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EndCycle VS released on Steam Early Access

Prof. 9

If you’ve paid attention to MMBN-inspired fan projects in the past years, you might have already heard of EndCycle. Being developed by 12B3 Games, EndCycle is a story-driven, 2D action RPG with a battle system similar to Battle Network, that follows the adventures of young lad named Fin after his hometown is destroyed by a mysterious organization.

Last year, the team announced that the multiplayer portion of the game would be split off into its own separate game, EndCycle VS, to fund the continued development of the game’s story mode. As of today, EndCycle VS is available on Steam Early Access, and you can buy it for $9.99 / €10.00 / £8.00.

EndCycle VS is expected to remain in early access until late 2019. Planned updates include the addition of more playable characters, maps, attacks and upgrades, as well as new game modes such as 4-on-4 Capture The Flag.

The game’s previous demo is also still available on itch.io. Though the demo is somewhat outdated compared to the Steam version, it features the story’s introduction chapter and local multiplayer, so you can get a sense of the new battle system.

EndCycle on Steam Early Access
EndCycle Twitter

New TeamBN speedrun marathon incoming

Prof. 9

Resident speedrunning group TeamBN is starting the year off strong with a new, just-announced bi-annual Mega Man Battle Network/Star Force marathon!

This year’s TeamBN Winter Festival will kick off on January 26th of the new year and will run throughout the weekend. The marathon includes every numbered Mega Man Battle Network and Star Force game in the series, as well as most spin-offs, some played in surprising new ways!

In addition, a number of fangames and MMBN-inspired indie games will be showcased including Mega Man Battle Network Chrono X, Shanghai EXE: Genso Network, Tri Wing, EndCycle VS and One Step From Eden, as well as newcomer Aether After. If tabletop games are more your thing, don’t miss the one-shot showcase of NetBattlers, either.

The Winter Festival will be livestreamed on TeamBN’s Twitch channel, and you can view the full schedule, adjusted to your timezone, right here.

Shanghai EXE: Genso Network development cancelled

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Sad news: it looks like production of Shanghai EXE: Genso Network, a notable Mega Man Battle Network + Touhou crossover fan game, has been cancelled. Koki, the game’s lead developer, posted a notice on his blog today stating that development can no longer continue for “unavoidable reasons”, and there are no plans to release the game in any form in the future.

For those not in the know, Shanghai EXE: Genso Network was a highly regarded Japanese indie game based on the Mega Man Battle Network gameplay and setting, but featuring an original story with mostly characters from the Touhou series. The game had been featured in a few TeamBN marathons and was expected to wrap up development sometime in 2019.

Koki has not shared the reason for the game’s cancellation at this point. It should be noted that Shanghai had a fundraiser running through Ci-en (a sort of Japanese Patreon), with supporters receiving early access to new demo versions, and there had been plans for a commercial release. As such, it’s always possible that disagreements over rights or funding led to the game’s untimely end. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to confirm the reasons for the time being.

Though this is the end of the road for Shanghai, Koki plans to continue to release original games on Steam; currently in the works is a Unity-based action game. In addition, Koki intends to release the remainder of the game’s planned story in some other form in the future.

At the time of writing, download links for the latest publicly released version of Shanghai EXE are still up, so if you want to see what the game is all about, make sure to grab the download before it’s too late!

Colis Records’ Star Force remix album is available digitally!

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Video game music fan-arrangement group, colis Records, has put out an unofficial Mega Man Star Force-focused album. Hoshizora Denpa (Starry Sky EM Wave) covers music from all 3 games, as well as the anime.

All of the tracks are free to listen on their Bandcamp page. If you enjoy the tunes, you can support the group by purchasing the album! The download comes with high quality FLACs and MP3s of each track. The digital album will be available on Bandcamp until December 22nd, 2018.

Colis Records has done a number of Mega Man fan-remix albums in the past, contributions made from multiple musicians and artists. Their past albums include the RockLove series, MegaXrossMix and the Battle Network-focused Richomatic. Usually, their albums are sold physically at fan events in Japan.

Rockman EXE: Operate Shooting Star demo version translated

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Hot on the heels of our recent full English translation of Rockman EXE: Operate Shooting Star, today The Rockman EXE Zone is releasing a translation of that game’s demo version! The Rockman EXE OSS demo had an original mini-scenario featuring Mr. Famous, who does not appear in the full game. Mega Man Star Force also makes his first appearance.

This was playable at Tokyo Game Show 2009 and was later also released for download via Nintendo Channel – both versions actually have some pretty major differences! Now you, too, can get to enjoy this 9 year old appetizer with translated videos of the whole demo, as well as patches you can use to try the demo out for yourself.

For more info and downloads, see the project’s topic on The Rockman EXE Zone Forums!

Thanks to giver336 for recording the TGS demo version differences!

