December 30, 2012

model-h:

miloscat:

Apparently when X sealed the Dark Elf (the main Cyber-elf, who had been corrupted by Dr Weil) with his own body, his soul left and split into 5 parts. 4 of them subsequently had new bodies made for them by unknown parties, perhaps Ciel’s mother. For some reason, they didn’t perform this operation on the “main”, X-part. I think he probably asked them not to, as he was tired of fighting and just wanted to be dead for a while.

Just gonna note here that it’s not canon that X split in pieces and it’s mentioned nowhere at all officially. It’s purely fan conjecture and has been going around again and again on the megaman wikia.

The Guardians were all built, and their original purpose was world restoration (except Phantom, who was charged with guarding X).

Oops. Well, that’s what I get for trusting the wiki. I think the Copy Ability synthesis theory is cool though. Hmm well if that’s the case, my original theory of Robot Masters surviving through to become the Guardians is still technically plausible, although their loyalty to X would have to be explained some other way. Thanks for correcting me there, I assumed it was mentioned in an art book or Complete Works or a soundtrack or something.

Well if nothing else the design similarities from series to series have been noted in my posts, which was my original intention. I stitched the fanon on as well to hold it together better.

(via deductionfreak)

4:21pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuaW0q3Y
(Notes: 14)
  
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December 30, 2012

I suppose another post is warranted for the primary fragment, Cyber-X. The first three images are different official representations of X’s Cyber-elf form, which lives on throughout the Zero series, helping and advising Zero and Ciel against the ambitious Dr Weil and his Neo Arcadian regime. I outlined some of his later history in another post, but suffice to say he also has a Biometal form.

He eventually manages to convince the Guardians to turn against their false master, Copy X (fourth image), as he is the real deal. Copy X mostly looks just like X, but has this alternate form for battle that is reminiscent of some of X’s plain Armors, such as the Armor from X1 (fifth image).

Cyber-X is obviously just like vanilla X, but since the Guardians do not manage to cover all the various Copy Ability types between them, we must attribute some of them to being retained by this primary fragment. There are some Nature/Plant weapons that do not fit on any other Guardian, but are not specifically exhibited by Cyber-X. He does have a concern for protecting Nature though, and all life really, so let’s call it that. The only other major category, and one that fits very well (and is later used to describe him in Biometal form), is Light. How appropriate, the name of his creator! He is also probably the most pure and good character, especially out of the Guardians.

Well that wrapped up pretty well I think, it seems like a very sound theory if I do say so myself. And I think that’s it for my plans for 25th coverage, so I’ll see you next time for something else!

4:11pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuaVzYt4
(Notes: 7)
  
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December 30, 2012

Hidden Phantom, stealth expert and commander of the Cutting Shadow Squadron. Later as Model P, he was biomatched to Siarnaq (second image). Third image is his Biometal form. He is characterised by his calm but ruthless demeanour.

Phantom is also unfortunate to be killed in the first Zero game, thus sitting out the second. He returns in Cyber-elf form in the third for an optional battle, though, and joins X in support of Zero by the end.

Phantom, unlike the other Guardians, does not have a Robot Master predecessor in MM9. He does, however, greatly resemble Shadow Man from MM3. This is unusual. Unlike these later RMs, Shadow Man has an ambiguous otherworldly origin, unknown as he was reprogrammed by Dr Wily. It is plausible though that he could have been reactivated by Light later and studied, thus informing some of his later designs. Phantom always seemed mysterious to me as well, possibly as a result of his powers. Regardless, the two definitely share design characteristics, based on Japanese ninja archetypes.

The fifth image shows the Shadow Armor from X6, perhaps the most direct Armor relation with its ninja motif and stealthy powers.

As for the Copy Abilities Phantom embodies, the most fitting are Dark, Cutter (shurikens and whatnot), and Time/Space (what with his teleporting and illusions).

3:52pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuaVtvTK
(Notes: 7)
  
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December 30, 2012

Fighting Fefnir, ground combat expert and commander of Neo Arcadia’s Scorched Earth Squadron. Later Model F (combined with Atlas in second image and Biometal in third).

Being the big tough guy, Fefnir is more aggressive than the others. He represents the Copy power categories of Fire, Explosives, and Physical/Earth.

