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Rockman & Forte: Challenger from the Future (Rockman & Forte: Mirai Kara no Chousen Sha) is a sequel to Rockman & Forte (Super Famicom, 1998), developed by Bandai in cooperation and under license by Capcom, Inc., released in 1999. The game is one of the last games released in the classic series, and some say that it is the last, since Rockman Strategy (PC, 2001) is as its name implies: a strategy game.
Story
The year 200X. A group of robots calling themselves the Dimensions attacked Symphony City, a city where people and robots lived in peace. Though without any witnesses, the one leading the Dimensions with overwhelming power was a robot like Rockman. He was said to be a dark and wicked person completely obsessed with destruction. Rockman, who heard this news at Right's laboratory, took off to the scene despite being under maintenance. At the same time, Wily saw the dark Rockman, and to ascertain the mystery he sends Forte to the city. Just who is this dark Rockman really?!
R-SHADOW: "My name is Rockman Shadow! I am a robot with great power. I won't forgive those who don't obey me!"
ROCKMAN: "Stop your harming of everyone! Who the heck are you? How can it be you look just like me?"
FORTE: "I've come to to end the life of Rockman who I hate this day, but somehow this situation is different than usual."
ROCKMAN: "Forte, I don't have time to be concerned with that now. I must hold back those robots!"
FORTE: "Ch! It can't be helped, Wily's laboratory is near this city. I won't carry out our war of attrition here!"
-Translation by Heatman of Atomic Fire. [2]
Note: The year is given in the game as 200X, but this is often considered either a typographical error or a cannonical mistake as the game is chronologically the last game in the Classic Mega Man/Rockman series. For instance, Forte (Bass) was not created until Mega Man 7, which took place in the 20XX time period (ca. 2013), so a date of 200X is impossible.
Extended story
In the year 2016, only one year after King's Robot Rebellion had been quelled (in Rockman & Forte), a futuristic robot came through a time warp and began to attack Symphony City, a city recently developed where robots and human beings could live together in peace (as Dr. Light had originally intended). This robot called himself R-Shadow (or Rockman Shadow) and bore a striking resemblance to Rockman and was accompanied by an army of powerful robots known as the Dimensions. Once there onslaught ensued, Rock was sent with Rush by Dr. Light to investigate and was surprised that R-Shadow looked almost exactly like him, except for his green armor and the visor covering his face. At the same time, Forte was sent by Dr. Wily to see who this new "intruder" was because the attack was in close proximity to his new lab. Thus, for the time being, the two had to set aside their differences and face the new threat set upon the world.
R-Shadow came from the the mid-21st century, to be more precise, from the time period that Dr. Wily visited with the Time Sled that he stole a few years prior from the Chronos Institute in order to steal futuristic technology. Wily (according to the Mega Man II manual for the Game Boy) had traveled 37.426 years into the future, which from the year 2010 would have been to the year 2047. In that year he "kidnapped" Rockman and reprogrammed him, turning him into a robot named Quint. That, however, was six years ago (so it would be 2052 in their time). Was this new threat, R-Shadow, Quint, and thus, Rockman, but from the future?
As Rockman (and Forte) got a chance to speak with R-Shadow, he claimed to be Quint, and having returned to his own present time, he spent a few years in anger and then built up an army of his own to return and get revenge on Rock for his past humiliation.
Would Rockman and Forte be able to defeat these time travelers with their advanced technology or would the world be forced to bend to their will? [1]
Major characters
Dr. Thomas Light
- Also known as: Dr. Wright and Dr. Right
- Born: Circa 1958
- Died: Circa 2040
- Strength: Light is a good-natured person.
- Weakness: He is easily tricked.
- Likes: The Internet.
- Dislikes: Fighting/Violence.
Dr. Thomas Light was the founder of Light Labs (with his former colleague Dr. Albert W. Wily) and creator of the so-called robot race (along with Wily). Light's original intention for his creations was for them to make life easier for humans and, in the end, for them to "live" peacefully alongside with them. However, in 2008 (see Mega Man), Dr. Wily revolted, mainly out of jealousy, but partly out of personal greed and ambition, and reprogrammed many of their creations, starting years of rivalry and the beginning of what came to be known as the Wily Wars. Ever since then, Light's former lab assistant robot, Rock, had to be converted into a fighting robot (out of his own free will) in order to counter Wily's creations of robot armies and new Robot Masters.
