To commemorate this year’s EVO, the world’s largest fighting game open tournament and its feat of having over 2,200 entrants, Steam and Capcom have teamed up to provide USFIV for free this weekend, along with a 66% discount for those who wish to purchase it.

Free play lasts until Sunday, July 19th at 1pm (PDT), while the 66% off lasts until Monday, July 20th at 10am (PDT) with the deal ending Sunday, July 19th at 1pm. After Sunday, July 19th, the game will no longer load if you haven’t purchased it.

Although the EVO matches were quite hype yesterday, we all know nothing is more exciting than defeating opponents with your own two hands. So download USFIV now as there has never been a more perfect time to take the game for a spin.

Hey EVO goers, just wanted to drop a quick message to let you know that Capcom is hosting a Street Fighter V panel tomorrow, July 18th, at 2pm in the Palace 3 room . 

For those wondering about the contents of the panel, we will have important announcements on our long term plans for SFV as well as give insight into the developmental process of SFV.

Don’t worry if you’re not present at EVO however, as we plan on sharing the information announced during the panel here on Unity tomorrow. Be sure to check back tomorrow afternoon for the latest news on SFV.

::UPDATE:: The submission window for Round 1 has come to a close! We have some incredible submissions–look forward to the community vote just a tad later this week!

It’s been just about a month since Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. How go your stylish escapades? We’ve already seen a wealth of fascinating style and tutorial videos crop up on YouTube, as eagerly anticipated. But today comes a new opportunity for all of you to seed the ether with red hot video content. Yes, so begins the Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition Style Tournament. If you didn’t tune in for our DmC Style Tournament some weeks back, hit the jump for a run-down of how this works. 

Game: Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition (PS4/Xbox One/PC)

Concept: This tournament will consist of five standard rounds (one for each playable character) plus one decisive Final Round, for a total of six rounds—one each week. 

Each round will begin on Friday, with the rules for that round–including character, difficulty, gameplay modifiers, Mission, and “fight”–announced via a Capcom Unity blog post. Players will have the weekend to play and record a stylish combo video, to be submitted to us by noon (Pacific Time) the following Monday.

Video submissions will be pared down to a Top Five* by a team of judges here at the Capcom office. These Top Five videos will then be presented on the blog Wednesday morning (Pacific Time), and put to a community vote. The creator of the video with the most votes will become a Finalist and receive an awesome prize. 

*In the event that there are fewer than five submissions, all submissions will be put to community vote. I will also get really mopey. 

In Round 6, the five Finalists will compete against each other in one final, freestyle round. The recipient of the most votes will win the Grand Prize. 

General Rules: 

-You MUST be 18 or older to enter.

-Tournament is open to residents of North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Apologies to those not eligible. 

-Videos must be sixty seconds or shorter in length. 

-Videos may be captured however you like, as long as you are able to upload them to YouTube. Please also ensure that you are capturing at a resolution of 720p or greater.  

-Videos should be a single take with no cuts. They may, of course, be trimmed on the beginning or end for length. But please, no other video edits (e.g., transitions, text overlays). 

-No voiceover in your videos, please.  

-Videos must meet the criteria specified for each round. This includes character, difficulty, gameplay modifiers (e.g., Turbo Mode), Mission, and the enemy wave(s) you will be fighting. The idea is that every entrant is tackling the same fight in the same conditions. 

-Videos must be submitted by the deadline! Don’t be late! 

How to Submit: 

1. Record a video clip in line with the regulations for the current round. PS4 and Xbox One both have easy ways of doing this. For PC, you’ll have to have a way of capturing video. 

2. Upload the video to YouTube. You may upload to either Public or Unlisted, but not Private. 

3. Send your YouTube video link to contest@capcom.com OR tweet it with #DMCStyle. If you submit via Twitter, make sure you are also following the Twitter account @DevilMayCry. 

