Capcom reveals that the upcoming Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection will feature the original voice actor of Mega Man from the Mega Man: NT Warrior anime in a special way. Capcom's recent presentation at Tokyo Game Show focused on a number of games coming next year, including updates for the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. While the compilation was featured in the TGS livestream, fans were surprised to see the reveal that the voice actors from the Mega Man NT Warrior anime would be utilized for the first time in almost two decades.
For the uninitiated, Mega Man NT Warrior, or Rockman.EXE in Japanese, is an anime and manga series based on the Mega Man Battle Network series. It's a fairly loose adaptation of the games, though it shares the same characters and elements, airing in the mid-2000s. Mega Man himself had voice actors in both Japanese and English, portrayed by Akiko Kimura and Andrew Francis respectively. Capcom has revealed that both of these actors will reprising their roles for the first time in almost 20 years in a special feature of Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection.
As revealed on Capcom's livestream, Mega Man will be present on a special title select screen of Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, where he will speak to the player as their "Navigator," much like the in-game Netnavis. The UI of the game is even reflected to be the same as the PET, the device that is commonly used to access the digital world in-universe. Capcom even describes that Mega Man will react based on what the player does.
For longtime fans of Mega Man Battle Network, this was a nostalgic throwback to the anime. Not only that, but this is the first time that Francis has ever voiced the character in the games. Another fan on Twitter, known as MoonbearTsukino, posted they received a Cameo video from Francis himself, where he teased his potential reprisal as Mega Man for a mysterious project. It's now evident that Francis was alluding to him voicing Mega Man in this collection, as MoonbearTsukino noted this video was given to her back in January, so this was a secret that he's been holding onto for quite a bit of time.
Capcom also highlighted that this collection of Mega Man games will also feature brand-new online functions. This includes online battles and battle chip trading, which will apply to each game that is included. The presentation also states that the collection will be delivered in two volumes, the first covering Mega Man Battle Network 1-3 and the second volume covering Battle Network 4-6.
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection releases in 2023 on PC, PS4, and Switch.
Source: YouTube