across a black background and a pair of logos informing you that this is part of TruForce Collectibles' "Designer Series," likely so named due to the involvement of Capcom designer Keisuke Mizuno.

The box itself is made of a quality card stock which isn't especially durable, but carries a different feel from your typical boxes and cardbacks -- it's the type of material you can leave fingerprints on, if you're not careful. Along the sides are raised lineart images of X, while the back shows some of the poses the figure can take and runs down the features and accessories.

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The front flap of the box opens up, revealing the figure and accessories inside, while the flap itself shows the original art from which the figure was designed. These images are highlighted by various in-fiction specifications regarding X's body and systems, some of which (like the Apogee Motor) I believe are all-new.

At the bottom, we're given some insight into who the figure's designer is and how they went about coming up with this version of X.

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When first removed from the packaging, X will have some additional plastic wrapped around a few of his joints that will need to be removed.

He includes a number of accessories which would not be out of place with your standard S.H. Figuarts figure, including an alternate face, a pair of alternate hands, one X-Buster, two of the "Apogee Motor" jets for his back, and four different effect shot pieces (five if you include the center spike which separates from the yellow blast).

Beyond that, there is also a display stand with two articulated arms to help with posing, two small batteries which need to be installed, and two instruction sheets -- one for the battery installation in the X-Buster, and another for various other features and functions.

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The figure itself is highly detailed, featuring a much greater number of details than your normal or even Mega Man X8 designs of the character, all while maintaining the same familiar silhouette fans have come to know and love over the years.

In addition to including more black trim and a third shade of blue to highlight some elements, there are also various markings which remind you both that this is a Maverick Hunter (per the insignia on his chest) and a robot (or Reploid, if you must), with warnings and other extremely fine print notes spread across his body.

One gets the feeling that if X were designed today instead of two decades ago, this might be what he would look like.

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Both of X's hands and forearms are removable, allowing you to swap in open hands or the X-Buster as desired. The way in which this is done is similar to the S.H. Figuarts figures, but still different.

Rather than the plug being on the removable parts, it's instead on the elbow joint, plugging into the forearms or X-Buster with a satisfying click that lets you know it's firmly in place. The forearms then plug into the hands with ball joints which allow for a wide range of wrist movement beyond swiveling.

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In terms of articulation, it's hard to put a number of points on this guy, because there are just so many bits that move and unfold that it feels like I'm discovering a new one every time I handle him. Even his shoulder armor is articulated with a hinge that allows you to move the arms in and out without accidentally knocking it off, and they're attached to the arm itself, allowing it to move with the appendage instead of hindering its movement. And don't even get me started on the detailing that goes into something like the second bend of his knee, giving him a full range of motion in that joint as well.

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Trying to sum everything he can do up: He has full neck rotation on a ball joint, though he can't look straight up with it due to the helmet's shape preventing it. That said, there is a second joint at the base of the neck which allows him to look down, and you can actually make him look up through a combination of his neck, chest (also on a ball joint, I believe), and ab (yet another, I think) joints working together. You know, if making X look up is something you just want him to do.

His shoulders are not on ball joints, but with the number of hinges and swivels in place, they might as well be. Heck, this might be even better. He can lift his arms up and down, in and out, and as you can see in the pic at right above, even bring his arm further out to fold across his chest. There's a hinge inside the shoulder, at the top of the arm, and swivel just beneath the shoulder at the top of the biceps. Two hinges make up the elbow, giving it a double-bend, and again, the hands are on ball joints with a pretty good amount of freedom.

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X's thighs are on ball joints, and can further extend to allow for a greater range of movement. The knees, as mentioned, have a double bend, with the second joint sliding down further when bent to give even more motion while exposing some cool mechanical detailing.

The feet are also on a ball joint... or two. It's hard to tell without taking it apart, but there is some sort of system in place which allows the foot to slide out further so that it can move more as well. The shape of X's boots don't really allow for any ankle-rocking action, but there is just a little there if you need it, and they rotate as well. Plus, if you don't mind the separated look, pulling the feet down can add a bit of height to him as well!

One feature of note is that the figure is made with a combination of plastic and die-cast metal, and near as I can tell, the bulk of the metal is in X's lower-legs. The result of this is that he remains incredibly stable while standing -- so much so that you can even get a pretty good Michael Jackson impression out of him, as seen above at right. Who knew X was such a smooth criminal?

