Mega Man

Near-Human Robot or Man of Steel?


Mega Man Title Screen


Game Specs for Mega Man

NOTE: When possible, the game's official manual or official documentation from the game maker's company or Nintendo is used — with spelling or terminology presented as is, despite some translation errors.

SPOILER ALERT: Some of the categories below may have a question mark to conceal important or secret revelations in the game. If you would like to see the unknown revealed, a rollover option or external link will be attached to the question mark.

Title Mega Man
Mega Man
Company Capcom
Capcom
Developer(s)/Designer(s):
  • (Planner) A. K
  • (Character Designer) Yasukichi, Tom Pon, Inafking, A. K
  • (Programmer) H. M. D.
Composer(s)/Musician(s):
  • (Sound Programmer) Chanchacorin Manami, Yuukichan's Papa
Year: 1987
Release Date: December 17, 1987
System: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
NES
Genre: Action, Platformer
Ratings/Suitable For Age Group?: E for Everyone Rating from ESRB
E for Everyone (Mild Cartoon Violence)
Arcade Version?: No
Port To Other Game Systems:
  • Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (GB) [loosely-based]

  • Mega Man: The Wily Wars (GEN)

  • Mega Man Anniversary Collection (XBOX, PS2, Gamecube)

  • Mega Man Powered Up (PSP) [remake]

  • Mega Man Legacy Collection (PS4, XBOX1, Switch, 3DS)

  • Mega Man Legacy Collection Collector's Edition (3DS)

  • and (Nintendo 3DS, Wii and Wii U) Virtual Console as a digital download from the Nintendo eShop.

    Picture of Virtual Console logo.
Part of Franchise:
  • Original title (first) in Mega Man series

  • Mega Man (1-6) (NES)

  • Mega Man 7 (SNES)

  • Mega Man 8 (Saturn, PS1)

  • Mega Man 9 & 10 (WiiWare, PS Network, XBOX Live Arcade)

  • Mega Man series (GB)

  • Mega Man X series (various)

  • Mega Man Zero series (GBA, DS)

  • Mega Man ZX series (DS)

  • Mega Man Star Force series (DS)

  • Mega Man & Bass (GBA)

  • Mega Man Battle Network series (GBA, DS, GameCube, GBA)

  • Mega Man Legends (N64, PS)

  • Mega Man collections (various)

  • Various other versions, etc.
Rarity/Availability: Included in Mega Man Legacy Collection (PS4, XBOX1, Switch, Nintendo 3DS) [Direct Port of NES] and

Picture of the Mega Man Legacy Collection that contains Mega Man.

in Mega Man Anniversary Collection (PS2, GameCube, Xbox) [Direct Port of NES].

Picture of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection that contains Mega Man.

Cartridge is becoming increasingly rare and rising more dramatically in price (at least, in the St. Louis, MO metropolitan area).
Add'l Game System Peripheral Needed To Play?: N/A
1 or 2 Player: 1 Player
Number of Reserve Players: Start with 3 Players total
1-UP's: Mega Man 1UP
Yes.
Life Meter: Mega Man Energy Meter
Yes — comprised of 28 bars.
Password: No
Battery: No
Continue?: Yes - Unlimited
Perspective/Orientation Gameplay: 2D and Horizontal/Vertical (Retraceable/Freedom to Backtrack); Freedom to choose the order of battles between the 6 Robot Masters
Number of Levels: 10 (6 Robot Master Stages and 4 Dr. Wily Stages)
Checkpoints?: At predetermined locations in a stage (typically near halfway point) and inside the gates before a Boss
Save points?: No
Uninterrupted Play?: Upon death of Mega Man, play stops and resumes from last checkpoint.
Internal Map(s)?: No
Score?: Yes
Difficulty Settings: No
Time Limit?: No
Hero(es)/Heroine(s): Mega Man is winking at you
Mega Man
Sidekick(s)/Cast?: Creator of Mega Man - Dr. Wright Household Robot and Sister of Mega Man - Roll
Yes - Dr. Wright and Roll (but, not playable)
Weapons: Weapon Select Screen of Mega Man
P (default weapon)
Items: Mega Man Magnet Beam
Magnet Beam
Power-Ups:
  • Mega Man Large Life Energy Capsule   Mega Man Small Life Energy Capsule   Life Energy Capsules (large and small)

