The continuity of Megaman Legends can be seen as a totally different continuity. Having played Megaman Legends 2 - there's the diary of Professor Barrell Caskett. Yes, that means Roll Caskett isn't the Roll of Classic Megaman. I once thought it was all the same continuity but the diary reveals that Megaman VOLNUTT is named after Classic Megaman. Classic Megaman is treated as Fiction Within a Fiction evidenced by the show in the bar, the video game, and a poster of Zero at the toy store. Megaman Legends was released in 1997 and the sequel Megaman Legends 2 was released in 2000.
It's no secret that some Classic Megaman games come out after the Megaman X SNES Trilogy. For example, Megaman 7 came out sometime after Megaman X. Megaman Legends came with 3D Megaman spin-off that sadly never had the third installment. I think the game should've had a third installment before its cancellation. I mean, there was a lot of potential with the storyline especially the Elder System. I thought of updating an old post to make it better.
Megaman Legends and throwing back to Megaman X?
In 1997, we had Megaman X4 and the original Rockman DASH (the Japanese title of Megaman Legends). I was thinking of a couple of possible references that couldn't be denied. I played both games on the first PlayStation and those were really great classic games. Sure, I only played the first three Megaman X games on the Megaman X Anniversary Collection for the PlayStation 2. The game had an action RPG feel. Due to the memory constraints - I guess that explained why Megaman Volnutt had to talk to Roll Caskett before he could use any weapons she made. Megaman Volnutt would find items to create those weapons.
Later on, there's the hideout sidequest. One of the items they'd give is called the X-Buster. Another item you can win on the Kattlelox TV station is called the Zetsaber. I think Zetsaber is a mistranslation of Z-Saber. I tried to equip the X-Buster only to realize I had to find more items. I had to find an item called the Prism Crystal and the Weapons Plans. The end result was called the Shining Laser weapon.
The final boss, Megaman Juno, does seem to reference Sigma. Both of them fought long ago. A painting at the Kattlelox Museum showed the fight of a man in blue against a monster. The monster is none other than Megaman Juno. Megaman Juno's final boss fight has two rounds. Win the first round and only his head remains. A second body is shown and he docks into the second body. Megaman Juno attempts to have a backup, hoping to return like Sigma. However, Data deletes his data hence preventing him from pulling a Sigma.
The interesting part is that both Sigma and Megaman Juno aimed to fire a weapon. Sigma though was more concerned with annihilating human life for good. Megaman Juno was more interested in keeping the island under control. What Eden was going to do wasn't really revealed. Only the non-canon Namco x Capcom revealed Capcom's plans for the Eden system.
When Megaman Legends 2 and Megaman X5 also reference each other
Megaman Legends 2 and Megaman X5 were released in 2000. The first game was released on April 20, 2000, and November 30, 2000, in their Japanese formats. Chances are that both departments were copying from each other.
Megaman Legends 2 presented the term Aberrant Unit to the franchise. In Japan, what's not so shocking is that they're actually called the Irregulars. The Irregulars are also the same name the Mavericks go by in the Japanese Rockman X. The Abberant Units are those that defy the Master System of Elysium. The game even goes as far as to put a poster of Zero at a general merchandise store. A bonus item was actually the sword of a legendary hero.
As the game progresses, certain references to Megaman X are made. Megaman Volnutt's existence as Megaman Trigger is further expanded. Megaman Trigger was created to hunt down the Irregulars that defied the Master System. That might be a hint that Megaman Juno, like Sigma, was once a comrade who went rogue. Megaman Volnutt also fought Sera but was severely damaged. To save Megaman Volnutt's data - he was turned into a Carbon body as a result.
Then we have the Megaman Legends references in Megaman X5. I remember playing the game and getting the bad ending as Megaman X. One strange scene is where Megaman X talks about building ELYSIUM. Sure Megaman Legends 2 already gave hints that it's most likely a different continuity. However, one can't help but try and connect them together. The ending was deemed non-canon and was most likely done as an inside joke. That's unless Capcom will reveal dun dun dun the Master is actually Megaman X or Megaman X became Megaman Trigger. However, it seems Megaman X5 retconned the idea that Megaman X and Classic Megaman are supposedly two different robots.
I think the most blatant one is Alia being the Reporter. Okay, it's the game programmer's fault that Alia would pause the gameplay. Fortunately, Megaman X6 FIXED THAT. So deal with it every time I say that Megaman X6 isn't really a bad game. I prefer to call it an enjoyable mess. Alia causing the gameplay to be paused reminds me of why that City Hall mission in Megaman Legends can be downright annoying. The cutscene would interrupt the gameplay (thankfully, IT CAN BE SKIPPED) but here, Alia really takes the Kattlelox Reporter annoyance to the max. However, she would serve as the navigator or spotter like Roll Caskett did in the Megaman Legends series in the next few games she's in.
Then we've got Megaman X8
Until now, I wonder why Capcom never bothered to create Megaman Legends 3 before closing the franchise. I believe that we really need one more game before closing the book. However, I would be lying to say that I didn't want a Megaman X9. I might say maybe Sigma's end at the hands of his own henchman Lumine was poetic. Sigma's so much of a Bad Boss that one of his own henchmen is bound to hate him. The game had 3D graphics cutscenes though it was played in mostly 2D.
The plot of Megaman X8 was all about new generation Reploids. The beginning had the Jakob Orbital Elevator - a plan to go to the space age. Okay, where have we seen that? It would be Elysium from Megaman Legends huh? Building a new nation in space was in Megaman X4. At this point, the new generation was entering since Megaman X7. Axl was introduced as a new-generation Reploid. One can comment Axl looks like Bass from Classic Megaman. Axl would later be able to fire at multiple directions like Bass did in Megaman & Bass by Megaman X8.
Maybe, the most obvious reference is Lumine. Lumine has the same color scheme as Megaman Juno from Megaman Legends. They also usurp the recurring antagonists as the final boss. Megaman Juno usurps the Bonnes while Lumine usurps his master Sigma. I wasn't too surprised at the outcome that Lumine turned against Sigma or it was all a ruse. Sigma did get some karmic bite. The first battle really does a rehash of Megaman Juno's second battle theme. Lumine also floats around like Megaman Juno before he imitates Sera's second battle in Megaman Legends 2. In fact, one can think of Lumine as a Darker and Edgier version of Megaman Juno in every way.
Updated: January 27, 2024
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