Rock was created by the brilliant Dr. Light to be a lab assistant and a son. But when Dr. Light’s partner, Dr. Wily, stole their six new Robot Masters and tried to use them to take over the world, Dr. Light remodeled Rock into the warrior known as Mega Man.
This game is the story of Mega Man’s very first battle against the infamous Dr. Wily.
This was, of course, Capcom’s first crack at this game series, and apparently it went over very well. The graphics, mechanics, and play control were superb for its time, setting it apart from the other titles around. This game is also unique from other
Mega Man games in several ways:
- It is the only one to have a score.
- It is the only one that doesn’t tell you the names of the weapons you acquire (though other games, such as Mega Man I, the Power Battle, and the Wily Wars, give us the names).
- There is a pause function in this game (press SELECT).
- When you revisit a stage, the Robot Master comes back too (all other games, the Robot Master room is empty when you reach it).
- Energy that is found lying around in stages can be gathered infinite times in this title. Just grab it and scroll it off the screen and back on, and it’ll be back.
- Water does not make Mega Man buoyant here (he doesn’t jump any higher underwater).
- Mega Man is invincible for a few moments after he takes damage, but this invincibility does not apply toward spikes in this game.
- This is one of the few Mega Man games which allows extra lives to reach a total of 99 (or 98 in Mega Man 2). Later games (starting around the time of Mega Man 4) begin limiting lives to 9. (Kudos to Matthew Presley for doing the grunt work with this one.)
- It is the only Mega Man game that doesn’t have eight Robot Masters. Here there are only six.
A lot of people say to do Cut Man first, but I really suggest starting with Bomb Man, as listed:
There aren’t any teleporting hatches in this game—well, there are, but you can’t choose your order. That part is introduced in
Mega Man 2. In this game you do fight the Robot Masters a second time, but you always encounter them in the same order (Cut Man, Elec Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man, Ice Man, Guts Man), so there are no choices to make.
What passwords? Sorry, this game must have come out before passwords were invented!
I like this ending’s music, even if it doesn’t quite have the quality of later games. The tune itself is nice, and I appreciate how they use part of the same tune in the opening to
Mega Man 2. I think that really ties the series together. Too bad they didn’t keep it up.
This ending shows Mega Man heading home after the battle. (For some reason, after beating Wily he usually either walks home or hops on top of a monorail instead of teleporting. Guess he wants some time to think...) Anyway, the sun sets (well done on the NES, too...the Genesis version wasn’t nearly as good) and Mega Man fades out and then in again, now dressed in street clothes. (I’m sorry, but pink is not his color! Luckily the Wily Wars version fixed this...) When he gets back to the lab, Dr. Light and Roll are waiting for him, though the game never does bother telling you who Roll is...