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Mega Man
The logo for Mega Man.
Developer(s)Capcom
Publisher(s)Capcom
Year introduced1987
Genre(s)

Mega Man, alternatively written as Megaman and MegaMan, known as Rockman (ロックマン Rokkuman?) in Japan, is a video game franchise created by Capcom, starring the robot character Mega Man, or one of his many counterparts. Mega Man, released for the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES in 1987, began a series of over 50 games on multiple systems. By March 2015, the series had sold approximately thirty million copies worldwide, and is often cited as one of the most renowned video game franchises of all time.

The classic Mega Man series consists of twelve main titles and a spin-off, Mega Man Soccer, as well as all Game Boy, Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear and other console titles featuring the original design of Mega Man. The classic series is considered to be the origin of the story, with Mega Man being the first installment, and continuing with ten direct sequels. Chronologically after Mega Man 8 comes Mega Man & Bass, followed by Mega Man 9,Mega Man 10 and Mega Man 11.

Although the classic series has yet to reach an ending, the storyline shifts to the Mega Man X series, followed by the Mega Man Zero series, Mega Man ZX and Mega Man Legends. Although it is confirmed that the Legends series takes place sometime in the distant future after the ZX series, there is an uncertain amount of time as to when it actually takes place. All series follow one continuous timeline except for Mega Man Battle Network and Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon, which exist in an alternate universe (one in which network technology flourished instead of robotics technology), with Star Force occurring two centuries after the Battle Network series.

The official source book Rockman Perfect Memories outlines the Classic, X, and Legends series and makes mention of the Battle Network and Zero series (which were fairly new at the time of the book's publication). While the ZX and Star Force series were not yet conceived when the source book was published, Capcom is explicit within the games themselves regarding their placement in the timeline(s).

Mega Man Backstory[edit]

Mega Man's design on the NES and Game Boy.

To understand the story of Mega Man, one must look back at the events which occur before the game takes place, and to do so, once can look to sources such as Rockman Perfect Memories which have taken the time to document the information reported by Capcom over the years in regards to the series:

The story of the Mega Man universe begins in the mid-20th century with the birth of Thomas Light and Albert W. Wily (circa 1958). These men would become friends and attend the same university, studying the field of electronics and eventually receiving PhDs. By the 1990s, the two men would go into business together and form a company called Light Labs, a team whose ambition it was to use computer and electronic technology to benefit mankind in the coming era.

In the early 21st century, Light Labs made its first leaps in the field of robotics, creating the Sniper Joe police robots, Mettool construction robots, and various others to benefit mankind. Yet, Light and Wily both realized the potential of their project. They wanted to create robots that were human-like. They wanted to build robots that contained artificial intelligence within them.

Thus, around the year 2005, Light Labs produced the first one of such robots: Proto Man. Proto Man was based on the design of the Sniper Joe robots, but was instilled with an artificial intelligence unlike anything the world had ever seen. Yet, Proto possessed a true sense of independence, one that made him much like true human beings, and because of this he ran from the lab before his diagnostic testing was completed.

Still, Light and Wily did not give up. The following year they set to work on building a pair of robots, thinking that two would work together and overcome the independence issue. It was thus that Rock and Roll were born. Rock became the lab's new assistant and Roll became a housekeeper. With the success of this project, the two scientists went on to create eight more robots, each for industrial assistance purposes: Fire Man, Ice Man, Bomb Man, Cut Man, Guts Man, Elec Man, Oil Man and Time Man.

It was for the success of these projects that Dr. Thomas Light received the Nobel Prize for Robot Master Design in 2007, an award which Wily felt he deserved as well.

Note: In the original version of the story, Doctors Light and Wily only built six robots in their industrial series, but Capcom modified the story with the release of Mega Man: Powered Up to contain two additional Robot Masters in order to make the game more in-line with its sequels.

Game list[edit]

The following table shows all the main video games in the Mega Man franchise, organized by sub-series, excluding remakes and compilations.

Classic Mega Man[edit]

Sorting the table by N., the games will be listed according to plot continuity.