Fan-made MMBN tabletop RPG “NetBattlers” released

Prof. 9

Fancy a bit of tabletop dice rolling action and wish there was something a little more MMBN-themed to play? Look no further than NetBattlers, a fan-made MMBN tabletop RPG that has just been released by TREZ user Shaleblade.

NetBattlers is a tabletop roleplaying game meant to emulate the experience the Mega Man Battle Network series. NetBattlers seeks to create a rules-light, narrative-first gateway to roleplaying in MMBN’s world. Instead of emulating the nuts and bolts of the games, NetBattlers focuses on creating concise, flexible rules and letting players focus on the fantasy first.

The extensive 64-page rulebook contains all you need in order to run an MMBN campaign. The game is currently in public beta and development is ongoing, with Program Advances, NaviChips and more planned to be added in future versions.

For more info and downloads, check out Shaleblade’s post on TREZ Forums! And to stay up to date with the game’s development, stop by the game’s official Discord server.

First demo for One Step From Eden released

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Good news if you’re hungry for more Battle Network-style games! Developer Thomas Moon Kang has just released the first playable demo for his MMBN-inspired indie game One Step From Eden, featuring a mish-mash of Battle Network combat and roguelike elements. If you’re new to the game, you can watch the game’s recent presentation at TeamBN Summer Showcase 2018 right here, or watch the demo release trailer below.

The official game description:

One Step From Eden is a deckbuilding roguelike set in a bleak post-war world with one shining beacon of hope, Eden. The game is centered around relentless real-time grid combat. Cast powerful spells on the fly, battle evolving enemies, find game-changing artifacts, make friends or make enemies, just make it to Eden.

Grab the demo, for Windows PC, from the game’s official website at www.onestepfromeden.com. The full game is currently scheduled to be released in Q3 2019 and will be playable on PC and Mac. You can also follow the game’s development on its dev blog, Twitter, Facebook and Discord.

Download demo: https://www.onestepfromeden.com/

New update for EndCycle, adds modding support

Prof. 9

12B3 Games have just released a new update for their Mega Man Battle Network-inspired indie game, EndCycle. This update brings modding support to the table; now you can put in your own characters, text, music and even attacks! With some effort, you might even be able to turn the game into a full-fledged Mega Man Battle Network game.

If you’re new to EndCycle, catch up with the game’s development by viewing the game’s presentation during TeamBN Winter Festival 2017. Visual and audio mods that don’t affect gameplay can also be used with the game’s online PvP mode.

For a tutorial on how to get started modding EndCycle, watch 12B3’s video below. The game will auto-update the next time you start it, if you’ve already installed it; otherwise, you can grab the game from the game’s itch.io page here.

TREZ 12th Anniversary – Introducing TREZ merch!

Prof. 9

It’s that time of the year again! On August 12th 2006, The Rockman EXE Zone was founded by Greiga Master and MegaRockEXE, making today the 12th anniversary of TREZ! A lot has changed in these past years, but The Rockman EXE Zone is still going strong. Some highlights of the past year include the release of our English translation for Rockman EXE: Operate Shooting Star and the Rockman EXE 15th Anniversary interview – and of course, our ongoing reporting of all things Battle Network and Star Force here on the site and on Twitter.

We’d like to thank all our members, lurkers and followers for their support over the past 12 years! This year, we decided we wanted to do something a little different to celebrate.

 

You asked for it, and here it is: introducing TREZ merch! Now you can always stay in the zone with a stylish, official The Rockman EXE Zone t-shirt. There’s also some other stuff, including stickers and a dual-sided mug with both the MegaMan.EXE and Mega Man SF faces! How neat is that? Click here to see what’s available!

The Rockman EXE Zone merch store is hosted on Teespring, so your orders will be handled entirely through Teespring. We do receive a tiny bit of the proceeds — which will all be going towards TREZ server costs. More designs may be added in the future, so check back to see what’s new.

Here’s to another 12 years. We hope to see you around on the BBS!

TeamBN Summer Showcase 2018 happening soon!

Prof. 9

It’s almost that time again for a new speedrun and community marathon! Resident speedrunners TeamBN have just announced their new Summer Showcase 2018, taking place later this month. Tune in to see every single Battle Network and Star Force game be destroyed in record time! And you won’t have to wait long, as the marathon is set to begin on Saturday, July 21st, 2018.

As usual, there will also be some updates and showcases from fan-games, MMBN-inspired indie games and other community projects, including: the N1 Grand Prix NetBattling community, Mega Man Battle Network Chrono X, Shanghai EXE: Genso Network, Tri Wing and One Step From Eden. In addition, you can watch the ClockMan scenario unfold from the recently released Rockman EXE: Operate Shooting Star translation patch.

You’ll be able to catch the marathon live on TeamBN’s Twitch channel starting July 21st. Check the full schedule right here!