It all started with a single comment in response to this May 22nd story, "Capcom Sees Film Industry As Easy Money, Future Franchises To See Theatrical Adaptations?". A purported Capcom-insider, self-proclaimed "The Shadow", told us the following: "No movie anytime soon, the only thing original series thing planned in the near future is Rockman 9 for VC and PS3 Download." -The Shadow (Capcom Insider)
At the time, most of us swept "The Shadow"'s comment under the rug. I mean c'mon; we've heard all kinds of Mega Man 9 rumorsbefore. Why would this one be any different?
Everything changed one June morning. One June 13th, 2008, the OFLC ratings board officially revealed that Mega Man 9 was on it's way. The news set the internet a blaze – *everyone* was excited. Our collective eyes quickly turned toward The Shadow's comment. He was right. But who was he? How did he know about Mega Man 9 so early? Not longer after the OFLC ratings surfaced, after The Shadow contacted me directly.
In our first e-mail exchange, The Shadow told me he was a "beta tester" from the innards of Capcom USA. His intentions were simple and fair: to leak as much Mega Man 9 info as he could to the fans via Rockman Corner. He passed along the first-ever, concrete details about the game, which I posted here. Here's what it said:
"-Rockman 9 will feature a retro 8-bit art style, a homage to the earlier games.
-Two playable characters: Rockman and Blues (ProtoMan).
- A popular belief is that RM9 will act as the 'link' to the events of the X Series. This is not so, The storyline DOES NOT lead into the X Series, rather it's a 'traditional' plot.
-Many new characters, new Robot Masters and maybe some new supporting characters.
-Gameplay is reminiscent of Rockman 3-6.
-Online components: Leader boards and some unknown form of online play
-RM9 will be on all major home consoles: Wii, X360 and PS3. X360 and PS3 users will be able to purchase the game from their respective download services. It's unknown how the Wii version will work, whether it will be a downloaded game or not. "
The following day, The Shadow dropped another morsel of info. This time it was about the game's story: "Robots Have Expiring Dates."
The next day, again, more information: "MM9's Development Outsourced?" In that post, The Shadow claimed that Mega Man 9 was being developed by "two companies"– Capcom Japan and an unidentified "third party." As it turned out, the second developer was none other than Inti Creates.
And, well, that was it. The Shadow vanished. Complete radio-silence. Not long after his disappearance, Capcom USA's own Seth Killian confirmed there was indeed an individual who saw the game early, though he wasn't a "beta tester".
And so ends The Shadow's story. He's still MIA, at the time of this writing. But if you're there, my friend, thank you for keeping us posted on Mega Man 9. I sincerely hope you didn't land into any trouble!
And now here we are: eagerly awaiting to boot up our Wiis and download Mega Man 9 tomorrow. I don't know about you, it feels like Christmas!
Shadow was wrong on one thing though, that gameplay would be most like MM3-6.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of funny to read all those old comments now, especially the ones that were so convinced it was false and MM9 would never happen.
Isn't roll playable too? Or you just get to change her costume whenever you see her. Anyway I am really thankful for this site. I always go here and check first before any other MM site. You have given us great info on many things Megaman related and we appreciate. Thanks Protodude. Continue your awesome work.
ReplyDelete@anonymous:
ReplyDeleteHe *was* right. Perhaps you're saying "no" because there are no sliding and charge shots? If you take a look into Megaman9 trailer, you'll see a lot of elements from Megaman3~6.
@all:
Yes, "The Shadow" was great. Thanks.
A hero? -_- Come on. Sure, we all love Rockman, but it's not THAT important.
ReplyDeleteEven though I had my doubts, I stuck with TheShadow's claims. The payoff was incredible. : )
ReplyDeleteHmm, looking back, maybe Protoman will have his own storyline afterall. *crosses fingers* In any case, I'm just glad for this site! Thank you Protodude and Shadow...wherever you are now!
ReplyDeleteExpiring dates.. Blue's problem.. Blues falls back twice as far as Rockman.. Sounds like they're all connected...
ReplyDeleteIt was a was pleasure guys, I hope to give you more info when any new Rockman games come to development. I will be disappearing for awhile till then, so if you need to contact me, look for my good friend Protoman on the Rockman Memories boards, he will forward any emails to me. Thanks and goodbye for now
ReplyDelete- The Shadow
The robots have Expiration dates is a HUGE part of the plot.
ReplyDelete(SPOILERS)
Just beat it, took me 2hrs 59minutes 10seconds.
The expiration date is this, all robots are mandated by law to have an expiration date. Wily uses this knowledge to his advantage to make the 8 masters go wild. When you beat your 3rd boss a chip drops saying the robot was scheduled for termination soon. On your 8th master a recording drops of Wily telling the robots about their date and how they should refuse it by rising up and showing humanity that they are still useful
One of the best Megaman games ever!!!
^
ReplyDeleteInfaune stated it's directly after 8
Actually Protodude, 9 takes place some time after 8 and Megaman & Bass. How else would you explain the 9 clips from the ending?
ReplyDeleteContinuity plot hole.
ReplyDeleteOh come on. ( clearly showed wily begging for mercy from the other 9 defeats (which includes Megaman & Bass's ending). I fail to see how an 8-bit version of wily's defeat from Megaman & Bass is a plot hole? and for the record, the comment of Anon5 was mine, and I forgot to put the username.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, I meant to say 9, not (.
ReplyDeleteThat works too :)
ReplyDeleteAny new of the "secret" found by sethkekchose?
ReplyDeleteThe Shadow must be Inafune!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone will read this either but MegaMan Legacy Collection 1+2 will release on May 22 of this year. The reason why I am bringing this up is because the response about MM9 being made was also around something relating to May 22. Not a big deal but interesting.
ReplyDelete