Ancient Theories/Fanon

[Bag of Magic Food]

I had a face-slap moment when I learned that the Worlds of Power books were written under the pseudonym "F. X. Nine" so that they would be placed next to books by "Nintendo" alphabetically.

[marshmallow man]

So THAT is where Light's first name of "Xavier" comes from.

Who's Light? We're talking about Dr. Wright here...    I think Mandi Paugh is responsible for that on the net far more than this obscure book. I'm not sure she had the book herself because she doesn't seem to include many elements from it in her fanfics, but maybe one of the MMHP community did and shared some info with her. I imagine that's why she thought she was right to use it as Light's middle name. Dunno.

But if that's "history", at which time are they recollecting all of this? You could consider any mistakes made as historical inaccuracies.

The forward is from December 2055, that's the point where the information has been collected. The first war took place in 2035, the second in 2038, the third in 2043, and Wily's Revenge in 2052. The stories are supposed to be reproductions of top secret documents, so I guess one cold argue that the reproductions were inaccurate or that the initial authors at the time didn't have all the facts straight in the memos, although 90% of it would have to be inaccurate to fit with some other stuff.

The overall idea here reminds me of how the Dune universe has both the original books, and the newer books to form its canon.

G-money Lucas has a similar relationship with his Star Wars expanded universe. Even Baum's Oz books have similar problems, come to think of it. It may be an inevitable symptom of any franchise that lives too long.

I'd love to see them try to explain the games with multiple endings.

The book doesn't discuss game endings, just the aftermath, so maybe they'd just do like they did with Roll and ignore everything.

Maybe they'd occasionally throw in a hint or two as to what "really happened. That's what Capcom's been doing anyway.

Insert Quote
Alternate history fanfics!

But they would probably have disclaimers in the "real" MegaMan world.

Or that. After all, you're already choosing your own boss order, so you're not going to go through the simulation the exact way the historical Mega Man did.

I wonder what sorta takes it has on MM.

Mega Man was a speechless emotionless robot who runs on pure logic, sees in infrared scope, has a detachable plasma cannon on his right arm "end effector" (but not his left). After the wars ended he was given a personality chip to give him "the emotional presence and maturity of an adult male." He still can't talk though. He absorbs energy through his breathable titanium alloy skin, but also drinks WD-40 coolers.

And who it's endorsed by ...

Mentioned this already, but Capcom did.

"The only guide that has been officially authorized by its manufacturer, Capcom U.S.A." - front cover.

"I would like to thank Kathleen Watson and Gracie Howell of CAPCOM U.S.A. for coordinating the project..." - Acknowledgements

It also includes a game ad and a $10 rebate off the purchase of Capcom games, like they used to put in some of their instruction manuals. It's a trip.

[Zan]

Who's Light?

Thomas Xavier Light, alias Dr. Wright. That guy mentioned in the manual of the first historical simulation. His assistant is Albert W. Wily.

The W. stands for Jerome.

[Flame]

His assistant is Albert W. Wily.

The W. stands for Jerome.

You made my day.

[marshmallow man]

 

That guy mentioned in the manual of the first historical simulation.

Joke derailment! "Wright" was used in the first US manual, "Light" in the second and third. I tried to get MMN to correct their manual transcript a while back, but I see they haven't. They even have an instance of Dr. "Write" on there, which I don't believe was ever used for him in any official capacity. Reminds me of Link's Awakening tho.

[Bag of Magic Food]

Link has many Adventures.

The W. stands for Jerome.

No, it stands for Wumbo, which is what you get when you turn his shrink ray upside-down.

Mega Man was a speechless emotionless robot who runs on pure logic, sees in infrared scope, has a detachable plasma cannon on his right arm "end effector" (but not his left). After the wars ended he was given a personality chip to give him "the emotional presence and maturity of an adult male." He still can't talk though.

Well, he may not have much personality when you're playing as him, right?  So maybe he kept taking the personality chip in and out between games because everyone thought the wars were over each time.  And maybe he never talked, but literally held up large black signs with white text printed on them, or just your typical word balloons in 7.  Yeah, we can rationalize all this!

[The Great Gonzo]

People bash the cartoon for what it "did to" Mega, but at least Ruby-Spears didn't take him literally. Yeesh. I have to wonder why they wouldn't let the poor jailbait robot talk after upgrading him (aside from the fact that he didn't have any lines in MM1-3 and GB1).

I haven't got my hopes up since Roll got the shaft, but that book covers MM3, so what of Protoman?