He is less obviously represented in MM9 by Magma Man, a fire-element Robot Master with a volcano on his head. His twin cannons and elemental alignment convinced me that he corresponds to this Guardian, although as indicated other Copy Weapon types also aligned to create Fefnir (a trait common to the other Guardians, as amalgamations).

X’s Armors are not typically elementally aligned, so it is the physical attributes that seem to be contributed to the Guardians, while their elemental powers come from the Copy Abilities of X. In this vein, the closest Armor I identified with Fefnir is the Gaea Armor of X5, as it has the biggest gun.

3:32pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuaVnuKJ
(Notes: 9)
  
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December 30, 2012

Fairy Leviathan, commander of Neo Arcadia’s Deep Sea Squadron and underwater specialist. Later as Model L, biomatched with Thetis (second picture) and in Biometal form (third). She has something of a playful attitude, but can be vicious, especially towards Zero.

Leviathan is tricky to match up to any of X’s physical Armor attributes, because as far as I know (and I may be wrong) there are no particular Armors with specialty aquatic characteristics. There is, however, a manga-only character from the X series who is a mermaid Reploid, which is the closest thing to Leviathan (Marty, in the fifth image). This doesn’t work with the overall Guardian origin though, so we have to assume that there is an aquatic Armor that Light built and X used, but not in any game we’ve played.

There is, however, a close parallel in MM9 in Splash Woman (fourth image), one of the very few female Robot Masters (there’s actually 3 or 4… kinda). She’s a mermaid with a weapon very similar to Leviathan, and her deisgn has some similarites too. So if Tornado Man is Harpuia’s counterpart, Splash Woman is obviously Leviathan’s (being the only female Guardian, and water-aligned). So Light, having built her, must have gone on to create Armors for X with her strengths. He must have found and used them at some point, which has not yet been represented in a game. There. That works.

More importantly, there is a very strong tradition of Copy Abilities with an Ice or Water theme. It is these weapons which went towards the formation of Leviathan when X fragmented.

3:08pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuaVgxAw
(Notes: 2)
  
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December 30, 2012

Sage Harpuia, aerial fighter, de facto leader of the Guardians and commander Neo Arcadia’s Strong Air Battalion. Later as Model H (seen in the second picture merged with Aeolus, and in Biometal form in picture 3). He is a strong, very cool customer with a noble air.

I originally had the theory that the Guardians were surviving Robot Masters from the Classic era after Inti Creates made some RMs that were obvious references to them in MM9, which was made after the Zero series. I found out though that they were created from fragments of X’s soul, so my current theory is that Light at least built certain armours for X to use based on the designs of those Robot Masters and possibly containing some of their programming to aid X in using them.

For example, Tornado Man from MM9 bears a striking resemblance to Harpuia, and was built by Light himself. Using the principles of the Rush Adaptors, Light made augmentations for X to find and use. In this case, the Falcon Armor (fifth picture) has the most similarities with Harpuia himself. The Armor theory is not very strong, but combined with the Copy Ability synthesis I mentioned in my previous post, I think it could be made to work.

So part of Tornado Man’s programming (and possibly other wind-based RMs) was installed in the Falcon Armor parts, and possibly other parts as well (like other air-dashing parts). It seems like a stretch, but this is the only way I can explain Harpuia looking so much like Tornado Man!

So this whole Rockman series is mainly about the principles of characters’ designs echoing backward and forward in the timeline, so even if the lore doesn’t quite hold the other similarities are evident.

Part of this is the notion of the Copy Ability crystallisation process at X’s death. Throughout the Classic and X series, Rock and X gain many different abilities, but they can all be categorised into several broad groups. These then reflect on the Robot Masters and Mavericks that held them, but that would take way too long. Suffice it to say that the categories of copied weapons that find their ultimate expression in Sage Harpuia are Electric and Air/Wind. He also corresponds to the Falcon Armor, more or less.

2:51pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuaVbjyr
(Notes: 2)
  
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December 30, 2012

Continuing Rockman’s 25th celebration, this post was the one I originally had in mind before being sidetracked by the “main” characters of the series.

The Four Guardians, or Four Heavenly Kings in Japan (one of the many mythology references in the Zero series) are a team of very high-ranking enforcers for the Neo Arcadian army (the major civilisation in this era). They share a common bond; they were all born from the body of X.

