Mega Man X Dive

Mega Man X Dive, known in Japan as Rockman X Dive,[10] is game app for smartphones developed by Capcom, primarily its staff from Taiwan.[4] It is a 2D action game using 3D models, and all actions found in previous series works (wall kicking, dashing, dash jumping, ride armor operation, etc.) are implemented without any restrictions. While the game was originally released only for mobile phones, in September 2023, the game ported to Steam, iOS, and Android under the new name Mega Man X Dive Offline.[11]

Mega Man X DiVE
Developer(s)Capcom Taiwan
Publisher(s)[Asia version] Capcom Taiwan
[Japanese version] Capcom
[North America/Europe] NebulaJoy
Producer(s)[Asia version] Hideto Yoda
[Japan version] Kenichi Hashimoto[1]
Artist(s)Keisuke Mizuno (supervisor)[2]
Composer(s)Yuko Komiyama[3]
Platform(s)iOS 10 or above[4]
Android 6.0 or above[4]
Release[Asia version]
March 24, 2020[5] September 27, 2023 (Service scheduled to end)[6]
March 26, 2020 [7][6]
[Japanese version]
October 26, 2020 (Japan)~April 27, 2023 (scheduled service termination)[8][9]
[North American/European version]
August 16, 2021
Genre(s)Action role-playing[4]
Mode(s)

Gameplay

Armored X (right) faces Vile in gameplay.

Cooperative play and competitive play are multiplayer, while other games are single play. Also, at first only the story (normal) can be selected, and as the player level increases, the number of modes that can be selected increases. The elements that allow to interact with other players (competitive play, cooperative play, raid bosses, DNA portal) will be discontinued at the same time as the online version of the app ends.

Story mode involves conquering stages like in previous series works. One stage is divided into six parts, and a boss character appears in the third. There are items in various parts of the stage that will increase the status for a certain period of time, and you will receive rewards depending on the number collected. The item "Deep Element" that can be entered is placed here. In this mode, players proceed in a certain order starting from stage 1. There are also "normal" and "hard" stages for the same stage, each with different content and placement of enemies and items. Once players clear stage, they can retry it as many times as they like, and if they meet all the specified conditions and clear it, they can "skip dive" and only get clear rewards without playing the stage.[12]

In Challenge Boss, players only fight boss characters that have appeared in other modes "Skip dive" is also possible under the same conditions as in story mode. In Time Attack, people compete with three other randomly selected players for the clear time of one stage selected from the story mode. Target stages and competing players change daily. In DNA Portal (online version only), players can use special stamina to traverse the map. The amount of recovery changes depending on the player's hunter program and weapon registration. er programs, weapons, and traversed maps will be reset. In Event, players conquer special stages with set objectives such as enemy defeat rate and time attack. Rewards can be obtained depending on the goal achievement rate. A limited time event stage may appear-[13] "Skip Dive" is also possible, but only in this mode, they do not have to meet the specified conditions, but need a special consumable item.

The offline version adds missions, including seasonal special events, similar to the online version, and has been changed by becoming playable once a certain player level is met. A Cooperative play (online version only) allows player to complete one stage at the same time. All stage configurations are exclusive to this mode. In Battle (online version only), players compete against other players online. Each player has 3 remaining lives within a stage that spans several horizontal and vertical screens, and the side that loses all remaining lives loses. There are free competitions and those aiming for the top rankings. Meanwhile, in Raid Boss online version only. Event held for a limited time. When the cumulative amount of damage inflicted by all players on a server reaches a certain value, it will be defeated, and all players who caused damage will be paid a defeat reward. After defeating it, they will proceed to the next round, but the cumulative amount of damage until defeat will increase as the number of laps increases.[14]

Premise

The game recaps the story from the Mega Man series but with the player being the main character with protagonist X being the data the player controls. The game contains several original characters like Blue Zero and Rico whose characterizations are revealed across the gameplay.[15] X, until due in part to some corrupted data known as Maverick Data, gets transported into the Deep Log, a massive database with data on every Mega Man game. The player must progress through the scrambled code of the Maverick Wars, Elf Wars, and the Game Of Destiny, to destroy the Maverick Data causing the slow corruption of the Deep Log.[16]

Development

The original plan was launched by Capcom Taiwan, and after approval by Capcom in Japan, the project started moving around March 2018. Besides Capcom Taiwan, illustrations and 3D animations were produced by Capcom Japan. The original character Riko was newly drawn by Keisuke Mizuno. Mizuno also supervises all 2D illustrations and 3D models of other characters. Supervision and quality control related to IP. Quality control is thoroughly checked by their team in Osaka. Going back to the original story, the producers and directors at Capcom Taiwan enjoyed the series as and believed the online game would be appealing. While the game was conceived as a Mega Man X game, the staff said there would be "endless" possibilities.[17] This game marks Capcom Taiwan's inaugural venture into developing original titles. Back then, Yoda was residing in Taiwan and held a deep affinity for the series. He took the initiative to connect with the producer of Mega Man in Japan and negotiated with him to make a Mega Man game in Taiwan. They kick started the project around May 2018, and finished it into 2 years and 10 months later.[18]

The work started with the idea of developing a smartphone game focusing on the action part of the series so there are no actions that can be performed in performed like the actual gameplay. All actions were executed through the players' hands. The team received a lot of feedback, so they were taking those opinions into consideration when making balance adjustments before releasing the Japanese version. Hashimoto does not think there is anything like this level of side-scrolling action on a smartphone, so he would like like people of the generation who were playing to find the original appeal as well as attract younger fans.[17] Nakayama, known for his work on Mega Man Zero, provided additional help.[18] Mizuno in particular liked working as artist due to his desire to produce more Mega Man X games. The character χ-kai started as an April Fool gag related to the regular X but ended becoming an actual character with his own characterization. Original characters were requested by Yoda. The team worked into them expressing their personality and characteristics through their design. Rico and Via were one of the hardest ones to develop in order to fit the series. Mizuno was glad with the fact that Rico received positive response by the audience as a result of the challenges of being a heroine even if she did not fit at first. Previous characters were designed with sprites in mind, so for several of them, they lacked a rear view, images of the soles of their feet, or weapons.[18] Besides new characters, Mizuno designed new armors for X and Zero. He had no problems with X as the artist took advantage of the hardware's capabilities,[19] while Zero instead took too much effort in order to retain his iconic design in the process in contrast to the protagonist whose simpler design was made to be given armors in all of his appearances.[20]

Mega Man X Dive is developed by Capcom Taiwan, Capcom head office in Japan is in charge of design supervision and quality control checks.[21] Released in parts of East and Southeast Asia on March 24, 2020. Released in Australia and India on March 26, 2020. jun sang the theme song "Recognize" for the online version but it could not be used due to multiple factors until doing it based on his own ideas.[18]

As the online version approached its shutdown, Asada, a seasoned producer with a wealth of experience in numerous games, was brought in to oversee the offline version.[18] Offline version was released on September 1, 2023.[22] The online version for Japan and Asia is scheduled to end service at 13:00 September 27, 2023[23] The offline version does not carry over play data from the online version, and is treated as an independent game. Compatible devices are iOS, Android, and PC Steam.[11] Asada suggested using a controller for the Steam version. They include Capcom collaboration characters from Monster Hunter, Street Fighter and Devil May Cry. Nevertheless, they carried the other 120 characters. It is a one-time purchase game, offering all the original content once buying it.[18]

Reception

While praising the gameplay and visual, Multiplayer felt it was not a proper homage to the franchise to the point it did not feel like an actual Mega Man game.[24] Despite preferring a sequel rather than Dive praised the accessibility of the story but had mixed feelings about customization required to level up and whether or not the stages are appropiately designed.[25]

In their financial report for the quarter ending December 31, 2020, Capcom noted that mobile content sales were up 80.7% year-over-year. The boost is owed in large part to Dive. The mainland China release of Street Fighter Duel also contributed to record profitability. Together, both titles drove mobile revenue up 4.7 billion yen. That's roughly $45 million.[26]

In regards to Offline, Siliconera scored it a 9 out of 10, calling it a good adaptation from the original product for retaining most original works and its focus on single-player mode but criticized he story mode for being too short. He also highlighted the difficulty might be too much for the newcomers if they do not follow the rules properly.[27]

References

  1. "Interview with the key man of "Rockman X DiVE"! What is the secret story behind the birth of this full-scale action film, and what is the point of this work?". Famitsu App. 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  2. "Interview with Capcom designer Keisuke Mizuno Talks about the development and production of [Rockman X DiVE] and the birth of "RiCO"". Official Facebook (in Japanese). 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  3. Yuko Komiyama [@comiyam] (2020-02-10). "...Capcom's "Rockman X DiVE" BGM is provided! ..." (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-04-10 via Twitter.
  4. "Taiwan version official website". Rockman X DiVE. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  5. "Rockman X DiVE 3/24 Official Open to the outside world | Travel information". Capcom Taiwan (in Chinese). 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  6. @RX_DiVE_Asia (2023-06-07). (Tweet) https://twitter.com/RX_DiVE_Asia/status/1666294158389067777. Retrieved 2023-06-19 via Twitter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "Game Maintenance Complete and Bug Fix Announcement". Rockman.
  8. "Service termination notice". Rockman X DiVE official website. 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  9. @RX_DiVE (2023-06-07). (Tweet) https://twitter.com/RX_DiVE/status/1666293906768625664. Retrieved 2023-06-07 via Twitter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. "Group companies/offices". Capcom Inc. 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  11. "Mega Man X DiVE Offline Game Launches on September 1". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  12. "System". Capcom. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  13. Rockman [@] (2020-06-16). (Tweet) https://twitter.com/. Retrieved 2020-07-18 via Twitter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) Missing or empty |user=; Missing or empty |number= (help)
  14. "Capcom Announces Mega Man X DIVE Offline to Keep Game Alive and Playable". Game Is Hard. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  15. "《洛克人 X》系列人設水野佳祐專訪 以小短褲側馬尾等元素描繪原創人物「RiCO 莉可」". GNN Gamer. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  16. "Story". Capcom. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  17. "『ロックマンX DiVE』のキーマンにインタビュー!本格アクションの誕生秘話、本作のポイントは?". Famitsu. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  18. "《ROCKMAN X DiVE 離線版》製作團隊專訪 為了讓玩家盡情享受遊戲所打造的「離線」版本". GNN Gamer. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  19. "ROCKMAN X DiVE". Capcom. Facebook. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  20. https://twitter.com/RX_DiVE/status/1554753954151485440
  21. "New spin-off of the "Rockman X" series "Rockman"". Automaton. 2019-09-13. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  22. Romano, Sal (August 17, 2023). "Mega Man X DiVE Offline launches September 1". Gematsu. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  23. "Capcom discontinues service for "Rockman ・It was announced from the official Twitter account of "Megaman X DiVE Mobile" that the European version will continue to be serviced indefinitely. X DiVE official tweet on June 7, 2023". Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  24. "Mega Man X Dive, la recensione dello spin-off per iOS e Android". Multiplayer. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  25. https://www.destructoid.com/mega-man-x-dive-impressions/
  26. "Rockman X DiVE Helps Drive Capcom Mobile Sales Up 80.7%". Rockman Corner. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  27. "Review: Mega Man X Dive Offline Offers a Wealth of Ways to Play". Silcionera. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
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