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Capcom Town, Capcom's online digital town hall, opened its doors today to commemorate the company's 40th anniversary. In the museum section, a notable highlight is the inclusion of scanned pages from the Rockman 1 design document, marking the first-ever public display of these artifacts.
This document unveils a treasure trove of previously unreleased artwork, encompassing sketches featuring Bond Man, Oil Man, Rockman donning a battle mask, early stage layouts, and much more!
The eight original Rockman 1 Robot Masters! From left to right: Cut Man, Oil Man, Guts Man, Fire Man, Bomber Man, Bubble Man, Bond Man, Electric Man. During the game's early planning phase, it was widely known that both Oil Man and Bond Man were intended to be included. However, this is the first time we have laid eyes on their original designs. It's interesting to note that Ice Man did not exist at this point, as Bubble Man seems to have initially filled that role.
Details on Rockman's various actions. This appears to depict Rockman's original standard weapon—an outstretched palm that fired tiny bullets! (#20's thread on the subject comes to mind) Akira Kitamura also envisioned that the Special Weapons would not only bestow unique abilities but also alter the appearance of Rockman's hand. Oh, and see the Life Bar on the left page? Yeah; it seems the original plan was for it to slowly deplete on its own, acting as a timer. Brutal!
Needless to say, there's a lot of ground to cover here. We're looking at providing a complete English translation in the very near future. For now, you can thumb through the original design document here! While you're there, don't forget to explore the rest of Capcom Town. It's filled with a plethora of delightful bits of history. You can even play Mega Man 1, Mega Man 2, and Mega Man X in your browser!
Incoming rom hack for Mega Man 1 I bet! : )
ReplyDeleteInteresting that Oil Man is a scrapped design that was later revived, while Bond Man is quite known there was no knowledge of the planned 8th boss.
ReplyDeleteHoly moly! That is a lot of info! It's interesting how Capcom does a museum sort of thing like this for their franchises. Very neat!
ReplyDeleteI noticed Ice Man on the stage selection screen, so he was indeed created earlier than Bubble Man.
ReplyDeleteSeems the less energy you had the less high your jump was. Bond man came with a stick and a propeller that let you fly once defeated. There's a collectable cup that gives you a thousand points. Bubbleman's weapon acted as a platform as well.
ReplyDeleteSeems like perhaps the Magnet Beam could be a remnant of Bubble Man’s weapon?
DeleteWhat sucks is that the digital museum is age restricted. I'm just a desperate teenager who loves Mega Man!!
ReplyDeleteThey are adorable. All of them in beta versions.
ReplyDeleteCutman design didn't change from his earliest draft. He was perfect from the start. 😄
ReplyDeleteHe's still a cut above the rest. : D
DeleteWhy does he look like a Rugrats character?
ReplyDeleteThe Magic of Concept art
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