After a bit of a rocky launch, MMBN-inspired indie game EndCycle VS is finally available on Google Play for Android devices! You’ll need at least Android 4.1 in order to play, which shouldn’t be a large hurdle unless your phone is from 200X.
The game is free to install and play, with a one-time in-app purchase of $5 / €5 to unlock all extra content — no microtransactions here, folks. The free version, which is ad-supported, includes a basic single-player campaign mode and online multiplayer mode. Buying the full version gets you 2 extra campaigns, 15 extra playable characters, 50+ extra attacks and 30+ extra styles, as well as unlocking Onslaught mode, Mods and Replays. Speaking of mods, there are already a fair number of them available, some even adding a few familiar characters…
UPDATE: Version 1.1 is now available! Download it from the same link below, and check the README for more info on how to update.
In late 2003, Capcom released Mega Man Battle Network 4 for the Game Boy Advance. Even though most fans in the West don’t think of it very highly, the game became a runaway success, selling over 1.3 million units worldwide in its lifetime. In response, Capcom scrambled to make a follow-up that would utilize one of MMBN4’s unique peripherals: the BattleChip Gate. In just half a year, they developed Rockman EXE4.5: Real Operation, a game that fully embraced the use of the BattleChip Gate and real-life BattleChips that were already on the market.
Perhaps due to the BattleChip Gate never being released overseas, or perhaps because Mega Man Battle Network 5 was already on the way… Rockman EXE4.5 was never localized for Western audiences. Until today! After several years of development, Mega Man Battle Network fan-community The Rockman EXE Zone is proud to present a complete English localization of this game, now titled Mega Man Battle Network 4.5: Real Operation! Now, 15 years after its original release, English-speaking fans will finally have the opportunity to experience Mega Man Battle Network 4.5 in all its glory!
Rockman EXE4.5 is an outlier in the series, lacking the traditional story and battle system that players had come to expect. The game places you in the role of the operator; instead of controlling just MegaMan, you can choose from over 20 different NetNavis to play. In battle, you don’t control your Navi directly, but they move on their own, and you are restricted to sending them commands and BattleChips. The game featured a Real-Time Clock, and its slimmed-down single player campaign revolved around an Internet that changes in real-time, even while the game is shut off.
The game has been painstakingly localized into
English, with all the same quirks and whimsies that were present in the English
localizations of the other games in the series. Indeed, our goal with this
project was to localize the game in such a way that it would be
indistinguishable from an official Capcom localization, had one been released
sometime in early 2005! With that said, we’ve also implemented a variety of
fixes and improvements that one might have found in a Capcom localization, had
they given it more time in the oven and a higher budget than usual.
And that’s not all! We’ve also thrown in a couple of extra goodies, some of which can be downloaded here exclusively at TREZ.
A North American and European patch, each with their own title screen and minor differences.
A fully localized Instruction Booklet in the same style as the other games!
A North American boxart for the game.
An Upgrade Patch for the Japanese version of the game, which backports all our bugfixes.
A translated interview with the development team from the Rockman EXE4.5 official strategy guide.
Starter save files for those who just want to play with their favorite NetNavi.
Grab the complete English patch and all bonus content from the link below! Be sure to read the included README.html first before playing!
This interview was originally published in the Japanese book, Rockman EXE 4.5 Official Complete Guide (printed September 6th, 2004). This English translation will use the official English localized Mega Man Battle Network terminology whenever possible. Some personal information of the kids in this interview have been edited in this translation.
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!
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.
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% offuntil 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!
As most fans probably already know, a Rockman EXE anime series was running from 2002–2006, when the series was still in its prime. The anime was later brought stateside by Viz Media as MegaMan NT Warrior, with a heavily revised English script and dub. But did you know there was a second English dub for the Rockman EXE anime? An alternative version of the anime, simply titled Rockman EXE, was independently edited and dubbed into English by Voiceovers Unlimited for the South-East Asian market, and saw limited distribution in that region.
The SEA dub was thought to be lost for a while, but one of our writers MidniteW recently found a Malaysian VCD of the first 29 episodes! Unlike the Viz Media version, the Voiceovers Unlimited dub is far more faithful to the Japanese script, and retains the original Japanese soundtrack that got replaced in NT Warrior. It even uses the Japanese names of the characters, such as Netto instead of Lan!
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.
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.
Fight online ⚔️ Experience thrilling single-player stories 🛡️ Create your own challenges and share them with others 🛠️
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.
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.
