Rockman Online Gets a Little Bass in Its Voice

Okay, sure, if it’s “Rockman” Online, then that should by all rights be “Forte,” but just go with it.

Anyway, when the first teaser trailer for Rockman Online appeared, one thing which made everyone sit up and take notice was the seeming mix of characters from the Classic and X series. And while Mega Man appeared to have his hands full in battle with Proto Man, we were also treated to the visage of Bass, crossing a windy wasteland while wearing a billowing cloak reminiscent of his Battle Network counterpart.

Since then, we have been treated to updates which have shown us Navigators, Cinnamon, and the body types representing X, Zero, and Duo. And today, we may finally learn a little of how Bass fits in with these characters.

Generally, the updates so far have been rather heavily X-centric; sure, we also have a Duo body type, but as an alien robot who tends to be off in space, he kind of stands on his own. Past Robot Masters still act as bosses, it would seem, while Light and Wily are somehow linked to the United Continent Association and the Ultimate Reploid Association, respectively, but for the most part, we have known so far very little of how the old guard plays into this.

The latest entry on the Rockman Online blog opens with the following text:

He casts dark black.

He casts brilliant golden light.

Is he the darkness? Is he the golden dawn?

Even in the deepest darkness, which conceals light …

does not conceal malice towards the pure motive of aspiring for power.

And though he stands to oppose the blue hero…

the two are side by side on the path they walk.

Forte comes.

It sounds like it might be a poem of some kind, but even translated, it’s kind of neat.

The article then goes on to give a dossier of Forte, which is derived from the data provided by Rightot (Auto) in a previous post:

Forte is a robot Dr. Wily created modeled after Rockman’s design, equipped with the energy source “Fortenium.” With a base on incredible power output and excellent mobility, his combat ability is near prototypes of battle Repliroids we have now.

Forte possess impressive AI, and for that reason he, unlike other robots, appears to be able to disobey his own master’s orders. This has points of similarity to the AI of present day Repliroids.

Forte views Rockman as his rival incredibly strongly, andfor that reason he has an intense aspiration for the power to beat Rockman. Since he has a design like Rockman’s, he can achieve greater power through fusion.

Should nothing else come up that’s contradictory to this information, this robot, with consideration to the special characteristics of his infinite Fortenium power source, has a high likelihood of being closely similar to the prototypes of this era.

The final portion offers no new art, instead using Bass’s Mega Man 10 art as it describes Bass. (ed. Translation added by Heat Man, but I’ll leave BD’s funny made up words for your enjoyment.)

It mentions the use of an unknown energy called “poreutesium” (perhaps a reference to “Bassnium/Fortenium“?), and seems to mention how he was Dr. Wily’s direct counter to Mega Man.

The next line sounds as though it could be referencing a body type, rather than Bass himself– playable, perhaps? It notes “Strong ability to maneuver is based on energy output and superior combat capability of the existing jeontuhyeong referee Lloyd is a figure close to the original.”

I think we established previously that “referee Lloyd” is a slight mutation of “Repliroid” or “Reploid”, but “jeontuhyeong” remains a mystery.

Interestingly, the next portion praises its “excellent critical thinking skills,” which one would probably not typically associate with Bass. It adds, “because of this, the owner of the robot and otherwise made himself seems to have rejected the command.” This sounds like a possible reference to Bass’s tendency to work against Dr. Wily as often as with.

Following that, “It is currently held by Lloyd Leva incident has similarities to the circuit.” Is “Lloyd Leva” another Reploid reference, or something else?

The next portion seems a little more clear cut, referencing the intense rivalry Bass has with Mega Man, and his aspirations to prove himself the superior robot. Perhaps these aspirations carry over to the Reploids donning this body type, and are reflected in the relationship with the X type? Mine, that is only speculation on my part…

It seems to go on to note the similarities to Mega Man, except in power, which Bass is able to generate more of. His energy source seems capable of generating infinite energy without negative affects. And something about “Cadmium Forte” and its uniqueness.

Finally, it closes with “The robots appear to be in a circular to the present day is likely to have been held.” Right, gotcha (huh?).

As always, if you can make more sense of this stuff than we can, feel free to share it with us in the comments below. In the meantime, we’ll just keep our fingers crossed that we might someday get this, complete with translated blog entries.

TMMN Staff