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One of X's most noteworthy attributes is his ability to wall jump, and while this figure can't do that, you can at least make him look like he can with the attachable Apogee Motors.

Just pop off the two small panels on the back of X's torso armor and plug the new pieces in, and away you go!

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"WHAT AM I FIGHTING FO-- wait, I think the scripts got mixed up."

"WHAT AM I FIGHTING FO-- wait, I think the scripts got mixed up."

Swapping faces is just like with the Figuarts figures: Just pop the front of the helmet off, remove the face place that's attached, plug in the other, and put the helmet back on. Now X can scream at Sigma all night long!

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Another cool feature included are the panels on the back of X's boots. On mine, the left boot takes a little more force, but using your thumbnail, you can pull open a panel that unfolds to reveal a rocket booster. Now you can have X dash or wall jump even more believably!

Closing is a little bit more of a trick, though, as the flap first folds down, then you have to push the whole thing back into the leg. Still, it's pretty satisfying to do, once you know how it works.

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Finally, we come to the X-Buster itself. In order to get the most out of it, you'll want to install the two included batteries, which requires disassembling the weapon into the three pieces you see above. Put them back together per the instructions, twist the barrel, and you've got light-up X-Buster power!

Just be sure to note that if you're not using it for prolonged periods, you'll want to remove the batteries to avoid corrosion.

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Whether or not you've installed the batteries, you can also attach a variety of effect parts to the barrel of the X-Buster to give it different looks. While the light looks good on the bare X-Buster, though, attaching more pieces of plastic (even translucent ones) diminishes the effect a bit.

Also, a word of warning: These effect parts are sharp, and in the case of this next piece, kind of heavy for its size. Be careful so as not to hurt anyone (or yourself) with them!

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Here we have a full-charge styled shot. You can display it with or without the burst surrounding the barrel, but as noted, it's a heavier piece. As such, either way you decide to go, it's going to weigh the arm down a bit, and you might want to use one of those articulated arm pieces with the display stand to keep it upright.

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Now, if you want to go for a super-huge blast (which you'll definitely need the display parts for, unless you want X to look like he's blasting himself to the moon), you'll need to remove the center spike as seen above and replace it with the part that looks like a clear Buster barrel, which emulates how that piece locks on to the other parts.

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KA-BOOM!

Incidentally, I tried to get everything working together in tandem, with X unleashing a huge charge shot while in a dashing pose with all his jets out. Sadly, I couldn't make that one work on account of all the weight distributed throughout. This is the best I could manage:

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Yes, I even tried it with both arms. Maybe I just needed to try harder.

Yes, I even tried it with both arms. Maybe I just needed to try harder.

Suffice to say, this is quite a figure, and probably the best, most detailed version of X we've ever seen -- and possibly will ever see. It's not the huge kit I imagined while standing in a comic shop so many years ago, but for its size and price, it's still quite good, and will look good in any collection -- especially among more contemporary characters, though the scale may not work as well among other Mega Man figures, such as those from the Figuarts line.

There have been several variations of the figure over the last year or so, and if they all maintain the same standard of quality across the line, you should be good with any of them.

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And once again, my apologies to the folks at TruForce Collectibles and Bluefin Tamashii Nations for taking so long with this review!

---

For my previous reviews:

You can also check out my review of Bandai's S.H. Figuarts Mario and Luigi figures at PoisonMushroom.Org!

Mega Man X is available now at a suggested retail price of $79.99. A sample for this review was provided to me by Bluefin.

Check Out Mega Man-athon 5 at MAGfest 2017 from January 5th-8th!

Do you love Mega Man? Do you love watching people play Mega Man? And most importantly, do you love showing support for children's hospitals?

If so, then MAGfest is the place to be at 12pm EST as Half Empty E-Tank celebrates 29 years of the Blue Bomber with a 72-hour marathon featuring players such as Jirard the Completionist, DjCUTMAN, Gaijin Goomba, Game Dave, My Life in Gaming, and many more! There will even be a segment featuring Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 with none other than Matt Papa of Inti Creates behind the controller!

