Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

Megaman X as an obvious direct sequel to Megaman (classic) does have some stuff left to the imagination of the players. Granted, it's been at least 100 years since the original series ended and much can happen. Did Dr. Wily find a way to cheat death only to find out that he wasn't really having much of a choice? Dr. Wily didn't want to take the position lower than the Big Bad. However, it seems that he was left without a choice. There are theories that two characters namely Serges and Isoc are both robotic forms of Dr. Wily. It's also said that Dr. Wily is somehow a stream of consciousness that travels from one body to another. So, how does this work? One of the episodes of the third season of Transformers hast he once-mighty Cobra Commander after several years since COBRA was defeated. There's no more COBRA organization - only Cobra Commander going by the name of the Old Snake. The only way Cobra Commander could survive in the episode "Only Human" was to...

I remembered writing about how I think Megaman X6 is just unfairly maligned . Now, I think that Megaman 6 shares a near-similar pattern with Megaman X6 in that area. Megaman X6 is known for being notoriously difficult but I'd pick that game over the overrated Megaman 2 any day. Now, I'd like to defend the overshadowed NES classic which was unfortunately released too late. That is remember Capcom already released the first Megaman X game during the same year! One was for the dying NES and the other was for the emerging Super NES. I've played this game over the NES and later replayed it over in the Megaman Legacy Collection for the PS2. I may be a bigger fan of the Megaman X series over Classic Megaman but I don't want to dismiss this one. The game was apparently meant to end the Classic series that was until Megaman 7 was released after Megaman X3. The series simply had "to be continued" written at the end of the credits suggesting it wasn't the end. D...

Megaman is one series that I was obsessed with in my late tens and early teens. Then I thought that I do still have an obsession with Megaman (to a certain extent) but not as far as to "must have every Megaman item and game" -- I just want to gather all the favorites that I played in the NES, PSX and PS2 games. Note that I won't be ranking them according to collections such as Anniversary Collection and Legacy Collection and neither will handhelds be mentioned here since I have NO handheld systems. Games like Megaman NAVI and Megaman Star Force won't be included. Spin-off games like Megaman Legends 2, Megaman Legends and Misadventures of Tron Bonne will be included. But I'd actually rank them by series as to avoid confusion but I'd actually also rank the series ACCORDING to my preferences. This won't cover up an entire list either and I still am getting hesitant to get Megaman 11 and play Megaman 9 and 10 too... I. Megaman X series -- my favorite X s...

The Megaman series was obviously coming to an end for the NES era -- it was the 90s and the rise of the16-bit era with the Super Nintendo era was coming. In fact, if we think about the timeline we've had Megaman 4-6 during 1991 to 1993. Megaman X came out in 1993 -- the same year and one came out in November and the other came out in December. This also started showing some signs of decline for Classic Megaman. I remembered playing Megaman 4 and it started a new method of gameplay -- the charged Mega Buster shot. It also had a skeletal enemy where one was forced to use the Charge Shot. The players had to learn when to use charge shots and when to use regular shots. It was a new change where the castle stages were extended into two parts -- Part 1 and Part 2. There was NO password where one could start in Part 2 which made the game a little more tedious. It's like how one had to go to the Cossack stage before the Wily Stage, the Darkman stage before the Wily Stage and the M...

While Megaman 2 is considered by many as the best of the classic series but I beg to differ. Instead, my pick for the best of the classic series for the NES anyway was Megaman 3. I remembered having the Family Computer and my love for Megaman. The first Megaman game was THAT ridiculously hard and Megaman 2 (which I played on the Megaman Anniversary Collection disc for the PS2) is what I'd call the most unforgiving Megaman game for the NES. Megaman 3 IMO somewhat balanced the formula before the "Mega Buster" series came in that's from Megaman 4 up to 8. Megaman 9 to 10 ended up removing the charged shot and sliding for the more classic feel. So what's with Megaman 3? I think it was trying to perfect the formula and I think it's the peak of gameplay for the NES series. Shadow Blade is a more balanced version of the Metal Blade -- that means no more of the whole "overpowered thing" or you can talk about how the game is a little easier this time ar...

