Mega Man 25th Anniversary: Memories of Mega Man

Twenty five years makes for a lot of memories, especially when you consider the fact that there are numerous Mega Men. In Memories of Mega Man, I share some of my fondest memories of the many incarnations of Mega Man as well as some of my not-so-fondest memories.

WARNING: THIS FEATURE CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

The Terror of the Yellow Devil - Mega Man (NES)

You've just made it through the first Dr. Wily Stage and now you're entering the boss chamber. But there's nothing but empty space. What gives? Did Capcom forget to add a boss for this level? Seconds later, small rock-like pieces start flooding the room from the left side of the screen, forming one of the most sinister bosses in all video games, the Yellow Devil. What makes this guy such a pain is that, for the uninitiated, he can easily whittle down your health before he's fully formed and even when he's completed, his one weak point, his eye, is only open for a very short period of time. By far the toughest part of this battle is dodging the Yellow Devil's pieces when he changes sides of the room over and over. Even when you're using the Thunder Beam on him, you are by no means guaranteed a win. Only by successfully sustaining as little damage as possible and making every hit count can you lay out this monstrosity. The Yellow Devil has rightfully earned his spot as one of the most difficult bosses in Mega Man history and easily the most challenging boss of the original Mega Man. If you can beat this guy, the rest of the Wily bosses are a joke in comparison.

Mega Man vs. Mega Man - Mega Man (NES)

After throwing a seemingly unstoppable juggernaut at you in Wily Stage 1, you wonder what lies in store for you in Stage 2. Your opponent is created from Mega Man's very own essence and it's done right there on the spot. You can switch weapons on him if you like, but he'll just change to whatever weapon you're using at the time. Hitoshi Ariga had an interesting take on this Copy Mega Man: what if he thought he was the real deal and the real Mega Man was the copy? It made for quite a story in Mega Man Megamix Vol. 3.

For Everlasting Peace! - Mega Man (NES)

Mega Man's ending is by no means ground breaking, but you have to love the Engrish and it gave us the immortal line that is "Everlasting Peace!" Plus, this is the first time Roll and Dr. Light appear. We also get to see Mega Man without his helmet and armor. He looks quite old-school in this form, even for the standards of this game.

Top of the Building - Mega Man 2 (NES)

No one can forget Mega Man 2's iconic intro even. A slow pan up to a building reveals our hero without his helmet, sporting a new do that's blowing in the wind. TITLE DROP AND EPIC TITLE THEM, GO!

Force Beams of Doom - Mega Man 2 (NES)

With a name like Quick Man, you already gathered that he's pretty fast, but his stage also requires speed on your part. The penalty of being slow is quite high due to the Force Beams that can kill Rock instantly. If you didn't have enough faith in your natural abilities, you could always use Flash Man's Flash Stopper to stop the Force Beams.

Running out of Crash Bombs - Mega Man 2 (NES)

If ever there was a bad time to run out of Crash Bombs it was while you were fighting Boobeam Trap, the third boss of the Dr. Wily stages. You can only fire seven Crash Bombs total and upon first entering the bosses chamber, most gamers probably didn't realize that Boobeam Trap was only weak to Crash Man's weapon. Basically, you needed every single Crash Bomb to defeat Boobeam Trap and one foul up meant you were screwed.

Wily is an Alien?! - Mega Man 2 (NES)

When Wily appeared, floating in the air and transformed into what appeared to be a green alien, my little mind was blown. Of all of the crazy stuff I'd seen in Mega Man 2, this was by far the craziest. Of course it all turned out to be just another machine by Wily. Still, I will never forget my initial shock.

A Whistle - Mega Man 3 (NES)

The first stage I attempted in Mega Man 3 was Magnet Man's stage. After making it through the top half of the stage, I dropped down and was surprised to hear a whistle. Sure, I'd heard whistling before, but never in a video game and never one that sounded quite like this. This whistle only meant one thing: a dual with Break Man, AKA Proto Man. Despite him mopping the floor with me numerous times (I was still learning how to play Mega Man games) I fell in love with that whistle.

More Robot Masters - Mega Man 3 (NES)

OK, I beat all the Robot Masters! Time to go on to the final stages. Wait. What's going on? Who are these guys and why do I get a question mark whenever I select one? These Doc Robots are actually the Robot Masters from Mega Man 2 and they are much more difficult than they were in that game. The remixed stages of Spark Man, Shadow Man, Gemini Man and Needle Man certainly didn't make things any easier.

