What if Sega preferred Eternal Champions?/Mega Man V3

Mega Man V3 is a 2005 action-platform video game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 2, Xbox Next and Microsoft Windows. It is the third installment of the Mega Man V sub-series of the Mega Man franchise and is set a year after the events of Mega Man V2. The game deals with Dr. Weil's reign over Neo Arcadia in which humans, who have been reduced to second-rate citizens, begin to escape in large numbers to the last-known livable location on the planet, Area Zero, beginning a conflict between the two groups. The effects of this war eventually drive Vent and the Resistance to protect Area Zero and its inhabitants from Dr. Weil.

Plot
One year following Vent's victory over Elpizo, the Dark Elf remains at large. During this time, Ciel has finished her research on a new energy supply to end the crisis, dubbed the "Ciel System". However, Dr. Weil has assumed a dictatorial reign of Neo Arcadia, forcing many humans to flee. In response, Dr. Weil labels the escapees as Mavericks and begins to purge them as if they were Reploids.

In response, The Resistance and Slither Incorporated opted out of Neo Arcadia and founded Innerpeace, which comprises of cities that were previously under the control of The Resistance. These cities became safe havens for peaceful reploids and the cyborg humanoids.

Still, Maverick attacks occur in the frontier regions, which are more exposed to the enemy. To repel the attacks, the humans in these areas developed an organization devoted to the defending their region called The Caravan. The Caravan defends the Outlands and investigate the cause of the Maverick attacks. The leader of the Caravan is a human journalist named Neige.

Meanwhile, the fleeing caravan is attacked by Dr. Weil's army. Vent, Ciel, Zero, Axl and a small band of Resistance fighters happen upon them and come to their aid. Neige explains they were en route to Area Zero, the crash site of the space colony Eurasia and one of the last natural habitats on Earth that can support human life. Shortly after parting ways, Vent learns of two plots, one called "Operation Ragnarok", meant to destroy all environments outside of Neo Arcadia in order to force humans to return and live under Dr. Weil's rule. and another called "Operation Elysium", meant to fuse the Dark Elf with Ragnarok and link them with a frequency transmitter that would enable Dr. Weil to control the minds of every Reploid, Humanoid, Cyborg and even Human on Earth. Helping Dr. Weil on his quest are Slither Inc. and it's president Serpent, his reploid bodyguards, Prometheus and Pandora and a group of Reploids called the Eight Einherjar Warriors which were previously tasked with protecting the earth during the energy crisis. They are led by a military Reploid named Craft, who has a romantic history with Neige, thus creating many conflicting thoughts within him.

After defeating four of the Einherjar Warriors, Area Zero comes under attack by Neo Arcadia. Vent defends it and is forced to battle Prometheus. Neige breaks up the fight, but she is kidnapped by Prometheus, who escapes. Vent chases him to a prison where Neige is held and eventually rescues her, but not before having to fight Pandora.

During this time, Serpent successfully captures The Dark Elf.

Later, Vent eliminates the remaining Einherjar Warriors, but Ciel intercepts a radio message from Dr. Weil. He announces he is going to use Ragnarok, an orbiting satellite weapon, to wipe out Area Zero. Before Weil can use it, Craft rebels and fires Ragnarok at Neo Arcadia in an attempt to kill Dr. Weil, which leaves the city in ruins. Vent, deeming Craft to be too dangerous, defeats him, and Craft succumbs to his wounds.

Ragnarok moves on a crash course for Area Zero, and Vent makes his way there to find that Dr. Weil somehow survived the destruction of Neo Arcadia. Dr. Weil reveals that while he is human, he was made into a bionic-reploid hybrid by the same people who exiled him into space at the end of the Elf Wars. His new body is incapable of aging or dying, as it constantly repairs and upgrades itself.

After entering the Ragnarok Cyber System, Vent is stalled by Prometheus and Pandora.