Apparently when X sealed the Dark Elf (the main Cyber-elf, who had been corrupted by Dr Weil) with his own body, his soul left and split into 5 parts. 4 of them subsequently had new bodies made for them by unknown parties, perhaps Ciel’s mother. For some reason, they didn’t perform this operation on the “main”, X-part. I think he probably asked them not to, as he was tired of fighting and just wanted to be dead for a while.

These 4 have separate elemental alignments: Sage Harpuia is the wind/electric type, Fairy Leviathan the ice/water type, Fighting Fefnir the fire/explosive type, and Hidden Phantom the dark/cutting type. Their original intention was to help repopulate and rejuvenate the world, but they were recalled to fight the Rebellion when Neo Arcadia began becoming more oppressive and militarised. They then led armies of Reploids and Mechaniloids, who were loosely aligned to their elements or style.

But why did X’s DNA soul split into 5 elves? Here’s my theory. The many years of using Light’s Copy Chip to take on enemy powers also had an effect on X in some way. Especially since the Copy Abilities often conformed to one or two of a number of elements/types, X developed permanent inclinations along these types, but at cross-purposes. This resulted in internal conflict, which finally expressed itself when he sacrificed himself at the end of the Elf Wars. The many disparate powers stored within his robot soul crystallised along complementary categories, resulting in four distinct personages, in addition to the original X fragment.

The X elf, or Cyber-X, retained all of X’s personality and memories. I believe the Guardians did not, and developed their own personalities without remembering their past. Nevertheless they feel a tremendous loyalty to each other and to X. This is why they work for the Copy-X, who was built by Ciel using a similar technique to their own creation, but without incorporating the X elf. The result was an imperfect replica who was easily manipulated by Weil.

The Guardians aren’t stupid though and come to realise they’re working for the bad guy. They still hate Zero though, but agree to help him at the urging of Cyber-X. Sources differ on whether they die at the end of Zero 3 or later on, but a piece of art in one of the soundtracks is too cool to not be true, depicting the four and X in elf forms watching the climax of Zero 4. These may be their dead elf selves or the true manifestations for which their previous bodies were but replicas in the manner of Copy X. I believe the former.

Either through their proximity to the crashed Ragnarok-Weil hybrid (the original Biometal, model W) or through Ciel’s science, the four (along with X and Zero) were made into Biometals later. These forms are able to combine with human or Reploid hosts to share their abilities, but also are sentient and seem to retain their personalities (when not being controlled by model W).

This ties into another aspect of their existence. The four also have some affinity to certain armours that Light made for X. After inventing a combination technique for Rock and Rush, Light decided to incorporate a similar functionality in X’s design. He therefore has various armours with different abilities, which I think may have informed the formation of the distinctive Guardian shapes. More on that in individual posts, I think.

2:32pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuaVV_g2
(Notes: 14)
  
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December 18, 2012

The bad doctor, Albert W. Wily. According to some sources, he was a close collaborator with Light until a lab accident damaged his mind. Possibly he always harboured ill feelings and one day gave in to them. Either way, once his ambitions had flared up there was no stopping them. He had to be recognised as the world’s greatest roboticist at any cost, his madness increasing as he went on. But always he had to contend with Light’s creations, especially Rock, and he always came up short.

Among Wily’s creations are the Robot Masters from Mega Man 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8. He is also responsible for reprogramming most of the Masters from other Mega Man games for evil. Other robots not of the particular “Robot Master” variety include the Mega Man Killers Punk, Enker, and Ballade; Reggae the Crow, King, the Doc Robots, various imperfect copies of Mega Man, and Bass (who serves as an antihero) and his partner Treble.

However, he considers his greatest creation to be Zero, who contained the double whammy of unstoppable killing machine and insidious computer virus to corrupt any robot. He must really resent that Zero turned against his destructive programming and began fighting the Mavericks he helped create.

While Light managed to live on in a limited fashion, Wily had his own means to survive through the following era. It is implied that the robots Serges from X2 (second image) and Isoc from X6 (third image) are partially Wily himself or at least closely linked. It’s not unheard of in fiction for someone’s personality to be converted into digital form and housed in a robotic body, and if anyone could figure out the means, Wily could. He would also have the inclination, being irredeemably sociopathic. Having said that, there have been moments of sympathetic portrayal for Wily, especially in the Classic days.

