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Neo Arcadia mark

Neo Arcadia (ネオ・アルカディア Neo Arukadia) is both the metropolis that much of the activities in the Mega Man Zero series takes place in as well as the government and main antagonistic force throughout the Mega Man Zero series.

History[]

Foundation[]

After the devastating conclusion of the long years of conflict known as the Maverick Wars and Elf Wars, the entire world was in ruins, unsuitable to sustain human life. The world was now peaceful, with no more Mavericks, and humans seeked an utopia in which they can live happily. The hero X founded Neo Arcadia with the purpose of bringing peace and stability to the humans and Reploids after the wars, becoming the base of operations from which the world's regeneration would be carried to restore human living across the Earth. Thanks to Neo Arcadia's efforts, the wounds from the past wars began to slowly heal.[1][2]

Humans started living on huge domes dotted across the world, with most of them being concentrated in a single location. While "Neo Arcadia" was the name of the government in power, the city where most domes are clustered at was also called by that name. It was possible to live outside of the domes, but thanks to Neo Arcadia's policies, humans have very comfortable lives inside them, with good food and clothing. Being an utopia, they did not wish to leave the domes, and it virtually became the center of the world as the only still-functioning city, housing the majority of the remaining world population. Humans have representatives that are like delegates and who debate with Reploids to carry out Neo Arcadia's policies.[3]

Reign of Copy X[]

Following X's removal from leadership at a later point in time to seal the Dark Elf in Yggdrasil using his own body, Neo Arcadia was rendered leaderless for a time. To ensure the safety and stability of the city, a young child prodigy named Ciel created a duplicate of X which took over the role of leadership. Only a few number of key people within the government were aware of this switch. Around the same time, the Four Guardians were created to fulfill Neo Arcadia's objective of restoring the world from the marks of war, making it habitable again, while also protecting Neo Arcadia from Maverick uprisings.

Under the rule of Copy X, the Neo Arcadian society underwent some drastic changes. Instead of supporting the Original X's "philosophy of coexistence", Copy X decided that maintaining the happiness of humanity was Neo Arcadia's primary objective and that all Reploids had to ensure it stayed that way. While it was an utopia for humans, it became a dystopia for Reploids, who were once more used as workforce for the humans and treated as second class citizens instead of being equal to humans. Some time afterwards, Neo Arcadia faced a serious energy crisis as the citizens' demand for energy continued to grow, way beyond what the city by itself could provide. Seeing the living standards of humanity threatened, Copy X decided to counteract the problem by cutting back on one of the two groups needing energy: Reploids.

To provide more energy to humans, energy supply to Reploids had to be cut short. But instead of giving Reploids less energy, it was decided to give them no energy at all. Under the pretext of avoiding the repetition of the calamity of the Maverick Wars, little issues and paranoia turn into false accusations of being Maverick, and many innocent Reploids are arrested and executed while being stigmatized. Over time, it became an objective as important as the world's restoration, and more and more Reploids were being accused of being Mavericks and found guilty in mock trials set up by Neo Arcadia's government. Copy X assembled the Eight Gentle Judges as the Inner Council of Neo Arcadia, who in turn sentenced countless innocent Reploids to death by termination.

Soon, Reploids, fearful of unjust and warrentless termination, started to actively rebel against Neo Arcadia, though with little success. Whatever rebellion arose within the bounds of the city, it was quickly and efficiently subdued. Those that escaped persecution fled Neo Arcadia and lived in hiding in old, partially destroyed cities, using what few energy was left, and living on day after day in an assorted way. But Neo Arcadia's pursuit did not stop and drived them into a wall to then hunt them down.

Struck with guilt by the suffering her creation had caused among Reploids, Ciel began helping hunted Reploids to flee the city to establish an active Resistance outside of Neo Arcadia. Although unsuccessful at first, Ciel would eventually uncover original X's partner, the legendary Reploid Zero, who would lend his power to the Resistance to fight Neo Arcadia, successfully completing viable missions for them and even beating the assembled Four Guardians in battle.

A heavy blow was dealt to Neo Arcadia when Zero managed to infiltrate the sanctuary of Copy X, known as Area X, where he defeated the Four Guardians once more, resulting in the death of Hidden Phantom, and defeated Copy X, rendering the city without a leader once again. News of Copy X's death were kept secret and the military made it their top priority to hunt down and kill the murderer. Sage Harpuia became the new unofficial leader of Neo Arcadia.

Interim government[]

After the collapse of Area X, things stayed the same under the rule of Harpuia, although he felt that fighting the Resistance was no longer necessary as long as they left Neo Arcadia alone. As part of Neo Arcadia's countermeasures program, Zero became a fugitive and fought against Neo Arcadia's forces in a desert for a year until he collapsed. Harpuia had the chance to finish him, but decided to let him live.

