3rd Party Showcase (3PS) Archive: Mega Man Special

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Mission objective: Explore the Nintendo legacy of Mega Man, a little blue robot who was an all-star on the NES, an icon of the industry, and one of the most popular video game characters of all time.

Status: Ready!

• Mega Man (NES, 1987)
• Mega Man 2 (NES, 1988)
• Mega Man 3 (NES, 1990)
• Mega Man 4 (NES, 1991)
• Mega Man 5 (NES, 1992)
• Mega Man 6 (NES, 1993)

Mega Man is one busy 'bot! Originally created as a housekeeper, Dr. Light converted him into a keeper of justice in order to fight off the maniacal machinations of the evil Dr. Wily. Thus was born the Blue Bomber!

The NES was a great console for platform games, so it's quite a complement to say that the Mega Man series was one of the best. It broke ground with its non-linear design, allowing players to choose the order in which to conquer levels; as well as being able to steal weapons from the robot masters, increasing Mega Man's awesome arsenal. The six installments on the system established the look and style that the series is remembered for even today.

The first two games are currently available on the Wii Virtual Console, so establish a link and download!

• Mega Man in Dr. Wily's Revenge (Game Boy, 1991)
• Mega Man II (Game Boy, 1992)
• Mega Man III (Game Boy, 1992)
• Mega Man IV (Game Boy, 1993)
• Mega Man V (Game Boy, 1994)

In his quest for justice, Mega Man has to travel to many different locations, so it pays to stay mobile. Thus, it was natural for an entire sub-series to appear on the Game Boy. Most of the games borrowed and remixed elements from the previous NES games. Mega Man V, however, was completely original, even including Super Game Boy enhancements. To this day it's considered one of the best installments in the series.

• Mega Man Soccer (SNES, 1994)
• Mega Man 7 (SNES, 1995)

Mega Man first transported into 16-bit territory with the spin-off series Mega Man X. However, the first 16-bit installment of the original series was the anomalous Mega Man Soccer. While a novel idea, it didn't go over well with fans. In Mega Man 7, the Blue Bomber got back into action with a more traditional adventure. Yet, it still introduced some new elements such as collecting screws to buy items.

• Mega Man & Bass (Game Boy Advance, 2003)
• Mega Man Anniversary Collection (Gamecube, 2004)

Mega Man & Bass on the Game Boy Advance told a side-story to the original series, and allowed the player to play as either of the title characters. The game was actually a port from the Super Famicom in Japan, released in 1998, and was the final third-party game released for the system.

It is said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Obviously, Dr. Wily never read a history book in his entire life! Maybe someone should give him a copy of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection. Celebrating the 15th anniversary (although it was actually the 17th anniversary) of the series, the Gamecube received a compilation of all eight original series games, including Mega Man 8, which had never been released on a Nintendo console before. The package also included two rare arcade games: Mega Man: The Power Battles and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters.

Later, the kart racing game Mega Man: Battle & Chase was included as an unlockable in the Mega Man X Collection, even though it's actually based on the original series.

• Mega Man 9 (WiiWare, 2008)

And yet, Dr. Wily just never learns his lesson! After an 11-year hiatus, and 15 years since his NES days, Mega Man returned to his roots for his 20th (er, 21st) anniversary. Mega Man 9 was stylized as a new 8-bit installment of the classic series, available as a downloadable WiiWare title. Coming full circle, it recreated the look and style that made the Blue Bomber a legend in the first place.

Mega Man was a breakout character for Capcom. He's been a long-time favorite of Nintendo fans, making him a valuable addition to any Nintendo console library. He was even one of the most requested third-party characters for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There's no denying his importance to both Nintendo and video game history. And as sure as Dr. Wily is somewhere out there building a new army of robots to take over the Earth, we can be confidant that the little blue guy will be around to take care of business!

See you next time, Mega Man!

Status report: Mission objectives completed. Powering down...

Posted by Nester on 5 October 2008