After arriving at the Ragnarok Core, Vent face off against Serpent, who feeds the Dark Elf with a lot of innocent Cyber Elfs, and then fuses with it. Vent suddenly reverts to human due to the realization that the hatred of the Mavericks that he has kept inside his heart is the last thing needed to unleash The Dark Elf's full power, thus resulting in his temporary defeat and letting Serpent to fuse with the Ragnarok core, and later the station itself, and the Dark Elf at the same time. However, after gaining courage from Passy, he challenges Serpent to a final battle. After an intense battle and the destruction of Serpent's fused body, Ragnarok breaks apart, leaving Vent no means of escape.

Ciel runs through Area Zero where she learns that Vent did not teleport back. Heartbroken and distraught, Ciel runs away and ends up on top of a hill, where she breaks down in tears while pieces of Ragnarok burn through the atmosphere. Afterwards, she stands up and expresses her faith in Vent, hoping that he'll return someday while promising to carry on his mission of maintaining peace between humans and Reploids. The final scene shows a picture of Vent's shattered helmet somewhere in the desert.

Characters

 * Vent (CV: Minami Takayama and Stephanie Nadolny)
 * Ciel (CV: Megumi Hayashibara and Laura Bailey)
 * Neige (CV: Kotono Mitsuishi and Monica Rial)
 * Aile (CV: Yuko Miyamura and Colleen Clinkenbeard)
 * Cerveau (CV: Yoshito Yasuhara and R. Bruce Elliott)
 * Colbor (CV: Wataru Takagi and Sonny Strait)
 * Hirondelle (CV: Tetsuya Iwanaga and Greg Ayres)
 * Faucon (CV: Fumihiko Tachiki and Greg Dulcie)
 * Passy (CV: Naoko Matsui and Tiffany Volmer)
 * Sage Harpuia (CV: Megumi Ogata and Chris Patton)
 * Fairy Leviathan (CV: Yuka Imai and Luci Christian)
 * Fighting Fefnir (CV: Kazuya Nakai and Dameon Clark)
 * Hidden Phantom (CV: Tetsu Inada and Mike McFarland)
 * X (CV: Takahiro Sakurai and Sean Schemmel)
 * Zero (CV: Ryotaro Okiayu and Christopher Sabat)
 * Axl (CV: Minami Takayama and Eric Vale)
 * Dark Elf (CV: Noriko Hidaka and Cynthia Cranz)
 * Serpent (CV: Daisuke Gori and Phil Parsons) - the main antagonist of the game
 * Craft (CV: Koichi Yamadera and Kyle Hebert)
 * Dr. Weil (CV: Chikao Otsuka and Ian McDiarmid)
 * Prometheus (CV: Shinichiro Miki and Chuck Huber)
 * Pandora (CV: Yumi Touma and Stephanie Young)
 * Heat Genblem (CV: Naoki Imamura and George Manley)
 * Tech Kraken (CV: Toru Furusawa and Brett Weaver)
 * Pegasolta Eclair (CV: Koji Yusa and Jason Douglas)
 * Noble Mandrago (CV: Junko Iwao and Tiffany Grant)
 * Sol Titanion (CV: Satomi Korogi and Shelley Calene-Black)
 * Fenri Lunaedge (CV: Tetsuya Kakihara and Taliesin Jaffe)
 * Mino Magnus (CV: Takahiro Fujimoto and Rob Mungle)
 * Popla Cocapetri (CV: Kisho Taniyama and Jay Hickman)
 * Blazin' Flizard R (CV: Isshin Chiba and Justin Cook)
 * Childre Inarabitta R (CV: Hiroko Emori and Laurie Steele)
 * Hellbat Schilt R (CV: Takumi Yamazaki and Vic Mignogna)
 * Deathtanz Mantisk R (CV: Koji Totani and Bill Jenkins)
 * ? (CV:)
 * ? (CV:)
 * ? (CV:)
 * ? (CV:)

Soundtrack

 * Wild Fang
 * Caravan - Hope For Freedom (Opening Stage 1)
 * Holy Land
 * Esperanto (Opening Stage 2)
 * Innocence
 * Holy Land
 * Esperanto (Opening Stage 2)
 * Innocence
 * Innocence
 * Innocence
 * Innocence
 * Innocence
 * Innocence
 * Innocence
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Reception and Success
Mega Man V3 has sold 7,216,178 copies worldwide and was met with critical acclaim, being lauded as one of the greatest video games ever made.