Classic Megaman may be remembered for a couple of stuff -- it brought the whole Megaman franchise together and its first villain Dr. Wily. But there was one notable cliche that occurred since Megaman 4 and that is Dr. Wily brings forth his ingenious scheme called the Wily Capsule. It may be small but watch out -- it's got terrible firepower and it's very hard to it! The Wily Capsule has been used in as a component of the Wily Machine or a separate battle after the Wily Machine has been destroyed. Megaman 4 started its debut of the Wily Capsule as a separate battle from the Wily Machine while Megaman 5 introduced it as a final component. So how dreadful is the Wily Capsule? It does one dreadful pattern that makes it harder to hit than the bigger machines that Dr. Wily brings -- it appears and disappears almost everywhere around the screen plus Dr. Wily uses extreme firepower for such a small machine.  The Wily Capsule in Megaman 7 has to be the hardest IMHO from those I...

I always hear the hype of Megaman 2 is the best Megaman game. Personally, I don't think so. It's a good game but I thought about it as perhaps "the most unforgiving" of the Classic Megaman series. Let me tell you a couple of stuff while I started playing this game with the frustration factor. Then again, there's always the frustration when you start playing older games in a game franchise -- when I didn't start with the first two games. I thought about some frustrations. I could talk about Quickman's stage and those annoying cannons. Easy way? Use the Time Stopper but you need it to beat Quickman! I think about the whole game where you lose Energy Tanks in-between the castle stages. Now I could talk about the frustration factor with the fortress bosses! Yes, them! Once you die you must go back AGAIN to a certain part and the frustration -- especially with the incredibly challenging (and often frustrating) level designs that you had to venture through ...

It's been 30 years since the first Blue Bomber entered the scene, isn't it? I could think of how 2017 is reminding me of the fact "Hey I'm not getting any younger." or how some people teased me I was still into Megaman (or Rockman in Japan) and certain Tokusatsu series. I do still check them out (but not talk about it all the time) but I tend to remember one thing... I tend to think about how I got into the Megaman franchise and how the Blue Bomber played an impact on my life. I remembered owning a Famicom back in the 90s and held a grudge against my parents for not getting me a Super Famicom (or Super Nintendo in the U.S.) before we got our first Playstation. Aside from Super Mario Bros. I also developed an obsession with Megaman . It was back at that time I didn't know that Megaman and Rockman are the same series. Rockman is the original, Japanese version and Megaman is the translated version for the American audience. I got hooked with the wei...

I remembered checking out the chronology of the release of Megaman games. If you noticed, the first Megaman X game was released for the Super Nintendo after Megaman 6. The ending of Megaman 6 showed us that at long last, Dr. Wily was arrested by Megaman. Megaman 6 was released on November 5, 1993 and Megaman X was released on December 17, 1993 under the Rockman title. Megaman 7 was a game that was released after Megaman X3. I call these games as the " prequel games ".  I gave a thought on it if Megaman X became more popular than Classic Megaman then why was the latter given more games after X6? My speculation has to do with this one: Megaman X2 and Megaman X3's plotline called for it. If Classic Megaman just ended with X6 then it'd be difficult to provide explanations for plot in X2 and X3. X2 reveals a bit of a puzzle where Sigma says that Zero is the last of the "Wi... numbers..." and X3 reveals that Megaman X will one day have to fight Zero. It wou...

Considering Classic Megaman was a lighter series than its darker and edgier successor Megaman X, Dr. Wily is purposely incompetent since it was a child's game.  One can see how he is usually referred to as "half-brained" plans by his own creation Bass.  Which I thought Dr. Wily always has his incompetent side as a scientist, at the same time he is also a scheming character.  You cannot deny he started resorting to more serious schemes such as kidnapping (Megaman 4) and framing (Megaman 5 and 9) or in Megaman 7, he had a back-up plan.  But there's always the incompetent nature that makes him a funny villain. So it's a good idea to create a counter-Megaman, your very own Megaman but Bass is insolent and rebellious because maybe, Wily failed to see the possible hazard that his new robot may bring.  In short, you can credit Dr. Wily for actually creating a robot that has better free will than Megaman.  Creating Bass only gave him more headaches considering t...