However, after the past threat of the Robot King, Dr. Light's dream of a society in which robots and humans could live and work together in peace finally came to fruition- Symphony City. Dr. Wily didn't even provide a significant threat since King returned to his sensible state.
However, with the new wave of attacks from the Dimensions, Light has begun to wonder if peace will ever truly exist in the world...
Mega Man
- Also known as: Rockman
- Original name: Rock
- Serial number: DRN. 001
- Year of creation: 2006
- Height: 132 cm (4'4")
- Weight: 105 kg (230 lbs)
- Installed capacity: 1500ps/1200rpm
- Torque capacity: 220kg-m/8500rpm
- A.I. fixed age: 10 years
- Strength: Rock possesses a strong sense of justice.
- Weakness: He can sometimes be a little careless.
- Likes: Animals.
- Dislikes: Anything that disturbs peace.
Rock was originally designed to be the lab assistant of Doctors Light and Wily in Light Labs, but when Dr. Wily revolted not long after his creation, he volunteered to be converted into a fighting robot in order to counter Wily's new robotic army, knowing that the world's current technology was not on par with Wily's. Ever since then, Wily has made continual bids for domination, and as such, Rock has never been able to live the peaceful life as Light's "son" as Light hoped that he would.
When the Dimensions came and attacked the peaceful city where humans and robots had begun to coexist in harmony, Rock was outrageed. Moreover, he was confused by their leader, R-Shadow, who looked just like him. Was this being the same Quint who was just a pawn in Wily's army five years ago or was he someone else, and why did he look exactly like him (for the most part)?
Whatever the case, Rock knew he had to get to the bottom of it all, or else peace would be shattered again, perhaps once and for all... [4]
Bass
- Also known as: Forte
- Serial number: SWN. 001
- Year of creation: 2014
- Strength: Hates to lose.
- Weakness: He's vain and a showoff.
- Likes: To be the ultimate fighter (he wants to be a legend).
- Dislikes: Anyone who is stronger than he is (or claims to be).
Bass was designed by Dr. Wily for two purposes: To destroy Mega Man and to serve as a prototype for the creation of a far more advanced robot. In fact, Wily described Bass' creation as "accidental" (in Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters). Wily was experimenting with a new element known as Bassnium in his "Advanced Robot Project" and, in the process, developed Bass. Thus, to some degree, Bass is an early prototype for Zero, a robot which Bass describes as "girly."
Bass' design is modeled very similarly after Rock, which is no surprise since Wily developed Rock along with Dr. Light. Bass is even assisted by a robotic canine known as Treble, which is capable of combining with him to form a very powerful combination. Weapon-wise, however, Bass is equipped with an automatic-firing plasma cannon that can be shot in any direction, although it cannot penetrate solid objects. However, he compensates for this by being able to double-jump, allowing him to reach heights twice as great as most other robots.
Bass' ultimate goal is to destroy Rock, and Wily made that very clear to him. However, the when the Dimensions attacked Symphony City, which was dangerously close to Wily's new lab, Bass had to set his differences with Rock asside in order to defend his creator's work and his home. [4]
Proto Man
- Also Known As: Blues (Japan) and Break Man (Mega Man 3)
- Serial Number: DRN. 000
- Year of Creation: 2005
- Strength: He's good at whistling (and using whistles).
- Weakness: Nobody can contact him.
- Likes: Traveling alone.
- Dislikes: Interviews.
Proto Man was the first humanoid robot that Doctors Light and Wily created, based off of the design of the Sniper Joe police robots that they had designed a few years earlier, but created with a much more advanced artificial intelligence, a more powerful plasma cannon, and stronger titanium body. However, Proto Man's sense of "independence" made it so that he went "AWOL" during their initial testing of his systems, shortly after his creation. At one point he worked with Dr. Wily, one of his creators (during the Gamma Incident of 2010), but his purposes were unclear (was he training Mega Man?). Shortly after that, he "betrayed" Wily by exposing him as the manipulator of Dr. Cossack and kidnapper of his daughter, and ever since then, he has helped Mega Man and Dr. Light in various capacities, even standing up to the Robot King during the Robot Rebellion.
