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1. Your primary source for all things Mega Man Battle Network and Mega Man Star Force. The Rockman EXE Zone.
2. Mega Man & Bass (known in Japan as Rockman & Forte) is an action-platform video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a spin-off game in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan for the Super Famicom on April 24, 1998.
3. The Rockman EXE Zone images are well optimized though. Original 414.8 kB. After minification 398.1 kB. After compression 127.2 kB. JavaScript optimization. It’s better to minify JavaScript in order to improve website performance. The diagram shows the current total size of all JavaScript files against the prospective JavaScript size after its.

Mega Man & Bass (known in Japan as Rockman & Forte)^[a] is an action-platformvideo game developed and published by Capcom. It is a spin-off game in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan for the Super Famicom on April 24, 1998. It was later ported to the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld in 2002, and localized in English and released the following year.

After defeating the evil Dr. Wily many times, the robotic hero Mega Man is called into action once again when a powerful being known as King steals the blueprints to the creations of Dr. Wily and Dr. Light in order to create an army for robotic dominance over humans. Having learned of the threat, Mega Man's rival Bass decides to take matters into his own hands. The game is an action-platformer where the player advances by defeating bosses and acquiring their signature weapons. Mega Man & Bass lets the player choose between either of its title characters, each of which plays differently from the other.

Mega Man & Bass debuted on the aging 16-bit Super Famicom despite the series having already transitioned to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn with Mega Man 8. Producer Keiji Inafune claimed Mega Man & Bass was created with regard to younger players who did not yet own one of the more advanced gaming systems. The game received positive remarks from critics for its graphics and use of a tried-and-true gameplay formula, though many found the difficulty to be too steep. Although Mega Man & Bass shares many traits with previous console games in the series, Mega Man 9 would not be released until 2008.

Plot[edit]

The story of Mega Man & Bass varies slightly depending on which player character is chosen. It begins one year after the events of Mega Man 8 when a robot villain named King breaks into Dr. Wily's laboratory and then the Robot Museum to collect the data blueprints for the creations of Dr. Light.^[1] Dr. Light alerts the hero Mega Man that he must go at once to the Robot Museum to confront this new enemy. Meanwhile, Bass (Mega Man's rival and Wily's greatest creation) hears of the new criminal's appearance and decides to prove himself the stronger robot by defeating King. Proto Man is the first to arrive at the scene. King divulges his plan to him; he desires to create a utopia in which robots rule the world over humans. To accomplish this, King seeks to create an unstoppable army using the data and invites Proto Man to join him.^[2] Proto Man refuses and attempts to attack, but King counters and slices his body in half. Proto Man then teleports back to the lab for repairs while King escapes with the data, instructing his minions to handle the heroes. With their own motivations, Mega Man and Bass set out to put a stop to King's plans.

After vanquishing eight powerful robots under allegiance to King, the duo infiltrates his castle and engages him in combat. Proto Man interrupts the fight and again attempts to defeat their new nemesis. Putting all of his remaining energy into a blast, Proto Man manages to destroy King's shield and loses consciousness, allowing Mega Man and Bass to best King in battle afterwards. King questions why they fight so hard for humans when robots are the superior species.^[3] The pair explains that humans are the ones who created robots in the first place, which confuses King. The villain reveals that his creator is Dr. Wily, who then appears on a video monitor.^[4] When King asks the evil inventor why robots fight each other for the sake of humans, Wily strengthens his 'brainwashing level' and restores his power. Mega Man and Bass engage King in another battle and defeat him, but not before the latter teleports Proto Man out of his castle. The castle begins a self-destruct sequence and the protagonists escape without King.

Mega Man and Bass confront Dr. Wily in his newly regained laboratory. When Wily is beaten, Bass demands to know why he deceived him. Wily explains that he created King simply to test Bass' abilities.^[5] Wily shows him written plans for making a newer version of King to join with Bass in this venture, promising that the two would be invincible together. Proto Man appears and immediately destroys these plans. Wily then demands Bass to destroy Proto Man, but Bass is unsure. Proto Man tells Bass that although he is a strong robot of free will, he can never defeat his rival because he has nothing for which to fight.^[6] Bass doesn't care and forces Proto Man to leave, saying that he will still destroy Mega Man to prove his cause. Mega Man returns home where his sister Roll presents him a letter from King, who has somehow escaped the destruction of his castle. King wishes to atone for his own crimes against humans and hopes for them to be friends if they were to meet in the future.

