MEGA MAN 3 PASSWORD CRACK

Passwords in Mega Man 3 are fairly simple. All they need to remember are what stages you’ve beaten (and thus, what weapons you have) and how many Energy Tanks you’ve collected. Here’s the rundown:

First of all, the Energy Tanks are easiest to understand, for a single dot of either color is placed in one of ten different locations to specify how many you have (0 through 9). Here they are:

  • 9 tanks: A6
  • 8 tanks: F2
  • 7 tanks: C3
  • 6 tanks: D2
  • 5 tanks: C1
  • 4 tanks: A5
  • 3 tanks: B4
  • 2 tanks: E4
  • 1 tank: E6
  • No tanks: C5

To change the number of tanks in any password you may have received, find the dot that is representing how many tanks you’d had, remove it and add the proper dot for how many tanks you wish to have. (Use A6 alone to start the game from the beginning with 9 Energy Tanks.)

Now for the tricker stuff. Each Robot Master that you beat (and weapon you acquire) adds another red dot to the list. But to prevent the passwords from getting too big (and obvious!), Capcom doubled some of the dots together. So if you complete certain pairs of stages, the two red dots disappear and turn into a blue one. This also includes the four Doc Man stages later in the game. Here’s the breakdown on what dots appear after you complete the listed stage:

  • Top Man / Top Spin: A3 red
  • Snake Man / Search Snake: F6 red
  • Top and Snake: A3 blue
  • Magnet Man / Magnet Missiles: F5 red
  • Needle Man / Needle Cannon: D3 red
  • Magnet and Needle: D3 blue
  • Hard Man / Hard Knucles: C4 red
  • Gemini Man / Gemini Laser: B5 red
  • Hard and Gemini: B5 blue
  • Spark Man / Spark Shock: F4 red
  • Shadow Man / Shadow Blades: D6 red
  • Spark and Shadow: F4 blue

  • Needle Doc Man stage: B2 red
  • Gemini Doc Man stage: B6 red
  • Needle and Gemini Doc Man stage: B2 blue
  • Spark Doc Man stage: A1 red
  • Shadow Doc Man stage: A4 red
  • Spark and Shadow Doc Man stage: A1 blue
  • Complete Break Man’s mini-stage: E1 red

To construct a password, punch in the dots for which stages you wish to be completed for you. Remember to double up the dots into the single blue dot when necessary, and don’t forget a single dot for your Energy Tanks. Even if you want none, you must still place a dot in one of the Energy Tank slots. Also, to go beyond the inital eight stages, you must enter the four doubled blue dots: A3, B5, D3, and F4, then any additional dots if desired. To bypass all the Doc Robot stages, enter the four blue dots above then the two blue dots for the Doc Man stages: B2 and A1. To skip Break Man, add a red E1. And that’s about it.

Special thanks to Kumog for helping me work out this scheme.