Topic: Would you mind if they made another series with the Fur Coat Megaman

[Flame]

Thinking about it--Capcom didn't specify that they had no real mascot until AFTER Megaman got pulled through the wringer, right?

I dont think him or Ryu were ever "OFFICIAL" mascots, just that they were the two biggest franchises Capcom had at the time, and thus their 2 staple characters became the characters that unofficially represented Capcom. The first ones that would pop into your head.

Nowadays, on the other hand...

not outside of the video game circle.

Isnt that really the only circle that matters in this case?

Mario Link and Pokemon, are Nintendo properties which have had massive marketing, massive appeal, massive success. They are the characters which belong to the House of NES. (and Gameboy) Mario, LoZ, and Pokemon even had cartoons, and movies, (including that ONE movie...) and have become part of pop culture. mario at least, a Household name. Theres a ton of factors.

Mega Man however, while he had his glory days, is best remembered for his NES games, and not really what came after them. So he sort of faded into a sort of niche thing post NES. Even the X series, (at least post X1, maybe X2) seems more aimed at the fans of the franchise than just the general audience. The Mega Man franchise has also never been known for it's stellar marketing. Not outside Japan anyway.

Also, Mario and LoZ have rarely changed. Their plots are inconsequential to each other and can stand alone for the most part, (kind of like early Castlevanias, before they really became story driven) their gameplay has been all over the place for sure, but its always the same characters, while the Mega Man franchise carries a bit more baggage, with 5 distinct series spanning a timeline, and 2 series in an alternate universe reboot. Anyone can just jump into a Mario or a LoZ with little prior knowledge. Hell, Pokemon is practically the same game over and over.

But God help you if you drop into... like.., X6- without knowing specific details behind the characters. ("Where's Dr. Wily?" "Is that Protoman  with the saber?" "Who's Sigma") You can still enjoy the gameplay, but if you like story, you are a bit lost. And not everyone has the quality of looking up information when they play a game they dont know the story to. They just dont get it, and drop it, and move onto something else. So compared with it's fellow franchises, Mega Man just hasnt really stayed in public consciousness past the NES, despite really retaining the same gameplay across almost the entirety of the franchise. (which is also another problem, Past the initial innovation of choosing your own stage order, Mega Man really never innovated much outside of Legends, and an unsuccessful Kart game which while fun, really could not trump Mario Kart.)

If you're going to bother replying, next time at the very least could you come up with something better than the kind of comeback every child uses?

No.

Maybe.

I'll think about it.

[Ladd Spencer]

I know you are but what am I.

If you're going to bother replying, next time at the very least could you come up with something better than the kind of comeback every child uses?

Hey, guys.

You're rubber.

And I'm glue.

Anything you say bounces off of me.

And it sticks to you.

[Treleus]

I dunno. I think Mega Man X is pretty well firmly set in the public vidyagame consciousness. He just became irrelevant faster and sooner than Classic did. Then Inafune jumped ship 5 games in and managed to salvage the wreckage with his own modest Zero spinoff empire.

Had the games maintained a more consistent quality, we might not have gotten X5 and X6 as we know them, or X4. I say X4 because it was pretty much the beginning of the end of X's gameplay getting priority and improving on itself with each game. Instead of one-upping the last game's upgrades and/or fundamental X gameplay, they tried exciting new things like hovering, recycling the same secret armor, and having more than one armor whose parts you can't use after you get them. Fun! X3 might've been the most flawed of the SNES titles, but damn it if it didn't progress the most, and I liked it.

It's funny to contrast X's evolution to Zero's, who actually got air-dashing and double jumping to carry over into his normal gameplay well before X8, when they decided X should finally air-dash now that everyone else could by default, and he even got a [tornado fang]ing buster to complement his saber gameplay in X5 and X6; this was a neat throwback to his buster in X1 though, so that's fine. X felt like he was on life support thru his armors whereas Zero felt like he was growing, even getting a new sprite set in X6, and this basically led into the single greatest insult to the main character: demotion to unlockable, complete with character assassination and a horribly uninterested voice actor.