Mega Man Games

Gameplay[edit]

The gameplay in Mega Man & Bass is similar to earlier games in the series. The player is tasked with completing a series of action-platform stages while overcoming obstacles, solving minor puzzles, and battling enemies. Destroying the 'Robot Master' boss at the end of a stage lets the player acquire its special weapon.^[1][7] In previous games, the player generally took on the role of the hero Mega Man. In this game, the player can choose to start the game as either Mega Man or Bass. However, whichever character is picked must be used for the rest of the game and cannot be changed.^[8] Mega Man is able to charge his shots to make them more powerful and has the ability to slide along the ground.^[1][7] Bass is able to rapidly fire his arm cannon in eight directions, though shots cannot be fired while moving or pass through walls unless a certain upgrade is obtained.^[7] Bass is also able to double-jump (jump a second time in mid-air) and dash along the ground.^[1] Performing both simultaneously lets him cross great distances by doing a dash-jump.

The stage structure is different from other games in the series. After the introduction level, the player can only choose between three Robot Masters.^[1][9] Defeating Cold Man unlocks Burner Man and Pirate Man; defeating Astro Man unlocks Dynamo Man, Tengu Man, and Pirate Man; and defeating Ground Man unlocks Magic Man and Tengu Man. Clearing one of these unlocked stages opens the way to a security room where the player must destroy a series of crystals with obtained Robot Master weapons. Bypassing all eight crystals opens the way to the fortress stages. In a similar fashion to previous installments in the series, enemies often drop bolts after they are destroyed, and these can be exchanged for various restorative items and upgrades. However, unlike in Mega Man 7 the security cavern offers a way to obtain large amounts of bolts without having to repeatedly visit stages.^[1] Some upgrades are unique to either character, such as Mega Man's ability to call on his dog Rush to search for items, or an adaptor for Bass to combine with his wolf Treble to temporarily fly.^[1] Also distributed throughout the introduction and Robot Master levels are a collection of 100 data CDs that contain information on many prominent characters in the series. Most of the CDs are hidden either behind obstacles that need to be destroyed with a special weapon or accessed with a character-specific ability, making it impossible to collect them all on a single playthrough.^[7] CDs collected in each playthrough are permanently placed in a database and remain unlocked after beating the game. Saved games are used in place of the series' traditional password system.^[1]

Development[edit]

Mega Man & Bass was developed for the Super Famicom after the release of Mega Man 8, which preceded Mega Man & Bass on the two 32-bit consoles, the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. According to series producer Keiji Inafune, Mega Man & Bass was intended for younger players who still owned a Super Famicom and did not have the means to experience Mega Man 8 on one of the newer systems. 'Even though trying to bridge out a new title on the [Super Famicom] was a little backwards at the time, we didn't want to make a half-hearted attempt at it,' Inafune explained.^[10] The design team included several new employees, as well as members of previous Mega Man games. Inafune required them to make the game 'as hardcore as possible'.^[10] Designer Hideki Ishikawa recalled the development of Mega Man & Bass as 'one big party'. The staff attempted to create an original game while avoiding the 'same old, same old [..] pitfall' that so many long video game series suffer and 'had a lot of fun doing it'.^[10]

Graphically, Mega Man & Bass uses many of the same two-dimensional sprites and animations as Mega Man 8.^[8][11] Two of the eight Robot Master bosses in Mega Man & Bass (Tengu Man and Astro Man) are borrowed from Mega Man 8.^[11] The other six were newly created for the game by three character designers: Hitoshi Ariga (credited as 'H. Ariga'), Yoshihiro Iwamoto (credited as 'Y. Iwamoto') and Koji Izuki (credited as 'K. Iduki') designed two characters each. The bosses were officially unveiled on a teaser page in the Kodansha magazine Comic BonBon.^[12] Each boss was given distinct characteristics so that they could be easily identified by players in both their aesthetics and personalities.^[10] Some of these characters had different names during their conceptual phase prior to the finalization of the game. 'Blast Man' became Burner Man, 'Freezer Man' became Cold Man, and 'Coil Man' became Dynamo Man. Iwamoto originally denoted Ground Man as 'Drill Man' despite there already being a Robot Master by that name in Mega Man 4.^[12] The musical score for Mega Man & Bass was composed by Akari Kaida (credited as 'A. Kaida'), Naoshi Mizuta (credited as 'N. Mizuta'), and 'Kirikiri-chan' (Toshihiko Horiyama). Rather than create tracks together, each composer was responsible for their own songs.^[13][14] Kaida would later work with other composers in the Mega Man series on the soundtrack for Mega Man 10, released in 2010.

