This is Jake Hans again from International Strategies. As you may be aware, our team has been very active in the fight against Capcom’s decision to take away our hero. So many people have worked so hard on the international front that I feel their stories should be heard. Although I may be the official leader, it is the International Team that truly deserves all the credit. Initially the team started off with a small group of individuals shortly after the cancellation. Our first posted team report titled “Team of Twelve” illustrates our beginnings:
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For ten years, we have waited! Capcom put the rug down, and then whipped it out from under us! Now it is our turn. This movement is not about "likes." It is a statement that LEGENDS NEVER DIE! I have had the privilege to talk and get to know you guys. What we have here today is special and transcends geographic barriers.
Now we all have our own special skill sets. Anastasia is an aspiring artist from Russia. We all know Dashe, who has made one of the greatest musical theater spoofs of all time and is an excellent proofreader. Then there's Amunshen, Julien, Mitsurugi, Ghun, and Rocky who can take Anastasia and Dashe's work and make things like http://ameblo.jp/runner97401/ possible!
We have some of the first members of the group, Tahj and Trigger, who make sure every comment doesn't go unliked and keep us up to date on information. We have Brandon, our Chinese culture consultant, and last but not least is the newest member Jeremy, who is our all around technical guy. We all have done our best to BRING BACK MEGA MAN LEGENDS 3!
For the sake of organization, I suggest we state our areas of expertise. This will help us become more efficient in our communications and strategy development.
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From here we grew into a team with the power of real worldwide intercultural knowledge and communication. I have met some very brave people from around the world who simply do not quit no matter what. The best example of this is our Liaison to Portugal: Bruno Reis. For our cause he has posted about us in multiple Portuguese gaming forums despite harsh criticism. Check those out at http://forum.mygames.pt/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=12111 and http://forum.mygames.pt/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=12196.
He has never lost hope through all of his efforts. I envy his courage. Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg. All of our members have continued to fight with us while juggling personal priorities. Our motivation is not money. We simply want the game we have waited 10 years for back and we will never take no for an answer.
Our Japanese Liaisons Amunshen, Mitsurugi, Suzukaze, Steve, and UG have been unbelievable! Amunshen took it upon herself to translate the entire International Servbot Collaboration into English (edited by Matt from 100,000 Strong). She has also contributed in so much translation work that our Team Japan would not be able to function without her. Our other liaison, Mitsurugi from England, teaches English to Japanese students in Tokyo and has been instrumental in communicating on Japanese only social networks such as Ameblo and Mixi. Suzukaze, who joined facebook specifically to join 100,000 Strong, has took it upon himself to help us without even understanding English! Steve, a fellow
University of Oregon student has always been willing to lend a helping hand to our team. UG, our newest member, has been busy making sure jp-na-devroom.com is effective at guiding our friends from Japan to join us on Facebook and in the NA devroom.
International Strategies, though, has never focused solely on Japan. Every liaison has helped both in strategy and motivation.
Our Liaison to Thailand, Ghun, managed to get our movement on Akitaban which made our “like” count on the Thai page amazingly rival the Japan “like” count.
Vicky Weyens, our Liaison to Belgium, has not only translated "Waiting For Legends 3" in its entirety, but has taken on multiple special projects from me that has allowed our team's speed to increase exponentially.
Sam Voltan, our trilingual English/French/Italian translator, is a professional (paid) translator. However, he is gracious enough to provide his services to us for free!
Ana Perez, our liaison to The Phillipines not only is a gifted artist, she is the one who began our jump into website projects. Check the Tagalog page to see her work for yourself!
Anastisia, our Liaison to Russia, was one of our initial Team of Twelve members. She is a talented young artist who created incredible artwork for our Japanese Ameblo and Mixi accounts!
Speaking of artists, our team has Graphic Designer Rashed Mokdad from Lebanon. He has been so passionate about the revival of Legends 3 that he has claimed that if the Rebels in Libya can win in a year, so can we!
His partner in crime Hamodi Elsaabi (also from Lebanon) is just as passionate, spreading our International Servbot Collaboration to anyone that will hear!
Our team has been lucky to have the development leader of Project Legends fill in the role of Liaison to Peru. His humor in the group chat has always been well received. He is also very ambitious, ready to take any challenge without hesitation.
