Mega Man

''Mega Man'' (known as in Japan) is a video game franchise developed and published by Capcom, featuring the protagonist of the same name. The original game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, and spawned a franchise that expanded to over 50 games on multiple systems. As of March 2025, the series had sold 43 million units worldwide.
Mega Man has been popular among gamers and has been reimagined and evolved as a video game character for over 30 years.

The main series consists of eleven games, the standalone ''Mega Man & Bass'', the spin-off Game Boy series (released in Japan as ''Rockman World''), and various ports, remakes, and compilations. The core games in the franchise have all been set in a single continuity; the storyline of the "classic" series is succeeded by the ''Mega Man X'', ''Mega Man Zero'', ''Mega Man ZX'', and the '' Mega Man Legends'' series. This timeline excludes the spin-off ''Mega Man Battle Network'' and ''Mega Man Star Force'' series, both of which take place in an alternate universe where the internet flourished rather than robotics.

Games

Original series

The original ''Mega Man'' series, dubbed ''Classic Mega Man'', marks the start of the franchise, released on the NES on December 17, 1987. In the original series, ''Mega Man'' is an android originally named Rock (nicknamed "Mega" in later installments), created as a lab assistant by the scientist Dr. Light with Dr. Wily as his partner. Following treachery by Dr. Wily in which he reprogrammed most of Dr. Light's robots, Rock volunteered to be converted into a fighting robot to defend the world from Wily's violent robotic threats, thus becoming Mega Man.

''Mega Man'' is a side-scrolling action platformer. The player character must fight through the levels using Mega Man's "Mega Buster"—a cannon attached to his arm—to shoot the robotic enemies inhabiting his environment. When Mega Man was released in 1987, the characteristic that made it revolutionary was the choice given to the player of which robot master to attempt first. After defeating a Robot Master—the boss of a level—Mega Man gains the ability to use that Robot Master's special weapon. Each Robot Master represents a specific element or object, with bosses such as Fire Man, Ice Man, Guts Man, Cut Man, Elec Man, and Bomb Man. The weapons Mega Man gains share the theme of the defeated boss. After defeating all of the Robot Masters, Mega Man travels to a multi-stage fortress to confront Dr. Wily, the person responsible for the robotic enemies' destructive acts. In the fortress, Mega Man fights new bosses, clones of the game's Robot Masters, and Wily himself, who is usually in a large multi-phase war machine.

Enemies are weak to at least one weapon; for instance, Fire Man will take more damage from Ice Man's weapon than from other weapons. This concept draws inspiration from rock-paper-scissors. Robot Master levels can generally be completed in any order, resulting in a strategic hallmark of the series: determining the best order to defeat bosses and earn weapons. Sequels of ''Mega Man'' games contain new enemies alongside familiar ones, new bosses, new weapons, and occasionally new gadgets that Mega Man could use. Starting from ''Mega Man 3'', ''Rush''—Mega Man's trusty robot dog companion became a series mainstay, and later installments would provide Rush abilities for Mega Man to use. ''Mega Man 3'' and ''4'' gave Mega Man the ability to slide and charge his buster, respectively, though he was unable to use these abilities in ''Mega Man 9'' and ''10''. Later installments of the series give the player the option of commanding other player characters with different abilities, such as Proto Man, Duo, and Bass.

The ''Classic'' series has yet to reach a definite conclusion. Originally developed for the NES, the original Mega Man series experienced graphical improvements in fourth and fifth-generation installments. The series had no games developed for sixth-generation consoles but returned in the seventh generation purposely sporting graphics, sound, and gameplay similar to the original NES games to inspire a nostalgic look and feel, distributed as downloadable content instead of retail games like the previous installments.

On December 4, 2017, Capcom announced that a new game in the classic series, ''Mega Man 11'', would be released in late 2018. Unlike ''Mega Man 9'' and ''10'', this game makes a return to the modern era, featuring Mega Man in a 2.5D environment, with 3D cel-shaded graphics, and is presented in a widescreen aspect ratio. When using a special weapon, in addition to changing colors, Mega Man's armor also changes appearance.

''Mega Man X''

Capcom wanted a redesign in graphics and control as the ''Mega Man'' series moved from the NES to the SNES, prompting the creation of the ''Mega Man X'' series in 1993. Set years in the future, this series follows the story of Mega Man's successor, X, a new, advanced robot that has complete free will over his actions, thoughts and feelings. This character, also a creation of Dr. Light, was put into suspended animation and uncovered 100 years in the future by a researcher named Dr. Cain. The ''Mega Man X'' series features more detailed 16-bit graphics and greater freedom of movement. In the ''Mega Man X'' series, the characters grow in abilities and power as the game progresses. While the gameplay loop and combat is largely similar to the ''Classic Mega Man'' series, ''Mega Man X'' series differs from its increased emphasis on mobility, with X being able to dash and reach higher places through the use of his various armors gained throughout the games, as well as its more mature story than its predecessor.

As the series progressed, various other player characters have appeared, such as fellow Maverick Hunter Zero who was created by Dr. Wily of the ''Classic'' series, and Axl, a Reploid with an adolescent personality who has the ability to shape-shift into other Reploids. Zero would later star in his own spin-off series, ''Mega Man Zero''.

The series was originally intended to conclude with '' Mega Man X5'', which will lead to the ''Mega Man Zero'' series, however, as Inafune began work on the Zero series, its storyline was continued without his supervision, with three additional installments (''Mega Man X6'', ''Mega Man X7'', ''Mega Man X8''), releasing in 2001, 2003, and 2004 respectively, causing confusion in the games' official timeline. ''Mega Man X8'' ended with a cliffhanger, leaving the series to not have a conclusion.

A Role playing game spin-off, Mega Man X: Command Mission, was released on July 29, 2004, developed by Capcom Production Studio 3, who previously worked on the ''Breath of Fire'' series of role-playing games. The game takes place 100 years after the events of the ''Mega Man X'' series and follows X, Zero, and Axl as they take part in a resistance on an artificial island from its oppressors, and the conspiracy within the Maverick Hunters. Due to the game being mostly independent from the rest of the series, it is unclear whether the game was canon or not.

A mobile game spin-off, '' Rockman X DiVE'', was developed and published by Capcom Taiwan and was released on March 24, 2020 in Taiwan, in Japan on October 26, 2022, and globally on August 16, 2021, the latter was published by NebulaJoy. The Steam version of the game was released in Asian territories by Capcom Taiwan on September 15, 2021. The game is a meta-narrative, taking place within a cyberspace database called the ''Deep Log'' which contains data from all games in the Mega Man X series, along with the experiences of players all around the world. The game follows the Player, and RiCO, the latest administrator of the Deep Log, welcoming the Player and enlisting their help in clearing up the glitches plaguing the database.

The Taiwan/Japanese servers of the game were shut down on September 27, 2023, with the global servers shutting down July 30, 2024. The offline version of the game, ''Mega Man X DiVE Offline'', was released on September 1, 2023.

''Mega Man Zero''

In 2002, a follow-up series to the ''Mega Man X'' franchise was developed for the Game Boy Advance by Inti Creates. Taking place hundreds of years after the events of the ''Mega Man X'' series, the new series stars Zero, a sidekick/ally of X. Set in a post-apocalyptic world in which Reploids were falsely branded as Mavericks and were hunted down, and surviving Reploids formed an opposing faction called "The Resistance", with the help of human scientist Ciel, Zero awakens and begins his battle against a powerful human-supremacy force called ''Neo Arcadia'' as he protects the oppressed remaining reploids, uncovers the history behind "The Elf Wars", and the cause of his slumber.

In the ''Mega Man Zero'' series, the gameplay is largely similar to Zero's play style in the later ''Mega Man X'' games, featuring a more close-quarter hack-n-slash combat compared to Mega Man X's ranged combat, and features an in-depth ranking system that rewards the player with new abilities and enhancements (such as copied abilities from boss characters) in exchange for better play performance. In the fourth game, Zero can also physically steal weapons from enemies (such as axes and guns).

With its fourth installment, ''Mega Man Zero'' became the first series in the franchise to reach a definitive conclusion.

''Mega Man ZX''

The ''Mega Man ZX'' series debuted in 2006 for Nintendo DS, once again developed by Inti Creates, and chronologically takes place 200 years after the ''Mega Man Zero'' series. In this series, progression has led to the equality of humankind and robotkind. Humans are given the physical advantages of robots, and robots are also given biological lifespans. With equality achieved, the world enters a new era of peace. The series follows multiple protagonists as they become involved in a new incident called the "Game of Destiny", in which people who were chosen with the powers of a "Biometal", called a "Mega Man", are pitted against each other to see who was worthy of ruling the world.

The gameplay for Mega Man ZX is similar to the Mega Man Zero series, with an emphasis on close-quarter combat. The player is given the choice of choosing a male or female human protagonist in each installment, a first in the franchise. New to the series is the interconnected Metroidvania-esque world that encourages exploration and replay value, and the ability to collect "Biometals", which are central to the story. "Biometals" contains data on the legendary heroes of the past (including X, Zero, and the Four Guardians from the ''Zero'' series). Using these Biometals, the protagonists are able to transform (or "Mega-Merge", in the English releases) and use the powers of these heroes. In the second game, 2007's '' Mega Man ZX Advent'', the player character is also able to transform into boss characters upon defeating them, which allows them to access previously inaccessible areas.

A third game, code-named ''Mega Man ZXC'' was under development around 2008, but was cancelled by Capcom's decision in favor of developing Mega Man 9. As such, the series has not received a proper conclusion.

''Mega Man Legends''

Beginning on the PlayStation in 1997, a 3D action game series called ''Mega Man Legends'' was created to take advantage of the console's advanced graphics hardware. The ''Legends'' series is set thousands of years in the future, where the world is covered by immense bodies of water, and humanity is extinct. In its place, Carbons, artificial humans, roam what was left of the world. The story follows Mega Man (Rock) Volnutt, a relic hunter called a "Digger" who scavenges various ruins throughout the world in search of refractor shards that can be mined and traded as currency. ''Mega Man Legends'' brings the gameplay into 3D and is an action-adventure game with third-person shooting role-playing elements.

The ''Legends'' series was left on a cliffhanger, with only two main games and a spin-off starring mainstay antagonist Tron Bonne before being discontinued. A continuation to the ''Legends'' series has become an oft-requested game among many Capcom and Mega Man fans. A third game was once under development for the Nintendo 3DS, but on July 17, 2011, Capcom canceled the project saying it did not meet certain requirements. This decision was met with criticism from fans and gaming news outlets.

Despite the many years since the last new release in the series, various characters from the ''Legends'' series consistently appear in Capcom cross-over games such as ''Marvel vs. Capcom'', and the Servbot characters have become iconic within the Capcom community, making many cameo appearances in non-''Mega Man'' games, including '' Dead Rising'' and as part of the outfit obtained via achievements in '' Lost Planet 2''.

''Mega Man Battle Network''

''Mega Man Battle Network'', a series primarily on the Game Boy Advance, began in 2001 as a way for the ''Mega Man'' games to branch out into the role-playing video game market and to celebrate ''Mega Man''s 15th anniversary. This series features a Net Navi called '' MegaMan.EXE''. NetNavis acts as virtual assistants to Operators, such as the protagonist Lan Hikari, an elementary school student and a future hero who uses his Net Navi to help battle computer viruses and other Internet-based threats. The game combines real-time strategy, role-playing, and collectible card games to create a unique fast-paced battle system. Players and enemies are placed in a 6x3 grid, with each side usually occupying 3x3 of the space. Players must select Battle Chips from a select few from a folder deck, and once selected, the game switches to real-time as the player must move to dodge enemy attacks while attacking at the same time using said Battle Chips. Once the Custom Gauge is full, the player is able to select new chips from the deck.

An anime series, ''MegaMan NT Warrior'', was also produced, ending with 209 episodes and a 50-minute film adaptation. A spin-off game ''Mega Man Network Transmission'', was released in 2003. It is the only entry in the series released on a home console rather than a handheld, and takes place chronologically between the first two ''Battle Network'' games. It is also different from other games in the Battle Network universe as the game plays similarly to the ''Classic Mega Man'' series with several ''Battle Network'' elements.

Along with the anime and games, Mega Man Battle Network had toys mainly based on the Advanced PET from the series, the user would buy a starter pack which included 3 battle chips, and an Advanced PET, the toy came in three colors, Red (based on ''ProtoMan.EXE''), Black (based on ''Bass.EXE'') and Blue (based on ''MegaMan.EXE''). Several battle chip expansion packs were also released, when the toy was discontinued, a total of 333 Battle Chips were released. The toy could be linked together via a link cable with another Advanced PET to battle each other.

With the series' sixth installment, ''Battle Network'' was the second series in the franchise to reach a definitive conclusion.

''Mega Man Star Force''

A follow-up to the ''Mega Man Battle Network'' series and released on the Nintendo DS, The ''Star Force'' series' marks the 20th anniversary of the ''Mega Man'' franchise. ''Star Force'' takes place roughly 200 years after the events of Battle Network, where network technology has progressed with electromagnetic wave technology to connect the world via radio waves. The series follows a boy named Geo Stelar, who lost his father after a space incident, and Omega-Xis, an extraterrestrial EM-wave fugitive arriving on Earth. The two transform into an EM-Human being known as "Mega Man," and as they explore both the real world and the EM-world, they face off against malicious EM-beings like Omega-Xis merging with other humans for their malicious intentions.

With the series third installment completing the story arc that started in the first game, ''Star Force'' became the third series in the Mega Man franchise to have a proper conclusion.

The ''Star Force'' games are similar to the ''Battle Network'' games, in which players must use a select number of Battle Cards on a folder deck to attack enemies. However, unlike ''Battle Network,'' combat takes place in 3D space, with most of the grid occupied by enemies, and the player having only a 1x3 grid to move, making combat much faster-paced and focusing more on player reflexes and quick-reaction time from an opening. To compensate, the collectible card system has been simplified, and players were given the "Mega Attack" ability which allows the player to lock on and move straight to the enemy to attack, and a regenerating shield that can deflect most attacks.

Like ''Battle Network'', multiple merchandise and toys have been created for this series, such as add-on accessories for the Nintendo DS, as well as physical Battle Cards that can be used in-game. An anime based on this series began airing on TV Tokyo

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