Mega Man & Bass was originally available in Japan through the Nintendo Power game service in Lawson convenience stores. Its popularity prompted Capcom to later release the game in Super Famicom cartridge form.^[8] Until its GBA re-release, it was one of the few Mega Man titles not localized for English-speaking countries.^[13] The company commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Mega Man franchise with the GBA version of the game.^[15]

Reception and legacy[edit]

The GBA port has received generally positive critical reviews, currently holding an aggregate score of 79% on both GameRankings and Metacritic.^[16][17] Most critics found the game to be a solid yet conventional action-platformer that successfully adheres to the classic Mega Man formula. Electronic Gaming Monthly summarized that Mega Man & Bass is 'one of the best action games on GBA' and 'a great, if slightly derivative, platformer' with plenty of replay value due to the collectible CDs.^[11]GamePro was pleased with the game's fidelity to its predecessors when compared to the deviations made by the Mega Man Battle Network and Mega Man Zero series on the same system.^[21]GameSpy contrarily criticized its lack of innovation, declaring, 'Anyone that hasn't tried a Mega Man game yet would be better advised to spend $15 on a new copy of Mega Man 8 on the PSOne rather than paying $30 for an inferior retread of the same game'.^[8]

Many reviews also noted the game's high difficulty. Both Giancarlo Varanini of GameSpot and Craig Harris of IGN found that the game's bosses have very unpredictable attack patterns, thus making the battles extremely challenging.^[7][9] Harris additionally observed a heavy amount of trial-and-error for the levels themselves where the player must die several times before completing each one. He concluded, '[..] It's really the way Mega Man games have always been.. and to be honest, with all of the annoying little deaths in the game, there's always that sensation after every failure that you've learned the challenge, and perseverance definitely prevails in this game'.^[7]

According to Famitsu, Mega Man & Bass for the GBA sold 91,097 copies in Japan between its release date and the week of December 23, 2002.^[26]Nintendo Power listed Mega Man & Bass as the 14th best GBA game of all time in its 20th anniversary issue in 2008.^[27] A related game exclusive to Japan titled Rockman & Forte Mirai kara no Chōsensha (ロックマン&フォルテ 未来からの挑戦者, lit. Rockman & Forte: Challenger from the Future) was released for the WonderSwan handheld in 1999. The plot consists of the titular duo's struggle against an adversary named 'Rockman Shadow'.^[12][28] As Mega Man & Bass was released directly after Mega Man 8 and it shares plot and gameplay characteristics with the rest of the numbered titles in the series, many believed it to be the ninth main game in the series; however, the actual Mega Man 9 would not be released until 2008.^[29] Inafune explained in an interview with the Brazilian magazine Nintendo World that the ninth installment follows the storyline of Mega Man 8 and that the worlds for Mega Man & Bass and Mega Man 9 are meant to coincide with one another, as evidenced by a schematic of Bass in the ending of the game.^[30] In 2010, Bass was made playable via downloadable content in Mega Man 10. As in Mega Man & Bass, he is able to dash, fire in seven directions with his buster, and fly by combining with Treble.^[31]

Elements of the game appeared in the Mega Man comic series from Archie Comics before it went on hiatus. Most notably, King appeared during a time travel story in issue 20, while issue 55 saw Dr. Light experiencing a vision of the events of the game among other yet-to-be-adapted games.^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

Notes

1. ^Japanese: ロックマン&フォルテHepburn: Rokkuman ando Forute^?