Undeniably a genius, Wily is nevertheless crippled by his jealousy of Dr Light and delusions of grandeur. He is arrogant and a natural manipulator, having mastered the art of deception. His narcissism extends to his creations, leading to a desire to prove his robots are better than Light’s, specifically hoping for Bass to outclass Rock and later Zero to X.

Dr Weil (fourth image) continues in the vein of Wily’s machinations in the Zero series, taking command of copy X and Zero’s original body as his tools. He has similar megalomaniacal tendencies and skills of deceit, managing to take command of the largest civilised settlement in the new world after the destruction he had wrought. His goals are to use Reploids as slaves and rule the world, not wholly unlike Wily, although Wily was shown to have some respect for his creations. Weil shares this respect only with Omega Zero, continuing the thread of Wily and Zero. There is no concrete link between the two aside from name and personality, especially as both are human.

Wily reappears in a way, as part of the Sage Trinity in the Biometal era. As Master Albert (fifth image) he rules the country of Legion with the other Masters, although it is unclear how directly this version is based on Wily. He has very strong links to Model W though, which implies more connection between Weil and Wily through the Biometal Weil is the progenitor of. Master Albert takes Wily’s ambitions to the extreme, wishing destruction and recreation of all the world with himself as its god. Meanwhile, he maintains a facade of cool calmness. He claims to be the master of the Model W Weil created, but it is unknown whether it is actually using him.

There is a minor character named Wily in Legends who shares a resemblance, but he is merely a friendly boatman.

Wily’s Network counterpart is Lord Wily (sixth image), a schemer in a similar vein with a jealousy of Dr Hikari’s work. In this case however, Wily is also a robotics expert, changing the dynamic as he is resentful over his technology being superseded by Hikari’s Network technology. He is not the primary villain in all the games, and even is redeemed in the end and resolves to help improve the world.

9:57pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuZc3Xw1
(Notes: 5)
  
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December 18, 2012

The good doctor, Thomas Light (or Right). Idealistic yet brilliant, he is the father of modern robotics. His greatest creation, arguably, is X, although he would be nothing without the years spent with Rock, which were beneficial for both of them. Between games, Dr Light was responsible for upgrading Rock’s capabilities and building new helpers for him, including Rush the dog, Eddy the walking container, Tango the cat, and Auto the robot guy. He also previously built Blues as part of a military contract that resulted in the mass-produced Sniper Joe model. Also Roll.

Wily and Light used to be friends, even partners, before things took a deadly turn. Light has dedicated years of his life to combatting the schemes of Wily through his surrogate son, Rock. Years that could have been better spent improving the world. Still, all that fighting has simply increased his determination to help create a world where humans and robots can peacefully coexist.

Light’s other creations include the 6 (or 8) Robot Masters from the first Rockman game, and the 8 from Rockman 9.

Light’s next step, of course, was the creation of X, the first robot to have sophisticated feelings and free will. He sealed him in a special stasis capsule for over 30 years to test these complex systems, so as to bring X to maturity before releasing him into the world. He knew he would pass away before X could change the way the world views robots, so he hid capsules in many locations containing upgrades for him, knowing that one day X would find him. He also left hologram messages (second image) in these capsules to instruct X, his final messages to his creation. His influence was felt throughout this era, long after his death.

Light isn’t seen for a very long time after X (presumably) finds all the capsules. Unless you want to go with the endlessly recurring archetype theory, in which Weil is an incarnation or descendant of Wily and Ciel (and her mother) of Light.

The next concrete appearance of Light is hundreds of years later, in the Biometal era, when a council known as the Sage Trinity of Legion arises to rule a portion of the known world. They contain recreations or analogues of the three major roboticists from the Classic series, Light, Wily, and Dr Cossack, another good guy. Master Thomas (third image) is a strong, imposing figure, with a rigid moral code. It was he, along with Master Albert (the Wily analogue), who instituted a policy to bring humans and Reploids closer together in capabilities. Humans received cybernetic implants and Reploids had lifespans imposed, among other enforced alterations.