Another ambitious member has been Rocky Brillo from The Phillipines. His first declaration to me was “I will spread the word to all Filipinos!” Based on his efforts, it's apparent he wasn't kidding.
Another loud group speaker has been Dǝmǝr Garufi from Malta. I will tell you he is not afraid to say what is on his mind!
Our German Liaison duo Khan Ueskan is a relatively new member, but he has made it clear to me that his drive is all about Legends. The same goes for Marcel Buhlmann, the other German Liaison who has a thesis that “Megaman is cooler than Sonic, enough said."
Our Spanish liaisons Daniela, Seallux, MegaMan Kuto, and Matsuri Kasugano have really pushed hard for us. See their page’s picture, “¡Sacame de la luna! ¡En español!”
Finally our Portugal/Brazil Liasons Bruno Reis, Erik, Henrique, and Jose Coelho have been plotting and planning different ways to expand our support on their own accord. To everyone on the I.S. Team Liaison Team, you have all been amazing and I’m proud to fight at your side.
The flip side of the Liaison Team is the Logistical Team of International Strategies. The work done by these individuals has made it possible to make quick and informed strategic decisions.
Our early members Tahj Mitchell, Dashe Troxon, and Jeremy Verlander stepped into the roles of International Coordinators and were major players in building I.S. into what it is today.
Tahj was a natural as a team motivator, problem solver, and expansionist. His passion to bring people together and keep morale high plays a major role in keeping the team moving at a high level.
Next is Dashe Troxon, the fanbase legend behind “Waiting for Legends 3: A Tribute”. I remember we became acquainted by a request I made on the 100,000 strong wall for edits of a draft letter I wrote to all fans of Legends/DASH. Since then she has edited most of my statements for Roll's Wrap-Up. Also, I am convinced her determination to get Legends back are second to none.
Finally, Jeremy Verlander's focus has always been independent projects dealing with spreading the word on an international level. Most recently he has been talking with Legends fans from Iran, Russia and Turkey. He may not speak much in team chats, but he is a very active member.
The media relations arm of International Strategies has truly been a force to be reckoned with. Brandon Solomon deserves much of the credit for the success of this branch. Our efforts mean nothing if they are not noticed by news outlets. He has been hard at work posting our cause to all who will hear, and has been a true leader in our fight.
Jonathan Husar, the artist behind the Thai profile picture, is quick to provide general assistance to our cause, and his determination is second to none.
Raven DX is a fairly new member of the team but has already been hard at work. He originally wrote our latest letter to Japan.
The remaining members of media relations, HandlebarOrion, Yuna Caskett, Greg Schutz, and Steven have been busy promoting our cause through various methods, including fliers and personal requests. These front lines activities are crucial to our movement to succeed. Every one of you has been extremely influential.
I.S. also has some members in special positions that need credit. MB X McClain was our breakthrough member in our efforts to Japan. He connected the International Strategies Team to Suzukaze, was an early leader in our website development, and is constantly pointing out ways in which we could improve our efforts.
Partnering in our programming efforts is Cefca Palazzo. Embarrassingly I admit that I thought it was a real name, but you may be smart enough to catch the Final Fantasy reference.
Patrick Miller came to our team with an ambitious plan to advertise ourselves through Minecraft. While unfortunately we have not been able to provide him the resources he needs for project completion in a timely matter, the effort is still in the pipeline.
Gene Spooner played an early role in the development of our profile cards you see on the blogspot of our movement.
Ryan King deserves a major thanks for being the only person to have come forward with G4 footage of Morgan Sessler bashing our movement. While it was criticism, it helps in keeping us relevant.
Our International Spokespersons Score and Hope have my gratitude for being brave enough in speaking on behalf of our team. It takes real courage and skill to be able to represent a large group of people on camera.
Last but not least is a person whose profile name is Megaman Trigger. He was an early member who played a large role in I.S. expansion.
Together we aim to disprove the perception that Megaman Legends 3 does not have a large enough audience to justify development. The paid professionals at Capcom failed us, but if there is one thing we have already proven, it is that Legends Never Die in the hearts of the fans. This campaign was not created to be a one month push. This fan lead movement came about to save our hero at all costs, and we will not leave empty handed. To that end, I personally promise you that we will never give up.