When the Dimensions attack Symphony City, Proto Man scouted ahead in order to get a better idea of their intentions and to find out where their base of opperations was located. Once this information was known, he reported back to Mega Man and Bass... [4]
Dr. Albert W. Wily
- Born: Circa 1958
- Died: Circa 2040
- Strength: Wily is a genius (especially as a scientist)
- Weakness: He never gives up
- Likes: Taking over the world
- Dislikes: Admitting defeat
Dr. Albert W. Wily attended college and founded Light Labs with Dr. Thomas Light, creating the Industrial Series of Robot Masters in partnership with him in the early-2000s. However, out of jealousy and personal greed (see Mega Man), Wily revolted against his former colleague (and the world), and started what became known as the Wily Wars, lasting nearly ten years.
After the failure of his King Project, which was, in fact, an experiment to see just how powerful of a robot he was capable of designing (one more step in the development process of the robot known as Zero), Wily went on to build a new laboratory/skull ompound. However, when the Dimensions attacked, he could not let them destroy his new lab and all of his research, so he had to dispatch Forte (Bass) at once in order to neurtralize their threat at once. [4]
Auto
- Also Known As: Rightot
- Serial Number: DRN. 012
- Year of Creation: 2014
- Strength: Always ready to work.
- Weakness: "Stuffy" character.
- Likes: Trivia.
- Dislikes: Studying.
Auto is Dr. Light's new lab assistant, now that Rock has been converted into a "fighting robot" to deal with the constant threat of Dr. Wily's bids for world domination, and is often called (sometimes self-professed) "Dr. Light's number one student." Auto can take various parts that Rock finds while out on his missions and either fix them to build something new or he can take bolts and build new parts out of them. This proves extremely helpful to Rock. [4]
Rush
- Serial Number: DRN. 009
- Year of Creation: 2010
- Strength: Friendly.
- Weakness: Digs up weird things.
- Likes: Playing with Rock.
- Dislikes: Surgery.
Rush was designed by Dr. Light to be a support unit for Rock in combat, but also to serve as a companion for him (so that he wouldn't be lonely). While Rush originally only came with a few adaptations (Coil, Marine, and Jet), he later was modified to be able to "combine" with Rock to form Jet Mega Man and Power Mega Man. Rush is also capable of digging up hidden items by searching for secrets in the environment. All-in-all, Rush is Rock's greatest support in the field! [4]
Treble
- Also Known As: Gospel
- Serial Number: SWN. 002
- Year of Creation: 2014
- Strength: Detecting intruders.
- Weakness: Has a bad habit of biting others.
- Likes: Girls.
- Dislikes: Leashes and cigarettes.
Treble was designed by Dr. Wily to be a support "canine" for Bass, along the lines of Rush (for Rock). Treble's greatest assest is that he can combine together with Bass, in a feature called the Gospel Boost, which gives Bass a jet pack and allows him to fly all around, attacking his opponents from any direction and, additionally, allows him to reach areas he previously could not. [4]
Beat
- Serial Number: DCN. 009
- Year of Creation: 2013
- Strength: His speed and power.
- Weakness: He wanders around a lot.
- Likes: The lottery.
- Dislikes: Wasting money.
Dr. Cossack created Beat as a present for Dr. Light and Rock for saving him and his daughter, Kalinka (with Proto Man's help), from the clutches of Dr. Wily (in Mega Man 4). After Cossack was freed from Wily's evil plans, he went to Light Labs to work with Light and help him develop new and helpful robots to make life easier for humanity and counter the evil desires of Dr. Wily.
Beat is a mechanical bird that assists Rock in the field. When Rock falls off of cliffs or down dangerous pits, Beat is usually within a quick whistle's blast away and comes to the rescue, and, in aerial combat, Beat serves as a dive bomber and shield, defending Rock and attacking his foes. [4]
Robot Masters
Dangan Man
Translated Name: Bullet Man
Serial Number: DMN. 001
Year of Creation: 2052
Mega Man's Aquired Weapon: Rock Vulcan
Bass' Aquired Weapon: Forte Vulcan
Weakness: Barrier Wind and Forte Cyclone
Motto: A bullet can penetrate almost anything!