Oh, and our own Tabby will be on hand to act as Spotter for HCHecxz as he takes a highlight reel tour of Mega Man Legends!

Plus, in exchange for your generous contributions to the Child's Play charity via the marathon, you'll have the opportunity to win one of several great prizes! E-Tank mugs, Mega Man helmets, posters, copies of the Archie comic book, and even Mega Man Legacy Collection for Nintendo 3DS (complete with golden Mega Man amiibo) are all among the prizes up for grabs!

To donate and learn about incentive goals, check out this link. You can also choose to purchase a Mega Man shirt from The Yetee and $3 of each purchase will go to Child's Play.

Finally, when it's showtime, you'll want to tune in on Twitch or their home page at megamanathon.tv to see all the fun and excitement. For the full schedule of games and who is playing what and when, click here. Oh, and in the meantime, if you want to see some clips of past events and more on their Facebook, then click here.

Game Dave Explains Why Mega Man 6 is the Series' Greatest NES Game

Before taking his spot to play the Famicom board game Wily & Right no Rockboard: That's Paradise! for Mega Man-athon 5 at 2:30pm EST, Game Dave has put out a video in which he tries to validate the oft-underrated and overlooked Mega Man 6 as the best game the series has to offer on the Nintendo Entertainment System:

Personally, I've always enjoyed this installment, and felt it was a fitting swan song for the series on the NES. But what do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

TMMN Reviews the Mega Man Mobile Collection

Hoo-boy, I feel like I'm going to catch some hell with this one. Alas, this is the life I chose.

The iOS and Android ports of the six Nintendo Entertainment System entries in the Mega Man Classic series, rebranded under the name Mega Man Mobile, were released yesterday. And as I'm sure many of you are no doubt aware, the reception to them has been anything but kind.

I've tried to keep eyes forward, as Capcom reached out to me with the offer of codes with which to review the games -- codes I was happy to accept in the interest of providing this very review, as I honestly had little interest in purchasing the games myself otherwise (some of which I own a good five or so times -- I'm pretty well covered if I need my fix whether at home or on the go, and the lack of the Rockman Unity app and its tied-in bonuses didn't provided further enticement).

In the interest of further disclosure, I will admit that I have not played through any of these games in their entirety. Given how many times I've played them over the years, I played through roughly 3-5 stages per game with the belief that I can get enough of a feel for them from that -- though there is one exception, which I will get to when we come to it.

Also, I don't know whether it makes a difference or not, but the versions I played were on iOS through an Apple iPhone 6s Plus. All screens in this review were taken from each game's respective Google Play pages.

Anyway, here's what popped out at me as I played the games -- note that this is by no means a comprehensive list.

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Where better to start than the beginning? It was my first Mega Man experience way back in the day, after all.

The first game in the series pretty much sets the stage for the rest of these ports, but that by no means indicates that all these ports are equal. Some truths are reinforced, while others are turned completely on their head, but we'll get to that as we go along.

The graphics and sound are by and large like what you know on the NES (or re-releases). Maybe not quite as good as you'd find pumping through your television, but it would take a keener ear than mine to really pick apart the problems. I will say that the videos released beforehand had me worried, but those fears were unfounded when I played, though there is an issue with the music restarting when you pause.

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In terms of when things are actually moving, well, that's where things begin to falter a little bit. The frame rate is a bit sluggish, which Capcom says is because "each game has been optimized for the mobile devices with adjustments to game speed." There is an option to speed it up, which helps the overall flow, but as you'd expect, kind of makes everything move a bit faster in general, and so a bit more difficult to keep up with.

Among the other options you're given are whether holding the Fire button will have your weapons shoot constantly, or if you need to tap them for each shot (I went with auto), and a choice between Normal and Difficult settings (I mainly stuck to Normal), each with their own save files. Near as I can tell, Difficult is closer to the original NES games, while Normal softens things up a bit in terms of how many hits enemies take to be defeated and the like, as well as granting infinite lives (you're taken to the Continue/Stage Select screen after each death, though).

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You can also change the arrangement of the three buttons at the right of the screen for jumping, firing, and cycling through your weapons one way. At the top right, there's another which isn't configurable, but brings up your pause/weapons screen.