Sources

1. ^ ^abcdefghCapcom, ed. (March 2003). Mega Man & Bass Instruction Booklet. Capcom Entertainment, Inc. pp. 2–19. AGB-A6ME-USA.
2. ^Capcom (March 11, 2003). Mega Man & Bass. Game Boy Advance. Capcom. King: I've downloaded all the data of the battle robots! Now I can create an invincible robot army!! Since you are a robot, you are qualified to join us if you want to! Huh?? It seems that your friend has arrived. I have no time to waste on you anymore!
3. ^Capcom (March 11, 2003). Mega Man & Bass. Game Boy Advance. Capcom. King: You won.. Why do you fight so hard for these pitiful humans? Robots are superior to humans..! Mega Man: Superiority, is not the point.
4. ^Capcom (March 11, 2003). Mega Man & Bass. Game Boy Advance. Capcom. Mega Man: King.. Let's evacuate together.. Dr. Light can heal your wound.. King: That isn't possible.. I'll explode if anyone but Dr. Wily tries to operate on me.
5. ^Capcom (March 11, 2003). Mega Man & Bass. Game Boy Advance. Capcom. Dr. Wily: I've always believed that you are the strongest robot in the world. But you have not been able to defeat Mega Man.. So I began to lose my faith in you. Then I had the idea that I could create a mightier robot. So, I created King.. But since you defeated King, I now know the truth.. You are the mightiest robot in the world!
6. ^Capcom (March 11, 2003). Mega Man & Bass. Game Boy Advance. Capcom. Proto Man: You are strong. That is true. But you can't defeat Mega Man. Do you know why? It is because you have nothing to fight for.. What have you been fighting for, Bass? You don't have anything or anybody to fight for, do you?
7. ^ ^abcdefgHarris, Craig (March 27, 2003). 'Mega Man & Bass'. IGN. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
8. ^ ^abcdeVreeland, Michael (April 11, 2003). 'Mega Man and Bass'. GameSpy. IGN. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
9. ^ ^abcVaranini, Giancarlo (April 3, 2003). 'Mega Man & Bass Review for Game Boy Advance'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 5, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
10. ^ ^abcdMega Man: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. pp. 60–3. ISBN978-1-897376-79-9.
11. ^ ^abcdElectronic Gaming Monthly staff (April 2003). 'Mega Man & Bass review'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 165. Ziff Davis. p. 132. ISSN1058-918X.
12. ^ ^abcMega Man: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. p. 195. ISBN978-1-897376-79-9.
13. ^ ^abJeriaska (December 2, 2008). 'Interview: The Story Of The Mega Man 9 Arrange Soundtrack'. Gamasutra. UBM plc. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
14. ^Jeriaska (October 30, 2009). 'Interview: Rockin' in the Bleep World - Musicians on Chiptuning Mega Man'. Gamasutra. UBM plc. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
15. ^'Mega Man & Bass Releases on the GBA'. GameZone. March 11, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
16. ^ ^ab'Mega Man & Bass for Game Boy Advance'. GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
17. ^ ^ab'Mega Man & Bass for Game Boy Advance'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
18. ^クロスレビュー [Cross Review]. Weekly Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 489. Enterbrain. May 5, 1998. pp. 29–34.
19. ^Kontul, Christian (July 31, 2002). 'New Famitsu scores'. GamesAreFun. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
20. ^Game Informer staff (March 2003). 'Mega Man & Bass review'. Game Informer. Sunrise Publications. p. 91. ISSN1067-6392.
21. ^ ^abStar Dingo (April 10, 2003). 'Mega Man & Bass'. GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
22. ^Nintendo Power staff (April 2003). 'Now Playing'. Nintendo Power. No. 167. Nintendo of America. p. 80. ISSN1041-9551.
23. ^Play staff (May 2003). 'Mega Man & Bass review'. Play. No. 17. Fusion Publishing. p. 60. ISSN1940-0721.
24. ^Cordon, Ivan (August 1998). 'Ação/Super NES Rockman & Forte'. Ação Games (in Portuguese). No. 130. Brazil: Editora Abril. p. 22.
25. ^Bros, Marjorie (July 1998). 'DETONADO SNES: Rockman & Forte'. Super GamePower (in Portuguese). No. 52. Brazil: Nova Cultural. pp. 60–63.
26. ^'2003年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300' [2002 Video Game Software Sales Top 300] (in Japanese). Geimin.net. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
27. ^'Best of the Best'. Nintendo Power. No. 231. Future US. August 2008. p. 71. ISSN1041-9551.
28. ^Williamson, Colin (April 18, 2000). 'Rockman & Forte (Import)'. IGN. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
29. ^Thomas, Lucas M. (February 16, 2010). 'The 10 Steps to Mega Man 10'. IGN. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
30. ^'Entrevista EXCLUSIVA com Keiji Inafune, pai da série Mega Man' [Exclusive Interview with Keiji Inafune, the father of Mega Man series]. Nintendo World (in Portuguese). Editora Tambor. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
31. ^Spencer (March 3, 2010). 'First Look At 8-Bit Bass And His 7-Way Shot In Mega Man 10'. Siliconera. Retrieved May 17, 2010.