As his name implies, Dangan Man (or "Bullet Man") is a giant bullet. While some may question this design, this allows him to "fly" around the area towards his opponents, doing massive damage to them. Additionally, his body is incased in solid titanium, making him very difficult to damage. While not trying to crash into his opponents, his weapon, the Vulcan, can penetrate almost any type of body armor. [5]
Konro Man
Serial Number: DMN. 002
Year of Creation: 2052
Mega Man's Aquired Weapon: Flame Shower
Bass' Aquired Weapon: Flame Mixer
Weakness: Rock Buster and Bass Buster (Normal Weapon)
Motto: I burn, therefore I am.
Konro Man was based on plans from a robot army of torch-like robots, but R-Shadow decided to make a fire-based robot instead. While, as his name implies, he is essentially like a giant stove, he proves to be a deadly fighter. His Flame Shower attack sends balls of fire raining down from the sky, while the Flame Mixer is a flame-thrower style attack that melts almost any opponent. [5]
Aircon Man
Serial Number: DMN. 003
Year of Creation: 2052
Mega Man's Aquired Weapon: Barrier Wind
Bass' Aquired Weapon: Forte Cyclone
Weakness: Flame Shower and Flame Mixer
Motto: My weapon is far more fearful than my name!
Aircon Man (whose name is short for "Air Conditioner Man") was designed by Quint based on the design of Wind Man (Mega Man 6), who was built 39 years before R-Shadow's time. He stepped up the power of Aircon Man's fans, providing him with the ability to "blast" away his opponents with deadly cyclonic wind blasts and put up walls of wind to stop the attacks of his opponents. [5]
Komusou Man
Serial Number: DMN. 004
Year of Creation: 2052
Mega Man's Aquired Weapon: Doppler Crash
Bass' Aquired Weapon: Doppler Attack
Weakness: Flame Shower and Flame Mixer
Motto: I fight through the old, deadly arts.
Komusou Man's design was based on that of that of the ancient Japanese monks. He has the ability to make doubles of himself with his Doppler Crash and Doppler Attack, and his martial arts, through the use of his staff/flute, conjures up magic-like attacks that prove deadly to his foes. [5]
Clock Men
Serial Number: DMN. 005
Year of Creation: 2052
Mega Man's Aquired Weapon: Time Switch
Bass' Aquired Weapon: Time Bomb
Weakness: Barrier Wind and Forte Cyclone
Motto: Time doesn't wait for anyone.
R-Shadow decided to go with the age-old saying that "two heads are better than one" and built a duo of time-controlling robots known as the Clock Men. These robots have a time-stopping ability that was based on Flash Man's Time Stopper, called the Time Switch, but even without this power, their dual attacks make them deadly combatants against almost any foe! [5]
Compass Man
Serial Number: DMN. 006
Year of Creation: 2052
Weakness: Barrier Wind and Forte Cyclone
Motto: I never get lost!
Like some of the other Dimensions, Compass Man's name might be deceiving, making him sound pathetic, but he is quite a powerful foe. R-Shadow designed him based on Dr. Wily's Sword Man (Mega Man 8), a robot whose body had two parts to it. Compass Man separates his torso from his legs and spins around the room, slicing at opponents with his deadly blade hands, while his legs will try to corner his "prey" and do even more damage. [5]
R-Shadow
Serial Number: RKN. 000
Year of Creation: 2047
R-Shadow is the robot that created the Dimensions and traveled back from the mid-21st century (the year 2052) to attack Symphony City in the hopes of dueling and destroying Rock. Rock has no idea why this is the case, but when he confronts R-Shadow after defeating a few of his Robot Masters, he tells him that he is Rock from the future, "upgraded" by Dr. Wily and sent back on a mission to destroy his arch-enemy, Mega Man. In otherwords, he is Quint, a robot that Rock had faced and defeated five years ago.