As Ciel wanted to focus on researching a new energy source to solve the energy crisis, she appointed a new commander for the Resistance, Elpizo. However, the new commander wanted to make use of the absence of X to initiate a grand scale assault on Neo Arcadia to destroy it once and for all. Elpizo's attack however was subdued by the remaining three of the Four Guardians and was followed by a retaliation attempt, which would have destroyed the New Resistance Base had it not been for Zero and Ciel.

Making use of the manipulative powers of the Baby Elves uncovered by the Resistance, Elpizo made his way to the utmost sanctuary of Neo Arcadia, Yggdrasil, where the original X was resting, which acted as the seal for the Dark Elf. Despite Zero's efforts, the seal, as well as X's body, was destroyed, freeing the Dark Elf.

Darkness coming[]

Two months following the Dark Elf's release, Ciel had finished her new energy source, the Ciel System, which she believed to finally solve the energy crisis that had humans and Reploids at each other's throats. An ancient spacecraft containing the Reploid Omega crashed on Earth. The Guardians attempted to destroy Omega, who was a vital part of the devastating Elf Wars a hundred years prior, but were outmatched. To make matters worse, Dr. Weil, the mad scientist who created Omega and was later banished from Neo Arcadia, had revived Copy X, who in gratitude allowed him access back into the city. Upon Weil's return to Neo Arcadia, the capture of the Dark Elf became the government's top priority. Weil manipulated Copy X like a puppet, having him remove the Guardians from their positions as military commanders and having them replaced by the Eight Judges who, by Weil's suggestion, became the new advisory board of Neo Arcadia and were immediately mobilized to search for the Dark Elf.

When the Dark Elf was located in the human residential district Area Z-3079 right at the Neo Arcadian border, Weil had a giant missile containing Omega launched directly to the Dark Elf's location in order to finally catch her, causing grave devastation within the district. Harpuia, who had stood by, watching how Weil had corrupted Copy X, decided to intervene, but he was easily outmatched by Omega. Upon the Dark Elf's capture, Copy X demanded Ciel that the Ciel System be handed over to Neo Arcadia as well as the surrender of the Resistance, but Ciel refused after seeing what Copy X and Weil had done.

Eventually, Weil set up Copy X in a battle with Zero, in which he was again killed. Making use of his position and Ordinance #8 in Neo Arcadia's constitution, on April 23 Weil was unanimously proclaimed Neo Arcadia's new provisional ruler to lead the suppression of the terrorists that killed their leader, setting the city in a state of emergency.[4] Combining the Dark Elf with Omega, Weil attempted to take control of every Reploid on the planet and have them do his bidding. Zero, with the help of X and the Guardians, would go on to defeat Omega, which also resulted in the Dark Elf reverting back into the Mother Elf, before flying off to a place where people like Weil would never abuse her powers for evil again.

Ragnarok[]

Weil's true colors were revealed in the following months of his rule. A power-hungry dictator, anyone who voiced his rejection about the way he did things were immediately silenced. It did not matter whether they were humans or Reploids, anyone who refused Weil was deemed a Maverick and terminated. The peaceful inhabitants were at the mercy of Weil's brainwashing through the media, with relentless warnings and propaganda that derailed the course of justice and incited hatred against the Resistance, while simultaneously instilling fear. It worked on most humans, an example being that they shuddered when the combat Reploid Craft appeared as the head of Weil's private army, as he was known as a friendly Reploid, not a superintendent like the Four Guardians.[4]

The people who were aware of Weil's regime started a caravan to flee Neo Arcadia, hoping to establish themselves somewhere else where Weil's army would not find them. Most of the human settlers would try to establish themselves in Area Zero, the crash site of the space colony Eurasia, a place that had been sealed off since the disaster. Miraculously, purely organic, and non-enhanced nature had started to return to this place, providing the settlers with everything they needed to sustain themselves.

Enraged, Weil initiated Operation Ragnarok, a series of Neo Arcadian military operations with the objective of rendering Area Zero uninhabitable, so that there was no other place on Earth to live in other than Neo Arcadia itself. Operation Ragnarok was executed by the Einherjar Eight Warriors, Reploids loyal to Weil, commandeered by Craft.

It was later revealed that Operation Ragnarok's objective was much more than just making Area Zero uninhabitable, but to completely destroy it and any other place that people might flee to, forcing humanity to live under his control in Neo Arcadia forever. To achieve that, Weil had secretly constructed the Ragnarok satellite cannon in space. Before he could use it however, Craft, swayed by the words of Zero and Craft's old friend Neige, the leader of human settlers, fired the weapon on Neo Arcadia instead, trying to kill Weil.