Sadly, the Dpad at right cannot be moved at all, and its placement so close to the screen's edge (as seen in these screenshots) made moving left rather difficult in this game. For some reason, they moved it a bit in the rest, but this results in movement being more difficult in an already tough game. The result is that getting around usually took a much more concentrated and less immersive effort. Even climbing the ladders wedged into narrow spaces in Cut Man's stage took a bit more effort than normal, and I had to be overall more cautious.

Despite this, I was able to get through Cut Man, Bomb Man, and Elec Man's stages with relative ease. Guts Man was where I stopped, as even the Magnet Beam -- already a tricky item to use -- could not save the day this time, and the Dpad is just not good for quick, nuanced back-and-forth movement.

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In a way that's nothing short of amusing, Mega Man Mobile 2 is perhaps the best game in this entire lot. That's not simply a judgment of the game as a whole against the others throughout the series' history, but it is the one I found perhaps the most playable of the lot.

The big change is not reflected in the screens, which is that from this game forward, the Dpad at left is moved just a bit to the right, enough so there's room between the Left direction is not touching the edge of the screen, and it makes a world of difference. I surprised myself when I took on Quick Man's stage and not only got through the beams on my first try without using the Time Stopper, but I might have even done so in record time for myself.

I couldn't believe it, though I suppose it's possible that playing on Normal assisted in the feat.

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Speaking of which, a funny peculiarity about this game: Normal here is not like Normal in most versions of Mega Man 2, as enemy behavior is not changed. For instance, Tanishis in Bubble Man's stage lose their shell regardless of difficulty, and Blockies found in a few stages fly to pieces when shot in the face, rather than being destroyed outright. But regardless of difficulty, you can now jump through the chains of the Presses in Metal Man's stage.

The Metal Blade is still potent, but is unfortunately difficult to aim in diagonal directions. It's possible, but not quite as intuitive as in other versions, so it's not quite the "win button" it has become in other versions. In fact, in a replay of his stage (which you can do now), I fought Metal Man himself with it, and he actually took a good two or three hits with it!

One other thing I noticed in the time I spent playing was that enemies and such that were previously hidden by foreground objects no longer are. You can see Moles burrowing through the walls in Metal Man's stage, or the Pipis in Air Man's stage without any real difficulty.

Oh, and that reminds me: It may have been my own fault, but of the stages I played (which was everyone but Crash Man and Heat Man), the one that gave me the most trouble was -- quite amusingly -- Air Man. Sort of like when a movie is made about a song instead of the other way around, except I did eventually reach him, and he went down quick.

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Emboldened to think that maybe things weren't quite as bad as I'd heard, I soldiered on to Mega Man Mobile 3, and... oy.

This is where I first really noticed the choppiness come into play. I took on Top Man's stage first, and ended up using the faster speed option (which you can toggle at any time via the options menu button at the upper left), and that helped a bit, but as noted before, that kind of speeds everything up. I can usually clear the spinning tops at the end of Top Man's stage with no hesitation, for instance, but they gave me pause when sped up.

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I think the other stages I played ran a little better, but only just so. Incidentally, there were other... well, I won't call them problems, since it was exploiting the program to begin with, but there are things you could do in other versions of the game that you can't here, such as scrolling away the Have "Su" Bees in Hard Man's stage. Also, with no password screen, no easy E Tanks.

Of course, this is also the game which introduces the slide, but sadly, there is no slide button. I can't help but think that it would have helped quite a bit in the long run, as I find pressing down and jump while being sure to turn the right way first a trickier proposition here than on consoles. When you just need to get through a gap, it's fine, but when you need an evasive maneuver is when it falls flat.

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After Mega Man Mobile 2 and Mega Man Mobile 3, I figured things had maybe evened out. Boy, was I ever wrong.

Good ol' Mega Man 4. For what it's worth, I've always found that of the NES games, this one challenged me the most short of the original, but I've gotten better at it over the years. Sadly, whatever skill I've gained in the years since its release did not translate over to Mega Man Mobile 4 at all.

That exception to the number of bosses I'd beaten in each of these games I mentioned earlier? This is it. I went to Toad Man's stage first, as I normally do, and while the stage was good enough (though it felt like it was really slowing down and I was struggling with the jumps in the wind and rain), it was the boss who handed me the most humiliating defeat of my entire Mega Man playing career.