N. Original title Localized title Year Genre Systems
and remakes
1 Rockman Mega Man 1986 Globe.svg NES, PSP (Powered Up)
2 Rockman 2: Dr.ワイリーの謎
Rockman 2: Dr. Wily's Mystery
Mega Man 2 1988 Globe.svg NES
3 Rockman 3: Dr.ワイリーの最期!?
Rockman 3: Dr. Wily's Death!?
Mega Man 3 1990 Globe.svg NES
4 Rockman 4: 新たなる野望!!
Rockman 4: A New Ambition!!
Mega Man 4 1991 Globe.svg NES
5 Rockman 5: ブルースの罠!?
Rockman 5: Blues' Trap!?
Mega Man 5 1992 Globe.svg NES
6 Rockman 6: 史上最大の戦い!!
Rockman 6: The Greatest Battle in History!
Mega Man 6 1993 Globe.svg NES
Handheld games
2.5 Rockman World Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge 1991 Globe.svg GB
3.5 Rockman World 2 Mega Man II 1992 Globe.svg GB
4.5 Rockman World 3 Mega Man III 1992 Globe.svg GB
5.5 Rockman World 4 Mega Man IV 1993 Globe.svg GB
6.5 Rockman World 5 Mega Man V 1994 Globe.svg SGB
Later games
3.2 Rockman Mega World Mega Man The Wily Wars 1993 Globe.svg SMD
7 Rockman 7: 宿命の対決!
Rockman 7: Showdown of Fate!
Mega Man 7 1995 Globe.svg SNES
7.5 Rockman: The Power Battle Mega Man: The Power Battle 1995 Fighting Flag of Japan.svg Arcade
Globe.svg PS2, Xbox, NGC
7.6 Rockman 2: The Power Fighters Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters 1996 Fighting Flag of Japan.svg Arcade
Globe.svg PS2, Xbox, NGC
8 Rockman 8: Metal Heroes Mega Man 8 1996 Globe.svg PS1, Sega Saturn
8.5 Rockman & Forte Mega Man & Bass 1998 Flag of Japan.svg SNES
Globe.svg GBA
9 Rockman 9: 野望の復活!!
Rockman 9: Revival of Ambition!!
Mega Man 9 2008 Globe.svg Wii, PS3, X360
10 Rockman 10: 宇宙からの脅威!!
Rockman 10: Threat from Outer Space!!
Mega Man 10 2010 Globe.svg Wii, PS3, X360
11 Rockman 11: 運命の歯車!!
Rockman 11: Gears of Destiny!!
Mega Man 11 2018 Globe.svg Switch, Windows, PS4, XOne
10.5 Street Fighter X Mega Man Street Fighter X Mega Man 2012 Globe.svg MS-Win
Spin-offs
4.6 ワイリー&ライトのRockBoard ザッツ*パラダイス
Wily & Light's Rockboard: That's Paradise
- 1993 Monopoly Flag of Japan.svg NES
4.7 Rockman's Soccer Mega Man Soccer 1994 Sport Globe.svg SNES
7.4 Rockman Battle & Chase Mega Man Battle & Chase 1997 Racing Globe.svg PS1
Flag of the United States.svg NGC, PS2

Mega Man X, Zero, ZX[edit]

These three sub-series are set in the same fictional universe as the classic one, but they are set decades or centuries in the future.

N. Original title Localized title Year Genre Systems
X1 Rockman X Mega Man X 1993 Globe.svg SNES, MS-DOS, PSP
X2 Rockman X2 vs. X-Hunters Mega Man X2 1995 Globe.svg SNES
X3 Rockman X3 Mega Man X3 1995 Globe.svg SNES, Sega Saturn, PS1, MS-Win
X4 Rockman X4 Mega Man X4 1997 Globe.svg Saturn, PS1, MS-Win
X5 Rockman X5 Mega Man X5 2000 Globe.svg PS1, MS-Win
X2.5 Rockman X: Cyber Mission Mega Man Xtreme 2000 Globe.svg GBC
X3.5 Rockman X: Soul Eraser Mega Man Xtreme 2 2001 Globe.svg GBC
X6 Rockman X6 Mega Man X6 2001 Globe.svg PS1, MS-Win
X7 Rockman X7 Mega Man X7 2004 Globe.svg PS2, MS-Win
X8 Rockman X8: Paradise Lost Mega Man X8 2004 Globe.svg PS2, MS-Win
X9 Rockman X: Command Mission Mega Man X: Command Mission 2004 Role-playing Globe.svg NGC, PS2
Mega Man Zero
Z1 Rockman Zero Mega Man Zero 2002 Globe.svg GBA
Z2 Rockman Zero 2 Mega Man Zero 2 2003 Globe.svg GBA
Z3 Rockman Zero 3 Mega Man Zero 3 2004 Globe.svg GBA
Z4 Rockman Zero 4 Mega Man Zero 4 2005 Globe.svg GBA
Mega Man ZX
ZX1 Rockman ZX Mega Man ZX 2006 Globe.svg NDS
ZX2 Rockman ZX Advent Mega Man ZX Advent 2007 Globe.svg NDS

Mega Man Legends[edit]

"D.A.S.H." stands for "Diggers Adventure Story in Halcyon age".

N. Original title Localized title Year Genre Systems
1 Rockman DASH 鋼の冒険心
Rockman D.A.S.H.: Adventurous Heart of Steel
Mega Man Legends 1997 Role-playing Globe.svg PS1, N64, MS-Win, PSP
0 トロンにコブン
Tron and Henchmen
Misadventures of Tron Bonne 1999 Action-adventure Globe.svg PS1
2 Rockman DASH エピソード2 大いなる遺産
Rockman D.A.S.H. Episode 2: Great Inheritance
Mega Man Legends 2 2000 Role-playing Globe.svg PS1

Mega Man Battle Network & Star Force[edit]

Two series of role-playing games with similar gameplay and several elements in common. Star Force is the sequel of Battle Network, centuries later.

