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Fan-game demo for Mega Man Star Force: EndWave released!

Prof. 9

It’s about time the Mega Man Star Force series got a fan-game of its own! That must be what Alumae, Professor Net, Cosmic Nobab and CyberAxl thought when they developed Mega Man Star Force: EndWave: a brand-new fan-game with a demo that’s available for download right now!

Mega Man Star Force: EndWave is a two-dimensional take on the battle system introduced in Mega Man Star Force. The story is based on the cancelled Star Force 4, and sees an older Geo Stelar and Omega-Xis teaming up with rogue hacker Kazuma.

As a result of Kazuma’s modifications to the Hunter-VG, the battle system is a little different from what you’re used to, however. In EndWave, the Custom Screen has four Battle Cards in it which are numbered with either a “0” or “1”. When you choose a “1” card, you can also choose another card that has the same name. For your second card, you can also choose a card in the same row or column as the first card. Additionally, you can always select a “0” card–and if you do, you can also select any other card after it. There’s also a Wave Special attack, which can be selected after you score a Counter Hit in battle–but it cannot be selected with other cards.

The game also features a Rank mechanic, which increases as you deal hits and avoid taking damage. The higher your Rank, the better your rewards will be after the battle–but beware, as the enemies will get powered up as well.

The current demo for EndWave features a tutorial, a battle with viruses and a boss battle, as well as one extra secret battle. You can also chat with Omega-Xis and Kazuma for some jokes. In the future, the developers are planning to add an overworld with a full-fledged story mode.

Grab the demo for Mega Man Star Force: EndWave off the project’s GameJolt page! You can also follow the project’s progress by following lead developer Alumae on Twitter. And if you liked what you heard, check out the game’s soundtrack on YouTube!

Translation: Special talk with director Hideo Kojima and Keiji Inafune

Midnite

Today, August 12th, is a special day for our website… It’s our 13th anniversary! Naturally, our site has changed a lot visually and content-wise over the years. But we always strive to bring the wonderful Mega Man Battle Network and Star Force content to you good folks out there!

Speaking of, today, we have a translation for especially rare interview that was published only once in an issue of Weekly Famitsu. Originally to commemorate the Crossover Battle feature in Battle Network 5 and Boktai 2… Here is a special Interview with two of gaming’s biggest icons, Keiji Inafune and Hideo Kojima! The entire interview can be read in the skip.

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EndCycle VS coming to Android devices this summer

Prof. 9

MMBN-inspired, grid-fighting indie game EndCycle VS is making the jump to mobile devices soon! The announcement was just made on stream by the game’s developers, 12B3, and we have all the details below.

The Android version of the game is expected to release somewhere around August, so we won’t have to wait too long for it. An iOS version is also planned for later, when the full game is finished. Pricing details have not been announced yet. The game will be playable both in landscape and portrait orientation, with the touch controls being optimized for one-handed play for the latter. You’ll also be able to connect a Bluetooth controller to your device and play the same way you would on the PC version.

At launch, the mobile version of the game will feature all of the same content that’s present in the PC version, including single-player and multi-player modes–with the exception of local multiplayer. Future updates will also be published simultaneously for both versions. In addition, custom mods made for the PC version will also be compatible with the mobile version.

The best part: the mobile version of the game will have full cross-platform multiplayer with the PC version! From the PC version, you’ll be able to battle it out online with your friends and enemies playing the mobile version, and vice versa. For the time being, you will have to start the game over from a new file in the mobile version, but 12B3 are planning to add a data transfer feature in the future.

By the way, EndCycle VS (PC version) is currently available on Steam for 30% off until July 9th, so if the game’s caught your interest, this is a good time to jump in!

Check out some screenshots of the EndCycle VS mobile version after the jump!

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Rumor: Mega Man Star Force 4 was almost a thing, cancelled midway through development

Prof. 9

Hold onto your hats, because we have some shocking new relevations from Rockman Corner: story details for Mega Man Star Force 4, said to be in production sometime in 2009-2010! The info comes from Rockman Corner’s source “The Shadow”, who previously leaked a fair number of accurate Mega Man 9 tidbits prior to their official reveal.

As those of you who played Mega Man Star Force 3 to completion might recall, the post-game story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. After defeating Sirius, the game’s epilogue villain, Geo is forced to absorb an ancient Murian artifact in his body, and Solo swears to do whatever it takes to reclaim it when the time comes. Star Force 4 was never officially revealed, but according to Rockman Corner’s source, it may not have been so centered on Geo and Solo’s rivalry as we had been led to believe.

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EndCycle VS launches big Azure Update

Prof. 9

If it’s been a while since you last checked out EndCycle VS, now is a good time to give it another look! EndCycle VS is an MMBN-inspired fighting game with familiar grid-based combat, with the main focus on fast, think-on-your-feet 1-on-1 battles.

Ever since the game was released on Steam Early Access at the start of the year, the developers 12B3 have been hard at work adding new features to the game. Today, the game received its biggest update yet: the Azure Update.

