ABOUT ROCKMAN DASH LEGENDS Rockman DASH Legends (RMDL) is an ongoing manga adaptation project of the first game's events in the Rockman DASH (Megaman Legends) Series developed and published by Capcom in late 1997. At the time of writing this document, it is typically updated with a new page on a bi-weekly basis, along with occasional updates of additional/extra content, site expansions, and other announcements in between.

As a personal project, all content related to RMDL (scenario writing, illustrations, planning, site development, etc) has been done personally. Of course, I also acknowledge the help I have received along the way to get this project to where it is now (see Credits).

Though vague ideas started coming up around mid-2009, Rockman DASH Legends (RMDL) only really started around late 2010 when a few page sketches were drawn and shown on the MMLS forums that sparked my interest in pursuing further work on it. Though impossible to make it updated daily, I have found some time to spare between my studies and decided to start on a few pages and see how it goes from there. In early 2011, the first page was published, and continued on weekly updates until mid-2012 when time has become scarce to produce new pages designs at the same rate as before.

Around late 2011, RMDL has moved into its own homepage on a free-but-inconsistent hosting service. It was only around mid-2012 when the site was moved into its own stable domain, as well as having its overall site design more or less finalized.

As mentioned in several parts of the site, my goal is to create a comic/manga adaptation of the events found in the first game. However, just doing a straight adaptation of the game felt meaningless as one can just achieve what is effectively the same experience by playing the game (which is available on the JP Playstation Store) or even simply watching a playthrough of it.

With this and the basic story in mind, I have felt that the story can be fleshed out with more realistic depth to see the series from a different perspective, but at the same time not going too far towards the cynical side to avoid making an overly depressing series. Despite the reputation this comic may have gotten for being "darker and edgier" than the source material (which I do like), I continue to strive in keeping the more fundamental 'enjoyable' qualities of the original series when writing out the scenarios for RMDL in hopes of making a unique yet relatable story.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS If you have any questions about the RMDL project, the main comic, or its content which has yet to be answered in this FAQ, please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail at haroplanetATgmail.com.

Q:

What inspired you when you started planning this comic?

A:

With no jobs or studies to keep me busy around mid-2009, I started drawing and submitting illustrations to pixiv on a regular basis as a way to keep myself occupied. Though as mentioned above, it was only around late 2010 when after a few consecutive RMD/MML-related illustrations that I have decided on doing a couple of mock drafts under the mindset that it is for a comic. At that time, the reception seemed quite interesting, and I had some time to spare in between my further studies; so I decided to push on with the idea for a bit more as a practicing alternative to drawing one-off illustrations, which resulted in a few finished pages which I showed around online. Also around then, I had much access to bookstores which stock plenty of artbooks which inspired me to further pursue drawing as a hobby, particularly artbooks drawn in the 80s/90s style which had the dynamic feel which I found lacking in more recent publications.

Q:

How closely will you follow the games story?

A:

As an adaptation of the original "Megaman Legends" series, I would like to think that RMDL is only worth investing time into if it expands further on what already exists. Without spoiling anything: Key parts of the story will be retained (though maybe modified for story narrative), but with added content such as intergrating elements of the Halcyon Days era into the story, as well as expanding on certain terms lost in translation within the character/mechanical profiles and so forth. The experience would obviously be different, and I'm sure there are some purists out there who don't like their memories being tainted. But that's why the original games still exist, right? The DASH/Legends games has an expansive world build which made it so popular with the fanbase; just playing the games alone will not cover even half of what was included, but let's spice things up a bit shall we?

Q:

Why such a serious art style?

A:

Personal preference and appeal aside, I have decided on a more 'edgier' style to make it contrast from the art style of the original games. I have always thought that if an adaptation were to be done similarly to the original games' art style, it means it would have less meaning on its own as the same experience can be achieved by playing the original games themselves. While I acknowledge that it would not sit well with the more adamant fans of the source material, I am certain that this is the art style I want to keep with. Of course, I know I should not quite go 'all-out' on the edginess. The DASH/Legends Series (and by extension, RMDL) is an adventure story which should be appealing and dynamic, and I would not want to change that. Update (2013/10/02): Of course, it doesn't mean the style would stick. As much as it interests me, I'm no professional; I'll practice and go with whatever comes naturally.

Q:	What kind of programs do you use?
A:	A combination of SAI, Photoshop, and Illustrator for the comics and the project's illustrated content. For the website, I use a handy freeware text editor called Notepad++, or I use Dreamweaver for my more technical stuff; whichever on what I have handy.

Q:	Why are only some pages colored?
A:	From a design point of view, I decided to reserve colored pages for particularly strong/dramatic moments in the adaptation; I want to make these pages stand out more compared to the grayscale pages, making these moments all the more worthwhile. Also, the grayscale pages take far less time to touch-up and finalize.

Q:	Will RMDL ever be printed in book form?
A:	Though I have prepared the comic to be easily printed using a home printer, I have yet to make any actual plans on publishing hard copies of the comic. If anything though, chances are that the comics will be printed and distributed in a limited fashion to avoid risking legal issues (i.e. as a Doujinshi). Maybe a Kickstarter or something just to cover production costs in the future...?

Q:	Will you be having Original Characters (OCs) in the series?
A:	I've been asked that a few times, but no; there will be no OCs whatsoever. Derivatives, variations, background characters and so on will be there, but I'm not a good enough author to add OCs or self-inserts.

Q:	Do you have a 'buffer' of unreleased for your comics?
A:	As work has me occupied most of the time, I try to keep a few pages ready in advance in case I cannot find time to update on schedule.

Q:	Can you send me early pages of the comic, or at least let me see them?
A:	You've got to catch me in public first. Good luck!

CREDITS