Startling Revelations - Mega Man 3 (NES)

In 1990 there weren't many bombshell endings in video games, so Mega Man 3's finale was quite the surprise. Upon defeating Dr. Wily, his fortress starts to crumble, with falling rubble hitting both the mad doctor and Mega Man. A figure appears in the shadows, and teleports an unconscious Mega Man to Dr. Light's lab. Dr. Light is puzzled as to how Mega Man got there. A familiar whistle fills the room, one Dr. Light recognizes and attributes to Proto Man. Huh. It seems Break Man was just an alias. Not only was Proto Man his real name, but he was also the first robot that Dr. Light built with a number of #000. This makes him Mega Man's older brother. That right there is some soap opera stuff. And from a Mega Man game, no less.

The Greatest Train Ride - Mega Man 4 (NES)

Long before Spider-Man made standing on top of trains cool, Mega Man was doing it a full fourteen years before him. The story of how Rock became Mega Man is told and we're filled in on the events that stirred Mega Man 4's story as the Blue Bomber rides atop a train with his blue hair blowing in the wind, looking undeniably cool.

Mega Man's Insane Strength - Mega Man 5 (NES)

After stopping Dr. Wily and rescuing Dr. Light, Wily's stronghold once again starts to collapse. It's much worse this time because the entire ceiling comes down but Mega Man supports the whole thing with his own two hands. I'm not sure if he's always been that strong or Dr. Light gave him a strength upgrade before Mega Man 5. Before his arms give out, Proto Man gives Mega Man some off screen assistance so he and Dr. Light can get out.

Foolish Mega Man - Mega Man 6 (NES)

Mr. X is obviously Dr. Wily. I love Mega Man, but sometimes his stupidity is beyond belief. I mean, how can he not see through such a terrible disguise? It's Dr. Wily wearing a freaking beard! And when he reveals who he really is, Mega Man is actually shocked! Sadly, Mega Man would demonstrate more moments of idiocy in future games, but this is bar far the one the warrants a thousand face palms.

Ballade's Sacrifice - Mega Man IV (GB)

You know the drill by now. Mega Man stops Wily, his fortress gives up and life and starts blowing itself up. As Mega Man reaches the final barricade, he finds that no matter what he does, he can't destroy. This is when Ballade, the third and finale Mega Man Killer appears. Ballade's two defeats at Mega Man's hand was enough to convince him that Mega Man was the stronger robot and even in his wounded state, he still has enough power for one final move: blowing himself up to break the barrier and allow Mega Man to escape.

A Ruined Highway - Mega Man X (SNES)

By this time, we pretty much knew what to expect from a Mega Man game. Hit start and go to the stage select screen. Well, Mega Man X took nearly everything we knew about Mega Man games and turned it on it's head. Hitting the start button thrust X into a opening stage, which was that of a highway that has probably seen better days. Mega Man X played quite a bit differently from the Classic series so it was a good idea to introduce the player to the new mechanics through an opening stage. Mega Man X's war-torn highway is convincing enough that the player can tell that X's world is far more grim than his Classic counterpart.

Enter Zero - Mega Man X (SNES)

After getting thrashed by Vile, it looks like X is about to meet his end. Off screen, we can hear what sounds like a charged shot. BLAM! Vile gets an arm blown off his Ride Armor and all of a sudden he isn't as tough as he was a few minutes ago because he runs away like wuss. In just a few short seconds, Zero established himself as one of the coolest characters in the X series.

Hadoken - Mega Man X (SNES)

You had to do a lot of work to get this, like collect everything, but it was so worth it. Going through Armored Armadillo's stage four times or dying at the end if you prefer over and over and climbing the top of the mountain just in front of the boss chamber door revealed the best power-up in Mega Man X: a Hadoken. Here, this staple Street Fighter technique is turned into an instant kill move on all normal enemies and just about every boss. X just has to be at full health to use it.