It's just so nice to have seen Zero basically leech off of the X series and then thrive on his own. [tornado fang]ing good for him.

Oh, and it infuriates me how people keep confusing X for Mega Man. I want to gouge their eyes out.

[Flame]

Glad im not the only one who gets bothered by that.

this was a neat throwback to his buster in X1 though

And X2, and X3.

[Karasai♪]

Funny you should write that directly underneath my art; I see him as being fairly flamboyant and show-offy.

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE

[Treleus]

Glad im not the only one who gets bothered by that.
And X2, and X3.

No, see, in those games, those were blatant knock-offs of X's Double Shot. He got it first. But when Zero got the buster in X5 and X6, not only was it a single-shot, but also it mirrored the way Zero fired his buster in X1. It also packs a whollop, just like it did against Vile's Ride Armor.

[Flame]

Eh, the Z-Buster only packed a "whollop" in X6, Where half the bosses weak point weapons were simply "Zero". Also it has longer range and simply did more damage. In X5 it really didnt do a whole lot. It had shorter range, didnt do that much damage, and had a delay between pressing the button, and the shot firing, since he had to do the change stance/Buster charging animation. it just wasn't too useful. The main attraction were his saber moves, and they were plenty. It was a totally worthwhile tradeoff to lose the Z-Buster in exchange for the 4th Armor. Unless you simply wanted to have the "complete" Zero. in X6, it was MUCH more instantly gratifying. (Also, X5's Zero Shots are reused Stock Charge sprites from X4, slightly squished to make them smaller and narrower.)

Speaking of which, it always felt weird that the X5 pause screen, when you didnt have the -Z-Buster, showed an icon of the Saber and labeled it "Giga Attack"

More interestingly is that the Z-Buster, despite his neglect of it in Xtreme 2, X4 and from the beginning of X5, is still considered his actual weapon on the sub-screen, much like X's screen says "X Buster".

But makes sense considering the Z-Buster IS his built in Weapon, and the saber really just an external item he uses as a weapon over the Buster. So I guess it would make sense for the weapon thing to say "Giga Attack" since then the only actual intrinsic weapon he would have left is the ability to channel energy into his hand and punch the ground.

Eh, it's all still weird anyway.

[Ladd Spencer]

It sure was awesome how you could one-two, turn around to repeat the two, and then do the third strike as Zero in X5 and X6. It was a good polish.

Someone told me once, to explain Zero charging an ordinary gun in the Zero series, that he can indeed funnel his energy into his handheld weapon. Makes the pipe stopping Sigma's saber less silly too.

[Flame]

The Zero Series Buster pistol is a resistance weapon he picked up from Milan, who died right next to his stasis chamber, augmented with Zero's Saber as the magazine. He isn't channeling his own energy or anything, just using the Saber for ammunition, and the ability to charge, since between the X and Zero Series, His saber was upgraded with X-Buster tech, letting it charge. it's why he gets the ability to charge to a second level once X tosses him the Saber.

Also, no, nothing can make Zero defying the laws of physics by clashing a pipe with a beam saber, any less ridiculous.

[Sub Tank]

The Zero Series Buster pistol is a resistance weapon he picked up from Milan, who died right next to his stasis chamber

hey mark your spoilers

[Flame]

oops, I totally should have spoilered that. Game ruined forever.

[Ladd Spencer]

The Zero Series Buster pistol is a resistance weapon he picked up from Milan, who died right next to his stasis chamber, augmented with Zero's Saber as the magazine. He isn't channeling his own energy or anything, just using the Saber for ammunition, and the ability to charge, since between the X and Zero Series, His saber was upgraded with X-Buster tech, letting it charge. it's why he gets the ability to charge to a second level once X tosses him the Saber.