Well I've been in the wrong and here's Capcom's official word that confirms Megaman X is NOT the original Megaman. So we don't know what happened to the original Megaman, maybe he just simply burned off and why he wasn't referenced in the X series is something. From Club Capcom ( read here ): How is this connected to Rockman? The new “Rockman X” is, to put it simply, a game that is set in the same world as the “Rockman” that appears on the Famicom. Only, the “Rockman” time period is set in 20XX A.D., while “Rockman X” takes place in 21XX. That is, “X” is set in a slightly later era. Our protagonist this time is X, who is of course an entirely different person from Rockman. He’ll still have the Rockbuster on his left hand, the helmet, and everything that’s come to be associated with Rockman, but he is in fact a separate character. He is merely inheriting the world stage of the “Rockman” series, and that means the same familiar types of enemy characters will ...

Megaman 6-7 presented the following armor which Rush could combine with Megaman.  These were: Megaman 6 had the Power Megaman Mode.  Rush would combine with Megaman to form into Power Megaman.  In this form, while it has a short-range blast, he cannot slide but he can use the charged up attack to break bricks.  It may have inspired the Gaea Armor in Megaman X5 and the Shadow Armor in Megaman X6 but this form was NOT immune to spikes! The other form was called the Jet Megaman.  Rush combines with Megaman, allowing him to fly for a limited period of time then it automatically refuels itself.  I wish this was used during the Rush levels in Megaman 8 instead of riding the Rush Jet.  May have inspired the Falcon Armor in Megaman X5. Megaman 7 featured Megaman getting the letters RUSH from the first four stages of the game.  Once completed, Megaman can become Super Megaman with a powerful rocket punch (an upgrade gives it homing capabilities). ...

During the time Capcom was still a cool company before it became CRAPcom... there were the issues of name changing.  For example in Street Fighter, the names were changed like Mike Bison became Balrog, Balrog became Vega and Vega became Bison for the American audience.  They were afraid of lawsuits from Mike TYSON became of the Mike BISON name.  So why was Rockman renamed into Megaman? Now during the stages when Rockman was created, the names Rock and Roll were created in reference to the music.  The name Rockman may have sounded absurd because it felt like he had something to do with actual rocks.  The name Megaman may have sounded better for the American audience hence, the name Megaman was created as Rockman's American name.  The name Megaman sounds more unique and cooler than Megaman for the American audience, while the Japanese would know him more as Rockman. Interesting note: Also what can be noticed is how some names in Rockman are based on music...

Metalder for me had some possible influence on Megaman/Rockman himself although Metalder happens to be darker than the original series.  Here's where I'm seeing some similarities: Metalder like Rockman was the first robot created with emotions.  While he was originally a weapon for World War 2, he became a weapon to defeat the evil Emperor Neros.  Like Rockman X, he can decide on his own. Dr. Ryuichiro Koga who sadly dies at the first episode would be like like Dr. Light.  He creates Metalder as a "son" to defeat the evil Emperor Neros, who used to be an old friend of his. Metalder like Rush is a robot dog.  He is Metalder's ally in battle. Emperor Neros in Metalder (named after the historical Emperor Nero), he is a god complex character.  Like Dr. Wily, he seeks to control the world through his robotics.  Like Sigma in the Rockman X series, he doesn't care about anyone and manipulates everyone for his own convenience. Some robot masters ...

First, Megaman X4 can be called "Megaman X and Zero" in this way.  So Megaman X4 allows you to select a secondary character in Zero.  If you play as either X or Zero, you will be forced to use the same character throughout the whole game.  In Megaman & Bass, you can select either Megaman or Bass BUT you must play as the selected character throughout the whole game.  Zero as we know it is also Dr. Wily's final creation which Dr. Wily's influence lived on through Zero in a way until Sigma took over what should have been Zero's position.  Not to mention later in X7, Axl is introduced as a Bass alternative... though Dynamo can be considered a Bass tribute as well. Gameplay-wise, Zero will have an easier time maneuvering stages once he's defeated Split Mushroom, now he can double jump (Bass can also double jump) while X can't.  But the problem is while Zero is faster and may have an easier time maneuvering stages, he is limited to his new gameplay.  ...