Within an instant, both the parliament and the city known as Neo Arcadia were obliterated. Neo Arcadia's center was completely annihilated, turning it into a crater filled with death. At least 20 million people were reported dead. The Resistance entered the ruins of the city and rescued everyone who was still alive, evacuating them to Area Zero. Weil survived and made one final attempt to achieve his goal by directing Ragnarok to fall on Area Zero, but Zero managed to crush his ambition.

Legacy[]

The survivors of Ragnarok relied on the remains of Neo Arcadia for energy, food, and water for some years while building a new life on their own. The majority of the population moved from the dome city to its periphery, and some attempted to take root at Area Zero.[4] Humans and Reploids joined hands to create a new, peaceful nation, the very thing that X dreamed of when he created Neo Arcadia.

Area M and Area N of Mega Man ZX are stated to be old ruins connected to Ragnarok and Dr. Weil, and are locations in which old bosses from Mega Man Zero 3 and 4 as well as a manifestation of Omega can be fought, possibly being the ruins of the laboratory where Zero defeated Omega.

Other appearances[]

In Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Neo Arcadia appears in Zero's ending, the character in question misplaced in the series timeline by a wayward Silver Surfer, commenting on there being another Zero but looking different than the Mega Man X series version and going by the Mega Man prefix instead.

Geography[]

Neo Arcadia was a city of gargantuan scale, although exact specifications were never stated. The city was home to the survivors of the Maverick and the Elf Wars, housing at least 20 million people within its center alone. The city itself was protected by an even larger domed sphere, called "Eden Dome". Not only did the dome protect the city from the hazardous conditions of the devastated post-Elf Wars world, but also from Mavericks roaming the outskirts. Furthermore, the Eden Dome contained its own weather control system, providing pleasant temperatures and weather conditions for the citizens of Neo Arcadia. In Mega Man Zero 4, Neo Arcadia appears to be geographically located in Africa.[5]

Neo Arcadia's power supply was provided by a huge energy facility below the city, called Sub Arcadia. Similar to the rest of the world during the Maverick Wars, nature in Neo Arcadia was techno-organic. The extend of how much of Neo Arcadia was covered with such techno-organic nature was not specified. Sites located inside the dome showed little, if any techno-organic nature. In all four wind directions around Neo Arcadia however, large forest areas can be found, rich of half artificial, half organic trees. These forest areas, namely Dysis (west), Anatre (east), Notus (south), and possibly an unnamed north forest, also contained megalithic ruins that were being monitored by Neo Arcadia and were off-limits to regular Neo Arcadian citizens and even most of the military personnel. Officially, these ruins belonged to an ancient, pre-Neo Arcadian civilization, while in truth, the ruins are Reploid research facilities that housed relics of the old wars, namely, resting places from one of the Baby Elves as well as one half of the Dark Elf.[6]

Known locations[]

Neo arcadia tower

Neo Arcadia Shrine and Neo Arcadia Tower

  • Neo Arcadia Shrine - Also known as the Holy Region. It is the path that leads to the Neo Arcadia Tower at the center of Neo Arcadia. It is surrounded by a completely artificial, sterile environment, and is heavily guarded by a building designed like an ancient shrine that houses an elite force of Mutos Reploids.
  • Neo Arcadia Tower - Located between the Neo Arcadia Shrine and Area X. Zero fights the Rainbow Devil at the top of the tower. The tower used to be an orbital elevator for transportation between the Earth's surface and the moon, which was destroyed in the Maverick Wars. It was repaired and is now used to foil would-be infiltrators.
  • Area X - Also known as the Neo Arcadia Core and Neo Arcadia Headquarters. It is a control room from the first game located on a stationary satellite at an altitude of 3600 km. The area governs all of Neo Arcadia's unmanned space stations.
MMZ2 Scene 21