  • Mega Man Large Weapon Energy Capsule   Mega Man Small Weapon Energy Capsule   Weapon Energy Capsules (large and small)

  • Mega Man Bonus Point Capsules   "bonus point capsules"

  • Mega Man Yashichi   Yashichi (refills life and all weapon energy meters, and gives 100,000 points)
Power-Downs: No
Main Enemy: Mega Man's Main Enemy... Revealed
Spoiler alert! Click here to see
Person/Place Being Saved: Monsteropolis
Objective/Goal: Defeat all 6 Robot Masters and Dr. Wily
Ending?: Yes
Secret Code(s)?: No
Stage Select: No
Invincibility: No
Extra Players: No
Continues: No
Sound Test: N/A
Additional Secret Codes: ?
Trivia/Little Known Facts:
  • Mega Man's Japanese title is Rockman. Dr. Wright and Dr. Wily had created Mega Man (Rock) and his sister companion robot, Roll, a household robot.

    Roll from Mega Man   Rock from Mega Man

    Together, the tandem is Rock and Roll, but the Americanized title was chosen because it was believed that it would have a better reception.

    Rockman Title Screen

    RETURN TO REVIEW - ROCKMAN IN JAPAN SECTION

  • Other working titles for Mega Man were Battle Kid, Mighty Kid, Knuckle Kid, Rainbow Man and The Battle Rainbow Rockman.

  • Mega Man's anime-like look and concept was inspired heavily by Osamu Tezuka's Tetsuwan Atomu or Mighty Atom (or Astro Boy in America), a very popular cartoon/comic character in Japan dating back to 1951.

    Tetsuwan Atomu or Mighty Atom or Astro Boy Tetsuwan Atomu or Mighty Atom or Astro Boy

  • It was originally intended for Mega Man to wear red, however, his colors were chosen because of the Nintendo Entertainment System's limited palette — blue had the most available shades to work with.

  • Mega Man is unusual from all of its sequels in a number of ways. One glaring example is in the number of total Robot Masters that you battle; there are only six in this title, while all of the future titles feature eight bosses. The number may have been slashed due to technical limitations.

    The first Mega Man features only six Robot Masters, unlike any of its many sequels.
    Mega Man features only six Robot Masters, unlike any of its many sequels.

    However, there has been talk of a Bondman, who was dropped before the final six were chosen. Bondman's powers would have involved glue or some other evidence of bonding. Upon his ultimate removal from the game, his powers may have been transferred to Iceman's.

    In future remakes of the original title, two other Robot Masters were created to fill the design and complete the octet. These bosses are Timeman and Oilman.

  • The Met, a fairly innocuous and inconspicuous enemy, is featured in every one of the original Mega Man series' games.

    Met from Mega Man
    Met is one of the enduring and endearing characters found throughout the Megaman series.

  • Mega Man was a member of the cast of a Saturday morning cartoon that featured Nintendo video games. The show, called Captain N: The Game Master, aired between 1989 and 1991. Enigmatically, he appears in a green outfit and uses the phrase "mega" often in his dialogue.

    Mega Man was a character in Captain N: The Game Master.
    Mega Man was one of the Nintendo game characters featured on Captain N: The Game Master.


  • Mega Man was featured along with a number of other games from similarly-high profile series of the day (Super Mario Bros., The Legend Of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden, StarTropics, DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Castlevania) in a special gaming guide.

    Officially released by Nintendo, the NES Game Atlas, was printed in 1991. The publication, replete with road signs on its cover, dissected 18 of the best titles the NES had to offer at the time, and created intricately-detailed maps and tips for each game.

    Mega Man was highlighted and mapped out in the NES Game Atlas.


  • Elecman's theme music sounds remarkably similar to the second single, entitled "Faithfully," from Journey's album, Frontiers, released in 1983.

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