Had Quint been embarrased that he was so easily defeated, returned to his own time, and built up a powerful new army with the technology of his time and returned to crush Rock? This certainly seemed to be the case, but even if it wasn't, Rock knew that he couldn't take any chances with this "challenger from the future."
When he managed to defeat R-Shadow in a "duel to the death," his true nature was revealed...R-Shadow was not, in fact, Quint, but rather he was a prototype robot that Wily designed when experimenting with the technology present in the future. When Wily used the Time Sled to travel to the year 2047 and reprogram Rock into Quint, he first experimented with the technology of the time, the first product of which was him, a robot which Wily called R-Shadow. However, Wily decided that in the end he had no use for him and he was discarded. It was for this reason that he had come to the year 2016: he wanted to prove Dr. Wily wrong and show Rock that he was the superior robot, even if he was, in the end, only a "clone."
While the game depicts his "death" after his defeat at the hands of Mega Man and Bass, Dr. Light soon thereafter manages to repair him, and he is shown in a photograph with the team at Light Labs, sans helmet. He was most likely reprogrammed for two reasons: one because his programming was based on Dr. Wily's "evil" logic and because if he continued to desire Rock's destruction and was defeated a possible time paradox would exist.
Quick Walkthrough (Weaknesses)
Opening Stage
- Grey Devil (Rock Buster or Forte Buster)
Stage Select
- KONRO MAN Stage
- Mini Boss (Rock Buster or Forte Buster)
- Boss (Rock Buster or Forte Buster)
- AIRCON MAN Stage
- Mini Boss (Flame Shower or Flame Mixer)
- Boss (Flame Shower or Flame Mixer)
- DANGAN MAN Stage
- Mini Boss (Rock Buster or Forte Buster)
- Boss (Barrier Wind or Forte Cyclone)
- KOMUSO MAN Stage
- Mini Boss (Rock Buster or Forte Buster)
- Boss (Flame Shower or Flame Mixer)
- CLOCK MEN Stage
- Mini Boss (Rock Buster or Forte Buster)
- Boss (Barrier Wind or Forte Cyclone)
- COMPASS MAN Stage
- Mini Boss (Rock Buster or Forte Buster)
- Boss (Barrier Wind or Forte Cyclone)
R-Shadow's Fortress
- Mini Boss (Rock Buster or Forte Buster)
- R-Shadow (Barrier Wind or Forte Cyclone although the Rock Buster and Forte Buster work well too)
FAQs
1. Is Rockman & Forte: Challenger from the Future really the last (as of 2006) game chronologically in the Mega Man Classic series?
A: Yes. This game takes place about one year after the events of Rockman & Forte (Super Famicom, 1998), which was re-released as Mega Man & Bass (Game Boy Advance, 2003). Rockman & Forte took place circa 2015, which places this game circa 2016. While, Rockman Strategy was released on October 29, 2001 by Dreams Come True, it takes place chronologically sometime between Mega Man 7 and Mega Man 8.
2. Is this game really canon?
A: Yes, it is. The primary author of this article owns a legal copy of this game. The game was officially licensed by Capcom Co., Inc. although it was produced by Bandia, Inc. However, Capcom most likely assisted in the game's production.
3. Where do the serial numbers for the Dimensions come from?
A: The serial designation of the Dimension robots is not specified in the manual for the game. Thus, in order to provide series continuity, the Mega Man fan community has provided a serial number designation of DMN for them (Dimension Number).
4. Where does the serial number for R-Shadow come from?
A: Again, R-Shadow is a robot whose serial number is not specified in the game's manual. Therefore, a serial number was assigned to him in this article by the article's primary author for series continuity. So, where does it come from? R-Shadow is a prototype robot built by Dr. Wily in the future using the technology available at the time to see what is possible to construct. Technically, the purpose of R-Shadow was to destroy Mega Man, and as such, he would fall into the Rockman Killer series. Since he was a prototype, he was assigned a number of 000, giving him a serial number of RKN. 000.
References
- Rockman Perfect Memories, ISBN 4-5751-6354-6
- Atomic Fire's Rockman & Forte: Challenger from the Future Translation
- Rockman Perfect Memories Website
- GameFAQs- Rockman & Forte Database
- The WonderSwan Robots