My Top 10 Mega Man Games

Hey there, everybody. sonic64 here, bringing you another great article to post (It's been such a long time since I posted my first one about the movie "Cats Don't Dance"). I'm sure you all know about this, but in 1988, Capcom had released a video game for the NES called "Mega Man" (or "Rockman", as what the series is called in Japan), and it was a huge hit in Japan as it was in the US. And ever since, the game has spawned more sequels and spin-offs (Classic, X, Legends, Battle Network, Zero, Star Force, etc.) than any other game series ever made. So in this article, I am going to talk about the Classic series and why it's so popular, as well as my list of favorite games in the series.



The Classic series is about a brilliant robot scientist named Dr. Thomas Xavier Light, who creates eight robots that would help revolutionize the world in 200X and so on (Rock, Roll, Cut Man, Elec Man, Ice Man, Fire Man, Bomb Man, and Guts Man). But then, his partner Dr. Albert G. Wily (the game's main villain, of course) takes control of the robots (except Rock and Roll) and uses them to take over the world. Rock had a strong sense of justice at that time and he decide to let Dr. Light rebuild him into the fighting machine known as "Mega Man" and stop the evil desires of Dr. Wily for the first of many times. Mega Man was unique for a video game hero because every time he defeated a robot boss, he would get that opponent's weapon power and use it himself (sometimes in a different way), and he'd go to the next level (which you choose to go) and defeat the next boss with that weapon. Over the years, Dr. Wily began creating stronger and more powerful robots to defeat Mega Man, but they'd all be defeated no matter what because of how powerful Mega Man really is. And also, there were a few new characters to appear occasionally in the series (such as Proto Man, Rush, Bass, Treble, etc.).

Anyways, without further ado here is a list of my favorite games in the Classic series that I ranked from lowest to highest, each with a description (Be warned to those who haven't played any of these games yet; there could be spoilers in each description I gave...):

#10 - Mega Man VI (NES)



In this game, a mysterious robot scientist named Mr. X (Dr. Wily in disguise, but we don't know that until the end) is holding the 1st annual robot contest and has chosen eight powerful robots created by scientists from different parts of the world (Flame Man, Blizzard Man, Plant Man, Tomahawk Man, Yamato Man, Knight Man, Centaur Man, and Wind Man). And sure enough, he uses those robots to take over the world. Mega Man tries to stop him while using enhancements that allow his dog, Rush, to morph into armor that either allow him to fly or destroy walls. This was one of the last games that was released on the NES before Nintendo stopped making games for the system, which was still good and fun to play...



#9 - Mega Man (NES)



As you already know, this is indeed the first game in the series. It was also known as the game with the worst box art in the history of video-gaming (especially because it showed a picture of a middle-aged man with a gun). It was pretty hard to play at first and you had to play the game without the use of passwords or a battery pack (except in the re-release version on "Mega Man Anniversary Collection"); it was also, however, the first game in the series to let you play a level more than once.



#8 - Mega Man IV (NES)



In this game, a Russian robot scientist named Dr. Cossack has created has created eight powerful robots (Toad Man, Bright Man, Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, Dust Man, Skull Man, Dive Man, and Drill Man) to destroy Mega Man after Dr. Wily tricks him into believing that it was Mega Man that kidnapped his daughter, Kalinka (But when Mega Man fights Dr. Cossack, Protoman arrives with Kalinka, proving that Dr. Wily was the true villain in this game). This was the first game in the series to have the Mega Buster, which was a new kind of weapon that allowed Mega Man to charge up his energy shots to destroy enemies quicker.



#7 - Mega Man V (NES)



This is the game in the series that we all believed that Protoman became evil in, and that he terrorized the city with an army of powerful robots (Star Man, Gravity Man, Gyro Man, Crystal Man, Napalm Man, Stone Man, Charge Man, and Wave Man) as well as kidnap Dr. Light. When Mega Man caught up with Proto Man (and was almost destroyed him), the REAL Proto Man shows up and we then realize it's an impostor created by Dr. Wily (of course). This was the first game in the series to have Mega Man's robotic bird companion, Beat, appear and help out the blue bomber.