Further reading

• 'Complete List of Game Boy Advance Games'.
• Harris, Craig (July 24, 2002). 'Rockman & Forte'. IGN.
• Vogel, Mitch (May 13, 2015). 'Mega Man & Bass Review'. Nintendo Life.
• 'Mega Man & Bass Instruction Manual'(PDF). Nintendo.

External links[edit]

Mega Man Online

• Official website(in Japanese)

The Rockman Exe Zone Forums

MegaMan NT Warrior,^{[note 1]} known in Japan as Rockman.EXE (ロックマンエグゼRokkuman Eguze), is an anime and manga series based on Capcom's Mega Man Battle Networkvideo game series, part of the Mega Man franchise. The manga series was written by Ryo Takamisaki and ran in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic between 2001 and 2006. The anime series, produced by Xebec (now Sunrise Beyond), ran for five seasons on TV Tokyo in Japan between March 2002 and September 2006, reaching 209 episodes in total. Viz Media produced English-language versions of the manga and licensed the first two seasons of the anime. Despite common elements, the stories of the game, anime, and manga versions of the Battle Network series all diverge heavily from each other.

• 2Media
  • 2.2Anime

Plot[edit]

The series focuses on Lan Hikari and his NetNavi, MegaMan.EXE as they build their friendship while dealing with threats from various NetCrime organizations. Along with Lan are friends Maylu Sakurai, Dex Ogreon, Yai Ayano, Tory Froid, and their respective Navis: Roll, GutsMan, Glide, IceMan. Although the series originally remains fairly close to the original Battle Network in terms of storyline, it begins to diverge greatly partway into the series. For example, there is no evidence showing that Lan and MegaMan were twin brothers in the anime, unlike in the games where it is revealed near the end of the first Battle Network game.

Media[edit]

Manga[edit]

The MegaMan NT Warrior manga series was written and illustrated by Ryo Takamisaki and published in the Shogakukan magazine CoroCoro Comic. A total of 13 tankōbon (bound volumes) were published in Japan from July 2001 to November 2006. All 13 volumes of the series were licensed in North America by Viz Media and published between May 19, 2004 and February 5, 2008.

Anime[edit]

The Rockman EXE anime first aired on TV Tokyo March 4, 2002.^[2] It spawned four sequels, Rockman EXE Axess, Rockman EXE Stream, Rockman EXE Beast, and Rockman EXE Beast+. The total number of episodes between all 5 series is 209. There was also a feature film within the Stream storyline. Only the first and second (Axess) series were adapted into English.

The English adaptation, titled MegaMan NT Warrior, was produced by Viz Media and recorded by Ocean Productions. The series originally aired on Cartoon Network and Kids' WB in the United States and Teletoon in Canada.^[3][4]Axess aired on TV Tokyo in October 2003, while the English adaptation (titled MegaMan NT Warrior: Axess) aired in January 2005 in the United States and April 2005 in Canada.^[5]Stream aired on TV Tokyo on October 2, 2004, Beast on October 1, 2005, and Beast+ on April 8, 2006. Kids' WB dropped MegaMan NT Warrior off the TV block at one point and revived only to complete the final episodes from Axess before dropping it again.