4. Feel free to include any information you think is important to highlight in the video description on YouTube. 

5. Each person may submit only one clip per round. So be sure you submit the take you think is best! 

Winning and Prizing:  

-Finalists for each round will be contacted within seven days of their victory, via the contest@capcom.com email account. Please respond with your name, mailing address, and SKU of choice (PS4, Xbox One) by the date noted in the email. If we don’t receive a response by the designated date, we’ll have no choice but to give your prize and Finalist position to the runner-up for the round you won! 

-Those who make the Top Five will be put to a community vote each round, to be held on the Capcom Unity blog. For convenience and exposure, each poll will be advertised on Twitter (@DevilMayCry) and Facebook (/devilmaycry). However, you must have a Capcom Unity login in order to vote. 

-Whoever gets the most votes in a round is the winner of that round and becomes a “Finalist.” Finalists for each of the first five rounds will receive the highly collectible Japanese retail copy of Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition (Xbox One or PS4), signed by director and series godfather Hideaki Itsuno. Winners will be able to choose the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One version.  

-No person may be selected as a Finalist twice. If you have already become a Finalist, you must sit out until the Final Round. 

-In the unlikely event of a tie vote, the Finalist for that round will be determined via a random name drawing.

-In the final (sixth) round, the Finalists from the preceding five rounds will compete in a freestyle round. These submissions will be put to another community vote, which will determine the ultimate winner.

-The ultimate winner will receive a signed copy of the Japanese “pizza box”-themed Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition Limited Edition (PS4 only, sorry). It’s awesome and I’m already jealous of whoever wins it.

At this juncture I would like to note that you are welcome to ask questions in the comments section below (or via a private message here on Unity). 

FULL CONTEST RULES

Now then! Onto the rules for Round 1!

Round 1 Rules: 

Character: Nero

Difficulty: Legendary Dark Knight

Modifiers: Turbo Mode is optional! No Super Nero allowed. You may choose the costume of your preference. 

Mission: 2

Fight: First wave, by the fountain. You do not have to perform the entire fight in 60 seconds, but the clip itself must be limited to a 60-second (or shorter) piece of the fight.

Deadline: Monday, July 20th @12:00pm (noon) PT

Tips:

-Be creative! We’re judging style here, not efficiency. So think outside the box and don’t be afraid to get weird. 

-As with all Devil May Cry games, it is possible to be stylish in a way that does not get picked up by the in-game style meter. We’re human beings, and we’re complex emotional creatures! Don’t get too stuck on getting a triple-S. 

-That goes for voters, too! Don’t just look for the “S”! Try and actually analyze what the player is doing and how. 

-Try recording multiple takes before submitting the one you think is the most stylish. Just remember to keep it under 60 seconds!

-A well-timed Taunt can be the difference between a good run and a Smokin’ Sick one. 

-I highly recommend experimenting with custom control layouts. Different layouts open up different possibilities. DMC4SE lets you save different control schemes for each character, so mess around and see what works for you.

-Be sure to check out ChaserTech’s awesome Advanced Combat Tutorial for Nero from the “vanilla” DMC4 days.

And that’s it! You’ve got the weekend to do something cool. Good luck, and may the most  stylish person win!

Number: DWN-017

Weapon: Needle Canon

Weakness: Gemini Laser

Equipped with a body like Air Man’s and an advanced form of Metal Man’s movement programming. Gain some distance and fight back.

Needle Man marks the start of Mega Man 3’s robo-roster, which is perfectly timed with our Mega Man 3 key-art reveal, no less .

The MM3 lineup consists of robots built by Dr Light AND Dr Wily, who has apparently learned the error of his ways. But – big surprise – the eight robots turn traitor and start causing a ruckus. Cue Mega Man’s latest adventure!

As for Needle Man, he sports an Air Man-style body and blasts sharp needle bullets all around. He also inherits some of Metal Man’s mobility, so be on your toes!

