This is the first game in the Mega Man series. For other games in the series see the Mega Man category.
| Mega Man | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Year released | 1987 |
| System(s) | NES, PlayStation, Mobile, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U |
| Followed by | Mega Man 2 |
| Series | Mega Man |
| Japanese title | ロックマン |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Action, Platform |
| Players | 1 |
| Modes | Single player |
| Rating(s) |     |
- For the Sega Game Gear game, see Mega Man (Game Gear). For the MS-DOS game, see Mega Man (DOS).
Mega Man, known as Rockman (ロックマン?) in Japan, is an action game developed and published by Capcom for the Famicom and NES. It is the first game in the original Mega Man series and the entire Mega Man franchise. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 1987, and was localized for North America and published near simultaneously in December 1987. However, the game was not released in Europe until May 1990.
The plot begins the everlasting struggle between the heroic, humanoid robot Mega Man and the evil scientist Dr. Wily. The game establishes many of the gameplay conventions that would define the original Mega Man series as well as its multiple sub-series. A standard action-platform game, Mega Man features a somewhat non-linear setup whereby the player can choose the order to complete its six initial stages. When each "Robot Master" boss is defeated at the end of a stage, a unique weapon is added to the player's arsenal to be used against enemies. Mega Man was developed by a small team of people, which included significant involvement from artist Keiji Inafune. The game was produced specifically for the home console market, a first for Capcom, who had previously focused on arcade titles.
Mega Man was critically well-received for its overall design and has been noted for its high degree of difficulty. Although it was not a commercial success, the game was followed by an abundance of sequels and spin-offs that are still being released to this day, many of which utilize the same graphical, storyline, and gameplay setups instituted by the original 1987 game.
- Title screens
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Original.
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Mega World remake.
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Localized.
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Wily Wars remake.
- Box artwork
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Original (Famicom).
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Complete Works (PlayStation).
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Localized (Europe).
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The infamous "Bad Box Art" (North America).
Re-release history
Mega Man has been re-released several times since its 1987 debut.
- It was included alongside Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 in the Sega Mega Drive compilation, Mega Man The Wily Wars.
- Another adaptation of the game was released in Japan on the PlayStation as part of the Rockman Complete Works series in 1999.
- Mega Man was compiled with nine other games in the series in the North American Mega Man Anniversary Collection released for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube in 2004, and the Xbox in 2005.
- A mobile phone rendition of Mega Man developed by Lavastorm was released for download in North America in 2004. The game was given a separate mobile phone release in Japan in 2007, with an update in 2008 having the option to play as Roll.
- Mega Man for the NES was reissued on the Wii Virtual Console service in Europe in 2007 and in North America and Japan in 2008.
- The Complete Works version of the game was made available on the PlayStation Store in both Japan and North America.
- An enhanced remake for the PSP was released in 2006 with the title Mega Man Powered Up, or Rockman Rockman (ロックマンロックマン?) in Japan.
- The first six games were released under the compilation title Mega Man Legacy Collection in 2015, released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS, and released digitally only on Steam.