His hope was that this would create further cooperation and fellowship between the races, although it is revealed that this was but the first part of a more extreme plan that would involve more radical changes to society and its lifeforms. The exact nature of these plans is as yet unknown, but hints that there is a dark side to letting Light’s idealism reach to extremes.

There is a Network universe parallel to Light, known as Tadashi Hikari (being the Jaqpanese words for Right and Light, fourth image). He created the technology for projecting the NetNavis, although it was his son who actually created Mega Man and his grandson who would partner with him. He isn’t seen much, having passed away before the events of the first game. This version also wished for peace through the technology he helped create, although unlike Dr Light he left much work unfinished, to be continued by the next generation.

8:07pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuZbwTWY
(Notes: 3)
  
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December 18, 2012

Roll is Rock’s little sister, who remained a helper robot (as they both were originally) after Rock was transformed into a fighting robot. She assists Dr Light with his inventions and with housework, and on rare occasions has fought alongside Mega Man. (First and second image)

If Roll does continue into the X generation, her role would most likely be as a Navigator (a form of help which she has provided Rock before). She doesn’t have a clear parallel with any one character, but female supporting characters have appeared in several incarnations. Alia (third image) is probably her closest equivalent (second image), so with some memory-wiping and remodelling it’s possible they are the same…

Roll.EXE (fourth image) is also a support character in the Network universe, and love interest of the main character. This is another recurring aspect of this archetype, and has been slightly hinted at in the Rock-Roll relationship, and the X-Alia relationship.

Roll Caskett (fifth image) in Legends is a mechanic, helper of Mega Man and love interest. Her design and name seem to be based purely on artificially creating the parallel to the Classic Roll.

This archetype is carried through to the Zero series with the human scientist Ciel (sixth image), who later invents the Biometals but serves several support functions to Zero, and is a love interest (despite the fact that they are robot and human). Her mother invented the Cyber-elves, incidentally. She also has an adoptive younger sister who is a Reploid, Alouette, who grows up into Prairie (seventh image), the leader of the Guardians in ZX (not the same as the Four Guardians, more on that later). Prairie doesn’t have as many supportive functions but she is a possible love interest and important character. These two have no link to Roll but fulfill similar character types, with some key differences. Ciel is a brilliant and compassionate human scientist, and Prairie is a childish but competent commander.

4:54pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuZbW_d9
(Notes: 3)
  
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December 18, 2012

Blues, or Proto Man, is Rock’s older brother who ran away from home. The original robot. Mysterious and rebellious, he is way cool. Sometimes he fights you, but he is often on your side. He is assuredly not the same person as Zero, as Zero was being built while Blues was still around, but they share many parallels. Just look at that flowing yellow scarf, and Zero’s beautiful hair!

Their attitude is very similar too. Unlike other robots, they don’t follow orders. They act by their own choice, and stand aloof while actually being very loyal to their friends. They both have dark pasts. Actually, now that I think of it, why not make them the same guy? It requires some serious canon massaging, but it fits quite well thematically.

Blues has been aligned with Dr Wily in various sources after being repaired by him, and Zero was built by Wily. Who’s to say he didn’t take some cues from Blues with the design, if nothing else?

Anyway, Blues is first encountered with no knowledge of his history, but Rock finds out that he’s his brother eventually. He will often help out Rock, but largely keeps himself separate. He has some trust issues.

Zero is a very competent Maverick Hunter, a superior to X. X looks up to him but over time the two become comrades in arms. Zero later finds out that he was built by Dr Wily, and was the cause of the original Maverick outbreak. He has a very cool personality but has formed some relationships, some of which have caused him pain (Iris).

Zero eventually deactivates himself, but is awoken a century later to find himself in a new body (third image). The new world he finds himself in is ruled by a copy of X, his old friend. This copy is nothing like X however and rules as a tyrant. Zero fights the copy X and his shadowy master, Dr Weil, with the help of the real X, now a Cyber-elf ghost. He eventually dies to protect the remaining humans.

Zero lives on in Biometal form, giving his power to a Reploid host (fourth image) so as to continue fighting Mavericks. He later combines with X’s Biometal, passing on the best powers of both to new heroes (fifth image).

Both Proto Man and Zero have counterparts in the parallel Network world. Proto.EXE wields a sword weapon, which in my mind strengthens the link between them. His role in those games is somewhat similar to Blues, although the connection to Rock is lost. Zero.EXE’s role is like Wily’s original intention for Zero, to be a virus carrier and agent of carnage.

