Mega Man
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Mega Man (known as ロックマン Rockman in Japan) is a series of video games from Capcom, usually starring the character Mega Man. The first series, now known by fans as the Mega Man Classic series, began in 1987 and over time has evolved to include several spin offs:
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Background
Main article: Mega Man (character)
The character of Mega Man was created in 1987 by Keiji Inafune at Capcom of Japan, which was then a small company eager to make a breakthrough with a new platform game.
In the story behind the original series, Rock is a robot created as a lab assistant by scientists Dr. Thomas Light and Dr. Albert Wily; following treachery by Dr. Wily, Rock was converted into a fighting robot to defend the world from Wily's violent creations. Thus he becomes Mega Man (Rockman in the Japanese original).
Though all Mega Man games feature unique stories, settings, and characters, they nevertheless share several common features that have made the series one of the most consistant in video game history. Until very recently all Mega Man games were side scrolling, with 2D maze-like levels. The character controlled by the player was Mega Man himself, who had to fight through these levels using the Mega Buster, a cannon attached to his arm, to shoot the robotic monsters that inhabited his environment. After defeating a boss, Mega Man would gain the ability to use a new weapon. Levels can generally be completed in any order, and as a result determining the best strategic use of different weapons in different levels is one of the hallmarks of the series. Each new Mega Man game would contain new monsters, as well as older familiar ones, new bosses (and thus weapons) and gadgets.
For more information on the gameplay see the pages for the specific series, linked below:
The timeline for the series and its spinoffs is somewhat complicated. According to Rockman Perfect Memories:
- Mega Man Classic takes place from 200X to 20XX,
- Mega Man X begins 100 years afterwards (in 2114 or later),
- Mega Man Zero is set an additional 100 years after the X series ends, and
- Mega Man Legends takes place several thousand years after the Zero series.
MegaMan Battle Network is not included in this timeline and seems to be an alternate universe retelling of the original series. It claims to be set in 200X.
Mega Man's designer, Keiji Inafune, decided to name him Rockman based on rock and roll. Some other names considered for the series include Knuckle Kid, Mighty Kid, and Rainbow Senshi Miracle Kid.
Mega Man on TV
Mega Man once starred in a Saturday-morning style cartoon by animating company Ruby-Spears, which radically redesigned the cast of the games. The show was cancelled during production of its third season (only one episode from season 3 was completed), and was targeted towards a young audience. The pilot episode of the cartoon featured an anime-like style that more closely resembled the canon character designs; this episode and two others like it were released in Japan as OVAs. The three OVAs are now available in English as Mega Man: Upon a Star.
Characters loosely based on Mega Man, his robotic dog Rush, and mentor Dr. Light appeared in the cartoon series Captain N: The Game Master in the United States. Dr. Wily was a villain in the same series.
There is also a long-running anime based on the Battle Network/EXE series. The first series was simply called Rockman.EXE. The series is loosely based on the first two games, but also includes elements introduced in the third game (e.g. the "N1 Grand Prix" and the new PET design). The second series, Rockman.EXE Axess, is also not directly based on any of the games but contains elements of the fourth game in the series. The third series, Rockman.EXE Stream, continues the tradition of not directly following the plot of the games. A heavily edited version of the anime airs in the United States and Canada, where it is called MegaMan NT Warrior and MegaMan NT Warrior Axess.
The various television series and manga contradict the storyline in the games and are therefore not considered canon.
Mega Man in comics and manga
Available in English
The manga of Rockman EXE, which was written by Ryo Takamisaki, is also known as MegaMan NT Warrior in North America.
In addition, Dreamwave Productions made its own comic books based on the Mega Man Classic game series.
Not available in English
Mega Man has also been featured in many comics and manga in Japan. The most popular of these by far is the Rockman Megamix series by Hitoshi Ariga, who later went on to provide character designs and artwork for official Capcom releases including the Super Famicom game Rockman & Forte.
The following are not available in English:
Rockman Classic
- Rockman - Follows the original Rockman game.
- Rockman 2 - Titled "Dr. Wily's Scheme"
- Rockman 4
- Rockman 5 - Lasts for at least two volumes.
- Rockman 6 - Lasts for at least three volumes.
- Rockman 7 - Lasts for at least three volumes.
- Rockman 8 - Lasts for two volumes. Volume 3 was planned but never published.
- Rockman & Forte - Lasts for at least two volumes.
- Blues' Resurrection - This is a story about a clone of Blues (Proto Man in English).
- Rockman World 1 & 2 - An adaptation of the first two Game Boy games. It combines the story of those two games into one story.
- Rockman World 3 - An adaptation of the third Game Boy game.
- Rockman Megamix - A collection of original humor stories by Hitoshi Ariga.
- Rockman Megamix 2
- Rockman Remix - A manga that is similar to Megamix 2. Remix has both Classic and X portions that do not intermingle with one another.
Rockman X
- Irregular Hunter Rockman X - Lasts for at least two volumes. This is an adaptation of the original Rockman X game.
- Rockman X - Lasts for at least three volumes. This is another adaptation of the original Rockman X game.
- Rockman X2 - Lasts for at least three volumes.
- Rockman X3 - Lasts for at least four volumes.
- Rockman X4 - Lasts for at least two volumes. More were planned but were never published.
- Rockman X5 - Lasts for at least three volumes. It may only be available in Chinese.
- Rockman Remix - A manga that is similar to Megamix 2. Remix has both Classic and X portions that do not intermingle with one another.
Rockman.EXE
- Battle Stories 1-7
Trivia
- In the Ruby-Spears cartoon, Mega Man was voiced by Ian Corlett and Dr. Wily by Scott McNeil; in Captain N, the roles are reversed, with Ian voicing Wily and Scott voicing Mega Man.
- Though The Beginning is considered chronologically as the first episode (of Mega Man) in some states it was aired as the second episode, after Electric Nightmare.
- A minor villain named "Megaman" (no space) also appeared in an issue of Man Called Nova.
- Mega Man's costume in Captain N is somewhat remiscant of the costume worn by Man-at-arms from He-man.
See also
External links
- Capcom (http://www.capcom.com/), the official site of the company responsible for the Mega Man games as well as many others.
- Open Directory Project: Mega Man sites (http://www.dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Action/M/Mega_Man_Games/)
- Yahoo! Directory of Mega Man sites (http://dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Games/Video_Games/Titles/Action/Mega_Man_Series/)
- Planet Mega Man (http://www.planet-megaman.com/)
- The Mega Man Network (http://www.megaman-network.com/)
- The Mega Man Homepage (http://www.mmhp.net/)de:Mega Man