Mega Man 4

Fires a homing missile. Despite its name, it does not have to be fired underwater, fortunately. The missiles home in on their targets with a good degree of accuracy, so you can just fire away carelessly and turn your attentions on dodging.

Fires a drill-shaped bomb straight forward that will detonate the instant it strikes anything. Press the fire button while it is in midair to cause it to explode early. This technique can be used to strike certain enemies that the bomb would otherwise bounce off.

Fires a square chunk of debris straight forward. Not terribly creative, but it does damage a good number of robots which makes it nevertheless a useful weapon to have.

Ironically, Bright Man has the Flash Stopper, not Flash Man. Go figure. Anyway, the Flash Stopper works in bursts; it consumes a chunk of energy to temporarily freeze enemies in place. After a few seconds, the effect wears off. There is no constant drain on the weapon, and as a bonus, the user is able to fire arm cannons while his foes are frozen.

Spheres which can be fired straight or diagonally. If you charge up, you form a large sphere over Mega Man’s head; you can then fire off this sphere at something, or merely walk around and hit things with it. If you choose to do the latter, try this: don’t release the button when you use up the sphere, but instead open the subscreen and close it while still holding down the fire button. When you return to the game, you’ll charge up another sphere without using any weapon energy.

This creates a capsule which jets high into the air before bursting into a brief but damaging downpour of ionized rain. The user of this weapon is shielded from its effects, but anyone else caught vulnerable in the deluge is sure to be damaged. This weapon is obviously useful for its ability to hit anywhere on the screen without aiming, but keep in mind there is a delay between the time that you fire and when the rain shower occurs.

Shoots large rings horizontally. The Rings fly out for a bit then snap back at a very rapid pace. They are very fast, but have poor range.

This is another shield (they’re in practically every other game). But unlike the Leaf Shield, the user can walk around while this is activated. It will vanish if it takes a hit too powerful for it to sustain.

Energy pellets refill your life meter. The small ones refill 2 units—not a lot, but it can really add up.

These globes are the same as energy pellets except that more energy is refilled (8 to 10 units usually).

The colored pellets are weapon energy. They refill your current weapon or adapter rather than your life energy. Weapon energy changes color according to which weapon you are currently equipped with. Before picking up a pellet be sure to equip a weapon that needs the energy.

These are the same as weapon energy pellets except that more energy is refilled (8 to 10 units usually).

Extra lives. If you have one of these when you bite the dust, you’ll be given another chance at the stage, restarting at the furthest continue point that you’d reached.

This is an entire stock of energy that Mega Man can carry around until needed. You use these off the subscreen. When used, Mega Man’s energy meter will be refilled completely. Mega Man can carry up to nine of these at a time.

This is a springboard which enables Mega Man to leap greater distances. Just call Rush and then jump onto him. You’ll rebound off and soar almost to the top of the screen.

Mega Man can hop onto Rush and ride him, much like a skyboard. Like the Item-2, you have little control of Rush in this game; he always flies straight forward, and you can only control up and down to degrees.

Mega Man rides this through water. It cannot be activated out of the water, although you can take it onto land once you’re in it and hop around if you so desire.

This is similar to the Item-1 except that the ledges have balloons underneath them rather than rotors. Their upward movement is stalled when Mega Man jumps onto them (because of his weight).

This one’s really clever, although admittedly not terribly useful. Mega Man fires a cord straight up (you can have him look up by pressing up on the control pad while this item is active; too bad you can’t do this at any other time!). The grappling hook will attach itself into any ceiling it strikes, at which point Mega Man can pull himself up on the cord. Disengage the hook by jumping.

Mega Man was once a household robot named Rock, but when Dr. Wily turned evil, Rock was converted by his creator Dr. Light into the fighting robot known as Mega Man. This small blue robot is equipped with twin arm cannons and the Weapon Copy system which lets him take weapons from defeated foes.