Zero looking to the sky from Yggdrasil

  • Residential Area - A location of Neo Arcadia that Elpizo targets in Operation Righteous Strike.
  • Neo Arcadia Temple is the first of the final stages in Mega Man Zero 2. Zero fights against Rainbow Devil MK-II here.
  • Temple of Fire is the second of the final stages in Mega Man Zero 2. It is one of the shrines built to protect the center of Neo Arcadia. Lava flows freely within, barring any infiltrator's path. Zero fights against Fefnir's second form within this area.
  • Temple of Ice is the third of the final stages in Mega Man Zero 2. It is one of the shrines built to protect the center of Neo Arcadia. A harsh area, covered with ice and water. Zero fights against Leviathan's second form within this area.
  • Temple of Wind is the fourth of the final stages in Mega Man Zero 2. It is one of the shrines built to protect the center of Neo Arcadia. A very tall area that blocks any intruders. Zero fights against Harpuia's second form within this area.
  • Yggdrasil - The last of the final stages in Mega Man Zero 2, where Zero has a rematch with six of the bosses and fights Elpizo at the end. It is the most secure, innermost area of Neo Arcadia, a sanctum where the original X used his body to seal the Dark Elf. It is named after the world tree in Norse Mythology.
  • Area Z-3079 - A location within Neo Arcadia where the Dark Elf was detected. Dr. Weil authorized a missile strike against Area Z-3079, despite it being a human settlement.
  • Area X-2 - The central command center of Neo Arcadia in Mega Man Zero 3, ruled by Copy X and Weil. From Area X-2, they command the entire Neo Arcadian army.
  • Sub Arcadia, known as Under Arcadia (アンダー・アルカディア) in Japan, is the underground power plant of Neo Arcadia. It acts as a central core for all of Neo Arcadia's machinery. Omega was sending Dark Elf's power out to the world from this location. When Zero arrived, Weil ordered the Baby Elves to destroy Zero and retreats. After defeating the Baby Elves, Zero returns to the Resistance Base and learns that Omega is in Weil's Research Laboratory.
  • The Teleporter Base was designed to transport Neo Arcadian troops to various locations on the planet. However, by the time Zero visited the location in Mega Man Zero 4, it was running on emergency power due to Neo Arcadia's earlier destruction from Ragnarok's particle beam by Craft. Zero visited the location in order to access Ragnarok's core area, as they needed to access that area to shut down the core before Ragnarok crashes into Area Zero. In the Teleporter Base, Zero disables the base's protection by pulling four switches and destroying Randam Bandam, gaining access to the teleporter.

Military[]

Neo Arcadia's armed forces consist of four military branches. Well-trained and well-organized for deployment on any possible battlefield, and possessing extremely high maneuverability, each of the military branches is commanded by one of Neo Arcadia's Four Guardians. Neo Arcadia's armed forces can be considered among the most powerful and well-structured organizations in the entire Mega Man franchise, a juggernaut of strength to protect the humans and reploids of Neo Arcadia. Below is a list of the four military branches in greater detail:

  • Strong Air Battalion/Rekku Gundan: the air force, consisting primarily of many fast-moving aircrafts, giant airships, and a great number and variety of flying Mechaniloids. The Rekku Gundan can dominate any region with its unrivaled supremacy in the skies, and can perform wide barrage and preemptive strikes at any location. Led by Sage Harpuia.
  • Scorched Earth Squadron/Jin'en Gundan‎: the ground troops, and the most powerful of the four armies in terms of raw firepower and armor. Consisting of units built with superhuman strength, heavily armored fighting machines, and fearsome grinder tanks, the Jin'en Gundan can level anything in its path and ruthlessly crush any opponent in battle. Led by Fighting Fefnir.
  • Deep Sea Squadron/Meikai Gundan‎: the naval and subterranean underwater forces. Consists of many major battleships and submarines and armed with a formidable arsenal of both surface and underwater firepower, the Meikai Gundan can manipulate the tides of the water itself, engulfing everything in battles above or underwater. Led by Fairy Leviathan.
  • Cutting Shadow Squadron/Zan'ei Gundan‎: the special forces. This is the smallest and least known of all the four squads, due to both its undercover methods of operation and the extreme requirements that one must pass in order to join. The Zan'ei Gundan fields some of Neo Arcadia's most intelligent and highly customized combat units. With stealth movements and attacks from the shadows, they can infiltrate any enemy base and steal information from anywhere. Led by Hidden Phantom.

Governance[]

Being a human-based utopia, humans were deemed the dominant group in the region. This also came to a head during an energy shortage which resulted in the humans either agreeing to or at best being complacent towards Reploids being targeted by Copy X.

Aside from the anti-Reploid policies under Copy X, the only known law was Ordinance #8, which involved the second in command of X/Copy X to ascend to power in the event that the first in command had died. This law was utilized by Dr. Weil to assume power as part of his agenda.

Other media[]

In the Rockman Zero manga, Neo Arcadia is ruled by Cial (Ciel's sister) and the Four Guardians, which were created by her. This version of Neo Arcadia is more strict than the games, which is visible in the first story when Fefnir hurts an old human to locate a Reploid.

Trivia[]

  • In Archie Comics' Mega Man series, the city where the Dawn of X storyline is set in is referred to as "Arcadia".
  • Neo is a Greek prefix for the word "new" while Arcadia refers to a utopian vision of harmony with nature.
  • The armed forces of Neo Arcadia may have evolved from the Maverick Hunters.
  • In the "bad ending" of Mega Man X5, X mentions that he wants to create "Elysium" - a place where humans and reploids live in harmony. This may be a reference to Neo Arcadia. (Though it may also be a reference to Elysium from the Mega Man Legends series).

References[]


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