Also, no, nothing can make Zero defying the laws of physics by clashing a pipe with a beam saber, any less ridiculous.

What about his other weapons? Where'd you hear he sticks the saber in the gun? That doesn't change the fact that he's charging a handgun somehow. I thought Omega has his saber? This is a different saber.

[Align]

Also, no, nothing can make Zero defying the laws of physics by clashing a pipe with a beam saber, any less ridiculous.

Obviously the pipe was made of Mettool metal.

[Flame]

What about his other weapons? Where'd you hear he sticks the saber in the gun? That doesn't change the fact that he's charging a handgun somehow. I thought Omega has his saber? This is a different saber.

All my Zero games sans 4 are used so i dont have their manuals, but I know the Zero 4 manual at least says it "It has been upgraded with the Z-Saber hilt as it's magazine"

It's also plainly obvious from the artwork.

Obviously the pipe was made of Mettool metal.

Ahhhh yes, of course. I should have known.

[Ladd Spencer]

I guess his other weapons are built to charge? The whole thing is as sketchy as ever, though. Such a strange thing, giving Zero a pistol and calling it the Z-Buster.

[Flame]

It's not called the Z-Buster though. I think Z1 said that, but it was an error. Other games call it the "Buster Shot".
Also, as far as I see it, his other weapons either ARE the Z saber, (the Shield Boomerang seems this way, and lets face it, where the hell does he keep the damn Glaive in Z1 unless it's completely telescopic,) or are powered by it. Z-Knuckle I dont know. Maybe the stuff in his hand that allows him to steal and use enemy weapons allows for a charge)

What seems fairly obvious though, is that Zero's Copy Body does not seem to have an in-built Buster function. And Omega's original Zero Body doesnt seem to either, although that is more likely a case of mimicry, Weil mimicking Zero's equipment down to the detail in order to play with his mind. (Or Zero simply lost the Buster some time before his initial hibernation, and to give Omega Buster functions Weil mimicked Zero's pistol)

[Treleus]

Actually, I think Omega had a buster. It looked way bigger than Zero's pistol.

[Flame]

He has a pistol. He holds it sideways.

http://www.sprites-inc.co.uk/files/Zero/Zero3/Boss/FortressBoss/zero3_omega3sheet.gif

Because he's gangsta

It's the reason that "laziness" isn't a valid excuse for why they didn't give him a Buster.

[Zan]

It's not called the Z-Buster though. I think Z1 said that, but it was an error. Other games call it the "Buster Shot".
Also, as far as I see it, his other weapons either ARE the Z saber, (the Shield Boomerang seems this way, and lets face it, where the hell does he keep the damn Glaive in Z1 unless it's completely telescopic,) or are powered by it. Z-Knuckle I dont know. Maybe the stuff in his hand that allows him to steal and use enemy weapons allows for a charge)

What seems fairly obvious though, is that Zero's Copy Body does not seem to have an in-built Buster function. And Omega's original Zero Body doesnt seem to either, although that is more likely a case of mimicry, Weil mimicking Zero's equipment down to the detail in order to play with his mind. (Or Zero simply lost the Buster some time before his initial hibernation, and to give Omega Buster functions Weil mimicked Zero's pistol)

http://www.inti.co.jp/cd/zero1/index.htm

[Flame]

I assume the recoil rod works in a similar way to the triple rod then.

[Ladd Spencer]

http://www.inti.co.jp/cd/zero1/index.htm

Are you referencing the pictures or the words? I can't read the words.

[Flame]

The pictures. look at the pictures. Particularly the one that shows the Triple rod as an add-on Zero slots the saber into.

[Zan]

Sure you meant to say Triple Rod, Flame? The Triple Rod is just the Z-saber extended at the centre.

[Flame]

is it? The art makes it seem like it's placed in a bigger thing.

EDIT:

I get it.

[Hypershell]

Basically every Zero-series weapon is a saber derivative except for the buster, which uses the saber to charge, and the Z-Knuckle.