Isaac Asimov a science fiction writer wrote these laws A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. The Megaman series has the Asimov's Law of Robotics or limits to the robot's intelligence.  However Dr. Light apparently has decided to try and increase its level but some of them end up violating the Asimov's Law of Robotics: To understand the Asimov's Law of Robotics, one should go back to the original Megaman series.  One may think about Protoman's change of heart after Megaman 3 who became good at his own free will, rather than following Dr. Wily (but he hasn't shown a greater power of free will).  But there's one scene in the original Megaman that still bothers me...

While I'm among a group of people who believe that Megaman X is the original Megaman rebooted, however some people have some valid reasons to believe X isn't the original Megaman even if they were both created by Dr. Light. Megaman is 132 cm and weights 105 kilograms.  Megaman X is 160 cm and weighs only 57 kilograms.  Then again, Dr. Light could have reconfigured and upgraded Megaman entirely and rebooted his memories, causing the original robot to lose all his memories.  Then again, the argument of the statistics may prove Megaman X is a totally different robot.  Megaman may not be able to survive such a drastic makeover either which again, gives some valid points to why Megaman X is a different robot. Another is that Megaman X's mental programming is for a 15 year old human while Megaman's mental programming is that of a 10 year old.  That could be a valid argument for both sides.  Assuming Megaman's programming got obsolete sooner or later, Dr. Lig...

Well I'd like to talk about the evolution of Megaman and Megaman X games.  First I'd like to talk about the series that started it all... The ORIGINAL Megaman... (I wouldn't be talking about the Game Boy ones sorry...) The original Megaman was in fact one difficult game.  No password saves and when a boss defeated you, you had to play back all the way from a certain checkpoint.  Luckily there was the "pause glitch" which made  life a little easier but it was removed in the anniversary collection.  It featured six bosses to which one can start with. Megaman 2 went from six robot masters to an eight as Dr. Wily wishes to avenge his defeat from the first game.  Also the "Atomic Fire" was probably the charged buster's spiritual ancestor of sorts.  In Megaman II it had the use of the three Items which are an extra platform, a rocket board and a wall crawler.  The password system was introduced.  The most frustrating boss had to be the...

Megaman (or Rockman in Japan) apparently draws several influence from Tokusatsu. I think these are the series that have inspired Rockman's conception in the first place: I think Megaman is most likely inspired by Metalder which was inspired by Kikaider. Why? Some of the robot masters in Megaman are almost based on Metalder but not all. Metalder was an android created to combat the evil Emperor Neros. Parallelisms would be Metalder's creator Dr. Ryouichiro Koga would resemble Dr. Light, Springer would resemble Rush and Emperor Neros as Dr. Wily being the scientist rival who seeks to conquer the world but he's WAY more evil. Emperor Neros is a cyborg. Some robot masters in Megaman that would be inspired from Metalder are Yamatoman, Gyroman, Napalmman and Shadowman.  However I do see a Bioman resemblance too with Dr. Wily being a lighter version of Dr. Man.  For Bioman I can't help but do this comparison of inspiration- Juuoh (Darkman Robots), Messerjuu (Tenguman,...

I could remember the time I was a Megaman addict. So okay if you don't know this, Megaman's name in Japan is Rockman and he was given a companion named Roll but ironically, it wasn't using much rock and roll (thankfully). It began with the NES which those games back then were kind of difficult and had a lot of glitches. He later had a dog named Rush (3rd game), a bird named Beat (5th game) and he also had Eddie to send power ups. Rush reminded me of Springer from Metalder just as I compared Dr. Wily to Neros. Megaman 6 was the last NES game and for me, the most fun one with the upgrade armor he got. It was no longer limited to lack of creativity. Strangely enough, Megaman 7 was easier than the NES games and the first PS1 game Megaman 8 got a little easier. I also remembered its similarities to Tokusatsu series and frequently compared Megaman/Rockman to Janperson, Protoman/Blues (and later Bass/Forte) to Gun Gibson because of designs. Also I compared the earlier robo...