Here's a random proto track and an newly-ripped E3 trailer (@60FPS) from Mega Man X5

Three months!? Gosh, I've been out for a while.

I've been in the mood for prototype/unreleased games again lately. This time, I've taken a listening to a track I've ripped and uploaded on YouTube a year ago, from a prototype version of Mega Man X5 dated May 1, 2000.

The biggest difference to note about this track is in the middle. The first fifty seconds are consistent to the final version, but after that the main verse (or bridge, whatever's the right term for it) becomes different. If you ask me, this version emits the vastness of space much more than the final one (though the stage actually takes place in a planetarium, surprise suprise). Out of all the tracks in the proto, this one is my favorite.

The prototype itself contains a large number of rudimentary elements indicative of its progression into it's final form, all of which you can find them documented at the Cutting Room Floor. The US preview trailer, unveiled at E3 2000 convention in Los Angeles, CA that year, appears to be from this build of the game.

If you want to see the whole VHS rip in it's entirety, you can find it here and reminisce about the old days when Mega Man (and Capcom) was a bigger brand than it is today. 

Buried Game Treasure: Next Generation Magazine CDs

(Originally published on 1UP.com and Tumblr. Now I'm posting this again, refined, on my own blog because I don't give a damn anymore.)

The front disc envelope of
Next Generation (Sept. 1997)
featuring Cupid probably praying
for a giant meteorite to drop on
to Mother Earth anytime now.

Remember those times when you bought a shrink-wrapped magazine from a supermarket or a bookstore, and you got a free disc of cool stuff inside them? Back then, the internet was this underdeveloped, yet still awesome tool to find the latest news on anything in general at the time, especially gaming news. Yet, anything through a crappy dial-up connection (remember that too?) would take forever for things — like videos — to finish downloading onto our PCs, so for a lot of us we resorted to these discs that came with image and video previews of upcoming games.

A few years years ago, I discovered an ISO on my hard drive called the Next Generation - September 1997, an example of disc containing such cool content. These were discs that were distributed in copies of Next Generation Magazine when you bought the magazine at the time. Included in this particular disc were lots of low-quality 320x240 MOV videos of PlayStation, Sega Saturn, & Nintendo 64 games that were featured at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at Atlantic, Georgia in mid-June of 1997.

I've found many clips of many different games in their prototype forms, including Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Mega Man Neo (Mega Man Legends), and Sonic R, all in their pre-release glory. The following videos have been edited to correct the contrast issues the videos had when it was first produced. They looked terrible (view this comparison: twitpic.com/9d1v6q).

This old early prototype footage of Crash Bandicoot 2 features several differences that indicate how early into production this game was when it was first announced at this convention. The video above features brief annotations that go over said differences, including the original HUD font used from Crash 1, different object placements, etc. There's more footage where that came from too (give it a watch too).

This footage of Sonic R features what appears to be a slightly (don't quote me on that, watch and decide for yourself) stage layout at the end of the stage. Different HUD (this was a common beta trait from those days, wasn't it?), and character icons, camera angles, etc. There might be a better quality version on YouTube somewhere, but I didn't find it until after this video was uploaded then.

Next up, sp,e old prototype footage of one of my closest-to-heart games ever, Mega Man Legends, which was known at the time as Mega Man Neo. Just like the first two, this video includes annotations that accentuates the various rudimentary differences that indicate just how early into production this 3D Mega Man title was when it was first quietly announced at the time. It's amazing seeing how much content and concepts were experimented on this game, it doesn't even strongly resemble the final game know today.

Last but not least, another valuable video I found was an video interview of former CEO of Nintendo of America, Howard Lincoln. Topics discussed in this interview include the Nintendo 64's early performance in the west of that year and their strong relationship with Rareware, the developers of Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Banjo-Kazooie, and GoldenEye 007. You know, really great games.

Backside.