#6 - Mega Man: The Power Battle / Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (Arcade)



In case you have no idea what these games are, they are two games released in the arcade that have you playing as one of four (three in the first game) robot heroes that try to stop Dr. Wily as he sends out various robots from the past Mega Man games (1-7, to be exact). The robots you get to play as in this game were: Mega Man, Proto Man, Bass, and Duo (in the second game). Both games were released in only a few locations in the US, but you can play them both in "Mega Man Anniversary Collection" on the PS2 and Nintendo Gamecube.



#5 - Mega Man 8 (Sega Saturn / Sony Playstation)



This game was released in time for the 10th anniversary of the blue bomber. It was about Mega Man stopping Dr. Wily from using a powerful type of energy that could destroy the world and, as usual, defeat the robots that Dr. Wily created to destroy Mega Man (Tengu Man, Clown Man, Grenade Man, Frost Man, Sword Man, Search Man, Astro Man, and Aqua Man). This game had the introduction of Duo, a powerful robot whose job is to destroy any energy that's evil; this game was even noted for its in-game cutscenes that have nice animation but lousy voice-acting.



#4 - Mega Man III (NES)



This was the first game in the series that I played in my life, and it was something. I don't recall what the plot for this game is, but it had Mega Man stop a bunch of new robots that Dr. Wily created (Top Man, Shadow Man, Snake Man, Gemini Man, Needle Man, Spark Man, Magnet Man, and Hard Man); and after you defeat them, you have to fight robotic bosses that use the powers of the robots from "Mega Man 2". It was also the game that had the debut of Mega Man's robotic dog, Rush, who had all kinds of cool abilities for Mega Man to use (Rush Coil, Rush Jet, and Rush Marine); this game also had the debut of Protoman, Mega Man's brother who fights Mega Man more than once in this game, but then saves his life after defeating Dr. Wily.



#3 - Mega Man 2 (NES)



As you may already know, this game is one of the most popular video-game sequels of all time. It was the first game to have use of passwords, so you don't have to beat the game from the start like in the first one. The game's plot was simple: Dr. Wily gets revenge on Mega Man by creating eight robots to defeat him (Metal Man, Flash Man, Quick Man, Bubble Man, Heat Man, Wood Man, Air Man, and Crash Man).



#2 - Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (Game Boy)



I cannot resist playing this game, which was Mega Man's first adventure on the Game Boy. It was a game where Dr. Wily tries to defeat Mega Man using four of the robots from the first Mega Man game (Elec Man, Ice Man, Fire Man, and Cut Man) as well as half of the robots from the second Mega Man game (Flash Man, Quick Man, Bubble Man, and Heat Man). This game is pretty original because it has a couple of bosses that are new, including a robot that Mega Man fights named Enkor. It may have been short, but it still is fun to play.



And now for the game I chose to be Number One on my list (feel free to drumroll)...

#1 - Mega Man VII (SNES)



This is my most favorite game in the Classic series of Mega Man. In this game, it opens up with Dr. Wily escapes from jail after being sent there in the last game (MM6) and he recently created four robots to destroy the world (Burst Man, Cloud Man, Junk Man, and Freeze Man). Along the way, Mega Man meets Bass, a robot like Mega Man who has a robotic dog like him (named Treble). After Mega Man defeats the four robots, Dr. Wily breaks into the robot museum to steal the unactivated body of Guts Man (whom you fight as a later boss). Then, Dr. Wily creates four MORE robots that Mega Man has to fight (Slash Man, Spring Man, Shade Man, and Turbo Man). Then afterwards, we learn that Bass was actually created by Dr. Wily to fight Mega Man (and he still tries to fight him in almost every game they're in).



And there you have it; my list of favorite Mega Man games
in the Classic series. I still think the Classic Mega Man games are fun to play and I really wish Capcom would make more games for the series (since "Mega Man: Power Up!" on the PSP). Until then, I'll just have to stick with what I love most.