Taking Down Vile - Mega Man X (SNES)

Vile has been a punk since you first met him. Thus far the score has been Vile 2, X 0 and after hearing this clown talk trash to X over and over, I was more than ready to shut him up. With his Ride Armor destroyed (thanks to Zero), the fight was on equal footing and landing that killing blow always felt so good. Of course these days I just bring the Hadoken and one-shot him, which is more than fair since he always came after X in that Ride Armor. Loser. Your victory of Vile is somewhat soured when you consider that it came at a price, Zero's "death." The impact of this one might have been cheapened a bit when you consider how many times Zero has come back, but it was still a heartfelt moment the first time I saw it. I wasn't sure if that was oil, or blood on his face, but I'd never seen Zero in such awful shape. When he just faded away, that sealed the deal that he was dead. You know, until X2 came out.

Sunstar - Mega Man V (GB)

I gotta be honest: I get sick of fighting Dr. Wily all the time. I mean, I know he's Mega Man's arch nemesis, but even Mario finds other guys to kick around besides Bowser. Well in Mega Man V after trouncing Wily, his newest weapon, Sunstar, turns on him and challenges Mega Man. The fight against Sunstar is unlike that of any other in the Classic series. Sunstar is wild and chaotic, shooting out huge lasers and destroying the floor upon which you stand.

Playing as Zero - Mega Man X3 (SNES)

We'd witnessed his awesomeness in the first two Mega Man X games and by the time the third game rolled around, we got to bask in some of said awesomeness. He wasn't fully playable until Mega Man X4, but when you got to take control of the red reploid for the first time, it was pretty amazing. I always liked his Z-Buster/Z-Saber charge-slash combo. After this game it was never seen again. In fact, Zero wouldn't be able to use a Buster weapon until the Mega Man Zero series.

Precision D-Strike - Mega Man 7 (SNES)

Just outside of Shade Man's door, you find Bass and Treble. Faking injury, Bass lets out a curse word in the KA rated Mega Man 7. Before the E rating existed, the KA rating was the equivalent to the E rating so it's quite surprising that such a word made it into what is essentially a kid's game. This certainly isn't the first time a D-bomb was dropped in a Capcom game on a Nintendo System. Hi, Bionic Commando!

Mega Man Almost Kills Wily - Mega Man 7 (SNES)

After one of the hardest final battles in a Mega Man game, Mega Man charges up his Buster and prepares to do what many of us wanted to do when that fight was over: kill that old man. The Japanese version of Mega Man 7's ending is a bit different from the English version. In the Japanese version after Wily tells Mega Man that he can't hurt a human being, he lowers his Buster and gets silent. In the American version, Mega Man says he's more than a robot and tells Wily to die. Some fans feel this is out of character for Mega Man. The fact remains that Mega Man even considered killing Wily as an option in the first place. He'd have saved the world a lot of trouble and after that last fight, can you really blame him?

Wily Created Zero - Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (ARC)

The origin of Zero's creator was hinted at in the end of Mega Man X2 and the opening cut scene in Mega Man X4 pretty much tells you, but since Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters was released before X4, this is the game that spills the beans on Zero's creator, which is Dr. Wily. Finishing the game with Bass reveals that Wily has already begun work on Zero, though he says it will be some time before he's completed.

Proto Man's Defective Power Core - Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (ARC)

Finishing the game was Proto Man reveals that Mega Man's brother has a defect in his power core and that he refuses to let Dr. Light fix him for fear that in doing so, he'll change who he is. Dr. Wily did make some repairs to Proto Man before Mega Man 3 took place, but the faulty core still remains, which implies that Proto Man will eventually die.

Double's Transformation - Mega Man X4 (PS, SAT)

In one of the most violent scenes in the series, Double, a short, fat "rookie hunter" transforms and slaughters a few members of the 17th Unit. I mean, the way Double cuts those poor chumps up is just vicious, even if they are robots. This is all done to his wickedly awesome battle theme.

Zero vs. Iris - Mega Man X4 (PS, SAT)

It's often been said that when faced with an enemy that Zero won't hesitate. He won't go easy on you if you're a girl either. Just ask Iris. After killing Colonel, Iris' brother, Iris losses it and attacks Zero in some form or Ride Armor. After the battle, Iris body is beyond repair. In her dying breath, she states that all she wanted was to be with Zero. With that, she gives Zero a smile and dies, prompting Zero to shout what has become a famous line among fandom, "What am I fighting for?"