N. Original title Localized title Year Genre Systems
BN1 Battle Network Rockman.EXE Mega Man Battle Network 2001 Role-playing Globe.svg GBA
BN2 Battle Network Rockman.EXE 2 Mega Man Battle Network 2 2001 Role-playing Globe.svg GBA
BN3 Battle Network Rockman.EXE 3 Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue and White 2002 Role-playing Globe.svg GBA
BN1.5 Rockman.EXE Transmission Mega Man Network Transmission 2003 Role-playing Globe.svg NGC
BN3.5 Rockman.EXE Battle Chip GP Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge 2003 Programming Globe.svg GBA
BN4 Rockman.EXE 4 Tournament Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun and Blue Moon 2004 Role-playing Globe.svg GBA
BN5 Rockman.EXE 5 Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team ProtoMan and Team Colonel 2005 Role-playing Globe.svg GBA, NDS
BN6 Rockman.EXE 6 Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar and Cybeast Falzar 2005 Role-playing Globe.svg GBA
Mega Man Star Force
SF1 Shooting Star Rockman Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon 2006 Role-playing Globe.svg NDS
SF2 Shooting Star Rockman 2 Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker × Saurian and Zerker × Ninja 2007 Role-playing Globe.svg NDS
SF3 Shooting Star Rockman 3 Mega Man Star Force 3: Black Ace and Red Joker 2008 Role-playing Globe.svg NDS

Classic series[edit]

Megaman stages-per-game.png

Gameplay evolution[edit]

The following table shows the evolution of gameplay elements. The Tanks column shows not only the maximum number of tanks, but also their type (E, M, W or S). Game boy titles are inserted in the table so that their gameplay elements are consistent with the general gameplay evolution.

Game Tanks Megaman Item box Rush Marine
& Beat
Items
Mega Man 1 0 - - - -
Mega Man 2 04 EEEE - - - -
Mega Man 1 (GB) 0 - - - -
Mega Man 3 09 EEEEEEEEE Slide ?-can Rush Marine -
Mega Man The Wily Tower 09 EEEEEEEEE Slide ?-can Rush Marine -
Mega Man 2 (GB) 04 EEEE Slide - Rush Marine -
Mega Man 4 09 EEEEEEEEE Slide, charge Eddie Rush Marine -
Mega Man 3 (GB) 04 EEEE Slide, charge Eddie - -
Mega Man 5 10 EEEEEEEEEM Slide, charge Eddie Beat -
Mega Man 6 09 EEEEEEEEE Slide, charge Eddie Beat E-balancer
Mega Man 4 (GB) 09 EEEEWWWWS Slide, charge Eddie+Protoman Beat E-balancer,
Light's shop, P-chips
Mega Man 5 (GB) 09 EEEEWWWWS Slide, charge Eddie+Protoman Tango E-balancer, E-saver,
Light's shop, P-chips
Mega Man 7 09 EEEEWWWWS Slide, charge - Beat Whistle E-balancer, E-saver,
Rightot's shop, Bolts,
Exit unit
Mega Man 8 0 Slide, charge Surprise box Beat E-balancer, E-saver,
Roll's shop, Bolts,
Exit unit, +14 parts
Mega Man & Bass 0 Slide, charge Surprise box Beat Shield E-balancer, E-saver,
Rightot's shop, Bolts,
Exit unit, +16 parts

Gallery[edit]

  • Title screens
NES titles Game Boy titles
Original
(Japan)
Localized
(North America & Europe)
Original
(Japan)
Localized
(North America & Europe)
Rockman FC title.png Mega Man NES title.png Rockmanworld1 title.png Megaman1GB title.png
Rockman2 title.png Megaman2 title.png Rockmanworld2 title.png Megaman2GB title.png
Rockman3 title.png Megaman3 title.png Rockmanworld3 title.png Megaman3GB title.png
Rockman4 title.png Megaman4 title.png Rockmanworld4 title.png Megaman4GB title.png
Rockman5 title.png Megaman5 title.png Rockmanworld5 title.png MMW5 title.png
Rockman6 title.png Megaman6 title.png
  • Notes:
    • The official title of Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge is different from its true title.
    • The true titles of the localized NES games and of the localized Game Boy games are identical.

Trivia[edit]

Spelling of character names[edit]

There is some debate as to what the proper spelling of the name of each character actually is. The reason this happened is because throughout each mini-series, Capcom's translators have mixed up their naming scheme, even within a series; anyway, the original name is always written "Rockman".

The localized name is sometimes written "Mega Man", sometimes "Megaman". For example, Mega Man is the title of the games, however when used in a game like Mega Man 7 the characters reference him in text as "Megaman" (usually in all capitals).

Originally the naming scheme for the bosses was the name of the boss plus "man" together as one word (like Bombman), however in Mega Man 3 and IV, they started putting spaces in them (like with "Charge Man"). This continued until Mega Man 6 where they returned to the original scheme with names like "Centaurman" and "Windman". In Mega Man 7 they switched it to the alternate way again, this time presenting bosses such as "Freeze Man". Many years later, with the creation of Mega Man Powered Up, they returned to the original scheme where they supported the names like "Gutsman"however in Mega Man 11,they returned to the alternate way again where they supported the names like "Blast Man'.