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Toad Man pretty well flattened me at least ten times in a row -- the maximum number of lives you can carry at once to battle in a normal Mega Man game. I was pulverized, thanks in part to not being able to reliably evade with the slide. And if I can't beat Toad Man, I don't even want to rate my chances against the rest of Cossack's crew.

This game is, of course, the debut of the Charge Shot, and as such, a new option is added to the menu which allows it to charge automatically, or you can hold it down as per tradition -- though this obviously can't work in conjunction with the turbo-fire, and the latter overrides it.

The Mega Buster's charge meter is shown beneath Mega Man's health meter when a weapon is not selected, maxing out when it's fully charged and ready to be let loose. This also results in what may be a divisive, but what I feel to ultimately be a positive change.

Mega Man himself no longer flashes while charging, but he also doesn't make any noise, meaning that the sound of the Mega Buster charging no longer drowns out the great music heard throughout most of the game. It's a bit of a trade-off, I think, but ultimately a positive one that carries forward with the remainder of these games.

Something else that carries forward from this game on is bound to irk some people. Whenever there's a screen-scrolling transition, whether it be Mega Man dropping from one screen down to another or entering the corridor to a boss, the screen fades to black before fading in on the next screen.

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Mega Man Mobile 5, I really don't have too much to say about, except that it's what I wish Mega Man Mobile 4 was. Quite a bit easier and more fun to play, as things don't feel so hopelessly one-sided.

Seriously, I think Toad Man might have had a hand in development, if nothing else. He's clearly been itching for some payback.

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Likewise, I don't have too much to say about Mega Man Mobile 6 in itself that hasn't been a general truth about this series of re-releases as a whole.

But, between Mega Man Mobile 5 and Mega Man Mobile 6, this where the other of those great truths (such as they are) about the NES Mega Man games gets turned on its head. Most generally consider Mega Man 5 and 6 to be the bottom tier of the releases on the platform, if not the series as whole, but here, I found them to be two of the better and overall more playable releases!

The simple truth of the matter is that none of these is the ideal way to play any of these six games, and that Capcom released them after putting such effort into creating definitive versions in the Mega Man Legacy Collection is almost confusing. And that's not even going into the work done by others, such as Taxman and Stealth, who created the nigh-definitive versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog CD on the same platform.

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Still, these games are playable, if only adequately so when compared to other versions that have been released. I believe I've shown myself in the past to be a fairly capable Mega Man player, but I'll admit that even when I went through this, I don't think any of it (save the Quick Man beams) would ever wind up on my highlight reel; the stages were usually easy enough with but a few exceptions, while the boss fights were more or less slugfests to see who could last longer -- with little to none of the usual finesse I'm able to perform. That said, someone who hasn't been playing these games for the last three decades might find themselves having a more difficult time than intended as well.

If you find you need Mega Man on your mobile device, then I would most strongly recommend going with Mega Man Mobile 2, 5, or 6. Mega Man Mobile 3 is kind of okay, if you don't mind it seeming to chug along a little more than the others, Mega Man Mobile 4 I would advise keeping away from unless you really want to challenge yourself, and Mega Man Mobile itself is mostly just Mega Man, but a little bit less so, for better or for worse.

If you're interested, the six games are all available right now on the iOS App Store and Google Play for $1.99 USD each, or $2.79 CAD in the App Store and $2.89 CAD on Google Play.


Azure Striker Gunvolt Anime Release Date and Pricing Revealed

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.

Mega Man 2.5D is Available Now!

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!

Mega Man 66 Action Trading Figures Available for Pre-Order

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.

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

"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!

Mega Man X: Corrupted Shows Off New Boss and Armor Combos

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.

Mega Man is a Super Angry Robot and No One is Safe

This was originally meant to be posted back around the Christmas-to-New Year period, but somehow, I forgot. Just as well, I suppose -- it feels more like a good "it's Friday" video to me, anyway.

So watch as the original Blue Bomber takes a look at the current state of affairs surrounding his franchise and the way he calmly and rationally takes action.

Warning: This is pretty Not Safe For Work. Nothing too bad, I guess, but still.

And just in case you're wondering why I would post something like this here? How could I not? (Especially after they included one of our pics in there!) It's too gonzo to resist.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

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