After scanning the entire Rockman Summer Festival hall to make sure that those E-Can beverages were indeed all sold out (actually, I did find one unopened can, but it was under glass in the gallery), I decided to sit through the Rockman Quiz stage show in order to guarantee myself a seat up front for the Ryusei no Rockman 3 stage show.

[end_preview /]

The quiz show consisted of ten multiple choice questions. Attendees had been given a pamphlet on their way into the hall, with the questions and answer choices listed in advance so that they could prepare.

Questions covered the Star Force series, which I know nothing about, and Mega Man 9, about which I know way too much about. I was actually able to answer all the questions about Mega Man 9 without hearing the selections. I'm not proud of this!

While waiting for the Star Force 3 presentation, I got to see some of the video trailer footage Capcom had prepared for the show and was looping on the main stage. There was a nice trailer for Mega Man 9, which showed off both the introduction and a montage of gameplay.

There was also a lengthy video presentation covering the entire history of the Mega Man series. And boy there are a lot of games! I knew that the main Mega Man series already had 8 volumes (9 is coming out next month, after all). But I'd forgotten that the X series also has 8 volumes. For some reason, I remembered it stopping at 4. And then I found out why. The series that stops at 4 is the Zero series -- completely different from the X series.

I actually forgot about the Zero series' existence, and I've played them all!

The Star Force presentation started with those Battle Network MCs promising new info that would surprise people. They then insisted that people close their DS systems. Yes, a bunch of the little punk kids in the crowd had DS systems, and they were playing... guess what... Star Force 2.

Following a new Star Force 3 trailer, the MCs began detailing the new title. Points covered included the Noise Change system, where your "noise level" rises as you perform attacks, and following battle you can change form. They showed 10 forms on the screen, many of which will be recognizable from past Star Force games. The forms give you different parameters during battle.

The Black Ace transformation.

They then recapped the recent announcement of the Star Force 3 ultimate form, Black Ace. This drew cheers from the easily pleased crowd (seriously... some of these kids were in Mega Man cosplay attire!). Black Ace, in case you didn't know (there's a [a href=http://www.andriasang.com/e/articles/2008/08/24/ryuusei_no_rockman_3_versions/]summary on the main channel[/a]), can fly, possibly, as suggested by the MCs, negating the effects ground formations have on battle. He makes use of the "Black and Galaxy" as his "Noise Force Big Bang" move. Where do they come up with these names?

Star Force 3 producer Ken Horinouchi came out next with the information that Capcom had been promising all day.

Producer Ken Horinouchi makes a series of Star Force 3 announcements.

The first piece of news is something that Horinouchi said he's sure people had been expecting: a second version of the game. Titled Red Joker, it will be released opposite Black Ace. Further details will be revealed through Coro Coro Comics and the game's official site, he said.

Next was information on a bonus item. Both versions of the game will include a limited White Card, each version with a different card. While he wouldn't get into the specifics, he said to expect a "powered-up" version of what was done as promotions for past Star Force games.

The third and final piece of news may have been the biggest, based off the cheers from the crowd. Horinouchi announced that Ryo Takamisaki is working on a Star Force 3 comic to be published in Coro Coro Comics.

With that, the Star Force 3 presentation came to an end. I wasn't planning on sticking around for the upcoming Wave Master finals tournament stage, so I grabbed some pictures of the gallery section of the event before fleeing the Rockman Summer Festival for good just as a light rain began to fall.

All those classic Rockman games on display.

Capcom had professional art and fan art on display.

Classic boss pencil art.