Zero was a Maverick - Mega Man X4 (PS, SAT)

Talk about role reversal. Sigma was originally a Maverick Hunter, the leader of the hunters, to be precise. And one of the very Mavericks that Sigma stopped was none other than Zero. If you thought the other Mavericks were headcases, you haven't seen anything. Whenever it was that Zero woke up in 21XX, he was bat-freaking loco. Dude was slaughtering Maverick Hunter units like it was nobody's business. It got so bad that Sigma decided to step in and put a stop to it. For all of Sigma's strength, he nearly got his head ripped off trying to stop Zero.

The Original Conclusion to the X Series - Mega Man X5 (PS)

Mega Man X5 was set to wrap up the X series. The foreshadowed fight between X and Zero took place in this game and Sigma was killed off once and for all. Zero was also gone for good this time, too and X carried his Z-Saber as reminder of his fallen friend. Annnnnnd later on in the same year X5 came out, Capcom released Mega Man X6, crapping all over X5's bittersweet ending. It wouldn't be so bad if X6 were a good game but it was easily one of the worst games I've ever played and Mega Man X7 was no better. The X series didn't get good again until Mega Man X8 came long.

Zero Awakens - Mega Man Zero (GBA)

Who can forget that scene where Ceil finds Zero in slumber? It's such a magical moment and a unique way to see Zero for the first time in his own series. When Passy wakes Zero, a remix of Zero's theme from the first Mega Man X plays and the intro level begins. Awesome!

Burn to the Ground! - Mega Man X7 (PS2)

"BURN TO THE GROUND! BURN! BURN TO THE GROUND! BURN!" That is 95% of Flame Hyenard's dialogue when you fight him in Mega Man X7. There are numerous bad things about X7, but this one is pretty high on my list. My fight with Flame Hyenard was the only time I dashed for the mute button while playing a Mega Man game. Did I mention that X7 has terrible voice acting?

Zero's Body is a Fake - Mega Man Zero 3 (GBA)

It's been hinted at numerous times throughout the game by various characters. Dr. Weil, the Baby Elves and even X are aware of it but Zero is completely in the dark. Zero's climatic confrontation with Omega reveals that underneath all that armor is a body that looks just like Zero's. In fact, the body that Omega is using is the original Zero body. Before the events of the first Mega Man Zero took place, Zero's soul was transferred into a body that resembled his original one. Weil hoped to shake Zero up with this revelation, but despite the fact that Omega was Zero's original body, Zero still destroyed him. As X said, the heart is what matters, not the body.

Zero's Final Speech  - Mega Man Zero 4 (GBA)

As Dr. Weil is preparing a massive colony drop on Area Zero, the only place on the planet that has actually showed signs of healing since all the wars, he lectures Zero on how he won't be able to kill him since he's a human. Zero's response? "I never cared about justice and I don't recall ever calling myself a hero... I have always only fought for the people I believe in. I won't hesitate... If an enemy appears in front of me, I will destroy it!"

Lumine is the True Big Bad - Mega Man X8 (PS2)

I believed I mentioned earlier that I grew tired of fighting Dr. Wily all the time. The same could be said for Sigma. When our heroes defeat Sigma it's revealed that Lumine was the villain all along, I was quite relieved. Though it's actually kinda cruel for those playing on Easy. The ending stops just after this reveal, keeping the other details locked away for those that play on Normal. Or have access to YouTube.

Roll's Gift - Mega Man 10 (WW, PSN, XBLA)

I'm kinda bummed that Roll didn't turn crazy and Mega Man didn't have to stop her, but this scene helped ease the pain. After defeating the Robot Masters, Mega Man comes down with Roboenza and collapses. Unsurprisingly, Wily announces to the world that he invented Roboenza and he was behind everything all along. He just needed Mega Man's help recovering the parts for his machine to make medicine. Roll, still ill from the sickness offers her big brother the prototype cure that Wily developed. She was saving it for another sick robot that might need it. Awwww, isn't Roll sweet? Even when she's suffering, she's thinking of others.

Long Scroll to Wily's Space Fortress - Mega Man 10 (WW, PSN, XBLA)

Usually the final level on the console Mega Man games take place in underground areas in Dr. Wily's fortresses. And on Earth. The last Dr. Wily level is set out in space and just as it shows you advanced on the map screen, the trip to this level is done via scrolling of a white vertical bar. But instead taking a few seconds, the scroll for this one is quite long to the point of being hilarious. Easily one of my favorite overly long gags in a video game.