Mega Man obtains the Needle Cannon after battling Needle Man. It’s a fairly straightforward projectile and honestly not one I use a lot in a given playthrough… but hey, Needle Man must fall!

I did like the additional animation / attack he has where his entire head piece extends outward. It was an unexpected move from a boss who usually leaps around the room, firing from a distance. More MM3 n3xt w33k!

Last week we kicked off an MMLC art contest that asked for your ideal Mega Man 1~6 key art. The idea is, the North American (and European!) box art back in the day didn’t really sell the in-game experience. This is a chance to re-imagine those initial six games in a way that’s more indicative of the Blue Bomber and his Robot Master foes.

We also debuted some new art from Chamba (who also did our main MMLC art), and today we have the Mega Man 3 piece!

For each image, I gave just a bit of direction. When I think of MM3, my mind goes to Gamma and that impressive final boss – so I wanted to see a “box art” that really sold the scale of that confrontation. This being MM3, you also need Rush racing to the rescue and at least a handful of Robot Masters. Snake Man is one of my faves, and Gemini Man is already at work splitting himself in two.

CONTEST RULES: From now until August 14th, you can email one entry to  contest@capcom.com  (labeled MMLC ART CONTEST) and be entered for a chance to win one of six copies of the game. We will notify winners by September 4th, 2015 at the latest. Please submit an entry that depicts your ideal Mega Man box / key art, choosing one of the six Mega Man games collected in MMLC. Please also read the full contest rules.

There is no min/max size but it’s generally nice to have art that’s high-res (i.e. not like 300 pixels wide or something)  and  if you’re taking a photo instead of scanning, just make sure the image is clean and it shows your work in a positive light.

Next Friday – Mega Man 4!

Number: DWN-016

Weapon: Leaf Shield

Weakness: Atomic Fire

Like Guts and Air Man before him, Wood Man is hefty ‘bot with a commanding presence. As he prepares for battle, he beats his chest like a wild animal and then engages Mega Man with a powerful barrage of razor-sharp… leaves??

What’s really great about Wood Man is that he actually IS primarily composed of wood. Sure he’s got some metal parts in there, but by and large he’s a very “natural” machine that still has one foot in the wild. An interesting mix!

After defeating Wood Man, Mega Man obtains the Leaf Shield, which circles the Blue Bomber and protects him from most incoming harm. However, the moment you take a step, the shield will fly off in that direction. It’s the first “shield” type weapon that we’d see again in Skull and Plant Man.

In addition to having some excellent music, the Wood Man stage is also a blast to play. The fire-breathing Friender dogs were very impressive sprites back in the day, and the stage itself goes from woods to underground to open sky in a short time. It’s a treat to play!

David Oxford, The Mega Man Network

In what could only be described as a fun and amusing coincidence after naming Cut Man my favorite Robot Master from the first Mega Man, Wood Man would prove to be my first conquest in Mega Man 2. It’s such a shame I couldn’t bring the Rolling Cutter with me to my first Robot Master encounter of the sequel; after all, what better way to take down a robot made of wood than to use the tool of a timber-felling robot?

Besides the rocking jungle theme, Wood Man also rocks a much more impressive version of the Leaf Shield than what Mega Man ends up with. Bigger, badder, and it rains additional terror from above! Without the Crash Bomber , Metal Blade , or Atomic Fire , it’s enough to make you want to make like a tree and get outta there!

Outside of the game, I’ve enjoyed how he’s been characterized, particularly in Archie’s Mega Man comic book. Seeing the care he shows for the robotic animals which occupy his woodland stage just warms my heart.

When we last shared screens and footage of this summer’s Mega Man Legacy Collection, it was an early version of the game. Today we’ve got some new screens and details on the game’s various features – plus a live stream planned for Thursday, July 16 from 4 – 5pm Pacific Time!

Challenge Mode: At E3 we had six challenges ready to play. The final game will have more than 50 challenges, each with their own leaderboard and video replay functionality. During Thursday’s stream I’ll run through a few new ones just to show ’em off, but for more examples take a peek at the screens above and below.

A certain amount will be open from the start. To access more, you’ll need to obtain at least a Bronze medal in a handful of challenges. As you can see, the above challenges are not available until I S T E P  U P.

Museum: The exhaustive museum is loaded with MM1~6 art, acting both as a great bonus feature and as a form of digital preservation. That actually ties into the “philosophy” behind MMLC – focus on the original six titles and get them running in a beautiful format, then surround them with of-the-era art and fliers to really complete the “time capsule” feeling.

While I do have a special place in my heart for MM7, it and the 32-bit MM8 aren’t part of MMLC’s goal to archive and preserve the 8-bit titles that started it all. Their uniform look and late 80s/early 90s tech make them great candidates for Digital Eclipse’s preservation efforts, while the 16- and 32-bit entries would require different techniques. Instead of using typical emulation, DE is “rebuilding” these six games in the Eclipse Engine using original source assets.

Flicker/Slowdown: For the most part, much of the original flicker and slowdown is still present in MMLC. The games have software-level flicker/slowdown that was programmed into the games, and continuing with the philosophy of developing this title, the games are being historically preserved as they were originally coded and designed. However, certain hardware limitations that were not part of the code have been addressed, such as life bar flickering during the Copy Robot battle in Mega Man 1, or Mega Man flickering when two horns rise up from the Goblins in Air Man’s stage. Visual hiccups like this weren’t part of the code, and were instead restrictions imposed by the hardware.

It’s hard to tell from the screen, so if you come check out the stream on Thursday you will get a better look at this.

Filters: While one of the biggest draws of MMLC is the crystal clear picture, we’ve also enabled some Tube TV-style filters that can metaphorically teleport you back to the days of crappy screens and blurry… everything! So if you’d like to experience the games with scan lines and some ghosting effects, go nuts!

Screen display: At E3 we streamed the game in its “Full” format (see above). Since then we’ve added an additional viewing mode called “Original.” We also have a 16:9 stretch mode just to round out the options for folks who want to play that way.

Original: The sharpest possible image that maintains the original game’s intended aspect ratio. Sharp as a tack!

Full: The Original picture stretched to fit the screen vertically. This is how the game was presented at E3, which is still quite clean but the “stretch” does introduce a minor blur since this is not its native form.

Borders: We showed this at E3 but didn’t post screenshots, so this may be the first time some of you see optional borders that will fill the sides of the screen. They’re themed for each Mega Man game! The top screen is in “Original” mode, while the bottom is “Full” – since the Original screen takes up less space, the more of the border is seen.

Database: Each game has its own database that contains enemy images, descriptions and flavor text. From here you can also battle each of the Robot Masters using any weapon from the respective game as sort of a “practice run” that lets you get their patterns down before tackling them in the full game.

Music player: And finally, all six soundtracks are included via a handy music player! Some of gaming’s greatest OSTs, without a doubt.

We’ll stream the latest build on Thursday 7/16 from 4-5pm Pacific Time (that’s 7pm Eastern/6 Central). Until then, check out our art contest and life-size Mega Man helmet !

Number: DWN-015

Weapon: Atomic Fire

Weakness:  Bubble Lead

An exceptionally heatproof robot that can control fire at will. Be sure to jump and dodge his tackle attack.

From the charred ashes of Mega Man 1’s Fire Man rose the almighty Heat Man, an upgraded design and even more powerful embodiment of the very concept of heat. Heat Man can spew fire from his mouth, hurl volleys of flames with his hands, and create an impervious shield of fire which he uses to charge Mega Man at high speeds.

Heat Man has been described by onlookers as “unenthusiastic about his job,” “hot,” and “actually a lighter.” Indeed, Heat Man is one of the few Robot Masters to distinctly resemble a real-life appliance, suggesting he might have originally been designed with some noble, utilitarian purpose in mind (like setting stuff on fire).

