Hold onto your hats, because we have some shocking new relevations from Rockman Corner: story details for Mega Man Star Force 4, said to be in production sometime in 2009-2010! The info comes from Rockman Corner’s source “The Shadow”, who previously leaked a fair number of accurate Mega Man 9 tidbits prior to their official reveal.
As those of you who played Mega Man Star Force 3 to completion might recall, the post-game story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. After defeating Sirius, the game’s epilogue villain, Geo is forced to absorb an ancient Murian artifact in his body, and Solo swears to do whatever it takes to reclaim it when the time comes. Star Force 4 was never officially revealed, but according to Rockman Corner’s source, it may not have been so centered on Geo and Solo’s rivalry as we had been led to believe.
To the best of our source’s recollection, Mega Man Star Force 4 aimed to be more tonally “mature” than previous entries to attract an older demographic. It would have starred a slightly older, more hardened Geo Stelar (who was redesigned with new clothes and a new Visualizer) and a brand-new character named Kazuma (pictured on the left). Kazuma was a genius hacker and a direct descendant of Lan Hikari’s family. The general premise of the game involved Geo and Kazuma crossing paths and becoming outlaw hackers. The dynamic duo would eventually be sought-by the Satella Police. Reward for their capture was a hefty 8,000,000 Zennys a piece.
Protodude, Rockman Corner
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an older depiction of Geo Stelar; in 2015, the then-released Capcom Special Selection: Shooting Star Rockman featured some concept artwork by Star Force character designer Tokiko Nakashima, showing a carefree Geo and friends in junior high. Had Star Force 4 happened as “The Shadow” describes it, the story might have taken a very different turn.
Sadly, Mega Man fatigue was in full swing at the time, and the Star Force series was hit especially hard with it; each subsequent game selling notably worse than the last. “The Shadow” claims disappointing sales for Mega Man Star Force 3 and the Japan-only Rockman EXE: Operate Shooting Star ultimately led to Mega Man Star Force 4 being cancelled midway through development. This would have been right around the time when the Mega Man series began its long hiatus.
For the full details, check out Rockman Corner’s full write-up!