Yeah, they have been out for a little while now, and
others have given us a little
look and insight into their contents, but we decided to keep piling it on.
As you may remember, our grand prize winners of Maq's Swim Contest this past summer both received a free copy of the MMOCW. It was a little delayed after our results came out, but Talent Winner
JetZero wanted to give back to us a little bit by writing up her own little summary of the two books, along with providing a few sample scans. Not too many of course, because we all want UDON to continue translating books like these and we want to keep supporting them through buying their products.
So without any further ado, here is what JetZero has to say about these latest English adaptations:
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Mega Man Official Complete WorksThis book was aptly named. This huge 208 page monster art book has illustrations on all of the major installments in the Classic series, and even some of the harder to find obscure titles. Accompanying all this artwork are comments by Hayato Kaji (MM 4/5/7/8), Tatsuya Yoshikawa (MM 7, Powered Up), Shinsuke Komaki (MM 8, Battle & Chase), Ryuji Higurashi (RM 1-6 PS versions, Battle & Fighters, Power Battle Fighters), Keisuke Mizuno (MM Powered Up), Hideki Ishikawa (MM 7/8, MM&B, Battle & Chase, Super Adventure), Yoshihisa Tsuda (MM 7), and of course Keiji Inafune himself. The comments are thrown in at pretty appropriate intervals throughout the book, providing some fun insight into the development of this iconic video game franchise. This is surely a must have addition to any Mega Man fan library.
The English translation is loyal to the Japanese R20 down to the last page, with even all the text retaining it's original placement. The book is divided into 5 sections; I'll list them and add some descriptions in chronological order as follows:
~Mega Man Series (103 pages):
This is a section detailing with the major final art pieces of the characters from the games, from the original Rockman 1987 release to the modern Rockman: Powered Up. The comments are related to the difficulties of starting a new series in a day before the stress of producing a "selling game" came into play, as well as some mention of character development frustrations.
"We had a rough design done for Auto, but Inafune made alterations from the ground up. I recall him being pretty upset about this character, saying things like, "Why do we even need a guy like this anyway?" I wonder how he feels about Auto now? (laughs) - Kaji
This section also has a "Series Data" page at the end that lists the major characters and their role in the series.
~Rough Sketch (21 pages):
Fairly self explanatory. This is a section full of sketches directly from Inafune's sketch book. Here we get to see things like the production stages of the Robot Masters, and even some logo ideas. Many of the comments are about the submissions that fans sent in for the Boss design contests, or about the limitations of the NES hardware creating challenges for the concepts.
"I guess I could have enjoyed more freedom with my designs if I had simply ignored the limitations I was presented with... but in certain ways, working with certain limitations can actually lead to really interesting designs." - Inafune
~Gallery (24 pages):
This is a section full of promotional art, such as Anniversary and Grand Rockman Exposition pieces. Some of these are rarely seen, and gives a look into some very creative thinking.
"I drew two different versions of the 10th Anniversary piece. I made the second so that it could be used for promotional purposes for Legends. In the Legends version, we can see one of the additional Mega Mans getting smooched by Kalinka, and Roll is looking quite unhappy about it." - Hideki
~Archives (42 pages):
This is a wonderful resource for developmental drafts and never before seen images. Things like full rotation character sheets, stage designs, and comics are contained in these pages.
"With my specifications like "the burner goes out when he dies", and "his canopy explodes when he dies", I realize now that I probably ruined a lot of peoples days with my annoyingly detailed descriptions of my obnoxiously picky character concepts" - Ariga
~Special (8 pages):
The final section of the book, it is indeed special. This carried onward a final message from the most important series staff, and includes a little comic strip from one of the Boss Character contest winners.
"I feel so honored to have been brought in on this project. Working my way through this massive book has given me the time to really feel the weight of 20 years' worth of memories. I am so grateful of everyone who took the time out of their busy day to give me all of these priceless comments. As I was collecting and piecing together all of the sentiments of these people who had ties to Mega Man, I had so may laughs, nods of empathy, and tears. I had a real blast. It is my hope that this book will be enjoyed by new and old Mega Man fans alike, all over the world, for many years to come. You're the man, Mega Man!" - Hitoshi Ariga
The book is then capped off by the double page spread of the final (what looks to be to me) water-color picture of Mega Man lying down on a service table, surrounded by Dr. Light and a praying Roll. A heartfelt end to a spectacular visual journey.
Mega Man X Complete Works Since this book is simply a split from the original R20, it retains the original format, with comments from some of the same people, in 4 sections (there is no "Special" section in this book). I will comment on it's content regardless for completeness reasons.
This book is 144 pages from start to finish, and contains both concept and final art from the Mega Man X series. It also contains commentary from series staff members Hayato Kaji (MMX, X3, X4), Tatsuya Yoshikawa (MMX, X3, X7, X8), Shinsuke Komaki (MMX3, X6), Ryuji Higurashi (MMX5, X6, Command Mission), Keisuke Mizuno (MM: Maverick Hunter X), Yoshihisa Tsuda (MMX/X2), Sho Tsuge (MMX/X2), Haruki Suetsugu (MMMX4-7, MM Xtreme, Xtreme 2), and once again Keiji Inafune. While much shorter and perhaps not quite as "complete" feeling as Mega Man Official Complete Works, this book should still be considered vital to any Mega Man enthusiast.
Like Mega Man Official Complete Works, this tome is very loyal to it's R20 origins, with not a single page out of place or missing. The four sections of this book (in chronological order) are as follows:
~Mega Man X Series (86 pages):
This section displays many final art pieces of the games, from the original SNES games to the more recent Maverick Hunter X. Even the vast majority of the minor enemies are captured in great detail. The term "Hardcore" is repeated in the comments.
"I wanted to make the character's personality a little more hardcore too, and I knew that I was working from the design of the traditional Mega Man, I'd be stuck in that whole 'nice guy' image. The whole time I was designing Zero, I was seeing him as the 'new Mega Man'. But I didn't bring that up when I went to submit our designs to my boss. I brought out the X that Kaji designed and said, 'Here's the new Mega Man!' My boss had a very positive reaction to X, and when I brought out the design for Zero, I simply said, '.... and this is the sub character.' I figured that would ensure a less critical analysis of Zero and, as a result, I got and immediate Ok in the form of, 'Red, huh? Hmm.... yeah, that's nice.' (laughs) - Inafune
This section also contains a "Series Data" page with short written to-the-point bios for the main plot characters. Nothing you won't find inside a instruction manual, sadly.
~Rough Sketch (6 pages):
Just as it sounds, this part is chalk-full of sketchy goodness from the series creator himself. Comments are centered around the design process, many of which are about Zero... it's admitted that Inafune doesn't like anyone else messing with him.
"The connection with Wily had always been part of the plan." - Inafune
~Gallery (2 pages):
Short and sweet, the only thing to see here is some X manga pictures and a back cover drawing for the R20 book.
There is only one comment in the section, from manga artist Iwamoto:
"This was my first series, and I remember the brainstorming sessions I had with my editor about what art style to go with, among other things. The cover for volume 3 of my Rockman X3 manga was only included here because Ariga insisted on it. (laughs) Not only am I terrible at drawing women, the whole cover is so out of place and confusing... Still, the back cover of this volume has got to be one of my favorites. They're just letting me do whatever I want."
To that I have to say, 'Oh really? Bad at drawing women eh'? *coughZerocough* Ha ha ha, Ok Ok, put down that pitchfork.
~Archives (41 pages):
Lots of development drawings can be found here, some rather rare. Juicy tidbits on character info can be found here you aren't afraid of small print, like the exact heights of both X and Zero.
A unique trait of this section is that it is completely void of all commentary. It has so much art and notes, however, that it kind of makes up for it. If you like production art, you'll love this section.
To close off the book, a last, but luscious, art piece from Yoshihiro Iwamato, to reward the reader for sticking through to the end. A eyeful indeed, especially after all those small images and even smaller print in the Archives.
All in all I was quite happy with the two books. However, it was disappointing to find that there was a distinct lack of actual fact files; I was expecting a smorgasbord of series-specific information after reading through Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works. Truth be told, that is what I was looking most forward to. Even so, the art is something spectacular in itself entirely, and the Capcom staff comments just take the eye-candy and sweeten it even further.
In a final note, I will say that if you have to choose between the two books, I'd recommend the Classic Complete Works over X, simply because it offers more for your buck. The X book seems incomplete, with it's much shorter sections and missing characters (I would have loved to see a concept of Iris' attack mech form, the final Sigma bodies from X4, X5, and X6, and some pics of the Eurasia colony for example, all of which are absent). Make no mistake though, if you want a artbook full of Mega Man history, you won't go wrong with these titles. If it's information you're after, you might want to look elsewhere.
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Thanks, JetZero!! And if you haven't already gone out to get these books, what are you waiting for? Buy them now!