[marshmallow man]

In the briefings, Protoman is briefly referenced as a peacekeeping robot developed at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence (where Dr. Wright works), seemingly built after the second Great Mining War, to perform roughly the same duties as Mega Man. He disappeared with the other super robots of MM3, but the Ministry of Interplanetary Defense was unable to determine whether he was fighting for Wily or against him. The rest of the book then calls him Break Man and treats him like a stage enemy. It doesn't cover the endings, so it doesn't explain what happened to him or who he was fighting for. Interestingly, the picture the book uses for him is one that appears in R20 on page 207, the Blues sketch with the normal helmet on and the handle grip sticking out of his buster.

[Protoman Blues]

built after the second Great Mining War

I'm curious about this.  What are the Great Mining Wars?

[marshmallow man]

The first was the events of Mega Man 1, the second was Mega Man 2, and the third Mega Man 3.

[Protoman Blues]

Ohhh.  Those are what they refer too?  Interesting indeed.  Thanx, Stay Puff!

[The Great Gonzo]

Thanks. Man, not even the "official guide" had much to say about Proto; no wonder he's portrayed in so many different ways.

Incidentally, Mom ordered TOTMM for me a few minutes ago (it was cheap), so perhaps I can post some scans soon. (Not the one we ordered, but someone wanted over eighty goddamned bucks for their copy. Holy fuckballs.)

[Gauntlet101010]

Thanks. Man, not even the "official guide" had much to say about Proto; no wonder he's portrayed in so many different ways.

Incidentally, Mom ordered TOTMM for me a few minutes ago (it was cheap), so perhaps I can post some scans soon. (Not the one we ordered, but someone wanted over eighty goddamned bucks for their copy. Holy fuckballs.)

I got a copy as well.  I'm excited since this will be a real blast from the past.  They don't make guides like this anymore!

I think we must have gotten the cheaper ones because the cheapest one now is $27.  That seems pricey enough, but $80 is totally absurd.  Exactly how valuble do they think this book is?

[The Great Gonzo]

I think they priced it that high since it's an old and rare (or at least uncommon) book--that, or it's in perfect condition. (Mine has some wear and tear, according to the description)

[Gauntlet101010]

Yeah, probbly, but ... whoever did that has no brains whatsoever.  Old game guides really aren't worth that much.  Old GAMES on the other hand, I can see.

[marshmallow man]

They don't make guides like this anymore!

Especially using that kind of paper. Hope you guys enjoy it. Maybe we can hold a book discussion or something.

[The Great Gonzo]

I hope so too (and that Mom doesn't decide that I have to wait until Christmas for it).

As long as we're waiting, I misewell share this with you: http://www.ummagurau.com/writing/video/forte/index.htm It was compiled before MMnB was released in English; this page is rather special to me, as it was one of the first Megaman-related pages I ever visited, and where I learned about the Megaman Killers/Hunters, Stardroids, Tango, and the Genesis Corp. Problem was, this fellow wasn't well-versed in Megaman, so I was still largely in the dark after coming away from it. (I also wondered, "Since when did anyone call Protoman 'Darkman'?" Heh...)

Anyone else remember the first MM site they ever visited? (Mine'd technically be the Megaman HQ, but it was in shambles even in middle school...)

Posted on: October 26, 2009, 12:18:55 AMSo, a while ago I asked Mr. Ariga about the game canon and his manga (how they fit together, specifically). He responded:

海外の方からのカキコ(Question)があったんですが↓
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RADIX Said: @1:16 AM

Hi; I'm sorry I can only speak English, but I'm afraid that I can't translate this properly. (Also, Gigamix looks like a good read from what I've seen of it)

There is a matter I'd like to have resolved. One fellow thinks that Megamix/Gigamix should be included in debates about Rockman's canon, because you know a good deal about it, and thus whatever's in the manga has canological value (as I put it). However, I think that it's a flawed idea, because we still can't be sure about how much is canon and how much is your idea.

I'm wondering; how much of Breakman in Gigamix is true to the games, and how much is your idea? I'd appreciate it if you could answer that, so that argument could hopefully be put to rest. ^^
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↑の返事(Answer)↓です。

Hello and thank you for your message! I'm sorry it took me so long to respond.
It's very exciting for me to receive a comment from someone overseas.
However, I must admit that I am not able to communicate in English.
I wanted to make an exception this time, as it was the first English comment I received, so I asked someone to translate your message for me and this response to you. Please understand that I will not be able to reply to any further English messages, though I do deeply appreciate your support.

Regarding your question about the position of Megamix and Gigamix in relation to official canon, I think the best way for me to describe it would be as "a spin-off that has been approved by the rights holders."
I should make it clear that my stories are not to be considered official canon.
Similar to how there are many fictional novels based on the Star Wars world, Megamix and Gigamix should be considered from that same angle.

That's basically what I had in mind when writing the original "Mega Man Remix."
I took Capcom's official canon/information and arranged/mixed it up for Remix, Megamix, and Gigamix.

To be more specific, the Breakman in Gigamix is portrayed the way I personally interpreted his character when playing the game.
Therefore, my Breakman from Gigamix should not be considered official in any way.
Of course, he is one of the official characters on the most basic level, as that is who he is based on, but the Breakman in Gigamix is one to which Capcom said, "This Breakman will be fine as a Gigamix Breakman."

In summary, I think the clearest way to explain it for you and your friend would be to say that I hope you will continue to enjoy both the game and my manga, but as two separate entities.

I hope that answers your question, and again I would like to thank you for your support.

Of course, by now that argument's over, but I'm just glad that he took some time to answer my question. 

[Rock Miyabi]

I just came from checking in at Ariga's site and thought, "Wow, ain't Radix special." You're the first one he's ever replied to in English and by the sounds of it, you might be the last as well. AND you got a pretty Break/Blues pic to boot! Congrats on getting him to reply to your question.

[Protoman Blues]

That's pretty awesome that he responded.

[marshmallow man]

That is pretty cool he responded in English. The last time I can remember him doing that was on his old old blog, when he had to ask English speakers not to steal his artwork for their own sites.

Doesn't sound like he had much to say about game version Breakman. Doesn't bode well for my hope that there's a special talk section discussing it in Gigamix. Hey Miyabi, you have the book, right? Is there a discussion section in it?

[Rock Miyabi]

Yep I do, but not...really...

The first four pages are a short section entitled "The Story of Rockman Megamix." There's a mugshot of every one of the Dr. "__" Numbers, which of course covers 1-6, and 7 short paragraphs which no doubt are just a summary of Megamix.

At the end of the book, there is one page with a special Wily/Reggae pic and what I assume is a letter from Ariga. I can see R20 in the text, but that's all I can pull out of it. And then after that, 2 more pages with short comics starring Ariga as he worked on the book. In the first one he seems to be discussing Battle and Chase, perhaps all the made up robots he included in there. They're shown at least. The second one does have a pic of Blues, not Break.

That's all there is for extra content. No special lengthy discussion, nor are there any character sheets like there were in Megamix. Around 210 pages of manga and just those few extra pages surrounding it.

It's a little late for me right now, so I can't take the time to scan them, but if you want to translate, I can get that done tomorrow for ya.

[Gauntlet101010]

Actually, he responded to a few people in english during the 'ol Capcom Crisis of 2000, when Koshinda (his publishjer) found out all of us US fans were using images he posted at his site for our own sites.  Some people (one person really) actually went over there and were pretty rude.  I apologised for us US fans.

But I doubt he gets much english main tho.

Of course, after that crisis, he took down all those images. 

[Zan]

To be more specific, the Breakman in Gigamix is portrayed the way I personally interpreted his character when playing the game.

I actually like this answer a lot. In many ways it shows how much about Breakman is unclear from the game itself and up to our imagination. It's definitely "food for thought". A depiction of "his interpretation" in comic format certainly is quite an effective way to bring his own ideas to the fans, and could shape our own interpretations of what we actually saw in the games.

There's a mugshot of every one of the Dr. "__" Numbers

I'm presuming this does not include TimeMan and OilMan? I would have liked to have seen them in serious roles. But I guess they'll never truly be part of that group.

[Flame]

They were added in for no other reason than to complete the circle of 8, the way I see it.

[Zan]

Even if that might be the case at the most basic level. Remember that it was also quite an extensive addition. There were originally no ideas for new bosses until Inafune went and designed them himself, creating new bosses weapons and a weakness order to go with it. Only with all that already done for them by the "father of Rockman", did they go ahead and implement them.

Overall, their inclusion meant that Rockman Rockman had two additional bosses and two additional stages, stage enemies, two music tracks, two boss weapons and a weakness cycle to go with it. It also meant two more playable characters were added. Overall, TimeMan and OilMan contributed to a considerable amount of new content that was added to the game.

I feel that after the release of Rockman Rockman, it would only be fitting to start including these two as part of the group, both in the games and in additional material. If not in Gigamix's new stories, R9's Megamix also could have had a role for them, what with the shown conflict of old and new Right Numbers. Especially since Ariga has already drawn up designs for them... (TimeMan's is quite cool, OilMan not so much.)