Once you’ve updated the game to the latest version via Steam, you’ll gain access to a host of new features, including a single-player Campaign Mode which pits you against AI-controlled Noise enemies. Play through each character’s story to unlock even more characters and campaigns to play. You can also use the extensive in-game modding tools to make your own campaigns and share them with friends.

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Battle Network Official Complete Works reprint coming soon, with hardcover

Midnite

An Amazon listing has shown up of a hardcover version of the Mega Man Battle Network Official Complete Works (English version). Much like the hardcover Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works that Udon had announced, it sports a pixely, brand new logo. The original print of the English book has been out of print for a number of years. It’s considered hard-to-get and can even be found for more than double its retail price in the aftermarket! This reprint is more than welcome for people who missed it the first time, or want a nice, fancy hardcover version of it.

The first print of Udon’s MMBN Official Complete Works came out in 2011. The book was softcover and the covers were holo-foil.

Japan also reprinted their version of the book in 2016 to celebrate the series’ 15th anniversary. The JP reprint kept the book the same as the first print, typos included. However, the section with Boktai and Duel Masters were completely omitted, but we don’t know if this will carry to the English version. This book was not hardcover.

UPDATE: According to UDON Director of Publishing Matt Moylan, the US reprint will have the same content as the original US print. This means the Boktai and Duel Masters artwork should be included as well.

The hardcover MMBN Official Complete Works is set to retail for $44.99, and to come out August 20, 2019.

Thanks to MegaMasterX for the heads-up.

Akari Kaida comments on Battle Network’s music production

Midnite

A little while ago, composer Akari Kaida tweeted about the music of the Battle Network series. Particularly its inner workings, the intricacies of working on the GBA, and her opinions on the soundtrack’s quality. Kaida worked on BN1, EXE4.5 BN5, and Star Force 3.

This is a rarely seen commentary straight from the composer herself, and English fans can read a translation for them in the jump!

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Shingo Adachi Artworks book announced

Midnite

Aniplex+ has announced an art compilation book of animator Shingo Adachi‘s work. This book will feature many of Adachi’s anime works including Rockman EXE and Ryūsei no Rockman. Art pieces will be nicely accompanied with commentaries, making-of’s, and interviews.

The book’s information page showcases the work-in-progress cover with Rockman characters taking center stage, alongside other characters of anime he’s worked on! The page includes samples of his work, including his key art for Ryūsei no Rockman Tribe.

While most renowned for his work on Sword Art Online, Shingo Adachi previously worked as an animator and animation supervisor on every Rockman EXE TV anime series, as well as its movie, and both Ryūsei no Rockman TV anime. He was also responsible for the anime character designs in Rockman EXE Beast+, succeeding Mitsuru Ishihara, then later taking full helm for the Ryūsei no Rockman series. The animator last released his Ryūsei no Rockman animation works in his dōjin artbook, Ryūsei no Hanashi (also known as Shooting Star Story or Story of Meteor), in 2008.

Shingo Adachi Artworks can be pre-ordered now from certain Japanese retailers, such as Amazon Japan. The book will cost ¥4,320 and is set to come out on July 5th, 2019.

Thanks to Vhyper1985 for the heads-up.

BattleChip Gate emulation now supported by mGBA and GBE+

Prof. 9

If you’re a longtime fan of the Battle Network series, you’ve probably heard of the BattleChip Gate. The Chip Gate was a peripheral supported by EXE4 through EXE6, that connected to your GBA via the link port and allowed you to slot in BattleChips and NaviChips in real life that would then be used in the game. These BattleChips could also be used in PET toys and arcade games. Aside from the BN4 PET toy and a limited set of BN4 BattleChips, however, none of these peripherals were ever released outside of Japan.

For a long time, the only way to play with these Chip Gates in the games was to buy a real Chip Gate and chips from Japan. Until now! In the past few days, two GBA emulators, mGBA and GBE+, have added support for all the different versions of the BattleChip Gate and their in-game uses, thanks to the efforts of their developers endrift and Shonumi. Currently, all in-game single-player features of the Chip Gates are functional, including chip slotting in, Operation Battle, Navi unlocking, Navi Change, and LinkNavis. (Which features are available varies per game. For more info, check out our Wiki!)

As a bonus, even though imported Beast Link Gates normally do not function in the English version of MMBN6, the new Chip Gate emulation for mGBA and GBE+ does have limited support for this. For the first time, aside from using cheat codes, you’ll be able to use the permanent Beast Out that comes with connecting a Beast Link Gate, and slot in BattleChips, in the English version of MMBN6! Sending LinkNavis is not supported, however, as the related menus were removed from the game.

To try out the new Chip Gate emulation, you can grab one of the nightly builds for mGBA. The feature is only supported in the Desktop version for the foreseeable future. Simply load up your game backup and go to Emulation → BattleChip Gate to attach the Chip Gate to the game. Then, you can select from the available BattleChips and check “Inserted” to slot in the chip. Chip Gate emulation has also been added to GBE+, but there are no nightly builds for this, so you will have to wait for a new version release or build the emulator yourself.