4:28pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuZbRKkj
(Notes: 6)
  
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December 18, 2012

This is the first in a series of posts about the character archetypes that run throughout the Mega Man franchise. Or, you could say different iterations of the same character.

Rockman is the posterboy, obviously. He’s like Mario, his face sells games. I don’t like him as much for this reason, because Zero is my favourite series and this guy gets plastered everywhere. You gotta love the guy though. (His brothers are cooler.)

This of course brings up, is X his brother? Or a remodelled Rock? I’m going to put forward a possible theory, that many of the Classic robots survived into the X series and in some cases beyond. Within this theory, we try to match up as many robots as possible to be the same person.

So Rock, having accumulated much life experience, was prepared by Dr Light to become the next stage in the evolution of robots. Light’s genius alone couldn’t advance robots, it was Rock fighting, learning and loving that helped him become something more. All subsequent intelligent robots in the X era were based on the design of X, who is basically an upgrade to Rock. Or, if you prefer, then X is simply a new robot made with Rock’s cooperation so that Light and Rock together made the next generation. Either way, X is heavily identified as “Mega Man” regardless.

X later becomes a Cyber-elf (third image) after his body dies. Both Reploids and, later, humans can become a Cyber-elf, depending on the conditions of their death. This was made possible by advanced technology. He takes on an advisory role in this capacity. Later, his elf is converted into Biometal, and bonds to an ordinary person, giving them his strength (fourth image).

The other three are not the same person as this original Rock. The fifth is Mega Man Volnutt, from Legends. A human (more or less) with some nifty armour, named after an ancient hero. The sixth is, similar to the Biometal version, bonded to a kid. He is a digital avatar for navigating the Internet invented by the parallel universe Dr Light. The seventh is an alien bonded to a different kid who happens to take the form of previous hero.

And that’s Rock.

3:53pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuZbJ2pV
(Notes: 6)
  
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December 18, 2012
Rockman’s 25th

To celebrate Rockman’s 25th birthday, I’m going to make a few posts about the mythology of the various Mega Man franchises and how they tie together. First, an overview.

Broadly speaking, there are two major continuities within which there are sub-series of Rockman. They are the Robots continuity and the Network continuity (for want of a better term). Robots includes, in chronological order, the Classic series (starting in 200X), X series (30-100 years later), Zero series (100 years after that), ZX series (200 years after that), and the Legends, or DASH, series (an indeterminate period later). Network is the Battle Network series (an alternate 200X), which is followed by the Star Force series (200 years later).

The major difference is the Robots games tend to be action sidescrollers (or 3D action in Legends) featuring androids or machines, and the Network games are RPGs with cyberspace and virtual AIs, and then aliens and radio waves or something (I don’t know that much about Network to be honest). Having said that, there are sidescrollers in Network and RPGs in Robots, as well as a few racing games, sports games, board games etc.

What ties it all together though is the concept of human interactions with artifical life forms, and the behaviours of those artifical life forms. Those life forms often become antagonistic towards their creator species, starting with reprogamming by malicious individuals, to a behaviour-modifying virus, towards more dealing with the ideals of various people and groups. The creations rebelling against their creator is a strong theme, starting with the Bible of course, and it runs throughout the Mega Man franchise.

SPOILERS AHEAD. So how do these games fit together? Let’s start at the beginning, the Classic series. Rockman 1 starts with rival robotic geniuses, Dr Light (the good guy) and Dr Wily (the bad guy). Dr Wily steals Light’s robots and reprograms them to cause havoc. Rock, previously a helper robot for Light, is remodelled into a fighting machine with a unique ability to copy enemy weapons. Dr Wily consistently returns with new robots, of his own creation most of the time, and Rock shuts them down many times. This struggle never ends, and leads into the X series.

X series: Light’s last creation, X, is the successor to Rock’s legacy and has free will. Zero, Wily’s last creation, caused a ton of robots to go bad then became a good guy. So the struggle between the rival doctors continues to be played out between robot Mavericks (the ones that went bad and want to harm humans) and the Maverick Hunters (who fight them), including X, Zero, and others, many based on X’s design (Reploids).