Mega Man’s canine companion, this is a robot dog built by Dr. Light to aid in Mega Man’s travels. Rush is always ready to respond to Mega Man’s call; when Mega Man needs use of a Rush form, his dog teleports in, does his thing, and leaves. Any weapon energy you pick up while you have a Rush form equipped (even if Rush isn’t on the screen at the time) goes to that Rush form.

This is the scientist that started it all, for he was the one who first created revolutionary human-like robots. He was responsible for creating Mega Man and Roll, and he worked with Dr. Wily for a time.

Dr. Wily was once Dr. Light’s partner, but then he turned against his former colleague and tried to take over the world. After his apparent death he worked behind the scenes to accomplish what he had been unable to directly.

A fellow scientist and robot designer, Dr. Cossack was forced to turn his Robot Masters against Dr. Light and Mega Man by Dr. Wily, who was holding his daughter hostage. Once she was freed, however, Dr. Cossack promptly switched sides. He became friends with Dr. Light and aids him in his creations.

Dr. Cossack’s daughter, who was held hostage by Dr. Wily and then later freed by Proto Man.

This mysterious robot was constructed by Dr. Light before Mega Man was even built. He likes to be on his own, doing things his way. He often pops in during the games, usually with his characteristic whistle, to give his brother Mega Man items or advice, or to just plain pull him out of a jam.

Dr. Light’s walking suitcase. Eddie brings Mega Man items and power-ups on the field. He appears in specific rooms and carries random contents, although usually he gives out energy capsules.

Like Flash Man, Bright Man is equipped with plasma arm cannons to take advantage of his frozen enemy. His arm cannons aren’t the thing to fear, however; he does much more deadly damage if he manages to leap on you. A thorough dousing of Rain Flush capsules will make short work of Bright Man.

Dive Man is at home under the water, and along with sending Dive Missiles to seek out his enemies, he also likes to propel himself headfirst through the water. The Skull Shield works well on him, though it requires direct contact and will be wasted if a Dive Missile hits it. Another alternative is the Dust Crusher.

Drill Man is not very strong or fast, but his Drill Bombs pack a punch, and he is capable of drilling his way underground where you cannot touch him. For best results use Dive Missiles which will seek out their target, letting you worry about dodging.

Dust Man looks as though he has a vacuum cleaner built into his head, and he can use it to suck in his opponent as well as to shoot out debris. His Dust Crusher shots will split into four pieces, but if you jump straight up they will all miss you. Dust Man can be dusted off easily with an arm cannon and some patience. You can also try the Ring Boomerang on him, although its lack of range sometimes makes it less useful than using the Mega Buster.

Another of the Robot Masters to beware; this guy is almost as quick as Shadow Man. He makes good use of the Pharaoh Shot, alternating from firing rapid shots to charging up. He dashes around his room at a rapid pace; however, the Flash Stopper will stop him in his tracks. As an added bonus, Mega Man can also shoot his arm cannons while using the Flash Stopper, so fire away!

Ring Man’s greatest advantage is in the way he paces his lair, tossing Ring Boomerangs at you. But it is also his greatest weakness, for if you get the pattern down right, you can dodge him perfectly. The key is timing your leaps. First jump his first Ring Boomerang, then jump him. Hit him with Pharaoh Shots to make the battle go faster.

Skull Man’s shield protects him but only for a short time; any other time he is firing his cannons. Hit him with your arm cannon or the Dust Crusher whenever he is not using his Skull Barrier. Skull Man moves around his room in short bursts, and you can’t clear him when his shield is up, but with some maneuvering you can dodge him.

Like any frog (and most of the Robot Masters!), Toad Man is a great jumper. He can easily leap to the height of several meters. When he calls down the Rain Flush you are guaranteed to take damage. Keep firing to prevent him from using the Rain Flush, and you should be able to defeat him with just a plasma cannon. Smack him with the Drill Bomb if you’d like.