The anime is for young children in Japan but like many English adaptations of other anime series, MegaMan NT Warrior is edited due to Americanization and censorship. Among the more notable edits made was the editing out of words such as 'fire,' 'bomb,' and 'napalm,' which were thought to be inappropriate for younger viewers (especially post-9/11). As a result, the names of FireMan, ColorMan, BombMan, and NapalmMan also changed (while the original names were retained in the English games). Other inconsistencies between the English game and anime resulted from similarities in name to American superheroes. For example, AquaMan's name was changed to SpoutMan in the English anime to avoid confusion with the DC Comics superhero of the same name. In addition, swords are blurred, and scenes of MegaMan pointing his buster at the screen are removed in earlier seasons. Also, scenes showing a character getting hit in the groin were cut. Curiously, subsequent airings of certain episodes reveal that some of the original edits were changed back—most notably, the FireTower Battle Chip originally edited as 'FlameTower' subsequently reverted to 'FireTower'. As with WB's other dubbed series (such as Pokémon and Cardcaptors), some episodes were aired out of order, edited together, or skipped entirely. Viewers elsewhere saw the series in its entirety in the correct order. The first series (EXE) has been released on DVD and a few earlier volumes on VHS, but in an edited format only. An alternate English-language version aired in Singapore, following the Japanese version more closely.

EXE[edit]

EXE is roughly split into two separate storylines. The first concerns the original WWW (World Three) and Mr. Wily's (Dr. Wily) plan on finding the Ultimate NetNavi, culminating in the N1 Grand Prix, a NetBattling tournament. At its conclusion, the Ultimate NetNavi PharaohMan awakens from his slumber and proceeds to claim the net as his own, deleting MegaMan in the process. PharaohMan would eventually be weakened by the two tournament finalists, ProtoMan and a newly-rebuilt MegaMan, leading to his capture by Wily. The second half of the season has the characters take on Grave (Gospel), a NetMafia syndicate spearheaded by Wily that seeks to create a virus beast with the capability to destroy the net. The last several episodes of EXE would serve as a lead-in to Axess.

Axess[edit]

Lan's father, Yuichiro Hikari, curiously absent for most of EXE, completes his research on the Synchro Chip, a device that enables Operators and NetNavis to become one through the use of Cross Fusion. This development coincides with a plot by Nebula (led by the notorious Dr. Regal) and the Darkloids (headed by ShadeMan and later Laserman) to take over both the human and cyberworlds. It is at this point that events involving Navis become secondary to the action that takes place in the real world (rather than the cyberworld), which has led critics to label it a generic Henshin (transforming) series. The storyline in Axess is considerably darker, and many EXE regulars make only sporadic appearances.

At the beginning of Axess, Lan manages to use the then-untested Synchro Chip to Cross Fuse with MegaMan and defeat the Darkloids that materialize in the real world with the aid of Dimensional Area Generators. Because of this, Lan is invited to become a NetSaver (Net Savior), an Official NetBattler charged with protecting the net. As a result of Cross Fusion, MegaMan loses his Style Change option, but instead gains the ability to use Double Soul (Soul Unison) with which allows him to combine his powers with other NetNavis, harkening back to the original Megaman's Power Copy ability. Cross fusion also multiplies Megaman's power level (For example, the megabuster does much more damage in cross fusion), while making Lan lose his energy. Much of the series is devoted in dealing with the problem of the addictive Dark Chips and the criminal syndicate, Nebula who is controlled by Dr. Regal.

Stream[edit]

Stream continues the storyline set by Axess by introducing Duo, a being from outer space who seeks to destroy humanity after witnessing the chaos caused by Dr. Regal. Intrigued by Cross Fusion, he decides to spare mankind temporarily, bestowing a test upon the main characters to assess whether or not humans truly merit survival. He sends his subordinate, Slur, to Earth, where she hands Navis possessing the powers of Duo's asteroid to unsuspecting people to observe what they will do with such might. Lan (Netto) and the other net saviors must work together to foil Duo and his subordinate. In the process, Neo WWW is formed by Tesla Gauss (Tesla Magnets) to cause havoc. Dr. Regal also returns during the movie, and again towards the end of Stream, with the focus of Stream shifting to time travel.

