Series Finale: The Road Less Traveled

Holy crap you guys. This is it. It took me a year or two to plan. Two or more to write. And another couple to edit and sprite. And a couple years posting every single other epilogue written before, during, and since this monster of a story was finished. But this is it. The series finale.

And not just the Series 9 finale. The Mechanical Maniacs epilogue series finale.

The Mechanical Maniacs finally face off against Crorq and the Galactic Council. Mesmerman makes his big move with his wingman Rockman Shadow. And, oh yeah, Torchman and his coverable losers are there too. This is the most expansive adventure the Mechs have ever been on and I’m so happy to finally share it with you all.

I have to give a big thanks to Raijin, who drew the above picture. Without his tireless editing and amazing sprite work this adventure wouldn’t be nearly as comprehensible as it turned out to be.

Twenty years. That’s how long the Mechanical Maniacs’ adventures have gone on. Just about every other Megaman team has gone the way of the dodo since I started this and it’s gone on for far, FAR longer than I ever thought it would. Changing my life in ways I didn’t expect. I’m in a completely different place in my life now than when this site was started waaaaaaaay back in 2000. I have to thank each and every one of my friends, past and present, for being with me on this journey building a crazy, absolutely convoluted fanfic world around one game called Mega Man 3.

After this the site will go on. I hope to get more into art, which I used to be all about. And there’s just a few epilogues still in the works. Not by me, though. So check back for all of that. In the mean time enjoy the Mechanical Maniacs’ last stand against the forces of evil … or, at least, the forces that bother them as they just try to live their life.

20th Anniversary Recap Conclusion

The Epilogue Summaries conclude! This time we recap Series 8.

This segment wound up having the same number of regular epilogues as Series 7, but it includes two nearly-forgotten fanfics from Series 6 – Genesis End and Working With Ghosts – buffing up it’s length. It chronicles the rebuilding of the Galactic Council and the Mechs fall from grace going from tolerated members of the Robot Police Force to wanted fugitives! This brings the summaries up to the current one which is the longest we’ve ever done. So I guess that makes up for the super short Series 7 and 8.

Finally, two Ariga-created Robot Masters done on his Twitter that I never knew existed until just a little while ago! They’re along with the rest of the Classic-based robot masters in the Megaman Soccer Conversion Revival gallery. Thanks, SlavaIG, for letting me know these guys exist.

20th Anniversary Recap Part 2!

Yes, yes, the continuation of the Epilogue Summaries continues! This time we move on to Series 7.

This series is the shortest one we’ve ever done thanks to shenanigans running behind the scenes. But it still has the last piece of fiction done for the epiverse by Hadrian and wraps up plot threads left dangling by the end of Series 6. It also lais groundwork for the Galactic Council who were are introduced as throwaway bits of world-building established in an old Megaman guide book once.

20th Anniversary Recap!

Yes, it’s been twenty years! TWENTY YEARS! I can’t believe it’s been twenty years of this madness, but it has! I never thought I’d be at this for so long, but I guess that’s a testament to all the friends who have been with me during this wild ride called the Mechanical Maniacs.

And what better way to celebrate that than a clip show?

This is a continuation of the Epilogue Summaries I did for the tenth anniversary! And, while there’s not as many stories to go through, there’s still PLENTY that went on during series 7 and 8. Including that mysterious 15 year gap that reset the universe. So why not start with that?

 

And the X-Force stories have been touched up as well! At some point in the past, Ben re-ordered a couple stories, throwing off the references for all the subsequent references – those have been fixed. Missing sprites and unsprited stories have been sprites! And, finally, I’ve rummaged through his waste bucket to dig up some old, lost adventures he’s totally embarrassed to see the light of day after all this time! It’s classic, team scene action from back in the day!

In fact I’ve went through my (somewhat limited) archives and Archive.org’s (somewhat limited) archive and saved what I could to restore a semblance of the X-Force’s old site.

Additionally, I’ve added some old, unfinished adventures to the Sinister Six’s library, spriting them all while I was at it. It’s a shmorgishborg of unfinished adventure!

Ice Breaker Part 3!

Well, it’s Labor Day weekend, and Covid is still running wild in the streets! So you got nothing better to do this weekend, then hang out with us, right? Naturally!

The next part of Icebreaker is now playing at a theater near you! As you may recall, the Comrades have finally met Disciples of Torchjitsu, who got it in their heads that the Comrades are more accomplished, disciplined warriors than they are. Half of the Comrades have already imparted all the wisdom they had to offer. Now it’s time to check in with the other half! Ostensibly, this chapter and the one before were supposed to be one ep. But test audiences informed me that it was so long, it had to be split into two parts.

Milking two updates out of one ep? That’s working smarter, not harder.

“Ice” To Meetcha Once More!

If you’re suffering from post-Independence Day Blues (it can be a thing, can’t it?) Then we get the cure for you! What better way to cap off celebrating our nation’s independence, then reading about the adventures of Russian robots, hosted on a website maintained by a Canadian dude?

It’s been a long time coming, but at long last, the Mega Man 11 robot masters finally make their debut in Ice Breaker Part 2! Previously, the Comrades met their long-lost brother, Tundraman. Whose promised to take them to meet his master and brothers-at-arms, the Disciples of Torchjitsu. And as we all know, the Comrades ALWAYS put their best foot forward when meeting knew friends.

Would I lie?

-St. Diveman

Kingdom Hearts Part 2

The Mechs continue to dig themselves even deeper into a mess that has less and less to do with them! Wasn’t this about avoiding hassle? When did it become about assaulting Robot police Headquarters!?

Kingdom Hearts

The adventures of the Mechanical Maniacs continue! The Wily Underground needs energy and Sparkman is pressed to help. But he doesn’t want to. While he’s dealing with this a young hero decides to drop in and derails everything.

Gears and Minis

A story all about Megaman’s exciting new powers! Speed Gear! Power Gear! And … that tiny robot that lives in his head. Hey, Doctor Light invented many useful things, he’s due for a stinker every now and then, right? Right! But what happened to these innovations in the intervening years? After all, they aren’t present in the X series. All these questions will be answered as the Mechs gain these new powers for themselves in a true classic for the ages.

God Squad Part 2

No Cosack update? Oh, well, but at least we finally have the second part of a rare Snakeman crafted Mechs adventure.

The Mechs continue their spiritual journey! As new converts to different faith they go to wage war against the extradimensional Sun God! With the power of the gods on their side they can’t fail! Right?