Zero series: This conflict escalates into to a cataclysmic period known as the Elf Wars, in which some of the newly invented life form/energy source called Cyber-elves are corrupted by some guy called Dr Weil (who may or may not be related to Wily, ask your nearest fan fiction author) and lots of stuff gets killed. X is now a Cyber-elf, Zero has a new body, and a replica of X rules the remaining population with an iron fist. Now anyone who opposes Copy X and Weil is labelled a Maverick, repurposing the term. Zero has to bring down the brutal regime, and succeeds with the help of the human scientist Ciel, the Resistance, the four turncoat Guardians, the true X, and the Cyber-elves. But he dies in the process.

ZX series: Weil had merged with his robotic suit, his space station, and probably some malevolent Cyber-elves for this to make sense (they’re like magic, very convenient for plot) to form a material known as Biometal. Ciel creates some Biometals of her own from the Cyber-elves of dead heroes X, Zero, and the Guardians. They appear to have the personality and memories of their templates, and can merge with a human or Reploid host to bestow their powers. The new heroes have to fight the corrupting influence of the Biometal Model W formed by Weil’s horrific synthesis. Model W manifests itself in different ways, steals Biometals and makes regenerating robot baddies, finally revealing itself to be partly in control of certain governments and corporations. It is seemingly defeated at some point, but who knows.

Dr Light always dreamed of a world where humans and robots could live together in harmony. This theme is brought up many times throughout these series, and is sometimes twisted by crazies who want to force such a state through violence or subjugation. The last word from ZX is that a robotic recreation of Dr Light wishes to create this world through extreme means. This seemingly, with some interpretation, leads into the setting of Legends some millennia later. The humans are dead, replaced by artificially created organic humanoids— I guess there’s not much difference there. Yet another energy crisis, world flooded, ancient ruins. An ancient automated system controls the organic population… it’s pretty complicated actually. The games are mostly concerned with the Barrells (Diggers) and their enemies/rivals, the Bonnes (pirates). It’s more about interaction and characters, and summarising the real backstory is hard. Suffice to say Mega Man ends up on the moon and there are less authoritarian or violent robots at the end. It’s hard to tell exactly how it fits with the other games, but ooh look Servbots! What were we saying? Yeah.

As for the Network timeline, being RPGs there is a lot more talking and a lot more complexity. Generally though the setting of the Battle Network series is similar to the Classic Robots setting, except instead of robots becoming dominant, Internet technology was supreme. What this means is that many robots from the Classic series, and even some from the X series, have NetNavi counterparts— these are like avatars that help humans navigate the treacherous Internet or something. I’ve covered the salient points I think, I haven’t played any Network games so I think I can say that the main reason for a Mega Man fan to play these games is the buttload of shout outs and callbacks. Otherwise other people might enjoy it for the gameplay, which is a tactical turn-based RPG on a small grid or something. It also tries to cash into the whole collect and battle thing. As for the actual plot, who knows? Like I said, lots of RPGs and more complex.

Star Force I know even less about. Sorry. There’s an alien and all this stuff about radio waves. I already mentioned that… It actually consciously steered clear of the callbacks so much and was more self-contained, so in my mind even less reason to be interested. Um. It also shares the gameplay style of Battle Network. Er. So, that’s that one.

Well, kind of a flat note to end on but that’s the Mega Man continuity so far. But wait, what’s this? Rockman Xover!? Oh no! What does it mean? So there’s a new iOS game, Japan-exclusive for now. It’s a “social RPG”, seems to be based on the Mega Man X iOS port engine but with really basic gameplay, and an emphasis on again collecting battle cards or something. But the setting is supposed to be this confusing mishmash of many different series. There’s time travel, sure, and Dr Light building a new Reploid(?) called Over-1. But how does the parallel universe of Network come into it? Sure, have cards based on it and everything else, but story-wise how do you justify that? Wily and Sigma teamed up somehow and time travel and bleh! Hey! Collect them all! Crossovers are exciting, but this one’s pretty lazy. I’m still really looking forward to it though, especially if there’s Zero elements!

tl;dr How can humans coexist with artificial life? Let’s find a way, together… By blowing up some robots. Da-da-da da-da-dum da-da-da da-da-da da-dum-dum…

3:24pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwuZbBnab
(Notes: 2)
  
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