Beast[edit]

Beast introduces the warring Cybeasts Gregar and Falzar, as well as the Navi Trill. Pitted against the newly emerged Zoanoroid armies of the Cybeasts, Lan, MegaMan, and a select group of their partners, find themselves drawn into the parallel world of Beyondard. Guided by a mysterious girl, Iris, they join the human resistance in the fight to claim the 'Synchronizer' powers of Trill, with which MegaMan is able to 'Beast Out'. Nearing the end of Beast, the android brain belonging to Wily of Beyondard reveals himself along with his lackeys, Blackbeard and Yuika, hoping to acquire the victor Cybeast as his new body. Ultimately, the two merge into the Super Cybeast Gregar, which becomes Wily's vessel with assistance from Trill's powers. MegaMan and Trill merge and lend their strength to Lan to form a 'Juuka Style,' giving him the strength to destroy it.

Beast+[edit]

Beast+ continues from where Beast left off, though it is marketed as a stand-alone series. Episodes are reduced to approximately ten minutes, airing in the thirty-minute time-slot Oha Coliseum alongside the Saru Getchu anime. Beast+ consists of a string of arcs beginning with the appearance of the Professor and Zero (both from Mega Man Network Transmission). An ex-WWW member, the Professor recovers the remains of Gregar, intent on reviving it for his own purposes. Following its deletion and Zero's decision to break ties with his master, the second arc takes place. Stranded in the world that they perceive to be opposite of their own, Blackbeard and Yuika band together with Darkloid BubbleMan, committing various crimes in a Team Rocket-esque fashion. Shortly thereafter, MegaMan gains the abilities of Cross System. Zero then returns in the subsequent arc, befriending both GutsMan and MegaMan. The vengeful Professor, however, also resurfaces, unleashing a new subordinate known as Zero One. Moved by the kindness that has been shown to him, Zero sacrifices himself to put a stop to the Professor once and for all. The storyline then continues toward its finale with the introduction of Cache, the final boss of the Japan-exclusive mobile game, Rockman EXE Phantom of Network, who threatens to consume the world with the aid of Phantom Navis and cache data. Beast+ concludes the series, ending September 30, 2006.

Film[edit]

The movie, Rockman EXE Hikari to Yami no Program (劇場版ロックマンエグゼ 光と闇の遺産(プログラム)), was shown alongside the Duel Masters feature film, Duel Masters: Curse of the Deathphoenix, as part of a double-billing March 12, 2005 in Japan. The film itself is set during the events of the franchise's third season, Stream. Free midi keyboard controller software.

Music[edit]

Japanese opening themes

1. 'Rockman's Theme ~Pierce Through the Wind~' (ロックマンのテーマ〜風を突き抜けて〜Rokkuman no Tēma ~Kaze wo Tsukinukete~) by Jin Hashimoto (EXE)
2. 'Two Futures' (二つの未来Futatsu no Mirai) by Michihiro Kuroda (Axess)
3. 'Be Somewhere' by Buzy (Stream)
4. 'Song of Victory' (勝利のうたShōri no Uta) by Dandelion (Beast)

Japanese ending themes

1. 'Piece of Peace' by mica (EXE, eps 1-25)
2. 'Begin the Try' (begin the TRY) by Shōtarō Morikubo (EXE, eps 26-56)
3. 'To Where the Light Is' (光とどく場所Hikari to Doku Basho) by Kumiko Higa and Akiko Kimura (Axess)
4. 'Doobee Doowop Communication' (ドゥビドゥワ コミュニケーションDubiduwa Komyunikēshon) by Babamania (Stream, eps 1-25)
5. 'To Where the Light Is ~ The Symbol of Friendship (光とどく場所〜友情のしるしHikari to Doku Basho ~ Yūjo no Shirushi) by Kumiko Higa and Akiko Kimura (Stream, eps 26-51)
6. 'Footsteps' (あしあとAshiato) by Clair (Beast)

Merchandise[edit]

Merchandising for the Rockman.EXE series was heavy in Japan with a variety of toys. Toys ranged from action figures and plush dolls to board games and trading cards. Many toys were originally released by Bandai, including an electronic Plug-In PET replica of the PET used in the original EXE, but Takara took over with merchandising starting with Axess. Electronic PET toys have since been released with every new model used in the show: Advanced PET and Advanced PET II (Axess), Progress PET (Stream), and Link PET and Link PET_EX (Beast and Beast+). Battle Chips for use in the PETs are often packaged with other merchandise, including action figures and even Japanese installments of Battle Network video games.