Heat Man’s stage is one of the most dangerous in Mega Man 2 thanks to some tricky “Appearing Block” segments and a heaping helping of insta-death bottomless pits and lava pits, so you may want to save his stage for last.

Smart use of Bubble Man’s all-powerful Bubble Lead will make short work of Heat, rewarding Mega Man with the Atomic Fire weapon. Word has it the Atomic Fire can produce fire bursts at up to 12,000 degrees Celsius (over 21,000 degrees Fahrenheit).

H.M.D., Mega Man 1, Mega Man 2 (programmer)
“When I created Heat Man as written in the game design document, it wasn’t fun at all. When I made changes to how each of his moves connected based on the director’s instructions, it instantly became very fun to play. I learned that I wasn’t thinking about how fans would actually play the game when I worked on programming first. Similarly to the Yellow Devil, Heat Man taught me an important lesson about the depth of game creation.”

Adam “Heat Man” Anania, formerly of The Mega Man Network
“I guess it’s not too surprising that I’m pretty keen on Heat Man, considering I used him as my online persona for so many years. He was one of my favorite Robot Masters as a kid, although the reasons why elude me anymore. I just have very vague memories of drawing him on a Denny’s place mat. I also made a Heat Man costume for Halloween one year, seriously. Here it is.

“But I know I chose him as my avatar because he was one of the more unique looking boss characters, and he seemed to be more laid back than the rest of them (despite that he tries to incinerate you and his stage is a huge pain without Item 2). It felt like a cute idea; everyone else usually used cool characters like Proto Man, Bass, and Zero, but here was just this boxy guy with a goofy look on his face.

“I’m sure most people know this trick by now, but when you go fighting Heat Man, try whittling his health down and then shooting a Crash Bomber at him to see what happens. Not many Mega Man games feature weird stuff like that!”

*Sigh* it’s good to be back! For those that don’t know, I’ve been on the road for the last two weekends (+ a good number of weekdays) attending Anime Expo AND San Diego Comic Con.

Both events were awesome in their own ways and, while I take some more time to sift through the dozens of pictures from Anime Expo, here are some of the Monster Hunter cosplay photos I took at SDCC 2015:

Finally, here’s some awesome cosplay in the making; they’re not in full armor but if the level of detail in the guy’s gauntlet is any indication of what to expect, I bet it’ll be amazing:

I know I missed a couple of cosplayers, but like I said, I have dozens of photos from Anime Expo so please look forward to those in the next few days.

Number: DWN-014

Weapon: Time Stopper

Weakness: Metal Blade

Equipped with a system that can stop time, at least for a little while. He’s not a strong attacker. Fight in the middle of the arena and his attacks will be easily dodged.

OK, so, Dr Wily builds eight of his own robots to take down Mega Man, right? One shoots bombs, another makes big gusts of wind and so on. But one of them, ummm what if he could just like, freeze time? Would that be useful at all?

YES. As a kid I didn’t worry much about the ‘real world’ implications of the Robot Master’s powers, but even back then I was like, Dr Wily has invented a device that freezes time! Surely this fight against Light would be over in seconds – or basically zero seconds, right?

/rant – Anyway, Flash Man hops around his room, stops time briefly and then fires some shots your way. He’s one of the easier fights and thus a great first boss to tackle. Love that running animation!

Mega Man’s version of the Time Stopper is essentially the same – it freezes enemies – but it can’t be deactivated once it’s going! That means once you fire it, you better have a plan. That plan is usually either Quick Man’s stage (for the one-hit-kill beams) OR Quick Man himself.

Like we did with Metal Man last week, we’re gonna offer up another keychain for y’all commenters! We’ll pick someone with a fun, insightful or informative comment about ol’ DWN-014 and send you a Unity PM before the week is out.

Number: DWN-013

Weapon: Crash Bomber

Weakness: Air Shooter

A robot with a sturdy body. He’s barely even phased by most explosions. He’s not too bad as long as you can dodge his Crash Bombs.

No, those aren’t drills on his arms – they’re pointed ‘crash bombs’ that speed across the screen and detonate with a huge area of effect blast. If that wasn’t bad enough, Crash Man also retains some of the agility that allowed Bomb Man to leap across his lair like a bomb-tossing Hulk.

Now, sure that sounds formidable, but if you’re armed with his weakness (Air Man’s Air Shooter), he drops pretty fast. Shoulda spent more money on those defenses, Wily!

The Crash Bomber gives Mega Man the ability to fire his own pointy bombs. You can only have one on the screen at a time though, so you gotta make those shots count! This is especially important during a late-game boss battle…

I think it’s pretty natural – especially as a kid – to assume the pointed objects jutting out from his hands were drills. This made for a great surprise when you entered his chamber and BLAMMO, they’re not drills at all!

Number: DWN-012

Weapon: Quick Boomerang

Weakness: Time Stopper

By far the most mobile of Dr. Wily’s robots. Can you match his speed? Use the terrain to your advantage when attacking.

Based on some of the tech that helped make Elec Man a standout Robot Master, Quick Man is faster than most other bosses and resists most of their weapons. Even his primary weakness – the Time Stopper – won’t finish him off before running out of ammo. He’s not too bad once you get a feel for the room and how he moves, but until then… what a boss!

This, combined with one of the toughest / well known stages in Mega Man history elevates Quick Man into top tier Robot Master status. Completing his stage takes time, as does besting him in combat… he’s truly an adversary worth defeating!

And for all that trouble, you get the Quick Boomerang. It’s not without its uses, but in the grand scheme of things it’s far from the best weapon in the series. Great against the Mecha Dragon and (assuming you don’t have the Metal Blade) Metal Man , but probably not something you use moment to moment.

Like many kids of the 80s/90s, I gravitated towards Quick Man as a personal fave. That design is too cool (like Elec Man, it’s very comic book-y) and watching him zip around the screen for the first time was a great moment I’ll always remember. I also really liked his depiction in the Megamix comics!

Adam Anania, The Mega Man Network

“A lot of the classic Mega Man games have that one ‘cool guy’ Robot Master. For Mega Man, it was Elec Man. For Mega Man 3, probably Shadow Man. For Mega Man 4, I’d say either Pharaoh Man or Skull Man. But for Mega Man 2, it’s definitely Quick Man. He’s so cool the frame on the stage select can’t even contain his boomerang decoration.

“Quick Man’s stage is super iconic. Of course, those dreaded death beams stand out as one of the feared gimmicks in any Mega Man game. Clearing that drop without the Time Stopper is kind of a rite of passage. Also, the one section where the Changkey Makers illuminate the environment is really cool too. Quick Man himself is a tough fight, as he tends to jump around erratically and block you in with his boomerangs. He can even flat out blocks certain special weapons with his fist!”

David Oxford , The Mega Man Network ( +Robot Master Field Guide )

“How can anyone not love Quick Man?

“Pretty easily, it turns out, as the successor to Elec Man has one of the most formidable stages in the entirety of Mega Man 2, littered with Force Beams that have been commonly come to be known as the ‘Quick Man Beams’ which bring instant death to anyone who touches them.

“This is part of why many a player would leave Quick Man’s stage for last, which helped cement his status as Mega Man’s early rival — a role emphasized further by his being the only Robot Master in the game whose Stage Select mugshot extended beyond the borders of his respective frame.

“Funnily enough, the stage proved to be much tougher than DWN-012 himself. While he certainly lives up to his name, he doesn’t quite pack the same wallop as his predecessor nor his eponymous traps. Even if you don’t exploit Wily’s design flaw by using the Time Stopper to drain half his energy, a sufficiently evasive player can use either the Crash Bomber or Mega Buster to bring him down pretty darn… quick.”