As the internet grew to become the multimedia world it is today, the necessity of CDs packed with videos shrank as sites like YouTube and Google Video took over to allow users, fan communities, and media and game companies to upload videos without worrying about their own bandwidth and file sizes. I remember Nintendo Power coming packed with DVDs of trailers and such, but that was like in 2006 just as YT got around. YouTube and the internet has really made our lives easier.

Before I forget, I can't remember where I found the ISO in the internet originally, but in case the download source is no longer available, here's an ISO of the disc that's now readily available at the Internet Archive. I hope you guys get something neat out of this.

Reminisce Capcom's awesomeness with this old collection of E3 2000 trailers. Complete & 60fps.

Capcom E3 Sales Presentation (Long Version)
No, I don't have the short version.

So I got a seasonal job last month. It ate up most of my time but it was worth it for the moolah. Now I'm back, and I'm starting the new year off with a nice and hella late Christmas gift to my tiny readership.

Last July, I purchased three VHS cassettes from eBay containing promotional videos of various Capcom games from the late 1990s. One of them simply says Fighter's Edge, but the other two held greater interest to me. For this post, I'm only going to post only one of the tapes as it may be of value to a broader range of Capcom fans, especially to those who loved their games in the early-2000s. The other I'll be unveiling on the 29th of this month. The fan-base might just like it. ;) Actually no, that didn't came until Halloween of this year. Yikes, long delay.

The E3 Sales Presentation (Long Version) tape includes several trailers for games that were announced in 2000 including Mega Man Legends 2, Mega Man X5, Onimusha, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Power Stone 2, etc. Not only does it contain a trailer for RE: Gun Survivor, but a trailer for Resident Evil Zero on the Nintendo 64. Quite the heavy hitters there.

Let's all go mahval for an old E3 2000 trailer of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Dreamcast)

Oh boy, this is probably my favorite fighting game of all time.

Having always played the Dreamcast version since I was in middle school, I was actually quite good with my team ─ which always consists of Tron Bonne, Mega Man and Cable, and usually at that order. I've never played on any tournaments, and I wouldn't last long in one if I ever tried. If you've followed me on YouTube, you'll know I did a PEMNAS run of the game about six years ago. At one point, it was the most searched final boss video of the game for a while. *grins*

I actually played an arcade cabinet of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 at a local arcade this past weekend on a trip with family. I actually kind of hate playing fighting games on a fighting stick because not only do I suck with them, I always get cramps on my fingers and knuckles if I play for a while, and that's what I felt after beating the game after one Game Over and two sittings (standings?).

Alright, so where am I going with this? Oh yes, I have a trailer of the game from that Capcom E3 Sales Presentation VHS tape that I've been posting other trailers* from in the past month or so. It's a kick ass trailer. It really gets you excited for the game's chaotic gameplay and because of that I decided to post it on YouTube. And just like the other ripped VHS tape clips I've posting, it rendered at 1080p60 so you can see the action as it's intended to be seen. So here you go.

I will be posting the video in its entirety sometime tomorrow or the following day. Consider it a late Christmas gift or a New Year's Day gift. Get crazy.

GOD DAMN RENDERING CANCELLED PREMATURELY!

Re-ripped and remastered Mega Man Legends 2 trailer from E3 2000 (@60FPS)

Man, whatever happened to Mega Man in 3D gaming? Scratch that, whatever happened to Mega Man period?



I remember back in the day when I saw some shots of Mega Man Legends 2 on an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly and getting super stoked about it. Aside going online at Capcom's USA website and staring at weird screenshots, I got onto GameSpot and watched that particular E3 2000 trailer you see above on a shitty-ass Real Player or something similar. This was when Mega Man was still relevant in gaming. Now he's stuck to merchandise, and he hasn't had a game since 2010. Bummer.

Oh well, so what existed before as a low-ASSolution mess of pixels is now remastered -- from the same promotional VHS source as the Resident Evil Zero trailer I posted having in my possession several days ago -- as an 1080p60 HD quality trailer. 

That's right, 60FPS. We have YouTube to thank for enabling 60FPS video playback for everyone to experience. Be sure to watch it on Google Chrome, for now. Stay tuned for more videos of this source from me. =)