Most of the merchandise remains Japan-exclusive. However, to help promote the English version of the anime series, Mattel created a line of original MegaMan NT Warrior action figures for the U.S. market. The series were released in two waves with a third wave planned but never released. The action figures featured many prominent characters from the anime with detachable limbs—interchangeable with other figures—so that Battle Chip weaponry could be attached. Mattel also released all twelve DoubleSoul MegaMan figures (featured in Battle Network 4 and Axess) with detachable armor, as well as various miniature figurines (usually depicted in battle) and a few taller figurines, including a talking CrossFusion MegaMan figure.

Furthermore, the Advanced PET toy (featured in Axess) was imported in three available designs: blue/gray (MegaMan), red/black (ProtoMan), and black/purple (Bass). The Advanced PET II model was planned but never released. English Battle Chips were packaged with nearly every piece of MegaMan NT Warrior merchandise, but chips could also be bought separately in booster packs. Japanese and English Battle Chips will work on either Japanese or English versions of the PETs, although only the Progress PET featured backwards compatibility with previous generations of Battle Chips.

In 2004, Decipher also distributed a trading card game in the United States called 'MegaMan NT Warrior Trading Card Game'. However, it was not a translation of the pre-existing trading card games in Japan. Three sets were released before the game was discontinued in 2005, after the end of the Mega Man Battle Network video games.^[6][7]

In Japan, various soundtracks have been released featuring background music and theme songs used in the show. Also, every episode of the anime has been released across sixty-five DVDs usually containing three episodes per disc. In the United States, thirteen DVDs have been released covering the original 52 episodes of EXE. The first six volumes were also released in VHS form. The English version of Axess has yet to be released on DVD.

Rockman Exe Online

Other merchandise includes a life-sized Mega Buster that fires foam darts, an original MegaMan NT Warrior-themed board game, and MegaMan.EXE Halloween costumes.

Reception[edit]

MegaMan NT Warrior achieved popularity among Japanese viewing audiences. According to a viewership sample conducted in the Kantō region by Video Research, the anime drew in an average of 4.5% and a maximum of 5.9% of households during the last year of its original run.^[8]

The MegaMan NT Warrior: Program of Light and Dark and Duel Masters: Curse of the Deathphoenix double feature ranked first for the weekend ending March 13, 2005 dethroned Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean from the first place and broke the record for spring break in Japan with a gross of $12,708,498 USD from Mega Man X8 launch in Japan and Resident Evil 4 selling and critically acclaimed in Japan and North America This record are still for 5 weeks until Constantine broke the record with a gross of $14,859,234 USD on April 17, 2005 and dropped to ranked fifth at the Japanese box office for the weekend ending March 20, 2005 with a gross of $1,093,870 USD.^[9] The following week it dropped to seventh place with $559,800 USD and a cumulative box office gross of $6,178,840 USD at three weeks of release.^[10]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Fox Kids Europe adds two hot new properties, Megaman and Jacob two-two, to its programming portfolio'. Jetix Europe. 2004-03-31. Archived from the original on 2004-07-26. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
2. ^'This Spring's Anime in Japan'. Anime News Network. February 6, 2002. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
3. ^'Viz Releases Megaman NT Warrior'. Anime News Network. September 8, 2004. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
4. ^'Kids'WB orders 26 new episodes of MEgaman NT Warrior'. Anime News Network. December 15, 2003. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
5. ^'Kids'WB! Powers up for Third Season of Cyber-Adventure 'Megaman NT Warrior: AXESS' From ShoPro Ent'. Anime News Network. October 4, 2004. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
6. ^'MegaMan NT Warrior Trading Card Game'. MMKB. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
7. ^'Decipher Inc'. web.archive.org. 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
8. ^Capcom staff (2007). 'Annual Report 2006'(PDF). Capcom. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
9. ^Groves, Don (March 28, 2005). ''Robots' leaves tykes cooler than 'Ice''. Variety. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
10. ^Walton, Alice 'International box office']. Variety, April 4, 2005

External links[edit]

• ShoPro's Rockman EXE website(in Japanese)
• TV Tokyo's Rockman EXE website(in Japanese)
• TV Tokyo's Rockman EXE Axess website(in Japanese)
• TV Tokyo's Rockman EXE Stream website(in Japanese)
• TV Tokyo's Rockman EXE Beast website(in Japanese)
• MegaMan NT Warrior (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia