''Mega Man IV'' is an
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person
* Action principles the heart of fundamental physics
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video gam ...
-
platform video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by
Minakuchi Engineering
was a Japanese video game developer based in Kōka District, Shiga, Kōka, Shiga Prefecture, Shiga. Founded in May 1984, it had worked on approximately 40 titles for arcade game, arcade, computer and home consoles, a large number of which went un ...
and published by
Capcom
is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
for the
Game Boy
The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
. It is the fourth game in the
handheld
A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. Mod ...
series of the ''
Mega Man
''Mega Man'' (known as in Japan) is a video game franchise developed and published by Capcom, featuring the Mega Man (character), protagonist of the same name. The Mega Man (1987 video game), original game was released for the Nintendo Enter ...
'' franchise. The game continues the quest of the protagonist
Mega Man
''Mega Man'' (known as in Japan) is a video game franchise developed and published by Capcom, featuring the Mega Man (character), protagonist of the same name. The Mega Man (1987 video game), original game was released for the Nintendo Enter ...
in the struggle with his long-time nemesis
Dr. Wily, who sends out a disruptive radio signal to cause a rampage, citywide destruction from dormant robots.
''Mega Man IV'' features the traditional action platforming gameplay of the prior games while introducing one new feature, the ability to purchase items with power-ups found throughout each stage. As with previous Game Boy releases, the game incorporates gameplay elements and bosses from two sequential
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
(NES) games: ''
Mega Man 4
''Mega Man 4'' (stylized as ''Mega Man IV'') is a 1991 Action game, action-platformer, platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the fourth installment of the Mega Man, original ''Mega Man'' ...
'' and ''
Mega Man 5
''Mega Man 5'' is a 1992 action-platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the fifth installment of the original ''Mega Man'' series and was released in Japan on December 4, 1992. It saw a re ...
''. The game received positive reviews from critics, with significant praise for its improvements from its predecessors.
Plot
The plot of the game once again involves the protagonist
Mega Man
''Mega Man'' (known as in Japan) is a video game franchise developed and published by Capcom, featuring the Mega Man (character), protagonist of the same name. The Mega Man (1987 video game), original game was released for the Nintendo Enter ...
trying to thwart the world domination plans of the infamous
Dr. Wily. On a seemingly peaceful day in a large city, Wily appears in the sky in his flying saucer and sends out a
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
transmission that causes all the robots at the annual Robot Master Exposition to go on a rampage.
He then sends eight new rebuilt robots of his own to different parts of the city to lead the destruction.
Having resisted this reprogramming signal, Mega Man responds by defeating all four of these previous foes in battle and chases Wily to a large
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...
. Inside the tank, the hero encounters
Ballade, yet another robot specially designed to kill him. Mega Man defeats this new enemy, pursues the remaining enemies in the city, and returns to the tank. There, he has a victorious rematch with Ballade, only to see Wily quickly retreat to his
space station
A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...
.
Dr. Light fits Mega Man's companion
Rush with a space flight ability, allowing the hero to lead a one-man assault on Wily's new stronghold. Mega Man beats Wily, but is unable to blast his way out of the exploding space station. At the last moment, Ballade arrives and self-destructs in repentance, creating a hole through which Mega Man can safely escape.
Gameplay
At its core, the gameplay is still the same as the previous 3 ''Mega Man'' Game Boy games. The player takes on the role of Mega Man as he traverses a series of two sets of selectable
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person
* Action principles the heart of fundamental physics
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video gam ...
-
platforming stages in any order desired. The player's initial weapon, the "Mega Buster", can fire both small shots and much larger and more powerful, charged blasts. Each stage is populated with various types of enemy robots and a single Robot Master exclusive boss. Beating the Robot Master will earn the player its special "Master Weapon" for use throughout the rest of the game.
Clearing 2 of the Robot stages also gives the player access to abilities from Mega Man's dog Rush, who can transform into a springboard for reaching high platforms or a jet for crossing large distances. Also, the game's first four Robot stages each house a letter ("B-E-A-T") that spell out the name of the bird Beat
Beat, beats, or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
. Collecting all 4 letters endows the player the ability to summon upon Beat to assist by attacking enemies.[ On the other hand, the game's latter four Robot stages each house letters that spell ("W-I-L-Y") which would be imperative to collect in entering to the first part of Dr. Wily's fortress. The stages also contain hidden passages where the character ]Proto Man
Since the release of ''Mega Man'', numerous characters have appeared across the series.
