The Reploid Research Lavatory

Nearing the physical release of Mega Man Legacy Collection and its Japanese counterpart Rockman Classics Collection now, and Rockman Unity’s Ucchy and Rockman Producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya have given a thorough preview of the e-Capcom Special Limited Edition box set (which has long since sold out). They also discuss some of the inspiration behind the Daily Rockman Planner:

• They wanted the preorder bonus to be something cute and stylish, but at the same time something sensible with a practical use for adults.
• Seeking to incorporate that nostalgic sense of hint book/game series encyclopedias that littered the landscape of the nineties Japanese gaming scene, they decided to fill the book with all sorts of story and character data and developer trivia.
• They wanted to give long time fans something new to enjoy as well, hence Dr. Right’s Research Journal.
• The concept for the Research Journal came from deciding that December 17th (Rockman 1’s release date) would also be the the day when Rock was transformed into Rockman, and then going back to tell the story of the year leading up to that first incident with Dr. Wily, all from Dr. Right’s perspective.
• The planning meeting where they decided on the contents of the special edition package took only about an hour, which is much faster than normal.

Tsuchiya says that he aimed for the Journal entries to fit nicely as part of the existing lore of the series, rather than being an alternative interpretation or a retcon, but he recognizes that some things might have come out a little differently than what was there before. The only thing that immediately strikes me as having been changed (from what they’ve previewed so far) is the contradiction with the dates given in the Rockman Character Collection version of the journal, where Rockman 1 took place in late June, and Rockman 2 in early July of the following year.

Some Japanese fans on Twitter have criticized Right for coming across as goofy and reckless in the teased Journal samples. As if in indirect response, Ucchy and Tsuchiya justify how the book characterizes Dr. Right. For Tsuchiya, Dr. Right is first and foremost as a 80s/90s science fiction scientist, and so he feels they were careful to craft his speech patterns and sentence structure with that archetype in mind. They also sought to explore the full range of his character, pointing out that he’s a human being whose personality contains both strengths and weaknesses. Although he is a serious scientific genius and a visionary and this central historical figure in the Rockman universe, he’s also a creative free spirit, a trusting individual, and idealistic to the point of naivety. And he’s a fun-loving guy with relatable hobbies like listening to music, singing karaoke and playing video games. Through the course of the journal he will experience highs and lows, both tragedies and triumphs, and Tsuchiya hopes that after reading the full saga that a full picture of Dr. Right will be expressed in all its many facets.

Ucchy backs him up by pointing out that even in the X series, where Right has this mysterious and solemn air about himself and his recorded messages, he still demonstrates a certain playfulness where he’ll throw on a gi and bandana and crack self-depricating jokes about having the body of a warrior. Speaking of which…

Thomas Right, Master of Hachoo-ken style martial arts.

Street Fighter V is out now, though I’ve no intention of picking it up until they start rolling out Rockman alt costumes (besides Karin’s subtly Roll inspired outfit). X and Zero costumes for Ryu and Ken, anyone? Sigma costume for Sagat dictator? If Capcom wants my purchase, they know what to do.

I will say however that I respect their adoption of a more Smash Bros 4 styled business model, by which I mean developing and releasing updates over time in place of the version-sequel chains and disc-locked DLC experienced with several of their past fighting games. I don’t know whether releasing SFV “early” in its current state of non-polish to allow tournament players preparation time was pure genius or utter recklessness, but it has already dovetailed into this delightfully shameless bit of cross-promotion:

Dr. Right’s Research Journal excerpt from Capcom’s RCC site,
log date unknown.

Anyway, when it comes to taking breaks, I find that enjoying a good fighting game is best! When said how I wanted to master the Hadou-ken and Shouryuu-ken myself one day, Roll burst out laughing…

Don’t worry Doc, we all know how that one turns out. I expect the date for this entry will probably coincide with SFV’s release or one of the game’s scheduled tournament events like the Capcom Pro Tour or Evo 2016.

The realms of Rockman and Street Fighter have crossed over countless times before, so much so in fact that this isn’t even the first time the “Street Fighter V” title has appeared in the world of Rockman. There’s a billboard on the CAPCOM building advertising Street Fighter V’ that stands in Rockman’s futuristic city in the image below. Technically that’s Street Fighter V “DASH”, DASH being the Japanese label for Street Fighter II’s Champion Edition. Perhaps they didn’t stop making those version-up sequels in Rockman’s universe?

Futuristic city setting illustration from R20,
first appeared in Rockman 7‘s instruction manual.

On top of everything else, the Street Fighter gang are meeting with Rockman series characters for the umpteenth time in the recently released Project X Zone 2, but I feel like I’ve written enough about crossovers for one day.