Overview
Key:
= Does Not Appear
List indicator(s)
* A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's pr ...
leaves the player items, often giving "Super Tanks" that refill all weapons energy and health energy.
''Mega Man IV'' carries on the Game Boy line's tradition of recycling elements from two consecutive ''Mega Man'' NES releases, most prominently with its bosses. The first four Robot Masters (Toad Man, Bright Man, Pharaoh Man, and Ring Man) are originally from ''Mega Man 4
''Mega Man 4'' (stylized as ''Mega Man IV'') is a 1991 Action game, action-platformer, platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the fourth installment of the Mega Man, original ''Mega Man'' ...
'' and the latter four (Crystal Man, Napalm Man, Stone Man, and Charge Man) are from ''Mega Man 5
''Mega Man 5'' is a 1992 action-platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the fifth installment of the original ''Mega Man'' series and was released in Japan on December 4, 1992. It saw a re ...
''. ''Mega Man IV'' also introduces a shop feature to the series. In addition to various restorative items like health, weapon power, extra lives, energy tanks that can be stored for later use, the player can pick up "Power Chips (P-Chips)" dropped by enemies or in designated spots in the stages. Dr. Light's lab can also be visited from the stage select screen, wherein the player can purchase various items using the P-Chips collected. One such item is the newly introduced "Auto Charger" (or "Energy Balancer", which was originally conceived for Mega Man 5 but removed), which automatically takes weapon energy capsules and restores it in the weapon with the least amount of energy left, provided that there is no refillable special weapon selected.
Also, for the first time in the ''Mega Man'' Game Boy series, the Robot Master re-match sequence (where Mega Man must fight all 8 Robot Masters again in a teleportation hatch in Dr. Wily's castle) is implemented, as opposed to the previous three ''Mega Man'' Game Boy titles, where Mega Man fought Wily straight on after going through the castle.
Development
Using features from two previous NES titles, as well as some new elements, series artist Keiji Inafune
is a Japanese video game producer, character designer, game designer, and businessman. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.
Starting his career at Capcom in the late 1980s, his job was as an artist and ...
was happy with the flow from ''Mega Man III'' to ''Mega Man IV''. Inafune was also satisfied with how the Mega Man Killers Enker, Punk, and Ballade turned out. The artist had fun thinking up new ideas for Ballade's second form, which included the horns on his head turning up, larger bombs, and shades covering his eyes.
Reception and legacy
''Mega Man IV'' has been well-received critically. Major gaming magazines ''Nintendo Power
''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
'' and ''Game Players
''Game Players'' was a monthly video game magazine founded by Robert C. Lock in 1989 and originally published by Signal Research in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The original publication began as ''Game Players Strategy to Nintendo Games'' (the ...
'' have called the graphics and gameplay "exceptional" and "terrific", although the former was disappointed by its few surprises. ''Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The magazine was fou ...
'' described ''Mega Man IV'' as one of the best Game Boy games to date, due to its near flawless recreation of the action and technique of the home console games and graphics which push the Game Boy hardware "to its limits and then some" (though they did complain of screen blurring). They also praised the music and the extremely long, challenging levels. Nintendo Power rated ''Mega Man IV'' the second best Game Boy game of 1993.
''Mega Man IV'' was re-released on April 13, 2001 for the Nintendo Power
''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
cartridge service in Japan alongside its four Game Boy counterparts. Capcom had planned to release a full-color compilation of all five Game Boy games on the Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
in 2004, but the project was cancelled. The boss Ballade would later appear as part of a downloadable content
content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
stage for ''Mega Man 10
''Mega Man 10'' is a 2010 action-platform game developed by Inti Creates and Capcom. It is the tenth main entry of the original ''Mega Man'' series. The game was released as a downloadable title for the console gaming services WiiWare, Pla ...
'' in 2010. On July 18, 2013, it was confirmed that Mega Man IV was planned to release on the Nintendo 3DS
The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
's Virtual Console
The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...
, which released in Japan on October 23, 2013 and on May 15, 2014 in North America. It was also released on the Nintendo Classics
Nintendo Classics is a line of Video game console emulator, emulated retro games distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch family of systems and Nintendo Switch 2. Subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online service have access to games for ...
service for the Nintendo Switch
The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
with its predecessors and sequel on June 7, 2024.
Notes
References
External links
Official ''Rockman'' website
{{Authority control
1993 video games
Action games
Game Boy games
Mega Man games
Mega Man spinoff games
Minakuchi Engineering games
Nintendo Classics games
Platformers
Side-scrolling platformers
Single-player video games
Superhero video games
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set in outer space
Virtual Console games
Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS